UNH Student Chapter
Purpose Statement:
The purpose of this chapter is to facilitate the professional and educational growth of the UNH civil engineering students. Our chapter keeps students well informed of their educational and professional opportunities through regular chapter meetings that include the participation of faculty and professionals from all fields of civil engineering.A crucial objective of this chapter is building teamwork, as well as engineering and communication skills essential to a successful career in civil engineering. For example, both the Steel Bridge Team and Concrete Canoe Team foster and promote teamwork, network building, and organizational skills that are a great advantage to working professionals.
2008-2009 Steel Bridge Team
The UNH Steel Bridge Team works every year to prepare a bridge designed within the constraints of the ASCE National Steel Bridge Competition Guidelines. The structural members to be used in the proposed bridge must be fabricated with the help of local steel fabricators. Then, the bridge needs to be constructed at the regional competition, minimizing both time and "construction costs". These costs include, for example, the use of temporary piers, as well as penalties associated with the competition rules. This competition is meant to simulate the design and construction of a bridge, keeping in mind all the real-world constraints you would need to take into consideration in the professional world.
This academic year's team is as excited as ever to be competing in the Steel Bridge Competition in the spring. The team is primarily comprised of junior students, which will allow for more continuity between this year and next.
The 2008-09 team has been working very hard on the design and construction of the bridge. Designing a great bridge may have been the easy part, but keeping within the strict guidelines proved to be a challenge. In addition to the numerous dimension limitations, this year's biggest change in rules was the constraint of having the entire superstructure below the deck. The judges will be focusing on construction time, deflection, stiffness and overall weight ratio. This year a rulebook committee was formed in order to ensure that the Steel Bridge Team complied with all the rules and requirements set in the competition guidelines.
With the cut-list drawn up, revised, drawn up again and finalized, the sponsorship committee had some good news to share with the team. Over winter break, many outside firms as well as the Dean of CEPS donated generous amounts to the Steel Bridge Team. With the help of our sponsors, the Dean and the Civil Engineering Department, the team was able to convert designs, ideas and aspirations into reality. This financial support is greatly appreciated.
The "Build Team" shows off their constructed bridge after the competition.
The entire team poses for pictures with the bridge.
2008-2009 Concrete Canoe Team
The UNH Concrete Canoe team designs and prepares a concrete mix and canoe design that will allow for the construction of a floating, concrete canoe. This involves a lot of preparation in designing not only a concrete mix, but testing it for compressive strength and buoyancy. Moreover, a form needs to be constructed in order to properly pour the concrete.
This year's team work to build the form in the new Concrete Canoe Project room in the recently renovated Kingsbury Hall.
The 2009 Concrete Canoe Team is striving for a better and more efficient design than in the past couple years. This year they are incorporating many new items into the boat design as well as the concrete mix. Due to the new regulations, this year the mix has to have a "green" aspect, which has created the chance to use some of the newest mixture products available. The mix includes a variety of products. The team is using type III cement for fast high strength concrete. This helps create a stronger canoe in a shorter amount of time, which allows the team to work on sanding the boat much earlier in the process.
New to the competition this year is the requirement of using recycled concrete. Every mix design has to incorporate a recycled aggregate which constitutes a minimum value of 25% of the total aggregate used. Of this remaining 75%t the UNH team is incorporating 3M glass spheres and Elemix styro-foam spheres to help reduce the density of the concrete. The new rule has created a challenge for the team reaching its goal of concrete less dense than water, but they are striving for the best results. With the help of Professor David Gress, they are determined to reach this goal.
To help with cracking, which is a common problem in all concrete canoes, the team is using two different kinds of reinforcing fibers. These fibers are made of glass and wood. The glass fibers (Fiber Mesh 650) were used in last year's mix and proved to help control the cracking as the team traveled to Quebec City, Canada with the boat on a flatbed trailer. Upon arrival, there was no cracking in the hull. The wood fibers being used are a new item on the market, which is helping to meet the "green" concrete requirements. These fibers are Ultra Fiber 500 wood fiber mesh. The fibers are added during mixing and they are broken down to create a fiber system similar to that found in wood. The last additive in the design is fly ash which has been part of the mixes during the last couple of years.
The team is using carbon fiber thread and cloth to construct the hull structure. This is a new reinforcement method for UNH. In past years, Concrete Canoe Teams have tried to use different styles of steel wire. Chicken wire fence was used last year, which worked well but did not allow perfect molding of the concrete during pouring. Because wire mesh was used last year, several thicker spots formed and the canoe became heavier than anticipated. This year, the boat should be significantly lighter. With the use of light weight concrete and carbon fiber, the team should be able to reach this goal. The carbon fiber is placed in strategic spots along the shape of the hull to create ribs. These ribs are going to provide appropriate support while the boat sits on the stands and is paddled.
Objective:
The ASCE Student Chapter at the University of New Hampshire was organized in 1928. As with all chapters, its objective is to help students prepare themselves for entry into the Civil Engineering profession and the Society.
Organization:
The Chapter has a Faculty Advisor, a Contact Member and an Associate Contact Member appointed for three-year terms by the Society Board of Directors upon recommendation of the District Directors. Traditionally, the District Director acts with the advice of the Section President.
It is recommended that an officer of the Student Chapter be present at the Board of Directors meetings.
The Chapter elects officers and makes its Annual Report on March 2 of each year directly to Society headquarters.
Contact:
UNH Faculty Co-Advisors:
Ricardo Medina
Ricardo.A.Medina@unh.edu
Robert Henry
Robert.Henry@unh.edu
Jim Malley
Jim.Malley@unh.edu
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