The University of Hong Kong

MSc Course – CVL6059

Special topic on Infrastructure Project
Management
Design & Buildability for
Infrastructure projects
Lecture 12 : Date: 18/11/2020 Time: 7:00-9:30

Lecturer Co-Lecturer
Henry Liu-Adjunct Professor-HKU David Hung
BSc(Hons) C Eng FHK IE FIC E BSc(Hons) CEng MICE, FIStructE,
FIStructE FCIHT FH KIHT R.P.E .(CVL FHKIE, RSE, 1PRC-RSE, RPE(CVL,STL))
STL GE L LTE) 1PRC-RSE
MCIArb MAE
1
 MSc Degree Course
CVL6059 – Special Topic on Infrastructure Project Management
Design & Buildability of Infrastructure Projects
Lecture 12 – 18/11/2020 (7.00-9:30)
Duration
1. Content of the Lecture 3 mins
2 Collection of Assignment from the “collection box” 8 mins
2a The Roof- ZMH Terminus (video 12.0) 8 mins
3. Review of lectures by Henry Liu 20 mins
4. Review of lectures by David Hung 20 mins
5. High speed Rail in China (the future- Hyperloop)---- Video12-1; 12-2; 12-3 15 mins
6. BREAK 10 mins
7. General discussion on the “Take-home Exam via Moodle” 10 mins
8. The rise of china on infrastructural developments – Video 12-4 12 mins
9. The collapse of the Nicoll Highway, Singapore---video 12.5; 12.6 20 mins
10. Construction of foundation and structural steelworks 10 mins
11. Discussion , Good Luck and Good Bye (Q&A) 9 mins
12. Belt and Road---- Video 12-7(2 mins) 5 mins

Total: 150 mins

2
1a Course Description and Aims
Design and Buildability are an integral process for the development of any infrastructure projects. From
early inception of implementation, the design concept must be borne in mind the need to take buildability
into account from broad approach to minor detailing. This is a project management technique to review
construction process from start to finish during the pre-construction phase in order to identify any
construction obstacles before a project is actually built to reduce cost and/or prevent accidents. The term
“buildability” defines the ease and efficiency with which structures can be built in a cost effective manner
both in terms of software and hardware. Given the current sophistication in the construction industry, this
would include not only the right design tool but also the application of value management, partnering, risk
management, BIM, NEC as well as safety management or even virtual reality, etc.
It cannot be over-emphasised such integral process of “design and buildability” which covers bridges,
railway station, tunnel, road, airport, port and reclamation. The more buildable an infrastructure project is,
the more economical it will be. “Design and buildability” are in part a reflection of the quality of a project.
That is to say, if the design document is difficult to understand and to interpret, the project will be difficult
to build and vice versa.
This MSc course is designed to provide an in-depth understanding of key principle of design and buildability
which underline the important aspects of any infrastructure projects taking the Hong Kong conditions into
account. By the end of this course, students should be able to appreciate the inter-relationship between
design and buildability from planning, design, construction and commission.

3
4
5
2a Collection of Assignment from Students
(8 mins)

6
Video 12.0 :The Roof- ZMH Terminus (8 mins)
VIDEO SEPARATELY

7
3. Review of Lectures by Henry Liu

8
 MSc Degree Course
CVL6059 – Special Topic on Infrastructure Project Management
Design & Buildability for Infrastructure Projects
Lecture 1 – 2/9/2020 (7.00-9:30)
Duration
1. Welcome 8 mins

2. Content of this Lecture 10 mins

3. Structure of the Course, 20 mins
4. Video 1-1 (5 mins) - Rural Road in Eastern Europe 7 mins
4b. Video 1-2 (4 mins) – 600 years of Buildability 10 mins
5. Design & Buildability aspects of projects undertaken by Henry Liu(Part 1) 15 mins
BREAK 15 mins
5a. Video 1-3 (16 mins) – Route 8 – LCK Viaduct 20 mins
5b Design and Buildability aspects of projects undertaken by H. Liu(Part 2) 15 mins
5c Channel Tunnel video(10 mins) 10 mins
6. Video 1-4 (4 mins) – 10 Mega projects in China 5 mins
7. Conclusion – Video 1-5 (2 mins) – Super-connector 5 mins
Q &A 10 mins
Total 150 mins
9
 MSc Degree Course
CVL6059 – Special Topic on Infrastructure Project Management
Design & Buildability for Infrastructure Projects
Lecture 3 – 16/9/2020 (7.00-9.30)

