PWRI News

PWRI New Technology Seminar: “Technologies for Energy Utilization and Cost Reduction in Sewerages”


A scene from the seminar (Jan. 27th, 2011)

“Water Path Forming Poles”

“Fluidized Bed Incineration”

“Digestion Gas Power Generator”

PWRI hosted a New Technology Seminar in Tokyo on Thursday, Jan. 27th. This seminar presented  selected PWRI-developed technologies that are highly effective in respect of cost reduction, speed in the construction and maintenance of civil engineering structures, and reducing CO2 emissions that are harmful to the environment. For immediate application, this also provided details concerning methods for utilizing these technologies as well as precautionary points, cost information, and other matters to technical personnel that will use them.
The topic for Jan. 27th seminar was “Technologies for Energy Utilization and Cost Reduction in Sewerages.” The seminar began with a lecture on “recent trends in sewerage technologies” by Mr. Akira Shirasaki, Director for Sewerage Engineering and Development, Sewerage Planning Division, MLIT. After his lecture, PWRI presented the following three technologies.

1) Gravity thickening technology that uses Water Path Forming Poles
If sewage dispose at sewage treatment plants then sewage sludge remove as much moisture as possible can reduce sludge disposal costs dramatically. Because of “Water Path Forming Poles” set up agitators in sludge thickening tanks, it is enable to do that. Please visit the following address for more information.
http://www.pwri.go.jp/jpn/seika/newtech/mizumiti/index.html(Japanese Only)

2) Fluidized Bed Incineration System with Turbocharger
This is a technology that improves combustion efficiency by increasing pressure during sewage sludge incineration process. It also reduces electricity and energy consumption required for incineration process, and as a result, lowers emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases by utilizing compressed air generated by a turbocharger (similar to turbochargers used in automobiles and other machinery) that is built into the system. For more information, visit the following address:
http://www.pwri.go.jp/jpn/seika/newtech/turbo/index.html(Japanese Only)

3) Digestion Gas Power Generator
This is a small and inexpensive power generator that uses digestion gas (methane) produced during sewage treatment to power generation. In addition to sewage treatment plants, it can be used effectively in any place where methane is produced, such as for the food waste or the livestock waste. Please visit the following address for more information.
http://www.pwri.go.jp/jpn/seika/pdf/newtech/syoukaengine.pdf(Japanese Only)

Some 60 people attended the seminar, among them representatives of private industry, MLIT, local governments, and public-service corporations. Everyone listened intently until the end of the program and participated in a lively question and answer session. PWRI intends to continue holding seminars on new themes in the future. These seminars will carefully select and present highly effective technologies. We cordially invite all who are interested to attend.


(Contact: Construction Technology Research Department)

Senior Vice-Minister Mitsui of MLIT Visits CERI


Photo 1
Explanation of the outline of the institute by Director General Kawamura
(Senior Vice-Minister Mitsui, second from the right)

Photo 2
Wire-rope safety barrier systems
(senior vice-minister on the left)

Photo 3
Explanation by Team Leader Nishi (senior vice-minister second from the right)

Senior Vice-Minister Mitsui of the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism visited CERI on Saturday, Jan. 22nd, 2011 to see the current state of research and development and CERIfs research facilities. The visit began with Kazuyuki Kawamura, Director General of CERI, introducing an outline of the institute and explaining about a variety of civil engineering challenges facing cold, snowy regions, as well as important R&D projects on which attention is focused (Photo 1).
Satoshi Kasai, Team leader of Traffic Engineering Research Team, explained about the purpose of research, effects and uses of rumble strips (a measure to prevent head-on collisions) developed in collaboration with private companies, which became the first technology to receive recommendation from MLIT. He explained that the technology has been highly effective in contributing to a large reduction in head-on collisions, and that it is steadily spreading beyond Hokkaido to other areas of the country.
Wire-rope safety barrier systems, which the Traffic Engineering Research Team has been researching and developing to introduce as a median strip facility on two-lane roads, were also explained, including a video of a powerful collision experiment conducted in January. Senior Vice-Minister Mitsui asked when the systems will be available for practical use and seemed to have expectations for early introduction of the technology.
At experiment facilities, the senior vice-minister ran over rumble strips in a car and experienced the effects himself. It was originally planned for him to see the wire-rope safety barrier systems from the car window, but plans were changed at the site when he stepped out of the car to take a closer look at the barriers, showing a high level of interest in the system (Photo 2).
Finally, at the No. 3 laboratory building, Hiroaki Nishi, Team leader of Structures Research Team, explained the current status and challenges related to frost damage/deterioration of floor slabs of road bridges in cold, snowy regions, based on a study on durability improvement of RC floor slabs. Mr. Nish showed the senior vice-minister a damaged floor slab from a road bridge that was in service in the prefecture, and a wheel running machine to simulate running conditions of vehicles, explaining that the deterioration/damage mechanisms have been defined using them and that durability, repairing/stiffening effects and other conditions have been experimentally verified (Photo 3).
The senior vice-minister took a close look at the damaged road-bridge floor slab with great interest and said he realized that measures to effectively tackle particular problems in cold, snowy regions are discussed and developed on a limited budget.
The senior vice-minister visited the 2011 Fuyutopia Fair prior to his visit to CERI and saw a road cleaning machine with replaceable attachments, which the Machinery Technology Research Team has been researching and developing to achieve the year-round use of rotary snow removers. He was also introduced to efforts toward reducing road maintenance costs through the effective year-round use of snow removal machines, which conventionally are only used in wintertime.

