2013 News and Events
Department Ranked 21st in World
The latest rating by the independent London-based university ranking company puts UC well within the top one per cent of universities in the world in Civil and Natural Resources Engineering.
Last year UC was ranked in the 51st to 100th group of universities in Civil and Natural Resources Engineering. The latest rating by the independent London-based university ranking company puts UC well within the top one per cent of universities in the world in Civil and Natural Resources Engineering.
No other university in New Zealand is within the top 40 in this subject area.
UC Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Engineering) Professor Jan Evans-Freeman says the 21st ranking in the world is the highest ranking UC has ever reached, putting it ahead of institutions such as Stanford University, Oxford University, Cornell University and University College of London.
"This is a huge boost for us and will really help us attract more students next year. Our Civil and Natural Resources Engineering department has a long tradition of research into innovative solutions for many hazards facing society today, driven in part by the particular needs of living in New Zealand. The Department is especially well regarded internationally for its research into seismic engineering.
"Professor Andy Buchanan, Associate Professor Stefano Pampanin and Dr Alessandro Palermo have developed a completely new system of earthquake-resistant buildings using post-tensioned structural timber.
"Their work has resulted in a step-change in the use of timber as a structural material, allowing direct competition with concrete and steel for many multi-storey buildings. New buildings of up to 10 storeys are being built in Europe, North America and Australia, with proposals for a 30 storey timber building on the drawing board in Canada,’’ Professor Evans-Freeman says.
In its report, QS says UC enjoys an international reputation as a university that has a distinguished heritage, embraces and extols traditional values of academic excellence and takes singular pride in its strong research culture.
"The University has an impressive profile in research, learning and advanced scholarship as is evidenced by its strong performance in recent performance-based research fund exercises. This fuels the University's resolve to continue with strong contributions to fundamental and applied research, with well-regarded postgraduate and research programmes and with strong research and collaborative links with other leading tertiary institutions and research organisations, nationally and internationally.
"The University of Canterbury's overarching goal is to be among the top two universities in New Zealand over the long-term, reach standards equivalent to comparable Australian universities in research, teaching and learning and secure and maintain a ranking in the top 150 universities worldwide.’’
UC features in the world's elite (Top 200) universities in 19 subjects in this year's QS world university rankings by subject.
"The University of Canterbury's overarching goal is to be among the top two universities in New Zealand over the long-term, reach standards equivalent to comparable Australian universities in research, teaching and learning and secure and maintain a ranking in the top 150 universities worldwide.’’
UC features in the world's elite (Top 200) universities in 19 subjects in this year's QS world university rankings by subject.
Out of 2858 universities, UC is rated in the top 100 in English Language and Literature, History, Linguistics, Philosophy, Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, Psychology, Geography, Accounting and Finance, Education and Law.
UC is rated in the top 150 universities in Modern Languages, Computer Science and Information Systems, Earth and Marine Sciences, Communication and Media Studies, Economics, Sociology, and Statistics and Operational Research.
Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, and Mathematics are rated within the top 200.
UC is currently ranked among the top three percent of universities in the world and is the only New Zealand university with a five star QS rating.
For further information contact UC media consultant Kip Brook on 0275030168
Rajesh Dhakal to Receive University Teaching Award
Congratulations to Rajesh Dhakal, Associate Professor from the Department, who will be awarded a University Teaching Award which recognises an outstanding and sustained contribution to teaching. The Department wishes to extend congratulations on this award to Rajesh. Well Done Rajesh!
UC Engineer Wins Quake Award
Dr Alessandro Palermo has won the 2013 Earthquake Commission and the New Zealand Earthquake Engineering's Ivan Skinner Award for the advancement of earthquake engineering research in New Zealand.
Alessandro received the prestigious annual award, which promotes research to reduce the impacts of earthquakes on New Zealand communities during the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering conference this week.
UC Pro Vice-Chancellor (Engineering) Professor Jan Evans-Freeman said the award was a great coup for the College of Engineering.
Alessandro Palmero"This is an outstanding achievement for an emerging leader in the department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering. Our growing number of engineering students is keen to enrol here to be taught by lecturers like Dr Palermo at such an exciting time in Christchurch,’’ Professor Evans-Freeman said.
Dr Palermo’s contribution focuses on low damage technologies and their application to bridges and buildings.
"I am honoured to receive this special award. Ivan Skinner was one of the pioneers of base isolation and low damage system technology in the early 1970s. My research path to this fascinating world of advanced seismic resistant technologies started in 2001 when I began my collaboration with UC's Associate Professor Stefano Pampanin during my PhD thesis.
"He introduced me to this research and helped me to develop the background knowledge that I am now developing in different structural areas.
"Since then I have worked on concrete and timber buildings but my major and future contribution is in bridge engineering research.’’
Dr Palermo says life safety was the primary objective of the engineering community but they are also aiming to limit business disruption after major events.
"The Christchurch rebuild can be a real driver for using new seismic design technologies available from the UC bridge programme.
"Building designers are already moving towards low-damage system technology for both structural and non-structural components. Bridge engineers have to inherit those enhanced concepts and technologies.
"We want to find technical solutions for bridges which are quick to construct on the site; that are resistant to earthquakes and with higher material quality control and, more importantly, that are cost-competitive,’’ Dr Palermo said.
The $10,000 award will be used for continuing the research on the assessment of the bridges damaged by the Canterbury earthquakes.
Students Awarded Prizes at IPENZ Transportation Conference
Approximately 180 practitioners attended the conference in Dunedin
Researchers Produce Findings of Green Planted-Roof Pilot Study
Departmental staff investigate the benefits of green planted-roofs for the New Zealand built-environment.
Initial findings into a year-long UC ecological pilot study has found more than half the stormwater run-off from a planted roof is reduced, compared to an unvegetated roof as it evapo-transipres back to the atmosphere.
The research has been led by natural resources engineering researchers Dr Aisling O'Sullivan and Dr Tonny de Vries who will present a paper on the topic at the South Pacific Stormwater Conference in Auckland on May 10.
Dr Aisling O'Sullivan
The performance and sustainability of green planted roof systems is determined by the amount of stormwater they reduce and range of plants they can support,’’ Dr O’Sullivan says.
Christchurch’s rebuilding plans strongly encourage low impact designs including green roof systems and UC has established a green roofed building with different types of plants on campus.
After a year’s trial here we can demonstrate green roof systems respond well under Christchurch’s climate.
The native grasses and succulent plants have been extremely resilient throughout all seasons, even when covered in snow in June last year and after a remarkably long summer.
For the long-term sustainability of such living systems, the grasses will likely require some irrigation in periods of extended drought to maintain healthy living communities.
This could be obtained by rainfall harvesting from adjacent roofs that are not vegetated during rain events. While observations from this study are only preliminary, they do indicate that green roofs are a feasible option for use in the rebuild of Christchurch and are an efficient stormwater management option,’’ Dr O’Sullivan says.
Engineered green roofs are becoming common in New Zealand as they offer multiple benefits including stormwater control. They have been installed on Waitakere’s Civic Building in Auckland, at the Remarkables Primary School in Queenstown, the NZI Centre in Auckland, Pipitea Plaza in Wellington and many other sites in New Zealand.
The roofs reduce energy consumption and improve local air quality by trapping air particles and smog but are most commonly used for storm water management by reducing peak flow rates and volumes of stormwater.
Funding for the UC research has been provided by Stormwater 360, Environment Canterbury, Bayerboost and the New Zealand Hydrological Society. Seven honours engineering students have been involved in the project.
Trial Suggested to Extend Crossing Times
Departmental transportation masters student Eddie Cook who is supervised by Dr Glen Koorey is proposing a national trial to extend the crosswalk time for slower pedestrians at traffic signals.
A device fitted at crossings could be operated manually by slower pedestrians like the elderly, disabled and visually impaired people.
The findings and proposal will be put to the national transportation engineering conference in Dunedin next week.
The research has investigated Invercargill and Dunedin signalised traffic light crossings. Cook, a senior traffic management officer at Invercargill City Council, has recommended pedestrian facilities be modified to provide two pedestrian speeds to improve efficiency without compromising safety.
"My research shows that, particularly on wide crosswalks, we are currently providing at least five seconds of red man flashing time that is not required," Cook says.
"This has the effect of delaying cars that are waiting for their green light by five seconds.
"Across the country the benefits could run annually into millions of dollars, without reducing pedestrian service. Broad estimates indicate that an average daily saving of 15 minutes in travel delays and vehicle emissions could be achieved at each signalised intersection in New Zealand.
"Highly congested, heavy pedestrian intersections in particular will benefit from this initiative. Benefits may also be greater at intersections with wide crosswalks and very little side road traffic.
"We have about 2000 signalised intersections in New Zealand so the potential national annual benefit could be millions of dollars. The devices are estimated to pay for themselves, on average, after 12 months.
"I am currently working on a trial proposal to submit to New Zealand Transport Agency for their appraisal and approval to use these devices to prove the outcomes," Cook says.
To maximise the benefit and to provide clarity and consistency for all pedestrians, Cook recommends that all traffic signals have the devices installed by 2018 should the trial prove successful.
New Environment Lecturer
Dr Ricardo Bello-Mendoza has recently joined the Department as senior lecturer in enviromental engineering.
Ricardo comes from Mexico where he worked for 13 years as a research fellow in environmental biotechnology at El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, an interdisciplinary research centre that focus on sustainable development.
Welcome Ricardo and family
UC Quake Centre Launched
The UC Quake Centre (UCQC) (which sides within the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering) was officially launched last week. UCQC will work with industry on joint venture earthquake engineering research projects.
The centre will build on New Zealand’s established reputation for excellence and innovation in earthquake engineering. Fletcher Building said it was thrilled to be a partner with UC.
"Fletcher Building is honoured to be a partner with UC in the establishment of the Quake Centre. We believe that its establishment will ensure that the knowledge and experience gained from the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes can be captured and applied to building design and construction techniques for the benefit of future generations,’’ Fletcher Building Chief Executive Officer Mark Adamson said.
Genesis Energy said it was pleased to support the UC Quake Centre research programme as there was a real need to ensure New Zealand remained at the forefront of international seismic design, especially as New Zealand and most of its core infrastructure operates in volcanic and fault prone areas.
"As the owner and custodian of electricity generation at Tekapo, Tongariro, Waiarapa, Huntly and Waikaremoana, we have a responsibility to ensure we are keeping up with the latest seismic research so that we are best able to future proof these vital electricity generation assets for the future generations of New Zealanders. It is important to us and our electricity customers that further research is constantly pursued in the field of seismic resilience of large structures in New Zealand,” Genesis Energy’s Chief Operating Officer Mike Fuge said.
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Hon Gerry Brownlee officially launched the Quake Centre at the Westpac Hub in Addington. UCQC will be the catalyst for a number of national and international industry and academic research and development partnerships relating to urban seismic risk, UC Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Engineering) Professor Jan Evans-Freeman said.
"T
his will be a world-class centre and we will liaise with similar organisations in California, Japan and Italy. They are PEER (Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Centre) in California; EUCENTRE (European Centre for Training and Education in Earthquake Engineering in Pavia, Italy) and DPRI (Disaster Prevention Research Institute) in Kyoto, Japan.
"We want UCQC to grow and establish itself as one of the most recognised centres in earthquake engineering in the world.
"We will be developing our existing international network so we can leverage on significant resources via bilateral collaboration on projects at international level.
"We aim to put our research and know-how into practice through effective technology transfer for the immediate benefit of the Christchurch rebuild. We will also help in assessing and retrofitting existing structures and infrastructure around the country.
"We have started managing earthquake engineering projects in collaboration with industry and government, creating a fast-track system where resources, time, space and funds are defined. We are evaluating seismic risk to structures and lifelines both in Christchurch and places such as Wellington."
The UC partners include Beca, Opus, Fletcher Building, Genesis Energy, Holcim, Wellington City Council, Hawkins Construction, Mighty River Power and John Jones Steel.
Other agencies include the University of Auckland, Ministry of Business, Innovation and employment, the Earthquake Commission and GNS Science and professional societies including the Institute of Professional Engineers New Zealand, the New Zealand Society of Earthquake Engineering, the Structural Engineering Society New Zealand, the New Zealand Geotechnical Society and Building Research Association of New Zealand.
TVNZ news articles:
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/move-put-christchurch-map-quake-research-video-5376899http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/move-put-christchurch-map-quake-research-video-5376899
For further information please contact Robert Finch, Director of UCQCBest International Paper Award at 2013 Asia-Pacific Cycle Congress
Glen Koorey, Transportation Engineer from the Department and his co-author Simon Kingham (Geography Department) recently won 'Best International Paper' on "Cycling in a rebuilt city: the role of cycling in the renewal of earthquake damaged
Christchurch" at the 2013 Asia-Pacific Cycle Congress conference in Gold Coast recently. Well done guys!
TRex Tests Christchurch Soils
The world's largest ground thumper truck called TRex has arrived and is currently testing Christchurch's ground.
In a collaborative research project between the University of Canterbury (UC) and University of Texas, Austin in USA, the 29,000kg ground pounding truck will be here to carry out tests. It will be the first time that it has been operated outside of the USA.
TRex will be used to determine the properties of soils from the ground surface up to depths of 250m by applying small vibrations and recording them along an array of instruments.
Earthquake engineer Dr Brendon Bradley from the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering said an understanding of Christchurch's soil properties at great depths was important because it impacted how seismic waves were amplified, reflected, and refracted as they travelled from several kilometres deep, where earthquakes occur, up to the earth’s surface.
