After placing first in the Deep South Regional Competition in March, the American Society of Civil Engineers Steel Bridge Team is preparing to travel to Golden, Col. for the National Student Steel Bridge Competition.
On May 28 and 29, 40 teams will compete against the University in the national competition.
The winning university will receive monetary prizes and valuable publicity for its civil engineering department, said Shane Sterba, a civil engineering senior.
The team currently has 24 members ranging from freshmen to seniors and is advised by Dave Robertson, civil engineering research specialist for the University, said Jason Duhon, a civil engineering junior.
The team’s bridge design is 25 feet long, four feet wide and two feet tall and is broken down into more than 40 separate pieces that can be easily interlocked, like a large puzzle, Duhon said.
A steel bridge competition consists of two parts: a timed construction portion in which six team members must put the pieces of the bridge together as quickly as possible, and a structural aspect in which as much as 2,500 pounds of steel is placed on the bridge to see if the structure sags under the weight, Godbold said.
“The 2,500 pounds of steel that the bridge has to hold is about the weight of a Ford Mustang,” Godbold said. “Bridges must be designed so that its pieces can be assembled quickly and sturdy enough to hold a lot of added weight.”
Duhon said the team began preparing for the competition in August 2003.
“Five or six possible designs are drafted and one of them is chosen,” Sterba said. “The design has to be modular and easily broken down because we weld the bridge in separate pieces.”
The mechanical engineering Machine Shop provided the Steel Bridge Team with the workshop and proper tools to make the design a reality, Godbold said.
In addition to stressful course-loads, the team has devoted almost 2,000 volunteer hours planning, building and practicing for competitions, Godbold said.
Duhon said after the pieces of the bridge have been welded, the team must practice putting them together quickly to do well in the timed assembly portion of the competition.
“I remember before regional competition, we were practicing between three and six hours a day,” said Anna Wheeler, a civil engineering senior. “Jason [Duhon] was always driving us to practice until we did it right. I probably complained at the time, but without him, we would not have done half as well in the timed competition.”
The team currently is practicing for the national competition. Duhon said they are working to assemble the pieces of the bridge in fewer than four minutes.
These competitions offer more than name recognition to the students and the University.
“Networking is an important part of competitions,” Godbold said. “They bring engineers from across the United States together. People click with one another and better designs arise from being exposed to innovative ideas. This is a great way for the LSU Civil Engineering department to increase its reputation as well.”
But participation in the contest can be costly.
Godbold estimates the costs of participating in the regional and national competitions to be more than $10,000. All the money is raised through fundraisers, donations from local businesses and the civil engineering department. To fund travel expenses for the national competition, the team is trying to raise an additional $2,000.
A jambalaya sale is being held Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. across from the main computer lab in CEBA near the building’s southeast entrance. Tickets are being sold prior to the event for five dollars and jambalaya also is available without a ticket for six dollars.
Last year, the University Steel Bridge Team placed 13th in the national competition. Godbold said he hopes to be successful this year as well.
“We are going to trust we’ve done the best job we can,” Godbold said.