The team pushed for the sustainability and technological innovation in their concrete bowling ball project by using calcium sulfoaluminate cement (CSA), which produces less carbon dioxide emissions, an innovative solution under research at UM.
“Our aim for next year is to sweep the competition by sending in more teams and by encouraging the freshmen and sophomores to participate in this event”, said Nancy Lewis (BSAE ’19), and Michael Croly (BSCE’19).
This annual competition, which includes teams from top Florida universities, requires students to construct two bowling balls out of fiber-reinforced concrete. The bowling balls are then judged on weight of the ball, mechanical properties, a corresponding poster presentation about the design and an actual bowling competition.
The team utilized the UMCoE Johnson & Johnson 3D Printing Center of Excellence Collaborative Laboratory (Collaborative Lab) to create the molds for geometry optimization of the bowling balls. The event was an invaluable experience, providing students with a one-on-one opportunity to meet industry leaders and academicians from across Florida. This is the second year in a row that the UM team has placed in the competition.
“It has been a great learning experience and I hope to lead the team to victory next year as well,” said freshman Brandon Rojas (BSAE ’22), who is being mentored by the graduate students to take over as the team captain next year.
Team leaders Alvaro Ruiz and Sivakumar Ramanathan – who are both doctoral candidates in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering (CAE) – thanked the Department of CAE and Collaborative Lab for their support.
“We would like to especially thank our supervisor Francisco De Caso y Basalo, associate scientist in the Department of CAE, for the help he has provided throughout the entire process. We also are very thankful to our sponsors – CAE, Titan, and FC&PA for their support,” Ruiz and Ramanathan said.
