"Universite Laval - Canadian National Champion"
(2nd place overall; 4th in paper; 5th in presentation; 2nd in product)

Presentation:

Laval began the afternoon session and their presentation was given by three men and one woman dressed in formal attire.  The team explained how they used innovative shot-crete techniques to form the canoe.

They described the attributes of the hull and mentioned that Pro-Line software was used to formulate their hull design.  They compared the performance of this year's boat with previous canoes and described their reinforcement and mix designs.

Laval used three different mixes to construct their boat and described why this was done.  The team used micro-fiber reinforcement and determined stresses using the transform section theory.  The canoe was modeled using finite element analysis and they described the loading and boundary conditions employed.  The hull was reinforced with four layers of fiberglass mesh.

 The judges began the question and answer session by commenting that silica fume imparts a dark color.  Then they asked whether anything was done to lighten the color.

Then the judges pointed out that there were significant differences between the results obtained from finite element analysis and those values adopted by the team.  "How do you rate the results obtained from finite element analysis versus practical experience?"

The team was asked to clarify the differences between different types of fly ash.  "Were steps taken to measure the air content of the concrete?" and "Did you face any challenges while forming structural elements such as ribs?".  "Was the drag coefficient evaluated and if so, what was it?" "Could you describe the innovative approach that you used with regard to using shot-crete?" and "What was the single most difficult problem faced during the construction of the canoe?".

 Product:

Name: Phoenix
Length: 21.' 3"
Weight: 160 lb
Color: gray

 Vital Stats:

The Universite of Laval is located in Ste-Foy, Quebec in Canada.  Laval qualified for the competition by winning the Canadian National Concrete Canoe Competition.  This year was the sixth time that Laval competed at the U.S. nationals.  It is their fourth consecutive appearance and they have four top ten finishes to their credit.  This year's second place finish equaled last year's performance and is the team's highest to date.

Canoe/Materials/Facts:

Laval's canoe was reinforced with four layers of fiberglass mesh and was designed using Pro-Line software.