NUASCE

For this week’s lecture, Mauro Scali from Simpson, Gumpertz, and Heger spoke about the process and applications of concrete petrography.   Concrete petrography is the study of hardened concrete micro-structure using microscopic techniques.  This study can help with the understanding of concrete conditions that lead to the failure of structures.  Mauro explained that the answers to questions on how and why a structure collapsed can be found by knowing exactly where to look.  It is important to not only understand the problems in the concrete, but also how to repair the issues.

The process begins with an important visual examination of the concrete.  Fractured aggregate and inadequate bonds in the concrete can be discovered just by looking at a photo of a structure.  Photographs of existing conditions are vital because they can show factors in the surrounding environment affecting concrete.  Next a cross cut section sample can also reveal more imperfections in the concrete.  Finally, microscopic examinations of ground down samples will show important information such as the degree of cementation or the water/cement ratio.   There are numerous causes for specific issues in concrete.  Cracking caused by drying shrinkage, corrosion, and freeze/thaw cycles or an improper water/cement ratio will add to structural failures.  One way to counteract cracking is with air entrainment.  Very small air voids added to concrete act as buffers that relieve expansive stress due to freezing, etc.   Concrete petrography is key in determining how a structure will fail.

Special thanks to Abe Finkelstein, our Secretary, for the write up.

Hey Everyone,

Here is this week’s update for ASCE:

Elections:
This Wednesday at 11:45am in 108 Snell Engineering, elections will be held for next year’s ASCE officers. If you would like to nominate someone, please email Rachael at meehan.r@neu.edu The following is a description of each position:

President : Makes sure everything runs smoothly.
Vice Presidents (2) : compiles annual report. Helps out the president.
Program Coordinators (2) : Sets up lecture series. This includes contacting and confirming pizzas, reserving rooms, ordering pizza, and any other necessary items for the meeting.
Treasurer : Handles money.
Publicity Coordinator : Makes posters for the meetings each week.
Secretary : Writes summary of each lecture.
Webmaster : updates the website (extensive web knowledge not necessary)

*There are currently no candidates for secretary so far.

Bocce:
Please play your next round by this Wednesday, April 8th.

Steel Bridge:
The steel bridge team would like to thank everyone who came out to support them at the competition this weekend.

SENIORS:
The brick ceremony will be held next Wednesday, April 15 at 11:45 am in 108 Snell Engineering. See you there!!

Thank you everyone for a great semester.

Kaitlin McCarthy
NUASCE President
Mccarthy.ka@neu.edu

Hey Everyone,

Here is this week’s update for ASCE:

Lecture Series:
This Wednesday, our very own Evan Souliere will be speaking about roller coaster design. In particular, he will be focusing on 3 wooden roller coasters that are opening this year that he helped to design. The meeting will be at 11:45 am in 108 Snell Engineering.

Bocce:
Due to inclement weather, I have pushed the deadline for first round games to Wednesday. However, most second round games do not depend on the outcome of the first round since both teams have bys. If this is the case, please try to play your game this week.

Officer Elections:
Officer elections will be held on Wednesday, April 8th instead of a lecture. If you are interested in running, please have a friend nominate you at this week’s meeting. The following is a description of each position:

President: Makes sure everything runs smoothly.

Vice Presidents (2): Compiles annual report.  Helps out the president.

Program Coordinators (2): Sets up lecture series. This includes contacting and confirming pizzas, reserving rooms, ordering pizza, and any other necessary items for the meeting.

Treasurer: Handles money.

Publicity Coordinator: Makes posters for the meetings each week.

Secretary: Writes summary of each lecture.

Webmaster: Updates the website (extensive web knowledge not necessary)

*There is currently no one running for secretary or webmaster and these are both great positions for first time officers. Please note that these elections are for next Spring. Therefore, you must be in the division that co-ops from July-December. Please email me with any questions.

Steel Bridge:
The competition is this Saturday at Wentworth! Feel free to stop by and cheer on our team. See schedule below:

7:00 AM Setting up of all school bridges for Aesthetic Judging
8:00 AM Aesthetic Judging begins
9:30 AM Construction and Loading of Bridges
12:30 - 2:00 PM Lunch Available, ongoing during Construction and loading

Contact Matt Kelly at Kelly.mat@neu.edu for more information.

See you Wednesday.

