At 3:00 am on January 21, 26 students from the University of Waterloo were awake en-route to the airport to represent Waterloo at the Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR) in Kelowna, BC. This competition, which lasted 5 days, is one of the longest standing engineering traditions and requires teams of undergraduate engineering students from across the continent to design, build, and race a concrete toboggan. The toboggan must weigh less than 300 pounds, hold five people, have a concrete running surface (only concrete can touch the snow), fully functional steering and braking mechanisms, and have a protective roll cage! This year GNCTR had 18 competing universities with over 430 students.
This year’s competing team consisted of civil, mechanical, and mechatronics students in their 2nd to 4th years. As the core team members had previously attended GNCTR (a first for Waterloo) the design was largely based off past experience. The team designed a wide aluminum-framed toboggan for greater stability. The two skis utilized a complex composite section, involving low-density concrete, rigid foam, GFRP-reinforcing mesh, and CFRP post-strengthening which acted in composite with the aluminum frame. A light weight frictional steering system was activated by the rear rider. Braking involved a massive bear-trap-like steel plate dropping at the rear of the toboggan when engaged by the brakemen.
Design work began last summer along with hundreds of hours spent batching and testing new concrete mixes. During the fall term design was concluded and a final concrete mix was selected. Construction of the ski formwork was done using 100% recycled wood material from past concrete canoe formwork. The skis were poured in late November, with the toboggan being assembled during December and the first week of January. The toboggan was then shipped in a crate, with the team flying out to meet it two weeks later.
This year, the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) played host in Kelowna, BC. Teams were judged on the toboggan design, technical report, technical presentation, performance on race day, and team spirit. Each day, teams could be heard yelling their school’s cheers or the competition chants, all while wearing their themed costumes! Waterloo went as the University of Waterloo Fire Department (UWFD), wearing firefighter outfits for the week, even on competitor interaction day skiing at Big White! The team’s technical exhibit was also built around this theme with all of the technical posters, product samples, and report being themed around a fire hall.
This year, Waterloo performed quite admirably gaining awards in technical and spirit categories. First place trophies were awarded to Waterloo for Concrete Reinforcement, Most Sustainable Team, and People’s Choice (everyone loves Waterloo!). Waterloo also came home with six other podium finishes. University of Calgary came away as the winners of GNCTR 2015.
The team had an incredibly memorable time in BC and in Waterloo designing and building the toboggan! A large contingent of the team is graduating this year and the younger students on the team are eager to carry on Waterloo’s successes. If you are interested in joining this fantastic and award winning team, please contact the team captains at uwaterlooconcrete@gmail.com. The team is always open to new members! Those aiming to compete at GNCTR 2016 will be travelling to Ottawa to represent the University of Waterloo.
Leave a Reply