Joint Symposium: The Challenge of Neutron-Based Bridge Fluoroscopy

Audience Listening to a Presentation

Non-destructive inspection using neutron radiography Source: RIKEN

Each material used in the reinforced concrete can be extracted (The above photos are images measured by X-rays, but the goal is to perform a more advanced analysis using neutrons in the future.) Source: RIKEN

Concrete bridge where the state of corrosion of interior steel is difficult to assess

On Jun. 30th, 2010, the Public Works Research Institute (PWRI) held the joint symposium, “The Challenge of Neutron-Based Bridge Fluoroscopy,” in cooperation with RIKEN Japan at the Tokyo International Forum.
Neutron radiography, which applies a neutron beam to perform transmission observation of the interior of objects, is considered to be a method of checking the interior structure of deteriorated bridges (see the figure). To apply this to actual bridges, it will be necessary to combine basic technologies to create a compact system. CAESAR at the PWRI and RIKEN Innovation Center (RInC) have signed a Coordination and Cooperation Agreement in order to undertake research and development of such a system.
The Symposium was divided into three parts: Part 1. Preventive Maintenance of Large Structures, Part 2. Overview of Neutron Inspection and Evaluation Technologies, and Part 3. Latest Non-destructive Inspection and Evaluation Technologies, and included presentations by 11 speakers. Part 1 consisted of presentations concerning the present state of road bridge maintenance and roles which non-destructive inspections are counted on to play in this maintenance. In Part 2, speakers gave a basic explanation of neutrons, described portable compact neutron beam devices expected to be developed in the future, and discussed studies of the safety of applying them in actual work places. In Part 3, researchers spoke on the most advanced research and development of a variety of non-destructive inspection and evaluation technologies other than those using neutrons.
At the symposium venue, more than 500 participants listened attentively to the presentations. They represented a wide range of related fields, with about 40% involved in the maintenance of large structures in the construction and civil engineering areas, 20% active in the development of non-destructive inspection equipment by manufacturers, and approximately 10% conducting related research in universities and research institutes. Throughout the day, the speakers addressed nearly capacity audiences, demonstrating their high expectations of this research.
Please access this page to see the documents distributed during the symposium.



(Contact: CAESAR)

ICHARM Signed MoU with TDMRC

Photo 1. ICHARM’s Director (left) and TDMRC’s Director (right) shake hands after signing the MoU.

Photo 2 Monument of Tsunami disaster, Ship above the houses by TSUNAMI (c)Joint Seminar between ICHARM and TDMRC at Banda Aceh

Photo 3. Complete destroyed by TSUNAMI, Nothing of all beyond the beach. (c)International Tsunami Survey Team for Sumatra Tsunami 2004

The representative of the Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Center (TDMRC) of Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh, Indonesia visited ICHARM on Jun. 21st, 2010. The highlight of this visit was the signing of MoU between TDMRC and ICHARM. They also paid a courtesy visit to PWRI Chief Executive Sakamoto and took an observation tour to several research facilities of PWRI and had a discussion on potential future collaborative activities to ICHARM Director Takeuchi.
TDMRC was established in 2006 in response to the great devastation caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami disaster. The main focus of TDMRC is to conduct applied studies in disaster risk reduction to produce strategic concepts to increase people’s awareness of disaster risk reduction. The collaboration between ICHARM and TDMRC has been developed since 2008.
In March 2010, they jointly organized the International Workshop on Sustainable Tsunami Disaster Management in Banda Aceh.
Based on the MoU, which was signed by ICHARM Director Takeuchi and TDMRC Director Dirhamsyah, the parties have agreed to cooperate in various forms such as conducting collaborative research, co-organizing technical conferences, encouraging exchange visits and collaboration in job-trainings and internships, establishing links between the parties’ websites, developing electronic communications, and jointly preparing technical and scientific reports in areas of mutual interest.
Besides, Dr. Teuku Alvisyahrin, one of the delegates, is an ex-trainee of the “UN/ISDR Comprehensive Tsunami Disaster Prevention Training Course”, which was conducted by ICHARM in 2008. We are so delighted to continue the relationship with him and finally sign the MoU with his institution.


(Contact: Disaster Prevention Research Team, ICHARM)

PWRI Research Evaluation Committee External Evaluation Committee Meeting FY2010

Table: Subcommittee organization and committee meeting attendees

The Committee

The Late Chairman Tamura: At the 2008 Committee Meeting

The PWRI Research Evaluation Committee External Evaluation Committee Meeting was held on Jun. 14th.
The Committee discussed “the Development of Recycling Technologies in Construction for Efficiently Utilizing Natural Resources and Reducing Wastes” , which was priority project research completed last year, and debated other representative priority project researches and reports on the contents of discussions by sub-committees conducted in May and June.
The Evaluation Committee members offered a variety of advice from the perspectives of research management and research directions concerning PWRI research activities such as, Clarification of the Role of the PWRI, Importance of Basic Research, Technology Support for Regional Governments, and Training of Young Technologists. On behalf of the Chairman of this meeting, Deputy Chairman Kasahara summed up the Committee meeting with a comment made at the end of the meeting, “Priority project research and overall research are progressing steadily. We hope to continue research based on the evaluations and discussions by the Committee and its Sub-committees”, and recognized the results of the evaluations by the Sub-committees.
Committee Chairman Professor Takeshi Tamura, expert on Social Infrastructure Engineering in the Graduate School of Engineering at Kyoto University, and who served as a member of the Committee and as Chairman of Subcommittee No.2 during the first period of the mid-term plan (FY2001 to 2005) and as Chairman of the Committee and as Chairman of Subcommittee No.2 during the second period of the mid-term plan (FY2006 to 2010) passed away on Jun. 30th of this year. We are deeply grateful to him for his past guidance and offer prayers that his soul rest in peace.


