Air Pollution and Health Effects
2013-07-11 11:00 - 12:00 (Asia/Macau) | HG01
Speaker
Prof. Ana Isabel Miranda
Vice Director
Department of Environment and Planning
University of Aveiro
Abstract
Air pollution, both indoors and outdoors, is a major environmental health problem affecting everyone in developed and developing countries alike. The World Health Organization associates to air pollution approximately 3 million premature deaths worldwide per year. This seminar addresses the effects of air pollution on human health through a chain of events, which start with emissions to the air and ends with the health effect. The dispersion and chemical transformation of air pollutants, the human exposure and the inhaled dose are also part of this chain. Several examples covering different scales will be presented during the seminar.
Biography
Professor Ana Isabel Miranda is the Vice Director of the Department of Environment and Planning of the University of Aveiro. She is a Full Professor of Environmental Engineering co-coordinating the research group on emissions, modelling and climate change of the same university. Her group mainly works in the areas of air quality modelling, environmental impact assessment, forest fire studies, urban air quality, climate change, and health effects of air pollution. Professor Miranda is also the Local Director of the ERASMUS/MUNDUS Joint European Master in Environmental Studies in Portugal. She participated in 25 national and 20 European research projects with the scientific coordination of 4 and 2 of these projects, respectively. Her research work includes over 450 scientific and technical publications (53 ISI web of knowledge peer-reviewed scientific published papers).

Modelling air pollution: from my neighborhood to global scale
2013-07-18 11:00 - 12:00 | HG01
Speaker
Prof. Ana Isabel Miranda
Vice Director
Department of Environment and Planning
University of Aveiro
Abstract
Air quality modeling allows obtaining temporal 3D fields of air pollutants in the air. Nowadays the use of models to support air quality assessment and planning is becoming a common practice with clear benefits. There are different types of models based on different mathematical approaches and dealing with different applications. This seminar aims to highlight this variety of models taking into consideration the different scales of application, from the local to the global scale. Examples of modeling studies will be provided and discussed.
Biography
Professor Ana Isabel Miranda is the Vice Director of the Department of Environment and Planning of the University of Aveiro. She is a Full Professor of Environmental Engineering co-coordinating the research group on emissions, modelling and climate change of the same university. Her group mainly works in the areas of air quality modelling, environmental impact assessment, forest fire studies, urban air quality, climate change, and health effects of air pollution. Professor Miranda is also the Local Director of the ERASMUS/MUNDUS Joint European Master in Environmental Studies in Portugal. She participated in 25 national and 20 European research projects with the scientific coordination of 4 and 2 of these projects, respectively. Her research work includes over 450 scientific and technical publications (53 ISI web of knowledge peer-reviewed scientific published papers).

Application of optical fiber sensor technology in geotechnical engineering projects
2013-10-11 15:00 - 16:00 | N402
Speaker
Dr. Cheng-Yu Hong
Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Shantou University
Abstract
The talk will cover the following contents: 1. Optical fiber sensor technology-sensor types and sensing principle; 2. Why we use optical fiber sensor technologies in geotechnical engineering projects; 3. How to realize the monitoring work of geotechnical engineering projects using optical fiber sensor technologies; 4. Installation experiences of different optical fiber sensors in different geotechnical engineering projects; 5. Typical monitoring test results and analysis; 6. Current problems of optical fiber sensor for the monitoring work of geotechnical engineering projects; 7. Conclusions.
Biography
Dr Cheng-Yu Hong (洪成雨) is currently an associate professor in Department of Civil Engineering of Shantou University. He received a BSc and an MSc in mainland China and a PhD from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Oct 2011. After worked as a research associate in The Hong Kong Polytechnic University for one year, Dr Hong joined Shantou University in 2012. Currently Dr Hong has published 10 international journal papers and 13 conference papers. He also served as reviewers for two international journals: ASCE International journal of Geomechanics and ICE Geoenvironmental Geotechnics. His research concerns involve pullout resistance of pressure grouted soil nails; long-term monitoring of conventional soil nails and GFRP bar soil nails, and application of different optical fiber sensor technologies (fiber Bragg grating sensor; Low Coherence Interferometry; Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis) in geotechnical engineering projects.

Sustainable Architecture in Hot Climates: the SURE-Africa Project
2013-11-06 14:30 - 15:30 | J320
Speaker
Prof. Manuel Correia Guedes
Associate Professor
Head of the Architectural Research Centre
Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal
Abstract
A general overview is presented on the subject of sustainable architecture in Hot Regions, focusing on the African context: the most striking aspects, present needs and future trends. A brief presentation is also made on the 3-year E.U. SURE-Africa COOPENER project, which involved various E.U. and African Universities.
Keywords: Sustainable architecture; hot climates; developing countries; Africa.
Biography
Architect, Ph.D. (Univ. Cambridge), Associated Professor at the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal. Currently the Head of the Architectural Research Centre of the IST (ICIST-n6), and former Director of the Course of Architecture. Specialised in Sustainable Architecture and Urban Design, is responsible for the disciplines of Environmental Design and Sustainable Architecture at the Master and Ph.D. courses. Participant in national and international research projects in the area, Coordinator of E.U. cooperation projects with Africa.

Earthquake-Resilient Design of Reinforced Concrete Tall Buildings and Highway Bridges at Near-Fault Regions
2014-03-28 16:00 - 17:00 | JM12 (University of Macau)
Speaker
Dr. Marios PANAGIOTOU
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of California, Berkeley
Abstract
It is predicted that by 2030, 60% of the world’s total population will live in urban areas (47% in 2000). The number of tall buildings in urban centers and of major bridges near large earthquake faults will increase accordingly. Current seismic design for tall buildings and bridges focuses primarily on collapse prevention and does not attempt to limit damage and ensure post-earthquake functionality. Such design philosophy may result in unprecedented economic and social losses, following a major earthquake, which are inappropriate for the needs of many urban regions of the early and mid XXI century. For shallow earthquakes, regions in the direction and within 10 km from the fault rupture are usually subjected to the most severe near-fault ground motions (NFGMs) that contain strong pulses. For example, after the 2011 magnitude 6.3 (M6.3) earthquake in New Zealand (5 km from the fault), 36 out of the 50 tallest buildings in Christchurch were demolished, causing major disruption of the city center operation for over two years.
This presentation addresses the question: Can we economically design tall (up to 20 stories) buildings and bridges in near-fault regions that sustain minimal damage and remain functional after major (up to M8) shallow earthquakes? Presented first are recent research findings on the presence of multiple strong pulses in individual historical NFGMs and the implications for structural response. The second part of the presentation focuses on the analytical development of earthquake-resilient designs for 20-story tall reinforced concrete (RC) buildings using large seismic isolation devices and rocking core walls. As demonstrated, using response history analysis, these designs experience minimal damage and ensure prompt postearthquake functionality. A comparison to conventional code-compliant 20-story RC wall buildings is shown. A three-dimensional beam-truss modeling approach for RC non-planar wall buildings that accounts for flexure-shear interaction is presented. Next, the analytical and experimental development of earthquake-resilient RC bridges that use rocking columns or combination of rocking foundations and seismic isolation devices is discussed. The presentation concludes with the results of a large-scale shake table test of bridge columns supported on rocking foundations including physical modeling of the soil.
Biography

Marios Panagiotou received his Ph.D. from University of California (UC) San Diego in 2008, where he was responsible for the seismic design, analysis, and shaketable testing of a full-scale 7-story RC wall building slice [Fig. (d)], the tallest structure ever tested on a shake table in United States. He was awarded the 2012 Alfred Noble Prize bestowed by the American Society of Civil Engineers for his journal paper related to the 7-story building slice project. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of UC Berkeley. His research efforts include the analytical and experimental development of earthquake-resilient structures, computational modeling of RC structures subjected to earthquake loading, dynamic soil-structure interaction, and engineering characterization of earthquake ground motions.

