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Earthquake Monitoring - Shutdown Systems Monitoring Bridge Scour Geogrid Reinforced Embankments Stability Monitoring

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GuideTO to Monitoring WELCOME promoting excellence in monitoring

The Internet Age: The Monitoring Industry implications With the coming of the ‘internet age’ the Monitoring Industry is no longer a ‘closed shop’ to the privileged few. The Monitoring Industry is opening up to manufacturer/supplier global participation thus attracting those from the New World as well as the Old World.

Purchaser: Need for discernment The Monitoring Industry - a niche and complex market place - presents a real challenge for the right product/service to be correctly chosen for the right application.

Manufacturer/Supplier: Need to communicate and ‘educate’ To assist with this selection process the manufacturer/supplier has the responsibility to ‘educate’. A reputable company can no longer ‘rest on its laurels’ whilst a ‘newcomer’ is out there promoting its claims. With diverse communications resources at their disposal there is ample opportunity for individual products/services to be promoted.

MonoSys Guide to Monitoring: Role to facilitate In this increasingly competitive environment the MonoSys Guide to Monitoring role is to facilitate a trading market place amongst those who need monitoring solutions for applications and those who can provide by encouraging a forum for the on-going exchange of information and knowledge.

MonoSys Guide to Monitoring - the integrated information platform - OFFERS YOU FREE • 2-3 editorial pages on why you are the best! • corporate branding for specific products/services within a free quarter page advertisement • a ‘soft version’ duplicate of your magazine contribution for the next quarterly period via our www.aguide.net

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GUIDE TO MONITORING 3

CONTENTS CONTENTS

Quarter 2 2001

mono

SYS

NEWS & DEVELOPMENTS

GUIDE TO MONITORING

Supporting Engineers

Quarter 3 2000

Specifiers

Facility Managers

Contractors

Manufacturers

5

News € ICEnet News € Tunnel may strengthen the Øresund region between Denmark and Sweden

Earthquake Monitoring - Shutdown Systems

Monitoring Bridge Scour

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New Projects € Louisville-Southern Indiana Bridge € Woodrow Wilson Bridge

Geogrid Reinforced Embankments Stability Monitoring

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Forthcoming Events € July - August 2001

This cover shows Ertan Hydroelectric project in China completed in July 1999. Instrumentation system integration by Roctest. I

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Products News € Portable Data Acquisition System Model DL-24 € Olson Instruments - The Freedom NDT PC € Olson Instruments - The CTG-1 € Panametrics - EPOCH 4 € Diana 7.2

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IT Communications The Monosys Group Mellersh Farmhouse Compton Guildford Surrey GU3 1HZ United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1483 414340 Fax: +44 (0) 2079 003641 e-mail: [email protected]

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Call for Papers € World Engineering Congress ‘2002 Sarawak, Malaysia

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Special Offers € Rowan Technologies Ltd € Card Geotechnics Ltd € Scott-Wilson Ltd € Strain Monitor Systems Inc

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Corporate Headquarters Monosys (S) Pte Ltd 50B, Club Street Singapore 069427 Tel : (+65) 224 9950 Fax: (+65) 224 6130 e-mail: [email protected]

FEATURES

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Operations & Sales Monosys Sdn Bhd 54-1, Jalan Maarof Bangsar Baru 59100 KL, Malaysia Tel: (+603) 2283 3395 Fax: (+603) 2283 3009 e-mail: [email protected] Web page: http://www.aguide.net SYS

Editorial Director: Jon Sturgess [email protected] r

Production Manager: Samantha Kwan [email protected] r

News Editor: Cheong Suik Wai [email protected] r

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‘Monitoring Bridge Scour’ - Don Swanson, MSU TechLink

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‘Stability and Deformation Monitoring of Geogrid Reinforcement Embankments’ - Beto Ortigao, Tony Simmonds, Ennio M Palmeira & Andre R S Fahel

14-18 ‘The increasing Importance of Earthquake Monitoring, Recording &...’ - Owen Widdicombe, Earthquake Safety Systems Inc.

Operations Manager: Jaime Loh [email protected] r

Distribution Manager: Hor Pooi Ling [email protected] r

Marketing & Sales Manager: Adrian Ryder [email protected]

MonoSys GUIDE TO MONITORING is mailed quarterly FREE of charge to named decision-makers representing key persons in planning, building, construction and industrial engineering. This global circulation is based on databases that are drawn exclusively from ‘live lists’ and industry intelligence. i

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Chief Executive: Joe Christie [email protected]

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GUIDE TO MONITORING 4

Typeset by: IT Communications (The Monosys Group)

NEWS & DEVELOPMENTS News ICEnet News Building the Worlds’s Largest Flood Control Dam

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he catastrophic floods caused by the mighty 6300km Yangtse river in south China have destroyed lives and livelihoods over the centuries and caused untold economic loss. A detailed report of the Chinese government’s £15 billion attempt to tame it with a flood-control dam, now mid-way through construction at Three Gorges, appears in the latest issue (vol. 144 no. 1) of the ICE Civil Engineering journal. Conceived as far back as 1919, the start of the project was delayed by wars and revolutions until 1993 and is now scheduled for completion in 2009. The conventional but massive dam includes two power stations generating 18.2 GW together with an associated flight of five locks and a 120m high, 3000t vertical ship lift. The river is currently flowing in a diversion channel around the central spillway construction site and upstream residents are gradually being relocated to new homes above the finished reservoir level. For more information visit the web site at www.icenet.org.uk/icenews/story. asp?title=291&Button=NewsArchive

Tunnel may strengthen the Øresund region between Denmark and Sweden oliticians from Helsingør in Denmark and Helsingborg in Sweden want a new fixed link between the two cities to develop the Øresund

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region. With more than three million inhabitants in the Øresund region, local politicians believe that there is a potential for building a railway tunnel between Helsingør and Helsingborg. A strengthening of the ties between the two cities would increase the potential for development across the sound in the northern part of the region. The Sundsring - a term used to describe the geographical relation between Copenhagen, Helsingør, Helsingborg and Malmö - would also be completed. The fixed link would primarily improve conditions for public transport in the Sundsring and contribute to increased flexibility and capacity in the region’s traffic system. The link would also benefit international train services. For more information visit the web site at http://www.cowi.dk/news_cowi_ 020920019.htm

Danes to approve tunnel in Norway he Norwegian road directorate, Statens Vegvesen, has chosen COWI as consultants for the control and approval of a 0.7 km immersed tunnel under Bjørvika Bay near Oslo central station. The decision to construct this immersed tunnel has come at a time when the entire area near the Oslo harbour is getting a ‘facelift’ in the form of a new neighbourhood, including a new national opera house. The tunnel, which is designed to carry cars, will be joining point for all motorways around Bjørvika Bay, where the harbour for the international ferry transport to and from Oslo is located. The construction assignment involves various different aspects. The tunnel will be supported on piles and a barrier will be erected to protect against collisions. Furthermore, the tunnel will be designed to resist earthquakes. Here, COWI will draw on experience from the design of the

