Recognizing Students' Outstanding Performance in Timber Design

The term has just ended at DLSU. To inspire my students who will soon graduate and become civil engineers, I presented recognition awards which I named Timber Awards in my class in Timber Design. The awardees were:

• Jonathan Salumbides (Molave Structural Engineer Award) for outstanding analytical skills in Timber Design Exams and Quizzes
• Jet Tugado and El Rey Morales (Yakal Structural Design Award) for outstanding design projects in the Timber Design Laboratory
• Ammer Ali, Nieman Mayo and Aizel Llanes (Narra Group Research Award) for outstanding field and library research projects and teamwork

I presented a simple memento - a ceramic coaster - which they can display or use while they drink coffee while working as a civil engineer. Congratulations and hoping for a bright future.

Are our schools and hospitals SAFE?

*SAFETY FIRST: Are our schools and hospitals safe? What can be done to make schools and hospitals safer?

Safety is a human concern – this concern must be taken more decisively by school and hospital communities given that they are in the business of caring for the young and in preserving lives. It is a concern that must be taken seriously and strive continually to achieve at all times especially during emergencies. A school or hospital and the highly vulnerable occupants – the children and the sick - are best protected by ensuring that the physical environment – the buildings, surroundings and facilities are safe, and secured by implementing regular maintenance of physical facilities and by preparing a systematic and well-documented safety and disaster preparedness plan.

Safety Check: Are the basic conditions and necessities in place in your school or hospital to provide for the health, security and safety of the occupants? Take a walk around your school campus or health facility and observe the items listed in the checklist. After this brief safety check, ask yourself the following questions: Is my school or hospital safe? What policies and actions should be done to improve the safety conditions in my school or hospital?

A Sample Checklist on Basic Safety Requirements

• Is water suitable for food preparation and drinking available?
• Is water suitable for personal hygiene and cleaning available?
• Is adequate lighting in all areas of the building and surroundings provided?
• Is a manual fire alarm system in place?
• Are fire extinguishers found in corridors, exit routes and high risk rooms?
• Are floors clean, non-slippery, without splinters and holes?
• Is there access for the disabled?
• Are corridors are wide and spacious, free from obstructions especially during an emergency?
• Are roofing materials completely and securely fastened and leak proof?
• Can room doors be opened from the inside for emergency exit purposes?
• Are stairways safe with adequate secured railings?
• Are electrical wires and cables properly fastened and secured?
• Are doors securely attached to jambs?
• Are entrance and exit points secured?
• Are proper exit markings provided to assist people that are not familiar where exits/ emergency exits are located?
• Are combustible and hazardous chemicals and gases safely and appropriately located?
• Are functional electrical and emergency lights with battery back-up in all critical areas available especially in hospitals?
• Are regular emergency drills (e.g. fire, earthquake drills) conducted?
• Are emergency evacuation maps posted in critical areas?
• Are periodic inspection, repair and maintenance of facilities and surroundings done?

If your answer to any of the questions is NO, then you must be concerned with the safety of your school or hospital. Providing the basic safety features in schools and hospitals is actually not enough to protect people and property especially in a hazard-prone environment. Hazards such as earthquakes, floods, fires, typhoons, landslides, etc. pose greater risks to schools or hospitals if interventions are not done to limit and/or mitigate the vulnerability to these hazards.

You can make schools and hospitals safer esepcially before a disaster strikes by acting now. The first step is visit the website of the One Million Safe Schools and Hospitals Campaign at http://www.safe-schools-hospitals.net/ and make a pledge.. You can pledge in any of the following roles:

• As an advocate for safe schools and hospitals
• As a leader for emergency and disaster preparedness
• As a champion for disaster risk reduction

Make a pledge, Save a Life!

The life that you may save maybe your loved ones or yours.

