2007–2008 ASCE Concrete Canoe
Nathan Nguyen
Yosuke Arai
Joseph Carbajal
Mentor: Ayman Mosallam
The ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition is an annual national event that brings Civil Engineering college students together to design, build, and race a canoe composed of concrete and reinforcements. The competition is intended to advance the field of concrete construction and teach students the fundamentals of managing a complex and competitive engineering project. The ASCE chapter at UCI participates in the PSWRC (Pacific Southwest Regional Conference), which is an annual conference attended by the ASCE branches from all the largest colleges in Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, and Hawaii. This year’s Canoe, titled “Beat It,” implemented new reinforcement and hull design features, including X-rib bracing and a false back, which results in an extended effective length. The advanced technology of finite element analysis programs and 3-D solid modeling allowed this years’ team to provide an analysis of reinforcement placement and required concrete mix compressive strengths. The use of complex technology combined with new materials such as microspheres and water-reducing admixtures have allowed the creation of the most competitive boat from UCI to date.