Instability and Failure in Granular Materials
2014-06-03 15:00 - 16:00 | J215 (University of Macau)
Speaker
Prof. Pierre-Yves HICHER
Professor of the Research Institute in Civil and Mechanical Engineering
Ecole Centrale de Nantes, France
Abstract
Instability of granular material is an important topic in geotechnical engineering because it may lead to catastrophic events such as the collapse of earth structures. There are two aspects in the study of instability, namely, material instability (also known as intrinsic/constitutive instability) and geometrical instability. The phenomenon of localisation formation in a specimen of finite size can be studied as a boundary value problem for which initial inhomogeneities, as well as boundary conditions, play an important role. However, it has been shown that the occurrence of localisation can be predicted at a constitutive level. More recently, several authors have demonstrated that other modes of instability can occur within granular materials and demonstrated that any non-associated elastoplastic model could exhibit domains of instability inside the plastic limit. Experimental evidences support these theoretical approaches. For example, in loose sand under undrained conditions, an instable condition can be obtained at a low shear stress level and subsequently, the strength is reduced to almost zero, corresponding to a material state known as static liquefaction. In this talk, we present a study of material instability based on laboratory testing and field cases. The analysis of these examples demonstrates the major role played by the material initial density as well as the loading conditions.
Biography
Professor Pierre-Yves Hicher is currently a Professor of exceptional rank at the Research Institute in Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Ecole Centrale de Nantes, France. Professor Hicher worked in Ecole Centrale de Paris from 1974 to 1993. During this period, he received PhD degree at Ecole Centrale de Paris in 1979, and then promoted to assistant professor in 1981 and associate professor in 1983. He joined Ecole Centrale de Nantes as a full Professor in 1996.
Professor Hicher is the President of the Scientific Council of Ecole Centrale de Nantes. He is a member of the Executive Council of the PGCE (Civil Engineering and Eco-construction Network), Chairman of the Granular Materials Committee of ASCE, Associate Editor of the Journal of Engineering Mechanics (ASCE), Member of the editorial board of the European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Expert for the Ministry of High Education and Research (AERES, ANR, PES). He is the reviewer for a number of international journals, including J. Eng. Mechanics ASCE, Eur. J. of Mechanics, Int. J. Num. Anal. Methods in Geomechanics, Geotechnique, ASTM Geotechnical Testing J., Canadian Geot. J., Computers and Geotchnics, European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Granular Matter and J Aerospace Eng. Professor Hicher has published more than 60 international journal papers and 8 books. He has supervised 38 PhD students in the fields of soil mechanics, foundation engineering, granular materials, constitutive modelling and numerical modeling.

Modelling of Influence of Matric Suction Induced by Native Vegetation on Ground Behaviour
2014-06-23 15:00 - 16:00 | J215 (University of Macau)
Speaker
Dr. Behzad FATAHI
Senior Lecturer of Geotechnical and Railway Engineering,
Centre for Built Infrastructure Research (CBIR),
University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Sydney, Australia
Abstract
Bioengineering including native vegetation is an ancient method of improving the stability of slopes. In modern railway engineering, this technique is re-captured for increasing the soil stiffness and shear strength of sub-grade beneath rail tracks. Tree roots provide three stabilising functions: (a) reinforcement of the soil, (b) dissipation of excess pore pressures and (c) establishing sufficient matric suction to increase the shear strength.The main focus of this presentation will on investigating the effects of vegetation on soil matric suction, ground settlement and lateral movement (radial consolidation). A mathematical model developed for the rate of root water uptake based on the root growth rate and considering ground conditions, type of vegetation and climatic parameters, is presented. A two dimensional finite element approach based on ABAQUS has been employed to solve the transient coupled flow and deformation equations incoporating the proposed root water uptake model as a subroutine. To validate the model, an array of field measurements conducted at Miram site in Victoria, Australia are presented. In addition, the action of two rows of trees on improving the soil behaviour under railway or road embanklments are compared to a vertical drain with applied suction (vacuum pressure).
Biography
Dr. Fatahi has worked as a consulting and site geotechnical and railway engineer and has completed doctorate studies in Soft Soil Geomechanics from the University of Wollongong in Australia. He was a part of very strong geotechnical design teams in several alliance projects around Australia mainly on road and highway construction/upgrade and was involved in forensic and confidential projects for mining sector in Australia while working in Coffey International (Sydney Office). He worked as a full-time researcher for Rail-CRC conducting research to improve performance of rail tracks built on soft soils to minimise the maintenance costs. Behzad has immensely contributed to the idea of green corridors for railway lines. Dr. Fatahi was named ‘Australasia Young Railway Engineer of Year 2007’ by Engineers Australia and Railway Technical Society of Australasia. Behzad was also awarded the first prize at the Young Geotechnical Professional’s Night in 2006, which is a prestigious geomechanics award from the Australian Geomechanics Society and Engineers Australia. He is currently a senior lecturer of Geotechnical and Railway Engineering at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) leading several large research projects funded by the Australian Research Council and key engineering companies in the field of soft soil engineering and ground improvement, and supervising numerous PhD students.