"The ground motion recorded in the Christchurch earthquake illustrated significant basin-effects. These were caused by reverberations of the soft sedimentary soils that Christchurch is founded on.
Using state of the art information on soil properties throughout Christchurch obtained by TRex and previous testing we can begin to link cause and effect and better understand where such effects will occur elsewhere during future earthquakes worldwide,’’ Dr Bradley said.
UC’s Professor Misko Cubrinovski said that TRex would provide invaluable data on the seismic properties of soils and their liquefaction resistance.
"This is one of the several major collaborative projects on the Canterbury earthquakes between New Zealand and US researchers, which are supported by the US’s National Science Foundation, our Earthquake commission EQC and the Natural Hazards Research Platform.
Testing begun 11 March at 15 sites around Christchurch under the auspices of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority and the Christchurch City Council. The public are invited to witness the testing during two days at QEII Park on March 14 and at Ilam Fields on March 21. TRex will also make an appearance at the opening of UC’s Quake Centre on March 21.
Dr Brady Cox, one of several University of Texas people who will travel to New Zealand, said the vibrations produced by the truck would be imperceptible at distances further than about 15m.
For further information contact Misko Cubrinovski on 027 7235009 or UC media consultant Kip Brook on 02675030168
Energy and Natural Resources Engineers Assist Stewart Island in Renewable Electricity System
University of Canterbury energy and natural resources engineers are assisting the Stewart Island community in selecting a renewable electricity system to replace their current, expensive, fossil-fuel-based system.
At present the islanders rely entirely on diesel generators and pay about 62c/kWh, roughly 3 times the price charged in the rest of New Zealand.
Dr Ian Mason from the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering is modelling various combinations of wind, solar, hydro and diesel generation in order to explore best options for the island. He is also managing the UC involvement on behalf of UC electrical engineering graduate and overall project manager, Robin McNeill of Venture Southland.
Natural resources engineer Dr Brian Caruso is conducting a long-term catchment study to determine the potential for small hydro generation. This is also interesting from a policy point of view, says Dr Mason, since the catchment is entirely within a national park. Dr Mason says that a system comprising some or all of wind, solar and hydro - retaining the diesel generators for back-up duties - makes sense in the short term. In order to realise a 100% renewable system, pumped-hydro, where surplus wind or solar electricity is used to pump water into a reservoir from which it can be used later for peak power generation, could be employed.”
Stewart Islanders are hoping renewable energy can put an end to high power prices. The island’s 440 network-connected households and businesses pay about three times what most New Zealanders pay.
The Stewart Island Electricity Supply Authority is owned by Southland District Council and operates a fleet of five diesel generators.
UC has been commissioned to run a 12-month monitoring project of the hydro resource and is modelling the viability of solar.
For more information please contact Ian Mason or by phone: +64 3 366 7001 extn 7397.
NZ Designed Structural Systems help in Rebuild
Two University of Canterbury structural engineers believe there is an opportunity for the Christchurch rebuild to raise the bar and lift the minimum acceptable performance of new buildings using New Zealand-designed structural systems.
UC Associate Professors Stefano Pampanin and Greg MacRae from the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering spoke at the recent National Steel Innovation Conference in Christchurch about issues relating to a safe rebuild of the city. They say changes to the construction of high-rise buildings will allow the city to rebuild to a higher level of resilience.
UC Associate Professor Stefano PampaninProfessor MacRae, who was the keynote speaker, is an expert in steel construction and has been involved in the development of other similar damage-resisting solutions for steel structures around New Zealand.
Professor MacRae, whose research has directly resulted in code changes and improved construction in USA, Japan and New Zealand, will provide an overview of emerging solutiStewart Islanders are hoping renewable energy can put an end to high power prices. The island’s 440 network-connected households and businesses pay about three times what most New Zealanders pay.
The Stewart Island Electricity Supply Authority is owned by Southland District Council and operates a fleet of five diesel generators.
UC has been commissioned to run a 12-month monitoring project of the hydro resource and is modelling the viability of solar.
ons for low-damage structural systems for steel buildings, looking at New Zealand as well as international best practice.
"Low damage construction would allow the city to be immediately occupied and business to be quickly resumed after a major earthquake event.
"Many of these construction methods have been implemented in buildings around New Zealand. Costs are comparatively low and the benefit is large, so how can we not adopt it?’’ Professor MacRae, New Zealand’s representative to the International Association of Earthquake Engineering, said.
The conference will hear about recent highlights of unique low-damage steel technology being implemented in practice. It will case study the new major construction of the Medical Centre on Kilmore Street which is implementing post-tensioned rocking and dissipating steel walls or braced frames, with a combination of devices developed at UC.
The combined features make it a world first, according to Professor Pampanin, who is co-authoring a paper on the project and has been involved in design and analysis.
"The high tech design and flexibility of these low-damage solutions, which we have managed to develop over the years, has provided a legacy for UC engineering. Low damage post-tensioned rocking and dissipating systems will be ideal for the rebuild, regardless of the material adopted - be that concrete, steel or timber,’’ Professor Pampanin said.
"There are already good examples in the CBD of buildings implementing the concrete, timber or steel technology. It is great to see a strong endorsement, growing interest and commitment from architects, engineers and clients.
"A significant paradigm shift is already happening in order to move the minimum `acceptable’ target from life safety to damage control. Cost-effective solutions are available and can and should be further developed, refined and disseminated within the wider construction industry. We are living in a new era of earthquake engineering and implementing what will be the next generation of seismic resistant buildings,’’ Professor Pampanin said.
For further information please contact: Stefano Pampanin
UC Team Leading Bridge Testing in ChCh
A group of University of Canterbury postgraduate students from Civil Engineering are working on new solutions to help improve the seismic performance of Christchurch’s damaged bridge columns and accelerate the recovery of bridges in the rebuild.
Generally, bridge columns, cap beams and footings are constructed using cast-in-place concrete. This method has been adopted as standard practice in the construction of bridge substructures worldwide.
(From left to right) Mustafa Mashal, Dr Alessandro Palermo and Sam White at the UC bridge testing site.
But fresh research at UC, led by PhD candidate Mustafa Mashal and masters student Sam White, is looking at ways of increasing bridge construction speed, quality and performance through the use of precast concrete. See the link below to view UC bridge testing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIn6ZNLnpuU
The accelerated construction methods aim to reduce disruption and improve performance when replacing damaged bridges around Christchurch, and for building new infrastructure in seismically active regions. As part of the UC research, experimental testing is being undertaken to compare the performance of precast bridge substructures with cast-in-place substructures.
Testing of two seven tonne columns has begun with promising results. The tests are part of a four-year UC research project, ABCD – Advance Bridge Construction and Design, funded by the Natural Hazard Research Platform and led by Dr Alessandro Palermo, senior engineering lecturer at UC.
The Opus bridge team and several Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild team (SCIRT) bridge designers assisted at the testing and they were favourably impressed. Further testing will be carried out over the coming weeks.
Opus principal bridge engineer Michael Cowan said the works being conducted by UC is relevant at a time when bridge engineers are looking at ways to improve the efficiency of bridge construction as well as enhance the resilience of new infrastructure.
"This testing is an important step towards a better understanding of how to achieve reliable methods for accelerated bridge construction and incorporating a low damage systems approach into design."
The earthquakes imparted key lessons with a number of bridges totally or partially losing their functionality causing significant traffic disruption. SCIRT estimated about 40 percent of the bridge stock needs to be repaired and a few bridges will be replaced.
Dr Palermo said life safety was the primary objective of the engineering community but they are also aiming to limit business disruption after major events.
"The Christchurch rebuild can be the real driver for using new seismic design technologies available from the UC bridge programme.
"Building designers are already moving towards low-damage system technology for both structural and non-structural components. Bridge engineers have to inherit those enhanced concepts and technologies.
"We want to find technical solutions for bridges which are quick to construct and erect on the site; that are resistant to earthquakes and with higher material quality control and more importantly that are cost-competitive," Dr Palermo said.
For further information please contact:
Kip Brook
Media Consultant
Student Services and Communications
University of Canterbury
Ph: (03) 364 3325
Mobile: 027 5030 168
kip.brook@canterbury.ac.nz
New Transport Lecturer for Department
Tony Sze has recently joined us from the University of Hong Kong after completing a year at Delft University of Technology, Netherlands where he participated in a European Commission study on intelligent transport system, and a national project for the development of prototype personal travel information system.
Tony specializes in traffic safety, injury prevention, statistical modelling, transport policy, and transport management and control. He has been involved in numerous research projects, including safety at signalized intersection, roundabout and toll plaza, automated enforcement and penalty strategies, pedestrian and bicycle safety, drink driving, school bus safety, and quantified road safety target.
He is the author or co-author of over 40 journal and conference papers and guest editors of special issues of Asian Geographer, International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, and International Journal of Transportation, and invited reviewers for international journals include Accident Analysis and Prevention, Safety Science, Transportmetrica, ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering and Transport Review.
UC Leading World in Earthquake Design Research
The University has confirmed its reputation as one of the world’s leading academic institutions in earthquake engineering, structural design and strengthening research by securing parts of two of Christchurch’s most iconic buildings for stringent testing.
Stefano Pampanin, Associate Professor Civil Engineering, has managed to preserve for testing structural parts of Christchurch’s modern multi-storey buildings, the Grand Chancellor Hotel and the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) building, to see how they performed under the stress of the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
He will be investigating how many additional strong aftershocks they would have been able to withstand and what repairing and strengthening techniques can be applied to similar buildings to preserve them from demolition while increasing their safety to meet the new building code standards.
The Grand Chancellor Hotel and the PwC buildings were deconstructed following discussion and agreement with the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority last year.
Associate Professor Pampanin, who is president of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering, said it was a very complex and challenging job demolishing both buildings while keeping large chunks intact in order to be subsequently tested in the UC structural laboratory.
"Credit must be given to the tremendous support from Fletcher Construction and Structex for the Grand Chancellor Hotel and Arrow International, Structex, Nikau and Daniel Smith for the PwC Building,’’ he said today.
"Thanks to this great collaboration from industry we were able to preserve a few beam-column joints from these major city buildings before they were brought down.
"They have been cut and craned down specifically, transported and stored for us, waiting for us to come up with the design of a specific testing apparatus to test them. These elements are full size, heavy and strong and our current laboratory facilities would not in fact reach that capacity.
"I believe this is one of only a few research projects of its kind anywhere in the world. While tests on existing buildings or bridges prior to demolition due to end-of-life of the structures have been carried out in several parts of the world, this is possibly one of the few occasions where the extraction of the tests will be carried out on portions of earthquake-damaged buildings.
"We will consider the residual stresses and strain-life in the material of these beam-to-column connections, how the shaking impacted on the overall building performance and we can then use this information to improve the repair, strengthening and then design of future buildings to stand up better in any future quakes.’’
Professor Pampanin is the leader of an overall research project, Significant Advances for Earthquake Resistance (SAFER), which is looking at multiple aspects of assessment, repair, strengthening of existing reinforced concrete buildings while continuously looking at new developments in the area of low-damage resistant technology.
"New earthquake-resistant building technology is being used more and more in Christchurch's rebuild to protect public safety and avoid the observed extent of damage which in most cases led to the demolition. We are living in a new era in earthquake engineering where the higher expectations of society are setting up higher targets.
"In the future, the new generation of buildings will be expected to withstand strong earthquakes, to protect the lives of occupants and buildings should be easily re-occupied with minimum repairs and cost almost immediately after any event.
"We, as an international earthquake engineering community, are already moving ahead in an exciting new direction targeting a so-called ultimate earthquake resistant building design.’’
He said UC is leading the world in the development and implementation of low-damage technology, which was why he decided to come to New Zealand from Italy and then California some years ago.
Professor Pampanin was invited as a keynote speaker to the World Conference on Earthquake Engineering in Lisbon last year with more than 3000 delegates from around the world participating.
"It was a great honour for me and for UC to be invited to give a keynote lecture at such an important global event and in front of such an international crowd of experts. I took it as a significant opportunity to raise the profile of the quality of New Zealand’s work in the engineering community and construction industry while highlighting the urgent need for a paradigm shift in the definition of what performance is actually acceptable by the wider community in a modern society.
"The tragedy of the earthquakes must be taken as an opportunity for New Zealand and the rest of the world to learn. We feel it is part of our duty to learn and develop as much as we can from these unfortunate experiences.
"Christchurch has a unique opportunity to ensure the rebuild becomes a world leading model of sustainable development and implementation of best practice following an earthquake.’’
For more information please contact:
Kip Brook
Media Consultant
Communications and External Relations
University of Canterbury
Ph: (03) 364 3325
Mobile: 027 5030 168
kip.brook@canterbury.ac.nz
2012 News
Honorary Member of NZCS for Des Bull
Adjunct Professor and Director of Holmes Solutions, Des Bull, has recently been made an honorary member of NZCS (New Zealand Concrete Society) joining 15 other industry leaders.
Des is also a Director of Holmes Solutions which specialises in R&D and prototype development for emerging technology in the construction industry. As the Senior Structural Specialist, Field Operations for the NZ Urban Search & Rescue of the NZ Fire Service he played major roles in search and rescue as well as deconsruction of dangerous buildings.
Well done Des!
Departmental Staff Win College Awards
Congratulations to Dr Pedro Lee and Brendon Bradley on being awarded the Teaching and Research Awards for 2011 and 2012.
Pedro Lee awarded the Career Teaching Award is noted for being " a passionate lecturer and his enthusiasm clearly complements his lecture notes which are highly structured and an acclaimed aid to assisting students in the learning process. Pedro has obtained extremely high teaching scores consistently over a number of years regardless of class size. He has won 3 UCSA teaching awards.”
