Program Used: Slope stability analysis, UC-win/Road

To prevent disasters related to embankments, the Act on the Regulation of Housing Land Development and Specified Embankment has been established. However, there are many embankments across Japan that are subject to this risk, and it is important for practitioners other than managers and specialized engineers to easily understand the disaster risks at the site. This work newly presents, as useful knowledge of the Act for these people, a relationship that allows for a simple evaluation of the approximate shape of embankments for each material on site. In addition, specific operational methods using FORUM8's software products (Slope Stability Analysis Ver.14, UC-win/Road Ver.17.2) are demonstrated as a new proposal for improving efficiency through data integration to further leverage BIM/CIM.

Program Used: 3D bar arrangement CAD

This design involves the design of a reinforced concrete (RC) frame type foundation to support heavy-load machinery and equipment. The construction site is located in a confined area, and the internal space is further restricted by the equipment itself, making it difficult to increase the dimensions of RC columns and beams. As a result, dense reinforcement is anticipated within the structural members, and the need of installing embedded fixtures further complicates the placing of rebars. To address these challenges, a 3D reinforcement model is created to verify in advance the feasibility of rebar placement and arrangement at member intersections, which is difficult to assess using 2D drawings. The aim is to achieve an optimal structure within limited spatial conditions while ensuring safety, ease of construction, and durability.

Program Used: xpswmm

In recent years, the progression of global warming has led to an increased frequency and severity of extreme rainfall events, such as torrential rain and linear rainbands, causing unprecedented flood damage across Japan. At the same time, the aging of infrastructure developed during the period of rapid economic growth—such as rivers, drainage channels, and levees—has further exacerbated the situation. These overlapping factors have significantly heightened the risk of inland flooding due to the exceeded capacity of urban drainage systems. To address this risk of inland flooding, flood inundation simulations have proven effective in quantitatively assessing flooding conditions over time, including maximum flooded area and water depth. This study conducted a risk assessment of inland flooding in urban areas and developed countermeasures based on the simulation results.

Program Used: 3D slope stability analysis 3DCAD (LEM),
Slope stability analysis

Signs of a new landslide were found on a major road where landslide prevention measures had been taken with deterrent piles. It is decided to analyze the situation and design countermeasures, and after checking previous geological survey data and the on-site situation, it was inferred that a slip surface had formed along the shallow rock layer. However, concerns were raised that the shape and slope of the valley topography on the surface might differ from that of the rock line, due to the natural formation process of topography and alterations caused by past road construction. Therefore, the topography and rock line shape were grasped, and a 3D landslide analysis was carried out to analyze the current situation and design countermeasures. As a result of conducting both general 2D slip analysis and 3D slip analysis in parallel, the following two points were confirmed and were utilized in the design: 1) Avoiding overlooking the most dangerous areas (maximum thrust occurs in areas other than the steepest valley), 2) cost reduction through optimization of countermeasures.

Program Used: Engineer's Studio®

This bridge is an elevated roadway newly constructed to fill the missing link in the existing highway. It serves as a vital civil infrastructure that promotes autonomous development in the surrounding area and enhances interregional connectivity. A key feature of this elevated roadway is that it spans across an established urban district, which imposes significant constraints on the placement of bridge piers. As a result, a long-span girder bridge has been adopted. Additionally, due to the large displacement of the adjacent bridge and the potential for collision, it was necessary to implement measures to avoid such impacts. To meet these challenging conditions, dynamic nonlinear analysis was conducted using Engineer’s Studio® as part of the design process.

Program Used: Engineer's Studio®

In recent years, new data center construction projects are underway in Japan, in response to social trends such as strengthening national resilience and utilizing renewable energy, as well as to realize autonomous driving and remote medical care that will be developed through post-5G technologies, which are expected to become widespread in the late 2020s. In this project, existing utility tunnels may be used to lay new optical fiber networks, but in such cases, if part of the side wall of the existing structure needs to be removed, it will be necessary to reach an agreement with companies participating in utility tunnel projects, such as electric power companies and NTT, as well as local governments. This project is a safety assessment based on structural analysis and was presented as a proposal to reach a consensus on the creation of an opening in the existing structure of a utility tunnel.

Program Used: Engineer's Studio®

This facility is an existing concrete waterway tunnel. Since it was constructed several decades ago, it has frequently required repairs due to deterioration over time, and maintenance costs have been increasing in recent years. Also, as the tunnel is located near public facilities and residential areas, there is a growing demand to improve its seismic performance from a safety standpoint. Like arches, tunnels are prone to compressive stress, and concrete is well-suited to this type of structure due to its compression resistance. Therefore, some sections of this tunnel were designed with unreinforced concrete for economic reasons, and safety and durability have also become issues. This project performed seismic calculations for the existing unreinforced tunnel and examined seismic retrofitting and repair measures against deterioration over time.

Program Used: Engineer's Studio®
The target structure consists of three simple steel (iron) rivet truss bridge spans with a 45° skew angle, classified as a complex bridge in terms of seismic behavior. Given the need for rapid post-earthquake recovery following a Level 2 earthquake, it was essential to keep the bridge components within the elastic range. Therefore, a seismic response analysis was conducted to assess the existing seismic performance and establish necessary seismic measures.Since this bridge is classified as a special type of bridge with few seismic retrofitting examples, consultations were held with experts in steel bridge design and structural analysis to verify the analysis methods, condition settings, and validity of the results. This ensured a comprehensive approach to setting appropriate seismic countermeasures.

Program Used: Engineer's Studio®、
"This bridge has an 85-meter span with an upward lane constructed with a single steel arch girder and a downward lane constructed with a two-span continuous pre-tensioned I-girder plus a single steel arch girder. The single steel arch girder section is an integrated structure for both lanes, while the PC girder section has a separated structure for each lane.To properly assess the seismic performance of the existing bridge and understand the scope of reinforcement required, dynamic analysis was conducted. This involved creating a fiber model to consider the effects of axial force variations on steel members, and developing a nonlinear model for piers connected to the abutment and beams as framed piers. Additionally, the modeling took into account the resistance of the soil behind the abutments, focusing on the surrounding characteristics. As a result, it was found that the shear capacity of the beam members was insufficient, providing fundamental data for the detailed design of future reinforcements.