(Contact: Planning Division, CERI)

ICHARM and UN/ESCAP Co-organizes Workshop on Space Application to Reduce Water-related Disaster Risk in Asia (Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 7th-9th 2010)


Workshop participants make a presentation on calculation results.

Some of workshop participants make a presentation on their own calculation results.

Mainstream opinions of the feedback sheet

ICHARM and UN/ESCAP (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) co-organized a workshop on satellite application to reduce water-related disaster risk in Asia at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, on Dec. 7th-9th 2011.
Over 60 people participated from 12 countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan. Some international organizations also joined the workshop, including ADRC (Asian Disaster Reduction Center), MRC (Mekong River Commission), and our partners for this workshop such as WMO (World Meteorological Organization) and ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee.
The workshop was organized as an addition to a satellite application workshop originally planned by ESCAP with the cooperation of JAXA. ICHARM was given opportunity to provide a related workshop to promote the Integrated Flood Analysis System (IFSAS) to Asian countries as a part of an ongoing project which ICHARM has been jointly implementing with ADB.
The objectives of the workshop were to exchange information on space application to waterrelated disaster risk reduction measures such as flood risk assessment, flood forecast and early warning and evacuation, and also to conduct training on how to use IFAS.
From Day 1 to the first half of Day 2, space application to reduce water-related disaster risk in Asia was outlined by JMA, JAXA, and ESCAP.
Each participating country also reported actual disaster response cases utilizing space
technology, followed by general discussion on the issue.
From the second half of Day2 to Day3, the participants had a hands-on training on how to use the IFAS software and perform run-off analysis using data of their own country. Some of them quickly learned even how to calibrate parameters and obtained highly accurate simulation results. The training was very successful in helping many participants understand satellite technology and IFAS as a practical satellite application.
After the joint workshop, the participants were asked to fill in a feedback sheet, and their
comments were almost all about IFAS. This confirmed the usefulness of IFAS in flood management and revealed a strong demand for IFAS training. The workshop was a great opportunity for the ICHARM staff, too, to realize a high level of interest in IFAS in Asian countries and the need for providing more training such as this.
For the report and presentation materials of "the Workshop on Space Application to Reduce Water-Related Disaster Risk in Asia", held on Dec. 7th-9th 2010 in Bangkok, visit the following wesite; http://www.unescap.org/idd/events/2010-JAXAicharm7-9DEC/

(Contact: ICHARM)

The 24th Lecture Meeting of CERI


Greeting from Mr. Kawamura
Director General of CERI

Lecture by Dr. Tambo
President of the Hokkaido Research Organization

Program

The 24th Lecture Meeting of the CERI was held on Friday, Nov. 12th, 2010 at the Hokkaido Citizens Activities Promotion Center (Kaderu 2.7) in Sapporo. Despite it being held on a weekday, almost 400 people attended the event.
The meeting has been held since1986 to introduce the fruits of research conducted at the CERI, and topics related to civil engineering technologies for cold regions, and this was the 24th such meeting.
In the meetingfs special lecture, Dr. Norihito Tambo,President of the Hokkaido Research Organization spoke on “The Age of the Environment?” Dr. Tambo is a specialist in the fields of water environmental engineering and urban hydraulic engineering, and currently is the first president of the Hokkaido Research Organization. He has served in a variety of important posts in the academic field, including the president of Hokkaido University. During his lecture, Dr. Tambo pointed out that the earth has become relatively smaller (congestion) as the result of the tremendous growth in the modern era, and metropolitanization of civilizations is occurring globally (globalization) as a structural consequence. He said that the modern era will be brought to an end by the distortions caused by this, and a new era will be sought. He looks ahead to the forthcoming era and shrewdly analyzed that we “could create a new civilization with new values, as a most advanced region in the world moving toward the postmodern era if we realize that Japan is standing at the forefront of civilization facing the end of the modern era, which was an age of environmental constraint.”
Three researchers presented general lectures on civil engineering technologies developed at CERI to accommodate conditions in cold, snowy regions, and dissemination of technologies. As an invited speaker, Tadanori Ishizuka, Team leader of Volcano and Debris Flow Research Team at the Tsukuba Central Research Institute (Ibaraki Prefecture), gave a presentation on the recent status of damage from landslides.
A panel exhibition to explain research activities at CERI was also held in a lobby on the first floor of the venue, and the outcome of studies carried out by each of the research teams were exhibited using panels, models and pamphlets in a manner that was easy for visitors to understand, prompting favorable reviews.
Again, we received so many visitors this year and would like to express our sincere appreciation for taking time to visit.