Civil Engineering Summer Camp 2014 土木工程夏令營2014
2014-07-28 - 2014-07-30

Elliptical World
2014-09-27 16:00 - 17:00 | E11-1026
Speaker
Dr. Tak-Ming CHAN
Assistant Professor in Structural Engineering
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Abstract
Tubular construction is synonymous with modern architecture. The familiar range of tubular sections, namely square, rectangular and circular hollow sections, has been recently extended to also include elliptical hollow sections. These new sections combine the elegance of circular hollow sections with the improved structural efficiency in bending of rectangular hollow sections, due to the differing flexural rigidities about the two principal axes. Following the introduction of structural steel elliptical hollow sections, a number of investigations into their structural response have been carried out. This seminar presents a state of the art review of recent research on elliptical hollow sections, together with a sample of practical applications. Details of full scale testing and numerical modelling studies are presented, and the generation of structural design rules, suitable for incorporation into international design codes, is outlined.
Biography
Tak-Ming is an Assistant Professor in Structural Engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and an Honorary Associate Professor in Structural Engineering at the University of Warwick, UK. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 2001 with a First Class Honours degree in Civil Engineering. He started his structural engineering career by joining Arup as a Graduate Structural Engineer. He received his Master’s degree with Distinction in Structural Steel Design in 2004 and was awarded a PhD in the area of Tubular Structures in 2008 both from Imperial College London. In 2007, Tak-Ming was awarded the First Prize in the Young Researchers’ Conference from the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE). His first PhD student sponsored by TATA steel also won the same prize in the 2012 competition. His second PhD student has won the joint-1st prize in the poster category in the 2013 competition. Tak-Ming is a Chartered Member of the IStructE, committee member of the UK mirror group for Eurocode 3 and the Education and Training committee of the HK Constructional Metal Structures Association. He is also an Associate Editor for the Advances in Structural Engineering Journal and a member of the Editorial Board for the Structures and Buildings Journal. Tak-Ming’s research interests focus on the structural stability and resistance of metallic, concrete-metallic, pultruded FRP and smart structures under extreme events with particular emphasis on using an appropriate combination of experimentation, theoretical analysis and computational techniques to obtain knowledge for the development of design guidance. (www.cee.polyu.edu.hk/~tmchan)

Development and Application of Fiber Bragg Grating Sensing Technology in the Asphalt Pavement
2014-10-11 10:00 - 11:00 | E11-4045
Speaker
Dr. Xu Dong-shengAssistant Professor, Department of Civil EngineeringChu Hai College of Higher Education, Hong Kong
Abstract
The Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensing technology is widely applied in the civil engineering as its inherent merits such as high precision, small size, light weight, resistance to electromagnetic interference, and combination of sensing and transmission. In this study, a novel FBG based asphalt strain sensor is developed with the “H” shape design. The laboratory calibration tests are conducted and the performance is verified in a laboratory model test. In addition, a FBG based flexible sensing beam is developed based on quasi-distributed sensor array in order to measure the rutting of the asphalt pavement. The working principle and fabrication process are presented. To verify their performance, a physical pavement model is established and a static loading test is conducted. The results indicated that the FBG based asphalt strain sensors and the sensing beam have a good accuracy to detect strains and rutting of the asphalt pavement.
Biography
Dr. Dong-sheng Xu is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering of the Chu Hai College of Higher Education in Hong Kong. Dr. Xu received a PhD degree from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has published more than peer reviewed 15 international journal and conference papers. His research is mainly focused on the fiber optic sensing technology and applications in the geotechnical engineering. He participated in several large research projects in the field of fiber optical sensors, pavement and slope reinforcement both in Hong Kong and mainland China.

A multi-scale approach for modeling the mechanical behavior of soils
2014-11-04 10:00 - 11:00 | E11-1038
Speaker
Prof. Pierre-Yves HICHER
Professor of the Research Institute in Civil and Mechanical Engineering
Ecole Centrale de Nantes, France
Abstract
In this seminar, Prof. Pierre-Yves Hicher will introduce A multi-scale approach for modeling the mechanical behavior of soils. The deformation of a representative volume of the material is generated by mobilizing particle contacts in all orientations. Thus, the stress–strain relationship can be derived as an average of the mobilization behavior of these local contact planes. The local behavior is assumed to follow a Hertz–Mindlin’s elastic law and a Mohr–Coulomb’s plastic law. Essential features such as continuous displacement field, inter-particle stiffness, and fabric tensor are discussed. The predictions of the derived stress–strain model are compared to experimental results for sand under both drained and undrained triaxial loading conditions. The comparisons demonstrate the ability of this model to reproduce accurately the overall mechanical behavior of granular media and to account for the influence of key parameters such as void ratio and mean stress. The study of anisotropic specimens loaded in different directions shows the model capability of considering the influence of inherent anisotropy on the stress–strain response under a drained triaxial loading condition.
Biography
Professor Pierre-Yves Hicher is currently a Professor of exceptional rank at the Research Institute in Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Ecole Centrale de Nantes, France. Professor Hicher worked in Ecole Centrale de Paris from 1974 to 1993. During this period, he received PhD degree at Ecole Centrale de Paris in 1979, and then promoted to assistant professor in 1981 and associate professor in 1983. He joined Ecole Centrale de Nantes as a full Professor in 1996.
Professor Hicher is the President of the Scientific Council of Ecole Centrale de Nantes. He is a member of the executive Council of the PGCE (Civil Engineering and Eco-construction Network), Chairman of the Granular Materials Committee of ASCE, Associate Editor of the Journal of Engineering Mechanics (ASCE), Member of the editorial board of the European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Expert for the Ministry of High Education and Research (AERES, ANR, PES). He is the reviewer for a number of international journals, including J. Eng. Mechanics ASCE, Eur. J. of Mechanics, Int. J. Num. Anal. Methods in Geomechanics, Geotechnique, ASTM Geotechnical Testing J., Canadian Geot. J., Computers and Geotechnics, European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Granular Matter and J Aerospace Eng. Professor Hicher has published more than 60 international journal papers and 8 books. He has supervised more than 50 PhD students in the fields of soil mechanics, foundation engineering, granular materials, constitutive modelling and numerical modeling.

Design of cold-formed steel back-to-back c-channel built-up columns using modified direct strength method
2014-11-27 14:30 - 15:30 | E11-1041
Speaker
Prof. Hieng Ho LAU
Deputy Dean and Associate Professor of School of Engineering & Science
Curtin University Sarawak Campus, Malaysia
Abstract
Back-to-back C-channels built-up compression members are popular in the construction industry particularly for spanning over large space area, and carrying high loads while maintaining low self-weight. However, current design standards do not provide comprehensive design guidelines for complex section such as back-to-back C-channels built-up section. There is little literature available for the design calculation of back-to-back C-channels built-up columns. Current design methods, i.e. the Effective Width Method (EWM) and the Direct Strength Method (DSM) are unable to accommodate such complex section. Thus, enhancement to these design methods is necessary to improve the design of back-to-back C-channels built-up columns. Therefore, the Thickness Reduction Method (TReM) is proposed in this research to improve the current design methods for the back-to-back C-channels built-up column. Results from design calculations show that the proposed design method, TReM, is able to predict the capacity of the back-to-back C-channels built-up column well. Experimental investigation on the axially loaded cold-formed steel back-to-back C-channels built-up columns was carried out. A total of 66 specimens with two sizes of plain back-to-back C-channels built-up and lengths of 300mm, 500mm, 1000mm, and 2000mm were tested. Compression tests were carried out on stub columns with flat end conditions, whereas the short, intermediate and slender columns were tested with pinned-end conditions. Experimental results show that restraint at the mid-length of the plain back-to-back C-channels built-up columns is critical regardless of the number of fasteners along the length of the built-up column. Whereas, comparison of experimental results with results from design calculation using the proposed design method, TReM, shows good correlation.
Biography
Associate Professor Lau Hieng Ho is currently Deputy Dean of School of Engineering & Science Curtin University Sarawak Campus, Malaysia. Associate Professor Lau is attached to the Department of Civil &Construction Engineering in Curtin University Sarawak Campus and he was Head of the Department of Civil & Construction Engineering. Curtin University Sarawak Campus is the first off-shore university campus set up by Curtin University of Western Australia in partnership with the Sarawak State Government, Malaysia.
Associate Professor Lau received his B.Eng and Ph.D. degrees from Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom in 1998, and 2002 respectively. Prior to joining Curtin University Sarawak Campus back in February 2003, he worked in the consulting industry. He is also a Professional Engineer (PEng), registered with Board of Engineers Malaysia.
Associate Professor Lau research interests include cold-formed steel structures, design of steel structures, structural stability and connections.