Brendon Bradley was awarded the 2012 Young Researcher Award." Brendon's research and professional ac- complishments have covered a wide range of fundamental and applied topics in earthquake risk mitigation and management, from seismic hazard analysis and ground motion prediction to fragility analysis of structures, as well as over-arching subjects such as performance-based frameworks, structure specific seismic loss assessment, and their role in decision making.
The large volume and wide range of topics investigated and published clearly demonstrate the focus of Dr. Bradley’s research on novel and innovative approaches in earthquake risk mitigation and management, both fundamental and applied in nature. It should be further emphasised that these achievements have been obtained over a time period of only 5 years by Dr. Bradley, who is now 26 years of age.”
Well done guys!
Professor Misko Cubrinovski Helps in Christchurch Rebuild
4 December 2012
Professor Misko Cubrinovski, is helping directly in the Christchurch rebuild by working with the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) on repairing 2000 km of water mains and 2000 km of sub-mains.
His preliminary geo-spatial analysis of the damage data indicated that, on average, there was one break/fault per kilometre of damaged pipelines. Eighty percent of the damaged pipe networks were in soils that suffered liquefaction.
In addition, there are about 2000 km of wastewater pipes, of which nearly 700 km were either out of service or with limited service one month after the earthquake.
"We are continuing our collaboration and support of Christchurch City Council (CCC) and SCIRT engineers, designers and managers,’’ Professor Cubrinovski said.
"We will pass our research outcomes to CCC and SCIRT in the course of the study and will continue to provide technical advice on a regular basis.
"Both the detail and the big picture are very important. Use of flexible pipe materials and joints that can accommodate large ground movements, trench and manhole details protecting the pipelines and minimising relative movements between the pipes and surrounding soils and many other engineering solutions that reduce damage and improve overall performance of the networks are required.
"However, this has to be achieved in a cost effective way and therefore we have to accept some damage, or even design the system to fail at a particular location where quick repair and reinstatement will be easily achievable.
"Large areas of Christchurch are susceptible to liquefaction of moderate to severe intensity. Since these networks are distributed across the city, their exposure to liquefaction hazards is very high.A robust and balanced approach is needed to provide an affordable system that will ensure good performance during earthquakes.
"This is well understood in CCC and SCIRT and there are many dedicated people who work very hard in achieving these goals. I have seen many excellent contributions and good stories of this nature, and UC is certainly making a very strong contribution in these efforts.’’
One of the projects Professor Cubrinovski led after the February 22 earthquake last year focused on the impacts of liquefaction on the potable water and wastewater systems of Christchurch. The project started in April last year and worked closely with a group of about 10 people from the CCC. The team started work on the rebuild even before SCIRT was established.
Before the earthquakes, very few people had any deep understanding of liquefaction and its impacts on infrastructure. The CCC and SCIRT engineers and Professor Cubrinovski had lengthy discussion about liquefaction, how it evolves during earthquakes, the resulting ground deformation and how it affects engineering structures and buried pipes in particular.
They discussed many details about the potable and wastewater pipe networks of Christchurch, for example, grading and density of backfills in trenches, characteristics of different pipe materials and connections.
There was an immediate need for CCC, and then SCIRT, to quickly start the reinstatement/recovery work on these lifelines and for that purpose they needed area-specific design criteria addressing liquefaction hazards. This, in turn, required zoning of Christchurch with respect to ground conditions and liquefaction susceptibility/severity.
"We quickly produced a so-called Liquefaction Resistance Index Map for Christchurch which identifies five different zones and for each zone specifies parameters (such as ground strains and displacements) that are used in the design of the networks. This map has been used as a principal tool by SCIRT engineers for preliminary screening in the design process.
"The map is unique because it provides back-calculated liquefaction resistance purely based on observations of manifested liquefaction and recorded ground motions. This is invaluable information because it synthesises all the complexities and specific characteristics of our soils and their response during actual earthquakes,’’ he said.
Quake Impact on Chch Bridges Investigated
1 November 2012
Many Christchurch pedestrian bridges were damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes and more than 50 per cent of the bridges in the city will need to be repaired.
Bridges, such as the Dallington pedestrian bridge which crosses the Avon, were damaged by the lateral spreading of the river banks crushing the bridge deck.
UC civil engineering student Royce LiuOthers, such as the South Brighton Road bridge and the Anzac Drive bridge, were respectively damaged by movement of the abutments (which support each end of the bridge) and also severe bending of the bridge piers which caused concrete cracks and spalling (the cracking/expulsion of the concrete cover which protect bars from corrosion) to occur on the bridge piers.
For a final research project, a University of Canterbury civil engineering student, Royce Liu, is investigating how to mitigate such damage in future and also to research new technologies which can be used to aid the achievement of less damage to bridges.
I am especially interested about seismic structural engineering and how that can apply to bridges which are very important for the transport of goods and allowing people to safely cross rivers. Next year I'll work on this project with classmate Matthew Henden under Dr Alessandro Palermo's supervision.
"We will be studying technologies which could reduce damage caused by earthquakes on bridges as well as the effect that the shape of the bridge deck has on its seismic performance. A technology that we will be looking at is the use of rocking bridge piers.
"These piers are different to normal bridge piers because they are made up of concrete segments held together by a pre-stressed steel cable and have replaceable short steel rods which connect each block from one to another. The reasoning for having such a system is that in an earthquake, the blocks which make up the bridge pier can move relative to one another reducing the stresses created in the concrete and stopping large cracks from forming.
"Also the movement of the blocks is resisted by the short steel rods which are deformed as the blocks move past one another and dissipate the energy given to the blocks by the earthquake (this is very similar to bending a paper clip back and forth which creates a resistance to the bending motion and dissipates the energy you put in by deforming and heating up). Finally the pre-stressed steel cable pulls all of the blocks back into line so that the bridge piers are as they were before the earthquake."
This type of technology was most applicable to large highway bridges, such as the Port Hills highway overbridge in Christchurch, and could reduce damage and cost of repair to bridge piers as well as reducing the down time of the bridge. The technology has been already implemented in buildings and NZTA is now looking with interest in possible application for bridges.
UC’s Dr Alessandro Palermo (Civil and Natural Resources Engineering) has just presented two days ago as invited speaker at the first national conference on bridges in Wellington.
For more information please contact:
Kip Brook
Media Consultant
Communications and External Relations
University of Canterbury
Ph: (03) 364 3325
Mobile: 027 5030 168
kip.brook@canterbury.ac.nz
Liquefaction Caused More Damage than the Shaking
12 November 2012
A year-long University of Canterbury study has found liquefaction caused far more damage than ground movement in the Christchurch earthquakes.
Third-year civil and natural resources engineering students Kate Brooks and Emily Craigie said large amounts of lateral and vertical ground movement due to liquefaction was shown to cause the most significant damage.
Previous studies indicated a strong correlation between peak ground velocity, ground strain and hence pipe damage in earthquakes.
The two students carried out a statistical analysis of wastewater pipe performance in the Christchurch earthquakes and they looked at 1488km of pipe which had sustained 2078 break damages.
"We found liquefaction was a significant contributor to pipe failure and much of that was out east of the city, which was the worst affected area for pipe damage. In particular, we found that smaller diameter pipes at greater depths were most susceptible. Materials that performed the worst within the Christchurch wastewater network were earthenware, concrete, reinforced concrete and asbestos cement," Brooks said today.
"Primarily it is hoped that our research will be used here in Christchurch when decisions are being made as to what pipe materials should be used in network reconstruction and maintenance. Emily and I are both working for engineering firms here in Christchurch next year so it should be exciting.
"The older more brittle pipes present in the Christchurch wastewater network, asbestos cement, cast iron, earthenware and reinforced concrete suffered higher amounts of damage than the plastic pipe materials, polyvinylchloride and polyethylene," Kate said.
The 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes left Christchurch city’s 1700km pipe network severely damaged. Brooks and Craigie recognised the opportunity and need for research to be carried out on the network damage in the interests of both international academia and the Christchurch rebuild.
The Stronger Christchurch Infrastucture Rebuild Team (SCIRT) has been established to carry out the rebuild of roading, wastewater, water supply and storm water infrastructure.
"After talking with them we decided to focus our attention on the wastewater network which suffered major damage after the earthquakes, leaving thousands of residents without access to a working sewerage system.
"SCIRT has recognised the need to quickly repair and replace damaged components within the system, while simultaneously improving resilience to future seismic events. To improve the resilience of the network it is necessary to understand the current faults and areas needing improvement within the network.
"In our study we undertook a detailed investigation into the performance of buried wastewater pipes and investigated how physical parameters (such as material, diameter, depth of burial, length and age), along with seismic forces (permanent ground displacement and peak ground velocity) contribute to a pipe’s failure susceptibility," Kate said.
Their research involved processing large databases of more than 35,000 pipes, earthquake data and photographic evidence to quantify earthquake damage and identify key trends in pipe performance. They were able to draw conclusions on what pipe materials suffered the most and least amount of damage, as well as how other factors such as depth, peak ground velocity and liquefaction affected the amount of damage sustained.
Emily said they calculated repair rates (repairs per km) for pipes of different materials, ground velocity and liquefaction. Such conventions are used internationally in establishing fragility models for buried pipes and establishing design standards for pipes in earthquake prone areas.
"One day this data may be used to improve these models and the international understanding of pipe performance in earthquakes.
"Liquefaction was a major consequence of the Canterbury earthquakes and little is known about buried pipe performance during this phenomena. Our collation of data provides a useful snapshot of pipe failures in liquefied soils.
"Study in this area will be continued next year by PhD student Melanie Liu, who is working on a related subject - seismic resilience for sewerage systems. This is an exciting area of research with plenty more work to be done," Emily said.
Kate and Emily recommended a system should be established to classify repairs by pipe type. Steps should be taken to reduce the impact of liquefaction on pipes in areas identified as being of high susceptibility to liquefaction. They said further investigation into the performance of polyvinylchloride and polyethylene pipes in liquefied soils should be carried out.
The pair carried out their research under the supervision of Department staff Dr Sonia Giovinazzi and Associate Professor Mark Milke.
For more information please contact:
Kip Brook
Media Consultant
Communications and External Relations
University of Canterbury
Ph: (03) 364 3325
Mobile: 027 5030 168
kip.brook@canterbury.ac.nz
National Scholarship Awarded to 1st Pro Nat Res Student
James Scoullar, who is studying Natural Resources Engineering was one of 6 students selected from all high schools and early University years to win a National Scholarship from the Bayer Boost Scholarship Scheme for engagement in environmental research.
His project will be continuing the hydrological monitoring of six different pilot-scale green roof systems in the Department for the purpose of future implementation in the Christchurch rebuild. The research will involve monitoring of soil moisture, run-off, rainfall, water quality and weather parameters throughout the duration of the project. The data will be used to estimate the optimal substrate of plan communities, as well as irrigation requirements for living roofs in Christchurch's climate.
Dr Mike Spearpoint wins Postgraduate Supervisor of the Year
At the UCSA Lecturer of the Year Awards held in September the Department picked up the coveted postgraduate supervisor of the year award.
Well done Mike!
Annual Bridge-Building Event
11 October 2012
More than 500 people yesterday watched the civil engineering event on campus.
Organiser University of Canterbury (UC) senior lecturer in structural engineering Dr Alessandro Palermo said 50 percent of the 180 civil engineering students achieved the design criteria, a better result than last year. The lightest bridge was only 10 Kg.
The bridge competition demands students to design, construct and test a bridge which sustains two people but fails with three people on it. Dr Palermo said the event aimed to stimulate the creativity and will for innovation for the next generation of bridge engineers.
``UC has produced some prominent bridge designers who are in the front line with the Christchurch rebuild including Mike Cowan, head of bridge engineering division in OPUS (Christchurch) and Nik Stewart, head of bridge division in BECA (Christchurch) ,’’ he said.
Recent graduates are working in important project. Ex-UC masters student Anton Kivell is with BECA working on the Transmission Gully bridge project in Wellington.
There are several UC master students who are deeply involved in national research projects relating to bridges including Victoria Worner and Sam White. They will become future bridge engineers.
``Their careers all started from the bridge building competition here on campus. The passion, the willingness to do it, the inspiration for a sensational bridge brings students closer to the world of bridge engineering,’’ Dr Palermo said.
See: the UC bridge-building clip live on youtube: http://youtu.be/Yfa795VO3k8
Negotiating Footpaths is Tough for Disabled Kiwis
1 October 2012
More than 600,000 Kiwis report some kind of sensory, physical or other disability and many of them struggle with the nation’s footpaths, especially around quake-damaged Christchurch, says Dr Glen Koorey, Senior Lecturer in Transportation Engineering.
The 2010 and 2011 quakes took away many disabled people’s independence in Christchurch with some footpaths hazardous for people with poor vision, on crutches or in a wheelchair.
"The paths are riddled with cracks, holes and ridges. People complain about the roads - yes they're bad, but so are the footpaths. Hopefully, Christchurch will be the best city in the world for all abilities after the rebuild," said Dr Koorey.
"Most of our urban environment is designed for able-bodied pedestrians. For the average person it is difficult to appreciate the often little things that can make a huge difference to some people successfully travelling along and across our streets and paths.
"People with mobility issues for example requires smooth, flat, trip-free surfaces and gentle ramps to access crossings. Those with very poor or no vision need to know where safe crossings are, where to stop before stepping into traffic, and which way to go next.
