Dear Madam or Sir,
This is the student team for ASCE Timber-Strong Design Build 2023 Competition from Zhejiang University in China. With reference to the competition rules, we would like to ask the following questions:
Calculation:
1. Can teams from overseas use the structural and sustainability codes of their own counties instead of the US codes?
2. According to the competition manual SUSTAINABILITY: 18 POINTS (Page 28), "points will be awarded for the most sustainable structure based on the calculated carbon sequestration and potential carbon benefit in the report". Here it only mentions the carbon storage and carbon sink, but the scoring table behind says "8 pts. for Total Carbon Footprint < 200 Metric Tons of CO2". Does this mean that a calculation of carbon emission will be done for the whole life cycle? And which norms, e.g. the American ones or Chinese ones, can be used for the calculation? We wonder also if the specifications for wood processing, electricity and carbon emission conversion index, energy consumption and carbon emission index should be taken into account?
3. For overseas teams, should the transportation of the lumbers and boards across borders be included in the calculation of carbon emission and cost? As mentioned in the competition rules, the wood material will be sent to the teams. This transportation to China and the reverse transportation of the prefabricated wall panels back to the US will consume a lot of energy and costs, which the domestic teams don't have to consider in their calculations. In this case, will it disadvantage the overall rating of the overseas team?
Materials:
4. In accordance with the competition manual 5.4.1 (Page 19), "Simpson Strong-Tie connectors and fasteners can be requested from Simpson Strong-Tie using the MATERIALS REQUEST form in APPENDIX A." Is it possible to use connectors and fasteners other than those provided by SST?
5. If the overseas teams want to get the connectors and fasteners provided by SST, is the organizer going to send to them? Or can we contact SST's branch office in our country to provide the corresponding connections and fasteners?
Structure:
6. Is the overhanging floor beam mentioned in 5.1 used as a load test on site? We watched the video of last year's competition and two weights will be suspended on both sides of the beam on the day of the construction, is it the same this year? If yes, how heavy is the test weight and where exactly is the location of the suspended pickets?
7. Following the last question, what are the scoring rules for the test? Does the test score depend on the amount of the mass of the weight to be carried or the position of the weight hanging from the overhanging floor beam when carrying the same mass? Does the length of the overhanging floor beams play a role for the scoring?
8. To what extent should the structural framing be prefabricated? "it is a common practice to construct walls, floors, and roofs offsite", but "Roof framing shall be done onsite". Which parts of the roof can be finished offsite exactly?
9. Are the panels for sheathing considered as part of the structure?
BIM:
10. In the competition manual 8.1 it mentioned "visually demonstrating the continuous load path", and in 10.8 BIM scoring there is a part of Load path (20points). Should the "load path" be visualized by the "Analyze Model" function in Revit software, or does it just need to be schematically drawn in the drawing? That is, does the Load Path need to be generated by the software, or drawn manually?
11. What is the format of the BIM model to be uploaded in the second phase? For example, is it RTE or RVT or RFT?
12. We are currently using Revit version 2023 for modeling, do we need to save the BIM model as a lower version when we submit it? Which version exactly?
Construction:
13. Are the visual aids placed in the venue prior to race day or do they need to be assembled on site?
14. Is the time of 90min started by the timekeeper or after the referee's announcement? Is there a time limit for the preparation from the referee's announcement to the captain's start signal?
15. If the overseas teams are unable to attend the on-site construction in the US because of CONVID-19 policies, how can these teams keep participating in this competition? Are there influences for the scoring? In this case, do they still need to submit the report before Jan. 16th?
Budget:
16. Is there a standard for the unit price of different types and sizes of wood products?
17. Is there a price calculation standard available for Simpson joints?
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Zhong Xia S.M.ASCE
Student
Zhejiang University
Hangzhou
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