Monitoring of Soil Nail Bars using FBG-based and BOTDA-based Sensor Technologies
2015-02-13 16:00 - 17:00 | E11-1036
Speaker
Dr. HONG Cheng-Yu, Joey
Lecturer, Faculty of Science and Technology
Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Abstract
Soil nailing is commonly used as a permanent reinforcement technique for slopes, excavations and retaining walls. The long-term stability problems of a soil nailing system depends on the mechanical behavior of soil nails, particularly the tension force distributions along the axial directions of soil nails (or related friction resistance at the nail-soil interface). The measurement of axial force distributions of soil nails in slopes is critical for both researchers and engineers to carry out comprehensive analysis of slope stability conditions. This presentation describes two field research program for the measurement of the axial force distributions of cement grouted soil nails in permanent slopes. This research program lasted 4 to 6 months monitoring the mechanical behavior of a total of 42 soil nails in 7 permanent slopes. Strain information of all these soil nails was measured using fiber Bragg grating (FBG) strain sensors and Brillouin Optical time domain analysis (BOTDA). Temperature compensation was also conducted for all these soil nails. Typical installation methods of strain and temperature sensors, the protective measures of optical fiber cables and optical fiber sensors are introduced. Measured strain results were presented and analyzed to investigate how axial forces of soil nails formed and developed after grouting, and their relevance associated with the field construction works. The possible ground movement inside slope and its effect on the axial strain results of soil nails are also interpreted and discussed in the paper. All the measurement data are useful for a better understanding of the short-term and long-term behavior of cement grouted soil nails in a real field.
Biography
Dr. Cheng-Yu Hong (洪成雨) is currently a Lecturer in Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong. He received a PhD degree from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Oct 2011. Dr. Hong has published around 20 international journal papers and 20 conference papers. He also served as reviewers for several international journals including ASCE International journal of Geomechanics, and ICE Geoenvironmental Geotechnics, etc. His research concerns include pullout resistance of pressure grouted soil nails; long-term monitoring of conventional soil nails and GFRP bar soil nails, and application of different optical fiber sensor technologies (fiber Bragg grating sensor; Low Coherence Interferometry; Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis) in geotechnical engineering projects.

Challenging Issues in Fire Protection of Steel Structures
2015-02-16 11:00 - 12:00 | E11-4045
Speaker
Prof. Guo-Qiang LI
Professor of structural engineering at the College of Civil Engineering in Tongji University, China
Abstract
Steel structures are wide used for various buildings and bridges. However, serious damages may be happened to steel structures due to fire. The main reasons are the temperature of fire is very high and the strength of steel is decreased with elevation of temperatures. So, steel structures need to be protected against fire. The cementitious coating and Intumescent coating are commonly used for this purpose. A number of challenging issues in fire protection of steel structures with using the two kinds of coatings are presented. Issue 1 is variation of thermal conductivity of coating, which causes hardness in predicting the temperature of the protected steel elements in fire and rating thermal resistance of coating. Isuue 2 is aging of intumescent coating, which affects the fire safety of protected steel structures. Issue 3 is damage of cementitious coating, which greatly endanger fire safety of protected steel structures. And issue 4 is fire safety of unprotected steel structures, which is the needs of clients and possible in some conditions.
Biography

Guo-Qiang Li is currently a professor of structural engineering at the College of Civil Engineering in Tongji University, the director of Research Centro of Education Ministry for Steel Construction and the director of National Research Centro of China for Pre-fabrication Construction. He is also a vice-chairman of China Association of Construction Standardization and the Chairman of China Association for Fire-Resistance of Steel Construction. In addition, he is the director of the committee for Accreditation of Higher Education for Civil Engineering in China and the director of the steering committee of Civil Engineering Education of China. He is also a fellow of Institution of Structural Engineers in UK, an Honorary Fellow of Hong Kong Institute of Steel Construction.
Professor Li’s research has been mainly in the area of hazard mitigation including earthquake-resistance, fire-resistance and blast-resistance for steel structures. He has been in charge of more than 40 research projects funded respectively by Chinese Science and Technology Ministry, Construction Ministry, Education Ministry, Natural Science Foundation and Shanghai Science and Technology Committee. He has published 13 technical books and more than 500 journal papers in Chinese and English relevant to his research topics.

Diversity and molecular monitoring of bloom forming cyanobacteria and their toxins
2015-06-05 15:00 - 16:00 | E11-1036
Speaker
Prof. Renhui LI
Director of Algal Research Center, Institute of Hydrobiology
the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Associate editors for both “Phycologia” and “Journal of Systematics and Evolution”
Abstract
Environmental problems caused by cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic lakes, rivers and drinking water reservoirs have been increasingly documented. Toxins and Odor substances produced by cyanobacterial blooms, directly threading to human health through drinking water systems, have been attracted more attention and extensively studied. In the past decades, the cyanobacterial blooms mainly dominated by Microcystis spp. have been frequently found in large shallow lakes from the southern China.
This presentation will focus on diversity studies by the polyphasic approach including morphological and phylogenetic analyses in several major groups of water bloom forming cyanobacteria of Chinese waters: Unicellular Microcystis and heterocystous Cylindrospermopsis/ Raphidiopsis. Cyanobacterial diversity in chinese water bodies was further evaluated by the pyrosequencing, and the results exhibiting quite different cyanobacterial community structures. The distributing pattern of morphotypes and genoptypes of these water bloom forming cyanobacteria in the Chinese large lakes will be demonstrated. Harmful metabolites including Microcystin, cylindrospermopsin and geosmin related genes have been extensively characterized and evolutionary relationship based on these genes among the bloom forming cyanobacteria from China will be discussed.
Biography
Prof. Renhui LI is currently the director of Algal Research Center, Institute of Hydrobiology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He received a PhD degree in Biology from The Institute of Biological Sciences of the University of Tsukuba in Japan in 1998. Prof. Li conducted his research in the United States as a postdoctoral research associate for 6 years after his graduation. The universities he worked in U.S. include the Wright State University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and the University of Tennesse. Prof. Li has been the professor of the Institute of Hydrobiology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences since September 2005. His research concerns include diversity and phylogeny of cyanobacteria, especially water bloom forming cyanobacteria; Molecular monitoring of toxic cyanobacteria in Chinese waters as a warning tool to drinking water system; Evolutionary history among cyanobacterial organisms using multi-genetic and genomic evidences.