"As part of a postgraduate course in planning and design for sustainable transport taught at UC, students here are put through their paces learning to experience what it is like to travel around with a variety of impairments."
With assistance from the Royal NZ Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB), the students are provided with wheelchairs, crutches and walking canes to wander around a circuit on the streets and paths of campus. Some students have their leg splinted to prevent bending of the knee, some use goggles that only give cloudy vision or very limited sight.
Dr Koorey said the training was even more relevant at the moment with parts of Christchurch out of action. There were a lot of temporary restrictions and pathways, which were often hard enough for able-bodied people to get around. If not planned carefully they could be completely impassable for people with sensory or mobility impairments.
At the same time there is an opportunity for the new rebuilt Christchurch to provide an even more accessible environment for all pedestrians than before, he said.
Aaron Washington, a transport engineer at Beca in Tauranga, said the UC training experience was unlike anything he had had encountered before.
"I never really appreciated how difficult it is for mobility impaired people to perform the day to day tasks that I consider trivial."
Diana Munster from the Dunedin City Council said she would recommend the exercise to other consultants, contractors and transport engineers who were involved in planning, designing or installing pedestrian facilities.
Gisborne planner Bev Muir said the exercise was valuable because it was something that was challenging and pushed many outside their comfort zones.
"You felt vulnerable and frustrated, as many must in their daily lives when confronted with design that doesn't consider those with mobility or sensory impairments. Secondly, it is memorable, no study required to remember the lessons about how much your arm hurts after trying to negotiate a sloping footpath in a wheelchair or the disorientation trying to find a crossing place if all you can see is a blur of peripheral colours."
Study of High Rise Quake Evacuees' Experiences
(1 October 12)
Charley Fleischmann, Associate Professor, Fire Engineering, is researching the experiences of people who had to evacuate three of Christchurch’s tallest buildings that had blocked exits or collapsed stairwells after the earthquake of 22 February last year.
The three high-rise buildings that lost their stairways left occupants with no way out of their buildings without outside intervention, with the exception of the occupants that were able to abseil out of the lower levels of the 19-storey Forsyth Barr building.
"The exit systems in Forsyth Barr, the 17-storey Clarendon Tower and the 26-storey Grand chancellor were severely compromised by debris in the open paths and exit ways, damaged walls and doors, and collapse of the stairways,".
"This made exiting very difficult for some and impossible for others. One of the many lessons learned from this event is that the design of stairways needs to be reconsidered by the regulators and the structural engineering fraternity.
"The final results of this research will show that even when confronted with horrific challenges, people came together to comfort one another and work together toward a common goal.
"The response to the survey shows that the occupants were under a great deal of stress and anxiety about their situation yet there were no reports of panic or inappropriate behaviour on the part of the occupants.
"Comments in the survey so far about the behaviour of others are universally positive. It is clear that there were widely varying responses of the occupants with some taking charge of their groups while others wished to simply wait for instructions," he said.
Associate Professor Fleischmann gained access to the red zone to investigate the damaged buildings months after the big quake.
He said lessons learned from this catastrophe were still in progress with engineers from all over the world flooding into Christchurch to learn from the disaster. Most of the efforts are focusing on the performance of the structures and the soil conditions.
"However my study focuses on the human behaviour and emotions of the occupants that were trapped above the ground floor in the high rise buildings that suffered stairway collapse. All three buildings remained standing after the earthquake and survived the period of intense aftershocks in the subsequent months.
"The Clarendon Tower and Grand Chancellor buildings have been demolished as they were considered structurally unstable and a threat to surrounding structures. I entered the Grand Chancellor and Forsyth Barr buildings after the quake to document the conditions that the occupants faced while attempting to evacuate.
"In addition to the site inspections people who were in those buildings have been asked to answer an online survey about their experiences including their actions and anxiety levels".
He said a large crane was brought in to evacuate the occupants from each level. For the Grand Chancellor and Clarendon Tower, the stairway suffered only partial collapse requiring occupants to cross over from one stairway to another and evacuate through cascading water and dust in the stairway.
Fortunately, no one was in the Forsyth Barr stairwell when it collapsed. When the stairs failed it was complete failing from the 14th floor with both of the stairways collapsing in a pile at the bottom of the shaft. The failure of the stairway in this building was so complete that the occupants had to be rescued from a platform suspended from a crane or lowered on a rope from the lower floors to the roof of the car park.
The damage to the Grand Chancellor Hotel building at 161 Cashel Street was so extensive that four city blocks were initially evacuated and not even rescue personnel were allowed into the area fearing complete collapse of the building, he said.
"Because the earthquake occurred in the middle of the day the total occupant load of the hotel was considered to be low," Associate Professor Fleischmann said.
Charley is still keen to hear from anyone else who was in the Grand Chancellor building on 22 February last year. If you are able to help please contact him on charles.fleischmann@canterbury.ac.nz
Department Tests Cardboard Cathedral Ignition
26 September 2012
Recently Department staff tested the ignition resistance threshold of the material for Christchurch’s cardboard cathedral.
The building is a temporary replacement for the earthquake-damaged Christ Church Cathedral. The cardboard structure is being funded by insurance money from the old Christ Church Cathedral building.
Dr Michael Spearpoint said they had been asked by Holmesfire, the consulting company doing the fire engineering for the cardboard cathedral, to do some fire tests on the new cardboard cathedral to see how easily the cardboard material may ignite if there was a fire in the Cathedral.
”There are options for how the cardboard will be treated and we have been testing different products to see how they perform when exposed to a potential fire,” Dr Spearpoint said today.
“We have been running different tests all day. We have been testing with two coating products and comparing these to uncoated samples.
We have been exposing the cardboard to different heat energy levels to see when it ignites.”
”We at UC Engineering are one of a very few organisations in the country that can carry out this type of work. In this case the testing is somewhere between full research and a standardised testing approach.”
Dr Spearpoint said the findings will be used by Holmesfire to design the fire safety of the cathedral. Laying the concrete foundations for Christchurch's temporary cardboard cathedral has already begun.
Designed by leading Japanese emergency architect Shigeru Ban, the $5.3 million transitional 700-seater cathedral is being constructed on the edge of the city's red zone cordon by Latimer Square.
Construction is expected to be completed by February next year.
For further information please contact:
Kip Brook
Media Consultant
Communications and External Relations
University of Canterbury
Ph: + 64 3 364 3325
Mobile: 027 503 0168
kip.brook@canterbury.ac.nz
Testing pipes at three times the speed of sound
31 August 2012
Ground-breaking University of Canterbury research could soon be a life saver in testing damaged pipelines, around New Zealand and overseas, at three times the speed of sound.
Departmental senior lecturer Dr Pedro Lee said the Canterbury earthquakes highlighted the importance of a secure water supply system and the need to rapidly assess its condition following a natural disaster.
"Our research involves the testing of new technology for assessment of our water supply network. We use pressure signals that travels at three times the speed of sound and can be used to rapidly identify areas of damage. The exciting idea is that potentially pipeline systems can be used to transfer data and information, in the same way as electrical cables.
"I have had 12 years of experience in the area of pipeline fault detection and our project has particular relevance for the Canterbury region as its success can improve our response to future earthquakes as well as improve the efficiency of our water infrastructure."
He said most water supply pipeline systems in New Zealand cities were reaching the end of their design life and failures in these systems are common. A recent study had shown that on average 20 per cent of the water in the NZ water supply system was lost through hidden leaks.
In addition to the environmental and financial costs associated with this water loss, leaks also create significant health concerns as shown in the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes, serving as potential entry points for contaminants to intrude into the untreated water supply system of the city.
Over 24 per cent of the outbreaks of waterborne diseases in the United States in the last decade were a direct result of hidden leaks within the water pipeline system. The presence of other hidden faults such as blockages and throttled valves has also increased the pumping costs for these systems over time.
Current commercial methods of fault detection in pipeline systems often require a water pipe system to be shut down and only small stretches of pipe can be tested at a time.
"We are using compressive sound waves that race through pipelines at over 1000 metres a second and is an attractive method of fault detection and the topic of this project.
"This technique can be applied continuously while the water supply system is in full operation and has the ability to detect most types of faults within the system. Pipeline systems can be used to transfer data and information in the same way as electrical cables.
"We are looking at detecting leaks in pipelines using the fluids in the pipes themselves as the communication medium. This applies to oil, gas and water pipelines."
Modern pipelines stretched over large distances and contained many connections, branches, valves and mechanical components. They also had unwanted defects such as leaks and material deposits. Finding such defects quickly and easily would potentially decrease service disruptions and save large amounts on service costs.
Dr Lee last year received a $345,000 Marsden Fund grant to develop this new technology.
If you wish to view coverage of his interview with CTV you may view it here
For more information please contact:
communications@canterbury.ac.nz
Speed Cameras Will Help But Not a Silver Bullet
31 August 2012
More speed cameras will cut down speeds but they are not the silver bullet for safety on New Zealand’s roads, says a University of Canterbury researcher.
The government has confirmed plans to spend $10 million doubling speed cameras on the roads over the next three years.
Dr Glen Koorey, Departmental Senior Lecturer in Transport Engineering, said that inappropriate speed historically killed 30 per cent of people who died on New Zealand’s roads.
"Speed cameras have been very effective in helping to bring down speeds on rural roads, which has resulted in significant reduction in the likelihood and severity of crashes. Seventy per cent of all road fatalities occur on rural roads.
"We haven't had as much success in bringing down urban speeds with cameras - 60 per cent of people still drive above the 50km per hour speed limit. Yet urban areas are where most people walk and cycle and they suffer considerably more if struck at 60kmh instead of 50kmh, or less.
"Our crash numbers for those walking and cycling are seriously over-represented in urban areas; perhaps this is where most of the new cameras should be targeted.
"Like any enforcement, the problem with cameras is that they are only effective while they are there. So, while they are a part of the speed management toolbox, we need to continue to work harder at making roads more 'self-explaining' so that drivers will be able to tell from the road environment what is an appropriate speed to travel at, irrespective of the level of enforcement."
Dr Koorey said roads could be safer if fines were done away with or significantly reduced and, instead, we concentrated on greater demerit points and ultimate loss of licence. He said that would completely take the sting out of the “revenue gathering” arguments and switch focus more to road safety.
"I continue to be intrigued and disappointed by this country’s relative lack of concern about routinely killing over 300 people and injuring thousands of others each year on our roads. The social cost of this to the country has been determined at over $4 billion, at least double the estimated costs of congestion to New Zealand."
For more information please contact:
Kip Brook
Media Consultant
Communications and External Relations
University of Canterbury
Ph: + 64 3 364 3325
Mobile: 027 503 0168
christopher.brook@canterbury.ac.nz
Engineering Research Crucial
14 August 2012
A UC engineering symposium will be held on August 28 to showcase research going on in the College of Engineering
The world is undergoing huge and challenging issues and engineering research will be directly involved in paving the way to solutions, a University of Canterbury (UC) professor said today.
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UC engineering symposium will be held on August 28 to showcase research going on in the College of EngineeringIssues included depleting natural resources through economic and population growth and an explosion in the e-digital world, Professor Conan Fee said today.
Because things are developing so rapidly UC’s College of Engineering is putting on a significant one-day research symposium on August 28 to showcase some of the research work going on in the college,’’ he said.
This event will also highlight our capabilities. We want this to be a major annual symposium. The inaugural event was in 2010 but there was no 2011 event because of the February 22 earthquakes.
Australia’s Stefan Hajkowicz, from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, who has been leading their global trends project, is the keynote speaker. He will talk about a range of current and future trends that will affect the world, from an Australasian perspective.
These trends include a growing proportion of middle-class in India, increased needs for water, food and energy, possible conflicts between nations over resources, an ageing population, and startling statistics such as the need for China to build three cities the size of Sydney each year for the next 20 years to cope with population shifts.
Professor Jan Evans-Freeman, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Engineering, will talk about some of the research going on in the college and our capabilities. Other UC speakers include Dr Christoph Bartneck on electronic publishing and Dr Martin Allen on ultraviolet vision.
The symposium has been backed by Izon Scientific, Solid Energy, and Powerhouse.
UC Professor Xiao-Qi Chen will talk about wall-climbing robots and their industrial applications, including replacing people when inspecting large stainless steel tanks in the dairy industry (previously requiring them to spend several days on scaffolds or abseiling to do this).
Associate Professor John Abrahamson will talk about his spin-out company, Arc-Active in making large-scale production of carbon nanotubes for long-life batteries and other applications. Professor Abrahamson was, arguably, the first person in the world to describe nanotubes during his PhD research in the mid-70s.
Professor Roger Nokes will speak about the new UC Quake Centre, a multi-million dollar hub which is being set up to develop, lead and manage earthquake engineering R&D projects in collaboration with industry and government, for example to develop high performance, cost-effective and practical damage-resistant solutions.
The Quake Centre will also host industry personnel and national and international earthquake engineering experts.
A panel of experts at the symposium will discuss how engineering research can best contribute to New Zealand Canterbury.
Among those on the panel is Shaun Coffey, chief executive of crown research institute Industrial Research Ltd, who are currently seconding research staff to work fulltime on the university campus.
For more information please contact:
communications@canterbury.ac.nz
Hopkins Lecture 2012, 15 August, 6.30 pm Aurora Centre
This years's guest speaker will be Rt Hon Helen Clark. Helen is a former Prime Minister of New Zealand, serving for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008. 
Currently Helen is Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), an organisation within the UN that supports a broad range of locally driven development initiatives in over 170 countries around the globe. She has held this position since 2009, becoming the first woman to do so.
