Contents

国総研ニューズレター

N I L I M N e w s L et t e r■ New Project Researches in Fiscal 2012
■ Shaking Table Tests on Cross Laminated Timber Panel Structure■ Experiment for Anti Soil Liquefaction of Housing Sites■ Development of Life Cycle Environmental Assessment Methodology for Infrastructures—Definition of Life Cycle Environmental Assessments—■ Latest Trends in Tsunami Countermeasures for Sewage Treatment Systems■ Webcam Monitoring of Amounts of Plastic Litter on Beaches

No.40

Spring 2012
New Project Researches in Fiscal 2012
Planning and Research Administration Department,
Planning Division
In fiscal 2012, the National Institute for Land and InfrastructureManagement (NILIM) began the following four new Project
Researches (some researches started in fiscal 2011) in the fields ofearthquakes, tsunamis, etc.
Project Researches are selected by NILIM independently andimplemented preferentially. Each Project Research is implemented bya project leader gathering a group of researchers in necessary fields toachieve its goals under an approximately 3 to 5 year plan.

Shaking Table Tests on Cross LaminatedTimber Panel Structure
Research Center for Land and Construction Management,
Evaluation System Division
To establish a structural design method for panel construction using
cross laminated timber made with domestically produced Japanese cedar,shaking table test of a three-story full-size model specimen was performed.
The Act for Promotion of Use of Wood in Public Buildings (Law No.
36 of 2010) was enacted and enforced, and the research and development torelax the building regulations of the national government itself will now be
done. Cross laminated timber (CLT) is a material made by placing each layer
with its wood fibers perpendicular to those of adjacent layers. The CLT panel
structural method is a wall construction which originated in Europe, where
it is used to build walls with openings cut out of large panels. In this case,a construction method executed by connecting relatively small panels withbolts and plates has been adopted to suit domestic manufacturing equipment.
This method is expected to lead to the use of a relatively large quantity ofwood, thus helping to use domestic forest resources effectively.
The shaking table test was conducted in order to develop a structural design
method for such CLT panel structures. The model specimen was designed tobe identical to a five-story building based on test data concerning its joints« New Research Project Table »1. Research on tsunami damage mitigation systems using multifaceted
protective mechanisms.
2. Research on risk and crisis management strategies for excessive andmultiple actions of natural disasters
3. Research on effective sediment management in catchment basins after
huge scale sediment production
4. Research on fire safety of 3-story wooden school building
NILIM website (press conference documents)
http://www.nilim.go.jp/lab/bcg/kisya/journal/kisya20120406.pdf

and wall elements, but
as a result of restrictions
imposed by the test
equipment, only weight
was added for the top twostories, so it was provided
as a three-story model
specimen (see Photo).
The CLT building
based on this construction
method did not exceed
its damage limit (1/120rad) under the seismic
input provided to occur
only rarely under the
Building Standard Law,
and it did not exceed the
Photo: CLT panel structure specimen
safety limit (1/30 rad),even under the seismic input provided to occur extremely rarely. Even when
the ground motion recorded at JMA Kobe on 1995 in the NS direction wasapplied as an extreme earthquake, the specimen did not fail. These results
show that the CLT method based on this construction method provides
sufficient earthquake resistance and safety.

Experiment for Anti Soil Liquefaction of
Housing Sites
Urban Planning Department, Urban Planning Research Division
In order to find practical anti soil liquefaction technology fordeveloped housing areas where detached houses are built and located,research projects including seismic tests and simulations are underway.
Soil liquefaction hit housing areas with unprecedentedly huge scale
during the Great East Japan Earthquake Most of the areas severely
damaged are detached housing districts. The MLIT established a new
subsidy system in the third supplementary budget of 2011 to support thearea wide anti land liquefaction project which includes both alley roads
and housing lots. However, the technologies usable to build up housing
areas have not been developed because there is no practical example,
though the technologies for vacant land are already established, sothat the research for technology development has, in practice, to be
conducted simultaneously with planning and implementation of therestoration projects in damaged districts.

Photo: Large scaled specimen of sand ground for the seismicliquefaction test

1

The NILIM launched a research program in order to, as quickly as
possible, find practical anti soil liquefaction technologies implementablein both technical and economic terms in real situations where detachedhouses are densely located. This experiment is a seismic shaking test as
conducted as part of the research program, using a large scale shearable
box 10m x 3.6m x 5m depth, whose purpose is to measure the horizontal
distance from the center of a vertical drainpipe inserted into the sandground which effectively prevents soil liquefaction.

