Students:
- Sean Covely
- Jaclynn Ferraro (PM)
- Amanda Hess
- Aileen Leahy
- Paul Napoli
Advisor: V. Krstic
TCNJ’s Concrete Canoe team competed in the 2012 ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition. The Metropolitan Regional Competition was held on April 22, 2012 at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The ultimate goal of the concrete canoe senior project was to place at the 2012 regional competition and advance onto the National platform. In order to accomplish this task the preliminary mix design, hull design, hydraulic analysis, structural analysis, and planning process were completed during Senior Project I. During Senior Project II the final mix design, as well as the construction of the mold, display stand, canoe, table display, and paddle training were completed. The hull, structural and mix designs were all primarily designed to completion during Senior Project I and the design was implemented during Senior Project II. The largest undertaking was the construction of the canoe. The final concrete mix contained the following materials: Type I cement, fly ash, slag, cenospheres, Poraver, Metamax, charcoal cement color, water, fibers, Superplasticizer and Air Entrainer. This final mix has a 28 day compressive strength of 1332 psi and a unit weight of 59.6 lb/ft^3. Fiberglass mesh was used during construction to assure the canoe remains structurally sound. The structural analysis concluded that the canoe has a maximum bending moment of 2167.7 ft*lb, maximum surface stress of 233.34 psi, maximum bending stress of 335.28 psi, and a flexural capacity of 426.5 psi. The mix design was able to overcome all of these forces. It was determined that the part of the canoe under the most stress was the middle and the least stressed were the side walls. Therefore more structural reinforcement was placed on the bottom of the canoe than the sides. Using the hull analysis results from Senior Project I center of gravity was found to be down the middle of the canoe, 120.21’ from the stern, and .80’ from the bottom. Accounting for the final hull dimensions of 21’ length, 34” beam and a 19” depth, two display stands were constructed to assure the canoe would be secure while on location at the race. At the conclusion of Senior Project II the team has designed and constructed a mold, the canoe, a transportation stand, and a table display. The concrete was also placed, patterned, sanded, and sealed. The team met their goal of completing the canoe for the final race in April 2012 and competing against other colleges in the Metropolitan Region.