Faculty Advisor: Yahya C. Kurama, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences

Lapped Connections for Accelerated Modularized Construction of Safety-Related, Non-Containment Reinforced Concrete Nuclear Buildings (Summer 2024)

This research project is focused on material testing performed under the guidance of Prof. Yahya Kurama. Much of the work will be conducted in a laboratory supervised by Prof. Paul McGinn in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Prof. Craig Newtson at New Mexico State University will also participate in developing the test matrix and interpreting results. The research will investigate thermal expansion of materials such as grout and concrete, subjected to temperatures of up to 600°C by measuring thermal expansion in a dilatometer. Measured expansions will be used to compute thermal strains and coefficient of thermal expansion values. If time permits, these results will be used to analyze the thermal compatibility of different materials proposed for use in construction of a nuclear structure. If the research is completed early, some scanning electron microscopy tests may also be performed.