Title: Recent Progress in Disaster Mitigation and Sustainable Engineering Based on Smart Structures
Speaker: Hiroshi Asanuma, Professor, Chiba University
Date: Friday, January 19, 2018
Time: 11:00am
Location: NIA, Room 101
Host: Ji Su, NASA/LaRC
Abstract: In this presentation, recent progress in ideas and developments for smart disaster mitigation toward future especially based on smart structures/materials are described. To explain the proposed concept more comprehensively, two examples, that is, artificial forest and novel deployable structure based on honeycomb to be used against flooding etc. are proposed and demonstrated. Many other smart challenges and products are also introduced and future directions are discussed.
The researches mainly involves several research areas: 1) Applications of Piezoelectric Polymers in Electrical Power Generation Using Ocean Waves (Su). 2) Dynamic Deployment of Smart Inflatable Tsunami Airbags (TABs) for Tsunami Disaster Mitigation (Shahinpoor and Asanuma). 3) A Novel Underwater Inflatable Structures for Smart Costal Disaster Mitigation (Adachi and Asanuma). 4) Structural Health Monitoring of Pipelines for Environment Pollution Mitigation (Felli et al.). 5) The Contribution of LARES to Global Climate Change Studies with Geodetic Satellites (Sindoni et al.). 6) Smart Disaster Mitigation in Italy (Felli et al). 7) Smart Disaster Mitigation in Thailand (Aimmanee et al.). Recent research initiated the development of a multi-layered flexible and deployable structural material system to diminish the force of tsunami and dissipate its energy by separating water flow and letting them conflict with each other. Various outstanding challenges have been also done in industries and some are already commercialized. Some industry developed technologies have demonstrated attractive capabilities of Disaster Mitigation, such as Neo RiSe land-mounted movable flap-gate type seawall (Hitachi Zosen), Project MOSE, Aqua Dam, SMART Tunnel (world’s first stormwater management, roadtunnel), and “Breakwater and breakwater group” and “SHELCAR” (garage type shelter), proposed by Takenaka Corporation and STARLITE Co., Ltd. respectively. Disaster Mitigation and Sustainable Engineering has to be brushed up to become a basis for the above introduced emerging field with more variety of disasters to be smartly overcome or rather utilized.
Bio: Professor Hiroshi Asanuma received his BS in 1979, MS in 1981 and Doctor of Engineering in 1984 from The University of Tokyo. After being a Research Associate at Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, an Associate Professor at Chiba University, Visiting Professor at University of Wollongong and Sapienza University of Rome, he became a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chiba University. He has served as the former Chair of JSME M&P Division and is currently the Chair of Active Material Systems-TS, JSME M&P Division. He also has been serving as SPIE Conference Chair and Co-Chair, and an organizer of many other symposiums and workshops on Smart Materials and Structures. He has published over 70 journal papers, 90 conference papers, several books and patents, and has been in collaboration/cooperation with over 30 universities/institutes/companies around the world. He has delivered keynote/invited presentations about 50 times. He is a JSME Fellow and an IOP Fellow. Contact: asanuma@faculty.chiba-u.jp