Monday, September 18, 3:30 pm (Standard Time Zone:
GMT/UTC + 09:00 hour)
After a day of rest and recuperation geosynthetica
is ready to report back for you, in real time, the happenings of our
industry's major event. The 8ICG in Yokohama, Japan is underway.
Running from
September 18 to 22,
2006,
the
conference
started
with Training
Courses this morning and will end with the Terzhaghi Lecture, Geosynthetics
Engineering: Successes, Failures and the Lessons Learned, authored
by J. P. Giroud and the Rankine Lecture, Long Term Performance of
Containment Barrier Systems, authored by R. Kerry Rowe.
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Technical Training Courses included:
-
Geosynthetics Types and
Functions (E. Palmeira)
- Geosynthetics in Drainage and Filtration (J.P. Gourc)
- Geosynthetics in Hydraulic Applications (J. Zornberg)
- Geosynthetics in Reinforced Walls and Steep Slopes (R. Bathurst)
- Geosynthetics in Unpaved Roads (E.C. Shin)
- Geosynthetics in Embankments on Soft Soils (J. Otani)
- Geosynthetics in Waste Disposal (M. Bouazza)
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So far, the exhibitors are
commencing with the set-up of their
booths.
Several of geosynthetica.net's Underwriters are creating their spaces
for tomorrow's official Exhibition opening.
Tuesday, September 19, 6:00
am (Standard
Time Zone: GMT/UTC + 09:00 hour)
Last night saw a standing room only crowd listening
to J.P. Giroud give the Terzaghi Lecture and R. Kerry Rowe the Rankine
Lecture. For all the conference proceedings abstracts, please click the
following link: conference
proceedings abstracts.
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| Wim Voskamp, Daniele Cazzuffi, Barry Christopher,
John Cowland, Mike Sadlier, and future IGS President Fumio Tatsuoka |
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| J.P. Giroud presents the Terzaghi Lecture |
R. Kerry Rowe receives a plaque from Fumio Tatsuoka after giving
the Rankine Lecture |
Post-lecture, old friends caught up with each other
in the lobby, reminiscing about old projects and discussing new ones.
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| Giroud speaks with fellow French attendees |
Ian Peggs, Du Toit Viljoen, and Mike Sadlier |
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| Gerhardt Brau and R. Kerry Rowe |
Afterwards, IGS members crossed over to the Harbor
Lounge for the IGS Corporate Members
Reception.
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| IGS President Daniele Cazzuffi welcomes all |
A warm welcome was given by the out-going President,
Daniele Cazzuffi, with special thanks to a very high number of IGS Chapter
Presidents and Vice Presidents in attendance.
Tuesday, September 19, 2:45
pm (Standard
Time Zone: GMT/UTC + 09:00 hour)
Nobuo Kiyokawa, Conference Secretary, chaired the Opening
Session on Tuesday morning in the Main Hall.
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| Future IGS President and Conference Chairperson, Fumio Tatsuoka |
He introduced Conference
Chairperson and future President of the IGS, Fumio Tatsuoka, who welcomed
all the attendees (as of today, over 800 have registered). He continued
his address by listing a number of IGS conference firsts:
- The largest number of technical papers (350) was
accepted in the history of the ICG for the last nearly 30 years.
- The largest number
of papers will be orally presented so that as many as participants,
in particular, younger colleagues,
can have a chance to report results from his or her technical and
research activities and the participants can hear them.
- The largest number of
case history papers was accepted. In particular, as the first
time in the history of the IGC, nearly 100 very interesting and useful
case
history
papers were submitted from a number of IGS chapters.
- A special lecture
on the history of the IGS will be made, which is now very useful
and interesting for the IGS colleagues,
in particular young colleagues, to understand the spirit and the
uniqueness of the IGS.
- A practitioners and academics forum will
be held for the
first time in the history of the ICG.
Tatsuoka turned the mike over to Pedro Sêco e
Pinto, President of the ISSMGE (an 8ICG Supporting Organization),
who spoke of the role, history, and progress of the International Society
of Soil
Mechanics
and Geotechnical Engineers.
