Algonquin is helping both students and inventors work together to develop products with the applied research program.
Jose Aguilera and two teams in the construction engineering technician/civil engineering technology course are working together to create a new paving stone that may prevent the same water damage that current methods have.
The project is creating and monitoring how well the projects turn out.
“What we want to see is how well the water permeates down into the system and whether or not the paver stones settle over time,” said Stephen Dickerson, a student from the project. “We want to know if they’re going to heave, if they’re going to sink or anything else.”
Aguilera is excited for his partner Rose Bradson and himself that the applied research program has accepted the proposal from Fractal Tectonics, their company.
“The college’s program helps start ups like mine have access to resources, students and of course equipment,” said Aguilera. “It’s a great way to leverage our dollars and not have to pay for labor. We put up to $33,000 and they contribute to that.”
The stones are a removable modular cast-in-place and pre-cast concrete slabs that are connected by a pin. The pins act like a hinge allowing the stones to move but also keep the stones together, and will extend the life of the stones.
“The idea came to my partner Rose when he was trying to pave his own driveway, little by little he started thinking about the benefits of modularity,” said Aguilera.
The stones are being set up behind the parking lot of P-building. They are going to sit there for the next year being monitored by the first group that graduates this year and the second that will graduate next year.