Volume 6, Number 1, June 2008

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 40th JOINT MEETING US-JAPAN PANEL ON
WIND AND SEISMIC EFFECTS
The 40th Joint Meeting of the U.S.-Japan Panel on Wind and Seismic Effects was held at the National Institute ofStandards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland during 19-21 May 2008 followed by three-day technical site visits
to northern Virginia and Miami, Florida during 22-25 May. The Joint Panel Meeting centered on seven Sessions: 1)
Geotechnical Engineering and Ground Motion; 2) Next-Generation Building and Infrastructure Systems; 3) Wind
Engineering; 4) Storm Surge and Tsunamis; 5) Sustainable Design for Buildings and Infrastructure; 6) DamEngineering; and 7) Transportation Systems. Twenty-three papers were presented during this meeting (11 from Japanand 12 from the US).
During the next 12 months, the Panel is planning two Task Committee Workshops:
tha. Task Committee G, Transportation Systems, 24 US-Japan Bridge Engineering Workshop, September
2008, Minnesota, USAb. Task Committee H, Storm Surge and Tsunamis, 5th International Workshop on Coastal Disaster Prevention,late 2008 or early 2009, South Asia or Japan.
The Panel dissolved Task Committee (TC) A. However, the Panel recognizes the importance of the mission of the TCand requested that the TC be reorganized and to refocus the Task Committee direction. Dr. Mary Ellen Hynes, US
Department of Homeland Security has shown strong interest in the geotechnical component of the TC's mission andsuggested that the geotechnical part of TC A be aligned with Task Committee C (Dam Engineering Structures).
Also, the Panel dissolved Task Committee I on Fire Structure Performance.
The manuscripts, Panel Resolutions, and Task Committee Reports will be available in the Panel’s Proceedings, Windand Seismic Effects with an expected publication date of fall 2008. Information about the Panel is available at
http://www.pwri.go.jp/eng/ujnr/ujnr.htm.

Group photograph of US-Japan Members attending 40th Joint Meetingof the Panel on Wind and Seismic Effects

Highlights of the Panel’s five technical site visits in northern Virginia and Miami, Florida are below.
1.
Woodrow Wilson Bridge Construction Project, Alexandria, Virginia http://www.wilsonbridge.com. This
$2.5 billion Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project (design completed in 1998 and under construction since 2000) crosses
the Potomac River south of Washington D.C. between Maryland and Virginia. It is under management by Potomac
Crossing Consultants (PCC), a consortium of three firms: Parsons Brinkerhoff; URS; and Rummel, Klepper, and Kahl
(RK&F). PCC is responsible for coordinating design activities, performing construction and quality control management,
media relations and public interface, project controls, ensuring environmental commitments are carried out, and staffing
the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Centers.
The need to replace the original bridge was based on an outdated bridge that opened in 1961 designed for an
anticipated traffic volume of 65,000 vehicles daily. Traffic volume in 2008 has been 195,000 vehicles and in 2050 traffic
volume is anticipated to be 295,000 vehicles. The former bridge required opening its draw span about 265 times
annually for tall mast ships. The new bridge is about 20 m higher that reduces opening the draw span to about 65
times annually.
This 12 lane bridge parallels the old six lane (three lanes in each direction) bridge. Vehicle flow experienced severbottlenecks as six lanes of highway traffic from interchanges at each end funneled into the bridge’s three lanes. This 12
km highway/bridge project replaced 12 percent of the Washington D.C. Beltway’s 100 km circumference ring road.

