CASE STUDY

ANALYSIS

Submitted By: Submitted To:

John Nelson E. Lorenzo Engr. J.J. Sotto

CEIT-02-104A

Submitted On:

November 5, 2019
 FAILURE AND LIQUEFACTION OF THE LOWER SAN FERNANDO DAM

I. Problems Defined

 The Lower San Fernando Dam (LSFD) was built by the Los Angeles Bureau of
Water Works and Supply as part of the terminal storage system for the Los
Angeles Aqueduct that included the Upper San Fernando Dam and several other
dams in southern California. Built by Engineer William Mulholland and Engineer
Henry A. Van Norman. The dam provided 80% of Los Angeles’ water supply.
 San Fernando earthquake is noted down in history as one of Southern
California's significant seismic events. Measuring a magnitude of 6.6 on the
Richter scale, it occurred on 9 February 1971 and created a liquefaction failure at
the Lower San Fernando dam and reservoir on the northern edge of the greater
metropolitan Los Angeles area.

Figure 1: The Lower San Francisco Dam After the 1971 earthquake
  The epicenter was located 10 kilometer northeast of LSFD with depth of 9
kilometer. The instrumental intensity of ground shaking at the dam is estimated to
have been VII to VIII. This ground shaking is said to last for 15 seconds.
  About 80,000 people living in the area downstream were threatened by the
failure of the embankment and the very real possibility that the dam would fail
completely, inundating the area by a catastrophic flood wave. Disaster was
narrowly averted by drawing down the reservoir before the remaining remnant of
the crest gave way.
 A very steep slide head scarp and marginal freeboard remained after the event.
Had the head scarp been slightly lower, the outflow from the reservoir would
have quickly eroded the dam and flooded many communities downstream.
Considering the extremely precarious situation, some 80,000 people over an
area of 28.5km2 were evacuated while the reservoir was emptied over a period of
three to four days.
 Based on the analysis of the seism scopes located at the ground of the LSFD,
there has been a recorded ground acceleration of .6 g, though there was no
significant amplification of this between the foundation of the dam and its crest.
 The earthquake caused the upstream slope of the dam tilt towards left. According
to Profs. Seed and Lee’s study concluded that the shaking of the ground caused
liquefaction of the ground, causing the dam to fail.

II. Proposed Solution

 The sequence of events associated with the performance of Lower San

Fernando Dam earthquake of 1971 first brought to the attention of 1157
design engineers the wide variety of damage which may result from
earthquake shaking. There are some possible ways that they proposed to
prevent another structural failure on dams that will be constructed in the
future. This includes the defensive design measures. This concept
incorporates the structure of the dam and its tendency to withstand natural
calamities and scenarios through reinforcement of high quality construction
materials and continuous extensive maintenance.
  Geotechnical Engineers of the project also must ensure the location of active
faults around the vicinity of the project. Specialization in earthquake-damage
mitigation should be applied at all times.
 The Engineers should have made an emergency plan so you know who to
find and where to find them when a crisis occurs, such as the earthquake that
happened
 To replace the failed LSFD, the Los Angeles Dam and Reservoir were built in
1976-78 about 3,000 feet up the valley from LSFD. The old LSFD was
reconstructed to provide a holding basin for storm water and to back up the
new dam. In 1994, the Northridge earthquake (Mw=6.7) struck nearby. The
remnant LSFD again suffered heavy damage on the upstream slope.

III. Alternative Solutions If Any

 Numerous tests should be done before the structure was opened for
functioning. These tests aim to measure the capability of the ground to carry
out the weight of the dam throughout its service life.
 After the construction, maintenance should also be strictly observed to
maintain the safeness and the security of the structure stability
 Knowledge and understanding of Dam Engineering should be thoroughly
observed for the structure to be well built.
 It is important to periodically assess the strengths and reliability of analytical
models and approaches employed in engineering analyses of these types of
critical facilities.
 Background knowledge about earthquakes and assessing structural strengths
should be put in priority when it comes in constructing large scale buildings
like dams, bridges, etc.
IV. ANALYSIS

 The Lower San Fernando Dam slide case provided modern engineers
lessons that are essential in Dam Engineering. Some of these concepts
became fundamental foundations of engineering that is still being applied on
every project built.
 Research and case studies have been conducted that aimed to know where
the Lower San Fernando Dam lacked in structural integrity.
 This incident provided knowledge about liquefaction and how this affects a
dam.

