My T-SHIRT Memories - Part 3 (Civil Engineering Shirts)

I am posting My T-Shirt Memories - Part 3 in this blog since it is about civil engineering. Read Part 1 (UP Shirts) and Part 2 (Apple Moments) at http://goodlife4less.blogspot.com. 

November is "Civil Engineering Month" and it is timely to post my CE related shirts.

PICE III Technical Conference T-Shirt.  Let me start with my PICE shirt. This shirt is one of the token given during the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers Region III Technical Conference held on April 13-14, 2018 at Subic Bay Peninsular Hotel, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Zambales. I remember giving two lectures then; one on "Seismic Assessment & Retrofitting Lessons from Japan" and "Making Cities Resilient." My lectures are very relevant to the T-shirt message of "Building Tomorrow, Today." Joining me as resource speakers were DLSU Faculty, Dr, Lessandro Garciano, Dr. Alexis Fillone and Dr. Marla Redillas. Dr. Romy Estanero, retired DLSU professor and now CE PRB member was also a resource speaker. Michael David, a DLSU BSCE alumnus was the organizer of the event.

PICE III Technical Conference Shirt

CE Changing the World.  I was a resource speaker at the Academe Session of the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE) National Convention on October 29, 2019 at the SMX Convention Center. I presented a paper on "Implementing the CE Orientation Course in the Revised BSCE Curriculum" with co-authors L. Garciano, R. Mendoza, Jr. and K. Roquel.

During the break, I visited the exhibit area where various PICE shirts were sold. Most of the civil engineers were excited buying shirts with a PICE logo. In my case, I was looking for a unique design and this design caught my eye  - "CE: Changing the World: One Blueprint at a Time." Indeed, civil engineers are changing the world and contribute to building the quality of life. And that was the message on our Civil Engineering Orientation Course for Freshmen at De La Salle University.

CE Changing The World Shirt

Model Popsicle-Stick Bridges of the Bridges in Asia



Chaotianmen Bridge (China)

In the recent Civil Engineering Society Bridge Building Contest, students from various civil engineering schools in Metro Manila were challenged to create popsicle stick bridges based on a segment of an actual bridge that can be found in the Asian region. The judging of the bridges took place last March 10, 2012 at the De La Salle University, Manila. It was a marvel to see the creativity of the students. There were model bridges that were really awesome and created meticulously following the photo of the actual bridge. The winner for the best design was the model of the Chaotianmen Bridge (China) submitted by the students from TIP. Marvel at the popsicle stick bridges below.



Asahibashi Bridge (Japan)





Asahibashi Bridge (Japan)



Ayala Bridge (Manila, Phils)

Zhejiang Road Bridge (China)

Merdeka Bridge (Malaysia)

Minamikawa Bridge (Japan)

Wanxian Bridge (China)



Quezon Bridge (Manila, Phils)



Dhamra Bridge (India)

Best Bridge Design

Popsicle-Stick Bridge Testing 2011

At the 7th DLSU Bridge Building Competetion, the bridges were tested using a UTM at De La Salle University-Manila CTM Lab. Two steel bars were placed on the bridge deck. Then a steel frame was placed on top of the steel bars. The load was applied on the steel frame until failure. Date of Testing: March 19, 2011. This competetion was organized by the Civil Engineering Society and was participated by students from PLM, TIP, Mapua, EARIST and DLSU.

Watch the video below. The failure of this bridge was brittle. Kaboom!

Amazing Popsicle-Stick Bridges 2011

Slide Album: Popsicle Stick Bridges

Here is a slide show of the popsicle stick bridges that were submitted to the 7th Bridge Building Competition organized by the Civil Engineering Society at De La Salle University - Manila, Philippines. Thirty-three entries competed for the Strongest Bridge, Stiffness Champion and Best Design (Aesthetics).

Congratulation to the winners:

Strength Category: Winner - Bridge 21 (PLM)

Stiffness Category: Champion - Bridge 21 (PLM)

Stiffness Category: Runner-up - Bridge 22 (PLM)

Aesthetic Design Category: Winner - Bridge 20 (TIP)

7th Bridge Building Contest - Best in Aesthetic Design

The winning bridge from the TIP Team

The 7th Popsicle-Stick Bridge Building Contest organized by the Civil Engineering Society of De La Salle University was held on March 19, 2011. One of the highlights of the contest was the judging of the bridges based on aesthetic design. The criteria includes originality, innovativeness, craftmanship and practicality. The judges were lead by Engr. Mario Lualhati (PICE-LNM President), Dr. Amelia Marquez (PICE-LNM Secretary) and Engr. Mike Baylon (DLSU Alumnus and FEU-East Asia College faculty). Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP) won the aesthetic design category out of the 33 brige entries. Marvelous!

Popsicle Stick Bridges by DLSU students

Thirteen entries from DLSU competed in the Popsicle Stick Bridge Building Contest hosted by The Civil Engineering Society (CES). Unfortunately, no entry made it in the winning bridges. The DLSU bridges were also good and well-made. Bridge no. 18 actually garnered the largest load of 111 kg with a displacement of about 25.5 mm, but it was too heavy at 1138 g making a score of only 3.82. DLSU ranked 8th in the design category (Bridge No. 23) and ranked 10th in the strength category (Bridge No. 19).

Congratulations to all DLSU participants!

The winning popsicle stick bridges!