Helen will speak about building resilience to disasters through disaster risk reduction (DRR), a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and reducing the risks of disaster. She will highlight the importance of prioritising resilience in both developed and under-developed countries, and the role of UNDP and relief agencies.
Dr Brendon Bradley Interviewed on the ABC’s “Catalyst” Documentary on the Christchurch Earthquakes
A recent documentary by the Australian Broadcasting Company’s (ABC) “Catalyst” program on the Christchurch earthquakes contains interviews with Academic staff member Dr Brendon Bradley, as well as Dr Mark Quigley (UC Geological Sciences).
The 10 min documentary can be viewed at:http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3510004.htm as well as additional interviews at: http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3510058.htm
New Lecturer for Structural Engineering
Dr Chin-Long Lee has recently joined the Department as a lecturer in Structural Engineering.
Chin-Long completed in PhD in Bekeley and then worked for Simpson Gumpertz and Heger in Boston where his work included soil-structure interaction of nuclear facilities and risk analysis of prestressed concrete pipes. During the years with SGH, he also obtained his PE (Civil) license in California.
While at Canterbury his research will focus on numerical analysis and computer modelling of nonlinear structures and in the future will teach classes on structural analysis and dynamics, computational mechanics, and finite element methods.
Welcome Chin-Long.
3rd Pro Student Wins College Octa Prize
Congratulations to Caleb Giblett 3rd Pro 2011 who won the College of Engineering Octa Prize for the best student project in Project Management.
Caleb was also the recipient of the Australia/New Zealand Transportation Award for the best undergraduate research based on his final-year project.
Well done Caleb!
Top Students win SOLGM Prize
5 students who had the best overall performance in ENCI 363 have won the Society of Local Government Managers Award for 2011.
The award is given each year for the best overall performance in the course, with assessments in Project and Contract Management, Engineering Economics and Accounting, and Infrastructure Asset Management.
Pictured from left: Tim McKee, Brittany Challis, Cameron Belliss, Richard Malcolm and Julia Clendon. The person between Brittany and Cameron is Andrew Dalziel, who is the CEO of Hurunui District Council and a member of the SOLGM Executive.
Stefano Pampanin new President of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering
Stefano Pampanin, Associate Professor in Structural Design & Earthquake Engineering, was elected president of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE), at the recent annual conference in Christchurch. He takes over from Peter Wood (Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management, Wellington).
Professor Pampanin said that the conference, which examined the lessons learnt from Christchurch earthquakes and the moves necessary to ensure that New Zealand society is better prepared by developing an effective and cohesive strategy to implement the necessary improvements, was a great success.
There were more than 400 attendees from the wider technical earthquake engineering community through to the construction industry, local government authorities, social scientists, policy makers and insurers.
“The society has the opportunity to take the lead in facilitating the implementation of lessons learnt and thus ensuring a safer Christchurch and a safer New Zealand for future generations to enjoy.
“We need to harness the synergies evident amongst the different organisations and stake-holders present at the conference. The sense of co-operation and commitment was encouraging and we expect to see shortly the emergence of benefits from this high level engagement,” he said.
Highlights for all those attending the conference were the keynote addresses by Roger Sutton, CEO of CERA (Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority), and Professor David Alexander, Chief Senior Scientist at the Global Risk Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as well as the after dinner speech by Bob Parker, Mayor of Christchurch.
Also on the first day of the conference, more than 120 delegates visited, in collaboration with CERA, the CBD, some of the eastern suburbs and Port Hills/Sumner, to investigate and appreciate first- hand the impact of the earthquake series, the recovery progress as well as the complexity of the challenges ahead.
As part of the conference, three Fellows of the Society were named: They are Dr Hugh Cowan (EQC research and education manager, Wellington), Graeme Beattie (BRANZ, Wellington), and Dr Kelvin Berryman (GNS Science, Wellington). David Brundson (Kestrel Group, Wellington) was made a Life Member for long service including promotion of lifelines engineering, urban search and rescue and triage of buildings post earthquake.
The conference was hosted at University of Canterbury on 13-15 April and sponsored by EQC, the University of Canterbury, BRANZ, GNS, the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management, the Department of Building and Housing and CERA.
Video-recording of the presentations will be make available soon from the NZSEE website.
Major funding boost for quake research
Two Departmental academics, Associate Professor Stefano Pampanin and Dr Brendon Bradley are among researchers from around the country to receive almost $7 million for 19 new projects under the Natural Hazards Research Platform (NHRP).
The NHRP funds research aimed at making New Zealand more resilient to natural hazards such as earthquakes and floods.
Professor Pampanin will receive $450,000 from the “New Zealand Natural Hazards” portfolio, for his research into residual capacity and repairing options for reinforced concrete buildings.
“This research project is aimed at gaining a better understanding and providing the main end-users and stakeholders (practitioner engineers, owners, local and government authorities, such as Christchurch City Council and CERA, insurers and regulatory agencies) with comprehensive evidence-based information and practical guidelines to assess the residual capacity of damage reinforced concrete buildings and to evaluate the feasibility of repairing and thus support their decision-making process of repair versus demolition/replacement,” he says.
“In the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake sequence, it is very clear the high socio-economical impact of such a decision-making process, which is ultimately affecting the shape of the future Christchurch as a city as well as of New Zealand as a country”.
Meanwhile, Dr Bradley will be co-leading a $500,000 joint-project with GNS Science from the “Lessons Learned from Christchurch” portfolio.
Dr Bradley will work on two projects - stochastic simulation of ground motions observed in the Christchurch earthquakes including site-specific effects and seismic site response effects on surface ground motions and ground deformations.
“The funding from NHRP will enable us to make use of the world-class data that has been collected from these events to improve our understanding of earthquakes and the ground motions they produce and the ability to improve societal resilience against such hazards,” he says.
“In particular, this research will lead to a detailed assessment of, and methods for simulating, the salient features of the earthquakes and the severe ground motions that they produced. Particular attention will be given to how the soft sediments that Christchurch resides on affected the nature of the surface ground motions.”
In announcing the funding Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce says rebuilding Christchurch is one of the Government’s key priorities.
“I’m delighted to see such interest in the Platform, and in particular, so many excellent proposals under the Lessons Learned from Christchurch portfolio,” Mr Joyce says.
“We saw terrible damage and loss of life during the earthquakes, so research focused on issues such as liquefaction, seismic risks in older buildings and reinforced concrete walls will help protect New Zealand from the risk of future earthquakes.”
Communicating with Impact
Pictured, from left, are Dr Creon Upton, Max Ferguson, Daniel McMullan, Nik Scarr, Lorraine Tang, Humphrey Archer (Beca), Tom Logan, Ashley Wilson (Lewis Bradford Consulting Engineers) and Associate Professor Mark Milke Five 1st Pro Departmental students proved they had the right communication skills to make it in the professional world after winning $2000 worth of prizes for their project reports.
After taking part in a departmental competition recently they were deemed to have the best portfolios of professional engineering communication works.
The top prize went to Tom Logan, who received a $1000 prize at an awards ceremony held in E8. Lorraine Tang was placed second ($500) and third place was taken out by Max Ferguson ($300). Daniel McMullan and Nik Scarr received honourable mention prizes of $100.
Final judging was carried out by Humphrey Archer from Beca and UC academic Dr Aisling O'Sullivan (Civil and Natural Resources Engineering).
The $2000 in prizes was provided by the Association for Consulting Engineers New Zealand (ACENZ) and were awarded by ACENZ representative Ashley Wilson from Lewis Bradford Consulting Engineers.
Associate Professor Mark Milke (Civil and Natural Resources Engineering) said the aim of the competition was to improve the communication skills of graduates. While portfolio submissions were voluntary, 43 students took part.
“The portfolio project is ongoing and is intended to be required for all students in Civil and Natural Resources Engineering prior to admission to third professional courses in 2014,” he said.
“Employers consistently tell us that the communication, particularly writing, skills of our graduates are their greatest weakness. Changes in professional accreditation requirements by IPENZ also are moving us towards curriculum changes to ensure students are better writers. ACENZ believes that improvements in writing and communication skills are critical for young consulting engineers to better serve their clients and the public.”
Professor Milke said students were asked to take three pieces of work – an engineering sketch of a timber connection; a reasoning report related to the environmental effects of fracking; and a laboratory report – they had previously submitted and polish them to professional standards. They were supported in their efforts with workshops, written advice and one-on-one tutorials.
“The students were supported by practicing engineers from the Beca group. The practicing engineers talked to students about the importance of good communications, and provided samples of written reports aligned with student assignments.”
Professor Milke said the event was aided by a $5000 Teaching Development grant from the UC Learning and Teaching Committee which allowed the department to use the skills of Dr Creon Upton (Learning Skills Centre) who developed learning materials and co-ordinated the teaching programme.
PhD Student Presents Quake-ready Building Methods in ChCh
Research by PhD candidate Craig Muir was recently featured on TV3 News.
Structural Engineering PhD candidate Craig Muir's reinforced concrete model structure
Engineers are considering ideas about how to construct buildings cheaper and stronger in the post-quake environment, and after four years of developing and testing his model, Craig Muir believes he’s found the answer. His two-storey, 60-tonne, reinforced concrete model has been tested in the labs to see how it would stand up in a large shake.
Unlike a traditional reinforced concrete building, the ends of the beam are slotted, allowing the building to move and flex in an earthquake. This reduces the damage to the frame and floor of the building, and increases the overall safety and performance of the structure.
Now that researchers have shown it works, Craig and fellow researchers are hoping it will be added to New Zealand's building code.
For more info read the article and watch the video on TV3.
Highly Commended for IPENZ Rey Meyer Award
(lft-rght) Nick Fuller & Tracy Allatt from Beca (Mentors), Colin Dumbleton, Luke Reeves, Jonathan Hardie, Rusetaneti Taaloga (CanTec)
Congratulations to 'CanTec' who were highly commended for their Design Project as part of their ENCI 498 course last year. Their design for the reconstruction of Colombo Street in Sydenham, as part of the redevelopment of this suburb following the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes was highly commended for the IPENZ Rey Meyer Award for Student Design for 2012.
The Ray Meyer Medal for Excellence in Student Design is awarded to the student or group of students presenting the best final-year project with a substantial design component as part of an IPENZ-accredited qualification, determined against the following criteria:
- Performance against the learning outcomes set out in the academic requirements of the designated paper.
- Clear specification of requirements and constraints.
- Identification and preliminary evaluation of potential solutions.
- Detailed technical analysis of one or more preferred options.
- Detailed evaluation of a preferred solution against the requirements and constraints.
- Consideration of social, environmental and economic impacts.
- Quality of presentation and its communication of ideas.
Recent Graduate Wins Award for Transportation Study
Caleb Giblett at the ITEANZ Meeting in Melbourne
Caleb Giblett (3rd pro student, 2011) recently won the Australia/New Zealand best undergraduate research transportation award which was based on his final-year project as part of his BE (Hons) degree and supervised by Professor Alan Nicholson, with assistance from Dr Kenneth Kuhn and Dr Bryan Pidwerbesky (Fulton Hogan).
The award which is competed for by students at all Australian and NZ Universities, teaching transportation engineering, is for the best undergraduate student research project on a transportation topic in Australia and NZ.
Caleb's project was a feasibility study investigating the potential to perform a full risk-based economic analysis of alternative pavement designs. He developed a model which can be used to take account of the risk of pavement failure resulting from various causes, including earthquakes. The model is being used by engineers involved in deciding how to approach the rehabilitation of roads damaged by earthquakes in Christchurch, taking into account the likelihood of damage caused by the occurrence of further earthquakes.
2011 News
Fire Graduates Scoop Inaugural Fire Safety Design
Departmental graduates have taken out the top prizes at the inaugural Fire Safety Design Excellence Awards held in Singapore late last year.
The awards were presented at the 2011 Fire Safety Asia Conference held in Singapore recently, and are organised jointly by the Singaporean National Fire and Civil Emergency Preparedness Council and the Singapore Civil Defence Force as part of the three-day conference.
The awards are given in recognition of individuals and organisations who have contributed towards achieving a high standard in fire safety design in Singapore. Twelve projects were shortlisted for this year’s awards and two were made - one of buildings with total construction costs less than S$100 million and one for total construction costs greater than $100 million.
In the construction costs less than $100 million category, the award was given to the designers of the Underground Ammunition Facility, designed by a team from the Defense Science and Technology Agency which included University of Canterbury graduate Chee Ho and current student Yong (Rick) Tan.
The Underground Ammunition Facility is a large, one-of-a-kind underground ammunition storage facility and the first large rock cavern development in Singapore. The facility, made up of a series of tunnels and caverns, is strategically designed to facilitate efficient operations of Singapore Army Forces.
In the construction costs more than $100 million category, the award was given to the designers of the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort, designed by a team from the Arup – Singapore. The team included Master of Engineering in Fire Engineering (MEFE) graduates Ruth Wong, Angela Chen and André Lovatt.
Marina Bay Sands features three hotel towers topped by an extraordinary sky park, crystal pavilions, a lotus-inspired museum, retail stores, trendy restaurants, theatres, night clubs and a Las Vegas-style casino.
Associate Professor Charles Fleischmann (Civil and Natural Resources Engineering), who spoke at the conference, caught-up with many of the Canterbury alumni in Singapore.
“It was gratifying to see the success our graduates are having in Singapore. With nearly 20 MEFE graduates in Singapore it is amazing to see the positive influence they are having on the fire engineering design there.”