Green Geotechnics: Vegetation for Slope Stabilization
2015-07-09 15:00 - 16:00 | E11-1006
Speaker
Dr. Ankit GARG
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology
Abstract
The use of vegetation as root reinforcement for man- made slope stabilization has received considerable attention in past decades. However, its another aspect of root water uptake induced soil suction and root induced changes in soil properties (i.e., soil water characteristic curve) is generally overlooked. Soil suction is important as it increases shear strength of unsaturated soil and also reduces permeability. Experiments have been performed in both laboratory (atmospheric controlled) and natural (field condition) to understand the influence of root water uptake on soil suction. A new Embankment was constructed with silty sand and vegetated with two different types of species i.e., Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) and Ivy tree (Schefflera heptaphylla). Their effects on soil suction is compared and discussed under both controlled and natural condition. In addition, vegetation root characteristics (root area index) and shoot characteristics (leaf area index) was measured to discuss any variability in measured suction among tree and grass species. The effect of increase in soil density on root water uptake induced suction is also investigated using series of numerical parametric study. Through, combination of laboratory, field and numerical study, an understanding of soil-root-water interaction was improved.
Biography
Dr. Ankit Garg is currently Assistant Professor in Department of Civil Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, India. His research expertise is on Bio-engineered embankment, where he is looking into effects of vegetation on soil properties. He received his PhD degree from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in Civil and Environmental Engineering and undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from IIT Guwahati, India. He was awarded the prestigious Hong Kong PhD Fellowship (HKPF) for pursing PhD at HKUST and DAAD fellowship for pursing research project at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany. His publications include 14 international SCI journals (including one journal given below in collaboration with Prof Hannah Zhou) and 4 international conferences. He has also been reviewer of 3 International Journals (European Journal of Soil Science, Canadian Geotechnical Journal and Engineering Computations).

Civil Engineering Summer Camp 2015 土木工程夏令營2015
2015-07-22 - 2015-07-24

Difference between the continuum and DEM fabric tensors
2015-07-23 11:00 - 12:00 | E11-1006
Speaker
Prof. Xiang-Song LI
Professor Emeritus
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Abstract
In granular mechanics, macroscopic approaches treat a granular material as a continuum at macro-scale, and study its constitutive relationship between stresses and strains. On the other hand, microscopic approaches consider a granular material as an assembly of individual particles interacting with each other at micro-scale, and the physical quantities under study are forces and displacements. This presentation will focus on the macroscopic quantification of the internal structure in terms of the fabric tensor. The correlations among different fabric tensors and their relations with the stress–strain behavior will be discussed.
Biography
Professor Emeritus of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, X.S. Li’s research interests include soil dynamics and geotechnical earthquake engineering; constitutive modeling of engineering materials; numerical and centrifuge modeling of geotechnical structures; lab testing; instrumentation, control, signal processing for structural and geotechnical experiments.

Energy Storage System Developments
2015-08-31 15:00 - 16:00 | E11-1045
Speaker
Prof. Abdul-Ghani OLABI
Director, the Institute of Engineering and Energy Technologies
Professor, the School of Engineering and Computing
the University of the West of Scotland
Abstract
Targets established by the European Union for 2020, have introduced a huge attention for the electrical energy management, starting from its sustainable production, researching and developing new production technologies based on renewable power sources, to its correct use and storage. In base of different applications, and often in base of the concrete availability of these sources, there are several energy storage systems used today worldwide, each one based on a different electricity transformation principle (mechanical, thermal, electrical or chemical). During the last decades, a lot of technologies have been developed, using new materials and new concepts in order to satisfy the overall and specific applications requirements. This talk concerns with the latest developments of energy storage systems.
Biography

Professor Olabi is the director of the Institute of Engineering and Energy Technologies at the University of the West of Scotland www.uws.ac.uk/ieet
Prof Olabi graduated with B Eng. from a 5 year course, in 1984. Then he worked in an R&D company for 4 years. Between 1988 and 1993, Prof Olabi completed a masters degree and PhD at Dublin City University. Between 1994-1998, he joined the academic staff as a lecturer at HIAST “Higher Institute of Applied Science and Technology”. Between 1999-2002, he joined the research centre of FIAT in Italy “CRF” working on different projects related to alternative fuel systems for vehicles. From Oct 2002 until joining UWS in 2013, he was working as a lecturer and a senior lecturer at Dublin City University.
In the last 10 years, Prof Olabi has supervised postgraduate research students (10 M.Eng and 24 PhD) to successful completion. Prof Olabi has edited 10 proceedings, and has published more than 120 papers in peer-reviewed international journals and about 120 papers in international conferences, in addition to 15 book chapters. In the last 12 months Prof Olabi has patented 2 innovative projects.
Prof Olabi is the founder of the International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environmental Protection SEEP, www.seepconference.co.uk
He is the Subject Editor of the Elsevier Energy Journal and board member of a few other journals. Prof Olabi has coordinated different National, EU and International Projects. He has produced different reports to the Irish Gov. regarding: Hydrogen and Fuel Cells and Solar Energy.
Prof Olabi’s Main Research Interests are: Sustainable Energy, Environment and Climate Change and Transportation.
Prof Olabi is assisted by large group (35) of academics (Prof, reader, SL L, PDRA) working on different aspects related to Engineering, Energy and the Environment.

Recycled aggregate concrete in the mainland of China: From laboratory work to engineering practice
2015-09-10 11:45 - 12:45 | E33-1030
Speaker
Prof. Jianzhuang XIAO
Professor, Department of Structural Engineering, College of Civil Engineering
Tongji University
Abstract
This report firstly presents a brief introduction on the current state of study on recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) in PR China, which includes mechanical property of RAC material, structural behavior of RAC load-bearing elements, and seismic performance of RAC frame structures. The experimental study results prove that it is feasible to apply RAC as a structure material in building structures. Secondly, this report presents an outline of Chinese technical codes for recycled aggregate concrete organized and edited by the speaker. Thirdly, it also puts forward some successful applications of RAC in building structures in the mainland of China which will be helpful to promote and popularize RAC as one kind of ecological structural materials in the world.
Biography