Development of Life Cycle Environmental
Assessment Methodology for Infrastructures—Definition of Life Cycle Environmental Assessments—
Environment Department, Road Environment Division
The National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management
published “the Report on Development of Life Cycle Environmental
Assessment Methodology for Infrastructures —Infrastructure LCA
Implementation Methods—” in February 2012. The calculation
methods and environmental load units given in this report madeit possible to calculate the carbon dioxide (CO2) emission of
infrastructure development and building construction work.
In recent years, global warming has become an extremely serious
problem. To overcome this problem, it is necessary to work hard to
reduce the quantity of CO2 emissions and achieve a low carbon society.
The construction industry only directly emits about 1% of all CO2
emitted in Japan, but if the quantities of CO2 emitted by the manufactureof building materials and transport of materials and wastes are added,

The experiment clarified that the effective distance that migrates
water pressure to prevent liquefaction is approximately within 50cm
from the center of drainpipe in response to the seismic input similar tothe observed wave in the reclaimed housing area in front of Tokyo Bay.
For further information, please visit
http://www.nilim.go.jp/lab/jbg/takuti/takuti.html

its share rises to about 14% of all CO2 emitted in Japan. In order toappropriately evaluate and reduce the CO2emissions of the constructionindustry, it is necessary to study CO2 emissions throughout the life
cycle of buildings, including emissions other than direct emissions.
Environmental impact assessments which calculate the environmentalload of the entire life cycle including obtaining raw materials,
transportation, manufacturing, constructing, demolition, and disposal ofwastes etc. is called a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
The National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management
carried out the comprehensive technology development project“Development of Life Cycle Assessment Methodology on Sustainabilityof Infrastructure (Infrastructure LCA)”, from 2008 to 2010, and then, as
the results of its research, it announced the CO2 Emissions Calculation
Method and the Environmental Load Units used by the methodology
in February 2012. Our goal is to help achieve a low carbon society bywidely disseminating infrastructure LCA presented in the report andlowering the quantity of CO2 emitted by infrastructure development andbuilding construction work.
http://www.nilim.go.jp/lab/dcg/lca/top.htm

Breakdown of Direct CO2 Emissions by Field in Japan (2005)
Industrial processes
4%
Homes
5%
Administrative, etc.
9%

Waste 2%

Breakdown of CO2 Emissions by Final Demand in Japan (2005)

Extremely small direct emissions
by construction machinery

Energyconversion
31%

Transport
Industry
19%(excluding
construction)
29%

This shows that if the manufacture and transport ofmaterials is added, infrastructure development andbuilding construction make a large contribution toCO2 emissions in Japan.
→ Infrastructure LCA is needed to assess and reducethese emissions.

Building construction
6%
Public works
8%

Breakdown of CO2 emissions of the construction industry in Japan (2005)
Construction hardware products
Private passenger transport
Construction use hardware products

Constructionindustry 1%
Directemissions0%

Ready mix
concrete

Hot rolledsteelmaterial

20%

CementCementproducts

40%

Others86%

Industrial electric power
Road cargo transportation
Private cargo transportation
Others

60%

80%

100%

Figure: Breakdown of CO2 emissions in the construction field

Latest Trends in Tsunami Countermeasuresfor Sewage Treatment Systems
Water Quality Control Department
The Sewerage and Wastewater Management Department of the
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has, based on
the results of a one-year study, announced methods of appropriately
restoring sewage system facilities damaged by the Great East Japan
Earthquake and future countermeasures for giant tsunami.
On March 8, 2012, the Sewage System Earthquake/Tsunami
Countermeasure Technology Study Committee (Administrative Office:National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management), based on its
analysis of the characteristics of damage caused by the Great East Japan
Earthquake, published its Fourth Recommendations, which summarize
concepts of sewage treatment system facility design to be applied totsunami-resistance countermeasures for implementation at nationwide
sewage systems that are likely to be damaged by future tsunami.
The concepts are organized into the categories: (1) predicted tsunami,(2) tsunami resistance of sewage system facilities, and (3) tsunamiresistant countermeasures, all of which are considered necessary todesign facilities. Major points related to (1) to (3) are introduced below.
[1] Predicted tsunami
The predicted tsunami for each region is set by prefectures based2on the Law Concerning Creation of Tsunami Disaster Prevention
Regions. The law calls for tsunami resistance countermeasures for
sewage treatment systems to be planned to achieve the required tsunami
resistance considering the Top Class Tsunami set by each prefecture inorder to prevent secondary disasters.
[2] Tsunami resistance of sewage system facilities
The tsunami resistance countermeasures required by sewage systemfacilities differ according to the degree of importance of the pipelines,
pumping stations and treatment plants. It is therefore necessary to study
effective protection and restoration methods categorized by function.
In order to set tsunami resistance, as shown in Table 1, tsunami
countermeasures are decided by classifying the overall performance ofsewage treatment systems as “functions which must be ensured (basic
functions)” during disasters and as “other functions”. “Other functions”
are further sub-categorized as “functions which must be restored
immediately”, and “functions which must be restored quickly” althoughthese functions may be temporarily disabled by the Top Class Tsunami.
[3] Concept of tsunami resistance countermeasures for sewage
treatment plants
To efficiently take tsunami resistance countermeasures for sewage
treatment system facilities, it is necessary to set countermeasuresaccording to the tsunami resistance (Table 1) required for each function
based on risk management.
A suitable protection level must be selected from the following threelevels, based on the results of a complete study of the sewage systemfacility focusing on the importance of its functions, cost-effectiveness,and feasibility of execution.
These three protection levels are classified as shown in Table 2
according to tsunami resistance.
[1] Risk avoidanceThis means installing a facility above the inundation level orprotecting it by constructing a protective wall higher than theinundation level, and requires a structure which prevents inundationeven when a tsunami strikes. This is the highest level of tsunami
protection and the safest type of countermeasure.
[2] Risk reduction
This means providing solid water-resistant structures by installing
waterproof gates or by waterproofing equipment, thus protecting
functions even when equipment is inundated by a tsunami.

