UAF engineers win first place in steel bridge-building competition
Published Sunday, May 11, 2008
Not only did the University of Alaska Fairbanks Steel Bridge Team make one, they made it look good.
The team’s bridge was built with Alaska-shaped pieces of steel spread throughout the bridge’s design, helping the team capture the top spot at the American Institute of Steel Construction Student Steel Bridge Regional Competition. They also collected first place in the lightness and economy categories, second place in aesthetics and efficiency and third place in stiffness.
At the competition held in Portland, Ore., UAF beat out 15 other teams including those from the University of Alaska Anchorage, Ohio University and Seattle University.
On May 21, the team travels to Gainsville, Fla., to compete for the national title. Team adviser Leroy Hulsey said the UAF team won the national championship in 1993 and tied for the top position in 1996.
Until then, the six-person team of Elliot Wilson, Ricky Pitts, Jon Hutchinson, Nick Belmont, Larry Mosley and Jacob Horazdovsky will work on improving their construction time. The team erected its bridge in 10 and a half minutes at regionals after incurring some penalties.
The bridge weighs 170 pounds and is built to hold 2,700 pounds in 36 different combinations. During a competition, dice are rolled to determine where testing weights will be placed. The dice randomize the weight placement, ensuring the bridge must be built to withstand real-world forces. With the weight in place, the bridge is then measured to see how much it flexes under stress — determining the stiffness criteria.
Wilson said the UAF won the lightness category because the structure is made from hollow cylindrical pieces which provide higher strength at lower weight.The bridge has proved it can hold 2,700 pounds well, but the team members said they don’t know what the weight limit for the bridge is.
“We don’t design to fail, we design to perform,” Wilson said.
They don’t just design, they build. The bridge is completely student-made, which Wilson said was one of the hardest yet most rewarded things about being on the team.
“Design in the theoretical mindset doesn’t mean much if (the bridge) can’t be constructed,” he said.
“This team built every piece of that bridge. Some schools come up with a design and send it to a fabrication shop — not this team,” Hulsey said. “This is their idea and their work.”
While it may only take a couple of minutes to set up the bridge, it took a bit longer to construct.
“We were welding at 4 a.m., but that was only for a couple of days,” Hutchinson said.
Pitts added that marathon welding sessions might not be the best idea, and he has the scars to prove it.
At a public demonstration, the team put together the bridge after laying their eyes on it for the first time since the Portland competition. Though they said they were a bit rusty, the team constructed the bridge in slightly more than 10 minutes. Hulsey said that with practice and preparation, the team will be able to get that time under seven and a half minutes.
“I’m very proud of them; I have no doubt in my mind,” Hulsey said.
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UAF STUDENT ENGINEERS: CONGRATULATIONS! You make us proud of you and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Brilliant minds, hard work and dedication to benefit us all. WOW!
I am surprised some schools are allowed to send their designs to fabrication shops. That makes me just that much more proud that UAF built their own.
Congrats!
Heh, heh....Not bad when you're from the "Bridge to Nowhere" state. Seriously though: Congrats to the UAF Steel Bridge Team!
Congradulations and good luck at nationals. I wonder if it is affordable and portable enough to haul on an ATV for stream crossings.
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