CURRENT POSITION
Jianzhuang is the director of Research Section of Recycled Concrete Structure & Construction in the College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University. He is the current chairman of the Committee of Recycled Concrete in PR China, and he is the chairman of an RILEM Technical Committee and the current deputy chairman of the High-strength/High-performance Concrete Committee in PR China.
EDUCATION
Jianzhuang received his PhD in structural engineering at Tongji University. He was awarded the Distinguished Young Scholars of China by the National Natural Science Foundation of PR China and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation fellowship in Germany.
RESEARCH
He is a full professor in the Structural Engineering Department at Tongji University, Shanghai, PR China. His research interests include the material property and structural behavior of recycled aggregate concrete.
MAIN EXPERTISE AND SKILLS
Jianzhuang has been engaged in the fundamental research on material properties, durability performance and structural behavior of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) for more than 10 years.
His main expertise and research experience in the area of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) include the followings: (1) experimental research on workability and micro- and meso-structure of RAC; (2) experimental study on mechanical properties of RAC material under static, dynamic and fire condition: strength, elastic modulus, stress–strain curve; (3) theoretical analysis and experimental investigation on durability performance of RAC: carbonization, chloride diffusion, shrinkage and creep; and (4) experimental research and numerical simulation on the structural behavior of RAC elements and structures: beams, columns, slabs, beam–column joints as well as frames made with RAC.
He has won 2 first-class and 5 second-class Awards of Scientific and Technology Progress in China. He has 10 authorized national invention patents. He chaired 4 international and national academic conferences. He is the author of 2 Chinese monographs. He gave 12 invited keynote speeches. He published more than 60 papers in the Science Citation Index (SCI) international journals and over 130 papers in the Engineering Index (EI) journals. He edited the first Technical Code for Recycled Aggregate Concrete in PR China

Monitoring Soil Deformation Using Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing Technology
2015-10-20 16:00 - 17:00 | E11-1027
Speaker
Prof. Hong-Hu ZHU
Associate Professor, Engineering Geology and Geotechnics
Nanjing University, China
Associate Director
Suzhou Key Laboratory of Distributed Sensing & Monitoring Technology of Civil Infrastructures
Abstract
Since the invention of the first fiber optic sensor (FOS) in the late 1970s, various quasi- and fully-distributed monitoring technologies have emerged to date. Compared with conventional sensors, distributed FOSs have some inherent advantages such as immunity to electromagnetic interference, insensitivity to corrosion, high precision and tiny size. Recently, these sensors have been adopted to monitor strains or displacements of a variety of geotechnical structures, such as foundations, slopes, tunnels, and dams. These pilot case studies have greatly extended the real-world applications of these sensors, and have preliminarily verified their capability in monitoring soil deformation. In this presentation, the working principle of the distributed FOS technologies will be presented briefly. The recent advances and applications of distributed FOSs in soil deformation monitoring will be introduced. Finally, some key research topics, such as in-depth analysis of real-time monitoring data, performance evaluation of soil-embedded distributed FOSs, and field implementation of distributed FOS systems, will be discussed in detail.
Biography
Hong-Hu Zhu is an associate professor of engineering geology and geotechnics at Nanjing University, China, and the associate director of Suzhou Key Laboratory of Distributed Sensing & Monitoring Technology of Civil Infrastructures. He got the BEng degree in civil engineering from Zhejiang University in 2002 and MSc in engineering mechanics from Jinan University in 2005. In 2009, he graduated from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and obtained his PhD degree in geotechnical engineering under the supervision of Prof. Jian-Hua Yin. From 2008 to 2010, he worked as research assistant, research associate, and post-doctoral fellow in The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has been a visiting scholar in the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, during 2014 to 2015. He is a member of IAEG, ISHMII, ISSMGE, and IALCCE. His areas of expertise include the development and application of smart monitoring systems for geo-structures, field instrumentation and evaluation of slope stability and related geo-hazards, and modelling of time-dependent behaviour of geo-materials. He is the author or co-author of 1 book, 5 patents, and more than 80 scientific papers. He serves as the invited reviewer of 22 international journals and the guest editor of 3 journal special issues.

Cold-formed high strength tubular sections of steel grade up to 1100 MPa
2015-10-23 17:00 - 18:00 | E11-3033
Speaker
Prof. Ben YOUNG
Deputy Head and Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Hong Kong
Abstract
This paper presents the experimental investigation of cold-formed high strength carbon steel tubular stub columns and beams. The nominal 0.2% proof stress of the specimens ranged from 700 to 1100 MPa. The experimental program focuses on the square hollow sections (SHS), rectangular hollow sections (RHS) and circular hollow sections (CHS). The material properties were first measured through tensile coupon tests. A new stress-strain model for high strength steel materials is proposed. The residual stress distributions were also presented for SHS and CHS. The compressive behaviour at cross-section level was studied through testing 25 stub columns. The test results including modulus of elasticity, 0.2% proof stress and ultimate strength for the complete sections were also determined. The cross-sectional flexural behaviour were investigated through 25 four-point bending tests. The load-deformation histories and failure modes of the stub columns and beams were analyzed. The experimental results were compared against design values calculated from the European, Australian and North American standards. The compactness criteria of tubular sections were assessed by comparing the section slenderness to the slenderness limits in the standards. Suggestions on the modification of section slenderness limits in design recommendations are given in this study.
Biography
Professor Ben Young is currently working in the Department of Civil Engineering, the University of Hong Kong, and he is the Deputy Head of the Department. He is also the Associate Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Hong Kong. Professor Young received BSc, BEng and PhD degrees from the University of Sydney. His research interests include cold-formed steel structures, testing and design of steel structures, stainless steel structures, aluminium structures, and fire resistance of metal structures as well as engineering education. He is currently an editor of the Journal of Constructional Steel Research and also serving as members of editorial board for ten other journals, such as the Journal of Thin-Walled Structures, Journal of Advanced Steel Construction, and so on. Professor Young has published over 350 International journal and conference papers. He is the Vice President of the Hong Kong Institute of Steel Construction. Professor Young is one of the code writers of the “Hong Kong Code of Practice for the Structural Use of Steel” for the Buildings Department, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Micro and macro modeling approaches for elementary mechanical behaviors of soft soils
2016-01-04 10:00 - 11:00 | E11-1006
Speaker
Prof. Zhen-yu YIN
Associate Professor
Research Institute of Civil Engineering and Mechanics
Ecole Centrale de Nantes, France
Abstract
The elementary mechanical behaviors and constitutive modeling of soft soils is an important theoretical basis for the engineering practice on soft soil regions. This presentation focuses on some typical mechanical behaviors of soft soils starting from the most basic materials “remolded soils to intact natural. Each basic characteristics is presented from its definition or basic description, then to introduce the testing methods with summary and analysis of test results, as well as commonly used constitutive modeling methods.
Biography
Dr Yin graduated from Zhejiang University in 1997 for BSc, and then worked as engineer at Zhejiang Jiahua Architecture Design Institute for five years. He obtained MSc and PhD in Geotechnical Engineering at Ecole Centrale de Nantes in France in 2003 and 2006. He also received the Prize of Excellent Research and Direction (PEDR) by the Minister of Education of France in 2014.
After PhD, he worked as research fellow mainly at Helsinki University of Technology (Finland), University of Strathclyde (UK), University of Massachusetts (Umass-Amherst, USA) until 2010. He jointed Shanghai Jiao Tong University as Dongfang scholar in 2010, and moved to Ecole Centrale de Nantes in 2013 as Associate Professor.
His research interests are constitutive modelling of soils and its application to geotechnical engineering with over 50 international journal publications.

