Photo: Daily Messenger
Concrete is an unavoidable part of our daily life. Large bridges and skyscrapers are made of this material made of cement, water and sandstone. Therefore, to make it more sustainable, various researches are carried out, various ingredients are mixed. This science of making concrete is known as mix design in civil engineering circles. And on this mix design, for the first time in Bangladesh, "24 Hours Concrete Cube Competition" was held at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET). The competition was organized by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Student Chapter, Chute, one of the university's organizations.
The competition, which was held on May 17-18, has received a huge response among civil engineering students since its announcement. 46 teams (180 students) of Chuet registered in the first phase of the competition. Students submit their own mix design reports for concrete strengthening conditions. After that preliminary selection was done among them and 24 teams were selected for the final round.
On the first day of the two-day competition, at 8:30 am, the team leaders of all teams collected their team identity cards from the Civil Engineering Building. Then at 9 am all the contestants were given various instructions in the seminar room of Purkaushal Bhavan. After that, the participants created concrete cubes using various innovative materials and their own calculations. Their works are inspected by CUET teachers and judges take their oral tests.
CUET vice-chancellor professor Dr. Mohammad Rafiqul Alam came to visit and said that our students are participating in this competition with great enthusiasm. Such varied competition motivates the students. University administration will give all possible support to the students to participate in all national and international competitions.
At the start of the second day, all the contestants arrive at the competition venue at 9 am. There, their cubes are broken with a machine to test their strength. A lot of enthusiasm and enthusiasm can be observed among the students.
In this regard, the departmental advisor of ACI Student Chapter, CUET. GM Sadiqul Islam said, before this competition, through a workshop, the students have been given an idea about all possible materials apart from the materials that are traditionally used in concrete. They designed concrete with strength, environmental impact and cost in mind. Later yesterday the contestants made the concrete as per the design and today tested its strength. I believe this will give the students more confidence in making eco-friendly cost-effective concrete.
Abu Zafar Giffari Sagar, one of the organizers of the competition, President of ACI Student Chapter, Chuet, said that the main objective of organizing this competition was to create ideas about concrete among students and encourage them to acquire knowledge about concrete. During the two-day competition organized by us, everyone learned a lot about concrete, its materials and its construction methods and enjoyed it a lot. This is the purpose of our organization.
Note that the names of the winners of the competition will be announced at the annual general meeting of the organization
And there they will be awarded. There is a prize of Rs 20,000 for the winners. The award will be given to three teams based on producing the highest strength, environment-friendly and cost-effective concrete.
Messenger/Afnan/Sumon
