2020 CSCE National Conference Preview

Description

Join us for our 4th Nooner of the year on Thursday, Feb 27 at the Park Town! Patrick Lalach and Dena Marten will be presenting a preview of the 2020 CSCE National conference being held in Saskatoon this June!

For this special Nooner, we will be holding the presentation part of the event starting at 12:00. Please arrive a bit early, so you can catch the start of the presentation! The buffet will be available before and after the presentation.

This event is in the South Dining Room at the Park town, like usual. Parking is free- just leave your place number at the restaurant front desk.

Presentation Summary:

Saskatoon is hosting the 2020 CSCE National Conference, and the local organizing committee and CSCE Saskatoon are excited to welcome individuals in the civil engineering community from across the country and beyond to our prairie metropolis!

This conference promises to be an exciting opportunity to hear about developments in civil engineering, network with other professionals, and see the dedication of this year’s historic site.

In this presentation, conference co-chairs Patrick Lalach and Dena Marten will offer a preview of the conference, including an overview of the speciality conferences included, events and festivities on the schedule, and other details about the conference.

CSCE Saskatoon – Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition Wed., Jan. 29th

Our annual popsicle stick bridge competition will be held on Wednesday, January 29th in the Structures Lab at the U of S Engineering Building.  Supply kits are available from the 3rd floor Civil, Geo, and Environmental Engineering office in the Engineering Building at the U of S.

We are excited to announce two changes to the contest specs this year!  First, we are adding twine to the supply kit, that may be used in the design and construction of the bridges.  Second, we are changing the loading configuration from a flat plate across the top of the bridge to two bars creating point loads.  Check out the competition specs here!  The entry form is also available in the specs package.

We are pleased to have both the student and professionals categories in this year’s competition.  Check out the further details below:

Date:

 Wednesday, January 29

Time:

 Registration: 5:00 pm
Testing: 5:30 pm
Reception and awards to follow

Location:

 Structures Lab, Room 1C01, Engineering Building, University of Saskatchewan

Teams:

 1 to 4 people

Entrance Fee:

 Free for student teams!
$75 for professionals teams

Prizes:

Prizes for student competition:
1st Place – $120
2nd Place – $80

Winner of the professionals’ challenge will add their name to our popsicle stick bridge trophy!

Winners will be recognized at the reception to follow.

Registration:

 Register by email to , or register in person at the Civil & Geological Engineering Department office (3B48 Engineering).

CSCE Saskatoon Dec. Nooner – Edmonton LRT Stormwater Retention and Detention Systems

Description

Join us for our third Nooner of the 2019-2020 season! Gerry Huizer from Lafarge Canada Inc. will be presenting on stormwater dention sytems used for the Edmonton LRT project.

Our Nooners include the buffet lunch at the Park Town and free parking (just register at the front desk). Lunch starts at 12, with presentation to follow at ~12:30 pm.

We greatly appreciate all ticket orders made three days in advance of the Nooner (including for those using corporate sponsor vouchers), so we can let the venue know how many people we expect. Please take advantage of our early bird pricing, which we offer up until 3 days before the event!

Presentation Summary:

This presentation will discuss the retention and detention systems used on the Edmonton LRT project for storing large volumes of stormwater. These systems were selected to meet the particular coverage constraints and high loading to which this system is subjected.

Speaker Biography:

Gerry Huizer, C.E.T., is a stormwater specialist for Lafarge Canada with over 15 years of experience in the field of technical sales of stormwater products. He provides engineering support through work on specifications and approvals with engineering consultants and municipalities across Western Canada, including Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta as well as product-specific design for various stormwater projects.

Nov. Nooner – Construction of Roadway Fill Over Large Water Body with Geotextiles

Description

Join us for our second Nooner of the 2019-2020 season! Brent Marjerson from WSP will be presenting on the construction of roadway fill over a large water body using geotextiles at Highway 7 near Vanscoy, Saskatchewan.

Our Nooners include the buffet lunch at the Park Town and free parking (just register at the front desk). Lunch starts at 12, with presentation to follow at ~12:30 pm.

We greatly appreciate all ticket orders made three days in advance of the Nooner (including for those using corporate sponsor vouchers), so we can let the venue know how many people we expect. Please take advantage of our early bird pricing, which we offer up until 3 days before the event!