* Reference: 1 Million Safe Schools and Hospitals ADVOCACY Guide by UNISDR 2010

Popsicle Stick Bridges by DLSU students

Thirteen entries from DLSU competed in the Popsicle Stick Bridge Building Contest hosted by The Civil Engineering Society (CES). Unfortunately, no entry made it in the winning bridges. The DLSU bridges were also good and well-made. Bridge no. 18 actually garnered the largest load of 111 kg with a displacement of about 25.5 mm, but it was too heavy at 1138 g making a score of only 3.82. DLSU ranked 8th in the design category (Bridge No. 23) and ranked 10th in the strength category (Bridge No. 19).

Congratulations to all DLSU participants!

The winning popsicle stick bridges!

In the recent DLSU-CES Popsicle Stick Bridge Building Contest held last Feb. 13, 2010, 31 bridges were tested for the Strength Category. A Universal Testing Machine (UTM) was used to test the bridge. Two 14 mm rebars spaced at a specified distance, were placed on the bridge deck. Then a hollow “cage” was placed on the rebars, on which the load from the UTM was transferred. A displacement transducer was attached to the UTM to measure the bridge displacement (D) in mm. The load P (kg) when the load dial of the UTM stops was noted indicating bridge strength. The Strength Rating is computed as (1000x P)/(D x W), where P in kg, D in mm and W = actual weight of the bridge in kg. The strength rating S is the bridge stiffness (kg/m) per unit weight (kg).

Bridge entry no. 13 from the Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP) of Manila has the highest score. The bridge has only a weight of about 390.4 g. With P = 43 kg and d = 11.8 mm, its score S = 9.33. Observe the connections at the joints - knowing that failure will occur at the connections, the connections were glued together properly with additional cover.

The 2nd place bridge was from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) which had a score S=9.15 with P=36 kg, D=8.87 mm and W=443.7 g. The 3rd place goes to another entry from TIP-Manila with S=9.01, P=45kg, D=10.78 and W=463.11 g.

Congratulations to the winners and all participants. You were all winners!

Best Bridge Designs at the 2010 Contest

The De La Salle University Civil Engineering Society (CES) hosted the Popsicle Stick Bridge Building Contest 2010. The bridge entries were judged last Feb. 13, 2010. There were 31 entries from various schools: DLSU, TIP-Manila, PLM, FEATI, DHVTSU, Mapua and FEU-EAC. In the Design Category, the bridges were judged based on the following criteria:

• Creativity and Innovativeness in the design and form: 30%


• Application of bridge design principles: 30%


• Practicality and implementability: 20%


• Neat and well-polished bridge: 20%

There is only one winner in the design category which was the entry from the Technological Institute of the Philippines - Manila. The other entries which ranked 2nd and third came from PLM and TIP-Manila, respectively.

Are you ready for the Struct-Whiz Challenge?

Who will be this year's ASEP Struct-Whiz Champion? Will there be a Struct Wizard among the participants of the 4th ASEP Struct-Whiz Challenge? The champions of the past 3 competitions came from UPLB, DLSU-Manila and TIP-QC. Whose school will reign supreme in the 2010 edition?

The Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines (ASEP) is inviting undergraduate civil engineering students to join the 4th Struct-Whiz Challenge to be held on Feb. 19, 2010 at the NIA Conference Hall, EDSA, QC.

The topics of the quiz contest are Engineering Mechanics, Strength of Materials, Theory of Structures, Structural Design (Concrete, Steel, Timber), Design Codes(NSCP2001), Soil Mechanics & Foundation Design and Miscellaneous topics (e.g. Wind and Earthquake Loads, Principles of Bridge Design). Round 1 is written exam open to all participants. The top 20 examinees will qualify to Round 2 and 3.

The prizes are: P12,000 (1st), P8,000 (2nd) and P5,000 (3rd). Any participant who meets the cut-off score in rounds 2 & 3 for Struct Wizards will receive a special prize.

