Lakehead U’s Steel Bridge Team Takes Second
(Thunder Bay, Ontario - March 4, 2004) The Lakehead University Civil Engineering team received a second-place standing at the American Institute of Steel Construction/American Society for Civil Engineering Mid-West Regional Student Steel Bridge Competition this past weekend at the University of Minnesota.
The goal of the competition is to design a 1/10 scale model replacement bridge that meets a set of specifications. The specifications for the bridges changes from year to year, constantly challenging the engineering skills of Civil Engineering Students from Universities all over the United States and Canada. Not only does the event test the students' structural design capabilities, it also challenges them to actually fabricate and construct their design. The bridges are judged based on lightness, construction speed, stiffness (deflection), aesthetics, efficiency and economy.
The Lakehead team, the only Canadian team in the competition, comprises: Gail Cryer, Tyler Madigan, James Neufeld, Neil Penner, Erick Fisk, and Lori Foti. Their 26-foot long bridge weighed 109lbs and was assembled in 7 minutes and 13 seconds.
The bridge is designed and fabricated at the University by the students, and it is constructed into pieces of a specific size that are to be assembled in competition. Spectators watch as the team assembles the bridge as quickly as possible. Once assembled, the bridge is weighed and then loaded with 2500lbs of weight to test the deflection. The challenge of this year's competition was the placement of the load along the bridge. The placement of two of the loads was determined by the roll of a dice. The teams had to design their bridges by examining thirty-six possible load cases.
"Our team works well together, and I'm very pleased with their accomplishments at the competition," says Dr. Timo Tikka, the team's faculty advisory and professor in the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Lakehead.
The bridge took second prize for aesthetics, seventh for assembly time, and second for structural efficiency - placing second overall. This ranking qualifies Lakehead for the U.S. National Steel Bridge Competition to be held in Denver, Colorado on May 28-29. Lakehead's teams have done consistently well at the national level, placing second in 2002 and fifth in 2003.
The team is looking for sponsors for their upcoming competition.
Dr. Tikka is available for interviews by calling him directly at 343-8560.
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Contact: Marla Tomlinson, Office of Communications, Lakehead University, 807-343-8177.