The WKU steel bridge team is second place after second place in the regional competition in April for second place in the final of the student Steel Bridge.
The team also received the Robert Ridgeway Student Chapter Award as the most outstanding student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers for 2025.
The competition that is held by the American society of civil engineers and the American Institute of Steel ConstructionIs one of four managerial projects that Majors can choose as the final request for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, according to the leading main technology major and the team member Caroline Cook.
The Steel Bridge team previously traveled to the University of Notre Dame to take part in the regional competition against seven other schools.
WKU ended the bridges for each component in the regional competition:
- 2. Overall
- 1. In ease
- 1. In the construction speed
- 1. In stiffness, the measure of the strength of the bridge
- 2. In aesthetics
- 2. In efficiency
- 3. The cost estimate
The members of the Steel Bridge team include the Co-Captains Nate Bruner and Jack Barton, Compliance Leads Caroline Cook and Kennedy Sizemore, Safety and Office Associates Scott Robert and Cole Hollinsworth, Design Lead Morgan Cambron and the Bauteam Carson Millay, Clayton Goff, Gabe and Konor Mason.
Cook said List of the requirements provided by AISC.
“There are many specifications and things you have to go through to find out how you will build this bridge. This is essentially what we do for a whole year,” said Cook.
According to Cook, each team has to develop an architectural design and complete their own construction of the steel bridge.
“The first semester is spent by the rule book and the design of the bridge,” said Cook. “In the spring semester, the big focus is on cutting the steel members, welding the steel members and building the bridge.”
During the competition, the members have to restore their design with minimal punishments as soon as possible, e.g. B. a bolt or steel member. The winner is determined on the basis of the construction period and the estimated costs for the construction of the bridge.
The 20-foot bridge must meet certain criteria, and the team receives a deduction from their score for each error found by the judges.
Each aspect of the building of the bridge corresponds to a dollar amount that contributes to the team's score. As soon as the bridge is complete, £ 2500 is placed on the bridge to determine how much it bends.
“They compete against schools from New York to California, so I think that it will be very interesting to see their approaches for how they do things because they are taught different processes than we do,” said Cook.
Shane Palmquist, an engineering professor at the WKU, acts as a consultant of the Steel Bridge team.
“The attempt to cut off at Nationals is very challenging because there are many big schools that bring a lot of time and resources long,” said Palmquist.
Although national competition is very competitive, Palmquist hopes to see the team in the top 25.
“The fact that our students build and build the bridge themselves weld the bridge and learn how to weld,” said Palmquist. “Other schools will have a manufacturer in which these students do everything themselves.”
The Steel Bridge team from WKU will compete at the IOWA State University from May 30th to 31st at the SSBC 2025.