Minnesota State University, Mankato Construction Management Materials Lab
Location
CSU Ballroom
Start Date
21-4-2014 2:00 PM
End Date
21-4-2014 3:30 PM
Student's Major
Construction Management
Student's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Mentor's Name
Matthew Durand
Mentor's Department
Construction Management
Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Description
The Construction Management Department is requesting funds to build a materials lab. This lab would provide students with the opportunity to learn in a new atmosphere, giving them more of a real world experience. The lab would consist of a hands-on space for students to interact with the materials they would use out in the field. While planning the lab, research was done to find ways to run it in the most efficient way. One of these ways is to use solar photovoltaic panels on the roof of the building. These panels do not need direct sunlight to work, meaning energy can still be captured even on cloudy days. The main benefit of using solar panels in this project is that they require little maintenance, making the lab more self-sufficient. The second way to run the lab efficiently is to use radiant heating in the concrete floors. Tubes will be buried in the floor while waves of thermal radiation rise heating the lab. The water will be heated by the panels on the roof and run through these pipes. The main benefit of radiant heating is that it can be up to thirty percent more efficient than forced-air heating, making it the obvious choice when it comes to heating. Using solar photovoltaic panels along with radiant floors will reduce the cost of running the lab immensely. Our research shows that the lab would be beneficial to all Construction Management students and can be built to run efficiently.
Minnesota State University, Mankato Construction Management Materials Lab
CSU Ballroom
The Construction Management Department is requesting funds to build a materials lab. This lab would provide students with the opportunity to learn in a new atmosphere, giving them more of a real world experience. The lab would consist of a hands-on space for students to interact with the materials they would use out in the field. While planning the lab, research was done to find ways to run it in the most efficient way. One of these ways is to use solar photovoltaic panels on the roof of the building. These panels do not need direct sunlight to work, meaning energy can still be captured even on cloudy days. The main benefit of using solar panels in this project is that they require little maintenance, making the lab more self-sufficient. The second way to run the lab efficiently is to use radiant heating in the concrete floors. Tubes will be buried in the floor while waves of thermal radiation rise heating the lab. The water will be heated by the panels on the roof and run through these pipes. The main benefit of radiant heating is that it can be up to thirty percent more efficient than forced-air heating, making it the obvious choice when it comes to heating. Using solar photovoltaic panels along with radiant floors will reduce the cost of running the lab immensely. Our research shows that the lab would be beneficial to all Construction Management students and can be built to run efficiently.
Recommended Citation
Gooler, Ashley and Randal Todd. "Minnesota State University, Mankato Construction Management Materials Lab." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 21, 2014.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2014/poster_session_B/10
