The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Concrete Canoe Competition challenges students to design and fabricate a canoe out of concrete which will be raced at the 2025 Metropolitan Regional competition at White Meadow Lake in Rockaway, NJ. The design of the canoe had to follow the material restrictions presented by the Committee on Concrete Canoe Competitions while considering the constructability of the canoe. The material restrictions were a minimum of 35% aggregates by volume, maximum cement by mass of 50%, and maximum hydrated lime by mass of 15%. The 2025 TCNJ team sought to focus on three things: materials design, constructability, and quality of the final product. The hull was designed using Freeship software accounting for a flat bottom profile with a length of 16 feet, beam of 2.5 feet, and depth of 1.75 feet. A structural analysis was completed to find the minimum required compressive and tensile strengths as 13 psi and 14 psi, respectively. A male mold will be constructed from plywood ribs and masonite strips to fabricate the canoe. A mix is being designed which includes poraver, portland and slag cement, hydrated lime, and admixtures with an expected unit weight of 61 pcf. The engineering cost and service for the fall semester was $25,600, and the engineering cost and service estimate for the spring semester is $21,400.
The team is happy to report a very productive fall semester. Throughout the fall, the team was grateful to have several donors who contributed to our material stockpile and monetary donations. These companies include HNTB Corporation, Civil Tec, JDM Materials, and Heidelburg Materials.
To finish the semester, the team presented its progress to the civil engineering faculty. A link to this presentation can be found below.