2019 Student Beam Contest Winners
The 2019 Student Beam Contest was held at Widener University's structures lab in Chester, PA, on April 6. Nine teams representing five colleges participated. The contest consisted of designing and constructing a reinforced concrete beam spanning 3'-0" to safely support a mid-span concentrated load of 3,000 lbs for the lowest possible cost. There were no limitations on the cross-section dimensions or the amount of #3 reinforcement. The beams were tested to failure and another prize was awarded for the beam that failed closest to 4,800 lbs.
Participating colleges were Widener University, Delaware University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rowan University and Lafayette College.
The "Lowest Cost Beam To Support 3,000 Pounds" winner was Widener University's team Global Positioning System with a material cost of $4.03. Team members were Pasquale Marconi, Shane Lanzelotte and George Johannesen. Faculty advisor was Dr. Vicki Brown.
The "Ultimate Load Closest To 4,800 Pounds" winner was Widener University's team Beam Squad with a failure load of 4,872 lbs. Team members were Jason Arboite, Chase Evans, Rajeh Alnefaie and Mohammed Alghannam. Faculty advisor was Dr. Mohamad Jlilati.
Each team won $1,500 USD in prize money. The winners' trophies and prizes were awarded at EPDACI's Excellence in Concrete Awards Banquet held in King of Prussia, PA, on April 25.