Prof. Meei-Ling Lin
Prof. Meei-Ling Lin
Dr. Lin is a Professor at Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University. She received her Ph.D. degree in Civil Engineering from University of Texas, Austin, USA, in 1987. Dr. Lin has been a member of the General Committee of the Southeast Asia Geotechnical Society since 2007. She serves as a committee member of the Jointed Technical Committee 1 (JTC1 on Landslide) of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, the International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment, the International Society for Rock Mechanics, and the International Geo-textile Society. She also serves as a committee member of Technical Committee 303 (TC-303 on Flood) and Asian Technical Committee-1 (ATC-1 on Climate Change) of ISSMGE.
Prof. Lin’s research interests and experiences include: potential analysis and simulation and behaviors of debris flow and slope stability, seismic slope behavior and stability, dynamic soil behaviors associated with soil liquefaction and ground responses analysis, mapping and micro-zonation of related debris flow, seismic slope stability potential, and seismic ground response. She lead a group to initiate a drafted Code for the Engineered Slope for the Ministry of Transportation and Communication, Executive Yuan, Taiwan. She has been invited as a Keynote speaker of international conferences, a special lecture speaker of International Landslide Symposiums and a panel reporter by ISSMG Conferences, and recently delivered an Opening Keynote for the Fourth Italian Workshop on Landslides.
SPECIAL FEATURE STORY ON “Recent Diaphragm Wall Technologies and Future Challenges”
By Hosoi Takeshi and Matsushita Shinya
Dr. Hosoi Takeshi
Dr. Hosoi Takeshi
Dr. Hosoi Takeshi is a Technical Advisor at WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff, Singapore. He received his PhD with research focused on “Bearing Capacity of Diaphragm Wall Foundation and various Issues during its Construction” from Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan in the year 1993.
Dr. Hosoi has more than 50 years of experience in design and construction of underground structures, tunnelling, bridge foundations and marine works. He is an international expert in diaphragm wall, barrette and bored pile foundation, shield tunnelling, NATM tunnelling, and other complex geotechnical works.
He is a Professional Engineer (PE) in Japan Since 1983, Fellowship of Japanese Society of Civil Engineer and International Member of Japanese Geotechnical Society. He coordinated the Asian Ocean Seminar sponsored by Japanese Ministry of Port and Harbour for 10 years. He was also a national member in “E-Defence Project” in Japan.
He served as a General Manager of Technical Research & Earthquake Technology Research Institute for 8 years and General Manager of Design Department of Nishimatsu Construction Co. Ltd. for 7 years.
Mr. Matsushita Shinya
Mr. Matsushita Shinya
Mr. Matsushita Shinya has been a Chief Engineer of Matsushita M&C Lab Co. Ltd. Since 2013. He was graduated from Nagoya University (Department of Science) in 1972 and joined Matsushita M&C Lab Co. Ltd.in 1972. He served as CEO of Matsushita M&C Lab. Co. Ltd. from 2003-2013. He is a Member of Japanese Geotechnical Society. He has been involved in a lot of big diaphragm wall projects in Japan for more than 40yers. In 1982 he was engaged in the experimental diaphragm wall construction for practical use of high DS polymer slurry and in 1984 he was joined the diaphragm wall construction project for Nagoya Subway 6 Line to lead successful adoption of polymer slurry. He was involved in Diaphragm Wall Foundation of Aomori Bay Bridge in 1988 and also in 1991 Diaphragm Wall Shaft at Kawasaki Artificial Island for Trans Tokyo Bay Highway Road. From 1992 to 1994 he was invited by the Grand Hi-Lai Hotel project and the Tuntex project（the Tuntex & Chien Tai Tower）at Kaohsiung, Taiwan as a consultant of Polymer slurry. From 2001 to 2006 he took part in the Water Cut-off Wall Project at Kansai International Airport for stabilizing land settlement as a chief engineer for quality control of slurry. In 2008 he engaged in the Wall Foundation , “Knuckle Wall ” Project of Tokyo Sky Tree as a chief engineer for quality control of polymer slurry.
HISTORICAL NOTE ON “Expriences of Geotechnical Development in Japan and Future Directions”
By Masami Fukuoka
Professor Masami Fukuoka
Prof. Masami Fukuoka
Prof. Fukuoka was born on 12 March 1917 in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. He studied Civil Engineering at the University of Tokyo, and in 1940 he entered the profession fully, taking up a post as a civil engineer for Japan’s Public Works Research Institute (PWRI) of the Ministry of Internal Affair. During the Second World War, he served in the Japanese military.
