Event         : Technical Seminar: Challenging Engineering Case Study: 
                           Slope Stabilization and Flood Mitigation
Organized : IEM Penang Branch
Co-organized   : IEM Women Engineers (WE)
Date              : 21 July 2016 (Thursday) 
Time         : 9.00 am – 12.30 pm
Venue         : IEM Penang Branch
Moderator : Ir. Heng Lee Sun
Speakers          : Ir. Raftah Mahfar and Ir. Suhana

Introduction

Malaysia are well-known with mountainous terrain and tropical climate changes throughout the year. Under this situation,  the  slope  failure  and  flood  incidents  are  often  triggered  by  prolonged  wet-and-dry  climatic  cycles. Thus, slope are prone to sudden failure shortly after intense rainstorms. These incidents have caused millions of dollars of damage to public and private properties every year. Therefore, Slope Stabilization and Flood Mitigation works is unique as it required an evaluation in term of geology and geotechnical engineering study.

In this section, Ir.  Raftar and Ir.  Suhana  will  share  their  technical  experiences  through  geotechnical  and  civil engineering  related  project  with  their  great  leadership.  This seminar will greatly energize and benefit participants with enrich their experience through the speakers sharing.

Slope Stabilization – A case study by Ir. Raftah Mahfar

Slope Stabilization of landslides and unstable slopes is a significant challenge to Geotechnical Engineers. The slope stability will decreases with increasing slope angle. Under ground water plays a major role in slope  failure as  it  will  increase  the  driving  force  by  filling  previously  empty  pore  spaces  and  fractures,  adding  to  the  total weight of the subsoil. Increased of pore water pressure in slope can also decrease the shear strength of the slope material.  Chemical  weathering  slowly  weakens  slope  material,  reducing  its  shear  strength,  thus  reducing resisting forces.

Flood Mitigation Work – A Case Study by Ir. Suhana

Flood mitigation involves the management and control of flood water movement, such as redirecting flood run off  and  methods  used  to  reduce  or  prevent  the  detrimental  effects  of flood waters. Common challenges from Flood Mitigation such as rapid urbanization, climate change, construction activities due to population growth will intensify the risk of the flood. This presentation will focus mainly on the flood mitigation study and challenges during construction of the On-Site Detention Pond for Sg Rasau Toll Plaza.