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Students participate in bridge conference

By Danae DeShazer

Friday, April 27, 2007

Forty-two brightly hand-painted red and blue pieces of steel lay ready for construction for the University of Kansas steel bridge. The project was for the American Society of Civil Engineers Mid-Continent Regional Conference on Thursday afternoon in Lawrence. The conference started yesterday and lasts until Saturday, with all Saturday events at Lone Star Lake.

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Photo by Anna Faltermeier

Brian Hamilton, Olathe junior, stretches across the simulated river between the base ends of the bridge constructed by KU engineering students Thursday afternoon. The students constructed the bridge as part of the American Society of Engineers Mid-Continent Regional Conference Steel Bridge competition. The KU students' bridge collapsed during judging after 1,250 pounds was loaded onto the bridge.

Team co-captain Justin Clay, Kansas City, Kan., senior, said he was nervous and worried about their assembly, as he watched the team before them finish up.

“I’ve seen how good the other bridges look and how fast they were assembled,” Clay said.

Eleven university teams registered to participate in the Steel Bridge Competition, which is only one of the 10 categories of the Mid-Continent Conference. The Mid-Continent Conference was hosted in Lawrence this year, the first time in about 10 years.

For the Steel Bridge Competition, each team is allowed one hour to assemble their designed steel bridge over a “river.” However, after 30 minutes they are penalized. The bridges, once assembled, are judged on display, construction speed, lightness, stiffness, efficiency and overall performance.

During the judging for KU’s steel bridge, the infrastructure collapsed. Josh Crain, Overland Park junior and team co-captain. said the company who made the red box trusses that lined the base structure did not weld them correctly.

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The KU team of about 20 engineering students has been preparing since September, when they started designing the structure. Joe Pattison, Overland Park junior, said the team looked at what other successful teams had done to create its own original design.

A total of 2,500 pounds is used in the weight judging. When the load got to 1,250 pounds, the welding went out.

“It was really disappointing,” Crain said. “But there is a momentum going into next year to help the program grow.”

Crain said the team was young and had a lot of room for improvement. He said the University’s program was different than others, because it was all voluntary and an out-of-class commitment. He said Kansas State University’s program got credit through a mandatory class, making it easier for people to get involved.

The collapsing did not disqualify the team, but did heavily penalize their overall score, ranking the team in the bottom half, Crain said.

Clay said that last year the KU team was disqualified for a similar problem. After weight had been placed on the structure, it deflected an inch — which was the disqualification length.

The KU team of about 20 engineering students has been preparing since September, when they started designing the structure. Joe Pattison, Overland Park junior, said the team looked at what other successful teams had done to create its own original design.

After creating a design the team liked, the design was sent to Builder’s Steel Co. in North Kansas City, Mo., to create the steel pieces. Only six members of the KU team actually constructed the bridge. The team worked to weld and create holes in the pieces to lessen the weight.

Pattison, a first-year member, said he was impressed with Kansas State University’s assembly.

“K-State looked like they didn’t even use nuts and bolts,” Pattison said. “Everything just clicked into place. It only took them about six minutes.”

Pattison said there were many intricate rules while constructing the bridge, including dropping anything in the “river” and the way it’s assembled. Pattison said the team needed tall members to reach across the “river” and attach the pieces together. The KU bridge was constructed in 24 minutes.

Other members of the KU chapter of ASCE took positions as conference chairs and coordinators. Kris Finger, Lawrence junior, is the fundraising chair for ASCE, and decided to be a conference chair. He brought back the concrete bowling ball competition. He is one of the four individual competitors, who will create a concrete bowling ball and have it judged on appearance, shape, and ability to roll down a lane.

Theresa Rohlfs, Topeka senior, chose to be the Steel Bridge competition chair. She said she had been working to prepare for the competition since last Spring. “It’s great to see it all come together,” Rohlfs said. “For a few moments, you kind of wonder if it’s all going to come together. And now it’s finally happening.”

Kansan staff writer Danae DeShazer can be contacted at ddeshazer@kansan.com.

—Edited by Lisa Tilson

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