On October 17, ZJUI successfully hosted the 2020 International Concrete Dragon Boat Competition on the International Campus, Zhejiang University. 30 teams, including the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Zhejiang University, Central South University, South University of Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Southwest Jiaotong University, and Kongu Engineering College, sent dragon boats to the Campus for the event. They demonstrated the creativity and beauty of the integration of modern concrete technology and Chinese traditional culture. Wang Yufen, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection Committee of the International Campus, ZJU, and other representatives of the ZJUI faculty, attended the event.
The competition is divided into four parts, namely, hull index test, appearance design, speed racing, and a review that includes obstacle course, presentation, technical paper, etc. Due to the need for epidemic prevention and control, the invitational competition used a live webcast to provide online channels for other university teams to watch and review the competition. Dragon boats that participated in the linear speed racing were shipped to the organizing committee in advance, and were controlled by the competition operators during the speed racing contest. The obstacle course and project presentations were recorded by the participating teams for review.
The competition combined professionalism, culture, entertainment, collaboration, and innovation, aiming at promoting Chinese traditional culture and domestic and foreign exchange, reflecting the progress of scientific research and construction technology in concrete at home and abroad, and improving the all-round abilities of undergraduates in, for example, material and structure design, analysis and calculation and practical operation, art design, application of remote control, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Although this year’s competition was postponed, the enthusiasm for participating in the competition of university teams at home and abroad kept growing. “There were still a lot of universities that wanted to join. At the beginning, 59 teams signed up. Moreover, the enthusiasm of students on campus has increased and more of their work is interdisciplinary”, Prof. Xiao Yan, director of the organizing committee of the 2020 International Concrete Dragon Boat Competition said.
The participating dragon boats must be made of cement-based curing materials, concrete, and foam formwork lightweight sandstone, among which the volume ratio of concrete materials in the hull shall not be less than 50%. There is also the need to install engines and remote-sensing receivers on the boat, and remote-control operators command the boats’ navigation. “This year’s teams are actively trying new technologies,” Kong You Bohong, one of Prof. Xiao’s Masters students, said. “Most of the boats’ hulls and skeletons use 3D printing technology and biomass fiber technology. In the previous on-campus competition, two other groups of students tried Wi-Fi remote module control, but they sadly failed due to the immature technology.”
In the speed racing contest, because of the different design parameters, the performance of each dragon boat is also different. Some rode away, as if in response to the roar of the crowd, but they hit the floating ball on the edge halfway down the course and started spinning around. Still others, though far behind at first, made steady progress, reaching the opposite bank first. The obstacle course, presentation, technical paper, and other review sessions were carried out through a combination of online and offline methods. The judges rated the pre-recorded obstacle videos, presentation videos, technical papers, and the hull index data measured in advance according to a certain weight.
There were 14 third prizes, 8 second prizes, 3 first prizes and 2 grand prizes, as well as 9 individual awards including Technical Challenge Award, Best Appearance Design Award, International Friendship Award. The teams that won the grand prizes were from Southwest Jiaotong University and Zhejiang University.
“The student-oriented competition should be fun and entertaining, and of course the dragon boat competition is also artistic. To my delight, the students are really enthusiastic and enjoy the process. Of course, the students, including instructors, also put a lot of effort into trial and error. Hopefully, in this process, students will look at technology in a primitive way, and their imagination and creativity are further stimulated.” Prof. Xiao Yan added, “I hope more technologies will be added next year, such as new energy and AI. We are also looking forward to letting the concrete dragon boats ‘fly’ and making concrete ‘spaceships’.”
The competition was overseen by the Chinese Society for Engineering Education (CSEE) and the Civil Engineering Education Committee. It was co-sponsored by Zhejiang University – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute and the Youth League Committee of the International Campus, ZJU, and co-organized by the American Concrete Institute (ACI).
Article：Quoted from ZJU wechat article, "The Second International Concrete Dragon Boat Competition"
Translator：WANG Yiyi & Roda Morrison
Editor：ZHANG Yi