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| Pedro Sêco e Pinto, President of the ISSMGE |
Daniele Cazzuffi followed and took the traditional
step as the President of the IGS of declaring the conference officially
open. He graciously thanked all parties responsible for organizing
the event and the attendees for participating. Cazzuffi introduced J.P.
Giroud
to the podium to make a special presentation of the History of the
IGS, its foundations, and how the discipline was introduced to the
world.
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| First IGS President, J.P. Giroud |
At the conclusion of his speech, Giroud put forth
this challenge to
the
young members of the IGS:
"It is your challenge to open our discipline
to the world...to disseminate information."
Richard Bathurst closed the session by introducing
the IGS Pioneers: J.P. Giroud, J.P. Gourc, D.
Fayoux, P. Delmas, B. Myles, P.
Rankilor, P. Stevenson, C. Fuller, P.
Barker, B. Holtz, B. Christopher, G.
Heerten, C. Finazzi, D. Cazzuffi, M.
Fukuoka, T. Yamanouchi, J. Kassner
and C. Lawson.
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| IGS Pioneer Paul Barker of Agru accepts his plaque
of recognition from past Presidents Colin J.F.P. Jones and Richard
Bathurst |
IGS Pioneers fulfill the following
criteria:
- Attendance at the Paris Conference
(1977) and all subsequent
ICG conferences including Yokohama
- Attendance at the Las Vegas Conference
(1982), including the ad
hoc meeting that initiated the planning
and subsequent formation of
the IGS and attendance at the
next six conferences and planning
to be in Yokohama and/or
- Recognized activity and contribution
to the IGS and the industry
over the period of 1977 to the
present and planning
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| The first IGS President takes a moment with the current
and future IGS Presidents |
The Giroud Lecture “Geotextile Containment for
Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering” by Chris Lawson was introduced
by Hiroshi Miki.
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| Chris Lawson presents the Giroud Lecture |
The Exhibit Hall Grand Opening was next on the agenda.
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| Conference goers
gather in the lobby in anticipation of the doors opening to the Exhibition |
The Exhibition in full swing:
Tuesday, September 19, 10:30
pm (Standard Time Zone: GMT/UTC + 09:00
hour)
After the paper presentations were done for the day,
the poster session officially opened and the Ice Breaker reception started.
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| The poster session across from the Exhibit Hall |
Later, the masses dispersed for dinner and geosynthetica
was lucky enough to run into Peter Legg, President of the South African
IGS Chapter (GIGSA),
who kindly invited us to eat in Chinatown with several of his fellow
South Africans. A good time was had by all.
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| Yokohama's famous Chinatown |
Wednesday, September 20,
12:45 pm (Standard
Time Zone: GMT/UTC + 09:00 hour)
geosynthetica.net started the day bright and early
at breakfast with the gentlemen from Permathene.
We discussed the state of erosion and stormwater control and the needs
of geosynthetic designers and engineers
in Australia. Thanks for the great company guys!
Officially speaking,
day two of the conference started out with the Keynote Lecture, "Seismic
Stability of Reinforced Soil Walls" presented
by Junichi Koseki. Reviewed were the performance, analysis and design
of geosynthetic reinforced soil retaining walls (GRS RWs), the lessons
learned, replacement
of failed walls with GRS RWs, and new technologies, such as combined
soil-cement and geosynthetic reinforced layers and the use of geofoam
seismic buffers.
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| Keynote Lecturer Junichi Koseki, University of Tokyo,
Japan |
Next, Pete Sevenson, IGS Secretary, took the podium to introduce the
IGS Student Award winners.
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| Pete Stevenson introduces the IGS Student Award winners |
The award winners are:
- Eng Carlos V. dos Santos Benjamin (Brazil)
- Zhueng, Yanfeng (China)
- Bastien LeHello (France)
- Florian Bussert (Germany)
- Agatino Simone Lo Grasso (Italy)
- Susumu Nakajima (Japan)
- Sun-Bin Kim (Korea)
- Andrei Mihai Baicu (Romania)
- Tawatchi Tanchaisawat (Thailand)
- Gary Fowmes (UK)
- Karina Lange (NAGS) - unable to attend
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| The IGS Student Award winners |
Thursday, September 21,
6:50 am (Standard Time Zone: GMT/UTC
+ 09:00 hour)
geosynthetica sat in on the first afternoon session
in W-4 “Sealing and Drainage of Barriers” in the Main Hall.