Presentation Summary:

A high strength woven geotextile was used in the construction of a roadway embankment over a large water body as part of control section 7-02 on Highway 7. The geotextile design was required to support the embankment loading and traffic loading while at the same time bridging the soft organic saturated material at the bottom of the water body. The embankment was constructed in the winter months on top of the frozen surface of the water body to prevent disturbance of the water body and to allow for ease of construction through decreased environmental concerns. The construction of the embankment during the winter on the ice significantly reduced construction costs and eliminated the potential requirement for a complete re-route of the embankment around the large water body. The embankment was constructed with sufficient fill to ensure that once the ice had melted in the spring and the embankment settled, the final height would be a minimum of 1.0 metres above the high water level of the water body. This would facilitate the completion of the construction of the grade in the spring with select borrow material working on a stable subgrade passing through the entire length of the water body. The design of the geotextile reinforced embankment consisted of the estimation of the settlement of the underlying soil and the determination of the required width of geotextile to ensure that the entire embankment was underlain by the geotextile including approximately 1.0 metres of extra width as a contingency. To ensure that the geotextile support was consistent for the entire width of the embankment the rolls of woven geotextile had to be sewn together at the factory prior to shipping and the size of the roll needed to be such that the material could be moved on site with standard equipment.

Speaker Biography:

Brent grew up in a small town southeast of Swift Current and earned a diploma in Civil Engineering Technology from the Saskatchewan Technical Institute in 1979. Brent worked as a Civil Engineering Technologist for ten years and then attended the University of Saskatchewan graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1993 and a M.Sc. in Geotechnical and Pavements in 2001. Brent has been employed as a professional engineer in senior positions in consulting, contracting and in the public sector as a Director with the Ministry of Highways and is currently a Senior Engineer with WSP Canada Inc. in Saskatoon. Brent has also served as a sessional lecturer for the Department of Civil Engineering and was the keynote speaker for the graduation ceremonies in 2005. Brent has been a registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Saskatchewan for 25 years and is currently registered in Manitoba, Alberta and the Northwest Territories as well. Brent has also served with other associations such as the Transportation Association of Canada, Transportation Research Board and the Canadian Technical Asphalt Association.

CSCE Saskatoon Oct. Nooner – Tack Coat Materials in Cold Climate

Description
Join us for our first Nooner of the 2019-2020 season! Dr. Haithem Soliman from the University of Saskatchewan will be presenting on the performance of tack coat materials in cold climates.

Our Nooners include the buffet lunch at the Park Town and free parking (just register at the front desk). Lunch starts at 12, with presentation to follow at ~12:30 pm.

We greatly appreciate all ticket orders made three days in advance of the Nooner (including for those using corporate sponsor vouchers), so we can let the venue know how many people we expect. Please take advantage of our early bird pricing, which we offer up until 3 days before the event!

Presentation Summary:

Tack coat materials are used to provide sufficient bond between an old asphalt concrete layer and a new asphalt overlay, or between asphalt concrete lifts. Tack coat materials are typically bituminous emulsions. A successful application of a tack coat material depends on the followed construction practices and material properties. For construction practices, a uniform application of the tack coat material and having enough curing time before allowing construction traffic ensure that a sufficient amount of the bituminous residue will stay at the road surface and reduce pickup and tracking by construction equipment. For material properties, a sufficient bond strength of the tack coat material ensures the structural integrity of asphalt concrete layers and prevent premature failure. In cold regions, durability of tack coat materials and resistance to freeze-thaw cycling must be considered too. Specifications for tack coat materials should balance between construction limitations and specifying materials with an acceptable performance.

The presented research aims to assess the performance of several tack coat materials in Saskatchewan climate. A summary of testing results, evaluation methods, and impact of construction conditions will be presented and discussed.

Speaker Biography:

Dr. Haithem Soliman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, University of Saskatchewan. He completed his Ph.D. degree at the University of Manitoba in 2015. During his work in Manitoba, Dr. Soliman participated in several projects in various areas including performance-based testing of pavement materials, durability of pavement repair products in cold climates, use of recycled materials in pavement construction, and influence of frost penetration and spring thaw on pavement structures. Currently, Dr. Soliman has ongoing research projects at the University of Saskatchewan, which include characterization of aggregate materials for base and subbase layers, evaluation of tack coat materials, performance of polymer-modified asphalt mixtures, and using imaging techniques to evaluate freeze-thaw durability of asphalt mixtures.

 

Annual General Meeting – April 30th

We will be hosting our AGM on Tuesday, April 30th at the Thirsty Scholar in the upstairs event space.  Cocktails and appetizers begin at 5, with the meeting to follow at 6.  Everyone is welcome to attend!  We will be sending the official notice out later this week with the nominations for next year’s Executive and procedures for further nominations.

CSCE Saskatoon Mar. Nooner – Yorkton Grain Mill

Description

Join us for our last Nooner of the 2018-2019 season! Mazen El-Mousa, P.Eng., from Lafarge Canada Inc. will be presenting the Yorkton Grain Mill project, which utilized precast concrete for the structural system.

Our Nooners include the buffet lunch at the Park Town and free parking (just register at the front desk). Lunch starts at 12, with presentation to follow at ~12:30 pm.

