2018. 10. 2

Japan Society of Civil Engineers
International Activities Center

IAC News No.72
2018 Annual Meeting, International Program-Prompt ReportThe 2018 Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) was held from August 29 to 31 at
Sapporo Campus of Hokkaido University. On the 29th and 30th, the International Activities Center held
International Panel Discussion, the 20th International Summer Symposium, Int’l Workshop for Young CivilEngineers, Networking Reception, and a technical tour.
Kiyoshi Kobayashi, President of JSCE, gave the opening
address at the International Panel Discussion, Comparisonof Infrastructure Maintenance and Resilience among Asianand Western Countries. Masamitsu Onishi, Associate
Professor at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute,Kyoto

University,moderated

thepresentation

anddiscussion by professionals of each country. Dr. Craig A.
Davis of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
gave a keynote lecture on infrastructure resilience. Then, theChinese Institute of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering(CICHE), the Korean Society of Civil Engineers (KSCE),

International Panel Discussion

and Japan presented examples of their projects. The Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry ofLand, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism presented projects in Japan. Using videos to report on the damage
caused by torrential rain in 2016, they explained the structure of cooperation among construction-relatedcompanies and the reconstruction work using advanced technologies such as ICT and drones to accelerate thework. The number of participants including the audience was 66.
80 papers were submitted to the 20th International SummerSymposium. The participants engaged in a lively exchangeof views. Yoshihiro Okumura, Associate Professor at
Kansai University, moderated the Int’l Workshop for
Young Civil Engineers on the theme of When a Mega
Disaster Strikes... - How would you respond if you were amayor? -. 41 participants, including international students
learning in Japan and foreign young engineers, weredivided into 7 groups to act as mayors of the autonomous

1Press Conference at the Int’l Workshop for
Young Civil Engineerscommunities affected by an earthquake, and reviewed and discussed the policies to respond to the damages andgoals for reconstruction. At the end, they made a presentation at a “Press Conference”.
In the evening on the first day, the networking reception washeld at “Restaurant Elm” in Hokkaido University to enable staffof the International Activities Center, guests from overseas, andparticipants of the Summer Symposium and workshop foryoung engineers to mingle with each other. 76 participants,
including President Kobayashi, the next President Hayashi,Vice-President Sunohara, and President Ueda of theInternational Activities Center, enjoyed the conversation in apeaceful atmosphere. On the second day, we organized atechnical tour. The participants visited the Civil Engineering Technical Tour Participants
Research Institute for Cold Regions, the new construction site
between Yoichi Interchange and Otaru Junction of NEXCO East, and “Otaru Minato” Museum by chartered bus.
Guests from overseas were particularly interested in the history and civil engineering technologies that aresuitable for the intensely cold environment of Hokkaido.

JSCE International Outstanding Collaboration AwardNguyen Thi Tuyet Trinh
My name is Trinh from University of Transport and Communications of Vietnam.
This is my honor to receive the “FY 2017 JSCE International Outstanding Collaboration Award”; I am very
happy and surprised with this award. On this occasion, I would like to introduce a little about my activities inthe past.
In 1995, after I graduated from University of Transportand Communications of Vietnam (UTC), I worked as abridge engineer for Harumoto Tekko in Japan. Then in
2000, I had the opportunity to be a bridge engineer for PCI
in Vietnam. I am currently working for the UTC as theDean of International Education Faculty.
In terms of teaching in the UTC, in 2010 I established theClass of Vietnam - Japan Urban Transport Works. There
were 6 graduate courses and the students have been
The Class of Vietnam- Japan Urban Transport Worksengineers for Japanese companies.

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In addition, since 2009, I was assigned as a bridge specialist for the State Acceptance Council. Then since 2015,
I was elected as member of the Executive Board of the Vietnam Bridges and Road Association. With suchpositions, I participated in examining and discussing technical issues in Japanese ODA projects such as Can ThoBridge, Nhat Tan Bridge, Tan Vu - Lach Huyen Bridge, Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway, etc.

Nhat Tan Bridge

Tan Vu - Lach Huyen Bridge

Ben Luc - Long Thanh Expressway< The State Acceptance Council Examination for Japan’s ODA Projects>

As a researcher, my scientific research focused on 3
main directions, that are (1) New steel structures
applied in transport construction works; (2)Methods enhances durability, life expectancy of thestructures; (3) Seismic resistance design forstructures in transport construction works. Almost
research results were based on the reference ofJapanese and foreign researches, taking into
account the environmental and other conditions ofVietnam in order to apply the technology inVietnam.
This time, receiving this great and honorable award,“Design Manual of Steel Sheet Pile Structures”, published thefirst time in Vietnam.

