"University of Oklahoma"
(8th place overall)

Design Paper (4th):

Presentation (22nd):

Oklahoma went with a Jaws theme from the movie of the same name.  Dressed in casual beach ware, the team members (two men and one woman) alternated their delivery at the podium and gave a very structured and complete presentation.  The primary concern was hull stiffness and they employed finite element analysis to evaluate the mix design and reinforcement strategy.  They performed a punching shear test on their highly resilient hull and explained how the project was managed.

The team was asked to describe their quality control program during mix design and construction, about their crack propagation research, the implications of adding latex to the mix, and to explain the difference between a ductile and brittle fracture in the concrete. 

The judges asked the team to comment on how their spacer chips affected crack initiation in the canoe to which the team responded that there were few problems.  Then, the team was asked how they established their budget and managed to come in below cost.

In general, the presentation went quite well and the judges had ample opportunity to field questions.

Product (7th):

Name: Jaws
Length: 21.5'
Weight: 125 lb
Color: metallic blue

Vital Stats:

The University of Oklahoma is located in Norman, Oklahoma.  They have proudly represented the Mid-Continent Region twice at the national level as a second place qualifier (2001 and 2002).  Their highest finish to date was eighth in 2002.

Display (8th):

Canoe/Materials/Facts:

The concrete in Oklahoma's canoe has the flexural capacity of 6000 psi but has a unit weight of only 38% of a normal concrete mixture.  Their mixture was proportioned using hollow glass spheres, cement, super plasticizer, and a polymer mixture.  The canoe has a tumblehome design to provide stiffness without ribs and the hull’s cross-section is elliptical.