Macro- and Micro-mechanical Modeling of Cyclic Liquefaction in Sands
2016-01-22 16:00 - 17:00 | E11-1043
Speaker
Prof. Gang WANG
Associate Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
School of Engineering
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Hong Kong
Abstract
Understanding the fundamental mechanism of soil liquefaction is one of the major challenges in geotechnical earthquake engineering and soil dynamics. In this talk, I present numerical modeling of soil liquefaction from both macroscopic and micromechanical perspectives. First, a bounding-surface hypoplasticity model is developed to capture the macroscopic behaviors of sands during various phases of undrained cyclic loading. The model utilized a new modulus formulation to improve the simulation of cyclic mobility and post liquefaction behaviors of both loose and dense sands. Second, micromechanical perspectives of the liquefaction process are investigated using the Discrete Element simulation. It is observed that during various stages of undrained cyclic loading, the soil exhibits definitive change in the load-bearing structure and particle-void distribution in the granular packing. The micromechanical structures are found to have strong correlation with cyclic mobility and post-liquefaction deformation of granular soils. Therefore, understanding the evolution of microstructure in granular soils can provide significant insights into constitutive modeling of soil liquefaction.
Biography
Dr. Wang is Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He received B. Eng. and M. Eng. from Tsinghua University in 1997 and 2000, Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 2005. Dr. Wang’s research areas focus on geotechnical earthquake engineering, soil dynamics and computational modeling. His research interests include ground motion characterization, selection and simulation for earthquake engineering analyses, nonlinear numerical analysis of dynamic soil-structure interaction, development of advanced numerical models for soil liquefaction. He authored or edited two books, published more than 30 papers in international journals. Dr. Wang is presently President of American Society of Civil Engineers – Hong Kong Section, Secretary of TC210 of International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, and Secretary of Hong Kong Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. He was awarded Li Foundation Heritage Prize in 2010 for his outstanding research contributions in earthquake engineering and geo-hazard mitigation.

Research and Application of Leachate-LFG Migration and Collection in MSW Landfills
2016-01-27 10:30 - 11:30 | E11-1039
Speaker
Prof. Shi-Jin FENG
Professor
Department of Geotechnical Engineering
College of Civil Engineering
Tongji University, Shanghai, China
Abstract
Landfill gas (LFG) emission and explosion, leachate leakage and diffusion, deformation and stability are the main concerns in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills recently. These problems are closely related to the migration and blocking of leachate and LFG. In this study, two-dimensional LFG flow analytical models are developed for layered landfills with horizontal or combined LFG collection systems. An optimized design method is also proposed accordingly. Moreover, an axisymmetric numerical model incorporating MSW compression and leachate recirculation is established to describe the transient LFG flow in bioreactor landfills. The saturated-unsaturated leachate migration under different recirculation systems is also investigated using 3D numerical models. Some design parameters of leachate recirculation are evaluated and design guidelines for engineering application are proposed. The results show that it is important to keep a balance between the acceleration of landfill stability and the recovery efficiency of LFG.
Biography
Prof. Feng is currently a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering of Tongji University in Shanghai. Prof. Shi-Jin Feng obtained his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in 1999 and master’s degree in Geotechnical Engineering in 2002 from Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology. He received his Ph.D in Geotechnical Engineering in 2005 from Zhejiang University. His research is mainly focused on the geoenvironmental engineering and soil dynamics. He has published more than 110 conference and journal papers. As project head and coordinator, Prof. Feng worked on more than 10 provincial and ministerial projects, including 6 ones supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). He was awarded by NSFC as the Excellent Young Scholar in 2012. He is also a chief young scientist of National Key Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, 2014). Recently, he is rewarded as the Yangtze River young scholar by the Ministry of Education of China.

Mechanism of the development, initiation and disaster modes of large landslides
2016-02-17 10:30 - 11:30 | E11-1006
Speaker
Prof. Su Li-jun
Professor of Geotechnical Engineering
Institute of Mountain Hazard and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences
China
Abstract
The mechanism of large landslides is very complex, which is related to the geological structure, geohydrological conditions and different triggering factors of the landslide. In this presentation, typical landslide case histories occurred in recent years will be introduced and their mechanism will be analyzed. After this, methods on recognizing the geological structures of landslides using non-destructive methods will be introduced. At the end, a method for analyzing the initiation of rainfall-induced landslides considering preferential flow in soil will be presented and discussed.
Biography
Lijun Su, PhD, Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at the Institute of Mountain hazards and environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He obtained his Bachelor Degree and Master Degree in civil engineering at the Xi’an Jiaotong University in 2000 and 2002, respectively. Following that, he earned his PhD degree in geotechnical engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2006. He started his first job at the Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology as an associate professor in 2007. In 2008, he went to Australia and started to work at the University of Wollongong as a research fellow under a CRC project about non-destructive assessment of railway track conditions. He joined the institute of mountain hazards and environment in February 2012 under the “Hundred Talents” Program of the CAS and now is the vice director of the Key Laboratory of Mountain Hazards and Earth Surface Process, CAS. He has broad research interests in geotechnical engineering, including constitutive modeling of geomaterials, numerical analysis of geotechnical problems, laboratory and physical model tests, application of geophysical methods in geotechnical engineering and etc. He is currently working on landslide mechanisms and hazard analysis. He is a scientific editor of the international Journal of Mountain Science and board member of the International Consortium on Landslides. He has published more than 50 journal and conference papers so far.

Application of real-time mass spectrometric techniques in the analyses of air pollution and human breath
2016-02-26 16:00 - 17:00 | E11-1006
Speaker
Prof. Xue LI
Associate Professor
Institute of Atmospheric Environmental Safety and Pollution Control
Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
Abstract
In this talk, two real-time mass spectrometry-based technologies, single aerosol particle mass spectrometry (SPAMS) and secondary electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (SESI-MS), will be briefly introduced. Their applications in atmospheric particulate matter (PM) and breath analysis, including those in atmospheric chemistry and medical diagnosis studies will be discussed respectively. For SPAMS, the topic mainly focuses on the results of source apportionment recently obtained in China, while studies on secondary organic aerosol formation mechanism, optical properties, and hygroscopicity etc., will also be discussed. Regarding SESI-MS, examples of capturing pharmacokinetics via direct mouse breath analysis and characterization of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from breast cancer cells are demonstrated. In addition, the latest results on human breath analysis by using SESI-UHRMS will also be presented.
Biography
Dr. Xue Li is now an Associate Professor at the Institute of Atmospheric Environmental Safety and Pollution Control, Jinan University, Guangzhou. She received her PhD degree in Environmental Science from Tsinghua University in 2010, and later spent two years as a postdoc in Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland, studying ambient pressure mass spectrometry and its medical applications. She moved back to China in 2014 and started her research team in Jinan University. Her present research interests include the real-time mass spectrometry-based breath analysis and its translation to environmental health and medical diagnosis applications. She has published more than 20 scientific papers and holds 6 patents on mass spectrometry. She was the recipient of the Youth Science and Technology Award by the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences in 2012. She is also one of the core members of the mass spectrometric development team (supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology) at Jinan University for innovation in mass spectrometric instrumentation/application in environmental and medical applications.