New Woodrow Wilson Bridge view looking south to Virginia

Thirty five contracts were awarded for separate sections of the Maryland and Virginia project in five Section Designs
consisting of four interchanges (two each in Maryland and Virginia) and the bridge itself. The new bridge incorporates
eight bascule leaves, each with a deck encompassing about 1100 m2 with movable falsework for the bascule piers.
The bridge with gossamer twin spans are supported by curving V piers. One bridge section was completed andopened in 2006; the second section opened on 31 May 2008. Eighty percent of the bridge is completed. As sections ofthe old Woodrow Wilson Bridge were dismantled they were recycled. Steel was used for the new bridge and concrete
was used to construct fish habitats down river. The Project is sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration,
Virginia Department of Transportation, Maryland State Highway Administration, and the District of Columbia
Department of Public Works. The bridge was funded using 80-90 % Federal Monies and 10-20 % State Monies.
For additional information about the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project review PowerPoint Presentation at
http://www.wilsonbridge.com/powerpoint/0707-ProjectBrief.pdf.
2.
Department of Environmental Services, Arlington County, Virginia,
http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/EnvironmentalServices/EnvironmentalServicesMain.aspx. A visit was made to
the County’s Wastewater Treatment Plant where the Panel delegation learned about its new design and construction
program that will upgrade their Water Pollution Control Plant, a 70-year old facility. Discussions about Arlington County’sDevelopment Initiative, Fresh AIRE (Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions) Initiative & Green Buildings,
Transportation Planning, and two presentations from the Japan-side on Flooding Control and Post-Earthquake
Emergency Management for Roads followed the Wastewater Treatment Plant visit.
Arlington’s Water Pollution Control Plant Upgrade is required to accommodate Arlington County’s population of about
225,000 residents and businesses that produce about 120 million liters of wastewater daily. This waste water treatment
facility has been under construction since 2001. Its costs is about $570 million that includes modernizing an aging
infrastructure, expanding the facility to better manage capacity issues, adding odor control facilities, and complying with2

new regulations in the liquid treatment areas. The new facility will treat about 160 million liters of waste water per day
and will better accommodate high flows during wet weather. The county is working with neighboring residents toreduce the noise from a variety of construction equipment and diesel pile drivers (impact of the hammer on the pile andvibrations from the pile in the air) by using impact cushions, installing noise absorbing blankets in the aeration tankexcavation, testing dampening devices on the piles to reduce pile vibration noise generation, and placing shrouds on
the pile driving rigs.

Group Photograph of the Delegation at theArlington County Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade

Other Arlington County environmental programs and initiatives were discussed. Arlington County’s Infrastructure
Development Initiative was started in 1961 following an assessment of the quality of life available in the county. During
the past 45 years the County has worked hard to create an “Urban Village” environment that provides residents withshopping within a half kilometer radius of where they live. Five Urban Villages were created over the past 40 years that
replaced outdated structures and buildings and created apartment and commercial buildings along the north-southaxis over the Washington Metro System (Subway) that was completed in 1997. The Urban Villages provided theopportunity to revitalize the area and provides the five Villages a more traditional “Main Street” environment. The end
results is an improved environment that provides a walkable “Main Street” for Arlington County through preservation,revitalization, and new development where people can live, work, and play. These five Urban Villages represent about
11 percent of the county. Continuing planning efforts are underway to revitalize other parts of the county and to evaluate
the need to revitalize older portions of the existing five Urban Villages. Arlington County is committed to reduce green
house emissions by 10 % by 2012 and then to reduce emissions by 2 % each year thereafter. As part of this program
the County is planting more trees and providing free home energy audits and carbon dioxide detectors. The Arlington
County Transportation System program stresses preservation and reinvestment in established residential
neighborhoods, to pursue increased public transportation rider-ship programs, encourage fewer automobiles in theseUrban Villages, provide more public transportation.
During this visit, the Japan-side presented papers on two related topics that shared related Japan technologies. Thepapers were:• Policy of River, Flood Control, and Large-scale Flood Countermeasures in Japan by Koji Ikeuchi, Cabinet
Office and• Post-earthquake Emergency Management for Roads by Osamu Matsuo, PWRI.
3.
Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Miami-Dade County, Miami, Florida
http://www.miamidade.gov/oem. The Miami-Dade County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is a division ofthe Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue Department with responsibility to prepare the citizens of Dade County and the Countyand City agencies for large-scale emergencies and disasters. The EOC coordinates rescue operations and provides
resources to address emergencies following disasters. During large disasters and emergencies, more than 70agencies operate out of OES’ Operations Center as they provide the necessary coordination and operations. OEM
operates through three Branches:• Public Safety Branch that includes the Police, Fire Rescue, Coast Guard, Marine organizations and others
who provide the security and reentry into disaster areas;3••

