We participated in“Concrete Techno Plaza 2012”
Follow the footsteps of the PWRI Concrete Division

 The Concrete and Metallic Materials Research Team participated in“Concrete Techno Plaza 2012”held at the International Conference Center Hiroshima from Wednesday, Jul.4th to Friday, Jul.6th, 2012. As one of the main events of the Japan Concrete Institute (JCI) Annual Convention, Concrete Techno Plaza attracts more than 50 organizations each year that attend in order to present their concrete-related technological developments. The team displayed the panels entitled “Follow the footsteps of the PWRI Concrete Division” at Concrete Techno Plaza 2012.

 The history of the Concrete and Metallic Materials Research Team dates back to the Civil Engineering Laboratory (Komagome, Tokyo) established in the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1922. With subsequent name changes?“Material Division,”“Concrete Division,”and“Structure Management Technology Team”in conjunction with organizational changes, the Team has consistently conducted research related to the materials, designs, construction, durability, and quality management of concrete structures. The panel exhibition this year looked back on the research conducted in the last 90 years and pointed out how the research outcomes had contributed to the government-sponsored public works of Japan and the academic field of concrete technology.

* To review the main events of the JCI Annual Convention 2012, visit:

 http://www.jci-net.jp/rally/2012/event/index.html#03
 (Japanese Only)

(Contact: Concrete and Metallic Materials Research Team )

ICHARM Hosted the Workshop on Flood Management for Pakistani Officials

 ICHARM hosted the workshop entitled“Capacity Development for Integrated Flood Risk Management in Pakistan” from May 15th to 24th, 2012.

 This workshop was part of the project,“Strategic Strengthening of Flood Warning and Management Capacity of Pakistan,”funded by the Japanese government to UNESCO following the heavy floods in Pakistan in 2012. Six high-level officials of Pakistan attended the workshop, including the Chairman of the Indus River System Authority.

 The workshop consisted of lectures and on-site inspections. The former covered the measures taken to manage floods, how to operate dams, how to acquire and convey weather and flood information, and local disaster management plans in Japan. As part of the latest research, the IFAS and RRI models developed by ICHARM were introduced in addition to the explanation of the Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP) by the engineers invited from the JAXA(Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).

 The latter (i.e., on-site inspections) included visits to the Tsurumi River basins (Tsurumi retarding basin, Kirigaoka regulating pond and Onmawashi Park regulating reservoir), which could be considered a pioneer in the integrated flood management plan of Japan, as well as in the Watarase retarding basin (considering the improved water quality and environment), the collaborative project between the Kawaji and Ikari Dams to seek efficient water usage, the Ashio erosion and sediment control site, which involves the enthusiastic tree-planting program, and the Tone Large-Scale Weir, which plays a significant role in clean water and irrigation of the midstream of the Tone River. On May 19th, the participants visited the “61st Tonegawa River System Joint Flood Fighting Drill”in Kuki City, Saitama, and were overwhelmed by the scale of the training.

 On May 22nd, when they visited the Hanyu City Office, the participants were welcomed and applauded by the staff, and Mayor Kawata offered them welcoming words and explanations of disaster-prevention measures. When they visited Hanyu City Murakimi Elementary School, where English education has been actively promoted, they received a warm welcome and had the opportunity to enjoy school lunch with the students. The participants said it was a valuable experience.

 On May 23rd, the participants paid a courtesy call to the Water and Disaster Management Bureau of MLIT, the International Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, where they had an invaluable opportunity to exchange opinions with the chiefs of the bureaus.

 This workshop was highly regarded by many participants as an excellent and well-structured program. They told us that they will organize possible future direction or measures for Pakistan based on the insight they gathered from the workshop.

 Part of the on-site inspections was jointly implemented with the “Water-Related Disaster Management Course of Disaster Management Policy Program,” a master’s course currently offered by ICHARM, which presented a good opportunity for six master’s students from Pakistan to hold discussions with the officials.

 ICHARM intends to work in a wide range of areas to improve technology in countries with frequent floods, or enhance human network with ICHARM through activities like the workshop, for the sake of mitigating water-related disasters around the world.

 Finally, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to those who cooperated with this workshop.

(Contact: ICHARM)

Report of Participation in ICOLD2012

 The 80th Annual Meeting and 24th International Congress on Large Dams (ICOLD2012, hereinafter referred to as “the Congress”) were held at the Kyoto International Conference Center in Japan from Jun. 2nd to Jun. 8th, 2012. Established as a private international organization (joined by 95 member nations around the world) in 1928, the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) has played a global leadership role in setting standards and guidelines related to the construction design and operation of dams. ICOLD also has hosted forums to share or discuss the latest technical information related to dams, , and the Congress was held in Kyoto this year. The Congress attracted 1,367 participants from 70 countries, which shared information and insights on the latest available technology through presentations or discussion on dams and their peripheral fields. PWRI sent 15 researchers to the Congress to transmit the research outcome and to exchange information with researchers from around the world. Moreover, 6 of them engaged in the Congress as the congress officers or subcommittee members to support the Congress.

 PWRI made twelve presentations for both the Annual Meeting and Congress: six oral presentations and six poster presentations. The oral presentations covered the impact of the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake on dams, the method of evaluating the seismic performance of concrete dams, and the research and development of sedimentation management. The poster presentations covered dam measurement technology using the GPS, indexes to evaluate freeze-thaw resistance of concrete, and trial to recover gravel-beds downstream a dam. The presentations attracted a number of researchers and engineers and triggered vigorous discussions.

 The Congress focused on four themes: “Environmental friendly techniques for dams and reservoirs,” “Safety,”“Flood discharge,” and “Ageing and upgrading” Specifically, the session “Ageing and upgrading” comprised a number of presentations, showing the growing interest in the theme.

 Discussions and information exchanges with researchers and engineers from the same discipline worldwide during the international conference provided a good opportunity not only to transmit our research outcomes and collect information but to stimulate our future research activities as well.

(Contact: Dam and Appurtenant Structures Research Team)