(Contact: Evaluation and Coordinate Section)

Loading Testing of Foundations of Road Traffic Signs Etc. open to the public

Images of conventional foundations and a new type foundation

View of rotation loading testing of single pile

The public testing

Road traffic signs are important facilities indispensable to ensuring safe and smooth road traffic. It is reported that about 2 million are installed nationwide. The surface area of present road traffic signs are expanding and many large traffic signs are appearing to meet the need to present a rising quantity of information, the parallel presentation of information in roman letters for example. Adding other foreign languages to the roman letters and expanding character size are being discussed, so it is possible that road traffic signs will become even larger.
The foundations of past road traffic signs were designed primarily as concrete foundations, but it is no longer possible to respond to the recent enlargement of road traffic signs and to urban road environments (narrow construction space, and underground structures such as gas and water pipes and electrical power conduits) based on this type of foundation design. So new types of foundations developed by the private sector are now used, but it is still not confirmed what kind of performance is required of foundations of road traffic signs. It is, for example, assumed that if wind directly strikes the front of a road traffic sign, in addition to overturning force on the bottom end of the support column, force rotating the supporting column will strike. It is necessary to study rotation of this kind according to type of foundation, but there have been no reports of studies confirming what kinds of bearing support properties will prevent rotation of foundations.
So in order to study the standardization of foundations of road traffic signs, etc., including revising standards of joints connecting signboard panels and columns, beginning in 2009, CAESAR, the National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management (NILIM) of the MLIT and the Japan Contractors Association of Traffic Signs and Lane Markers (JCASM) are conducting joint research called, Research on Performance Evaluation Technologies for Foundations and Columns of Road Traffic Signs, etc. In the research on foundations of road traffic signs, etc., testing is being conducted on various ground conditions regarding resistance characteristics by different pile section, focusing on rotation resistance of single piles and degradation of vertical bearing force by cyclic loading, since the new types of foundations adopted are often pile foundations.
As part of this study, rotation loading testing of single piles was performed open to the public on Jun. 14th at the PWRI. On that day, an explanation of the type of testing method applied was presented along with a demonstration of the way that piles were driven. Approximately 50 representatives of local governments, associations, and private companies attended, enthusiastically asking questions and taking many photographs. In the future we hope to develop performance evaluation standards for foundations of road traffic signs based on the results of these loading tests.




(Contact: CAESAR)

Discussing the Environment of the Ishikari River through the Study of Lampreys
- A seminar entitled Lampreys in the Ishikari River held -

Lamprey measures in the Ishikari River

lamprey larvae

Lecturer, Prof. Yanai

Lecturer, Prof. VENKATESH

Program

The 2nd CERI Seminar for River Basin Management “Lampreys in the Ishikari River” was held at the lecture hall of CERI on Jun. 11th.
In Ishikari River, the Japanese lamprey used to be one of the important fishery resources. However, the catch of lamprey decreased dramatically in the 1990s, from 72 tons in 1986 to around 10 tons in 1995, finally less than one ton recently. Then, the stock of Japanese lamprey is expected to be recovered in the Ishikari River, where is one of the most valuable and important habitats for Japanese lamprey in the world. To discuss the river environment of the Ishikari River through the ecological researches of lampreys is very important for us to consider water environment in Japan and all over the world.
The seminar was started with the opening address by Mr. Hiroyasu Kyoshi, the leader of Cold-Region Hydraulic and Aquatic Environment Engineering Research Group, CERI. Mr. Shigechika Miyajima, the deputy director of Sapporo Local Head Office, Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau, introduced watershed management and flood-control measures in the Ishikari River basin.
There were two topics in this seminar. First topic entitled “Impact of Channelization and Artificial Structures on Japanese Lampreys in the Ishikari River” was given by Professor Seiji Yanai, Ishikawa Prefectural University. He explained the current issues on the Japanese lamprey that the lampreys has remained and survived dramatic changes in the global environment since they appeared on the earth 400 to 500 million years ago, however, the recent human impact on natural environment has threatened their living. He exhibited that the habitat of Japanese lamprey needs various fluvial environment such as gravel of adequate size for spawning, soft clay where their larvae can bury themselves, and fallen leaves and other organic matter to feed on. Such habitat has been lost due to the channelization in the Ishikari River, which used to be one of the most meandering rivers in Japan. He emphasized that for the recovery of the Japanese lamprey stock, the recovery of fluvial-sediment connectivity is most important in the river improvement addressing ecosystem; modification of dam structures to allow the supply of gravel in the upper reaches, improvements of falling works in the middle reaches to allow lampreys to swim up the river, and restoration of wand-like land forms with slow flows in the downstream straightened reach.
Second topic entitled “Japanese lamprey: an important reference genome for understanding the evolution of vertebrate genomes” was given by Professor B. Venkatesh, Institute of Molecular and Cell biology, Singapore. He introduced the comparative genomics (comparing genomes of related organisms) as a powerful strategy for understanding the structure and function of genomes. He exhibited that the jawless fishes such as lamprey, the most primitive and oldest group among the currently existing vertebrates, are useful for analysis of genomic sequence to clarify the origin and evolution process of the genomes of humans and vertebrates.
In the end of this seminar, Dr. Atsushi Yoshii, executive director for research coordination of CERI, addressed to the audience to conserve the Ishikari River, which is the great habitat for lampreys dramatically decreasing in its population in the world.