We greatly appreciate all ticket orders made three days in advance of the Nooner (including for those using corporate sponsor vouchers), so we can let the venue know how many people we expect. Please take advantage of our early bird pricing, which we offer up until 3 days before the event!

Presentation Summary:

This presentation will detail the selection and production of precast concrete for the structural system of the Yorkton Grain Mill facility. The Engineer of Record, WSP Canada Inc., and the Construction Manager, VCM, prepared preliminary designs for the building utilizing three different structural systems: precast concrete, cast-in-place concrete, and structural steel. The main criteria for deciding on a structure were combustibility, speed of construction, and economy. The precast concrete option prevailed. The Engineer of Record and Construction Manager were precast friendly, and precast concrete by Lafarge was selected due to speed of construction, longevity of the structural system, and confidence in Lafarge performance. In particular, this project required winter construction, a tight completion schedule, and particular budgetary restraints, all of which contributed to the selection of precast as the structural system.

Speaker Biography:

On June 28th, 1976 in the City of Kuwait, on summer day reaching 52 degrees Celsius, history broke and Mazen El-Mousa was born to a Kuwaiti mother and Jordanian Father. Mazen was raised in Amman, Jordan by his grandfather who worked as tobacco farmer. Mazen graduated from University of Jordan in 1999, and worked for Sika as a concrete production specialist in the Middle-East area. In April 2005, Alitalia air lines flew Mazen from Amman, though Italy, and stopping in Montreal. A couple of weeks later, Mazen started his freezing journey in sunny Saskatchewan. Mazen has worked with Weldon’s Concrete, Expocrete, Oldcastle, and from January 1st, 2017, Lafarge Canada Inc. Delivering his client’s vision to reality is his aim.

CSCE Saskatoon Feb. Nooner – Building up Haiti: An Engineer’s Contribution

Description

Join us for Feb Nooner of the 2018-2019 season! Lowell Reinhart, P.Eng., from the City of Saskatoon will be presenting on his work on three trips to Haiti, where he has used his engineering background in working with Haiti Arise.

Our Nooners include the buffet lunch at the Park Town and free parking (just register at the front desk). Lunch starts at 12, with presentation to follow at ~12:30 pm.

We greatly appreciate all ticket orders made three days in advance of the Nooner (including for those using corporate sponsor vouchers), so we can let the venue know how many people we expect. Please take advantage of our early bird pricing, which we offer up until 3 days before the event!

Presentation Summary:

Haiti Arise, a small organization based out of Grand Goave, Haiti, is making a huge effort to better the lives of many people living in Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. This presentation will outline some of the challenges faced by this organization in an already struggling economy that has been hit with a major Earthquake in 2010 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and how they continue to make forward progress by building up the people of Haiti through education, training, and work. Information on the construction of concrete buildings for a technical school, elementary school, and children’s village along with upgrades to existing wastewater systems will be included in this presentation.

Speaker Biography:

Lowell is currently employed by the City of Saskatoon as the Senior Operations Engineer with Municipal Engineering Services. He graduated from Civil Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan in 2011 and has worked in Storm Water Management at the City of Saskatoon from 2011-2018. Through his career he has been involved in managing the City of Saskatoon’s storm water utility program, riverbank stabilization projects, and a number of drainage and flood mitigation projects.

Lowell has had the opportunity to travel to Haiti on three separate short term mission trips in 2013, 2015, and 2017. During these trips he has been able to use his engineering background to assist with multiple construction projects including building homes, installing septic tanks and sanitary absorption fields for wastewater management, and a variety of other smaller projects.

 

Popsicle Bridge Competition

CSCE Saskatoon is excited to announce another installment of our annual Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition!  We will be hosting this event on Thursday, January 31st.  The competition is open to both student and professional teams, and is one of our favourite events each year!  Last year was a record-setting year, and we hope to see more records set this year too!  The competition is open to student and professional teams, with bragging rights and a brand new trophy for the Professionals’ Challenge and great monetary prizes for the Student Competition!

The event will take place in the Structures Lab at the U of S; registration will start at 5 pm, and testing will commence at 5:30 pm.  We will have a short reception in the Structures Lab following the testing, and we will award the prizes for both student and professional teams there.  The winning team in the Professionals’ Challenge will also have the honour of being the first team to have their names added to our brand new trophy!

Supply kits are available free of charge for all teams (student and professional) from the Dept. of Civil, Geological, and Environmental Engineering office at the U of S (Room 3B48, 3rd floor of the Engineering Building).  (Teams are also welcome to buy their own supplies, as long as they comply with the contest instructions.)

Teams can consist of 1 to 4 people.  It is free for all students to enter the student competition.  The entry fee for professional teams is $75.

 

For more details, please refer to the following documents: