Concrete Canoe Competition

2007 Concrete Canoe Competition

What is it?

The concrete canoe competition is an ASCE sponsored event that challenges student chapters from colleges all over the United States and parts of Canada to build a canoe out of concrete and then compete in a regional or national competition. The canoe is judged based on design, an oral presentation, aesthetic qualities and race results.

Design Process

There are 3 important parts of the design process:

Concrete Mix Design and Testing

A mix of concrete needs to be created that is lightweight while also having a high compressive strength. Therefore various types of materials are mixed and tested to find the strongest mix.

Interested? Contact Becky Novak at u_rnovak@umassd.edu

Reinforcement Design and Testing

While needing to be lightweight enough to float, the boat needs to be reinforced to maintain strength and structure within the hull. Various types of reinforcement such as carbon fiber, armor mesh and steel fiber mesh are researched and tested.

Interested contact Nate Ketchel at u_nketchel@umassd.edu

Hull Design / Mold Construction

Hull design also plays an important part in the overall design. The hull must be made to go through the water quickly and resist the stress and strain from various loadings. Different shape characteristics are researched and software models are used to test the design.

Interested contact Peter Kotowski at u_pkotowski@umassd.edu

Where and When?

New England Regional Competition

April 21^st -22^nd

Wentworth Institute of Technology

Boston, Massachusetts

National Competition

June 14^th – June 16^th

University of Washington

Seattle, Washington

Links

American Society of Civil Engineers