Engineering Students Advance to National Steel Bridge Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 9, 2003
Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Joel Arthur, Civil Engineering Adviser
530-898-4292
Engineering Students Advance to National Steel Bridge Competition
For the seventh consecutive year, California State University, Chico civil engineering students have earned a berth at the National Steel Bridge Competition by placing in the top two schools at the Regional competition. Regionals, known as Mid-Pac, were held at CSU, Fresno on April 26.
The team and its adviser, Joel Arthur, professor of civil engineering, will be traveling to San Diego, California, for the national competition on Memorial Day weekend. They hope to beat long-standing rival Sacramento State, to whom they narrowly lost at the regional competition. CSU, Chico won the National Steel Bridge competition held at Texas A&M in May 2000.
The American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Institute of Steel Construction sponsor the annual event. Chico’s team competed against seven schools from Northern California and Nevada, including UC Berkeley, University of Nevada, Reno, UC Davis, Stanford University and Sacramento State.
The competition requires that student teams from each university fabricate a dimensionally scaled bridge from structural steel and then construct their bridge over an imaginary 23-foot-wide river with an island 14 feet from one shore. The bridge must have two pieces, or spans, to cover the short and long portions of the river. The Chico team used advanced computer modeling and design techniques to analyze and design a steel bridge to meet construction specifications.
Chico’s 23 1/2-foot long, 184-pound steel bridge easily supported the 2,500 pounds of loading. Eight students assembled the bridge in a fast 6 minutes and 46 seconds, which contributed to their second place in the tight race with Sacramento State.
A competitor is allowed to carry only one bridge member at a time from the staging areas, located on each side of the river, to the riverbanks to complete the assembly of the 50-piece bridge. The total construction time is obtained by multiplying the number of competitors and the assembly time; then time penalties are added for such things as dropping bolts or touching the river.
After assembly, the bridge is moved to a loading station where movement up or down (deflection) is measured for two loading challenges with a total of 2,500 pounds: 1,500 pounds is placed uniformly over the center 6 feet of the long span of the bridge and 1,000 pounds over the center 3 feet of the short span. Deflections are measured at three different points and times in the loading process to come up with an aggregate score.
After surviving the loading tests, the bridge is weighed, completing the competition. Awards are given based on the three numbers from construction: speed of construction, total deflection and weight (lighter is better).
“The competition is unparalleled as a learning task, as it demands that students apply and test theoretical concepts related to the analysis, design and performance optimization of structures,” said Arthur.
Team captain Matt King along with team members Sergio Damian, Paul Rabo, Michael Kuykendall, Steve Grupico, Jessica Brandt, John Calvert, Melanie Lawrence and faculty adviser Arthur are busy modifying the bridge design to make it even more competitive at the national competition. Technician Jim Luallen provides guidance and assistance to the team throughout the construction process.
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