Mission 2026 · ASCE ISWS · Concrete Canoe

PLUTO Jacks

Northern Arizona University's 2026 Concrete Canoe Team. Designing a lightweight, racing-ready hull from supplementary cementitious materials — then paddling it to victory at the Intermountain Southwest Student Symposium.

5Engineers
/
NAU CECMEECapstone
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Flagstaff, AZ
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ISWS 2026Competition
Explore the Project View Hull Design
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01 · Mission Brief

Concrete. In Orbit.

The ASCE Request for Proposal challenges civil engineers to prove concrete's versatility by racing a canoe built from it. We answer that call with the PLUTO Jacks — a team of five NAU seniors engineering a lightweight hull that floats, paddles, and competes at the 2026 Intermountain Southwest Student Symposium.

Mix Design

Supplementary cementitious blends — fly ash, silica fume, lightweight aggregates — engineered for a low density, high-strength hull.

ACI 318 · ASCE RFP

Hull Geometry

Parametric hull profile optimized for stability and hydrodynamic efficiency across men's, women's, and coed sprint events.

18' × 30" × 18" · FS 2.06

Structural Analysis

Finite element analysis of the composite shell under paddling loads, transport conditions, and the ASCE swamp test.

FEA · Composite Beam
0
Compressive Strength
ACI 318 · design mix @ 28 days
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Factor of Safety
Capacity vs. demand · shear
0
Mix Density
Lightweight · floats
0
Max Bending Moment
4-person loading per C4
02 · Live Hull Preview

Hull in motion — drag to orbit.

A parametric rendering of the 2026 PLUTO Jacks hull. Engineered lines. Pluto-inspired finish. Click and drag to explore.

NAU PLUTO · On Water
NAU PLUTO Jacks canoe on water with paddlers
18' × 30" × 18" · 68 pcf · Built & racing
SolidWorks 3D hull model
Fig 4-5 · 3D CAD
FEA Von Mises study
Fig 4-6 · FEA
Finished canoe on custom stand
Final · On Stand
Overall Length
18ft
Beam (Width)
30in
Depth (Height)
18in
Hull Thickness
0.5in
Mix Density
68pcf
Engineering · Final Design Report

Analysis & Materials.

Finite element analysis in SolidWorks. A ten-component lightweight concrete mix. Real numbers, real tests, real data — detailed in our Final Design Report.

Orthogonal FEA Study — von Mises stress
Figure 4-6 · Orthogonal FEA Study

Stresses stay minimal

Von Mises stress plot shows max 73 psi at the 4.5 ft marker — well within the 1,900 psi compressive capacity of the selected mix. Carbon fiber mesh reinforces the shear zones.

Table 2-6 · Final Mix Proportions (per ft³)
Fly Ash19.78 lbs Slag17.93 lbs Portland Cement21.54 lbs Poraver (lightweight agg)11.03 lbs K1 aggregate3.70 lbs Lime2.47 lbs Perlite1.85 lbs Fibers0.37 lbs Air Entrainer0.03 lbs Water23.05 lbs
Read the Final Design Report (PDF)
03 · The Crew

Five engineers. One dwarf planet.

Meet the 2026 PLUTO Jacks — civil engineering seniors at Northern Arizona University.

Amit Shah

Amit Shah

Structural Analysis Lead
Civil Engineering · NAU
Jonathan Alvarez Rojas

Jonathan Alvarez Rojas

Project Manager
Civil Engineering · NAU
Kayleigh Rice

Kayleigh Rice

Technical Report Lead
Civil Engineering · NAU
Theo Greenan

Theo Greenan

Construction Lead
Civil Engineering · NAU
Trevion Booker

Trevion Booker

Mix Design Lead
Civil Engineering · NAU
Advisors · Client

Mission Control

Mark Lamer, P.E.

Mark Lamer, P.E.

Client · NAU CECMEE
Mark.Lamer@nau.edu
Robin Tuchscherer, Ph.D., P.E.

Robin Tuchscherer, Ph.D., P.E.

Grading Instructor · NAU
Robin.Tuchscherer@nau.edu
Taylor Layland, P.E.

Taylor Layland, P.E.

Technical Advisor
Contact via team