UC Survey Reveals High Levels of Full-time Employment for Graduates
12 December 2011
The University of Canterbury’s recent survey of its 2010 graduates has revealed that more than 95 per cent of respondents are either working fulltime or part-time and/or undertaking further study.
More than two-thirds of respondents (68 per cent) reported that their current job either meets or exceeds their expectations as a position for a university graduate.
The survey was conducted ten months after the UC 2010 student cohort graduated from UC and attracted a high response rate of 38 per cent (1404 respondents).
The survey provided clear evidence that UC graduates are engaged in a wide range of occupations and demonstrated that undertaking higher levels of study provides university graduates with greater earning power.
University graduates with a PhD reported that they were paid more than those with undergraduate degrees, with 83 per cent of recent PhDs earning $60,001 or more. This compares favourably with the $40,001 to $50,000 modal income for fulltime employed university graduates with a new undergraduate degree.
Of the respondents who described their attitude to their current employment, 80 per cent reported that they were either already working in their ideal employment ten months out from graduating or that their current employment was a step in the right direction.
A greater proportion of respondents from health and education were employed than those from other fields. Of the approximately 36 per cent of Education graduates who responded to the survey, 86 per cent (288 people) stated that they are currently employed – with the majority of these indicating they are working more than 30 hours a week.
A further 33 university graduates (10 per cent) have continued with fulltime study, with a smaller proportion (8 per cent) studying part-time. Eighty-five per cent of graduate respondents from the fields of Technology and Engineering reported that they were employed fulltime.
The University of Canterbury proved to be a popular choice for further study with two-thirds of alumni respondents who reported that they were undertaking further study indicating that they were choosing to do so at UC.
“The results of the survey prove that University of Canterbury graduates are getting the jobs that they need and want and demonstrate the value of university study to our economy,” said UC Vice-Chancellor Dr Rod Carr.
“A recently-released annual report on the student loan scheme from the Ministry of Education confirmed that university graduates earn more than those who complete level 1 to 3 certificates and diplomas. Their report stated that four years after university study, the median earnings of young bachelors degree graduates were 45 per cent higher than those who completed level 1 to 3 certificates, and 28 per cent higher than those students completing diplomas. The report also states that even in their first after study the media earnings of bachelors graduates are above the national median earnings.
“The fact that University of Canterbury graduates are getting jobs that are in line with their career aspirations and that earn them higher salaries is good for the UC graduates themselves and good for their communities – and that’s great for New Zealand.”
Key points from survey of 2010 University of Canterbury graduates:
High levels of fulltime employment
University of Canterbury graduates are getting jobs that are in line with their expectations and career aspirations
University of Canterbury graduates are choosing UC for further studies
Graduates with higher-level university degrees earn more than those with undergraduate degrees
University graduates earn more than those who complete level 1-3 certifcates or diplomas
For more information please contact:
Jacquie Walters
Public Relations Consultant
University of Canterbury
Ph 027 5030168
Prestigious USA Award for Departmental Fire Engineer
UC academic Associate Professor Charles Fleischmann has become the first New Zealander to receive the Arthur B Guise Medal for his research in fire engineering.
Professor Fleischmann (Civil and Natural Resources Engineering) has been awarded the medal by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), the largest professional society for fire safety engineers based in the United States.
Associate Professor Charles Fleischmann The medal, first awarded in 1983, recognises eminent achievement in the advancement of the science and technology of fire protection engineering and is named in memory of the achievements of Arthur Guise who singularly developed dry chemicals for use as fire extinguishing agents.
Professor Fleischmann was presented with the medal and $US500 ($NZ660) at the society’s annual meeting in Portland, Oregon, where he also gave a technical presentation.
Professor Fleischmann said his initial reaction to the award was one of “complete surprise”.
“I still find myself looking at the list of recipients and cannot believe I am among them. Many of the previous recipients have been mentors of mine. To be associated with people who have profoundly influenced my career in this way is an extreme honour for me.”
SFPE Engineering Program Manager Chris Jelenewicz said the award was presented to Professor Fleischmann “for advancing the science of fire protection engineering with his broad breadth of research in fire dynamics, fire fighting, furniture flammability, numerical fire modelling and performance-based codes”.
“His career as a fire protection engineer, researcher, and teacher has spanned the globe, giving his impact to the fire protection community an international scope.”
Professor Fleischmann has more than 80 publications, including chapters in two textbooks on the fire testing of furnishings. He was the lead author on the chapter, “Analytical Methods for Determining the Fire Resistance of Concrete Members” in the SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, and he was key contributor to the development of the SFPE Engineering Guide to Piloted Ignition of Solid Materials under Radiant Exposure. Research results from his work have been used in the development of the NIST Fire Dynamic Simulator.
In 2010 Professor Fleischmann received a University of Canterbury Teaching Award in recognition of his outstanding and sustained contribution to the teaching of fire engineering and a demonstrated commitment to enhancing the learning environment.
Pedro Lee Awarded $345,000 in Marsden Funding
Pedro Lee has recently been awarded $345,000 by the Marsden Foundation for research into detecting the position of leaks in pipelines using the fluids in the pipes themselves as the communication medium. This could apply to oil, gas and water pipelines, for example.
Modern pipelines stretch over large distances and contain many connections, branches, valves and mechanical components. They also have unwanted defects such as leaks and material deposits. Finding such defects quickly and easily would potentially decrease service disruptions and save large amounts on service costs.
One way of going about this is to compare fluid systems to electrical systems. Transient signals (short bursts) are vitally important in electrical systems as they allow information to be sent across large distances through electrical channels. These signals are the basis of modern communications systems, including the internet. Analogous to electrical data signals, fluid transients are compressive waves that transmit through pressurised channels at high speeds. Dr Pedro Lee of the University of Canterbury plans to use his Marsden Fund Fast-Start grant to investigate the fundamental behaviour of fluid transient signals.
This research has the potential to allow all fluid conduits – including both industrial and small-scale pipelines – to act as a medium for information transfer. Revolutionising the way such systems are used could result in attractive alternatives to current manual fault detection methods.
Total Funding: $345,000 over 3 years
Well done Pedro!
UC Research Offers Soution to Strengthen Vulnerable Buildings
PhD student Patricio Quintana Gallo (left) and Professor Athol Carr explain the shake table testing.
An innovative solution for strengthening multi-storey concrete buildings was put to the test on the University of Canterbury’s shake table earlier this month.
As part of a seven-year Foundation for Research, Science and Technology-funded project on “Seismic Retrofit Solutions for NZ multi-storey buildings” started in 2004, a three-storey reinforced concrete (RC) model building was put through two simulated earthquakes before an audience of staff, students and local television crews.
The particular research being tested – part of PhD student Patricio Quintana Gallo’s thesis project but related to a much wider body of research being carried out by a team from the Civil and Natural Resources Engineering Department led by Associate Professor Stefano Pampanin– was an investigation of the seismic response of non-ductile pre-1970 RC frame buildings, before and after a rehabilitation or retrofit intervention. The objective was to upgrade the performance of such a structure when it is subjected to strong earthquake ground motions.
The model had been retrofitted with GFRP (Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer) laminates, which are like bandages that can be wrapped around a building’s damaged or vulnerable spots, a solution neither too invasive nor expensive and one that could provide a solution to strengthen this country’s older RC buildings, as well as repair and strengthen the damaged ones, and make them far safer.
The use of advanced composite materials for seismic retrofit prior and after earthquake events is becoming, at an international level, a highly regarded solution as proven by the seismic repair and rehabilitation of many public schools after the L’Aquila earthquake in Italy in 2009.
The first simulation was based on the ground motions recorded in the CBD during last September’s 7.1 magnitude Darfield Earthquake and the second shake test subjected the structure to the same ground motions of Chile’s 8.8 magnitude quake in February 2010, which researchers believe would be relatively similar, in duration and intensity, to what we could expect in Christchurch from major seismic activity on the Alpine Fault.
Patricio said the testing proved that researchers had been able to reverse the “hierarchy of strengths” in the beam column joint region using the GFRP laminates, thus protecting the structure from a soft-storey or “pancake” collapse mechanism, and therefore proved the efficiency of their design for upgrading the performance of these older reinforced concrete buildings.
Interested in pursuing an ME in 2012?
“GIS modelling of contaminant loadings to urban streams”
The Hydrological and Ecological Engineering research group in the Department is seeking a highly motivated and competent student interested in pursuing a Masters of Engineering degree in 2012 on GIS modelling of contaminant loadings to urban streams.
Funding for this project can be available by applying for an ECAN scholarship (10K for 1 year). Applications for this scholarship are restricted to NZ citizens and permanent residents and need to be made directly through the ECAN by 3 October.
Promising Civil Engineering Graduate Awarded 2011 Hume Fellowship
Courtney Groundwater, who completed her Bachelor of Engineering degree with first class honours in 2010 as been awarded the 2011 Hume Fellowship. Courtney, a talented civil engineer specialising in transportation engineering, will use her Fellowship to study for an MSc (Engineering) in Transport Planning and Engineering at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom, in 2012/2013.
Courtney is employed by Abley Transportation Consultants in Christchurch, where she has been involved in a number of innovative projects. Courtney developed a 3D visualisation model for the Ilam Road enhancement, showing the interactions between pedestrians, cyclists, public transport and motor vehicles. Abley Transportation received an international award for this work at a recent conference in Japan.
Courtney was Head Girl at Timaru Girls High School in 2008 and She is a member of the IPENZ Transportation Group and presented a paper, “New Urbanism – is it really applicable in New Zealand”, at the 2010 Transportation Conference. She is a Futureintech Ambassador in schools, is involved in Neighbourhood Engineers and is also a Women in Engineering member.
Dr Kenneth Kuhn recognised by IBM
A proposed course, developed by a University of Canterbury academic and aimed at providing future engineers with the skills to manage modern transportation engineering problems, has received backing from one of the world’s largest technology companies.
Dr Kenneth Kuhn (Civil and Natural Resources Engineering) has been awarded a Smarter Planet Faculty Innovation Award by IBM. He is one of only 50 academics worldwide from 40 universities to receive the award.
The awards, worth US$10,000, were set up by IBM to help universities develop innovative curricula that address the global challenges of transportation, health care, water, energy and other systems.
Dr Kuhn’s award was for a proposed course he had developed called “Improving Transportation System Efficiency and Safety through Asset Optimisation”. IBM will make Dr Kuhn’s course notes and materials publicly available through its Academic Initiative.
“The idea behind the course was that a lot of the challenges associated with managing transportation systems today require balancing competing objectives and also require data analysis,” said Dr Kuhn.
“One of my favourite examples is when an airline pilot chooses a route to fly in an area where there is bad weather. The pilot and airline want to minimise how much fuel they use, but also the risk of making passengers uncomfortable. An air traffic controller has to ensure that the decisions of different pilots don't lead to conflicting flight paths. Decisions might be influenced by passengers' flight connections. The problem can be as simple or as complicated as you like. Another example would be figuring out when to change traffic signals. This sounds like quite a different problem, but again you need to trade-off safety and efficiency to some degree.”
Dr Kuhn said decisions should be based on data describing what happens in different situations.
“Transportation domain knowledge is the most important but expertise in areas like probability and statistics, mathematical programming, economics and computer programming is very helpful for addressing modern transportation problems. I think companies like IBM realise this and are trying to influence how transportation engineering is taught.”
Well done Ken!
ACENZ Best Practical Work Report Award 2011
Pictured (from left) are Carol Hirschfeld, Nick Borren (University of Canterbury), Stephanie Miller (University of Auckland), Richard Gray (University of Canterbury) and Tonkin & Taylor New Zealand Managing Director Doug Johnson. Photo supplied by www.christinesyme.com.
Nicholas Borren and Richard Gray two of our 3rd Pro students have won two of the three prizes for ACENZ Best Practical Work Report Awards for 2011.
The awards are open to fourth-year engineering students and highlight the importance of written communication skills, essential for report writing in the business of engineering. UC scooped two of the three awards presented this year.
Stuents are invited to submit practical work reports they had prepared as part of their engineering degree.
The reports were judged on report writing and the students’ ability to describe the work they carried out and their experience gained, rather than on the duties undertaken.
Nicholas’s work report on Hanlon & Partners, Dunedin, was praised by judges as a standout report which clearly showed how much he had learned.
Richard’s report on Beca, Auckland, was described by the judges as “commercially astute” with a good understanding of work scheduling processes and project phases. It showed both his enthusiasm and how much he had learned technically.
Each award winner received a framed certificate, a cash prize of $1500, complimentary delegate registration to the ACENZ annual conference and travel expenses allowing them to attend the INNOVATE NZ Awards of Excellence, held in Rotorua on 6 August, where they received their awards.
Managing director of Tonkin & Taylor, Doug Johnson, said the “insightful and succinct report writing skills shown by this year’s Best Practical Work Awards winners are exactly what the business of engineering needs”.
“Concise, readable reports are essential in our industry. T&T is pleased to sponsor this award in conjunction with ACENZ to encourage the next generation of consulting engineers to develop good written communication skills.”
To be eligible for the award, students must be studying towards a Washington Accord Bachelor of Engineering (BE) and their practical work experience must be with an ACENZ Member Firm.
Congratulations Nicholas and Richard!!
Design of Earthquake Proof Building
Recently Stefano Pampanin and David Carradine from this Department featured on CTV news discussing the seismic performance and relocation of the post-tensioned timber Expan building located which is located here on campus.
