NCU Won the Championship of 2016 Asia Bridge Competition
Team 7-11 led by Hsieh-Lung Hsu, Associate Dean of College of Engineering (fifth from left), and Assistant Prof. Wen-Yi Hung (fourth from left) successfully completed the lightest bridge structure, which weighed 17 kg but could carry 300 kg loadings. The photo is from Department of Civil Engineering.
Led by Hsieh-Lung Hsu, Associate Dean of College of Engineering, and Assistant Prof. Wen-Yi Hung, the team from Department of Civil Engineering in NCU stood out from eleven teams from three countries in 2016 Asia Bridge Competition held by Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. Team of NCU won the championships of Structural Cost, Presentation, and Prediction of Deflection, becoming the champion of the Overall Performance.
This competition originated from ASCE, The American Society of Civil Engineers, and AISC, The American Institute of Steel Construction, with the aim to inspire students’ creativity, combine theories into practical use, and broaden students’ global visions. It has been eleven years since its open in Asia in 2006, and it is going to be held by NCU in Taiwan next year.
The team was called “7-11,” including seven junior students from Department of Civil Engineering (Guan-Hong Lin, Wen-Hsiao Hung, Hung-Hsien Wan, Ji-Zheng Qiu, Sih-En Chen, Yu-Chen Lee and Hai-Ning Cheng), two teaching assistant (Alfin Suprayugo and Hendra Halim) and two advisors. Since the team was set up in December last year, the students have arranged everything from designing to making by themselves.
The team went to Japan for the competition, from March 13th to 16th. Believing in “Less is More,” they successfully completed the lightest bridge structure after precisely calculating the power every lever bore. There was only 5.3 mm of deflecting after the 4-meter-long bridge, which weighed 17 kg as the lightest one in the competition, carried 300 kg loadings.
With economic benefits, the feature of light weight is not only convenient for students to take the gadgets abroad, but also helpful for them to stand out in the event of Structural Cost. Another key to win the competition is the organization design. Despite the fact that ordinary tapped holes are easy for assembling, students adopted a new connecting method, which requires much time and effort but is able to reduce inaccuracy during assembling. As the saying goes, “The devil is in the details.”
Bridge competition is like the small version of real engineering project, as Assistant Prof. Hung said, that every part is essential. It is a precious learning experience that students can face practical issues earlier through the competition.
NCU won the championship of 2016 Asia Bridge Competition held by Tokyo Institute of Technology. The photo is from Department of Civil Engineering.
This competition emphasizes implementation. The female student also participates in cutting steel members. The photo is from Department of Civil Engineering.