CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE:
Join the New Zealand Geotechnical Society and Professor Charles W. W. Ng to discuss design analysis of single and multiple barriers against debris flow.
Register HERE
Debris flows pose a significant threat to sustainable development in mountainous areas, including New Zealand and Hong Kong. To protect lives and facilities against these hazardous flows, rigid barriers are commonly installed in channels. Deformable barriers have proven to be effective at reducing the impact force exerted by debris flows. Barriers are essentially designed empirically because not much is known about their fundamental impact mechanisms. This webinar presents a theoretical framework for the design of multi-barriers and physical experiments that model the impact of dry sand, water, and two-phase debris flows on single and dual barriers. Experiments were conducted using a 5 m-long flume and a 28 m-long flume to address the scale-dependant nature of debris flows. Based on the experimental and theoretical predictions, design recommendations are provided.
Professor Charles W. W. Ng is currently the President of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (2017-2021). After completing his PhD in 1993 from the University of Bristol, UK, he first joined the University of Cambridge as a Research Associate and then joined Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in 1995, where he is now the Dean of Fok Ying Tung Graduate School, CLP Holdings Professor of Sustainability, and Chair Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He has been elected a Fellow of many societies and organizations, including the Royal Academy of Engineering, Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences, Institution of Civil Engineers (UK), and the American Society of Civil Engineers, among others. He has authored more than 350 SCI journal articles and 250 conference papers and delivered more than 80 keynotes and state-of-the-art reports across six continents. He has received many awards, including the 2018 Hong Kong Institution of Engineers best Geotechnical Paper Award, the 2017 Telford Premium Prize from the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Henry Adams Award from the Institution of Structural Engineers (UK), and many more.