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Preveza tunnel in Greece. For more information visit the web site at http://www.cowi.dk/news_cowi_ 0209200110.htm

Project News

Louisville-Southern Indiana Bridge he Ohio River Bridges Project is a three-year effort to develop a comprehensive, detailed environmental assessment of various transportation options to connect Louisville and Southern Indiana. The project will examine alternatives such as the construction of one or more new bridges, the redesign of connecting interstate highways on both sides of the river and ‘nonhighway’ alternatives, such as mass transit, bike paths and telecommuting. For more information visit the web site at http://www.bridgepros.com/ projects/LouisvilleSouthern/Louisville. htm

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Woodrow Wilson Bridge

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he Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project covers a 5-mile area and is moving forward with design activities for the bridge and four adjacent interchanges. The bridge, the only federally owned span on the interstate system, will be doubling its lanes to twelve from six. The new bridge will be about 30 feet of the existing bridge and will consist of two 6,000 foot long mutliple-span bascule bridges. For more information visit the web site at http://www.bridgepros.com/ projects/Woodrow_Wilson_Bridge/ index.html

NEWS & DEVELOP DEVELOPEMENTS EMENTS NEWS &

Forthcoming Events

Eighth International Congress on Sound and Vibration Hong Kong. China 2 - 6 July 2001 he Eighth International Congress on Acoustics and Vibration sponsored by IIAV, the international Institute of Acoustics and Vibration, the Congress will be held at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Theoretical and experimental research papers in the following subject areas are solicited: A list of Tentative Titles ò Active vibration control ò Architectural acoustics ò Condition monitoring & diagnostics ò Low frequency noise and vibration For more information visit the web site

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Dynamic and Earthquake Engineering Applications in Geotechnical Engineering - USA 1 - 4 August 2001 he major objectives of this session is to foster and exchange ideas and recent developments on computational methods in soil dynamics and geotechnical earthquake engineering problems. The subject of the papers and presentations solicited for this session include for example: • Applications of cyclic and dynamic constitutive modeling for soil • Dynamic response analyses using two-phase and three-phrase modeling • Large deformation analyses for slope movement predictions • Dynamic and seismic soilfoundation-structure interaction For more information visit the web site at http://141.217.53.75/usnccm6/

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at http://www.mmm.polyu.edu.hk/ icsv/ContPapers.htm

1st International Conference on Innovation in Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) Loughborough University, UK 18 - 20 July 2001 he Centre for Innovative Construction Engineering at Loughborough University was set up in April 1999 to address emerging research issues in the construction industry and to develop innovative solutions to industry problems. In addition to the above, there is a considerable body of ongoing research work that is geared towards innovation in the design and construction processes. The scope of these projects encompasses the use of innovative materials, innovative design concepts, innovative construction methods, novel procurement methods, innovative deployment of IT tools, etc. For more information visit the web site at www.ica2001.it/Topics.html

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XVth ICSMGE Istanbul 2001 Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Center 27 -31 August 2001 he principal aim of the Conference is to foster constructive give-and-take discussion between geotechnical engineers and researchers. As the first conference of the new millenium, there will be some bench mark papers by recognized experts that present the state-ofthe-art on important aspects in the theory and practice of geotechnical engineering. Four workshops will be organized on the following topics: • Professional Practice • Education in Geotechnical Engineering • Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering • Scour of Foundations For more information visit the web site at http://www3.itu.edu.tr/~icsmge/ about%20conference.htm

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inter.noise 2001 The Hague, Holland

The 30th International Congress on Noise Control Engineering 27 -30 August 2001 technical exhibition will be held in conjunction with Internoise 2001. The exhibition will include acoustic materials, passive and active devices for noise control, software for acoustical instruments and analyses, noise measurement instruments such as sound level meters, sound intensity analysers, sound and vibration spectrum analysers and noise monitoring equipment. Topics of Special Interest • Costs and benefits of noise control • Active noise and vibration control • Tyre/road noise • Effects of noise on humans For more information visit the web site at http://www.internoise2001.tudelft. nl/introduction.html

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IABSE Conference Lahti, Finland 29 - 31 August 2001 he objective of the conference is to provide a forum for engineers and other professionals around the world to present good examples of wooden structures, e.g. houses, buildings, bridges and other types of structures and to exchange ideas related to innovative use of wood in structural engineering and architecture. The conference will cover all aspects related to wood and wooden structures including material, research, design, codes, joints, construction and rehabilitation. It will also present examples of innovative projects realised in recent years. For more information visit the web site at http://www.iabse.ethz.ch/con ferences/lahti/intro.html

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NEWS & DEVELOPMENTS Product News Portable Data Acquisition System Model DL-24

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eotech’s Portable Data Acquisition System, Model DL24, is a rugged battery-powered data acquisition system designed for ground motion recording applications where extremely low noise and high dynamic range recording are required. Based on the 24-bit D Series family of data acquisition cards, it is available as an economical logger or as a full system with digital signal processing, event detection, GPS synchronization and communication. For more information visit the web site at http://www.geoinstr.com/dl24.htm

Olson Instruments, Inc The Freedom NDT PC Family of Instruments

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he Freedom NDT PC family of instruments is the world’s most flexible portable, PC-based platform for testing coarse grained construction and manufacturing materials. Olson Instruments introduced its Freedom NDT PC in January 1998 to provide a battery powered, portable, nondestructive testing instrument pl at fo rm fo r u se in co nd it io n evaluation of civil structures and

infrastructure. The Freedom NDT PC was named in recognition of freedom from an electrical cord or generator and the freedom to do many different tests from a single instrument and hardware platform. In just two short years we have sold Freedom NDT PC’s in over 20 countries around the world. Our Pc’s are now in use in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North and South America. For more information visit the web site at http://www.olsoninstruments.com/

Olson Instruments, Inc The CTG-1: Our New Concrete Thickness Gauge he CTG-1 is the world’s first nondestructive concrete thickness gauge. In June of the Year 2000, we were proud to introduce our new Concrete Thickness Gauge, the CTG1, for quality assurance and trouble shooting thicknesses of concrete pavements, slabs, decks, walls, tunnels and other plate-like concrete construction. The CTG-1 is based on the nondestructive Impact Echo test, so the costs and damage associated with core drilling are minimized. In an hours time one might expect to cut say 5 cores, while with the CTG-1 testing rates of 100 and more locations per hour are typical. For more information visit the web site at http://www.olsoninstruments.com/

