Views of Young Geotechnical Engineers

III South-American Conference of Young Geotechnical Engineers

The 3rd South-American Conference of Young Geotechnical Engineers was organized by the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), the Argentinean Society of Geotechnical Engineering (SAIG), the Argentinean National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) and the National University of Córdoba (UNC). This event took place in Córdoba (Argentina) from March 30 to April 1, in the facilities of the Engineering School of the UNC. During the Conference, authorities of Cordoba Province, of the Engineering School of UNC and of the ISSMGE spoke about the importance of research, transference of technology and professional formation to promote novel solutions and knowledge within the geotechnical field.

Opening ceremony: From left to right, Prof. Gabriel Tavella (president of the Engineering School, UNC), Prof. Waldemar Hachich (Vice-President of ISSMGE), Prof Pedro Sêco e Pinto (President of ISSMGE), P.E. Hugo Testa (representing the government of Córdoba Province) and Prof. Franco Francisca (Chair of the Local Organizing Committee).

The conference brought together over 86 participants from 9 different countries. Also attend to the conference the President of the ISSMGE (Prof. Pedro Sêco e Pinto), the Vice–President for South America (Prof. Waldemar Hachich), authorities of the Argentinean Society of Geotechnical Engineering (SAIG), authorities of the professional council of Civil Engineers of Córdoba City and authorities and professors of the National University of Córdoba.

Delegates and Invitees of the 3rd SACYGE.

Professor Pedro Sêco e Pinto opens the conference with a speech including also relevant aspect and current activities of the ISSMGE. During Monday and Tuesday 51 articles were presented by the delegates from different countries which were organized in six different sessions: Soil Mechanics, Foundations, Environmental Geotechnics, Site and Laboratory Investigations, Embankments and Retaining Structures, and Computational Geomechanics. There were also 5 special keynote lectures: Prof. Ricardo Rocca spoke about of the Unicity in Geotecnical Engineering, Prof. Waldemar Hachich presented a numerical study of soil nailing, Prof. Roberto Terzariol referred to the advances in the study of collapsible soils performed by the geotechnical group of the UNC during the last 40 years, Prof. Pedro Arduino focus on the lateral loaded pile design and Prof. Sêco e Pinto close the Conference with a lecture of lessons learned from two case histories of retaining structures.

Visit to Cerro Pelado Hydroelectric power plant

The different sessions were chaired by geotechnical engineers and professors with a recognized trajectory and assisted by a young delegate. The work was intense, and there were enriching discussions of different topics that many times continue during the coffee breaks. At Monday evening all the attendants visit the geotechnical laboratory at the UNC where there was also time for a confraternity reception. At Tuesday night all the participants shared a dinner tasting a typical barbecue and different wines from Argentina. During the dinner Professor Sêco e Pinto encouraged the Colombian Society to be the organizer of the next South-American Conference of Young Geotechnical Engineers in 2012. On Wednesday there were a field trip where the attendants visited the Cerro Pelado Hydroelectric Power plant, shared a lunch in Villa General Belgrano, visited a regional beer manufacturing. Finally this conference ended with a touristic visit to the Alta Gracia’s Jesuitical Ranch (UNESCO World Heritage).

Reported by Franco Francisca, Chair of the Local Organizing Committee
Adjunct Professor at the National University of Cordoba and Adjunct Researcher of the Argentinean National Scientific and Technical Research Council.
Email: ffrancis@efn.uncor.edu

Views of Young Geotechnical Engineers

Young Geotechnical Engineers: Welcome Message by New Editorial Member

As a new member of the extended editorial board of ISSMGE Bulletin and Coorinator for Asia, I convey my sincere greetings to the entire Geotechnical faternity of the world.

As per the invitation and approval letter dated March 6, 2009, by Prof. Pinto, President ISSMGE and other board members, we following six young geotechnical engineer will act as coordinator of respective region for ISSMGE Bulletin during a period of four years from 2009. As felt by ISSMGE board members, inclusion of us, from geographical areas like Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe and America, in the editorial board of ISSMGE Bulletin will reinforce the management of the board in near future.

On behalf of my other colleagues, representing different regions, we all welcome this new extended editorial board of the bulletin and thank ISSMGE board for this new selection. It will definitely provide and maintain a strong connection between the experineced and young geotechnical engineers throughout the world using this bulletin.

