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Learning Concrete in Construction Management Course through Bowling Ball Project

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Construction Engineering Division (CONST) Technical Session 3

Tagged Division

Construction Engineering Division (CONST)

Page Count

11

DOI

10.18260/1-2--43382

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/43382

Download Count

160

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Paper Authors

biography

Pranshoo Solanki Illinois State University

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Dr. Pranshoo Solanki is a full professor in the Construction Management program of Department of Technology at Illinois State University. He received his doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 2010. The overall theme of Dr. Solanki's research is innovative construction materials and methodologies which can be used for building a sustainable civil engineering infrastructure. Dr. Solanki mainly teach courses in the area of construction materials and design at Illinois State University.

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Abstract

Construction Management programs usually offer a Materials course which includes hands-on concrete technology laboratory involving series of experiments (e.g., compressive strength, flexural strength) to obtain strength of concrete specimens. However, Materials course lacks hands-on activity discussing concrete forming, and effect of mix design and ingredients on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete. In this study, a fiber-reinforced concrete bowling ball project was implemented in a Construction Material Technology course which is a core course for Construction Management students at Illinois State University. The objective of bowling ball project was to demonstrate the behavior of fiber reinforcement within concrete, to gain experience in forming and fabricating a fiber-reinforced concrete, and to encourage creativity in mix design predictions and analysis testing. The students received instruction and guidelines for this project early in the semester so that they can start thinking about different mix ingredients and how to prepare concrete bowling ball. However, this project was conducted in the last three weeks of the semester. Students worked together in groups to perform all the steps of the project from design to manufacturing and testing. Survey questionnaires were provided to the students at the end of the semester to acquire data regarding the learning of students using the implemented concrete bowling ball project. The results showed that the students favored using concrete bowling ball project as one of the laboratory activities in Construction Materials Technology course which improved their learning about concrete.

Solanki, P. (2023, June), Learning Concrete in Construction Management Course through Bowling Ball Project Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43382

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