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Panametrics - EPOCH 4 Digital Ultrasonic Flaw Detector e’ve put the most-wanted flaw detector features, plus many new ones, into our new digital ultrasonic flaw detector - the fourth generation - EPOCH 4. Lighter, easier-to-use, with a faster display rate, this powerful flaw detector

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p r o v i d e s unsurpassed ultrasonic performance, re so lu ti on , an d documentation possibilities. Most important, the EP OC H 4 ca n be co mp le te ly customized to your application needs; you select only those software options that you need! For more information visit the web site at http://www.panametrics.com/div_ corp/pages/whatsnew/page22.shtml

DIANA 7.2 IANA is a multi-purpose finite element package with special emphasis on advanced linear and nonlinear structural engineering and flow applications. Some of the key features include: •Full 2D and 3D modeling capabilities •Vast choice of concrete models •Advanced algorithms for discrete and smeared cracking, crushing, creep, shrinkage and bond slip •Unique feature for easy modeling of embedded reinforcement in concrete •Non-linear static, dynamic, thermal and flow stress analysis •Full 2D and 3D geotechnic capabilities for many soil models •Simulation and analysis of construction sequence by unique ‘phased analysis’ •World-wide technical support through extensive network of highly qualified agents/distributors and training programmes DIANA is optimized for use with our pre and post processor FemGV (see illustration below).

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FEMGEN - Modeling - DIANA data file

DIANA - Calculation - Checking

FEMVIEW - View results

For more information visit the web site at http://www.diana.nl/products/ Diana72.htm

CALL FOR PAA PPERS ERS CALL FOR P

World Engineering Congress ‘2002 - Sarawak, Malaysia

• Engineering Education, Training & Policy

Theme and Objective:

• Manufacturing Engineering, Automation and Robotics

The World Engineering Congress was originally proposed after the Institution of Engineer’s Malaysia (IEM) study on the formation of engineers in Malaysia in 1999. The present Congress is the second Congress. The first Congress was held in 1999 and was attended by more than 500 participants from all over the world with more then 400 technical papers presented. The theme of this congress WEC2002 is ‘Engineering Innovation and Sustainability: Global Challenges and Issues’. WEC2002 is to provide a venue for deliberations on key issues on new and innovative areas of engineering for technological progress. Equally important is the issue of sustainability, which can be defined as a process of change in which the orientation of technology and the allocation of resources which is needed to meet the present needs and aspiration of mankind. WEC2002 is also meant to provide a forum for discussion on appropriate and innovative technology for development, in particular for the developing countries, meeting the need to help eradicate poverty, and bridging the technological gap between the developed and developing world. This congress shall therefore provide a good opportunity for a gathering and sharing of experiences amongst an international community of engineers and other professionals in related fields, academics, researchers, scientists as well as policy makers interested in addressing issues related to the theme of the congress. The congress is organised into eight (8) technical sessions and papers are invited under the followings disciplines: • Biological, Agricultural and Food Engineering • Chemical and Environmental Engineering • Civil and Structural Engineering • Information Communication Technology • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

• Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Invited Speakers: Renowned international experts will be invited to deliver keynote and special lectures related to the theme of the congress. They include among others Prof. J Allen (Manchester), Prof. J J O’Connor (Oxford), Prof. M Gregory (Cambridge), Prof. S Pallegrino (Cambridge), Prof. M H Rashid (Florida), Prof. A Karaali (Istanbul), Prof. C Christopoulos (Nottingham), Prof. J N Reddy (Texas A & M) and Prof. O Khatib (Stanford).

Invited Speakers Profile 1. Biological, Agricultural and Food Engineering Professor Artemis Karaali (Istanbul Technical University) Title of Paper: ‘Regulations for Genetically Modified Foods...’ Dr. Artemis Karaali began her professional career in 1970 with Turkish Ministry of Health, in Food Quality Control Laboratories in Ankara, where she was responsible for routine quality and safety controls on food survey samples collected from retail outlets. In 1973, she joined TUBITAK, Turkish Scientific and Industrial Research Council, Gebze. Her consulting career in the food industry began in 1988 with MEYNA Tarim Urunleri A.S., where she was the manager of the research and development department. In 1991 she transferred to Istanbul Technical University (ITU) as an Associate Professor, and later became both full Professor and the Head of the Department of Food Engineering in 1993. 2. Electrical and Electronics Engineering Professor M H Rashid (University of West Florida) Title of Paper: ‘Trends in Power Electronics’ Dr. M. H. Rashid is Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Director of the UF/UWF Joint Program in Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of West Florida, MonoSys

GUIDE TO MONITORING 8

Pensacola, USA. He is actively involved in teaching, researching, and lecturing in power electronics and has published more than 100 technical papers and 14 books. 3. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor J N Reddy (Texas A & M (University) Title of Paper: ‘On Computational Modelling...’ Dr. J.N. Reddy is a Distinguished Professor and inaugural holder of the Oscar S. Wyatt Endowed Chair in Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. He is the author of over 250 journal papers and 12 textbooks on theoretical formulations and finite-element analysis of problems in solid and structural mechanics (plates and shells), composite materials, computational fluid dynamics, numerical heat transfer, and applied mathematics.

Key dates •Dateline for submitting abstract (about 300 words) 30th June 2001 To obtain the ‘Form for Abstract Submission’ please contact Ms Jaime Loh quoting ref MGMCP2. •Notification of provisional acceptance

30th August 2001 •Dateline for submitting cameraready manuscript 29th December 2001 Exhibition: There will be a concurrent exhibition at the conference venue. For more detail please liased with Mr. Peter Chong at Tel:082-428506 Email: [email protected] \

For full details on promoting Conferences/Seminars/Workshops please contact Suik Wai on +603 2283 3395 or email: [email protected] Quoting ref: MGMCP2

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Stability and deformation Monitoring of geogrid reinforced embankments

The design and results of stability monitoring for embankments at the abutments of the BR-101 highway in south Brazil is presented in this abridged paper# by J A R Ortigao¹, A R Fahel², E M. Palmeira² and A J Simmonds³.

Introduction

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n July 1997 several embankments failures on soft ground took place during a highway construction in south Brazil. The project was the widening of the BR 101 motorway and has strategic importance, as it links three countries: Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. Geotechnical consultants were called in and a significant design change took place. Site investigation was enhanced by means of in situ piezocone and vane tests. The engineering solution: geosynthetics and construction control was by means of instrumentation.