He returned to PWRI after the war ended, and his engineering acumen was immediately needed. Japan experienced a series of severe earthquakes and floods, which further complicated the damage the country had suffered to its infrastructure during the war. It was one of the most difficult times in the history of Japan, he said to me when I was young. As a civil engineer, in particularly, as a geotechnical engineer, he worked to restore Japan’s infrastructures from the effects of war and natural disasters. His strength of leadership was an especially important contribution to the design and construction of a great number of important infrastructures; and his work improved projects across a broad range of sectors, including those dealing landslides, road building and pavements, slope stability, flood control, river and coastal dyke engineering, ground investigation and soil test, earth pressure and retaining walls, rock-fill and earth-fill dams, ground subsidence, foundations of long-span bridges, earthquake geotechnical engineering and, eventually, geosynthetic engineering. The breadth of his work was extraordinary, considering how difficult it is to become a specialist in even one of these areas today. After rising to serve as PWRI’s director, he retired in 1970 and entered academia and became a full professor of Civil Engineering of the University of Tokyo, where I was studying as doctoral candidate. In 1977, Prof. Fukuoka transitioned to a professorship at Tokyo University of Science where he remained until his retirement in 1986. As his career progressed; he contributed greatly to multiple professional organizations. He helped establish the Japanese Geotechnical Society (JGS) in 1949 and served as President from 1976 – 1997. He was integral to Tokyo playing host to the 9thInternational Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, then served as President of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering (now ISSMGE) from 1977-1981.During this period, while at Tokyo University of Science, he started the research on geosynthetic-reinforced soil retaining walls and geomembrane lining at the bottom of reservoirs.
PREFACE
This Issue contains thirteen excellent papers as the country issue from Chinese Taipei Geotechnical Society (CTGS). It is an example of contributions from leading private sectors in Taiwan and also academics.
The first paper by Lee et al deals with the topic of rock tunnelling applied to steady water resources supply in Taiwan, challenges and examples. The authors deal with increasing soil erosion and slope collapse in some catchment area in Taiwan in the past decade. Also, increased sedimentation rates of the reservoirs reducing the effective capacity, and severely affecting the steady water supply. Multiple measures have been proposed for stabilizing the water supply. Tunnelling in the catchment area, even close to a dam, represents serious environmental and engineering risks. The authors present two cases of rock tunnelling as applied to steady water resources supply. Challenges and some distinctive issues, such as the presence of a high-temperature ground, a combustible gas emission ground, and potential instability of rock wedges caused by large underground excavation, are discussed. The authors then present countermeasures with a clever design of an elephant-trunk intake pipe to release turbid water. State-of-the-art tunnelling through rock and some innovative tunnelling technologies are utilized in these two cases.
The second paper by Chiu et al deals with the interesting topic of the state-of-the-art of tunnel maintenance in Taiwan and challenges to sustainable development. Tunnel construction in Taiwan started as early as the late nineteenth century; within the last 125 years, tunnel maintenance in Taiwan went through several stages. In early years engineers dealt with tunnel excavation. Now tunnel inspections, repairs and reinforcement were performed only when serious damages were observed. As the number of damaged tunnels increased, investigations revealed that the degradation of tunnels in Taiwan is inevitable and usually occurred in an exceptionally shot period. Frequent earthquakes, a high ground water level and poorly cemented rock masses provide an environment for such degradation. To adapt more effectively to the environment, tunnel maintenance looked at the entire life cycle of a tunnel. Thus the diagnostic methods have demonstrated to be useful in enhancing the sustainable operation of tunnels.
An interesting contribution by Wang et al dealt with rock tunnel –shaft intersection in projects in Taiwan. The construction of an intersection between a shaft and a rock tunnel is a three-dimensional problem, and requires more complex excavation and support methods than those used in conventional two-dimensional tunnel construction. The paper considered examples of rock tunnelling in Taiwan, and the construction of intersections between shafts and tunnels. Data are collected from case histories first, and the excavation sequences are classified. Then challenges as encountered to secure construction of the intersections of shafts and tunnels are examined, including the significant scale effects of rock masses on excavations; difficulties in controlling rock deformation near the intersections, and groundwater ingress are also discussed. Strategies and countermeasures as applied to overcome these difficulties in recent projects, and their effectiveness is investigated. Finally, the state-of-the-art design and construction of intersections between shafts and tunnels in Taiwan are presented.
The fourth paper by Hsiao et al dealt with the influence of peak strength degradation in assessing the stability of tunnels in hard rocks. Tunnelling depths are increasing rapidly in Taiwan. The effect of brittle failure on hard rock tunnelling is, however, rarely studied. In this paper, a study is carried out on the importance of the post-peak behaviour using Hoek-Brown failure criterion is investigated; through strength loss experimental studies , a relationship between strength loss parameter and confining stress is established. Subsequently, a numerical analysis model (so-called strength degradation model), is proposed and applied to predict the impact of the post-peak strength degradation on an actual tunnel. The analysis showed that the effect of the post-peak strength degradation on deformation during excavation is becoming more and more pronounced with increasing depth of tunnels. Severe deformation due to the excavation may endanger the tunnel stability during construction in deep overburden. Thus the strength degradation beyond brittle failure shall play an exceptionally important role in the stability of deep tunnelling.
