the Concrete
Canoe Team
11/5/09
We're off to a great start! Here's an update on the current state of the
project.
Mix Design Progress
Tonight, a group of us met and casted a total of 9 cylinders,
comprising 3 separate designs. We have a great start on this aspect of the project, and will
be using the next 3-4 weeks to continue to cast cylinders and adjust
designs as needed. We will be meeting Sunday night, November 8th, at 7pm
in the Trans lab to discuss the rules for the mix design and to set a
direction to take for next week's mixes. Everyone is still welcome for this
meeting, so if you missed the meeting tonight it's ok. Please take the time
to review the attached rules under the section that refers to the mix
guidelines before Sunday. The template for the mix design spreadsheet is
attached to this e-mail with a sample mix. Keep in mind that the rules,
unit weight (less than 62 lb/ft^3), and strength will be governing the
selection.
Mold Preparation
The concrete canoe national committee gives the exact
coordinates and dimensions of the hull which defines the shape of the
canoe. These coordinates have been translated into a working 3D model by
Dr. Chalou with Unigraphics.
I've sent this model to the supplier who will be providing the full-scale
polystyrene mold for us, and was quoted about 3-5 weeks before it is
available. As soon as they are finished, your teammates below will be
taking care of the preparation of ribbing and any other modifications that
we decide on.
(Christine Pageau, Drew Newell, Nathan Bouvy, Goran Arya, Jordan McNally, and Phil
Armstrong)
Reinforcement Design
I was
able to convince Dr. Wolff to give us enough budget
to use carbon fiber scrim reinforcements this year. Two years ago, this was
used with excellent results. There are plenty of other options to look
into. Nathan Bouvy, Paul Shiefer,
Andrew Moran, and Jordan McNally, could you please start researching
the pro's and con's of the carbon scrim and any
others that you feel are appropriate?
Canoe Art and Aesthetics
We need
to start thinking about a theme for the canoe. Please check the rules, and
get the brainstorming going. Christine Pageau,
Jordan McNally, and Jeanette Benzie are
responsible for this aspect of the project. Jeanette is heading up the
T-shirt design. If any of you have an idea for the theme or t-shirt, feel
free to contact them using the e-mails above.
K-12 Outreach
Once we get a solid mix design, Goran
Arya and Dong Nguyen have volunteered to make
a scale model of the canoe to show young kids at schools in the area. We're
thinking about a 1:5 scale model which would be 2 feet long.
Structural Analysis
Zhen Zheng will be helping us out with
the structural analysis. As a graduate student, he has the experience and
knowledge that will go a long ways in analyzing the way the canoe will
handle the stresses of paddlers.
If you're interested in helping out in any of these areas, please contact
either myself of those who are responsible for the corresponding tasks.
Jonathan Libby, jlibby32@gmail.com