Duration
1. Welcome/contents of this lecture 5 mins
2. Video 3-1 (12 mins) – Milau Bridge – tallest bridge in the world 15 mins
3 Buildability in construction 5 mins
3a. Definition of constructability – video 3-2 (2 mins) 3 mins
3b. Constructability in 3 minutes– video 3-3 (3 mins) 4 mins
4. Project Management 8 mins.
4a. Teamwork (somebody) 2 min
4b Safety Management, Risk Management, Partnering 8 mins
5. Partnering - Video 3-4 (3 mins) 5 mins
6. Design & Buildability for Ting Kau Bridge (My Paper) 1.17km 1998 5 mins
BREAK 15 mins
7. Video 3-5 (47 mins) – Ting Kau Bridge 50 mins
8. Collapse of Nicoll Highways – 3 videos 3-6 (12 mins) 15 mins
9 Discussion 10 mins
Total: 150 mins
10
 MSc Degree Course
CVL6059 – Special Topic on Infrastructure Project Management
Design & Buildability of Infrastructure Projects
Lecture 5 – 30/9/2020 (7:00-9:30)
Duration
1. Content of the Lecture 2 mins
1a Video 5-1 (4.5mins) – Tacoma Narrow Bridge Collapse 5 mins
2. Value Engineering 7 mins
2a Video 5-2 (6 mins) – Definition of Value Engineering 7 mins
2b. Video 5-3 (8 mins) – Value Engineering Application 9 mins
3. Not used
4. Risk Management 5 mins
4a. Video 5-5 (4 mins) – What is Risk Management 4 mins
5. Virtual Reality – Video 5-6 (4 mins) – Virtual Reality in Construction 5 mins
6. Building Information Modelling (BIM) 5 mins
6a. Video 5-7 (3 mins) – What is Civil BIM 4 mins
6b. Video 5-8 (5 mins) – BIM vs Virtual Reality 6 mins
6c. Video 5-9 (12 mins) BIM Arch bridge in Gui Zhou 13 mins
BREAK 15 mins

11
 MSc Degree Course
CVL6059 – Special Topic on Infrastructure Project Management
Design & Buildability of Infrastructure Projects
Lecture 7 – 14/10/20 (7:00-9:30pm)
Duration
1. Content of the Lecture 2 mins
2. ZMH Crossing – C.F. Lee HKU (Video 7-1 -7 mins) 10 mins
2a ZMH Crossing – IMT (Video 7-2-6 mins) 8 mins
3. Collapse of Shanghai Building (2007) 10 mins
4. Design & Construction for the widening of Castle Peak Road (9.5km) 2005
(power point 7-3) 25 mins

BREAK 20 mins
5. Collapse of a roof structure – HK City University 5 mins
5a. Videos 7-4-(10:48 mins) 12 mins
6. Highway Construction in Gui Zhou Province (Video 7-5, 6 mins) 8 mins
7. Florida Bridge collapse 2017(ICE abstract ,May 2018) 5 mins
7a. Video 7-6 – Florida Bridge collapse (two short videos – 1 +10 mins) 12 mins
8. Ten bridges collapse in recent years – (Video 7-7, 10 mins) 12 mins
9. Bei-Jing Airport-video 7-8 (2 mins)/Kansai Airport(Photo 7-9) 5 mins
10 Discussion 16 mins
150 mins 12
4. Review of Lectures by David Hung

13
CIVL 6059
Special Topic in Infrastructure Project Management:
Design and Buildability for Infrastructure Projects

Lecture 2,4 and 6 : Construction of Foundation, Excavation and Lateral Support and
Geotechnical Instrumentation

Lecture 8: Design of Complex Steel Structure, Long Span Steel Structure and Post-
tensioned concrete footbridge

Lecture 11: Introduction to Railway Engineering

14
Construction of Foundation
1. Bored pile
2. Driven H pile
3. RSHP
4. Minipile
5. Jack in pile
6. Barrette pile
1. Bored Pile 2. Driven H Pile (w/ pre-boring) 3. Rock Socketted H Pile
H piles are driven by JUNTTAN
16-ton hydraulic hammer

16
4. Mini pile
Usually consists of a number of steel reinforcing bars encased by grout inside a drill hole.

It is mainly used to resist compression or tension loads

Structural capacity should be derived solely from the steel bars.