The building was originally a 2/3 scale specimen tested by former Ph. D. student Michael Newcombe, and because the building had so little damage after being subject to numerous simulated earthquakes in the laboratory, it was decided that it should have a second life as a real building. It was carefully deconstructed, re-engineered by Holmes Consulting Group and reassembled on the lawn next to the Student Services Building off Engineering Road. |
Thom Craig provided architectural services so that the structural frames and walls could be enclosed to create functional spaces that include an office for STIC (Structural Timber Innovation Company) CEO, Robert Finch, a meeting room and a space for displaying models and older test building has been part of research going on since 2004 and did have to be modified to create two full height storeys and comply with Christchurch City Council building requirements. It has been instrumented with accelerometers and has shown no distress or damage following any aftershocks or the earthquake of 22 February. The activity and interest in the building has been incredible and the post-tensioned timber technology will most surely be a part of the Christchurch rebuilding process.
Staff and Postgrads assist City Council in Building Checks
For the first few days and weeks after the Christchurch Earthquake many of our staff and postgrads were in the CBD assisting the Council with their building inspections. The inspections were primarily to assess which buildings were safe to enter, which ones were no-go areas, and which ones could be accessed on a temporary basis to retrieve valuables. The process helped in defining the cordoned areas, and the systematic reduction of the cordons as the days went by.
For our Fire Engineering staff and students, the work is still ongoing as major damage to fire safety systems has been observed all over the city. Currently they are assisting the city in the recovery process by helping to identify immediate fire protection problems and document details of active and passive fire protection failures, apparent access and egress issues, water supply failures and sprinkler system failures. The project is to help the recovery in the short term and improve fire safety design in the long term.
Summer Scholarship Research Opportunity – Green Roof Technology
Green roofs are emerging internationally as a low impact design (LID) for stormwater management in dense urban centres. They have been successfully operating in other parts of New Zealand but have not yet been trialled in Christchurch.
It recently emerged from the Christchurch Expo that residents strongly expect Christchurch to be rebuilt as a more sustainable and ecologically connected city – something that is afforded by including green roof systems. In late 2011, Christchurch’s first green roofs will be trialled at the University of Canterbury campus on the newly constructed ‘Oval pods’.
The research will investigate the best technical designs and preliminary performance of pilot-scale green roofs under Christchurch’s climate. The work can extend into Masters Research opportunities for 2012, and is being supported by New Zealand’s leading green roof experts from the University of Auckland and the Christchurch City Council. Contact Dr Aisling D. O'Sullivan for more information.
Staff on Expert Panels for Christchurch Earthquake
Associate Professor Stefano Pampanin, a structural engineer in our department and Emeritus Professor Nigel Priestley, a former staff member of our department and now an Emerius Professor have been elected to serve as members of the expert panel which has been set up to assist the Department of Building and Housing with the technical investigation into the performance of the Canterbury Television, Pyne Gould Corporation, Forsyth Barr and Hotel Grand Chancellor buildings.
Emeritus Professor Richard Fenwick, a graduate from this department and now an Emeritus Professor is on the Royal Commission of Inquiry which was set up to look at the collapse of buildings in the Christchurch central business after the earthquake on 22 February. The inquiry will examine issues around the built environment in the Christchurch CBD including, but not limited to, the CTV and PGC buildings, as well as the adequacy of the relevant building codes and standards into the future.
Emeritus Professor Ian Wood Awarded Prestigious Selim Yalin Award
Congratulations to Ian Wood who will be awarded the Semin Yalinin at its IHAR Congress which is to be held in Brisbane in June this year. This award recognises his experimental, theoretical or numerical research which has resulted in significant and enduring contributions to the understanding of the physics of phenomena and/or processes in hydraulic science or engineering. It also recognises his demonstrated outstanding skills in graduate teaching and supervision. Well done Ian!
Charley Fleischmann wins UC Teaching Award
Charley Fleischmann, Associate Professor in Fire Engineering was recently awarded the UC Teaching Award for 2010. The award recognises his excellence in teaching (including thesis supervision) in both undergraduate and graduate programmes. Congratulations Charley.
SOLGM (Society of Local Government Managers) Prize 2010
Congratulations to Georgia Whitla, Richard English, Andrew Campbell, Nicholas Borren and Richard Gray for receiving the SOLGM Local Government Careers Prize for excellent performance in the ENCI363 'Infrastructure Management' course in 2010.
They each received $600 for their effort.
Understanding the Darfield Earthquake
In the early hours of September 4 2010, the Canterbury community was rudely awoken by a violent magnitude 7.1 earthquake. What caused such a significant natural disaster to happen so suddenly without any prior warning? How did our infrastructure, homes and historic buildings cope as the earth unleashed its power, and what was the impact on our communities, families and organisations?
Experts from this Department and others will be presenting a series of lectures between February-March 2011. For enrolment and list of topics please visit Community Education
Award for a HydroEco Researcher
Joe Good, ME Candidate (2010-2011) supervised by Dr Aisling O’Sullivan, has been awarded a UC Masters Scholarship for 2011. Congratulations are in order for Joe who has been researching the hydraulic and treatment efficiencies of rain gardens. Joe will be presenting his second conference presentation at the IWA Sustainable Cities Conference in Sweden in May and is near submission of his first journal article emerging from his research so far. In a double strike of excellence, Joe’s partner Kate in Biology was also awarded a UC Masters Scholarship.
HydroEco's water quality monitoring system profiles on International Waterlink site
A recent journal article published by members of the HydroEco group in Water Science & Technology IWA Publishing, by Cochrane, Wicke & O’Sullivan, which describes the development of a web portal for enhancing community awar
eness and engagement of water quality in urban waterways in New Zealand, has just been profiled on International Waterlink – (online platform for best practices and technical solutions in water management).
The data acquisition system is unique in the use of coupling a wireless mesh network technology and real-time monitoring of stream health. The system was developed using a mesh network of radio transmitters linked to flow and water quality parameters (i.e. turbidity, pH, conductivity and dissolved oxygen) so that real-time water quality data can be seen by end-users anywhere through the free webportal. Results are displayed on the dedicated Urbanwaterways New Zealand.
Live Demonstration of HydroEco's innovative web-linked water quality monitoring system
The HydroEco group will be demonstrating their real-time water quality logging set-up to a wider Ilam Community during the UC Orientation Week. Catch them at the footbridge outside of Civil/NRE/Mech Building and Old Maths at 2pm on Thurs, Feb 26th. More information
2010 News
Book a mix of science and anecdote about the Amazon
A book that is the culmination of 50 years of passionate research on the Amazon has been published by Dr Tom A Cochrane (Natural Resources and Civil Engineering) and his father, Dr Tom T Cochrane.
The book, Amazon Forest and Savanna Lands, is a guide to the climates, vegetation, landscapes and soils of central tropical South America.
As a young boy, Dr Tom A Cochrane was taken through the Amazon by his father who worked there in a variety of roles as a soil scientist. “I grew up with Dad being passionate about the Amazon region. He would sometimes take us on trips through the area which were very fascinating for a boy.”
Dr Cochrane has followed in his father’s footsteps, although his research focus is agricultural land use, soil and water conservation, and the conservation of natural resources world-wide. Dr Cochrane the elder is currently supervising Agrotecnologica Amazonica´s forest-savanna ecological conservation reserve in the Bolivian Amazon.
“Dad was contracted to Bolivia in 1963 by the British Tropical Agricultural Mission to study some of the least-understood lands of the Amazon. He loved the area and has stayed working in the Amazon region for more than 50 years,” Dr Cochrane said.
“We have gathered all this information over the years — people ask us for information all the time — so we thought why not put it all together in a book. It has been really nice getting together, working with Dad again, and has brought up some really nice memories,” said Dr Cochrane.
The book is a result of their research in the region and is intended to increase people’s understanding of it. It also includes technical information for better understanding tropical lands in general, and more specifically statistical prediction of fertiliser needs, calculations of osmotic potential and the development of a theory of solution flow through soils and plants, which Dr Cochrane said should be of interest to all soil scientists.
“The book is an overview of the land resources of the Amazon in terms of its complex of climates, landscapes, vegetation and soils found throughout this vast, often misunderstood region,” he said.
“The Amazon is a very special place and deforestation is a big concern. The soil is very poor, so although people cut down trees with the intention of turning it into agricultural land, it will not be good for that purpose. The book is a resource so that people can look at the region and use the information to better use and protect it.
“I feel very strongly about the Amazon — it is the last large natural resource left in the world. Losing this is shameful and a huge concern.”
Amazon Forest and Savanna Lands is also a personal book for Dr Cochrane and his father and contains anecdotes about their time in such a special place.
“Once we were living for three weeks on a boat in the Amazon. One day we took a canoe out to get some soil samples, but where the river branches into flood plan tributaries we got lost. It started to get dark, the mosquitoes were biting badly so we put these big black plastic bags over our heads with small holes to see and breathe. We tried to sleep on this canoe, but luckily we were woken by a small light that was moving towards us. It turned out to be an Indian fishing in the river. He was able to navigate us back to the boat in the morning. Why wasn’t he scared of us with black bags on our heads? We must have looked funny. We have included some of these stories to make the book more interesting.”
Pedro Lee wins Inaugural Research Award
Three University of Canterbury projects have been recognised at the inaugural Tech Jumpstart awards, each receiving $20,000 to help the flow of ideas out of the lab and into the community.
The projects include a new colour model for digital movie cameras, a new algorithm that enables the flow of fluids to be measured in pressurised pipes, and the development of a novel prototype probiotic to improve animal health and wellbeing.
The awards, hosted by UC’s Research & Innovation, attracted 18 new ideas from UC.
Speaking at the awards function on 12 October, Research & Innovation Director Nigel Johnson said funding for the Tech Jumpstart competition came from the Pre-seed Accelerator Fund (PSAF), funding intended to “take an idea with commercial potential, that already has established proof of principle and proof of concept and get it ‘investor ready’”.
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He said Tech Jumpstart was created because the Unicom Investment Committee – a consortium with UC, WaikatoLink, AUT, Lincoln and Victoria universities – wanted to “flush out more ideas that might have commercial potential that could then be evaluated and developed into applications for PSAF”.
“The best way of flushing ideas out of universities is to offer money – hence the competition with the offer of $20,000 each to three projects at each university. The Tech Jumpstart funding will enable initial technology development of the idea by employing student researchers and purchasing the necessary consumables.”
Dr Johnson said he was delighted at the success of the inaugural competition, with the 18 ideas put forward from UC the most of any of the participating universities.
Dr Pedro Lee (Civil and Natural Resources Engineering) said he was “very excited” about the progress that could be made with the additional funding.
Dr Lee and PhD student Ayaka Kashima are working on a high speed, non intrusive unsteady flow meter.
“The technique is a non-intrusive method of obtaining instantaneous flow data from any pressurised pipeline system at up to the sampling limit of pressure sensors – 250,000 samples per second. This speed is far beyond the capability of flow meters currently on the market and makes it ideally suited for the measurement of flows in biomedical and fuel injection systems as well as characterising the pumps and turbines behaviour.
Dr Lee said the practical applications included real time measurement of blood flow in biomedical systems to monitor the behaviour of hearts and artificial heart components, and real time measurement of fuel injected into internal combustion engines to increase fuel efficiency.
“This will have application in any piping systems where you may need to know the flow rate at high speed.”
He said the award money will be split between market research, putting together a patent for the technology, consumables and equipment for testing, and supplementing Ayaka’s scholarship.
Park and Paulay Fund
A fund to commemorate the achievements and contributions of two of our department's renowned civil engineers has been officially launched at the University of Canterbury.
The Park and Paulay Fund, promoted by the University of Canterbury Foundation, has been established to honour the groundbreaking work of Professor Bob Park (1933-2004) and Professor Tom Paulay (1922-2009), both academics in the Department made significant contributions in the fields of structural and earthquake engineering.
Professors Park and Paulay received international recognition for their work, which they undertook both separately and together. Their major work, Reinforced Concrete Structures (1975), became a seminal work on capacity design and has been translated into many languages.
The fund, launched at a gathering of colleagues, family and friends, will be used to make awards to outstanding young engineers to help them develop into professionals able to contribute strongly to the fields of structural and earthquake engineering. The fund was initiated by Wellington consulting engineer Dr David Hopkins, a former student of both Park and Paulay.
Speaking at the launch, Dr Hopkins described the pair as “special people” and said it was fitting that a fund had been established in their honour.
He said the fund would encourage young engineers to emulate the work carried out by the two men and to aspire to the personal qualities demonstrated by the pair.
The fund was officially launched by Professor Paul Jowitt, President of the UK-based Institution of Civil Engineers, who was in the country to present the 2010 Hopkins Lecture. He said professors Park and Paulay notched up many outstanding achievements of worldwide significance.“Tom and Bob made a fabulous team and they were fantastic mentors and teachers as well as researchers.”
Executive Officer of the University of Canterbury Foundation, Shelagh Murray, said donations have already been received from around the world. “We are hoping to achieve our target of $200,000 to establish a capital fund for awarding of scholarships.”
Engineer calls for new approach to engineering infrastructure
The President of the Institution of Civil Engineers made a case for a 21st century engineering renaissance in the 2010 Hopkins Lecture held on campus recently.
Professor Paul Jowitt, who is also Professor of Civil Engineering Systems and Executive Director of the Scottish Institute of Sustainable Technology at Heriot-Watt University, delivered the annual lecture with a presentation titled “Now is the time” in the Ngaio Marsh Theatre.
Professor Jowitt discussed the need for a renaissance that would see the world’s infrastructure built and rebuilt to ensure it could meet the challenges posed by climate change, environmental disasters, a burgeoning world and economic crises.