The fifth paper by Hwang et al is on the deep excavations in Taipei Basin and the performance of diaphragm walls. Since movements of diaphragm walls are reduced by the presence of existing underground structures in the vicinity of excavation, comparison of the observed wall deflections with the results obtained by using two-dimensional analyses may lead to erroneous conclusions. Similarly, additions to diaphragm walls, such as buttresses, station entrances, ventilation shafts, etc., will also tend to reduce wall deflections. Thus the authors recommend to compare the results of two-dimensional analyses with the upper envelopes, designated as “reference envelope”, of a family of wall deflection paths of the same geometry of excavation and the same characteristics of the retaining system. Inclinometer readings obtained at Shandao Temple Station of the Bannan Line of Taipei Metro were studied to establish the relationship between wall deflections and depth of excavations. The results are verified by numerical analyses using PLAXIS computer software. Reference envelopes were then developed for estimating maximum wall deflections; and charts were established for correcting inclinometer readings to account for the movement at diaphragm wall toes. The authors found that the width of excavation has significant influence on wall deflections and toe movements. Additionally, the consolidation of the Songshan Formation due to the drawdown of groundwater in the Jingmei Formation reduced the movements of diaphragm wall toes.
In an interesting paper Yang et al studied the hydraulic characteristics of the Jingmei Formation and the Dewatering of Deep Excavations in Taipei Basin. Geotechnical Engineers in Taipei are well aware that the Jingmei Formation is a unique geological feature of the Taipei Basin. It is highly permeable and a water-rich stratum responsible for many failures in underground constructions. The piezometric heads in the Jingmei Formation had to be lowered by pumping for the deep excavations to be carried out safely. The authors thus discuss the hydraulic characteristics of the Jingmei Formation and the experience gained in large scale dewatering schemes. Attempts have been made to establish the relationship between the progression of tides in the river and the fluctuation of the piezometric levels in this Formation. The authors found that, the transmissivity and storage coefficient deduced from the observed groundwater drawdown are affected not only by the pumping rate, but also the duration of pumping; thus the rates required tend to be overestimated as based on the results of pumping tests.
Forensic studies have now become an important field in geotechnical engineering. The seventh paper by Lee et al is on the forensic investigation of a subway tunnel failure during construction. In this paper, the forensic evidences and investigation of a subway tunnel construction failure occurred in Kaohsiung, Taiwan is presented. The studied construction failure occurred during a cross-passage excavation of a shield tunnel construction work of the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit System, and resulted in severe tunnel collapse and extensive ground failure that even reached to ground surface 30m above the tunnel depth. Valuable photo images obtained during and post event, as well as results of special geophysical testing methods were presented and compared to verify aspects of the proposed failure scenario. Information presented in this paper would be helpful to improve engineers’ knowledge for preventing similar construction risks.
Typhoon Morakot brought tremendous rainfall of a hundred-year recurrence period in Taiwan. The paper by Chou et al concentrates on the effects as encountered by roads and houses in the middle and southern part of Taiwan; from landslides, debris flows, and floods. Erosion of road foundations, sliding of slopes, and collapse of bridges has paralysed the road system. Using Alishan Route 18 as an example, this paper discusses different causes, types, and renovation methods of slope disasters for future reference.
The paper by Lee et al also deals with the forecast of shallow landslides pertinent to Taiwan in a study which combines rainfall parameters and landslide susceptibility. Catastrophic landslides and debris slides triggered by typhoons such as Typhoon Morakot (2009) have occurred more frequently in the recent years, and caused many casualties and much economic loss in Taiwan. For the purpose of reducing the damage and preventing loss of life resulting from geological hazards, this study collects multiple period landslide inventories which contain the information of occurrence time, location, magnitude, rainfall intensity, and accumulated rainfall to establish the rainfall threshold for shallow landslides on a regional scale. The concept of a hazard matrix which combines the magnitude (landslide ratio of slope units) and the possibility of occurrence (historical disaster records) are investigated to set up the early warning thresholds. Accordingly, the critical rainfall thresholds were built up based on the R24 (24 hours cumulated rainfall) and I3 (3-hour mean rainfall intensity) of historical records. The model developed can predict the possible sediment hazard on the hillslope 2~9 hours before occurrence of landslides. The web based GIS helped to have early-warning systems to display the real-time rainfall data and the warning signal immediately for disaster prevention through increasing the response time.