As a team, we all will work together under the leadership of Prof. Kusakabe, Board member and Editor-in-Chief of ISSMGE Bulletin. However, the responsibility for collection of materials for each issue of the bulletin will be taken by each one of us, in rotation.

To promote the geotechnical news, which are of important concern for our worldwide faternity, we request all the members and non-members to communicate us for possible wide circulation of the material through this bulletin. We solicit all of your valuable suggestions, observations, extract and notices for making this bulletin more helpful and useful to our geotechnical world. The details of the new regional coordinators for communication are given below,

Reported by Deepankar Choudhury, Coordinator for Asia, ISSMGE Bulletin, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India (Email: dc@civil.iitb.ac.in, dchoudhury@iitb.ac.in)

ISSMGE 75 years Anniversary

Address of Prof. Pedro Sêco e Pinto (Immediate Past President)

For the occasion of Orlando Board meeting on March 2009 the President Prof. Pedro Sêco e Pinto reminded that the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) had its origins at the 1936 International Conference held in Cambridge, Massachusetts. So the 75th Years Anniversary would be in 2011.

During this unforgettable journey the geotechnics torch from Cambridge in 1936, which took place during the 1st International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundations Engineering, has already crossed the following cities: Rotterdam, Zurich, London, Paris, Montreal, Mexico, Moscow, Tokyo, Stockholm, San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, New Delhi, Hamburg, Istanbul, Osaka and Alexandria (17th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering), with a periodicity of four years.

The diversity of all 84 ISSMGE Societies, distributed over 6 Regions (see Figure 1) is our great richness and a source of inspiration. It is our great challenge, but also a unique opportunity to re-design ISSMGE, due to the changes of basic societal structure, in order to reach a new model. We need to recognise the
importance of dialogue to give our hands, to work together and to pursue perfection to reach the optimum solution. Figure 2 presents the changes in Membership and Member Societies of ISSMGE.

Read more >>

Download ISSMGE Bulletin – Volume 7 Issue 5 September 2013
Part 1 in PDF format
Part 2 in PDF format

The 16th Southeast Asian Geotechnical Conference has just been concluded in Kuala Lumpur in a suburban township known as Subang Jaya. The Conference was attended by the President and the Vice President for Asia of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), Professor Pedro S. Sêco e Pinto and Professor M. R. Madhav. It was well attended by about 500 participants from 23 countries. The Honourable Minister of Housing and Local Government of Malaysia Dato’ Ong Ka Ting who was the guest of honour, declared opened the 3-day Conference with one day of site visits. Professor Pinto; Professor Madhav and Professor K. Y. Yong, the President of the Southeast Asian Geotechnical Society (SEAGS), Datuk Paduka Engr. Keizrul Abdullah, President of the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia, Dato’ Ir. Annies Bin Md Ariff, Deputy Director General of Public Works Department, Malaysia, gave their addresses at the conference.

This Conference has one Opening Keynote Address, one Chin Fung Kee Lecture, 8 Keynote Lectures, 4 Special Lectures, 5 Special Session Lectures and 11 technical sessions with about 130 papers. The theme of the Conference is “Geotechnical Innovations in Practice, Tsunami and Debris Flow”. A forum on the conference theme was held before closure of the conference technical sessions. There were active discussions from the floor. Post conference proceedings will be published in due course. All participants are encouraged to send in their discussions within 3 months from the date of the close of the conference. A farewell Banquet was held with cultural performances on 10th May 2007 to reward the Keynote Lecturers, Special lecturers, authors, participants and others who have in one way or another contributed towards the success of the conference. A cake cutting ceremony was also held at the banquet to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Society. The President and Vice President of Asia of the ISSMGE took active part in the conference sessions, meeting with SEAGS Council Members and participated in the ISSMGE Technical Committee meetings.

