Teams of civil engineering students proved their mastery of feats that appear to defy physics when they garnered first-place titles in two competitions at a regional student convention this past weekend.
University team members raced across a Tennessee lake in concrete canoes and assembled steel parts to form a bridge capable of holding 2,500 pounds at an American Society of Civil Engineering conference held at the University of Memphis.
This year was the first that the LSU teams placed first in both the concrete canoe and steel bridge competitions, beating six other contending colleges.
The canoe competition requires the creation of a concrete mix that is lighter than water.
“Basically, you have to find materials that are lightweight and come up with something that is close to or less than the unit weight of water,” said Garrett Sutley, captain of the concrete canoe team.
To make the concrete float, the team replaced the rocky component of concrete with a mix of clay and glass microspheres they mixed with cement.
The canoe team members were judged not only on design and execution but also on their boat’s performance in the water.
Students participated in canoe races that accounted for 25 percent of their overall score.
Jason Grzych, member of the canoe team, said the concrete canoe, which weighed 190 pounds, did not maneuver nearly as easily as those forged from more common materials.
“It’s hard to get going, but once it gets going, it’s hard to stop,” Grzych said. “And it’s hard to turn.”
Twenty University students collaborated on the projects, which required a combined total of more than 1,300 hours of pre-competition preparation time.
The students, divided into two teams of 10 members, spent the fall devising their plans of action and the spring giving form to their designs.
The ASCE puts out a new rule book each year with building specifications to which the teams must adhere.
“They put it on a different way each year,” said Jason Fennell, captain of the steel bridge team. “They change the dimensions, the layout. That’ll affect how we build it.”
The team’s bridge, which measured 22 feet and weighed about 150 pounds, was able to sustain more than one ton of weight. The structure was designed and built entirely by University students.
“We did all our cutting, welding, machining – everything,” Fennel said. “It was all about teamwork.”
The teams’ successes earned them spots at ASCE national competitions, which will be held over the summer.
 
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