Kaitlin McCarthy
NUASCE President
mccarthy.ka@neu.edu

Hey Everyone,

Here is this week’s update for ASCE:

Lecture Series:
This Wednesday, Peter Quigley from Weidlinger Associates will be speaking about the structural aspects of the Museum of Fine Arts addition currently under construction. The meeting will be at 11:45 am in 108 Snell Engineering.

Bocce:
The official bocce bracket is up outside of Professor Tillman’s office. Please play first rounds by this FRIDAY! There are still spaces available to sign up if you would like to play.

SENIORS:
The date for the brick ceremony has been set! The ceremony will be Wednesday, April 15th (Reading Day) at 11:45 am in 108 Snell Engineering Center.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
See you Wednesday.

Kaitlin McCarthy
NUASCE President
mccarthy.ka@neu.edu

Pat Barb S&F Concrete
25 February 2009

Number of Students: 41
Number of Advisers: 1

This week’s lecture featured Pat Barb from S&F concrete.  Pat spoke about the different aspects of concrete construction projects, specifically the Clarendon condominium project in Boston, MA.  This project involved both conventional construction and up-down construction methods.  Up-down construction allows for the development of the building’s superstructure while excavation below grade is still in progress.  For the first time, cast-in-place concrete was used in an up-down construction project.  In order to carry out this process, it was necessary to determine how to transfer temporary loads from the superstructure to prevent a collapse on unfinished supports.  This was accomplished with the use of bearing plates at the top of load bearing elements and continuous reinforcing for columns and shear walls.  Construction began with the pouring of a deep foundation, followed by the slurry wall and caisson installation.  Water underneath the excavation holes caused problems with the curing concrete, so the slurry wall needed to be deep enough to counteract this.

Pat also spoke about the different considerations when choosing form work systems on a construction project.  These considerations included safety and intended use for desired quality, schedule and available equipment, and labor/productivity costs.  Usually, jump systems or rail climbing systems are used.  However, new perimeter protection systems can be used to improve safety, efficiency, and overall construction progress.  These systems involve attaching plywood around construction areas to provide a safe enclosure for workers and for the public below, minimizing fall exposure and falling debris.

Special thanks to Abe Finkelstein, our Secretary, for the write up.

Developing a Unique Centerline Rumble Strip Pattern Professor Daniel M. Dulaski
18 February 2009

Number of Students: 43
Number of Advisers: 1
Number of Faculty: 1
For this week, Professor Dulaski gave a lecture on a multidisciplinary approach for developing rumble strip patterns.  Traffic control devices are used to provide important information to a driver.  Rumble strips are traffic control devices that alert drivers of the edge of the road with sound and vibration.  These rumble strips are positioned mainly on the right hand shoulder, preventing drivers from straying too far off of the road.  However in some areas, a rumble strip has been introduced to the centerline to prevent drivers from drifting into other lanes or traffic medians.  Although helpful in some cases, centerline rumble strips could cause major problems when drivers instinctively veer left into oncoming traffic, especially in conditions with poor visibility.  In an initial study, 27% of drivers corrected left when presented with a rumble pattern.

Possible solutions to this problem involve making the centerline rumble pattern unique enough to be discernible by drivers when encountered in any weather condition.  A great deal of fieldwork was carried out to record vibrations and sound from existing rumble strips.  It was determined that there is no perceptable difference in sound or vibration between the centerline or shoulder, so without a unique pattern, a driver would have trouble correcting properly when veering off the road.  A centerline pattern was developed for new strips with more spacing to create a distinct impression on drivers.  In the previously mentioned study, drivers were able to correct properly after being conditioned to the new centerline rumble strip pattern.  These improvements in traffic control devices will greatly improve lane keeping ability, and help to save lives.

Special thanks to Abe Finkelstein, our Secretary, for the write up.

Transportation Technology

Joseph Herr
VHB
11 February 2009

Number of Students: 39
Number of Advisers: 2
Number of Faculty: 4

This week’s lecture focused on the importance of new technology used in transportation engineering. Transportation technology has evolved a great deal over the years. For example, traffic signals have gone from mechanical boxes to very complex electronic systems that have improved safety and efficiency at nearly every road and intersection. Engineers have developed advanced traffic management systems to control and monitor information to determine the amount and rate of vehicles crossing intersections, vehicle speed, occupancy, size, etc. Breakthroughs in communication equipment have allowed for much more efficient data communication between traffic devices. Where copper wire used to be the main source of data transfer, new fiber optic cables and wireless radio signals have been implemented. Vehicle detection has become more advanced with video based methods using cameras at intersections. Inductive loops placed inside pavement near traffic signals, and magnetic, ultrasonic, or infrared sensors are also now used to detect vehicle information.

