Senior Design – Air Traffic Control Tower

Every semester, graduating seniors are split into interdisciplinary-emphasis teams to work on a project provided by an industry partner. In Spring 2020, we were tasked with performing designs around Purdue’s Aerospace District including a railway expansion and the design of a new air traffic control tower (ATCT). Since my team didn’t have an architectural emphasis, my main role on the team was architecture, structural analysis, and miscellaneous structural design for the ATCT.

For architecture, I planned the general structural layout and aesthetics of our tower. Additionally, I designed the room layouts and dimensions to be in accordance with the International Building Code 2018 and ADA requirements. Since our tower exterior was made of all glass, massive heat transfer was a concern, so I calculated and compared how much heat was transferred for different materials along with associated costs.

For structural analysis, I calculated the vertical and lateral loads on the tower based on the International Building Code 2018 and ASCE 7-10 using Excel. These load calculations were made for each floor, column, and frame and were subsequently used for the main structural engineer on our team to design the members.

For miscellaneous structural design, I designed the composite concrete on metal deck floors for all levels using a Vulcraft catalog. Also, I designed the first floor’s reinforced concrete slab on grade as well as the non-load bearing CMU wall for the interior sides of the elevator shaft.

The final deliverables for the class were an oral presentation and two formal project reports.

Seismic Design Competition Team

Seismic Design is an undergraduate competition sponsored by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) where teams design and build a five-foot-tall balsa wood tower that must be able to sustain high earthquake loads. Teams are scored based on their tower’s floor revenue and can receive bonuses for exceptional communication skills, low peak roof acceleration and displacement, and intriguing and beautiful architectural renderings. Rule violations and damage during the earthquake loads can hurt a team’s score.

I joined Purdue’s Seismic Design competition team as a freshman. Everyone was so nice and welcoming, and I instantly felt like a part of the team. I wanted to be highly involved, so I became an Architectural co-lead and helped develop architectural renderings of our tower. That year’s architectural design included a triple-story garden atrium with a one-story tall fountain and green balconies filled with roses. The structure used a simple cross-bracing system with columns.

As a sophomore and one of the team’s few returning members, I took on a more structural role and designed the tower’s main structural system. As a result, I drew elevations, floor plans, and connections in AutoCAD. I also ended up creating the main exterior architectural rendering as well. During the Spring semester, I became a co-captain of the team after a previous co-captain graduated in December. At the competition, our tower took no damage during the earthquakes and was so strong that I was able to sit on top of it. 1.05 pounds of balsa wood was able to hold me five feet up into the air without any cracking or damage!

The next year, I became the sole captain of the team as a junior. I wanted to more evenly distribute the workload and organize the team better, so I created team director positions. They worked out pretty well and our team operations were a lot smoother. I focused more on the tower design and trip logistics. Since this year’s competition was international, event and shipping logistics were extremely challenging. At the competition, our tower once again took no damage during the earthquakes and was so strong that I was able to sit on top of it. This tower only weighed 0.85 pounds and had a smaller cross section of 6″ x 12″ rather than the usual 12″ x 12″.

During my last year of undergrad, I returned as captain of the team with a full roster of directors and high hopes. That year, the design challenge was to make the first 5 floors of the tower as an irregular “L” shape. This produced a significant amount of torsion in our tower that we had to account for. Though challenging, we persevered by creating a full-scale test tower as well as performing a SAP2000 analysis. As a result, we were able to create a tower strong enough to withstand both earthquake loads without taking damage. Additionally, many of our members were able to sit on top of it once again.

I am extremely proud to have been able to lead this extraordinary team and to be able to work with such talented and smart individuals. I have no doubt the team will accomplish great things in the future!

Civil Engineering Internships

During my time at Purdue, I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to have an internship each summer. They range from bridge / transportation engineering to construction inspection to structural design, and from each, I learned a lot technically as well as about what it’s like to work at a company and soft skills.

The summer after freshman year, I interned at VS Engineering, where I mainly developed drawings of bridges and roads as well as assist with proposals and engineering assessment reports.

The summer after sophomore year, I interned at American Structurepoint, where I performed construction inspection for a road project and a calculated quantities.

The summer after junior year, I interned at TGRWA, where I calculated building loads in accordance with ASCE7, created structural steel models of two-story buildings, balconies, and canopies in a variety of RISA software, and designed reinforced masonry walls and reinforced concrete footings.

The summer after senior year, I interned at Schaefer, where I designed and marked up exterior cold form for 1-2 story buildings, designed a wood expansion for a one-story building, and created / updated steel canopy and building models in various RAM software.