{"id":14504,"date":"2023-01-12T13:02:07","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T19:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/?p=14504"},"modified":"2023-01-12T13:02:10","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T19:02:10","slug":"uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/","title":{"rendered":"51ÁÔÆæ engineering students compete to create the most bendable concrete"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For the 15th<\/sup> straight year, teams of 51ÁÔÆæ civil & environmental engineering undergraduate students competed to create the most bendable concrete from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty students formed five teams that designed, mixed and poured original concrete formulas. Their finished products \u2013 miniature beams measuring 40mm X 12.5mm X 160mm — were curated from portland limestone cement, water, superplasticizer, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber, slag, fine sand and other components selected by the students. Teams then tested the responses of their creations under flexural load to determine its ultimate strength and maximum deflection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When pushed to the breaking point, the winning concrete would not snap in a single location but instead develop multiple hairline cracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTiny cracks give you a warning that the concrete is weakening,\u201d said senior Cindy Thorlton, whose team won the competition with a concrete composed of fine sand, slag, water and fiber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Most bendable concrete competitions have ended in ties\u2014one team wins for ultimate strength, one for maximum deflection. However, this year Thorlton\u2019s team won both.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This response\u2014called strain hardening\u2014is key to creating stronger, longer-lasting concrete, says Konstantin Sobolev, Lawrence E. Sivak \u201971 Faculty Fellow and professor, civil & environmental engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConcrete that can withstand a higher load and higher deflection would reduce repair costs and be more environmentally friendly in the long run,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

51ÁÔÆæ is a powerhouse in engineering new and improved concrete<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 51ÁÔÆæ, civil & environmental engineering faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students are constantly researching ways to improve concrete, including engineering carbon-neutral concrete<\/a>, lunar concrete<\/a> and water-repelling concrete<\/a>. Faculty are currently collaborating with the University of Texas at Arlington<\/a> and a consortium of European universities on a $1.5 million project, funded by the National Science Foundation, that aims to mitigate concrete\u2019s role in global warming.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bendable concrete contest was the culmination of a semester of lab work in which the students in a class called Materials of Construction learned about the different types of construction materials and concrete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The class was led by Sobolev with key support provided by teaching assistant and doctoral student Filip Zemajtis (below, left).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Master\u2019s student Gregory Vieira (below, right) also assisted with the competition as it was related to his master\u2019s thesis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vieira said the competition and interaction with Zemajtis and undergrads extended his experience with high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete and enhanced his research on bridge overlays. He is currently assisting Habib Tabatabai, professor, civil & environmental engineering and director of the 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s Structural Engineering Lab, on a $150,000 research project funded by the Wisconsin Highway Research Program<\/a> that aims to improve bridge performance and the durability of concrete used for bridge deck overlays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concrete that is less brittle and more bendable will develop fewer cracks and last longer, Vieria said. \u201cThis could be a revolution in the transportation industry as we can consider using thinner bridge overlays and less rebars. It could lead to projects that cost less and overlays that last longer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the 15th straight year, teams of 51ÁÔÆæ civil & environmental engineering undergraduate students competed to create the most bendable concrete from scratch. Twenty students formed five teams that designed, mixed and poured original concrete formulas. Their finished products \u2013 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37709,"featured_media":14506,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[95,96,25,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy-sustainability","category-infrastructure-transportation","category-news","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nCollege of Engineering & Applied Science<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"51ÁÔÆæ engineering students compete to create the most bendable concrete\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For the 15th straight year, teams of 51ÁÔÆæ civil & environmental engineering undergraduate students competed to create the most bendable concrete from scratch. Twenty students formed five teams that designed, mixed and poured original concrete formulas. Their finished products \u2013 …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"College of Engineering & Applied Science\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-12T19:02:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-12T19:02:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/537\/2023\/01\/Julie-Gunkel-banner-.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Content Author Unassigned\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Content Author Unassigned\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Content Author Unassigned\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1fbd31edecc781e295b59b1fe668baa6\"},\"headline\":\"51ÁÔÆæ engineering students compete to create the most bendable concrete\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-12T19:02:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-12T19:02:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":500,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/537\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/Julie-Gunkel-banner-.