In the recent DLSU-CES Popsicle Stick Bridge Building Contest held last Feb. 13, 2010, 31 bridges were tested for the Strength Category. A Universal Testing Machine (UTM) was used to test the bridge. Two 14 mm rebars spaced at a specified distance, were placed on the bridge deck. Then a hollow “cage” was placed on the rebars, on which the load from the UTM was transferred. A displacement transducer was attached to the UTM to measure the bridge displacement (D) in mm. The load P (kg) when the load dial of the UTM stops was noted indicating bridge strength. The Strength Rating is computed as (1000x P)/(D x W), where P in kg, D in mm and W = actual weight of the bridge in kg. The strength rating S is the bridge stiffness (kg/m) per unit weight (kg).

Bridge entry no. 13 from the Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP) of Manila has the highest score. The bridge has only a weight of about 390.4 g. With P = 43 kg and d = 11.8 mm, its score S = 9.33. Observe the connections at the joints - knowing that failure will occur at the connections, the connections were glued together properly with additional cover.

The 2nd place bridge was from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) which had a score S=9.15 with P=36 kg, D=8.87 mm and W=443.7 g. The 3rd place goes to another entry from TIP-Manila with S=9.01, P=45kg, D=10.78 and W=463.11 g.

Congratulations to the winners and all participants. You were all winners!

Popsicle Stick Bridges Slideshow

Popsicle Stick Bridge Building Competitions have become a popular activity for students here and abroad. This blogsite had many visitors who "googled" about popsicle stick bridges. Here is a slide show of the popsicle stick bridges that competed in the 5th DLSU Bridge Building Contest.

Two Popsicle Stick Bridges from DLSU

I would like to feature two popsicle stick bridges submitted by my undergraduate students at the 5th DLSU-CES Bridge Building Competition. Bridge No. 09 by Morgan Say and Jet Tugado is a Warren-type truss bridge. It actually ranked no. 4 in both the Strength and Design category. The bridge has the properties, L = 626 mm, W = 1073 g (quite heavy). It's deflection at P = 10 kg was only 3.2 mm but at failure, it posted a very large deflection D = 19.20 mm. Again the arrangement of the diagonal members may have contributed to the large deflection. The diagonal members in this bridge are under compression. If only the weight and the deflection were reduced, it may have joined the top 3. Actually it is ranked no. 1 based on the P/W ratio only.
The second bridge (Bridge 16) by Jefron Gaw, Allan Mariano and Lex Alviar was withdrawn from the competition because its depth D exceeds the limit, making it impossible to test the bridge using two point loads. The bridge has an arch shape. The bridge is quite heavy W=1425 g. It is a well designed bridge and it may have performed well in the competition, if it only passed the specifications. The bridge was actually tested upto failure using the UTM and observe the failure mode - a bending failure at midspan.

I would like to commend the participants for creating the nice popsicle stick bridges. You are all winners!

Popsicle Stick Bridge Testing

Popsicle stick bridge building competitions usually choose the winner based on the strength/weight ratio. Usually loads are applied at the mid span of the bridge by placing incremental weights. The load at failure (P) is then determined and divided by the bridge weight (W) to get the bridge performance.

In the DLSU CES Bridge Building Competition, a Universal Testing Machine (UTM) is used to test the strength and displacement of popsicle stick bridges. Since the load will be applied on the bridge deck, an innovative method was devised so that it can be applied to truss bridges. Two 14 mm steel bars spaced at specified distance are placed on the bridge deck. A hollow steel cage is then placed on the two steel bars. The UTM is then applied on the steel cage which then transfers the load to the two steel bars and then to the bridge deck. A displacement transducer is attached to the UTM to measure the displacement (D) in mm. The load is applied and the value of P (kg) is obtained. The value of P can be predefined or when the load dial of the UTM stops which indicates bridge failure. The bridge rating, S = 1000(P/D)/W is then determined. The S rating represents the bridge stiffness (kg/m) per unit weight (kg). For example, the bridge shown in the video below was tested and it’s P = 30 kg, D = 25 mm and W = 1.50 kg. Hence, it’s rating , S = 1000(30/25)/1.50 = 800 (kg/m)/kg. By using the S rating, strength, displacement and weight become parameters in ranking the performance of the popsicle stick bridges.

Video Clip: Popsicle Bridge Testing using a UTM at DLSU CE Lab

Building Popsicle Stick Bridges

I built my first popsicle stick bridge about 12 years ago when I was introduced to the bridge building contest organized by the students of the DLSU Civil Engineering Society (CES). My bridge was a through truss bridge. A through truss bridge derives its strength from the arrangement and strength of the truss elements. The load is transferred from the bridge deck to the truss elements and then to the supports. There are other types of bridge forms that can be created. A deck or girder bridge resists loads through bending – hence you must design the bridge deck such that it will have a large moment of inertia.The arch bridge, on the other hand, transfers the load to the abutments or supports through compression.

Bridge building is a fun and challenging activity. By applying basic strength of materials and bridge design principles, a little creativity and a lot of patience, you can create your own masterpiece similar to the CES bridges shown. So why not test your skills on popsicle stick bridge building by joining the 5th DLSU CES Bridge Building Competition? The competition is open to all civil engineering students in the Philippines. The best bridge design wins P5,000. The bridge with the largest “stiffness/weight ratio” wins P10,000. Check-out the rules in the ads shown in this blog site.

There are more postings related to popsicle stick bridge building and bridges in this blog. Go to this link.

Get some building tips at

http://claymore.engineer.gvsu.edu/~oostdykj/techniques.html.

Check-out http://pghbridges.com/basics.htm for various forms.

Photos of CES Bridges by Joenel Galupino: http://misfortunes.multiply.com/photos/album/60/MISFORTUNE_55