I would like to express my thanks to the Japanese companies that have supported my activities over the longterm. In particular, I would like to thank the engineers of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, Shimizu Construction,Geostr, Kawakin Core-tech for their cooperation in research projects. Also, I sincerely thank my mentors forteaching me all the time since I was a student, Professor Trung of UTC, then Professor Kiyomiya of Waseda
University.
In the coming time, I will continue to strive to further develop the cooperation between Vietnam and Japan. I
sincerely thank!
【Reported by Nguyen Thi Tuyet Trinh, University of Transport and Communications of Vietnam.】3

【Alumni of DOBOKU Series】“External Prestressing to Composite Materials and Structures- Through Invaluable Japanese Experience! ”
Thiru Aravinthan,
Professor of Structural Engineering, School of Civil Engineering andSurveying, Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Health, Engineeringand Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Australia
The Budding Research Engineer
My engineering career started at the Department of Civil Engineering at theUniversity of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka in April 1991 soon after completing the BScEng(Hons) degree from the same University. I joined as an Instructor and continued as a
Teaching Assistant until November 1993, when I left to pursue my postgraduate
studies in Japan.
My research career in Japan began when I was introduced to Prof. Hiroshi Mutsuyoshiof Saitama University in December 1993. I joined the Graduate School of Science and Thiru Aravinthan
Engineering of Saitama University in April 1994 to pursue the Masters of Engineering University of Southern
Queensland, Australia

degree and continued further with the Doctor of Engineering degree until March 1999.
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Saitama University offered a special graduate
program in English for international students.
My postgraduate research theme was on the flexural behaviour of prestressed concrete (PC) bridges with externaltendons. The Structural Materials Laboratory within the Department has been a pioneer on research related toexternal prestressing in Japan.

My Masters research was an industry collaborative project
supported by Kajima Corporation, one of the biggest construction
companies in Japan. Started with substantial experimental
investigations in the first two years, these investigations continued
to my doctoral research. During the final year of doctoral study, a
new research project commenced on the development ofinnovative continuous PC bridge with highly external eccentric
tendons. It started in April 1998, in collaboration DPS BridgeWorks and Mitsui Construction. I was able to observe and learn
many useful things including large scale structural testing,prestressing techniques and data measurement and analysis. I wasReunion of International Alumni from Prof.

also exposed to a completely new language, culture and Mutsuyoshi Lab at the ACI Fall Convention 2017(right to left: Aravinthan, Mutsuyoshi, Allan and An

environment that was different from that in Sri Lanka. Learning (Iowa State Univ.))
the Japanese language was important in our day-to-day living as4

well as conducting research involving industry. I took this as a challenge by targeting the Japanese Proficiency
Exam each year and was also able to master the language during my postgraduate studies. This helped toovercome several communication barriers and resulting in excellent teamwork.

Our research findings have been published in many local and international conferences and journals. The Japan
Concrete Institute (JCI) honoured me with the “Excellent Presentation Award” twice in 1996 and 1998, for mypapers presented in English and Japanese respectively. Despite heavy research activities I also qualified theFundamentals of Engineering Exam conducted by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering andSurveying, USA in November 1998. My research career at Saitama University has been the most challenging
and fruitful where I was able to enhance my technical knowledge while learning other cultural and language
aspects of Japan!

Japanese Industry Experience
I joined DPS Bridge Works as a Senior Research Engineer in April 1999, based on the ongoing collaboration
developed during my doctoral research. I was attached to the Research and Development Centre based within
the head office in Tokyo. My work involved research and development programs including (a) innovative
bridge using highly eccentric external tendons and (b) application of high-performance lightweight aggregates(HLA) in PC structures. While continuing research collaboration with Saitama University and MitsuiCorporation, it also provided me opportunities to work with Taiheiyo Cement Corporation and Tokyo Instituteof Technology. During this period, I was able to visit several bridge construction sites including the innovative
pedestrian bridge with highly eccentric external tendons across the Torisaki River in Morimachi, Hokkaido that
won the research and development award by Japan Prestressed Concrete Association in 2002!

I found that the working environment is much different from my previous careers in the universities. This also
gave me insight into the research carried out in Japanese industry.