[3] Risk retention
This means building a structure which allows inundation, and means
trying to reduce damage with non-physical structure countermeasures.
The Sewage System Earthquake/Tsunami Countermeasure
Technology Study Committee concluded all its deliberations at its
seventh meeting on March 22, 2012. In the future, the four proposals
discussed by the committee will be made more specific and design
methods which permit sewage system operators to easily tsunamiproof their facilities will be established. These will then be reflected in
guidelines on tsunami-resistant design, etc.
On April 2, 2012, the Sewerage and Wastewater Management
Department of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport andTourism announced the Sewage Treatment System BCP Enactment
Manual (Earthquakes, Tsunami Volume), which hypothesizes tsunami
damage as non-physical structure tsunami resistance countermeasures.

Table 1. Standard Tsunami Resistance of Sewage Treatment Facilities Under the Top Class Tsunami
Facility category

Pipeline

Pumping station

Treatment plant
Overall functions

Function category

Tsunami resistance

Basic functions
Backwashprevention

Pumping up

Other functions
Pumping up
Sterilization

Settlement
Dewatering

Others

The function may be temporarily disabled,
The function may be temporarily
but must be restored immediately.
disabled, but must be restored quickly.

Must be guaranteed even during a disaster

Table 2. Protection Level and Countermeasure According to Tsunami Resistance (Case of Top Class Tsunami)
Tsunami resistanceMust be guaranteed
High

Protection level

Countermeasure

Restored immediately←

Risk avoidance

Medium* When unavoidable, “risk reduction”

Risk reduction

Structure that is not inundated(Installed above inundation height or protected by aprotective wall higher than inundation level)* When unavoidable, solid waterproof structure(Waterproofing by waterproof gates or equipment,
etc.)

Webcam Monitoring of Amounts of Plastic
Litter on Beaches
Coastal, Marine and Disaster Prevention Department,
Coastal Zone Systems Division
The amount of beached plastic litter can be remotely observed using
webcams installed on multiple beaches.
Plastic litter has disfigured the beaches of the world’s coastlines andcaused pollution on coastal and marine environments. Most of the plastic
litter is transported from far away by ocean currents along with thatfloating from locations near the coast where it is beached. Thus, to finda solution to this problem, it is important to clarify the process by whichplastic litter is transported. As a first step to clarifying the transportation
process in East Asian seas, we have sequentially monitored the amountof beached plastic litter (hereafter “beached plastic quantity”) using
webcams at multiple sites. In the paper, the time series of the beachedplastic quantity at four sites on the Japan Sea Coast along the Tsushima
Current (● in Figure 1(a)) is introduced.

Figure 1. Monitoring Sites by Webcam and Ocean Currents around
Japan (a); Webcam Installed on Tobishima (b)Strong water-resistant structure

Restored quickly→

Low
Risk retention
Allows inundation

An area of the beach covered with plastic litter was used as an index
of the beached plastic quantity and was calculated by image processing
images taken by webcams. First, the pixels of plastic litter were detected(Figure 2(b)) from the webcam image using the CIELUV color space(Figure 2(a)). The covered area was calculated from the numberof the pixels of plastic litter in the image after applying a projective
transformation.
A time series of the beached plastic quantity was obtained by sequential
image processing of webcam images from the time the webcams were
installed to August 2011 (Figure 2(c)). The variability of the beachedplastic quantity on four beaches differed. For example, the beached plastic
quantity at Tsushima greatly fluctuated during the analysis period, but at
Tobishima, it was consistent during the same period.

