CIVIL Engineering Research and Design
Fourth year students participate in a yearlong capstone course, EN193S02/EN194S02: Civil Engineering Project. The purpose of the course is to give them the chance to apply concepts learned in their undergraduate education to a realistic civil engineering project. In the course's inaugural year, students of the class of 2004 worked with Professor Clifton to develop a ferry landing site at Providence's Collier Point Park. Their work is part of an ongoing multi-institutional project exploring the feasibility of a High Speed Ferry System for Naragansett Bay.
Collier Point Park is located on the Bay directly to the South West of the proposed expansion of I-195, shown below, making it a potentially important feature in the development of Providence.
Project details include:- Gathering pertinent information
- Site Layout
- Design of a parking area for 200 vehicles
- Grading/water drainage
- Design of a vistitor center
Information gathering was a big part of the project. Students tracked information down at the Providence Department of Public Works, local architecture and engineering firms, and various ferry companies. The adjunct professors at Brown were particularly helpful in this regard through their connections with the industry.
Many design considerations had to go into the ferry parking lot. The number of spaces required was determined by considering the total capacity of the ferry and projected occupancy rates, plus the number of people who would be likely to take overnight trips. The parking lots had to be placed around the existing features of the site, which included two large deposits of contaminated soil - byproducts of a coal processing industry that once occupied the area. The parking lots were graded to channel stormwater into collection sites, while maintaining a gentle slope for handicapped accessibility. Runoff volume and quality were controlled by the design of a stormwater detention and treatment system.
The visitor center for the ferry project was adapted from an existing steel structure on site, shown below. This structure once functioned as a coal transfer station, which required it to be designed to withstand heavy loads. Today it stands empty, but is located in an ideal location for access to the proposed dock site and for scenic views of the surrounding sea and landscape. Students gathered information about the existing structure by hand measurements and documentation, then developed an architectural plan for extending the structure to meet the needs of a visitor center. A steel structure and concrete foundation were designed to support the new building, taking into account wind loads, occupancy loads, and flooding. Students developed final plans for the structure and the foundation in AutoCAD.
The final phase of the project was a presentation to a group of engineers including the civil engineering faculty at Brown and other local engineers who had helped on the project. Future students will consider similar projects or expand upon the work done by the class of 2004.