Geosynthetic Applications

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t bridge abutments, where approach embankments on poor ground reached 3 to 5 m in height, stability was critical. The design consisted of the acceleration of settlements by means of geodrains and a temporary surcharge. The geodrains were installed on a square pattern spaced between 1.2 to 1.4 m. The smaller spacing applied to the region close to the bridges, where the required percentage consolidation was 95% of settlements occurring before paving the road. At 50 m away from the bridge, geodrains spacing increased to 1.4 or 1.5 m depending on the depth and consolidation properties of the clay layer. Fahel et al (2000) described in detail the behaviour of the bridge abutments

This paper presents the design and results of stability monitoring for embankments at the abutments of the in the BR-101 highway in south Brazil. Critical stability problems were due to a very soft clay foundation, several metres of depth and a high embankment. In order to cope with stability and settlements the design was carried out with several layers of geogrid reinforcement and prefabricated vertical drains (PVD) or geodrains. Settlement and stability control was monitored by vibrating wire piezometers, inclinometers and a settlement profiler. The results showed that the presence of the reinforcement layers reduced the soft soil lateral displacements and the damages to the existing structures. i and the reinforcement. This paper, on the other hand, focuses on stability analyses and control measures by means of instrumentation.

Site Characteristics & Failures

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arge and sometimes rather deep, soft soil deposits are very frequently found in Brazil, particularly along the coastline. In the state of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil, tropical organic soft soil deposits are commonly found MonoSys

GUIDE TO MONITORING 9

along the coastal line of the state. For the widening of the BR-101 highway in that region failures occurred on soft ground with embankment heights in the order of less than 3 m. At this early construction stage, the Highway Department called in geotechnical consultants to analyse the problems and to propose solutions. Site investigation was then enhanced with piezocone (CPTU) and vane shear tests (VST).

Settlement Studies & Geodrains

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ettlements studies led to the conclusion that values exceeding 0.5 m were expected in many cases. The engineering solution for settlements was to accelerate with geodrains and a temporary surcharge. The geodrains were designed in a square pattern with 1.3 to 1.6 m spacing, according to the site specific design. A temporary surcharge was designed with 30% of the embankment load and applied along a period of 3 to 6 months. This solution was adopted for soft soil thickness greater than 4 m, while, for soft soils less than this value, excavation and replacement by granular materials took place. ¹ Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ² University of Brasilia, Brazil ³ Geokon Inc., Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA

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Stability Studies

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tability analyses were carried out in order to check the factor of safety (FS) for unreinforced and geosynthetic reinforced embankments. The requirements were to ensure a minimum FS > 1.2. for the end-of-construction type failure where there was no risk to any nearby structure. Close to bridge abutments and other structures, the minimum required FS was 1.4. Berms were adopted to improve stability, wherever lateral space was available. Otherwise, the solution was geosynthetic reinforcement.

paper will be referred to hereafter as North and South abutments. Figure 1 shows a typical cross-section along the hig hwa y axi s of the rei nfo rce d abutment (South abutment), showing the reinforcement layout. Figure 2 presents a cross-section normal to the highway axis showing the new and the old embankments. Five layers of geogrid reinforcement were employed and the inclination of

3.8

Example of A Bridge Abutment

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s an example, the data from one embankment approach are presented. It refers to the abutments of a concrete bridge over a canal known as the DNOS Canal, with DNOS standing for National Department of Drainage Works. The foundation soil in the region consists of a soft organic soil layer with the presence of sand intrusions with thickness varying from a few centimetres to a couple of metres.

5.5

drains to minimise consolidation settlements and surface repairs after the construction of the pavement. In fact the surcharge was only applied to the South abutment, as will be discussed later in this work. The height of the surcharge was in most cases 30% of embankment height. The vertical drains used were sy nt he ti c ba nd -s ha pe d dr ai ns , 100mm wide by 5mm thick, comprising a plastic core geogrids, 0.4m spacing with a nonwoven 30 m long bridge geosynthetic cover. The drains were 1 fill installed in a square 1.5 pattern with a spacing of 1.35m. A 0.4m thick sand blanket was placed on top of 0.4 the foundation soil surface. The soil used as fill material for the embankments was a coarse sand with a soft clay vertical drains unit weight of 15.5 3 Figure 1 - Typical cross-section of the abutments kN/m and a friction angle of 33o, surcharge (South abutment) new embankment

geogrid layers berm 1.5 30 1 1.5

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18

1.1

old embankment 1.5

Characteristics of the Reinforced Abutments

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djacent to the newly constructed abutments are old abutments that were built about thirty years ago and reinforced, at that time, with the use of wood branches and trees mattresses at their bases. It was expected that duplication of the highway and the construction of additional adjacent traffic lanes would cause damage to the existing embankments and structure. To minimise possible damages to those structures geogrid layers were used to rei nforc e the a butme nts in conjunction with geodrains to accelerate the consolidation of the soft soil deposit. The two abutments described in this

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3.8

soft soil dimensions in meters

vertical band shaped drains, 1.35 m spacing in square pattern

Figure 2 - Old and new embankments the embankment slopes were 1:1.5. The unidirectional polyester geogrids had a ultimate tensile strength of 200 kN/m in the main direction and only 20 kN/m in the secondary direction. Also, since this was the first abutment to be built, it was decided to be more conservative and to check for observed ru values. A 1.1m high surcharge fill was planned for placement on top of the embankments of the new abutments to act in conjunction with the vertical MonoSys

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determined by direct shear test.

Instrumentation

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igure 3 shows the location of in st ru me nt s at th e br id ge abutments. The instrumentation consisted of four inclinometers, four vib rat ing wir e pie zom ete rs, six settlement plates and a vibrating wi re se tt le me nt pr of il er. Th e

REGULARS inclinometers consisted of conventional grooved casings and a servo-accelerometer based inclinometer probe with electronic read-out.

Settlement (mm)

Figure 5 - Settlement profiler 0 -100 -200 -300 -400 -500

north abutment 0

50

100 150 200 Time (days)

250

(a) Settlements of SP5 Settlement (mm)

Settlement (mm)

Settlement (mm)

DNOS channel

transducer mounted inside a torpedo which is connected by a liquid filled tube to a reservoir. The torpedo is pulled through a 50 mm diameter steel access tube which is placed in a trench existing lanes underneath the embankment. Florianópolis The profiler gives a measure of the Tijucas elevation of the SP4 access tube VWSP SP1 I3 SP5 relative to the P4 I1 SP6 SP2 reservoir, which is P1, P2, P3 South I4 located on stable abutment ground. With North SP3 I2 abutment temperature and berm berm barometric corrections, the P4 - Piezometer I2 - inclinometer overall accuracy SP3 - settlement plate VWSP - multi-point of this instrument settlement gauge is about 5 mm, Figure 3 - Plan view of the old and new embankments which is excellent Vibrating wire piezometers (Figure for this application. 4) were selected on account of their reliability, rapid response, long term stability and ruggedness (Buchanan et al, 1990, McRae and Simmonds, 1991). The fact that they could be read over Settlements long cables, without loss, or igure 6 (a and b) shows settlement degradation, of the signal was also an records with time for the important factor in the selection abutments. The first (a) shows the process.