Head of Department Associate Professor Roger Nokes said Professor Jowitt’s lecture provided a global perspective on the challenges facing the world today, with a clear focus on how civil engineers, in particular, have a major role to play in ensuring a sustainable future for the planet. He said the message was particularly timely given recent calamitous events around the world, and one that politicians, economists and community leaders needed to hear.
Professor Jowitt was an Erskine Fellow at UC in 1997 and his areas of interest lie in the development and application of systems-based solutions within civil engineering, the water industry, environmental management, risk assessment and sustainable development.
The annual Hopkins Lecture, hosted jointly by the University of Canterbury and the Canterbury branch of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand, was established in recognition of the distinguished service in the engineering field of Professor Harry Hopkins, who was head of civil engineering at the University from 1951 until 1978.
The lecture is delivered by an eminent speaker on a subject that will encourage discussion of engineering matters within the profession and promote public understanding of engineering issues.
Earthquake engineering a priority for UC engineers
Canterbury’s recent earthquake reinforces the importance of research projects being undertaken in UC’s College of Engineering.
Academic staff members within the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering have recently succeeded in securing two interim grants for major research projects as part of the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology’s (FRST) Natural Hazards Research Platform, which was launched last year.
The platform is hosted by GNS Science, with NIWA and GNS Science acting jointly as “anchor” organisations. They have partnered with the University of Canterbury, as well as with Auckland and Massey universities, and Opus International Consultants. The platform brings together leading researchers to examine how natural hazards occur, their effects, and how we deal with them. It involves scientists and engineers from a range of fields, and provides long-term funding to projects focusing on geological hazards, weather hazards, engineering, including structural and geotechnical engineering, risk analysis and social aspects of natural hazards research.
The University of Canterbury is leading the world in damage-free or damage-resistant systems with applications to concrete buildings and bridges, steel and timber.
One of the projects currently being funded is on low damage structure technology, with a focus on long-term durability of structures. The technology is being applied to both steel and concrete structures but applicable to structures of other materials. The project is being led by Associate Professor Greg MacRae (Civil and Natural Resources Engineering) and Professor Geoff Chase (Mechanical Engineering).
The second grant is funding a research project on non-structural elements, which includes ceilings, facades, windows – the skin of a building – and internal partitions. Professor Greg MacRae and Associate Professor Stefano Pampanin together head this project.
“In a moderate level of earthquake, like the one we had in Christchurch, structural engineers provide buildings with strength so there is no structural damage, but some damage to cladding and ceilings is possible,” Professor MacRae said.
“In a strong — or design level — earthquake, the strength of buildings is expected to be significantly exceeded. To prevent collapse and loss of life during this shaking, structures are provided with ductility by careful detailing to avoid a sudden or brittle failure. This means that while buildings should remain standing they may have large permanent displacements and significant damage. Because of this, these buildings may need replacing. We are not protecting our infrastructure during this level of shaking,” he said.
“With the new technologies we’re developing, structures will have no permanent damage after a much bigger earthquake than the design level earthquake, and this will be able to be achieved at almost no extra cost.
“With a moderate level shake, we still had $4 billion damage. The level of earthquake we design for is a political decision,” Professor MacRae said.
Preliminary discussions with the Natural Hazards Platform several months ago indicated that further research efforts to reduce both structural damage, using low-damage technologies, and non-structural damage were likely to be a priority. The recent earthquake highlights the necessity of this work as part of making robust building systems for New Zealand.
Another large research programme being undertaken by the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering is on soil liquefaction led by Associate Professor Misko Cubrinovski. A series of projects focusing on liquefaction, lateral spreading and ground related damage during earthquakes are funded by the Earthquake Commission (EQC) and Environment Canterbury (ECan) including a long-term EQC Capability Funding in geotechnical engineering (CNRE) and geological sciences (GS). Seismic characterisation of Christchurch soils and in particular liquefaction has been the central theme in this research. The relevance of these studies has been highlighted by the recent earthquake in which liquefaction caused major damage to houses, roads and lifeline services such as cables, water, and sewage. Soil-structure interaction is an interdisciplinary research area where more work is needed to determine the best way to prepare soil for new construction, and reinstate structures affected by liquefaction or lateral spreading.
Such research has been stated to be of very high priority during discussions by reconnaissance teams at the earthquake information clearinghouse meetings and it is likely to be funded by EQC and FRST in the future.
Christchurch needs to prepare buildings for the 'big one'
7 September 2010
As Canterbury recovers from the 4 September earthquake and attention begins to focus on rebuilding the city centre, two structural engineers from our department are warning that this is not a time for complacency in setting building codes and earthquake research.
Professor Andy Buchanan and Associate Professor Greg MacRae said their concern was that some people were saying that the current standards were more than enough because everything survived so well.
“But others of us are saying let’s be very careful here because the seismologists tell us that an even larger earthquake could occur at some time in the future,” said Professor Buchanan.
“From a structural point of view the surprise is the low level of damage in Christchurch and the reason is that although it was a large magnitude earthquake, the level of ground shaking affecting most of the buildings we have in Christchurch was only about 60% of what we design for, and it was definitely not as much as it will be when we get the big one.”
Both Professor Buchanan and Professor MacRae cited Chile as a perfect example for Christchurch to consider. It had an earthquake in 1985 and, because its buildings all survived, it did nothing to strengthen its building codes. In 2010 it had a much more severe earthquake with very serious damage and loss of life.
“Because this is the first major earthquake in an urban area since Napier in 1931, there are many lessons we can learn for the future,” said Professor Buchanan.
“Basically, the unreinforced masonry buildings in Christchurch that had been re-strengthened have done very well and many of the ones that have not been strengthened have had a lot of damage.
“Concrete buildings fared better, but that was more to do with the size of the quake. We know that this will not be the case when a bigger quake strikes.”
Professor Buchanan said that research work carried out at the University in earthquake-proofing buildings was a key factor in restricting damage in the city to a predicted $4 billion.
“Money spent on research has saved hundreds of millions of dollars, but we need to continue this investment if we are going to future-proof buildings against potentially bigger earthquakes.
“We are fortunate in that the university has close working relationships with industry and with research organisations such as GNS Science, BRANZ, the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology as well as the Earthquake Commission.”
Professor Buchanan said that the key focus at present was researching how to economically protect buildings from the biggest of quakes.
“If this earthquake was bigger there would have been some concrete buildings that would have had to be demolished. What we are trying to do is come up with ways to design and protect buildings so that in the biggest of earthquakes they do not have to be demolished.
“The first question that needs to be asked is: ‘Are the specifications we have at present good enough?’ And the answer is no. The second question is: ‘What do we need to do?’ That’s simple. Continue to invest in research to make the protection of buildings more affordable.”
Engineer signs off after 42 years at UC
After 42 years at UC, Professor Athol Carr has retired — but he hasn’t yet left the building.
There’s still a course to finish teaching this year, possibly another next year, a course in Italy to teach and Iceland to visit. He is also still helping supervise seven PhD students.
“I like to keep busy. I’d rather be busy than bored,” he said.
His research interests include structural mechanics and dynamics, finite element analysis, computer-aided engineering, bridge vibration, earthquake engineering and engineering software. He is the co-author of two books, more than 300 academic papers and has supervised 46 masters students and 29 PhD students.
Professor Carr started at Canterbury when the University was on the town site in 1960 and moved in his second year to the new Ilam campus, finishing his degree in 1963. After a short stint working with a consulting engineer in Christchurch he went to the University of California, Berkeley, where he did his masters and PhD degrees. Before returning to New Zealand he looked for work and approached Harry Hopkins, the then head of department, to see what was happening at UC.
“He told me that there was a job opening coming up. I sent in my CV and a copy of my thesis for the positions which closed on the 30 June and, surprisingly, on 13 July I got a cable to say that I could start as a lecturer on 1 February for $4000 a year.”
When Professor Carr took up his job at the University in January 1968, the Ilam campus was still in the early stages of being built. That same year the University got the new IBM360 computer.
“I had heard rumours from the US about the 360, in particular about the poor precision and poor accuracy, which turned out to be true.”
The IBM360 was one of the first mainframe computer systems. It used microcode to implement the instruction set, featured 8-bit byte addressing and binary, decimal and floating-point calculation with 128 kilobyte of main storage. For the next computer purchase, Professor Carr was instrumental in ensuring that no further IBM 360 series computers were bought and the University instead acquired a Burroughs 67600 computer. At the time Professor Carr and postgraduate students were responsible for 10 per cent of all the
University’s computing.
His interest in simulating shell structures led to work for the Marine Department analysing ferro-cement fishing trawlers. He was also interested in earthquake responses of buildings and bridges.
“The 80s was easier with the introduction of personal computers. They were slow, but they were a big change and with that my teaching of mathematics increased,” he said.
In 1981 he was asked by the Dean of Engineering to investigate the possibility of a computer-aided design facility (EngCad) for the School of Engineering. The first computers were obtained in the mid-1980s and later the first ethernet cabling on campus was used to link the EngCad laboratory and the four engineering department’s computers.
As computer capabilities developed so did Professor Carr’s research in modelling, numerical analysis and methods for seismic behaviour of different structures including a wide range of materials and systems including concrete, steel, unreinforced masonry, energy dissipation devices and base isolation.
In 1986, a 20-year collaboration began with the Wool Research Organisation of New Zealand (WRONZ) at Lincoln into the modelling of wool yarns.
“Initially this was real ‘blue skies’ research, we had no real idea that this might be really useful. However, after two PhDs and one masters student we could model the yarn in tension, bending, twist and compression. At that stage the rest of the world was coming to see what WRONZ was able to do.”
Although Professor Carr retired last month, his year ahead is still very full of academic commitments. In his spare time he intends to spend a bit more time restoring old tractors. He will also work on further developing his computer software products that are currently used in 110 universities and building research institutes, as well as a few consulting practices around the world.
New Zealand Order of Merit to Richard Fenwick
Adjunct Associate Professor Richard Fenwick was awarded the ONZM yesterday for Services to Engineering.
Richard completed his PhD research, which was supervised by Professor Tom Paulay, in 1966. He worked for the Christchurch City Council for a year and a half before leaving to work for consulting engineering firms in the UK and Auckland.
In 1975 he joined the staff at the University of Auckland, retired in 2002 and returned to Christchurch, where the Department of Civil and Natural Resource Engineering offered him office space, library and computing facilities, and later made him an Adjunct Associate Professor.
Since 2002 Richard has been involved in writing NZ Structural Design Standards, working on design precast concrete floors and working with staff and post graduate students on a number of research projects.
Management Camp, Wainui
Engineers must be able to manage the technology that they work with.
Student engineers must learn how to manage - to lead, to work as teams, to communicate, to work professionally and effectively to solve engineering problems.
For many 2nd pro students the management camp that they attend at Wainui is a baptism of fire (well, water) into these aspects of engineering.
The project that they undertake, in teams of 10, is to design, document and have constructed a raft that is sea worthy and will carry a pay load of sand. Having done that they have to test the effectiveness of their work by using the raft they designed on Akaroa harbour to carry sand in competition with other teams.
The work involves not only the design but the drawing up of contract documents, the 'letting' of the contract, supervision of the contractor who wins their contract (another team), testing and safety checks as well as the sea trials. Each team both designs a raft and also works as contractor to build another team's raft.
Most students enjoy the experience, all get wet but most important all begin to develop the essential attribute of an engineer - management skill.
Students win Awards at IPENZ Transportation and NZSEE Conferences
ME Student Anthony Stubbs, and MET Student Bridgett Burdett recently won awards at the IPENZ Transportation Conference. Anthony won the Best Young Author Award for his poster paper with Mofreh Saleh titled "An Investigation of the Validation of the Shell Fatigue Transfer Function and Bridgett won the Best Presentation award for her Technical Note about a Transportation Group Study Tour as well as being highly commended in the Best Paper category for her poster paper with Alan Nicholson on "Speed Management on Rural Roads".
Our students also did well at the NZSEE Conference held on the weekend of 26-28 March. These include:
- Euving Au – Best student poster
- Masoud Moghaddashi – NZSEE research scholarship
- Ben Leslie – Best student presentation
- Michael Newcombe – Best research paper
Congratulations everyone!
Fire Engineers go live on Science Hub
15 February
Charley Fleischmann and Mike Spearpoint's contribution to fire engineering recently took another step forward when they went live on Science Learning Hub. Science Learning Hub is a national project designed to support the effective teaching of science in New Zealand schools. It is funded by government through the Ministry of Research, Science & Technology.
UC researchers develop smart way to manage water
29 January
Groundwater is in decline worldwide but a new method to allocate groundwater among commercial users, developed by researchers at Canterbury University, could solve this part of the world’s water crisis.
In a paper titled “A Deterministic Smart Market Model for Groundwater", published in the journal Operations Research, members of the University’s Water Markets Research Group – Dr John Raffensperger (Management), Associate Professor Mark Milke (Civil and Natural Resources Engineering) and Adjunct Professor E. Grant Read (Management) – outline the “smart market” method for groundwater management.
The “smart market” consists of a daily or weekly auction in which commercial users could trade water, cleared by a computer model. The computer model balances water in the catchment over time, ensuring rivers have flows and aquifers have sustainable levels.
Rather than having to find a buyer or seller and then get government approval, users buy and sell through a common “pool.” A catchment manager pays users who are willing to sell, and gives more water to those who would pay for it.
Dr Raffensperger said the work is “a triple win all around. Users benefit from better allocation, the environment benefits from better flows, and government benefits from a simpler allocation system. We can’t make it rain, but we can allocate the available water more effectively.”