CPA awards student prize
The Corrosion Prevention Association, one of the associations that comprise the Structural Concrete Alliance, has awarded a £1,000 prize to a student team that submitted the best project in its University Engagement Programme piloted at Coventry University.
The winners, Dominic Nursey and Diana Ciurte, submitted their proposal on how they would investigate a real-life corrosion problem found in a civil engineering structure. In conjunction with Coventry City Council, data from a site on the Coventry Ring Road, adjacent to the University was provided to the students for the project. The students detailed options available to rectify the damage and arrest the issue, and a thorough evaluation of each option (based on health and safety, cost, effectiveness, carbon footprint, material selection, programme etc).
Making the award, CPA Chairman Jim Preston said:
‘We were impressed with the team’s submission as it demonstrated an excellent understanding of the full range of issues involved. Dominic and Diana clearly took on board the instruction they received and applied their knowledge to create a well-researched and professionally assembled report.
‘The scheme aims to raise awareness and understanding of corrosion issues in infrastructure and to encourage learning in the subject. As a result of this successful pilot programme we will be continuing to run the programme at Coventry University in 2018 and extending the scheme to an additional university in the coming year.’
The course aims to provide a solid foundation of knowledge about corrosion, repair and protection of reinforced concrete together with some basic knowledge on the prevention of steel corrosion using paint coatings.
The students were invited to a Structural Concrete Alliance CPD seminar in Birmingham on 7 November to receive their prize. As well as attending the seminar, which provided an introduction to Structural Asset Protection and Repair, they were given an opportunity to speak with exhibitors at the event to learn about working within the industry.