Blind Calculation Contest 2025

This year, students taking the 'Concrete Structures I' bachelor course had for the first time the chance to predict the true failure mode and corresponding load of a test beam.
The students' task beforehand was to apply the knowledge they had just learnt about bending and shear design to ‘backwards’ calculate the ultimate load of the 5.5 m long, 44 cm high and 30 cm wide reinforced concrete beam in a 3-point bending test with an eccentric load. The type of failure and the corresponding press load were submitted in groups.
Things got exciting on Tuesday 8 July, 2025: the students were allowed to watch the test live, together with representatives of the Supporters Association for Concrete and Masonry Structures of the TU Munich over a Bavarian snack. At the same time, the development of the press load was displayed on a screen alongside the estimates that had been submitted. At 269 kN, it was all over: the beam failed brittly due to the tearing of the stirrups in the already clearly visible shear crack. We congratulate the group that the predicted the correct failure mode and came particularly close to the failure load with 253.7 kN, securing the winner's trophy.
We want to thank the Supporters Association for Concrete and Masonry Structures of the TU Munich for providing refreshments. We look forward to the next Blind Calculation Contest (BCC) in 2026.