As mentioned in February’s newsletter, the Gulf Coast Chapter of the student ASCE held their symposium at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL on March 9th through March 11th. Along with many familiar competitions like the Steel Bridge and the Concrete Canoe, the Prestressed Mini Beam competition was held for the first time ever at this event. A total of 8 teams participated in the event. The overall idea of the competition was to use bass guitar strings to act as the prestressing force within a concrete beam. Each team had control over the ultimate shape of the beam, but defining factors such as the length, width and height of the formwork, as well as the amount of “concrete” material that was provided dictated the final product. The length of each beam was mandated at 32”. Each team received 4 packs of bass guitar strings with each pack containing 4 stings of various diameters. The “concrete” was actually Quikcrete mortar mix readily available with an ultimate strength of 750 psi. Since the testing of the beams was conducted within 20 hours of casting, the mortar mix only achieved a strength of 239 psi. The students were allowed to use as many or as little of the strings as they wished. As an example, one team used 12 of the bass strings and another team only used 2. Teams were judged on 2 aspects of their beam, overall carrying capacity of their beam and the percent difference in calculations of ultimate capacity and actual capacity. The heaviest weight carried by a beam was 410 lbs. by The University of Alabama Birmingham and the closest margin of calculation was 5.6%. by Louisiana Tech. The overall winner of the event was Auburn University. From a judge’s point of view, the innovation and ingenuity of the students was amazing. Next year, the University of New Orleans will host the ASCE Gulf Coast Student Symposium.
