BLACKSBURG, VA (LOOTPRESS) – Bluefield State University students Avree Cook and Emmett Cagle placed second in the Geotechnical Competition portion of the recent American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Virginia Regional Student Conference at Virginia Tech University.
The objective of the geotechnical competition was to develop an accurate prediction of the geotechnical behavior of the soil underlying an embankment using given information regarding subsurface, boundary, and initial conditions, as well as the geotechnical/ structural/hydraulic loading.
The competition involved hand calculations as well as the use of geotechnical software and empirical correlations for making the predictions.
“The Geotechnical Competition was challenging and very interesting to solve and complete. I found the competition quite challenging because I had never done something like it before,” noted Cagle. “While solving the competition’s problem, I learned some pretty interesting things within the software we used.
We did have some difficulty determining the soil properties, but after some research and educated assumptions, we were able to determine them. Overall, I found the competition to be educational and interesting.”
“The Geotechnical Competition was very difficult, but it was a great way to push me into learning more about how to solve difficult geotechnical problems,” Avree Cook added. “After hours in the computer laboratory figuring out the best way to solve the problem, it became more of a learning process with the software and using the knowledge we have learned over the years in our classes.
We struggled with some things at first, but ultimately we did our best with what we were given and what we had learned. The competition pushed me out of my comfort zone and was very rewarding in the long run.”
Dr. Kerry Stauffer, BSU Professor and ASCE Faculty Advisor, added, “This year’s geotechnical competition provided our students an excellent opportunity to solve a ‘real world’ problem, using not only traditional geotechnical theory and methodology, but also the current state of the art geotechnical software.
Our students studied ‘boring’ logs and soil test data to determine the magnitude and time rate for settlement beneath an earth embankment that was accelerated with the use of PVD wick drains.”
“These exact types of problems are analyzed every day all across the world,” Dr. Stauffer continued. “I am very proud of our students for stepping up to the challenge, competing, and performing so well against the other institutions.
This type of problem solving and use of modern software will help them achieve great things professionally and contribute meaningfully to the Civil Engineering industry, which improves the quality of life for everyone.”
The three-day conference attracted teams from 11 institutions of higher education, including West Virginia University, Virginia Tech University, Virginia Military Institute, University of Virginia, Marshall University, Old Dominion University, Fairmont State University, James Madison University, Liberty University, WVU-Institute of Technology, and Bluefield State University.
Most Popular
Comments / 0