Human Services Branch that includes the American Red Cross, hospitals and health organizations, andothers that provide evacuation services and the feeding and caring for disaster victims; andInfrastructure Branch including officials from the water, sewerage, ports, airports, etc. who are responsible fordebris clearance, communications, transportation, energy, etc.

Miami-Dade County Emergency Operations Center

OES provides extensive GIS services to assess the damages and recovery and relief services needed following asever disaster. Foe example, OES has the capability to identify grocery stores and gasoline stations with generatorsthat can provide services to the public following a disaster; identify locations susceptible to damages; classify transit
conditions of roads and highways; identify chemical industries and other industries having the potential to release toxicgases; and etc. The OEC operate with 25 staff and cooperates with nine Dade County universities, coordinates workwith the surrounding county and local governments, and conducts periodic training drills working with the County’s
public and private organizations. OEC closely works with Florida Power and Light to monitor the nearby nuclear powerreactor (Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant).
4.
National Hurricane Center, Miami, Florida, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov. The National Hurricane Center(NHC) is responsible for providing the current status of storms and future forecasts of their behavior. The Centeroperates with 46 staff and an annual budget of $6.4 million. NHC collaborates with international partners in theCaribbean, South America, and Pacific-rim countries, and informs key decisionmakers, the media, and the public toprovide current weather information. Discussions centered on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s(NOAA) improved capability for forecasting and decrease in uncertainties and errors in modeling for forecast during thepast 40 years. During the past several decades, the threat to US population has increased greatly with a larger percentof the US population living along the coast line. NOAA/NHC relies on the local municipal officials to disseminate
data/information to their citizens. While NOAA includes updated data/information on their web pages, much of this datarequires interpretation that can best be provided by local officials.
A Mini-Symposium was conducted with three presentations:a). Hurricane Impact Research on Physical Infrastructure by Mark Powell, NOAA who spoke about
improvements to storm intensity forecasting, diagnosis, prediction of hurricane impacts, improved forecasts, andunderstanding climate vulnerabilities. His NOAA research is performed with academia, local community officials,
and commercial firm in developing adaptive observation networks by installing sensors in advance of the storm.
He is developing new metrics for hurricane impacts and developing better communication tools to notify the public
about impending severe storms and how to protect themselves. The public requires information to better plan forand survive severe storms. Despite excellent forecasting and warnings, people continue to act on their perceivedvulnerability. Past experience influences people’s perceptions about how to act during a disaster and those who
experience significant disaster losses are more likely to act to reduce damages to their property and themselves inthe future.
b). Mitigating Wind Induced Damage to Roofing Systems in Japan by Hitomitsu Kikitsue, Building ResearchInstitute (BRI), Japan. BRI is improving standards for clay tile and steel roofing to better resist wind force. The
Japan building code for earthquake load satisfies the requirement for resistance to wind-induced shear force onwalls. Hence, design requirements for wind-induced loads are already in the Japan building code. BRI is testing anew roof tile that performs satisfactory to wind speeds up to 46 m/s contrasted to normal tiles and normal
installation to wind speeds up to 30 m/s. Load tests explicitly evaluate wind resistance performance of roofingsystems.
4c). New Engineering Research on Tatsumaki by Yasuo Okuda, Building Research Institute (BRI), Japan. Dr.
Okuda discussed new engineering research on flying debris, transient wind forces, numerical simulations ofTatsumakis (tornado-whirlwinds) and down bursts.
5.
International Hurricane Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, Florida,
http://www.ihc.fiu.edu. Following Hurricane Andrew of 1992, Florida International University (FIU) and Dade County
worked in a public-private partnership to help rebuild Dade County. The creation of the International Hurricane
Research Center (IHRC) at FIU was an outgrowth of the partnership. The IHRC is part of FIU’s Civil andEnvironmental Engineering Department (CEED). Included in CEED is its Structures and Construction TestingLaboratory used to test full-scale structural members, components, and systems. The lab provides engineering andscientific support for forensic investigation, structural diagnosis, non-destructive testing and rehabilitation
recommendations. The Laboratory consists of a 10.7 m x 19.8 m strong floor, 1780 kN test frame, 1201 kN and 672
kN fatigue actuators, and 1780 kN compression machine. Research includes performing:• Seismic performance of bridge systems with connective and innovative materials,• Evaluation of the performance of manufactured home roof decks,• Testing for full scale roof uplift,• Bridges health monitoring using NDEs,• Scour monitoring,• Studies on portable systems to identify heavy trucks on highways,• Research to determine concrete performance.
IHRC is composed of four Laboratories, each addresses a specific area:
1. Insurance, Financial and Economic Research that defines the hurricane threat to the economy.
2. Social Science Research that studies how individuals and groups respond to hurricanes.
3. Coastal Research that quantitatively assesses vulnerability of coastal areas to storm induced beach erosion.
4. Wind Engineering research that investigates solutions to make houses and buildings more hurricane
resistant.
The IHRC includes its “Wall of Wind” (WOW) full-scale test research facility. This facility tests to failure full-sizedstructures such as site-built or manufactured houses and small commercial structures. WoW projects are funded byfederal and state agencies and private industry whose findings will help create a technical basis for developing risk-and
performance-based design criteria and contributes to achieving more sustainable coastal communities.