17
5. Jack in Piles
- This method does not generate noise, smoke and is vibration free.
- The custom- designed silent jack-in piling machine varies in size, depending on the
type of pile used and the required jacking force.
- Horizontally sliding hydraulic cylinders and weight transfer plates allow the piling rig to be
maneuvered accurately to the piling points.
- The pile jacking force at any instant is read from the hydraulic load indicator connected to the main
injection cylinder.

18
6. Barrette piles
- they are installed by machine excavation into bentonite slurry filled trench down to
the founding level, inserting the rebar cage and concreting the excavated trench by
tremie method.
- usually of rectilinear sections and founded by end bearing on rock
- Other founding materials may be used provided their suitability is demonstrated.

19
Excavation and Lateral Support
1. Secant piled wall
2. Contiguous piled wall
3. D- Wall
4. Sheet piled wall
5. Pipe piled wall
6. Soldier piled wall
7. Grout curtain
1. Secant Piled Wall

Primary pile
soft / firm pile
drilled first
Cement or lean concrete

Secondary pile
hard pile
reinforced cage / steel beam
normal dia = 600 mm

Overlap between hard pile

and soft/firm pile is 100mm
Formed by continuous flight auger
1. Secant Piled Wall

Advantage
Flexible in wall alignment, suit curved wall
Can overcome hard pans/cobbles/boulder
Cause Less vibration and noise nuisance

Disadvantage
Problem in maintain verticality for long piles
100% watertight is not possible, potential leakage occurs at the joint between hard pile and
soft / firm pile
ELS Design – anchored Secant Piled Wall
2. Contiguous pile wall
(Hong Kong / Middle East)
2. Contiguous pile wall (with anchors)
(Hong Kong / Middle East)
Contiguous pile wall (with anchors)
(Hong Kong / Middle East
3. D - wall
a. Diaphragm wall ( D – wall) is a reinforced concrete
structure constructed in‐situ panel by panel. Typical panel
per bite = 2.8 to 3.0 m
Thickness varies from 900 mm to 1500 mmm

b. The wall is usually designed to reach very great depth,

varies from 20 m to 50m.

c. Used where there is a high groundwater level or where the

soil are unstable soils.

d Concrete diaphragm walls provide effective groundwater

control and soil retention.

e. Minimal vibration during construction, thus reducing risk

of damage to adjacent ground.
1. Construct the guide wall
2. Excavation to form the diaphragm wall trench
3. Trench temporarily supported by bentonite slurry
4. Insert reinforcement cage
5. Bentonite slurry to counter balance the pressure
from soil
6. Guide Wall to protect and control of the wall
alignment
7. Tremie concrete poured to displace bentonite
ELS Design
XRL West Kowloon Terminus - 200 m x 600 m
Diaphragm Wall Construction
(Full top - down construction)
20 m deep excavation
Large boulders
Plunge column inserted inside the bored pile
during concreting
Design of Plunge column (bored pile + Steel I Section)

1. The bored pile with I Section is designed as composite section with Steel I section and concrete. Shear is
transferred from the I section to the concrete by shear studs. Design refer to Eurocode EN 1990
Basis of structural design

2. Lock in stress of the steel I section shall be checked since the steel I section is loaded and deflected when
the basement floor slab is cast.
Design of Diaphragm Wall
Design of Diaphragm Wall
Design of Diaphragm Wall
4. Sheet Piled Wall
(driven by vibration hammer)
Sheet piled wall
Preloading of struts
Sheet piled wall
Preloading of struts
5. Pipe piled wall
Common ELS Type
6. Soldier Piled Wall
6. Soldier Piled Wall
Common ELS Type
6. Soldier Piled Wall
Common ELS Type
7. Grout curtain
(1). Provide a barrier to prevent
water ingress into the cofferdam,

(2). Used for construction of

caisson near the sea in preventing
water ingress when workers of hand-dug
caisson are removing spoil.
(hand-dug caisson is banned in 1994)

(3). The effectiveness of the grout

curtain depends on type of grout,
grout intake volume, grout pressure
and gel time.
Common ELS Type
Grout curtain
(4). Acrylamides AM-9 is a fracture grout.
It contains cyanide in its chemical
composition . It was removed from the
US market in 1978 because of toxicity
concerns.