-200 -100

x

0 100 200 300 400 500 0

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75 138 5

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15 20 25 Distance (m)

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(b) Settlements measured with the settlement profiler

Figure 6 - Settlement records

Observed Pore Pressures

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Figure 4 - Vibrating wire piezometers and read-out box Settlement plates consisted of a square plate, placed on the original ground surface, to which a riser pipe is attached which, in turn, permits optical levelling measurements to be taken. The settlement profiler (Figure 5) consists of a vibrating wire pressure

settlements measured by the settlement plate Sp5 and the second (b) shows the settlement profile along the embankment axis for the South abutment, as measured at different times by the settlement profiler. Settlement values as high as 0.5m can be observed in both cases. MonoSys

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ore pressure generation with time is presented in Figure 7. The embankment fill of the North abutment was placed first and very quickly and led to piezometers PE-1 to respond with a pore pressure value of 41 kPa, resulting in a ru value above upper bound of 0.5. Concerns with instability led to the removal of part of the surcharge load and to allow time for dissipation. The geodrains led to a quick dissipation and within a couple of weeks, the ru value dropped to 0.10.15 range, well below the estimated safe limit of 0.5. The construction of the South abutment occurred afterwards due to time needed to install more instruments in the foundation.

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Therefore, the designers took advantage of the previous experience with the other abutment and decided upon a slow rate of fill placement. As a result, pore pressures in piezometers PE-2 to PE-4 were much lower and in the order of 18kPa and ru value below 0.1.

North abutment. Inclinometer I3 was installed at mid length of the embankment slope of the North abutment, facing the canal, and inclinometer I4 was installed at the crest of the side slope. The pattern of horizontal displacement was similar in both cases, with the largest

horizontal displacements (of the order of 20 cm) along the direction normal to th e emba nk me nt ax is (I 4) than along the direction of the embankment axis (I3). This can be ex plained by the fact that the embankment axis direction coincided with the geogrid reinforcement direction, as commented before. Therefore, the reinforcement was capable of reducing the horizontal displacement along that direction, in contrast to what was observed in the transverse PE 1 direction.

5 4

H

3

(m)

2

South North

1 0 0

50

100

50

150

200

250

300

350

North

Elapsed time (days) PE-3 PE-4 PE-2 PE-1

40 30

u

South 20

(kPa)

Conclusions

PE 2 PE 3 PE 4

10

F

ailures of embankments on soft ground called the attention of the Brazilian Highway Department of the inadequacy of the design. This led to a site investigation programme through CPTU and VST, back-analyses of failures, settlement and stability predictions, which turned out in major re-design of all embankments on soft ground. This paper described stability and deformation monitoring of bridge abutments on soft ground, close to an existing bridge which stability was main concern.

0 0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

0.6

Upper bound

0.5

ru

PE-2 PE-3 PE-4 PE-1

0.4 0.3

Lower bound

0.2 0.1 0.0 0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Elapsed time (days)

Figure 7 - Observed porepressures and ru values

Horizontal Displacements

F

igure 8 shows the horizontal displacements measured by inclinometers I3 and I4, in the -2

displacements occurring at the surface of the soft soil. The results also show that the fast construction of the embankment caused much larger

fill

0 2.38

0 4 6

soft clay

1.5

12

5

soft clay

2.80 2.20 3.26

I3

8 10

2.20

1.8

z (m)

z (m)

2

3.26 fill

10

sand 0 1 2 Horizontal displacement (cm)

3

sand

I4

embankment height (m)

25 5 10 15 20 Horizontal displacement (cm) Inclinometer 13 Inclinometer 14 Figure 8 - Horizontal displacements in the soft ground (north abutment) MonoSys

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GUIDE TO MONITORING

REGULARS Preliminary design was carried out with stability charts based on total and effective stress analyses and the amount of geogrid reinforcement and need of geodrains to accelerate consolidation. These charts also led to upper and lower bound for pore pressure and rate of fill placement control through pore pressure parameter ru. Another independent stability control measure was the inclinometers. They have shown that the amount of horizontal displacements along the main reinforced geogrid direction was about three times less than the other unreinforced direction, despite the existing of lateral stabilising berm. Settlement measurements indicated the time to remove the temporary surcharge load. The use of the settlement profiler, which does not interfere with the construction, proved to be very practical. This was the first of five bridge abutments along this motorway to be instrumented and controlled in the same manner. Lessons from this one were so important that the design of the remaining structures was improved in the following ways: •reducing the amount of reinforcement in the main direction and allowing for dissipation with geodrains •increasing the amount of reinforcement in the transverse direction to increase stability •replacement of the settlement plates by the settlement profiler •using ru parameter and inclinometer data for stability control

References

B

uchanan W T, Wolosick J R, Simmonds A J & Morrison R K (1990) Monitoring of Surchargeinduced Settlement at the MARTA Chamblee Station, TRB Record No. 1277 Soils, Geology and Foundations.

Authors Note

Modern Geotechnical Methods: Instrumentation and Vibratory Hammers 1990 Fahel A, Palmeira,E M and Ortigao J A R (2000) Behaviour of Geogrid Reinforced Abutments on Soft Soil in the BR 101-SC Highway, Brazil, GeoDenver 2000, Denver, CO. Fahel, A.R.S. (1998) Instabilities and construction problems in geosynthetic reinforced structures on soft soils, MSc Thesis, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil (in Portuguese) McRae J B M & Simmonds A J (1991) Long term stability of vibrating wire instruments: One manufacturer’s rd perspective, Proc. 3 International Symposium on Field Measurements in Geomechanics, Oslo, 9-11 September 1991. Ortigao J A R, Alves L S, Brandi V R & Far J (1995) Rstabl: a program for stability analysis of reinforced soil slopes, Proc. Symp. on Geosynthetics, Geossintéticos 95, São Paulo, pp 363371

B

eto Ortigao is a geotechnical engineer and researcher interested in soil reinforcement, in situ testing, slopes, tunneling and instrumentation. His experience covers Building Research Establishment, England on a post-doctoral research programme on offshore foundations, Visiting Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada and Visiting Fellow at the City University of Hong Kong. He is a member of the SARC Structural Analysis Research Centre of the City University of Hong Kong. He has more than 70 publications including a book on Soil Mechanics in the Light of Critical State Theories by Balkema, Rotterdam. Beto is also consulting and lecturing worldwide. Email: [email protected]

Ortigao J A R (1995) Soil mechanics in the light of critical state theories, A A Balkema, Rotterdam, 299 p. Palmeira, E.M. and Fahel, A.R.S. (1999). “Lessons learned from failures of wall facings in two geotextile reinforced bridge abutments.” Book on Lessons Learned from Failures, Editor: J.P. Giroud (in press) Palmeira, E.M., Pereira, J.H.F. and Silva, A.R.L. (1998). “Back-analyses of geosynthetic reinforced embankments on soft soils.” Geotextiles and Geomembranes, 16(5), 273-292.

