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The ASCE Concrete Canoe team finished 6^{th<\/sup> at the Pacific Southwest Regional competition in mid-April. Out of 16 schools, NAU\u2019s finish is great for one of the smallest (and smallest funded) programs! This year\u2019s team consisted of Elise Cheever, Jonathan Brusnahan, Sara Watts, Kelli Rider, and Naser Aljaberi.<\/li>\n}

The EnE program sent two of our senior Capstone project teams to the International Environmental Design Contest sponsored by the Institute for Energy & the Environment \u2013 WERC (Consortium for Environmental Education and Technology Development), held at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM on April 7-11, 2013.\u00a0 22 teams from universities around the country and Canada competed in several design task divisions. Our two projects were the design of a solar-powered water distillation unit and a composite landfill cap design using paper sludge waste material. The landfill team won the Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Award for Innovation in Sustainability for their design.\u00a0This team also won a $7500 Engineering Award for Connecting Professional Practice and Education from NCEES (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Landfill Team Award Ceremony. From left: Freeport-McMoRan rep| John Jowers| Nathaniel Lail| Gabriel Murray| Annalise O\u2019Toole| Daniel Hamill| and Amy Anderson<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Solar Distillation Team: From left: Yiguo Chen| Ben Shields| Yang Yang| Chaz Enbody| Banning Burt and faculty advisory Willie Odem (bottom)<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n\n <\/div>\n\n
2013 CENE Senior Capstone Projects<\/h3>\n
CENE Senior Capstone Projects 2013 are underway. This year, we are starting a CENE 476 section this spring to conclude in Fall 2013 to support December graduates. For full project details, check out:http:\/\/www.cefns.nau.edu\/Research\/D4P\/ProjectList.php<\/a><\/p>\n
Fall 2012 \/ Spring 2013 Projects<\/h4>\n
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Design of NAU Challenge Course Obstacle Wall (2 teams)<\/li>\n
ASCE Pacific Southwest Regional Conference \u2013 Concrete Canoe<\/li>\n
ASCE Pacific Southwest Regional Conference \u2013 Steel Bridge (2 teams)<\/li>\n
WERC Environmental Competition \u2013 Design of Solar Distillation System Design<\/li>\n
Cinder Lakes Landfill \u2013 Evaluation and Design of Waste Paper Pulp Sludge as Landfill Composite Cap<\/li>\n
Flow Restoration for Native Fish Downstream of the Diamond S Irrigation Diversion, Verde River<\/li>\n
Site Plan and Design for a Proposed Hualapai Museum<\/li>\n
Evaluation of BNSF Bridge for Use on the FUTS Trail, Picture Canyon<\/li>\n
Hazard Evaluation of the Ashfork-Bainbridge Steel Dam. The dam was built in 1898 \u2013 14 years before Arizona became a state! It is one of only three existing steel dams in the U.S. and is recognized as a historic landmark by ASCE. The dam is 46\u2019 high and about 300\u2019 long. Located within the Kaibab National Forest, it currently operates under the supervision of the National Forest Service. Students are responsible for assessing its current condition including a structural analysis of the steel members and a stability analysis of the supports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \n \n PCI Big Beam Team from left: Junfeng Qian| Qi Wang| Shiyu Wang| Jessica Kettelkamp and Daniel Washburn.<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n\n <\/div>\n\n
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PCI Big Beam Contest (2 teams).\u00a0 Sponsored by TPac Precast Phoenix, the Precast \/ Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI), and Sika Corporation, NAU\u2019s teams are the first from Arizona. Teams collaborate with a PCI Producer Member (TPac Precast Phoenix) to build a 20\u2019 long precast-prestressed concrete beam capable of carrying 20,000# without cracking and failing at a load < 39,000#. Prior to testing, students must predict the cracking load, ultimate load, and ultimate deflection. Beams are slated to be tested in April.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Spring 2013 \/ Fall 2013 Projects<\/h4>\n
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Schultz Creek Restoration<\/li>\n
Cave Springs Restoration<\/li>\n
NAU On-Site Wastewater Demonstration Site Lift Station Evaluation<\/li>\n
Camp Verde Community Parks and Recreation Fields Site Department<\/li>\n
Flagstaff Watershed Modeling<\/li>\n
Pervious Concrete Testing<\/li>\n
Nitrate-Contaminated Groundwater Treatment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Year 1 Report on the New C4P<\/h3>\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \n \n The new C4P \u201cclassroom.\u201d<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n\n <\/div>\n\n
Our first year of C4P<\/strong> (Construct4Practice) has received excellent reviews by both students and professors. The lab is a highly collaborative environment between senior, junior and sophomore students who take on the respective roles of construction project managers \/ superintendents, designers, and subcontractors. The three teams work together using online project management software and in-person communication to design and build a complicated system of interrelated construction materials.\u00a0 The class culminates in a full size 8\u2019x8\u2019 commercial building mockup containing aspects of concrete, masonry, metal stud framing, exterior sheathing, waterproofing, plumbing, electrical, drywall, and acoustical ceilings. The real world conversations and constructability challenges that the students experience during the semester have proven to be a learning opportunity that effectively ties all of their classroom studies together in one project.<\/p>\n
Concrete research<\/h3>\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Tanner Wytroval testing a SFRC section in the lab.<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n\n <\/div>\n\n
Concrete Research <\/strong>has MS candidate Tanner Wytroval studying the confining properties of steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC). Tanner\u2019s investigation is the first of its kind and, contrary to common belief, he discovered that steel fibers can provide a structural benefit or increase in compressive strength. Concrete reinforced with as little as 0.5% fibers by volume was able to achieve as much as a 22% increase in strength.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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