A few of the speakers are shown below.
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| The paper, "Drainage performance of composite geotextiles
under confined loads" was presented by Han-Yong Jeon... |
...and Ian Peggs of I-CORP INTERNATIONAL presented his paper, "Portable
methods of locating leaks in liners and their integration" |
The second afternoon session held in the Small
Auditorium was T-4 “Reinforced Wall,” chaired by Dr. Ching-Chuan
Huang and Co-Chaired by geosynthetica's own Christopher Kelsey.
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| Huang and Kelsey Chairing the Reinforced Wall Session |
Richard Bathurst presented a very interesting paper
that generated lots of questions in the unfortunately limited time allotted.
His paper, titled, "Design and Performance of an 11-m High Block-Faced
Geogrid Wall," dealt with a wall that "was built with only 65% of the
reinforcement currently required by North American design codes."
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| Richard Bathurst plotting measured and predicted strains |
The
K-Stiffness Method was used and "was shown to give an acceptably accurate
prediction of measured reinforcement strains," and that the "performance
of the wall has been excellent." Richard went on to report that the K-Stiffness
Method requires refinement to "design for elevated connection loads."
| 8ICG Session Report
- Christopher Kelsey, Session Co-Chair, reporting:
Reinforced Walls
19 September 2006
15:30 – 17:00
Chair: Dr. Ching-Chuan Huang, Taiwan, Co-Chair: Mr. Christopher Kelsey,
geosynthetica.net, Secretary: Dr. Yoshida Teru, Japan
Despite missing a few
invited presenters, the 8ICG “Reinforced
Walls” session on the afternoon of 19 September treated
attendees to a wide-ranging, satisfying discussion. The presenters
took the
audience into the lab and into the field. Papers analyzed the
soils beneath and behind walls. The presenters discussed design,
installation,
general practice and future research needs. New walls were discussed.
Failures were discussed. One project even featured the need to
make new walls look historical, thus giving an old face to what
was behind the scenes a thoroughly modern design.
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| Pietro Rimaldi's challenge to "match" damaged historical
wall facing |
The five papers
delivered in the session and their presenters were:
- “Reinforced earth structures on soft alluvial deposits improved
with prefabricated vertical drains and stabilizing berms.” Presenter:
Mr. Somnath Biswas, Reinforced Earth India Pty Ltd., India. Co-author:
Atanu Adhikari, India. Mr. Adhikari attended the session as well.
- “Application of strain gauges to measure nonwoven geotextile deformation
in reinforced soil walls.” Presenter: Prof. Myoung-Soo
Won, Chonbuk National University, Korea. Co-author: Prof. You-Seong
Kim, Chonbuk National University, Korea. Prof. Kim attended the
conference.
- “Design and performance of an 11-m high block-faced geogrid wall.” Presenter:
Prof. Richard J. Bathurst, GeoEngineering Centre, Queen’s
Royal Military College, Canada. Co-author: Tony Allen, Washington
State Department of Transportation, USA.
- “Enhancing internal stability of reinforced soil slopes with anchors.” Presenter:
Dr. Shuqiang Gui, China University of Geosciences, China. Co-authors:
Prof. A. Aydin, University of Hong Kong; and W. Liu and Z.J.
Dai of Etsong Geogrids Ltd., China.
- “A complex segmental concrete block retaining wall structure for
the reconstruction of a historical bridge.” Presenter:
Mr. Pietro Rimoldi, World Tech Engineering Srl, Italy. Co-author:
Elena
Manni, Province of Modena Adminstration, Italy.
Prof. Huang opened
with a five-minute introduction that prepared the audience for
the key points in the session. Afterwards, he
allowed each presenter 10 minutes plus 3 minutes for Q&A
with the audience, though the audience was determined to run beyond
those 3 minutes per paper. The discussion was engaging. Still,
Prof. Huang kept the session on time. With the final paper, the
session was allowed to run to the end of time. And with the audience’s
permission, Prof. Huang issued his closing remarks at one minute
past the session’s posted conclusion, the co-chair read an
IGS announcement, and the session was closed.