Tony Simmonds is Geokon’s International Projects Manager and has worked with the company for over 17 years. Ennio M. Palmeira, PhD is an Associate Professor, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil. Email: [email protected] Andre R.S. Fahel, Msc. University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil. Email: [email protected]

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GUIDE TO MONITORING

REGULARS REGULARS

The increasing importance of earthquake monitoring, Recording and emergency shutdown systems in industrial environments

Introduction

B

y definition, non-structural damage relates to a facility’s communications, mechanical systems, utilities lifelines, machinery, process lines, hazardous materials etc. Considerable post - earthquake damage may be caused by flooding, fire, explosion, hazardous material release, gas leaks and other nonstructural failures. Very often, nonstructural failures can result in serious bodily injuries and death. In some industries, potentially irreversible environmental damage can occur at sites where toxic chemicals or gases are present. Examples include the petrochemical, semiconductor, water storage / treatment and chemical industries, where elements used in production or storage can be widely destructive. Significant losses can also arise as a consequence of lost revenue, diminished customer loyalty and lost competitive advantage as a result of downtime for site inspection and repairs. In some communities, legal liability may also exist in terms of workers’ and nearby residents’ compensation claims. Inspired by recent destructive earthquakes in a number of industrialized countries, many industries are seeking to reduce exposure to such loss by the installation of cost effective, off-the-shelf, monitoring and control equipment.

iiii“Over several decades, significant advances in earthquake engineering and research related to structural hazard mitigation have been made and recently, industry has applied associated technologies to mitigate nonstructural hazards, including the threat to human life, safety and financial loss” claims a leading expert, Owen Widdicombe, Earthquake Safety Systems Inc, (ESS) seismic control and monitoring systems. i

safety systems be: • Site-specific with both systems control and data recording capabilities • Industrial quality and autonomous • Completely automatic, providing real-time actuation upon exceedance of threshold criteria • Highly reliable and multi-tasking • Expandable and compatible with existing mechanical and signal systems

Earthquake dynamics are extremely complex and unpredictable, the resulting destruction can often appear quite random. However, the phenomenon has been studied extensively by the international scientific community for many decades and certain characteristics are well known.

Industrial Safety Systems

The nature of the earthquake threat demands that such critical industrial

Apollo 2100 - Seismic Switch MonoSys

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GUIDE TO MONITORING

REGULARS ‘P’ & ‘S’ Waves

E

arthquakes emit a variety of seismic energy waves, the two generally considered most important to man-made structures are the ‘P’ and ‘S’ waves. The ‘P’ wave (compressional, normally non-destructive), travels in a predominantly vertical motion and has a velocity approximately twice that of the horizontal ‘S’ (shear) wave, which normally has a larger displacement potential and is the motion most often associated with structural damage. While the precise speed of these waves from the earthquake focal area is dependent on geologic and other factors, their relative speed differential remains somewhat constant. Thus reliable detection of the ‘P’ wave arrival provides an important opportunity for an automatic and instantaneous warning of the impending arrival of the more damaging ‘S’ wave. This capability has resulted in extremely reliable off-the-shelf Earthquake Early Warning and Shutdown Systems, currently in common use for schools and industry in the United States. Reliable Seismic Measurement/ Non-Structural Hazard Mitigation

Due to the critical nature of these applications, the ability to accurately monitor and measure genuine seismic activity is the key to any credible mitigation effort. Careful selection of proven seismic sensor technologies is critical. In general, these sensors must operate linearly over a wide temperature range, be tri-axial in configuration (X, Y & Z axes), have field-adjustable actuation of setpoints, be immune to vibrations caused by industrial sources, and be able to withstand the demands of a rugged industrial environment. In addition, the sensor must be integrated into an industrial quality enclosure with appropriate signal processing logic, autonomous power supply, human voice recording capability (where required) and directly support an array of auxilliary

Case Studies Airports

E

arthquake Safety Systems Inc. (ESS ), was chosen to implement Phase 1 of an important new earthquake safety program at San Francisco International Airport. Comprising seismic data collection, critical systems shutdown capability, and a vocal earthquake alarm system, the instrument package means increased safety for building occupants. A range of critical seismic data will be recorded to improve understanding of the earthquake threat and further enhance current safety programs.

This Vocal Earthquake Alarm system triggers on the earliest arriving ‘P’ wave and delivers an urgent advisory message in any language, via existing Public Address system Phase 1 provides earthquake recording instrumentation (using the ESS Apollo QDR and Guardian series) in three buildings with data being displayed via standard P.C. Recorded time history data will enable engineers to perform response spectra, velocity and displacement analysis of strong motion events. Each instrument provides for local control of specific critical systems in the event that ‘safe’ levels of shaking are exceeded. Included is the patented ESS Guardian Vocal Earthquake Alarm system. When triggered, this unit can provide several seconds of advance warning of an impending earthquake via a digitized vocal message, which is customer recorded to suit specific local conditions and broadcast through existing P.A. system. It is MonoSys

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GUIDE TO MONITORING

also equipped with a control relay and a back-up power source to automatically shut down natural gas lines or other critical systems in a severe quake. ESS technologies were selected for proven, rugged 24 / 7 reliability in critical industrial applications throughout the United States and overseas.

Pipelines

K

inder Morgan Partners (a Houston, Texas, based energy company) installs earthquake protection for critical Los Angeles Gasoline Pipeline Pumping Stations. The Kinder Morgan Pipeline system pumps millions of gallons of vital gasoline from major refineries to a number of terminals throughout the greater Los Angeles basin on a 24 / 7 schedule. The concern of corporate executives for the safety of these super-critical lifelines in a destructive earthquake led them to ESS for a solution. Earthquake Safety Systems Inc. was selected to provide a number of Emergency Shutdown Systems for critical pumping stations. These stations are now seismically protected by the ESS Master Seismic Controller (MSC-T), which instantly signals the pumps to shut down when safe levels of earth shaking are exceeded. This technology has been field tested for over 30 years and is widely recognized as the most reliable available. The sensors respond only to specific earthquake frequencies (not industrial vibrations), and cannot ‘false signal’.