Chang et al made dynamic analyses for performance based seismic design of geotechnical structures with examples in deep foundation. Performance-Based Seismic design (PBSD) of geotechnical engineering structures can be evaluated by a number of methods taking into account the uncertainties of the designed influence factors. Despite the fact that the seismic force is known to be a significant factor, the static and/or pseudo static analyses seem to be commonly adopted in design practice. The paper by Chang et al briefly discusses alternate approaches with the emphasis on dynamic analysis. Examples are given with the assessments of two deep foundations located in Taiwan. Dynamic analysis is rather important to the seismic design problems since it can monitor the details of time-dependent structural responses incorporating both peak ground acceleration and duration of the earthquake. Other than the 3D finite element analysis, the simplified solution from 1D wave equation analysis can be very effective and convenient for PBSD analysis on deep foundation.
The eleventh paper in this CTGS Issue is on the time dependent dynamic characteristics during soil liquefaction in saturated sand. Chen et al, conducted model pile tests to quantify the relation between soil stiffness and excess pore water pressure during liquefaction, the test data of a series of shaking table tests on model pile in saturated sand using a large biaxial laminar shear box conducted at the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering were analysed. The pile tip was fixed at the bottom of the shear box to simulate the condition of a pile foundation embedded in a firm stratum. The pile head was mounted with steel disks to simulate the superstructure. In addition, strain gauges and mini-accelerometers were placed on the pile surface to obtain the response of the pile under shaking. Therefore, the model pile can be considered as a sensor to evaluate the changes of dynamic characteristics of soil-pile system during the shaking by using the time-frequency analysis and system identification technique. The results showed that the stiffness of the soil would increase with the dissipation of pore water pressure and the recovery of soil stiffness is directly related to the effective stress ratio of soil specimen.
The interesting paper by Shi et al present geological investigation and sliding mitigation in Jiufen Area in Taiwan. Jiufen’s orographic and geological characteristics together with frequent typhoons and heavy rain make it potentially vulnerable to landslides. The landslide problems can be disastrous not only to the 2,300 local residents, but also to the constant flow of tourists visiting the town. After the site investigations, it is concluded that both of the colluvium and groundwater are the most important geological factors to the slope stability problems. According to the long-term groundwater level monitoring result, it varied from 8m to 12m during the period of typhoon and heavy rainfall. And the displacement induced by the groundwater level rising was found. Four underground flow lines were located based on the resistivity image profiling and self-potential investigation. Then five water collection wells were planned to construct according to the locations of underground flow lines. The level lowered down about 15m after the wells completed and the slope became stable. It is suggested that the depth of colluvium in Jiufen area needs to be investigated in more detail.
Finally the last paper thirteenth in this Issue is by Shu et al on the interpretation and analysis of potential fluidised landslide slope. Fluidized landslide, also called hillslope-type debris flow, often occurs on the village side hillslope in the mountain area during extreme weather condition. Fluidized landslide induces more severe damages than the shallow landslide; however its recognition model is still lacked. In this research a recognition model of the potential fluidized landslide slope was developed using 80 cases occurred in the Kaoping River basin, southern Taiwan. 30 fluidized landslides and 30 shallow landslides are employed for the model development and another 10 events of each landslide are applied for verification. Results show that the recognition model composed of 8 discriminant factors including geomorphology factors, hydrology factors and potential landslide factor predicated by SHALSTAB model provides accuracy rate of 85% of the verification events. Thus the model can be of practical use for fluidized landslide interpretation. The model can be used to identify the potential dangerous slope areas and effectively assist the disaster prevention and early warning of villages in mountain area.
The editor of this CTGS Issue is very pleased to be able to present the geotechnical activities in Taiwan through these thirteen contributions and hope that the material would be beneficial to Geotechnical Engineers in SE Asia and elsewhere.
Meei Ling Lin
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Thirteen excellent contributions are contained in this Country Issue of the Chinese Taipei Geotechnical Society (CTGS) as edited by Prof. Meei Ling Lin. All contributions are by authors from Taiwan and Prof. Meei Ling Lin must be congratulated for her excellent task. In the Preface Prof Lin have described in great detail the contributions from the authors. It is a pleasure to note that successful country issues are now completed by the Thai Geotechnical Society, The Vietnamese Society and now the Chinese Taipei Society. The contributions from Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia will also be released soon. Also, last but not least from Indonesia.
This issue also contains a special feature story on “Recent Diaphragm Wall Technologies and Future Challenges” by Hosoi Takeshi and Matsushita Shinya; a historical note on “Experiences of Geotechnical Development in Japan and Future Directions” by Masami Fukuoka and an “Obituary of Masami Fukuoka” by Fumio Tatsuoka. The passing away of Prof Masami Fukuoka on 27 January 2016 is a great loss to the engineering communities.