Figure 2. Webcam Image at Tobishima (a) and Detected Image of Plastic
Litter (b); Time Series of Beached Plastic Quantity at Four Sites (c)3An advantage of monitoring the beached plastic quantity using the
webcam is that the time series of beached plastic quantity with hightemporal resolution can be obtained at multiple sites. Most of beachedsurveys conducted around the world were in-situ surveys by personnel.
However it is impossible to obtain the time series of the beached plastic
quantity at multiple sites as shown in Figure 2(c) by in-situ surveys.
Mechanisms of the variability of the beached plastic quantity can beclarified by comparing the time series of beached plastic quantity
obtained by the image processing using the webcams with wind andwave observed at near site. We installed the webcams at five sites besidethe four sites analyzed in this study and have monitored the beachedplastic quantity (○ in Figure 1(a)). In the future, we will identify the timeseries of the beached plastic quantity at each site and mechanisms of thevariability of the beached plastic quantity by processing images takenby the nine webcams. In addition, we will identify the transportation
process of plastic litter in East Asian seas using an ocean circulation
model and the beached plastic quantity observed by the webcams.
Webcam website.
http://www.ysk.nilim.go.jp/kakubu/engan/enganiki/umigomi/index.html

PROJECT RESEARCH REPORT of National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management (February-April, 2012)
No.

Title of Paper

Project Leaders35

Studies on Cooperation between the Maintenance of Traffic Network Functions andContinuation Plans (BCP) of the Industrial Sector in Large-Scale Disasters

36

Development of Life Cycle Assessment Methodology on Sustainability of Infrastructures

Director of the Environment
Department

Research on Evaluation Technologies and Measures to Protect People from Accidents inside Buildings in
Daily Life(Part1)

Director of the Building Department

Research on Evaluation Technologies and Measures to Protect People from Accidents inside Buildings in
Daily Life(Part2)

Director of the Building Department

37

Business

Research Coordinator for Road
Affairs

RESEARCH REPORT of National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management (February-April, 2012)
No.
49

Title of Paper

Names of Divisions

Model Development on Estimating Import and Export Port Cargo
Volume considering the International Trading and Industrial Structure

Port Systems Division

TECHNICAL NOTE of National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management (February-April, 2012)
No.

Title of Paper

Names of Divisions

657

Report of the 1st Evaluation Committee of NILIM in FY 2011

Research Administration and
Evaluation Division

658

Field Survey of the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami on Shore Protection
Facilities in Ports

Coastal Disaster Prevention Division

659

A Study on Deformation Characteristic of Composite Caisson Type Breakwater Using Hydraulic Model
Experiment Result

Port Facilities Division

660

Practical Research on Methods of Survey, Analysis and Evaluation of Travel Time Reliability in Road Traffic Traffic Engineering Division

661

Annual Report of Road-related Research in FY 2011

Traffic Engineering Division

662

Effect of Dimensions of Specimen on Elongation of Structural Steel (Joint Research Report on the
Elongation of Structural Steel for Determination of Specified Design Strength)

Building Department

663

Landscape and Ecology Division, Annual Research Report (26th)

Landscape and Ecology Division

664

A study on creation specification of three dimension geographical data for road design

Information Technology Division

665

Investigation of Practice Examples of Flood Damage Mitigation Measures in step with River BasinManagement

River Division

666

Standards for Reference Road Sections and Reference Intersections for Traffic Surveys

Traffic Engineering Division,
Construction Economics Division

667

Preliminary Study on the Minimum Required Standards of Horizontal Alignment and Longitudinal Grade Traffic Engineering Divisionof Small-Scale Roads

669

Manual of the countermeasures for tree failure of street trees

Landscape and Ecology Division

671

Grounds for the Calculation of Motor Vehicle Emission Factors using Environment Impact Assessment ofRoad Project etc. (Revision of FY 2010)

Road Environment Division672

Verification of the Influence on Roadside Air Quality Concentration and its Prediction by happened
Atmospheric Stable Calm

Road Environment Division■ Visit the following website for documents published by the NILIM:（http://www.nilim.go.jp/lab/bcg/siryou/index.htm）■ NILIM research activities and achievements are now available on the following website as NILIM Annual Report 2012:（http://www.nilim.go.jp/english/
annual/annual2012/ar2012e.html）

National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

No.40

Spring 2012

Asahi 1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0804, Japan(Tachihara) Tachihara 1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0802, Japan(Yokosuka) Nagase 3-1-1, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 239-0826, Japan
TEL:+81-29-864-2754 FAX:+81-29-864-4322
Edited and Published by
http://www.nilim.go.jp/english/eindex.htm
National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management

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