| SPECIFICATIONS:
Overall length of boat: 6.1 m (20.0 ft)
Net weight of canoe: 98.4
kg (217 lb)
Concrete: 1094.6
kg/m3 (68.4 lb/ft3)
Reinforcement: Three Layers of
Spatially Separated Un-impregnated
Graphite
Placement: 9th at Nationals
Regional Conference: Vanderbilt University, Nashville,
TN
National Competition: University of Alabama,
Tuscaloosa, AL Officers:
P: Todd Watts
VP: Jorge
Cacciatore
S: Cristina Poleacovschi; Florence Brown
T: Matthew Pinkston
COB: Jackie Whitaker
SBC: None Faculty
Advisors:
Dr. Houssam Toutanji; Dr. John Gilbert Contact
Members:
Ms. Lori Visone (Goolesby)
Dr. Teng K. Ooi Concrete
Canoe Project Manager:
Jackie Whitaker Concrete Canoe
Project Engineer:
Matthew Pinkston Concrete Canoe
Team Captains:
Jorge Cacciatore and Jennifer Bowers Coaches:
Sarah Yeldell
Todd Watts Professional
Training and Development:
Mr. John Bentley
Media Relations:
Mr. Phillip Gentry Technical
Editor:
Dr. Tom Lavin |
|
Our competition
theme:
"It's what's inside that counts."
This year, we demonstrated a strong
understanding of the fundamentals of Civil Engineering with "ITZ
Civilized"
The interfacial transition zone (ITZ) is the region of the cement paste around the aggregate
particles. It is the weakest link in a normal
concrete matrix and interactions there affect macroscopic
properties, such as strength, permeability, and durability.
We
relied on molecular and
atomic interactions to help strengthen the ITZ (interfacial transition
zone) and improve macroscopic material properties.
A
landmark of Civil Engineering:
All
of our innovations reflect this year’s theme: “It’s what’s inside that counts.” As far as our boat is
concerned, we incorporated advanced design concepts, employed reverse
engineering for mix design, and developed novel construction methods
that allowed us to achieve our design goals.
We built a “natural”
looking product having very few flaws and trust that our “no frills”
approach (no inlays, minimal attributes, and clear sealant) was
appreciated.
We
billed ITZ Civilized as a landmark
of Civil Engineering.
It's
all in the mix:
The ITZ is characterized by the prevalence of
calcium hydroxide and higher porosity. We
developed a lightweight, high-performance
cementitious composite that capitalized on the interfacial bonding that
took place in conjunction with our admixture and free-fiber reinforcement.
The hydrogen bonds that formed between molecules, or within different parts of a single
molecule provided remarkable changes in the surface
bond strength, not only between the aggregate and the matrix, but also
between the fibers and the matrix.
Our approach is in
stark contrast to traditional methods that have been applied to improve
the aggregate/matrix bonding in the ITZ, such as reducing the size
of the aggregates, using basalt and quartzite as aggregates, or
replacing the cement with ultrafine additions of constituents, such as
silica fume and metakaolin. These traditional methods are limited in
scope, since they do not significantly alter the nature of the
interaction between the aggregate and the matrix.
Going
"Green"...
While building ITZ Civilized, we geared our efforts toward the current trends in
industry to go “green” with a focus on sustainability in design and
construction.
Our final
mix is “as green as it gets,” since 100 percent of the binders
(excluding cement) and all of the aggregates are recyclables.
Our
concrete mix is more sustainable than most, since it relies on fly ash
as a binder and includes cenospheres as the aggregate. Fly ash, a residue generated by the combustion of coal, is the
largest byproduct of coal-fired power plants. Today it is recovered by
electrostatic precipitators or filter bags, as opposed to being released
into the atmosphere.
Cenospheres
occur naturally in fly ash and are microscopic spheres of silica and
alumina filled with air or gases. Typically harvested from the surfaces
of ash ponds, they have a ready, high value market for use as fillers in
both construction and other industries, and new applications, such as
ours, are continually being developed.
About
Team UAH...
This
year, we were provided with a hull design by ASCE. The observation
made in our design report that “looks can be deceiving” is not only pertinent to
our hull but to ourselves. By submitting to a corporate training program
(see details below), we gained valuable insight into our personal makeup and
developed a better appreciation for team dynamics.
Team Profiling...
During this stint, we realized that people are our most valuable resource... and
consider ourselves fortunate to have worked with John Bentley,
professional training and
development consultant from Power2Transform (P2T),
to help overcome some of the difficulties that we encountered.
See the P2T
Newsletter
Alumni Notes...
The 2008/09 stint went relatively smoothly considering
that the majority of our teams members were new recruits and this memo
sent to the Chapter, immediately following Nationals, by our newly
elected president sums it up pretty well.
Thanks for your support...
Turner
International provides major financial support to Team UAH...
Read more: Huntsville
Times and UAHuntsville
Press Release.
VICTORY AT SEA!
Team UAH and "ITZ
Civilized" represented the Southeast
and placed 9th overall at the 2009 National Concrete Canoe Competition
Photo to left by Bernard Troncale. Join
this Blog...
posted by Ken Faulk
UAH Contacts:
Our media contact is Phil Gentry.
Phil is a member of University Relations at UAH.
His telephone number is (256) 824-6420.
Our faculty advisors are Dr.
Houssam Toutanji [(256) 824-6370] and Dr.
John Gilbert [(256) 824-6029].
Back to Competition History
Return to Main
|
