• NUI Galway Home
• Civil Engineering ››
  • Welcome
  • Latest News
  • Prospective Students
  • Current Students
  • Meet Our Staff
  • Research
  • Facilities
  • Facebook & YouTube
  • Contact

National Wood Awards 2010

NUI Galway Civil Engineering students, Damien Kearns and Joseph Lucid, were awarded 1st place in the "Engineering/Wood Science" category at the 3rd Level Student Wood Awards in Enfield on June 11th 2010.

The title of the winning project was "Testing and Design of GFRP Rod Reinforced Glued Laminated Timber" and focused on the promotion of Irish spruce as a sustainable material in the construction industry. During the project presentation, Damien and Joe explained how the mechanical properties of glued laminated timber using Irish grown spruce were enhanced using modest percentages of glass fibre reinforced polymer rod reinforcement which were strategically located in the higher stressed zones of the timber. Considerations were also given for structural design in relation to Eurocode 5. The project was supervised by Dr. Gary Raftery. This prestigious national award is open to final year students who incorporate wood as an inherent element in their projects and is regarded as the premier award for third level students in this field. Competition in the category this year included a student at ME level. This was the fifth time the awards were held. The Wood Marketing Federation (WMF) launched the competition in association with Wood NI in 2006. Total prize fund for the year was €20,000. The prize for the winning project included a generous cheque and trophy.


Damien Kearns and Joseph Lucid with Duncan Stewart at the National Wood Awards 2010

Prior to announcing of the award winner, Mr. Malcolm Jacob, Chartered Engineer and a member of the judication panel, commented on the scale of the work that was associated with the winning project which involved both finite element modelling and experimental testing. The experimental test investigations were undertaken at the timber testing facilities at NUI Galway. Malcolm also noted the increasing awareness of sustainability amongst students. Mr. Sean Wiley (formerly of Enterprise Ireland) strongly commended the winning project from Civil Engineering, NUI Galway. He stated that the process of glulaminating Irish timber in order to improve the structural properties of the material was an interesting area which held considerable promise for industry. Duncan Stewart, the architect and television presenter, said that the standard of the projects at the national final was exceptionally high this year. Dr. Gary Raftery commented on the excellent achievement of the two NUI Galway students. He remarked that "It is increasingly important that timber be developed as a natural renewable construction material in Ireland especially when compared with non-renewable materials such as steel and concrete". He further pointed out that "The use of home-grown timber in the construction sector is associated with considerably lower embodied energy than imported timber and therefore increased focus should be placed on the development of Irish timber". He further revealed that as well as the improved mechanical properties that were achieved in comparison to unreinforced sections when using the correct FRP rod technology strategically positioned in structural timber elements, reduced transportation costs resulting in lower on-site installation costs could also result in construction because of the lower weight associated with the hybrid elements.

• Disclaimer
• Privacy
• Copyright
• Accessibility