(5) LW grout is a chemical grout formed by

mixing a certain proportion of
sodium silicate solution , cement and
water. It has a gel time of approx. 90
second.
Common ELS Type
Grout curtain

(6) Sodium silicate solution is commonly

referred to as water glass, which is an
accurate description, considering that,
strictly speaking, it is dissolved glass in
water.
Common ELS Type
Grout curtain
(6). Tube – a – Manchette (TAM) grouting is the
name of the grouting procedure.

(7). Coring can be made at a location

between two grout hole in
verifying the quality of grout.

(8). Two circles / double layers / staggered

pattern can increase the effectiveness of
grouting.
Common ELS Type
Grout curtain

(9). The normal spacing of grout holes is

800 mm, depends on the porosity of
the soil to be grouted

(10) Grout pressure = 2 x overburden to

ensure grout can flow out
Geotechnical instrumentation
1. Ground settlement point
2. UU check point
3. Tilting check point
4. Vibration check point
5. Vibration wire piezometer
6. Inclinometer
7. Magnet Extensometer
8. Optical instrument
Geotechnical
instrumentation
Ground Settlement Check
Point
Geotechnical
instrumentation
Utility Settlement
Checkpoint Point
Geotechnical
instrumentation
Building Tilting Point
on historic building
Geotechnical
instrumentation
Vibration
Checkpoint
Geotechnical instrumentation
Piezometer -- Vibrating Wire
Piezometer
Geotechnical
instrumentation
Real time Graphical
plot are indicated as
follows:
Geotechnical
instrumentation
Magnet Extensometer
in checking settlement
of a particular Soil
Stratum
Geotechnical
instrumentation
Magnet Extensometer
in checking settlement
of a particular Soil
Stratum
Geotechnical
instrumentation
Magnet Extensometer
in checking settlement
of a particular Soil
Stratum
Geotechnical
instrumentation
Tilting
Checkpoint
Geotechnical
instrumentation
Optical
measurement
Design of Complex Steel Structure
Design of Complex
Steel Structure
Xiqu Centre,
Foundation
Design of Complex
Steel Structure
Xiqu Centre,
Raft Foundation
Checklist for heavy lifting
1. Lifting points – 6 nos
2. Roof trusses remain structural stable
during heavy lifting
3. Additional strengthening on mega-columns
is required.
4. Determine max heavy lifting reactions on
each mega-columns
5. Check (4) against column capacity
Checklist for heavy lifting
6. Lifting capacity of the strand jacks
7. Design of any temporary works
8. Proper function of the mechanical
anti-slip lock
Loading on the mega-columns
1. Dead weight of roof trusses
2. Wind load on the roof trusses during
heavy lifting
3. Unbalanced heavy lifting reactions
on mega-columns
4. Redistribution of heavy lifting reactions
due to unsynchronous lifting.
Design of Complex Steel Structure
Xiqu Centre,
Roof Truss
Design of Complex Steel Structure
Xiqu Centre,
Roof Trusses
Design of Complex Steel Structure
Xiqu Centre,
Roof Trusses
Design of Complex Steel Structure
Xiqu Centre,
Theatre Trusses
CIVL 6059
Special Topic in Infrastructure Project Management:
Design and Buildability for Infrastructure Projects

Lecture 11
Introduction to Railway Engineering
Introduction to Railway Engineering

1. Permanent Way
2. Trackform
3. Overhead Line Structure
4. Rolling Stock – vehicle dynamics
5. Station Layout Design
6. Ancillary System
7. Railway Protection
8. Maintenance Depot
9. Noise Attenuation System
10. Case study – Depot Upgrading
P WAY
Rail
Sleepers
Ballast
Subgrade
Rails --- fitted on sleeper and joined by fish plates.

Sleepers -- placed properly on the ballast

Ballast --- rests on prepared subgrade called formation.

The rails, which acts like girders, transmit
the wheel loads to the sleepers.
The sleepers distribute it to ballast which
holds the sleepers in position and distribute
the loads over the formation.
Trackform
1. Precast concrete block
(low vibration track
or “Sonneville” track)
-- consists of individual concrete blocks sitting
on an elastic pad inside a rubber “boot”.
-- used in tunnels and junctions
Trackform
2. Isolated track
-- used where high vibration control is needed
e.g. where there is property development
next adjacent to the railway.