(Contact: Planning Division,CERI)

Report on the lecture meeting titled “Recent Volcanic Activity and Countermeasures against Volcanic Eruption Disaster”


A scene from the lecture meeting (1)

A scene from the lecture meeting (2)

Program

1. Overview of the meeting
The year 2010 marked the passage of 20 years since the Unzen-Fugen Volcano began erupting, causing considerable loss of human lives, and 10 years since the Usu Volcano and the Miyakejima Volcano. This meeting, consisting of lectures by experts in pertinent fields, featured recent incidents on volcanic eruption disasters as well as relevant countermeasures. It also included discussion on the state-of-the-art of current technology of the countermeasures and research concerning volcanic eruption disaster in the fields of volcanology and erosion control engineering. Its purpose was to consider directions for research that will be needed in preparation for mitigating future eruption disaster.

2. Lecture content
Dr. Toshitsugu Fujii,Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo gave a basic talk on the mechanisms of volcanic eruptions. He also explained various types of eruption-related disasters by presenting actual cases in Japan and abroad. Dr. Fujii emphasized that, although Japan has not suffered any serious volcanic disasters in recent years, it is a country in which volcanic activity?including large-scale eruptions that occur about once every 7,000 years?can occur at any time. However, he also noted that predicting volcanic eruptions is still difficult, and he stressed the importance of maintaining monitoring systems.

Mr. Munehiro Matsui, Director of SABO Technical Center spoke of the difficulties and problems of post-eruption measures. His talk was based on his own experience as the first director of the Unzen Restoration Work Office of Ministry of Construction (as it was known at the time). In particular, Mr. Matsui referred to his experiences having faced to impatient difficulties in implementing countermeasures against the the Unzen volcano eruption disaster at the time when the damage was acceleratedly increasing. He also highlighted the importance of preparatory action, such as buying land for countermeasures beforehand. And, noting a unique characteristic of volcanic areas whereby the largest amounts of sediment runoff are observed during or immediately after eruptions, he spoke of the need to monitor sediment runoff and to respond to it as quickly as possible.

3. Issues and future prospects for volcanic eruption countermeasures and research
The current eruption of the Kirishima Shinmoedake volcano demonstrates that damage-causing eruptions are inevitable in Japan. However, as was noted by the lecturers, technologies for predicting and counteracting eruptions are not sufficiently developed. The lecturers also emphasized that volcanic eruptions are unlike ordinary storm and flood damage in that they are infrequent occurrences. Consequently, it is naturally important to strengthen observation and monitoring systems for immediate response to damage whenever eruptions occur. However, it is likewise important to simultaneously gather data during eruptions for future research and development.


(Contact: Volcano and Debris Flow Research Team)

“Agrometeorological Research of CERI” Symposium


Asphalt survey and road noise measurement

Frost deterioration survey on a side wall of an open concrete channel

First-hand experience of rock bed girdle work

On Monday, Dec. 6th, 2010, a symposium on agrometeorological research of CERI was held at our lecture hall. This symposium was co-hosted by the Hokkaido Society of Agricultural Meteorology and CERI. Before the symposium, the 2010 Annual Meeting for the Hokkaido Society of Agricultural Meteorology was also held.
At this symposium, three CERI researchers gave presentations on infrastructure development and meteorology in Hokkaido from different angles.

Yoshiaki Hideshima, Director of Cold-Region Agricultural Development Research Group explained about hydrology and the meteorological environment related to agriculture in general. He also covered a wide variety of topics including the relationship between agriculture and energy consumption, as well as CO2 balance in rural areas.
Masaru Matsuzawa, Team Leader of Snow and Ice Research Team explained the development mechanism of snowstorm on roads, which is closely related to daily living, and introduced research on snowstorm measures as well as a system that provides information via a website.
Kazumasa Nakamura, Team Leader of Irrigation and Drainage Facilities Research Team discussed techniques for estimating the water equivalent of snowfall required to control water in dams after he explained how the amounts of snowfall/rainfall and the period of snowmelt season may change in the future with expected climate change.
After the presentations, the three researchers, joined by Prof. Shin-ichi Urano of Hokkaido University Graduate School of Agriculture and Dr. Tomoyoshi Hirota, head of a team, National Agricultural Research Center for Hokkaido Region, took part in a comprehensive discussion in which they spoke about how climate change in Hokkaido (e.g., the heavy rain of two years ago, high temperatures last year) would affect agriculture in the future.

(Contact: Snow and Ice Research Team)

Meeting of the FY2010 External Evaluation Committee


Table 1: List of attending members

Table 2: Project research

A view of the committee meeting

The PWRI External Evaluation Committee met on Jan. 31st.

A new mid-term goals period will begin in the next fiscal year. Given this, the FY2010 External Evaluation Committee met to discuss reports on deliberations that were held by each subcommittee on ex-ante evaluation of research projects to begin under the new framework next fiscal year.

The committee heard presentations on specific fields and reports on evaluation results from each subcommittee, while asking questions as appropriate. Then the committee chairperson gave an overall review of the proceedings.

PWRI received advice from individual members on various topics?including “linkage of project research,” “collaboration with other organizations,” “clarification of PWRIfs roles,” and “establishment of research topics”?and accepted evaluation results produced by each subcommittee.



(Contact: Evaluation and Coordinate Section)