A two-day training session on the "Principles of Tunnel Design" was held on 20th & 21st April 2017 at the P J Hilton, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. This short course was organized as a post conference event of the SEACETUS 2017, held on 18th and 19th April 2017, which met with great success.

The training session was organised by the Tunnelling & Underground Space Technical Division (TUSTD) of The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) and the Foundation for Education and Training on Tunnelling and Underground Space Use (ITACET). It was managed by IEM Academy Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary company of IEM.

The training session provided an introduction to the principles of tunnel design throughout a project cycle, from planning, design and construction, through to implementation of a tunnel or underground project. It was aimed at owners, decision-makers, consulting engineers, contractors and others with an interest in tunnel design activities.

The two-day training session consisted of four sessions: Session 1: Introduction and Overview on Tunnel Design, Session 2: Choosing the Appropriate Construction Method during Design, Session 3: Design and Calculation Methods and Session 4: Specific Aspects of Tunnel Design. The lectures were delivered by ITA and SEA including Malaysian tunnelling experts. The presence of esteemed overseas and Malaysian experts who shared their invaluable global and local experiences, insights and comments helped to enrich the knowledge of IEM members and others in the engineering profession.

Many thanks to the ITA Vice President Prof Jinxiu Yan, Dr. Noppadol Phienwej, Mr. Thorsten Tatzki, Mr. Gus Klados, Mr. Emmanuel Humbert, Mr. Alain Poloni, Mr. Senthilnath Govindaraju Thangavelu and Dr. Leo Suhaendi (who presented the Design Philosophy of Tunnels for KVMRT on behalf of Mr. Andreas Raedle) for dedicating their time to give the excellent lectures.

Pictured above from left to right: Lecturers Prof Jinxiu Yan, Mr Emmanuel Humbert and Dr. Leo Suhaendi

Pictures above from left to right: Mr Gus Klados, Mr Thorsten Tatzki and Mr Alain Poloni

Pictured below: Dr Ooi Teik Aun presenting a token of appreciation to Dr. Noppadol Phienwej (left) and Senthilnath Govindaraju Thangavelu (right)

As a professional institution dedicated to promoting the science and profession of engineering and to facilitating the exchange of related information and ideas, IEM is indeed proud to be associated with the ITACET Foundation and hopes that more courses can be organized in Malaysia in the future.

The training sessions attracted more than eighty registered participants including the lecturers and organizers. The event was a great success with about 66 participants from suppliers, contractors, consultants, government agencies, students and lecturers of universities who attended the training sessions delivered by eight (8) lecturers with their respective specific expertise covering the following topics:

1. Design philosophy for KVMRT

2. Geological and geomechanical surveys

3. Settlement design

4. Specific parameters affecting design

5. Conventional tunnelling in hard rock

6. Conventional tunnelling in soft ground

7. Mechanized tunnelling (TBM and support systems)

8. Health and safety issues and impact on tunnel design

9. Rock engineering design

10. Analytical and numerical methods

11. Risk Management – Contractor’s perspective

12. Design of face pressure, soil conditioning and backfilling for TBM

13. Monitoring and control for conventional and mechanical tunnelling

14. Case study of a complex urban tunnel: Monaco

15. Case Study 1: SMART Design Experience

16. Case Study 2: Urban tunnelling in Singapore

Click here for the training session programme