For details: email arielpsantos@yahoo.com, andyoreta@yahoo.com, aseponline@gmail.com

Popsicle Truss Bridge Building Contest 2010

The Civil Engineering Society of De La Salle University-Manila is again inviting civil engineering students from Philippine CE schools to join the Bridge Building Contest. The challenge is to create a popsicle truss bridge which will span a given distance subject to the bridge specifications or limitations in weight, heigth, width and length. The rules can be viewed in the slide show embedded here. There are also tips on how to make your bridge win the strength competition. The deadline and testing of the bridges is on Feb . 13, 2010. You may read related blog posts here such as the testing of the bridges, truss analysis and winning bridges in the last competition. Happy Bridge Building. For more details, join the yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bridgebuilding10.

Experiments & Modeling of Steel Beam-To-Column Connections

"The study investigated five types of steel beam-to-column connections. The global rotational spring stiffness values of these connections were determined through laboratory testing and these values were used in the semi-rigid structural analysis where a rotational spring was introduced at the ends of the beams near the connection to the columns. A comparison between the semi-rigid elastic analysis the conventional rigid elastic analysis shows that moment-rotation and the load-deflection relationships as predicted using the elastic spring model are close to the experimental results. Therefore the study concluded that the rotational spring stiffness values obtained experimentally may be used to represent the degree of moment rigidity of the connections; thus improving the structural model." This is the abstract of the undergraduate research conducted by Angelo Lapuz, Christopher Camina and Danilo Baluyot, Jr. at DLSU-Manila.

Oreta & Lapuz (Rightmost) at the RSID2009 - Bangkok, Thailand

This research was presented by Engr. Angelo Lapuz in various conferences like the Regional Symposium on Infrastructure Development (RSID) held in Bangkok, Thailand last Jan 2009 and the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE) National Convention held in Baguio City last Nov 2009.

Scholarships for future Earthquake Engineers & Seismologists

When I was a visiting scientist at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, I remember my host Prof. Kazuhiko Kawashima telling me about ROSE School - The Centre for Post-Graduate Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology . It was my first time to hear about it. He was a visiting professor at ROSE School and he taught Seismic Design of Highway Bridges. I browsed the website and was impressed by the school's programs like the MEEES Programme which aims to provide higher-level education in the field of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology. I received an email from a colleague about Scholarships in Earthquake Engineering and Seismology. ROSE school seems to be the lead university in the scholarships. The Philippines is an earthquake country and needs specialists in this field. I hope our graduates - engineers and scientists - will grab this opportunity.

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR MASTERS IN EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND/OR ENGINEERING SEISMOLOGY

Applications for the Masters in Earthquake Engineering and/or Engineering Seismology (MEEES), approved and financially supported by the European Commission under the framework of the Erasmus Mundus II programme, have just opened, with a deadline of 31st of December 2009.

The Masters is organised by a consortium of European University/Research Institutions, led by the Centre for Post-Graduate Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology (ROSE School, www.roseschool.it) and featuring also the participation of the University of Patras (Greece), the University of Grenoble Joseph Fourier (France) and the Middle East Technical University of Ankara (Turkey).

The MEEES programme is an Erasmus Mundus Masters Course, that aims to provide higher-level education in the field of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology. Graduate students involved in this Erasmus Mundus Masters course have the possibility of following a 18-month MSc programmes on either Earthquake Engineering or Engineering Seismology. In addition, the proposed EM Masters course envisages also the possibility of students following a 18-month study programme that leads to the attainment of a Masters degree on Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology.

A relatively large number of scholarships, ranging from 15000 to 38000 Euro, are available to applicants from all nationalities.

Full details on the programme, as well as online application procedure, can be found on its website: http://www.meees.org/

Jerry and his Mission

Dr. Jerry Velasquez, my classmate at Nagoya University (Japan) in the Master's and Doctoral programs is now the senior regional coordinator of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), based in Bangkok, Thailand. One of his mission is to promote Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the Philippines and other developing countries to address the threats to life and property by climate change and natural disasters.