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Energy & Sustainability\",\"Infrastructure & Transportation\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\\\/\",\"name\":\"51ÁÔÆæ engineering students compete to create the most bendable concrete - College of Engineering & Applied Science\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/537\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/Julie-Gunkel-banner-.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-12T19:02:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-12T19:02:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1fbd31edecc781e295b59b1fe668baa6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/537\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/Julie-Gunkel-banner-.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/537\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/Julie-Gunkel-banner-.jpg\",\"width\":750,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"Undergraduate Julie Gunkel prepares to test the bendability of concrete she created from scratch.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"51ÁÔÆæ engineering students compete to create the most bendable concrete\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/\",\"name\":\"College of Engineering & Applied Science\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1fbd31edecc781e295b59b1fe668baa6\",\"name\":\"Content Author Unassigned\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5cd486fa12534048793f5bc5a62c74e9fbd285173671acdb13531381a862559b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5cd486fa12534048793f5bc5a62c74e9fbd285173671acdb13531381a862559b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5cd486fa12534048793f5bc5a62c74e9fbd285173671acdb13531381a862559b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Content Author Unassigned\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/engineering\\\/author\\\/0-content-author-unassigneduwm-edu\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"College of Engineering & Applied Science","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"51ÁÔÆæ engineering students compete to create the most bendable concrete","og_description":"For the 15th straight year, teams of 51ÁÔÆæ civil & environmental engineering undergraduate students competed to create the most bendable concrete from scratch. Twenty students formed five teams that designed, mixed and poured original concrete formulas. Their finished products \u2013 …","og_url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/","og_site_name":"College of Engineering & Applied Science","article_published_time":"2023-01-12T19:02:07+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-01-12T19:02:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":750,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/537\/2023\/01\/Julie-Gunkel-banner-.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Content Author Unassigned","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Content Author Unassigned","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/"},"author":{"name":"Content Author Unassigned","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/#\/schema\/person\/1fbd31edecc781e295b59b1fe668baa6"},"headline":"51ÁÔÆæ engineering students compete to create the most bendable concrete","datePublished":"2023-01-12T19:02:07+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-12T19:02:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/"},"wordCount":500,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/537\/2023\/01\/Julie-Gunkel-banner-.jpg","articleSection":["Energy & Sustainability","Infrastructure & Transportation","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/","name":"51ÁÔÆæ engineering students compete to create the most bendable concrete - College of Engineering & Applied Science","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/537\/2023\/01\/Julie-Gunkel-banner-.jpg","datePublished":"2023-01-12T19:02:07+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-12T19:02:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/#\/schema\/person\/1fbd31edecc781e295b59b1fe668baa6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/537\/2023\/01\/Julie-Gunkel-banner-.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/537\/2023\/01\/Julie-Gunkel-banner-.jpg","width":750,"height":500,"caption":"Undergraduate Julie Gunkel prepares to test the bendability of concrete she created from scratch."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/uwm-engineering-students-compete-to-create-the-most-bendable-concrete\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"51ÁÔÆæ engineering students compete to create the most bendable concrete"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/","name":"College of Engineering & Applied Science","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/#\/schema\/person\/1fbd31edecc781e295b59b1fe668baa6","name":"Content Author Unassigned","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5cd486fa12534048793f5bc5a62c74e9fbd285173671acdb13531381a862559b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5cd486fa12534048793f5bc5a62c74e9fbd285173671acdb13531381a862559b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5cd486fa12534048793f5bc5a62c74e9fbd285173671acdb13531381a862559b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Content Author Unassigned"},"url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/author\/0-content-author-unassigneduwm-edu\/"}]}},"meta_fields":{"_edit_lock":["1674672707:685"],"_edit_last":["415"],"feat_img_video":[""],"feat_img_caption":["feat-img-caption-on"],"breadcrumbs_display":["breadcrumbs-on"],"otp_nav_display":["otp-on-mobile"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["60"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["3"],"_yoast_wpseo_wordproof_timestamp":[""],"_thumbnail_id":["14506"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["1"],"_uwm_wg_content_review_log":["a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:11:\"reviewer_id\";i:0;s:6:\"status\";s:5:\"reset\";s:10:\"entry_date\";s:19:\"2026-03-01 02:11:16\";s:16:\"priority_content\";s:0:\"\";s:4:\"note\";s:43:\"Content review reset at start of new cycle.\";}}"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37709"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14504"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14515,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14504\/revisions\/14515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}