An additional note:
the Small Auditorium space at Pacifico Yokohama was comfortable
for all, and the staff members who provided audio-visual
assistance were more than courteous. Also, Dr. Yoshida’s
service as secretary, both before and during the conference, was
greatly appreciated. It was, all in all, a well-received, successful
session. |
After the sessions, there was another drinks reception
where colleagues got together to discuss the day's events, and the evening's
dinner plans! Several members of the conference took advantage of the
harbour cruise and saw the Yokohama Bay from the water. Upon
disembarkng, they were greeted with a 5-piece band playing traditional
jazz.
Thursday, September 21, 3:00
pm (Standard Time Zone: GMT/UTC + 09:00
hour)
Michael Heibaum started day three of the conference
with the 2nd Keynote Lecture, "Hydraulic Applications of Geosynthetics," a
very well-rounded and complete profile. Upon
the lecture's end, Chairperson Toshinobu Akagi remarked that he had done
a paper "on this very subject nearly twelve
years ago" and he was very pleased to see how far the technology
had come. Also, he was envious of all the assistance that Heibaum had
had with
his impressive array of distinguished co-authors! Akagi said he wished
he'd had that kind of help back then! He then further congratulated Heibaum
with a gift of appreciation.
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| Michael Heibaum presents the 2nd Keynote Lecture |
Akagi presents Heibaum with a gift, in the background slide are
pictures of his co-authors |
geosynthetica then went to sit in on the morning
session R-12 “Durability
of Geosynthetics (Chemicals, Damages, Etc), Chaired by Colin J.F.P.
Jones, and Co-Chaired by Eun Chul Shin, replacing You Seong Kim. Some
presenters are pictured below:
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| Mahnaz Paloma Nikbakht presented, "National European
Specifications and the Energy Concept." She concluded by stating
that "energy is an important property to specify damage resistance,"
but
"a uniform
definition must be found." |
John Greenwood presented, "How to Predict Hundred Year Lifetimes
for Geosynthetics," which he referred to as a 2-day course condensed
into 8 minutes! |
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| Ian Peggs of I-CORP
INTERNATIONAL presents his second
paper of the conference, "Investigation of Stress Cracking in a
Reinforced Polypropylene Floating Cover" |
Wrapping up the session, Chairperson Colin Jones gave
his thanks to all the presenters for the wonderful job on what he said
was a very
difficult
and complex
subject, and that he was "fascinated by the quality of work going
on in this area."
Friday, September 22, 6:30
am (Standard Time Zone: GMT/UTC + 09:00
hour)
Shobha Bhatia's very informative presentation was of
note in the afternoon session, E-1 Erosion Control - Slopes. The paper,
The
Use
of
Index and
Bench-Scale Tests for the Characterization of RECPs, considers "the
light penetration and water absorption tests developed by TRI and
evaluates
their usefulness
in characterizing and comparing different RECPs." This preliminary
work, where more research is anticipated, generated much discussion
between Shobha and the session attendees. Shobha commented that many
of the questions asked were "excellent ones."
The Special Session, "Practitioners and Academics Forum"
followed the afternoon coffee break.
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From the left:
Practitioners - Pierpaolo Fantini, John
Cowland, Steve Corbet, Georg Heerten, and Barry Christopher
Academics - Abdelmalek Bouazza, Ennio Palmeira, Takeshi Katsumi,
Chunksik Yoo, Richard Bathurst (Session Chair), and Junichi Koseki. |
This Practitioners and Academics
forum was held for the first time in the history of the ICG. Taken
from the Message from the Chairman, Fumio Tatsuoka, in the 8ICG Final
Program:
"It is true that these two groups tend to go in different directions
losing
effective
interactions, despite that this is the key and essence for the development
of the IGS."
To an important member of the audience,
it seemed that these two groups did lose an opportunity for
effective interaction. He said, "I
am so frustrated. They were just stroking each other." Another audience
member, Mike Sadlier, said he was "rather disappointed. I thought
it was going to be a little more lively."