Here are quotes from his interview which appeared in the article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (28 Oct 2009) entitled: "UN on RP Disasters: Worst Yet to Come."

• The Philippines was even worse than military-ruled Burma (Myanmar) in coping with natural calamities
• Studies projected a massive destruction of Philippine rice crops in a little over a decade owing to climate change, and severe flooding in Metro Manila affecting 2.5 million people by the year 2080.
• The Philippines ranked 12th among 200 countries at risk from tropical, cyclones, floods, earthquakes and landslides.
• In coping capacity to disasters, the Philippines ranks seventh among the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), just behind Laos, Malaysia and Burma.
• The coping capacity refers to a country’s capacity for hazard evaluation, structural defenses, early warning, emergency response, insurance and disaster funds, and reconstruction and rehabilitation planning.
• The “deadly trio” that worsen natural disasters were “poor urban government, unstable rural livelihood, and ecosystem decline.” So it’s not God who is doing it. It’s man who is at fault.
• A single event cannot be attributed to climate change because the climate system is in constant state of flux and has always exhibited natural fluctuations and extreme conditions.
• With the signing into law of the Philippine Climate Change Act of 2009, hopes are high that the new law’s focus on strong government-wide coordination, high-level leadership, links to science, and local level action, will be necessary ingredients to ensure immediate, comprehensive and sustained action by the Philippines in the face of this climate crisis. It is one of the most comprehensive and the most integrated legislation so far in the region. We now wait with breathless anticipation.

Role of Civil Engineering in Poverty Alleviation

Poverty can be history if everybody helps in even a small way to alleviate it. There are many ways of eradicating or reducing poverty. Civil engineers, in particular, can contribute in building a better future of our society through the three of their majors tasks: Design, Construct and Maintain. KHRPN (Kahirapan) is a video by Joenel Galupino of De La Salle University, Manila - an entry to the PICE-LNM Chapter's Discover Ciivl Engineering @ You Tube Photo-Video Competition. Watch it and post your comments.

Green Buildings and Structural Engineering

The main theme of the 33rd IABSE Symposium at Bangkok (Sept. 9-11, 2009) is "Sustainable Infrastructure." The International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineers (IABSE) recognizes the important role of structural engineers in ensuring sustainability in their creations to ensure that energy and natural resources are still available for the future generations.

The keynote lecture on "Green Buildings and Structural Engineering" by Gene Corley (USA) highlights how structural engineers can contribute to sustainability by following the LEED Green Building Rating System - a framework for asssessing building performance and meeting sustainability goals. A rating of 40 points will earn a building a LEED Certification. Structural engineers, in particular, can earn LEED points in the category of Materials and Resources and the following subcategories:

(a) Building reuse - instead of demolition, the building structure or shell is reused.

(b) Construction waste management - diverting construction and demolition waste from ladfill into other uses

(c) Materials reuse - a portion of the materials of the project must be salvaged or recycled

(d) Recycled content - use of materials with "recyled content"

(e) Regional materials - use of local materials will reduce transport and energy cost

Structural engineers should design building which are adaptable to provide for ease of alteration or amendment in use. Buildings which consists of elements that can easily be deconstructed are preferrable for possible reuse. By proper planning and efficient design and knowledgeable of sustainability concepts, green buildings can be successfully built.

The author (center) with Filipino engineers infront of the IABSE booth.

Online MS/PhD Programs in Asia

The general consensus the world over is that online degrees are not as acceptable as their regular counterparts, but that perception is slowly changing as the face of academia itself undergoes a significant change. Today, even doctoral programs are being offered online and are accepted in all kinds of job settings as equal to those degrees that have been earned in traditional classrooms.