Water Reservoirs & Water Treatment Plants

T

he 33.5 million gallon Twin Oaks Reservoir (Vallecitos Water District in San Diego County, Ca.), is the largest poststr es se d co nc re te re se rv oi r in

FEATURES FEATURES

Southern California and serves one of the states fastest growing areas. ESS was selected to design and supply the seismic protection and controller unit for the valve actuator systems based on our wide experience in the design of custom finished high reliability products. This installation required sufficient stored back-up power to close the (4) x 36” valve and actuator assemblies in an emergency, for a total five cycles over a ten day period without 120 VAC power. ESS engineers re-configured the standard model MSC-W to accommodate an increased capacity battery charger and storage unit, plus individual local controls for each actuator.

The Master Seismic Controller (MSC-W) is an integrated control panel for one or more valves, comprising charger, 24 VDC batteries, local and remote monitoring / control capability

Typical direct mount electric actuator / valve assembly at water storage tank. Note flexible pipe assembly ESS has installed numerous similar Emergency Shutdown Systems for water districts throughout California, Washington, Missouri and Oregon. Most involve relatively small tanks and reservoirs (less than 10 MG), and a variety of different actuator manufacturers. ESS can interface easily with all

actuator brands, and remote monitor / control features are available. Additional feedback signals from level/ pressure / flow meters, etc. are easily accommodated.

Military

T

he United States Navy, San Diego, Ca. required a custom designed Earthquake Alarm and Emergency Shutdown System for their ship repair facility, C.I.F. Building. Of primary concern was the emergency control of Oxygen, Hydrogen and Propane tanks. ESS modified a model MSC-U to easily accommodate these multiple requirements, with sufficient onboard reserve D.C. power to maintain system integrity and to close valves, even when 120 VAC mains power is knocked out.

Semiconductor Industry

E

SS has serviced the semiconductor industry for a number of years, primarily in California, Oregon and Taiwan. In most of California, this industry is required to comply with the Toxic Gas Ordinance (TGO) standards for control of toxic materials. This standard is normally accepted in nonregulated areas also. Typical application requirement is for a simple dry contact output to interface with existing PLC or directly with one or more gas cabinets, as part of an existing gas monitoring system. The ESS model MSC-T was developed to comply with this requirement and dozens have been installed for clients such as: LAM Research, Taiwan Semiconductor, Fujitsu, LSI Logic, Stanford and Davis University, JPL Labs. N.A.S.A. Analog Devices, Hughes, Hewlett Packard, IMC Chemicals and many more.

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GUIDE TO MONITORING

Earthquake Early Warning Alarms

D

ue to the unique characteristics of earthquake dynamics, reliable detection of the first arriving ‘P’ wave (usually non-destructive), can provide sufficient time for individuals to move to a safer position prior to impact of the destructive ‘S’ wave. It is well known the ‘P’ wave travels almost twice the speed of the ‘S’ wave, so the farther from the epicenter the longer the lead time which can be several seconds. Enough time for example, to get children in California schools safely under desks before windows shatter and flying objects become deadly missiles, causing extensive injury or death. The ESS Guardian Apollo Alarm for schools can be pre-programmed with a digitized human voice recording which commands children to ‘DUCK, COVER, HOLD’ via the school P.A. system. This alarm is triggered on the ‘P’ wave and gives children the best possible chance of survival. A number of schools in So. California and British Columbia, Canada have these systems along with combination alarm / shutdown systems for industrial users.

Special Use Instruments

S

ome clients have unique requirements which can be accommodated in a most cost effective way by modification of existing ESS products. Examples are: Northrop Grumman Corporation (El Segundo, Ca.) has acres of finely calibrated machine tools for close tolerance aircraft parts manufacture. They required instrumentation to indicate in real time when seismic acceleration exceeds the calibration tolerance of the tools, thereby requiring immediate re-calibration in order to maintain high precision requirements. ESS engineers adapted the standard model SIRC-486 RT so

REGULARS Model SIRC-486-RT Screen Display

CAV scale in engineering units of ‘g’ secs 0-100 Damage Indicator Scale shows when structural safety thresholds have been exceeded Message changes in response to shaking. Tells occupants what to do Various activation thresholds are individually programmed for each application, including alarms and emergency shutdown functions

(Green)

(Yellow)

(Red)

MINOR

MODERATE

MAJOR

Earthquake

Earthquake

Earthquake

Warning lights indicate maximum threat level from shaking and can be repeated throughout the facility as required

CUMULATIVE ABS. VELOCITY CAV = 1.810

PEAK GROUND ACCELERATION (PGA)

SEISMIC INTENSITY

TRANSVERSE X= 0.320g

36

Acceleration values in engineering units of ‘g’ on three axes

LATERAL Y= 0.417g VERTICAL Z= 0.098g

* MODERATE EARTHQUAKE * STRUCTURAL DAMAGE POSSIBLE SELECTED SHUTDOWN AND INSPECTION REQUIRED

TIME OF EVENT 16:15:20 DURATION 032 sec..

LEVELS: EPRI 10 20 50 70 PGA X: .250 Y: .250 Z: .025

DATE: 08/22/96 TIME: 16:16:01

Exact time and duration of earthquake

Amplitude/Intensity ‘g’ Force Measurement Calendar & 24 Hour Clock

Typical Model SIRC-486 RT screen displayed in real-time (as earthquake happens). In addition to a variety of critical time and acceleration data, a simple GREEN, YELLOW and RED color bar conveys severity of impact to building occupants the screen display was rack mounted into the main control console, for optimal client interface. Following an engineering study of local conditions and historic earthquakes, an algorithm was developed resulting in a combined threshold criterion, displayed on-screen in real time, to indicate if machine tool re-calibration is necessary. This critical data is displayed in numeric format for both PGA and CAV parameters, requiring no further interpretation and can be acted upon immediately, keeping downtime to an absolute minimum. Television Channel K-CAL 9 (Los Angeles) wished to be able to broadcast local earthquake activity to their viewers in real time (as it happens). Working with the TV station, ESS developed the KCALSEISMODATA screen display, which is essentially a digitized version of functions such as remote system monitoring and control via a client specified telemetry path (dial-up, hard wire cable, fiber optic or wireless).

How to Measure Earthquake Impact at a Given Place?

a conventional drum recorder. With the aid of a dedicated camera, viewers can observe the actual earthquake recording - as it is happening. This graphic is not intended as an engineering record but is purely representative of the local activity. The screen also displays duration of the event in minutes and seconds.

Natural Gasline Shutdown

E

ss specializes in shutdown of large diameter feeder lines (typically 8” or larger). One or more valves may be controlled from a central controller the ESS model MSC-U. A variety of valves and DC actuators may be used with this unit. Clients include Vancouver Hotel, Boeing Aircraft, BHP Steel, US Gypsum, USAA Insurance, Roswell Park Hospital (N.Y.),Cal. Dept. of Health Services, etc. The commonly used Richter Scale (RM magnitude), is an expression of the amount of energy released at the focal point (epicenter) of the earthquake. It is not an engineering scale and is often confusing to lay persons when comparing the effects of an earthquake at various distances from MonoSys

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the epicenter. Because the effects an earthquake felt at specific distances from the epicenter vary widely, due to geology and soil conditions, the major consideration when contemplating potential damage is not the Richter Scale, but the degree of displacement experienced at the facility (or location) in question.