(Contact: Watershed Environmental Engineering Research Team, CERI)

Hands-on Experience and Demonstration Programs Popular Again This Year
- CERI opened to the public -

Is soil alive? experiment

Popular with families again this year

Snow removal machine display

The annual public open days of CERI were held on Jul. 2nd (Fri.) and 3rd (Sat.) this year. With the theme of Welcome to the Newly Discovered Northern Technologies, fourteen research teams and two units made elaborate presentations, attracting approximately 1,100 visitors.

Technical consultation corner
The consultation service for civil engineers was improved this year by establishing a research explanation corner for engineers, in the lecture hall on the first floor. The service also proved popular by providing detailed answers to technical questions from civil engineers at the presentation site of each team.
During the open days, CERI’s researchers gave detailed answers to questions concerning technical matters, such as the method for measuring the density of snow adhered to road signs and the durability of concrete and repair technologies.

Hands-on experience/demonstration programs
Many visitors participated in the hands-on experience/demonstration programs held by different teams again this year. In the Is soil alive? program, the participants measured the amounts of carbon dioxide generated from farmland soil, playground soil and seaside sand. By seeing with their own eyes that the largest amount of carbon dioxide is generated by farmland soil, participants were able to realize that soil actually breathes.
Many other programs were also held and were popular among visitors.

Quiz rally
The annual quiz rally was held again this year. The participants carefully watched the panels displayed by the teams and units, and listened to explanations of researchers since they would be given the title of Doctor of Cold Region Civil Engineering if they could answer all the questions correctly. Approximately 380 visitors received the title over the two-day period.

Panel display/DVD showing/snow removal machine display
To make it easier for visitors to understand CERI’s organization and roles, the institute’s studies were presented using panel displays and DVDs, which were shown in the lecture hall on the first floor. Snow removal machines were also displayed outdoors. There was a constant flow of visitors to the site partly thanks to the hot weather on those days.



(Contact: Planning Division, Cold Region Technology Promotion Division,CERI)

Tsukuba Kid’s Doctor
- Holding experimental school and distributing new pamphlets to children -

Bus traveling at high speed at an angle of 27-degree

"Wow! Interesting Stories about Concrete" Children shown how to make concrete by the researchers.

"Why do you suppose a tunnel is round?" Children pouring sand on tunnel models

"River Fish and Rice Field Fish" Researchers spreading a fixed net.

Part of the new pamphlet (cover sheet on right) *Japanese Only

On Jul. 29th, we held the "Tsukuba Kid’s Doctor" in cooperation with the National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management (NILIM). That day the weather was inappropriate as rainfall started and stopped intermittently, but a new participation record was set as 474 elementary and junior high school students (including their leaders) (last year: 404) observed by 7 times of tour (14 busses). Two of the tour busses were driven on the test track and experimental school were held at 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
This year, new pamphlets were prepared for the children and distributed to those who took part.
During the customary annual high speed driving on the test track, cheers and applause erupted inside the busses.
And in the experimental school, the Concrete and Metallic Materials Research Team gave a presentation called “Wow! Interesting Stories about Concrete”, explaining the special properties of concrete, how it reduced emissions of CO₂ from the steel frame when used to build a bridge and its other merits, and having the children actually make concrete in the bottoms of PET bottles.
The River Restoration Research Team organized a presentation it called, “River Fish and Rice Field Fish.” The researchers explained the mode of life of fish which traveled between rivers and rice fields, river works planned to conserve fish, and precautions to be followed when fishing in rice fields. They showed the children fish actually still living, placed a fixed net and told them how it worked and how to use it to catch fish.
The Tunnel Research Team gave a presentation called, “Why do you suppose a tunnel is round?” explaining differences between the structures and work methods used to build tunnels, taking the Tsukuba Express as an example of nearby tunnels. Next they had the children conduct an experiment: placing sand in a box containing a round tube and in another containing a square tube to let them see how the square tube, less able to withstand the sand’s weight than the round tube, was crushed. The experimental schools are so popular that we are immediately buried in reservations and on the day they were held, children actively participated in them.

(Contact: General Affairs Division)