HIGH STRENGTH CONCRETE COMPETITION
(Aim for 50 MPa Compressive Strength!)
Design, Prepare and Test (High Strength Concrete) Specimens
Criteria:
1. 50 MPa compressive strength
2. 2400 kg/m3 density
3. Highest cementitious efficiency
4. Lowest cost
Prizes for the top three winners!!
Winners will be selected based on submissions meeting the (Objective)
June 25, 2022 - (Casting)
July 2, 2022, 7 days after casting date (Testing)
July 23, 2022, 28 days after casting date (Testing)
The University of Jordan Labs
Registration:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeBqHSjxsQdPeJMy9POmWJIwrRoUzklOL0yIDDvStKi92lIcA/viewform?usp=sf_link
1 OBJECTIVE
1. To produce concrete cubes with an average compressive strength of (50 MPa) and a saturated surface- dry density of about (2400 kg/m3) with the highest cementitious efficiency and the lowest cost. To prepare and submit a report as per section 7 of this competition. (100 points)
2. To prepare and present a Flash Poster (within 2 min.) explaining the process of designing, preparing, testing the cubes & outlining the main findings. One example of a Flash Poster presentation can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx9TEDTlSQA. (20 points)
2 PRIZES
To be announced.
3 THE RULES
1. Design and prepare concrete mix.
2. Use cement economically! Cost is a factor in the competition.
3. Use and test 3 concrete cubes (cube side: 150 mm).
4. (Final) concrete mix to be supervised in the Concrete Lab. at JU.
5. Curing:
a. Cubes to be tested must be standard laboratory moist cured, provided that the cubes do not leave JU labs.
b. Cubes must be at or near room temperature at the time of testing.
c. No external loads may be applied during curing (including pressure).
d. Final mixes and cubes must be prepared and tested at JU.
6. Laboratory materials allowed: Type I portland cement, silica fume, crushed limestone, natural aggregate, natural sand, superplasticizer, set retarder.
7. Any other materials will NOT be allowed including those below:
a. Steel or metallic aggregate or reinforcement.
b. Fibers of any size.
8. Cubes will be tested at (28 days). The average compressive strength of (three) cubes will be calculated.
4 ELIGIBILITY
1. Participants must be undergraduate civil engineering students currently enrolled at university.
2. Teams of up to three students (maximum) may participate. A student may not be a member of more than one team.
3. Each team may submit one entry only.
4. Students have to register their team and testing plan with the competition (Technical Manager) before they are given clearance to start work in the lab.
5 SPECIMEN TESTING
The strength and density will be scored for how close the measured values are to the specified values. The cost will be the sum of the costs of the individual materials, priced at contest assigned costs (to be provided). The cement efficiency will be the compressive strength divided by the total amount of cementitious material in one cubic meter of mix for a result in MPa/#cement per cubic meter. The report and flash poster, each, will be given scores of 5 (excellent), 4 (very good), 3 (good), 2 (fair) or 1 (poor). The following formula will be utilized to compute the score, out of 120, of (items 1 and 2) in the (Objective):
Score120= (20-2.5|∆fcu|)+(20-0.25|∆D|)+(20-2|∆S|)+(20-400|∆Eff|)+4RS+4FPS
Where:
∆fcu= fcu - 50 MPa; fcu is the measured average compressive strength of three cubes.
|∆fcu| is limited to 8 MPa
∆D = D - 2400 kg / m3; D is the measured average density of three cubes.
|∆D| is limited to 80 kg / m3
∆S is the deviation from the lowest cost design.
|∆s| is limited to 10 JD
∆Eff is the deviation from the most efficient design; efficiency = f’c ⁄ kg cement per cubic meter.
|∆Eff| is limited to 0.04 MPa / kg
RS is report score; 5 (excellent), 4 (very good), 3 (good), 2 (fair), 1 (poor), 0 (none)
FPs is flash poster score; 5 (excellent), 4 (very good), 3 (good), 2 (fair), 1 (poor), 0 (none)
6 JUDGING
1. Three judges will be appointed by the student competition committee.
2. The judges will determine whether or not the rules have been followed.
3. The decision of the judges will be final, and no appeals are allowed.
4. The judges may, if needed, use any means to verify the requirements of the competition.
5. The student competition committee retains the right to modify these rules as special circumstances arise.
7 SUBMITTING THE MIX DESIGN, TESTING FORMS, REPORT AND FLASH POSTER
The Official Mix Design and Testing Forms along with the written report must be emailed to
jicec@jea.org.jo by Aug 21, 2022.
The (Report) must be sent as a (Microsoft Word) document and the (Mix Design and Testing Forms) must be sent as (Microsoft Excel) spreadsheets. Formats other than Word and Excel will not be accepted. Failure to meet this deadline will result in a score of zero for the report. These forms are used in scoring the competition. They must be correct and are subject to verification. (Hard copies) of The Official Mix Design and Testing Forms & written Report must be submitted (in person) on the (Day of Testing the cubes).
A (Flash poster) as per the requirements of item 1 (Objective) shall also be emailed to jicec@jea.org.jo, A hard copy of the (Flash poster) must be brought to the conference to be used during the presentation.
All Civil Engineering Students are invited!
For questions, clarifications, or a copy of the rules, e-mail JICEC8
(jicec@jea.org.jo) or go to our website (jeaconf.org/jicec)