Geology and geodynamic evolution of Macau
2016-03-11 15:30 - 17:30 | E11-1035
Speaker
Prof. Ágata Alveirinho Dias
Associate Professor
Institute of Science, University of Saint Joseph
Macau
Abstract
More than 95% of outcropping rocks of Macau have magmatic origins generated during Mesozoic ages. In the Indosinian (Triassic) and Yanshanian orogenies (Jurasic-Cretaceous), SE China region (Cathasya block), where Macao is localized, was affected by a widespread granitic plutonism generated due to the paleo-Pacific plate subduction beneath the Euroasia plate, overprinting most of previous geological events in the South China Fold Belt (SCFB). Granitic rocks outcropping in Macao seem to have been emplaced at least at two distinct periods. Granites from Macao and Taipa date from middle-late Jurassic while some samples from Coloane were estimated to be younger (Cretaceous). In general, granitic rocks are very fractured orogenic rocks, frequently cut by quartz veins and by fine-grained granite dykes, and also aplitic to pegmatite dykes. Volcanic rocks are not present as in the neighbouring regions but some andesitic dykes were identified. Petrological and geochemical analyses suggest that granitic rocks have been emplaced during the subduction of the paleo-Pacific plate beneath the Euroasia plate and andesitic dykes may explain changes in composition and style of emplacement through time, consistent with a transition from a subduction-related to an extension-related tectonic regime.
During the 1990’s a detailed cartography of the rocks of Macao was developed, which allowed pointed out some important geological details, although some questions still remain. We are currently coordinating a research project that will develop a detailed digital cartographic map of the igneous rocks of Macao, useful for professionals from different areas. Ultimately, the project aims to obtain, through petrological and geochemical analyses of local rocks, a deeper understanding of the source and processes of magma genesis in Macao and contribute to a deeper understanding of the South China tectono-magmatic evolution.
Biography
Ágata Sofia C.M. Alveirinho Dias is an Associate Professor and Researcher in the Institute of Science and Environment Research Center (ISE) from the USJ. Is also a researcher from the Inst. Dom Luis IDL / Associated Lab, Portugal.
After her graduation in Geology, she took a Master in Dynamic Geology and afterwards a PhD in Geology, followed by two Post-Doctoral research activities. Since she finished her graduation (1996), she has been working in Geology, both in her main research area, where she did work on cartography, petrology, metallogeny and geochemistry, and in more applied areas, like environmental projects. Her research has been supported by R&D projects, most of them in collaboration with international research centers and Universities. She initiated her investigation on the study of petrology and geochemistry of the deep-sea floor, participating in numerous research cruises, from the Atlantic to the Arctic Sea. Currently she is still working in deep-sea research through international collaborations but is mostly focused on the study of the cartography and petrology of Macao, being PI of a FDCT research project in collaboration with the University of Lisbon, in Portugal, and the Geochemical Institute of Guangzhou of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
She also has 20 years of experience in teaching at graduate and post-graduate levels at different Universities, such as ULHT (Lusophone University of Humanities and Technologies, Lisbon) and FCUL (Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon). In 2011 she moved to Macau to the University of Saint Joseph.

Analysis on Unloading Nonlinear Mechanics Characteristic of Rock Mass and Its Application to Engineering
2016-03-29 10:00 - 23:00 | E11-1006
Speaker
Prof. Yi-sheng HUANG
Associate Professor
College of Hydraulic & Environmental Engineering
China Three Gorges University
China
Abstract
The quality of rock mass which includes structure planes such as joints and cracks deteriorates rapidly under the unloading condition. Based on high slope of permanent ship lock in Three Gorges Project, the concept of unloading rock mass mechanics has been hereby put forward. Although the research in unloading rock mass mechanics has made great progress, some questions still should be studied further due to the complexity of the unloading condition, especially unloading nonlinear mechanical characteristic of rock mass. In the presentation, unloading nonlinear mechanical characteristic of rock mass including equivalent area parabola Drucker-Prager criterion, hyperbola nonlinear elastic constitutive relationship, equivalent anchoring mechanics parameter and physical simulation test for anchoring rock mass will be presented and discussed. At the end, its application to engineering will be introduced and discussed.
Biography
Yi-sheng Huang, PhD, Associate Professor of College of Hydraulic & Environmental Engineering, China Three Gorges University (CTGU). He obtained his Bachelor Degree in hydraulic engineering at CTGU in 2000. Following that, he earned his Master Degree and PhD degree in hydraulic engineering at Wuhan University in 2003 and 2007, respectively. He joined in CTGU in July 2007 under the high level talents introducing plan of CTGU and now is the department head of Department of Engineering Mechanics, College of Hydraulic & Environmental Engineering, CTGU. He has broad research interests in geotechnical engineering, including constitutive modeling of geomaterials, numerical analysis of geotechnical problems, laboratory and physical model tests and so on. He is currently working on unloading rock mass mechanics and landslide mechanics characteristic analysis. He has published more than 20 journal and conference papers so far. He has obtained many profession awards too.

Are you ready for the BIM era of AECO Industry?
2016-03-31 16:30 - 17:30 | E11-1038
Speaker
Prof. Shang-Hsien HSIEH
Professor of Computer-Aided Engineering
Department of Civil Engineering
National Taiwan University
Taiwan
Abstract
Building Information Modeling (BIM) has become a very hot topic in AECO (Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Owner-operated) industry in recent years. This talk will start from a brief introduction of BIM. Then, discussions will be given on why civil engineers need BIM and what BIM can offer. In addition, an overview on global BIM development will be given. Finally, suggestions on how to prepare for the BIM era of AECO industry will be provided for civil engineers.
Biography
Dr. Hsieh is a Professor in the Computer-Aided Engineering Division of Department of Civil Engineering at National Taiwan University (NTU), Taipei, Taiwan. He is currently serving as Director of the Research Center for Building & Infrastructure Information Modeling and Management in NTU’s Department of Civil Engineering. He is a member of Board of Directors of the International Society for Computing in Civil and Building Engineering Since 1999 and served as the society’s President from 2006 to 2008. He has a wide range of research interests, including engineering & construction simulations, engineering information & knowledge management systems, innovative engineering education, parallel and distributed engineering computing, earthquake engineering and structural dynamics, and object-oriented software development.
Dr. Hsieh received his B.S. in civil engineering in 1985 from NTU, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from Cornell University, U.S.A. in 1990 and 1993, respectively. From 1993 to 1995, he worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the School of Civil Engineering at Purdue University, U.S.A. He joined the Department of Civil Engineering at NTU in 1995 and had since served NTU as the Chief of Extracurricular Activities Section in Office of Student Affairs, Vice-Chairman of Department of Civil Engineering, and Deputy Dean for Office of International Affairs.
More information can be found at http://shhsieh-en.weebly.com/.