Wall of Wind 6-Fan Research Facility

IHCR’s Phase One, WOW in 2005 developed a two-fan system funded by the Florida Department of Community
Affairs to test full-scale roof models under wind and wind-driven water conditions. In 2007, Phase Two designated,RenaissanceRe WOW uses a six-fan array. Each fan is powered by a 373,000 W engine that generates 58 m/s
winds with water fed into the system to simulate wind induced rain. The engines can be controlled separately and vary
engine speed to generate wind gusts. High-speed cameras monitor the effect of wind and wind-driven rain on
individual building materials and full structures. Phase Three of the project, is a proposal to develop a 12 fan-arraycosting $5.8 million under a "Center of Excellence" grant from the State of Florida. FIU partners with universities in othercoastal states for resources and also receives support and funding from private and government sectors. IHRC works
closely with the National Hurricane Center located at the FIU University Campus. Their research addressed therelationship between roof edges and wind loads, determines causes of water infiltration, develops prediction and5behavior of windborne debris, performs impact assessments, and develops the technical basis for improving building
standards and codes for improved design and construction practices of houses and buildings.
Several presentations were made that highlighted IHRC research:• RenaissanceRe Wall of Wind Research – Making Innovations from Theory to Applications discussed theWall of Wind, full scale wind testing on structures, and simulation of wind driven rain to assess water
infiltration. The WoW will be expanded from six to 12 fans having a capability of generating 63 m/s windspeed.
• Wind Tunnel Initiative addressed several wind tunnel testing programs and tests on the upper portion of theBurj Dubai Tower during construction with a Tower Crane.
• Mitigation of Wind Loads on Roof Equipment discussed reducing wind loads by shielding HVAC equipment
on roofs.
• Water Suppression Research discussed water suppression by aerodynamic eddy shapes.
• Computational Blockage Assessment for a New Full-Scale Testing Facility that reviewed optimum size
specimens that can be tested in the WOW facility and suggested solutions if blockage becomes an issue.

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