Concrete canoe

The density of the canoe is determined by the density of the concrete and the density of the empty space inside the canoe, where the passengers sit. It is the empty space, (filled with air), that makes the density of the canoe less than that of water (1.0 g/cm3). If the concrete canoe fills with water, it will sink to the bottom, unlike a wooden canoe. 

Miller, M. Polymers in Cementitious Materials. Rapra Technology. Shawbury, UK (2005). Paradis, F., and Morency, M. Optimizing a Concrete Canoe. (F. Paradis, Ed.) Concrete Canoe Magazine, 7(1) (2006). 

ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition The use of concrete in floating vessels can be traced back to Joseph-Louis Lambot who built concrete boats for use on his estate in France in 1848. ASCE has been sponsoring this national competition since 1988 when the then-Masters Builder offered to become the sole corporate sponsor. ASCE student chapter activities in concrete canoe, however, had been in existence for more than 20 years by 1988. The idea of a national competition was initiated in 1985 by Dr. R. John Craig, a professor of the New Jersey Institute of Technology. By 1987 the rules were formulated and approved but Dr. Craig was diagnosed with a rare form of brain tumor. He passed away only two months before his vision of a national concrete canoe competition became reality in 1988. 

The competition generally includes the design and construction of a concrete canoe, a paper presentation and an oral presentation, and five types of races. Over the years ASCE has developed clearly defined rules and regulations governing the competition. Entry to the national competition, which is hosted by a different school every year, is limited to the top two schools (winners) of the eighteen student conference competitions, plus the host team. The same canoe must be used in both the conference and the national competitions. Some of the rules and regulations and the components of the competition are highlighted below. 

Figure 4 1 The co-ed concrete canoe sprint race at the 2008 National Concrete Canoe Competition in Montreal, Quebec...

The importance of extracurricular activities to students academic performance and progress is now recognized by many educators and deemed an integral part of student life. In Chapter 4, the most relevant student organizations on many campuses are described with emphases on student competitions and scholarship opportunities. The competitions sponsored by ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers), the annual steel bridge competition and the annual concrete canoe competition, are described in some detail to encourage student participation. 

Sulzbach, C. (2007). Enhancing engineering education Concrete canoe competition., 114th Annual ASEE Conference and Exposition 2007, June 24-27, 2007. 

Cano Barrita [27] cast concrete specimens with w/c of 0.6, dried the specimens at 38 °C and 20% relative humidity, then measured the penetration of water in a capillary uptake type of experiment. A 3D centric scan SPRITE measurement was selected, as an image could be acquired in 150 s and the image would therefore be weighted only by the T2 decay. 3D images were acquired at various exposure times and the central 2D image slice was extracted from the data to measure the penetration depth with time. 

There are now so many thermoset plastics available that it can be difficult to differentiate between the various types. Thermoset resins are used for the manufacture of a wide range of parts from canoes to wind turbine blades and from polymer concrete to epoxy adhesives and so there is only a brief discussion of thermoset plastics included in this guide as it is essentially aimed at the bonding of small parts. 

The canoe gliding gracefully along the water in the photograph is made of concrete, which has a density of about 2.4 g/cm. Explain why the canoe does not sink. 

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