Further, my Japanese language ability proved

to be worthwhile in communication with our team, as well as with external clients and consultants. This career
episode has been was one of the important chapters in my engineering profession.

Academic Career in Australia
My career took a turn when I was offered an academic position in Australia. I joined the University of Southern
Queensland (USQ) as a Lecturer in Structural Engineering in April 2002. From external prestressing, myresearch direction turned into composite materials and structures. Currently I am a Professor of StructuralEngineering affiliated with the Centre for Future Materials (CFM) at USQ. Over the years, I have played a keyrole in the R&D of fibre composites in civil infrastructure, taking a leading role with several industry
collaboration. In addition, I have taken senior management duties within CFM and the Faculty in my various
roles as Head of Department, Centre Director and Associate Dean (Research).

Though I left Japan in 2002, the collaboration with Japan has been continuing over the years. I was fortunate tobe awarded the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) Invited Research Fellowship (Long-term) for 6months in 2006 to conduct research with Prof. Mutsuyoshi at Saitama University. I was engaged in thecollaborative research project on the “Development of Hybrid Bridge Girders Using Advanced Composite
5Materials”, funded by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport including Tokyo Metropolitan
University, Nagoka Institute of Technology and Toray Corporation. In 2008, we were successful in organising a2-Day international workshop on Fibre Composites in Civil infrastructure at USQ. This was co-funded byAustralian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) & Australia Japan Foundation wheredelegates from Japan visited Australia and Prof. Mutsuyoshi delivered a keynote address. Later this wascontinued as a Road show in Japan in 2009. Moreover, I was invited to deliver a keynote lecture at the Third
Asia-Pacific Conference on FRP in Structures (APFIS2012) Conference held in Sapporo to speak on “R&D offibre composites in civil infrastructure – The Australian experience”. These are memories to cherish from Japan!
Alumni of DOBOKU Series is in collaboration with Editorial Committee of JSCE Magazine.

《Column》Hiroshi Mutsuyoshi,

Director and Professor, International Institute for Resilient Society, Saitama UniversityProf. Aravinthan was the best student in Japanese
language among more than 40 foreign students I
supervised. He entered Saitama Univ. as a mastercourse student from Sri Lanka in 1994 andcompleted his PhD degree in 1999 for researchon PC bridges with highly external eccentric
tendons. After that, he was fortunate to work at
DPS Bridge Works and engaged in construction
site where a PC bridge with highly eccentric external tendons was built in
Hokkaido. Since working for a university in Australia, he is activelyengaged in research on FRP based composite materials. Associate
Professor Allan Manalo who is currently doing research with him in thesame University was also my former student.

With Mr. & Mrs. Aravinthan(Toowoomba, Australia)

Activity Report of ACECC TC-16
The Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council (ACECC) TC-16 is atechnical committee that focuses on the "Intelligent Transport System(ITS) Solutions for Urban Traffic Problems in the Asia-Pacific Region".
TC-16 organizes ITS solutions for common urban traffic problems among
Asian countries, such as congestion, accidents and environmental issues,
which are a result of rapid urbanization associated with economic growth
and the increase in the number of vehicles. TC-16 has also been discussing
on methods of ITS introduction which correspond well to the levels ofeconomic development and land development of individual countries. In
the fiscal year 2016, building on its achievements, TC-16 published the“ITS Introduction Guide” (Photo1) on the websites of ACECC and theJapan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE).
Photo1 ITS Introduction Guide

http://www.acecc-world.org/TC16.html

This publication is supported by International Scientific Exchange Fund (ISEF) of JSCE.

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TC-16 continuously organizes annual workshop by the committee members from different countries, inconjunction with some international academic conferences and symposiums. In this year, the workshop was heldin Fukuoka, Japan, on 9th May, in conjunction with the Intelligent Transport Systems Asia-Pacific (ITSAP)
Forum. In this workshop, the results of the survey on the use cases of the ITS in several countries were reported.
For example, that includes the integration of traffic information centering on the Grab company considered in
the Philippines, the utilization of the big data collected by All Thai Taxi started in Thailand, and the operation ofa transportation system integrated with FINTECH by the GMS company in Japan. Furthermore, as important
points for future consideration, discussions were carried out about the mobility oriented approach, open platform
including the API, efficient use of infrastructure including new travel mode using ICT, traffic demand
management for improving theperformance of the city as a whole,etc.
ACECC TC-16 will continue theresearch on advanced efforts and use
cases of the ITS, including MaaS
(Mobility as a Service), in various
countries around the world, andupdatethe“ITSIntroduction