3. VIPA base plate track

-- used in non-ballasted tracks
Island Platform
Side Platform
XIII. Yau Tong Station
Ｃｈｒｏｎｏｌｏｇｙ ｏｆ ｄｅｓｉｇｎ
ｐｒｏｃｅｓｓ

1. Master plan and elevations

2. General layout plans and sections
3. Axonometric views including passenger flows
through all levels
4. Station building services schematic
5. Overall station sectional entrance forecourt and
Vent shaft model
XIII. Yau Tong Station
Ｃｈｒｏｎｏｌｏｇｙ ｏｆ ｄｅｓｉｇｎ
ｐｒｏｃｅｓｓ

6. Stairs and escalator machine room models and

drawings
7. Sample board of finishes
8. Perspective rendering of interior views of the station
at different levels
9. Other concrete finishes / treatments
XIII. Yau Tong Station
Size of station
Floor to floor height is controlled
by :
1. Tunnels and alignment
2. Plantrooms
3. Train platform and concourse
XIII. Yau Tong Station
Size of station
Width is controlled by :
1. Tunnels and alignments
2. Plant rooms
3. Train platform
XIII. Yau Tong Station
Size of Station
Length of station is controlled by

1. Train lengths
2. Track level plant rooms requirements
5. High Speed Rail in China (The Future-
Hyperloop)

82
Video 12-1

83
Video 12-2

84
85
6. BREAK

86
7. General discussion on the “Take-home
Exam via Moodle

87
88
8. The Rise of China on
Infrastructural Developments
(Video separately )

89
9. The collapse of the Nicoll
Highway , Singapore

90
Video 12.5(6 mins)

91
Video 12.6 (3 mins)

92
93
94
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
The collapse of the Nicoll Highway in Singapore which took place on 20, April 2004 was rooted in history.
It began with two critical design errors. These were the under-design of the diaphragm wall and the under-design of the
waler connection in the strutting system. These design errors resulted in the failure of the 9th level strut-waler connections
together with the inability of the overall temporary retaining wall system to resist the redistributed loads as the 9th strutting
failed. The catastrophic collapse then ensured.
The collapse did not develop suddenly. A chain of events preceded the collapse.
Several technical and administrative factors contributed to the collapse. From the early stages through to the final collapse,
there were failure to demonstrate the necessary level of care. Serious human errors were made. Warnings of the
approaching collapse were present from an early stage but these were not taken seriously. The contractor did not
adequately deal with insidious warning signs. A multiplicity of events led to the position where design, construction ,
instrumentation, management and organizational systems used by the contractor and their sub-contractors failed. There
were failures in the defensive systems. There were no proper and appropriate design reviews. There were inadequate
contingency and remedial measures.
Two significant contributory factors were the abuse of the back analyses where the collapse took place and the failure to
institute a regular , close and effective monitoring regime. The two critical back analyses were geotechnically flawed. There
were repeated breaches of the instrumentation review. All the experts agreed that on the basis of the second back analysis,
works should not have been allowed to proceed in that area.
The catastrophic collapse was the finale to mounting incidences and warning of excessive wall deflection , surging
inclinometer readings , waler beam buckling, stiffener plates buckling, ground settlement, trespass of water and soils into
the excavation through cracks in the diaphragm walls, failure of concrete corbels and waler beams, failing support brackets ,
plunging strain gauge readings, and the “thung” sounds of distress over 6 hours on 20 April 2004 from the heart of the
strutting system.
Time took its toll. 3:30pm, 20 April 2004- the Nicoll Highway collapsed. The collapse falls squarely on the contractor,
Nishimatsu-Lum Joint Venture. The Nicoll Highway collapse could have been prevented.

95
10.Construction of Foundation and
Structural Steelwork

96
Construction of Foundation
Large Diameter Bored Pile
Construction methodology
Method in overcoming obstruction
Quality assurance
Remedial methods
Construction of Foundation
Driven H pile

Construction methodology
Method in overcoming obstruction
Quality assurance
Final set
Pile load test
Construction of Foundation
Rock Socketted H pile
Construction methodology
Method in overcoming obstruction
Design principle
Quality assurance
Pile Load Test
Construction of Structural Steelwork

BS 5950 / Steel Code 2013

Section Classification
Connection Design
Construction of structural steelwork

 Different types of structural analysis

11. Discussion, Good Luck and Goodbye
Henry Liu: e-mail address: [email protected]

David Hung: e-mail address: [email protected]

102
12. Belt and Road

103
Video 12-7

104
105