The overall audience consensus
seemed to be that the debate was too soft and there
was certainly not enough time to address enough audience questions
or to get to the meat of the matter. There was one
exception near the end of the session. Practitioner Barry
Christopher posed the direct question to the Academics, "How much
time
do you spend teaching
a student about geosynthetics? How many hours?" After each panelist
answered, Academic Malek Bouazza countered the question and asked how
much time is spent
on geosynthetics
education
when a new engineer comes to a firm? Barry handed the question over
to Steve Corbet who says he spends quite a bit of time with that person
- however, he admitted that he is an anomaly, because he is in the
fortunate
position to be able to spend that kind of time. That, and
he has a great love for
geosynthetics. It came back over to Session Chair, Richard Bathurst,
who said simply that if you are expecting an undergraduate degree course
for geosynthetics to be set up, "You are dreaming in Technicolor."
Friday, September 22, 4:00
pm (Standard Time Zone: GMT/UTC + 09:00
hour)
The last day of the conference started with the third
in the series of Keynote Lectures. Overheard on the way down the escalator
to the Main Hall was Richard Bathurst, saying that all of the lectures
"have been uniformly excellent." John Beech introduced "Geosynthetic
Barriers for Environmental Protection at Landfills," presented by Edward
Kavazanjian.
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| Keynote Lecturer Edward Kavazanjian |
Covered were Liner Systems and their developments
in the recent years (adoption in developing countries, cumulative
information on their effectiveness, diffusion control systems, and
electrical leak location systems). Cover Liners were also discussed (the
increased
confidence in GCLs, chemically modified GCLs, encapsulated GCLs, and
geomembrane ageing), as well Coastal Landfills.
The last of the Technical Sessions began and the Exhibition
enjoyed it's last few hours. Closing Ceremonies are continuing now and
the Banquet at the Osanbashi Hall of the International Passenger Terminal
will take place later tonight.
Monday, September 25, 1:45
pm (Standard Time Zone: GMT/UTC - 04:00
hour), back at geosynthetica's West Palm Beach office
After his touching speech during the IGS General Assembly,
Daniele Cazzuffi was recognized for his achievements as the President
of the
IGS for the
past
four years. President Elect Tatsuoka asked Pete Stevenson to present
Daniele with a commemorative signed banner and asked Daniele's wife,
Suzanna, along with their three children, to come to the stage to
accept a beautiful bracelet and necklace.
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| The Cazzuffi family accepts recognition from the IGS |
During his Secretary's Report, Pete Stevenson emphasized
how the electronic age has helped with the progression
of
the IGS. Significant
stress was placed on its role in the society
reaching
most
of Cazzuffi's
IGS
goals (making the organization more interactive; encouraging global expansion;
increasing the society's profile with other engineering disciplines,
etc.). Pete and Daniele stressed the need to utilize the Web site down
the line as a tool to keep society costs down, expand membership, and
all
in all provide greater economic parity for the members. The outgoing
treasurer, Wim Voskamp of Colbond,
noted on one of his slides that $45 US is not worth the same everywhere.
He proposed holding the membership dues where they are for
the next four years but
noted that other expenses might need to be better managed. The Web site
remains crucial to this.
And all of this circled back to points JP Giroud made in his speech on
the first morning. The "pioneers" of this industry - many of
whom were honored that morning - did what they'd intended to do: create
a society, develop opportunities for its members, and show how the discipline
had permeated all other significant civil engineering disciplines. The
newer practioners were now responsible for carrying the message farther,
replenishing the membership, and ensuring that the technology continues
to be transferred responsibly.
This problem of membership closed the General Assembly meeting as Peter
Rankilor, one of the GeoPioneers, stood up and said that he found it
worrisome that corporate membership and chapters were growing while individual
membership
had not. Again, the Web site was touted as a pathfinder, with the propsition
of creating a "members only" section to encourage membership.
Tatsuoka made his closing remarks and invited all to
the Banquet at the Osanbashi Hall on the 2nd floor of the Osanbashi Yokohama
International Passenger Terminal.
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| The bay view from the top of the Osanbashi Yokohama
International Passenger Terminal |
Inside the Hall the attendees were flanked by amazing food |
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| The evening began with the breaking of the ceremonial
Sake Drum |
The food, beer, sake and entertainment
(Taiko Drum performances by two separate groups, one complete with
a two-man lion) were all outstanding.
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| Taiko drummers... |
And a second group |
It was a happy close to the week-long
conference.
Conference Proceedings
Abstracts
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