Guide”, in order to contribute tosolving urban traffic problems inAsian countries.
【Reported by Iwasato Yasuyuki, Secretary of ACECC TC-16, Researcher,
ITS Division of National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management】

JSCE UK Section Report～BERD-FEUP WIBE Prize～
The authors entered the inaugural World Innovation in Bridge Engineering (WIBE) paper competition recently,
and this short article summarizes the outline of the competition.
This competition was organized by BERD, Portuguese specialized bridge contractor, and the faculty ofengineering at University of Porto. Entrants were required to write 10-page long technical paper on innovation
developed by them. Innovation presented by entrants could be associated with many different aspects of bridge
engineering, such as conceptual design, research work and constriction technology. The panel of judges
comprised international authorities in the field. Please refer to the web-link given in [1] for further details.
The authors entered the competition with a technical paper on the design of the Awa Shirasagi Ohashi Bridge(Photo1). The construction was completed in 2012. The bridge is located in Tokushima Prefecture, across thetidal estuary of the Yoshino River. Since the bridge was located in an extremely environmentally sensitive area,
it was required to comply with a very tight environmental constraint, which led to various innovations in the7design. Our paper stressed the following:
1) Adopting a unique form of cable truss structure, named
cable egret, allowed the bridge to comply with an extremely
tight environment constraint within a limited budget.
2) A new form of permanent tubular steel cofferdam
foundation, which was a Japanese–originated foundation
system, was developed particularly for the project. This newfoundation form enabled the bridge both seismic-resistantand cost-effective.
3) The use of sandwich slabs, which was also Japaneseoriginated technology, allowed the contractor to adopt a

Photo1 Awa Shirasagi Ohashi Bridge

construction technique which minimised an impact on theenvironment.
Although we were shortlisted for the prize, our paper
were only ranked fifth in the final (Fig.1). However, we
do believe this result has demonstrated that Japanesebridge engineering still maintain high standards. The
prize was won by an international team comprising theUniversity of Queensland, Rocket C (based inBrisbane), Hong Kong Polytechnic University andArup. According to their web sites, they presented
research work on a double skin composite arch bridge
comprising steel inner tubular members which areencapsulated by FRP tubes. The annuals between thetwo members are filled with concrete. According to Fig.1 Certificate for Participating in the WIBE with Ranking
their web site, it seems that this system allows a significant reduction in the lifting weight for erection, which inturn enables a rapid construction. A full details should be available when the organization committee publish
their paper.
Evidently, we were the only team which presented Japanese–originated. Following the success of the inaugural
WIBE competition, the committee decided to organize the succeeding competition, WIBE 2020 in 2020. Since
there are quite a few technologies unique to Japan, we expect to see many entrants from Japan for the nextcompetition, which should internationally demonstrate the excellence of Japanese engineering, and may lead tothe export of Japanese infrastructure technologies into overseas countries.
Reference: [1] BERD-FEUP WIBE Prize Web Site: https://paginas.fe.up.pt/~wibe/【Reported by Syuichi Takeichi, Kazumi Terada, Daisuke Saito, JSCE UK Section】

8Updates◆Seminar on the Dissemination of Japanese Technical Standards Overseas, The 9th JOPCA Seminar(November 7, 2018)
http://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/node/131◆Japanese Civil Engineers the Global Leaders Symposium Series No.13 (December 18, 2018)
http://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/◆CECAR8 Online Registration (Early Bird: June 1 – Jan 31, 2019)http://www.cecar8.jp/◆The International Infrastructure Archives– A Compilation of Japan’s Greatest Projects in Transfer of Civil Engineering Technology in Service –http://www.jsce.or.jp/e/archive/◆Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council (ACECC) International Newsletter archives
http://www.acecc-world.org/newsletter.html◆IAC “News Pick Up!!” on the JSCE Japanese website
http://committees.jsce.or.jp/kokusai/node/118◆Summary of featured articles in JSCE Magazine Vol. 103, No. 10, October 2018 on the JSCE website
http://www.jsce-int.org/pub/magazine◆Journal of JSCE
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/journalofjsce◆IAC Students and Alumni Network
http://www.jsce-int.org/IAC_network◆ASCE 2018 Convention
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