The National Student Concrete Material Design Competition is a science and technology competition sponsored by the Education and Human Resources Committee of the China Concrete and Cement Products Association and the National Society for the Study of Construction Materials in Higher Education, which is held once every two years. It is graded as B level in our university’s science and technology competition list.

As the most widely used and largest building and civil engineering material, the design of concrete materials has a significant impact on the quality, durability and construction performance of buildings. In order to promote the innovation of concrete material design and the sustainable development of concrete material industry, the 6th Concrete Material Design Competition of Taiyuan University of Technology is scheduled to be held from May 29th to 30th, 2021. The following is the notice of the competition.

I. Conference Organization

1. Organizer: Taiyuan University of Technology

2. Organizer: College of Civil Engineering

3. Co-organizer: Construction Materials Committee of Shanxi Civil Engineering and Construction Society

4. Institution: The competition adheres to the principle of “openness, fairness and impartiality” and sets up a judging committee composed of professional teachers from the university, which is responsible for the evaluation of the competition results.

II. Description of the concrete design competition

1. Content and form of the competition

The design theme of the competition is: to formulate C50 self-compacting concrete (performance class SF2) by using mechanism sand, taking into account the engineering application environment and economy, and to demonstrate the ability of university students to solve complex engineering problems, based on the principle that it is beneficial to the durability of concrete.

The content of the competition consists of two parts: theoretical examination and practical operation. The theoretical examination accounts for 40% of the total score, and the practical operation (including mix design) accounts for 60% of the total score.

The theoretical knowledge part is in the form of a closed-book written examination, in which all members of each participating team (3 members) must take the theoretical examination. The theoretical score of the participating team is the average of the theoretical test scores of all the team members. The written test covers the performance of concrete raw materials, concrete ratio design, fresh concrete performance, hardened concrete performance, high performance concrete, new concrete performance. The question types are single-choice, multiple-choice and short-answer. The syllabus of the theory examination will be released in the subsequent competition notice.

The results of the practical operation competition were judged based on the concrete mix design, operation skills and on-site mix performance of the parameter teams. The concrete mix design is to examine the reasonableness, economy and applicability of the design scheme; the operation skill is to examine the standardization and proficiency of the operation and the adaptability of the on-site mix adjustment; the evaluation of the mix performance is to examine the degree of matching between the workability of the fresh concrete and the expected results, the standardization of the test results, and the rigor and scientificity of the analysis. The evaluation of concrete performance will focus on the degree of matching between workability and expected results, the standardization of test results, the rigor of analysis and scientificity.

Specific contest details will be released in a subsequent notice.

2. Participant qualification

Undergraduates (including graduates of the class of 2021) can apply for the competition, and each team should have a significantly different ratio and reflect different design ideas. Each team shall consist of 3 students, and it is advocated that students should form teams across majors and grades, and the student ID of the team members should be verified during registration. Each participant is allowed to participate in only one team, and each team should design concrete mixes and produce fresh concrete samples independently, and each team can only design one concrete mix. Each team can set up one instructor, who is engaged in pre-tournament counseling and the organization of the competition, but shall avoid the participants during the competition (theory test and practical operation) and shall not instruct or participate in the discussion. Each team must participate in the competition activities at the specified time and place, late or absent is regarded as automatic abstention. During the competition, no replacement is allowed. If any team member withdraws for special reasons, the remaining team members will continue the competition.

Special reminder: participants are requested to bring their health codes and cooperate with all efforts of epidemic prevention and control.

3. Principles of the competition

The competition will follow the principle of “openness, fairness, competition and communication”. Under the premise of openness and fairness, the competition of theoretical knowledge and practical ability will be carried out to enhance mutual communication, understanding and friendship in the process of the competition.

4. Awards

Awards will be set up to reward outstanding teams in this competition. The specific award scheme will be released in the subsequent notice.

III. Schedule

1. Registration time: April 20, 2021 - April 30

2. Competition time: May 29, 2021, 14:30 - 16:00 theoretical examination, 16:00 - 17:00 ratio design calculation; May 30, practical operation.

3. Venue: Block A of the BoXue Hall, Yingxi Campus of Taiyuan University of Technology

IV. Registration and contact information

1. How to register

Students participating in the competition are requested to fill in the application form, which must be sent to the special email address of the Faculty Concrete Materials Competition: 15135155071@163.com between April 20 and April 30, 2021. If you have other special requirements, please specify them in detail.

2. Contact information

Contact: Fan Yanan, Mobile: 15135155071

Wang Yujie, Mobile: 15835118255

Special e-mail address for the competition: 15135155071@163.com

Attachment: Concrete Material Design Competition Application Form

College of Civil Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology

April 19, 2021