The situation in Asia is not that different from the rest of the world. People turn to online degrees for various reasons, the most significant of them being time. When it comes to a graduate program like MS or a doctoral degree like PhD, most of us prefer to earn them online because it allows us to continue with our work and study during our free time. The schedules are flexible enough to allow us to multitask with efficiency. We don’t need to take time off work and we get our regular salary as well. Besides, some employers are willing to sponsor their employees’ education, so this means you gain knowledge and are in a position to climb up the career ladder, all at no extra cost.

Various universities across Asia offer online MS and PhD programs, and some of the more prominent ones are The Open University of Hong Kong (China), University Sains Malaysia(Malaysia), University of the Philippines (Philippines), and the Indira Gandhi National Open University (India). While most of them do not require on-campus residency, some do mandate the same for a short period, either a few months or 15 to 20 days.

When you choose to study online, consider the discipline and the university rather than just the degree itself. For example, even a master’s degree from a prestigious university may hold more value than a doctoral degree from an unaccredited one. Or, a degree in a field that offers various job opportunities is infinitely more useful than one that is difficult or more interesting. Also, check the accreditation of the college you’re applying to and verify its credentials before you enroll. It’s best to talk to alumni of the college and discuss their experience before you decide that this is the university for you.

This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of engineering degrees online. Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson1@gmail.com

Genetic Algorithms in Optimum Concrete Design

Engr. Alden Balili, my graduate thesis advisee did a research on the application of genetic algorithms (GA) in the optimum design of reinforced concrete (RC) space frames considering seismic provisions of the code. The process of GA and its application to the optimization of space frames is in the figure below. Initially, the sizes of the beams and columns of the space frame are randomly selected which becomes the initial population. These sizes are then used by a separate Finite Element Analysis program to determine the member forces which are required in the design of the members including the amount of steel reinforcements. A database of the beam and column sections is used in the design process. The provisions of the National Structural Code of the Philippines (2001) are incorporated in the fitness evaluation of the solution or individual to satisfy the strength and serviceability requirements. The GA procedures of selection, cross-over, mutation and leader reproduction are then applied to generate a new population of solutions. He conducted GA simulations to determine the behavior of the optimization procedure using the different GA procedures like binary vs gray coding, leader reproduction and mutation. Based on his simulations, a new type of leader reproduction called modified leader reproduction was proposed. It was found out that this feature improved the effectiveness and efficiency of the concrete optimization algorithm to acquire the optimal values.

A paper on this study will be presented at the IABSE 2009 Conference at Bangkok, Thailand on Sept. 9-11, 2009.

A Neural Network Model for Shear of RC Beams

Experiments have shown that as the depth of the beam increases, the intensity of shear stress decreases especially in lightly reinforced beams. This phenomenon is referred to as “size effect”. Shear strength is not constant as given by some design codes like the ACI. To understand size effect, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed for RC beams without stirrups which fail under diagonal tension.

The ANN model consists of five input nodes representing (1) the compressive strength of concrete, f’c, (2) beam width, b, (3) effective beam depth, d, (4) shear span to depth ratio, a/d, and (5) longitudinal steel ratio. The output is the shear stress, Vu/bd. The graphical user interface of the Visual Basic program of the ANN model is shown.

The figure shows the simulation where the depth (d) was varied from 20 cm to 100 cm for two values of f’c and a/d and constant values for b at 15 cm and r at 2.75%. The size effect is obvious where the shear stress decreases with increasing depth. The experimental results by Kani shows a similar trend as the model. The shear stress also depends on the shear span to depth ratio – a shorter beam (a/d = 2.5) has a larger shear strength than a longer beam (a/d = 5.0).

How safe our our large RC beams with respect to shear failure? Structural engineers must take note of the decrease in shear strength of concrete for large beams so that they can provide adequate shear reinforcements or stirrups.

Reference: Oreta, A.W.C. (2004). "Simulating size effect on shear strength of RC beams without stirrups using neural networks." Eng'g Structures 26(2004) 681-691, Elsevier.