Transit signal priority systems have been designed using infrared sensors and g.p.s. locators. These systems have the ability to detect priority vehicles such as ambulances or fire trucks to allow for precedence when crossing intersections. This technology can also be used to assist public transportation, making bus travel times shorter and more accurate. Although successful and helpful in certain areas, transit signal priority systems have not been implemented in Boston or a similar city due to the fact that during busy travel times, changing the flow of traffic lights could block up city streets and delay commutes. VHB has worked on projects such as in Springfield, MA where transit priority was used for a new express bus route. Other projects include the Providence Convention Center garage, the ITS system in the Florida Keys, intersections in Presque Isle, ME, and custom designed technology for Cape Canaveral, Florida to fit rocket sized vehicles through intersections.

Special thanks to Abe Finkelstein, our Secretary, for the write up.

Hey Everyone,

Here is this week’s update for ASCE:

Lecture Series:
This Wednesday, Rob Nagi from VHB will be speaking about a wind blade testing facility project. The meeting will be at 11:45 am in 108 Snell Engineering.

Concrete Canoe:
Congratulations to the Concrete Canoe team for successfully completing their pour yesterday/early this morning. Stop by the fluids lab in the basement to take a look.

Steel Bridge:
The steel bridge team could use a lot of help this week to finish up the bridge. Contact Matt Kelly at kelly.mat@neu.edu to get involved.

Membership Cards
If you have not picked yours up yet, you can get them at Wednesday’s meeting.

Bocce:
Please sign up your team by this Friday so that we can put together the official bracket and start playing!

Summer Internship Opportunity:
The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) Board of Directors has approved the Internship Challenge, a workforce development program focused on enhancing the talent pipeline for life sciences companies and research institutions in Massachusetts. The need for expanded internship opportunities was a key finding of the Life Sciences Talent Initiative, a comprehensive study that the Center co-sponsored of the workforce needs of the life sciences industry in Massachusetts.

The new program will provide Summer 2009 internships to at least 100 undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics ( STEM ) majors who are considering career opportunities in life sciences in either an industry or academic setting. Interns will receive a stipend of $4,800 in exchange for 8 weeks of dedicated work. Applications are available on the MLSC website. Click here to apply.

[ http://www.masslifesciences.com/grants/challenge2.html ]

Have a great St. Patrick’s Day!! See you Wednesday.

Kaitlin McCarthy
NUASCE President
mccarthy.ka@neu.edu

Hey Everyone,

Welcome back from spring break! Here is this week’s update for ASCE:

Lecture Series:
This Wednesday, Mauro Scali from Simspon Gumpertz and Heger (SGH) will be speaking. The meeting will be at 11:45 am in 108 Snell Engineering.

Concrete Canoe:
Contact Andy Crawford at crawford.a@neu.edu to get involved.

Steel Bridge:
Contact Matt Kelly at kelly.mat@neu.edu to get involved.

Membership Cards
If you have not picked yours up yet, you can get them at Wednesday’s meeting.

SGH Scholarship
Reminder: This $5000 scholarship is due 2 weeks from today. You must be a Middler or Junior to apply. Email me if you would like more information.

See you Wednesday.

Kaitlin McCarthy
NUASCE President
mccarthy.ka@neu.edu

Hey Everyone,
Here is this week’s update for ASCE:

Lecture Series:
This Wednesday, Pat Barb from S & F Concrete will be coming to talk about some pre-cast projects they have done. The meeting will be at 11:45 am in 108 Snell Engineering.
There will be no meeting next week due to Spring Break.

Concrete Canoe:
Contact Andy Crawford at crawford.a@neu.edu to get involved.

Steel Bridge:
Contact Matt Kelly at kelly.mat@neu.edu to get involved.

Membership Cards
If you have not picked yours up yet, you can get them at Wednesday’s meeting.

Have a great week and an awesome Spring Break!

Kaitlin McCarthy
NUASCE President
mccarthy.ka@neu.edu