The celebration of the 40th anniversary of the SEAGS

A group photo taken during the farewell party

This Conference is jointly organized by the SEAGS, the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) and the Public Works Department of Malaysia and supported by Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia, Nehemiah Reinforced Soil Sdn Bhd, Tourism Malaysia, Konsortium LPB Sdn Bhd, TenCarte (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Keller (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and many others including the Institution of Engineers, Hong Kong. The registration fee was kept at very affordable level so that all those who wish to attend the Conference could benefit. In recognition of the contribution from the authors of papers, very special rate has been accorded to them. The hard bound Conference proceedings containing about 1000 pages, the 40th Anniversary Commemorative Volume of the SEAGS and the bound volume of the Professor Chin Fung Kee Memorial Lecture Series 1991-2006 were given to all participants. The General Committee of the SEAGS decided at its meeting that the next SEAGS Conference will be held in Taipei City in 2010. The meeting also elected Dr. Chung-Tien Chin as the New President for session 2007/2010. Dr. Teik-Aun Ooi was elected as the Protem Chairman for the proposed formation of the Association of Geotechnical Societies of Southeast Asia.

A technical exhibition will be organized. Highlights of the activity will be on the project experiences, product solutions, new applications and state-of-the-art information on the themes mentioned. Abstracts on the fields of geotechnical engineering such as soil characterization, foundations, slopes, excavations, pavements, ground improvements, soil reinforcements, environmental geotechnics, engineering geology, tunneling are encouraged.

On the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of SEAGS, a special commemorative volume compiling the advancement, achievement and development of Geotechnical Engineering for various ASEAN member countries in the last 40 years will be published. This publication is in addition to the Conference Proceedings. The national geotechnical societies are encouraged to contribute to this volume.

The Opening Keynote Lecture entitled “Lessons Learned from recent MRT Construction Failures in Asia Pacific”, will be delivered by Dr. Za-Chieh Moh. Chin Fung Kee Lecture will be presented by Prof. K.Y. Yong. The following Keynote Lectures will also be delivered:

1. Treated and Untreated Behaviour of Soft Clays in Ground Improvement by Prof. A.S. Balasubramaniam
2. Geomaterial Characterization in Simulating the Performance of Large Dam under Construction by Prof. H. Ohta
3. Issues in Evaluating Rock Socket Foundations by Prof. F. H. Kulhawy
4. Effects of Aging and Viscous Behaviour on Strength and Deformation Characteristics of Very Soft Marine Bangkok Soft Clay by Dr. S. Sambhandharaksa
5. Thermo-Mechanical Behaviour and Stabilization of Soft Bangkok Clay by Prof. D.T. Bergado
6. Impacts of Some Major Geotechnical Disasters in Malaysia by Dr. W.H. Ting
7. Challenges in Slope Engineering in Hong Kong by Ir. R. Chan
8. Challenges in Ground Improvement Techniques for Extreme Conditions: Concept and Performance by Mr. S. Varaksin

The following topics are for Special Lectures :

1. Ground Improvement in Disaster Mitigation and Rehabilitation Works by Assoc. Prof. J. Chu
2. Establishment of Environmental Geology Database in Taiwan by Dr. C.T. Chin
3. Instrumentation Program and Ground movements in the Construction of the First Bangkok Subway MRT by Assoc. Prof. Dr. N. Phien-wej
4. Geotechnical Investigation and Remedial works Design of a Reinforced Soil Wall Failure by Ir. Y.C. Tan

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GROUND IMPROVEMENT AND GROUND CONTROL

Wollongong University hosted the International Conference on Ground Improvement and Ground Control from 30th October to 2nd November 2012. Showcasing ground improvement concepts and applications in the fields of transport infrastructure and natural hazards mitigation, the conference acted as a platform to disseminate the most recent research and field advances to the global geotechnical community. Over 300 participants from 30 countries took part. Outstanding Keynote lectures, State of Art presentations, Heritage lectures and numerous technical discussions were delivered during the three days of scientific and technical discourse elucidating a comprehensive coverage of the current State-of-the-Art in Ground Improvement from theory to practice. The technical program was complimented with excursions encompassing reclaimed land at Port Kembla designed by the University of Wollongong’s geotechnical group and landslide hazards mitigation works at the Lawrence Hargrave Drive Bridge.