GUIDE TO MONITORING

This displacement, or ground movement, is referred to as amplitude or intensity and unlike the Richter Scale, is measured in real engineering units of ‘g’ force. Consequently the ESS seismic sensors are calibrated to measure intensity in ‘g’ levels. It is precisely because intensity values can vary dramatically from location to location that ‘sitespecific’ protection systems are necessary, they only shut down or interrupt production if the impact is sufficiently severe.

Project Applications

E

arthquake Safety Systems Inc, seismic control and monitoring systems have an extremely broad application in almost every industry, and hundreds of units have been installed in the US and overseas. ESS takes particular pride in configuring out basic product designs to each client’s specific requirements. Following is a brief overview to demonstrate the wide variety of ESS installed base.

Company Profile

W

ith an extensive background in industrial control systems, ESS’s founders introduced a range of off-the-shelf seismic protection and recording products to industrial and

FEATURES FEATURES

commercial markets, beginning in 1988. Prior to that period, very few commercial products for seismic loss mitigation were available in a fully engineered, ready to use format. Seismic risk increases dramatically with rapid development of man made structures around the globe. ESS’s growing range of earthquake safety technology and systems have numerous applications across many industries. Management anticipates that the application of ESS products will help transform the industry to one driven by loss prevention rather than equipment source alone. For more information on any of ESS installations, or for questions regarding your own application, please contact ESS at Email: [email protected]

About the Author

Taking the entrepreneurial path, Mr. Widdicombe owned and operated a series of businesses in Australia and California before co-founding Earthquake Safety System Inc. in 1988.

O

wen Widdi-combe is President and General Manager with Earthquake Safety Systems Inc. (ESS). Upon completion of his formal education at the University of Alberta, Canada, Mr. Widdicombe was employed by a major oil company as a drilling engineer, also as sales engineer for an industrial pump company and steel building fabricator in California.

S U B S C R I B E N OW MonoSys Guide to Monitoring is an essential read for planners, designers, contractors and engineers in civil and industrial. Email: [email protected] i

THE SECOND

22nd - 25th July 2002, Kuching, Sarawak, MALAYSIA

Engineering Innovation and Sustainability: Global Challenges and Issues Organized by

MCED Ministry of Finance, Public Utilities & Industrial Institution of Engineers Malaysia Development, Sarawak

MonoSys

18

Universiti Putra Malaysia

Federation of Engineering Malaysian Council of Institutions of Islamic Countries Engineering Deans

GUIDE TO MONITORING

FEATURES TechLink describes how they help companies in the Northwest Region of the U.S. to develop and commercialize technology highlighting as an example the development of a monitoring system for bridge scour, a high-water threat to the nation’s bridges.

T

Introduction

he TechLink Center at Montana State University helps companies throughout the Northwest region of the United States to establish productive technology development and commercialization partnerships with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and other federal government agencies.

Joint Technology Development

T

echLink’s primary focus is to match the technology-related needs and strengths of industries with those in NASA, DoD, and other federal laboratories. TechLink offers a range of services, free of charge, to client companies. These services include partnering with federal labs for joint technology development, providing access to specialized government research facilities, assisting with licensing technology from the federal government, and assisting with commercializing new technology.

Partnerships

T

echLink is steadily expanding its presence in the Northwest. In the past three years, the organization has established more than 45 partnerships - the majority for joint technology development projects with NASA or DoD laboratories. “Partnerships with the federal labs help companies in multiple ways,” said Will Swearingen, executive director of TechLink. “Some of the benefits of these partnerships include expedited research and development, open doors to government evaluation of new company technologies, access to world-class experts and facilities, added product visibility, and productive, long-term business relationships.”

Specialized Assistance

T

echLink provides specialized assistance in nine industry areas:

ad va nc ed m at er ia ls , ae ro sp ac e, agricultural technologies, biomedicine and biotechnology, electronics and telecommunications, photonics and sensors, forest and wood products, software and information technologies and environmental technologies. TechLink is strongly positioned to assist its clients in moving their technologies to market.

reflectometry). The purpose of the curre nt pro ject i s to de velop an algorithm for analyzing waveforms to automatically measure the scour depth. This algorithm would be used in an aut omate d TDR b ridge scour monitoring system. The project includes Paul Green, who will determine the readiness of the TDR system for field demonstration and potential license.

Monitoring Bridge Scour

Scour Monitoring System

S

ophisticated monitoring and hightech control systems are becoming increasingly important in many industry areas. The use of a new technology for detecting and monitoring bridge scour, for example, is important to the nation’s aging infrastructure. Such a new technology is being jointly evaluated and developed by the U.S. Army, Campbell Scientific of Logan, Utah, and Paul Green, a bridge specialist from Hardin, Mont., Under a cooperative research agreement brokered by TechLink. The MSU TechLink Center and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Office of Research and Technology Applications, brought the parties together with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center - Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) of Hanover, New Hampshire.

Collaboration Aim: Bridge Scour Evaluation

T

he aim of the collaboration is to jointly evaluate software for determining bridge scour, a high-water threat to the nation’s bridges. The Army developed the bridge scour detection technology and is seeking to commercialize it for monitoring of scour-critical bridges. Campbell Scientific of Logan, Utah , specializes in applications of TDR (time domain MonoSys

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GUIDE TO MONITORING

T

he scour monitoring system that CRREL developed uses a TDR unit with a series of probes. The probes are imbedded in the stream bottom to measure changes in the sediment level around the submerged portion of a bridge. The system is highly accurate and can be developed to provide real time data during a high water event from the safety of a remote location. Bridge scour results when sediments around bridge piers are washed away by water flow, particularly during high water events. The loss of sediments can weaken the bridge’s foundation and ultimately cause its failure. At least 17 deaths have been attributed to bridge failures since 1985, but it was the failures of the Schoharie Creek Bridge in New York and the U.S. 51 Bridge over the Hatchie River in Tennessee in the late 1980s that focused national attention on the bridge scour problem. Of the more than 482,000 bridges over waterways in the U.S., the Federal Highway Administration estimates that roughly 1 in 20 are scour critical. One in five bridges have foundations of unknown depth, making it difficult to determine their scour status. The device is one of several new technologies under development for the purpose of monitoring scour-critical bridges. Fo r more information about TechLink, visit the website at http://techlink.msu.montana.edu

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