Figure 2: Cross Section of the Liquefaction of LSFD after the earthquake.

  It is good modeling practice to first use realistic estimates of material

properties to obtain an understanding of key issues. Then a decision can be
made as to where additional efforts and resources should be spent on further
field investigations and testing.
 Some scholars provided tests about the liquefaction of the Lower San
Fernando Dam. Through their tests, they have accurately predicted the
liquefaction on the soil of the LSFD. They have analyzed the soil and water
pore pressure during a simulation of the earthquake in a model of the dam.
They have concluded that the damage brought by the earthquake might have
been reduced if certain tests are conducted properly.
V. CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED

 The incident at LSFD had far-reaching impacts on the evaluation of seismic

safety of earth dams in the United States, starting with federal dams and
focusing on hydraulic fill dams (e.g., Sardis Dam, MS). Although rare in the
1970’s, the use of hydraulic fill was effectively no longer considered
for embankment dams in seismic zones after the LSFD incident.
 This incident provided an important basis for the evaluation of residual
strengths for liquefied deposits.
 Based on reports and related case studies and researches, the LSFD incident
will remain as one of lessons in dam engineering and in modern geotechnical
surveying and engineering as it is one of well-documented field case
histories.
 Because of this incident, seismic deformation analyses became increasingly
utilized in evaluating and mitigating hazards.
 Seismic performance of earthen dams due to potential liquefaction hazard is
one of concern in both seismic risk assessment and design mitigation for
dams.
 The importance of geotechnical tests and surveying is vital in any
construction projects, and proved to be very critical in construction of dams
and other buildings related and close to any bodies of water.

VI. REFERENCES

(1) Seed, H.B., K.L. Lee, I.M. Idriss, and F. Makdisi. (1973). Analysis of the Slides in
the San Fernando Dams During the Earthquake of Feb. 9, 1971. EERC 73-2.
Berkeley, California: Earthquake Engineering Research Center.
(2)  Castro, G., Poulos, S.J., and F.D. Leathers. (1985). Re-Examination of Slide of
Lower San Fernando Dam. Journal of Geotechnical Engineering.  Vol. 111, No.
9. American Society of Civil Engineering.
(3) Seed, H.B., R.B. Seed, L.F. Harder, and H-L. Jong. (1989). Re-Evaluation of the
Lower San Fernando Dam, Report 2: Examination of the Post-Earthquake Slide
of February 9, 1971. WES Contract Report GL-89-2. Vicksburg, Mississippi:
United States Army Corps of Engineers.
(4) Chowdhury, K., Seed, R., Dreger, D.S., (2018). Re-Evaluation of the Lower San
Fernando Dam: A Seismic Performance Case History Involving Liquefaction Flow
Failure Conditions. ASCE Library, Austin, Texas.
 THE WEAKNESSES OF CHINA’s CONTRACTORS in OVERSEAS
CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

I. PROBLEMS DEFINED

 International construction contracting has been significantly increasing over

the past decades. Contractors from highly developed countries dominate this
field; there are still players from emerging countries like China.
 The knowledge and application of construction management has been widely
practiced and applied in the past 2 decades, competing with the veterans in
international contracting management proofs that China’s contractors lacks
adequate advantages as well as experiences, thus, leading to
underperformance and sometimes, project failures.
 Based on the case studies subject to the Saudi Arabia and Poland cases, it’s
found out that low cost strategy, management in risk, commerce-cost, and
human resources are their fatal weaknesses.
 On February 2009, Saudi Arabia and China signed a contract of Mecca Light
Railway project awarded to China’s giant contractor, aimed to reduce the
traffic congestion caused by the annual pilgrim of Muslims in Mecca. Shortly
after the contract was signed, many contingencies unexpectedly arose. First,
the project was performed not fully accordingly to the contract signed.
Second, the procurement of several key equipments was handled by the
employers, whereas it should be of the prime contractors’ obligation.
Consequently, the speed of design and purchasing lagged behind the
anticipation of China’s contractor. Caused by these and other negative
factors, the contractor incurred enormous overrun of both cost and time.
 In order to improve the outdated transport infrastructure in Poland, they
launched the project of A2 Motorway, which is awarded to Sino-Poland joint
ventures which involved 3 of China’s contractors, and a Polish company.
China’s contractor played decisive role in the tender with a price of $477
million, which was less than half of the employer’s budget estimate. It can be
 noticed that with this surprisingly low price, the contractors are desperately
trying to win the contract, as their gateway to European Market. It’s until June
2010 when the drawings and design hadn’t been finished yet. Immediately
after the commencement, the quantity of works dramatically increased.
Additionally, the laws of environmental protection in Europe are strict, in
which the contractor didn’t pay attention either. As a consequence, the
contractor terminated this project, badly angering the employer and the
authority which then claimed $271 million and decided to prohibit the
contractor in Poland over the next three years prior to the case.

II. PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

 There are weaknesses of China’s contractors are specified through a case

study conducted by Professors in China. These are the factors that China’s
contractors should be focusing at.
o Low-cost Strategy – China’s contractors hardly posses any other
edges such as the track record, management skills and so on.
Because of this, many employers are dismayed and project proposals
rejected.
o Risk Management – China’s contractor rarely took into account the
risks, generating the extraordinarily low tender prices. This factor
greatly affects the execution of the plan because if there are risks that
arose during the construction, the expected price might increase not
according to plan proposed. The contractors should be critical when it
comes to these things in order to not compromise the project.
o Cost Management – Since the cost estimation of China’s contractor
was based upon the assumption that the procurement would be done
in home market, the cost rose sharply. This further shows the lack of
experiences of China’s contractors in international contracting.
o Human Resources Management – Fundamentally, what’s perceived as
the most crucial in construction project management is manpower.
 Based on the case studies, the contractors and project managers were
incompetent for international projects. Although they could outperform
other managers in home market, the exercises and experiences
needed overseas project are what they still lack so far. What they
needed to be done is to expose themselves in international projects
even in small construction projects for them to be knowledgeable of
how the system works out of their home market.
 Framework of overseas project management as illustrated below is proposed
by the same team who conducted the two case studies. It can be a basis of
contractors to have a successful project internationally. The framework
consists of key factors in handling construction project overseas.
IV. ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS IF ANY

 China’s contracting companies should be aware of the weaknesses

mentioned above. They should be more competitive and active in
international construction management to be able for their contractors to be
competitive as well.
 China’s contractor should be aware of the policies that are implemented on
other countries, or at least they should research about it in order to prevent
any conflicts from arising when the construction is being executed.
 It is also considerable that the companies should assess themselves first
before taking an action to see if they are fit to lead a project overseas and to
see if their knowledge is enough for that.

V. ANALYSIS

 As the international construction contracting market rise it is normal for every

country to participate and to make the most out of every opportunity in
construction. Like China, they made themselves known to international
construction market. But several factors affecting their credibility as
contractors arose just when they started on getting projects overseas.
 Failures arose when contractors form China got international projects. Some
of these are mentioned above, and includes large scale loss in time and
money of both the employer and the contractor, and the other loss of income
and a bad reputation on a country.
 According to professors from China, their contractors lack of the following:
o Low Cost Strategy
o Risk Management
o Commercial Management
o Cost Management
o Human Resources Management
  The factors mentioned above should be addressed by the contractors for
them to be globally competitive and reliable in overseas construction
management and contracting.

V. CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED

 The wave of globalization have conspired China’s construction companies

implementing the internationalization policies which proves to be a necessary
option in dealing with overseas project.
 The pace of internationalization has been hastened starting from the new
millennium, and they are still in infancy phase when the capability of project
management hardly keeps pace with their ambition.
 When they are expanding the business into broader territory, the culture of
low cost strategy has been inherited and continued which proved
unsustainable in the long run.
 In construction management, they simply duplicated the internal function
without considering any external risks.
 To sum it up, it will take China’s contractors a long time to overcome those
weaknesses and improve the capability of project management.

VI. REFERENCES

(1) Munns, A.K., and Bjeirmi, B.F. (1996) “The role of project management in
achieving success”, International Journal of Project Management
(2) Bon, R., and Crosthwaite, D. (2000) The Future of International Construction,
Thomas Telford, London
(3) Xuan, M., et. Al. Complex Universe of Economy, School of Housing, Building,
and Planning, Malaysia