During the closing ceremony, University of Wollongong’s Professor Buddhima Indraratna, was awarded the prestigious Medal of the Eurasian National University for his contributions to ground improvement and transport geotechnology making a significant international impact. The medal has previously been awarded to a wide cross-section of the professional community, artists, political and religious leaders. Professor Indraratna is the second civil engineer to receive this award which was presented by Professor Askar Zhussupbekov, a senior representative of the Eurasian National University and current Vice-President for ASIA of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. >> Read more

Highlights of the events

Opening Ceremony

16th Southeast Asian Geotechnical Conference
8 – 11 May 2007, Sheraton Subang Hotel & Towers, Subang Jaya, Malaysia

The 16th Southeast Asian Geotechnical Conference has just been concluded in Kuala Lumpur in a suburban township known as Subang Jaya. The Conference was attended by the President and the Vice President for Asia of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), Professor Pedro S. Sêco e Pinto and Professor M. R. Madhav. It was well attended by about
500 participants from 23 countries. The Honourable Minister of Housing and Local Government of Malaysia Dato’ Ong Ka Ting who was the guest of honour, declared opened the 3-day Conference with one day of site visits. Professor Pinto; Professor Madhav and Professor K. Y. Yong, the President of the Southeast Asian Geotechnical Society (SEAGS), Datuk Paduka Engr. Keizrul Abdullah, President of the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia, Dato’ Ir. Annies Bin Md Ariff, Deputy Director General of Public Works Department, Malaysia, gave their addresses at the conference.

This Conference has one Opening Keynote Address, one Chin Fung Kee Lecture, 8 Keynote Lectures, 4 Special Lectures, 5 Special Session Lectures and 11 technical sessions with about 130 papers. The theme of the Conference is “Geotechnical Innovations in Practice, Tsunami and Debris Flow”. A forum on the conference theme was held before closure of the conference technical sessions. There were active discussions from the floor. Post conference proceedings will be published in due course. All participants are encouraged to send in their discussions within 3 months from the date of the close of the conference. A farewell Banquet was held with cultural performances on 10th May 2007 to reward the Keynote Lecturers, Special lecturers, authors, participants and others who have in one way or another contributed towards the success of the conference. A cake cutting ceremony was also held at the banquet to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Society. The President and Vice President of Asia of the ISSMGE took active part in the conference sessions, meeting with SEAGS Council Members and participated in the ISSMGE Technical Committee meetings.

This Conference is jointly organized by the SEAGS, the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) and the Public Works Department of Malaysia and supported by Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia, Nehemiah Reinforced Soil Sdn Bhd, Tourism Malaysia, Konsortium LPB Sdn Bhd, TenCarte (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Keller (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and many others including the Institution of Engineers, Hong Kong. The registration fee was kept at very affordable level so that all those who wish to attend the Conference could benefit. In recognition of the contribution from the authors of papers, very special rate has been accorded to them. The hard bound Conference proceedings containing about 1000 pages, the 40th Anniversary Commemorative Volume of the SEAGS and the bound volume of the Professor Chin Fung Kee Memorial Lecture Series 1991-2006 were given to all participants. The General Committee of the SEAGS decided at its meeting that the next SEAGS Conference will be held in Taipei City in 2010. The meeting also elected Dr. Chung-Tien Chin as the New President for session 2007/2010. Dr. Teik-Aun Ooi was elected as the Protem Chairman for the proposed formation of the Association of Geotechnical Societies of Southeast Asia.

A group photo taken during the farewell party

The celebration of the 40th anniversary of the SEAGS

Prof. Victor de Mello’s Website

A website has been launched by Prof. Victor de Mello and his family to share with all interested engineers his thoughts and scientific production. Most of his technical papers are already available for free downloading, to be followed by interviews, thesis, some photos and poetry. His family is proud to invite all colleagues to visit and use the site www.victorfbdemello.com.br.

Benson Hsiung, Deputy Secretary, Chinese Taipei Geotechnical Society

The Taoyuan International Airport Link (TIAL) is a metro system stretching from Taipei city center to Taoyuan International Airport with a total length of 51.0 km, which comprises 8 underground stations constructed by cut and cover method and 15 elevated stations. CECI Engineering Consultants, Inc. in Taiwan is in charge of detailed designs and primary construction supervision works on Packages DA115, DU01, DU02 and DE01. Some special issues about geotechnical design works in TIAL are introduced in this article.

1. Large-scale Excavation For A1 Station And Joint Development Buildings

A1 terminal station of TIAL is located asides the Taipei Main Station. The excavation was performed in very soft ground with high groundwater level and an aquifer underlying the excavation. A large-scale excavation with 27.2 m in depth and 26,000 square meters in area was constructed for A1 station as well as for the basement of joint development buildings having 76 stories and 56 stories, respectively. As indicated in Figure 1, the excavation site is situated next to many sensitive underground and above-ground structures, such as Taipei City Mall, viaduct, High Speed Rail (THSRC) and Taiwan Railway Administration tunnels etc., on which no adverse effects were allowed in order to ensure the normal operation. Protection measures, such as buttress and full height cross walls for diaphragm wall system and groundwater withdrawal from the underlying aquifer with intensive monitoring were employed to reduce deformation induced by the excavation and ensure the basal stability of excavation. Observations showed that lateral deformation up to 40 mm for diaphragm wall and surface settlement of 27 mm were found at the end of excavation.

Figure 1 Large-scale excavation for the terminal station of TIAL

2. DOT Tunnel Crossing Dan-Shui River

A tunnel works with a total length of 1580m will be performed to cross Dan-Shui River and connect Taipei main station and San Chong City. If twin bored tunnels are employed, up to six cross passages shall be installed according to Fire Protection Regulation. In order to eliminate risk in construction of cross passages as well as to save land compensation for the route running underneath residential houses located, a Double-O-Tube (DOT) shield machine was employed to replace twin bored tunnels through elaborative assessment (refer to Figure 2). Similar machine was successfully adopted in Japan and Shanghai, Mainland China before. The tunnel was mainly bored in silty clay and occasionally in sand, as shown in Figure 2. The maximum vertical slope and minimum horizontal curvature radius of the alignment is 4.9% and 277.0 m, respectively. DOT shield machine was launched from San Chong end in December 2009 and arrived at Taipei end in December 2010. >> Read More

Gala dinner at the Pavillon Dauphine

From the Editor of ISSMGE BULLETIN

During the ICSMGE in Paris, the editing team of the Bulletin got together in a one-star restaurant in the heart of Paris and enjoyed the authentic French cuisine. This gathering was planned by the Editor-in-Chief in order to appreciate the enthusiastic contribution of the team members. The photograph below right was taken after this gathering. If you are interested in what happened after this photograph, please ask one of the editing team members.

During the dinner

After the dinner

NEWS ON RECENT CONFERENCE

The 5th international Young Geotechnical Engineers’
Conference – iYGEC 2013 

Yu-Jun Cui
Chair of the Organizing Committee of 5th iYGEC

The fifth international Young Geotechnical Engineers’ Conference – iYGEC 2013 was held on 31st of August and 1st of September, 2013, at Ecole des Ponts Paris Tech (ENPC) under the auspices of the French Society for Soil Mechanics (CFMS) and the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE). The Organising Committee was composed of: Yu-Jun Cui (Chair), Fabrice Emeriault (Co-chair), Séverine Beaunier, Fahd Cuira, Siavash Ghabezloo, Jean-Michel Pereira, Hugo Ravel, Michael Reboul and Anh Minh Tang. The contribution of the following volunteer PhD students was greatly appreciated: Rawaz Muhammed, Trong Vinh Duong, Hamza Menaceur, Sadok Feia, Linh Quyen Dao, Simona Saba, Jean-François Bruchon and Radja Elandaloussi.. >> Read more

Fig. 1. Participation of countries by continent

The 17th Southeast Asian Geotechnical conference (17SEAGC) was held in Taipei from May 10th to 13th, 2010 under the auspices of Southeast Asian Geotechnical Society (SEAGS) and Chinese Taipei Geotechnical Society (CTGS) with great success. The Conference has attracted more than 160 technical papers worldwide and there were some 300 participants not only from the Southeast Asian Region alone but also from North America, Europe, Africa, Australia and many other Asian Countries such as Japan, Korea, China, Iran, India, Kuwait and Kazakhstan. These friendships brought by the participants will in many ways help a great deal in the substantial and healthy developments amongst the various geotechnical Societies. At the Conference, it was also resolved that the SEAGS Geotechnical Engineering Journal will be jointly published by the SEAGS and the AGSSEA. It is hope that the Journal will receive strong support from the two societies as well as international support particularly the ISSMGE. Selected papers from the 17SEAGC are being upgraded and published in the 2010 Issues of the journal. It was announced at the Conference Banquet that Singapore will host the joint 18SEAGC in Singapore in 2013.”

17SEAGC Held on 10 – 13 May 2010 in Taipei