Previous observation with Scanning Electron Microscope （SEM） showed that it was difficult to identify whether the expansion in concrete is caused either by Delayed Ettringite Formation （DEF） or Alkali Silica Reaction （ASR） because cracking patterns for both cases are similar. In this study, a meso-scale threedimensional discrete analysis, specifically the Three-Dimensional Rigid Body Spring Model （3D RBSM）, is conducted to investigate the internal stresses and cracking conditions in concrete due to these different expansion causes.

One year after the construction completion, the occurrence of fracture of high strength bolts was found in Ayeyarwady Bridge （Yadanarbon）, Myanmar. As high strength bolts are used for the connections, fracture due to the hydrogen embrittlement is inevitable. However, the fracture happened very early and many bolts were broken from June 2010 until 2015. Defect in the raw material or fabrication defect that can accelerate the early fracture of the bolts is suspected. In this study, visual observation, sectional tissue and hardness testing were conducted to investigate the fabrication defect of the high strength bolts.

Local failure was modelled using a dry soil system with a rising water table overlain by wet soil after a rainfall event. Water was infiltrated through the dry soil and the simultaneous change in water inflow, vertical displacement and entrapped air pressure was recorded. In addition the Air Entry Value of the surface soil was determined. Local ground failure occurred when the air pressure mobilised in the base dry soil did not exceed the Air Entry Value of the surface soil. The effect of soil particle size, water infiltration pressure, and wet surface soil thickness, were also explored.

In this paper, we compare the impacts of height restriction and relaxation by sky factor in terms of digestion floor area ratio and building height. By considering the various site shape and building shape, we evaluate how these regulation affects the digestion floor area ratio and building height. The analyses enable us to grasp the situations which a relaxation by sky factor have large advantages. Main results of this paper are as follows: （i） a relaxation by sky factor is advantageous when the site has large frontage; （ii） by utilizing the setback regulation, it is possible to acquire enough floor are ratio when the site of depth becomes large.

In this study, we propose a new method that apply a degradation process using the geometric Brownian motion process to the bridge maintenance. The merit to introduce the geometric Brownian motion process, we are able to consider the degradation continuously, in contrast to the hazard models using the Markov chain. We formulate the optimal scheduling model which maximizes the whole reliability of multiple bridges by using the probability density function lead from the model. It has a potential to be a guideline of scheduling for bridge inspection and repairing them which priorities are difficult to determine.

In response to the great housing needs due to the Typhoon Haiyan which hit the Central Philippines in November 2013, many national and international agencies have provided housing in various ways such as donor-driven, owner-driven or contractor-driven approach. UN-Habitat employed a type of owner-driven approach called “People’s Process” which involves the community in a systematic way and succeeded in carrying out an effective housing reconstruction project. The effects of community participation approach depend greatly on the levels of participation by the people and its contents. This paper explains the process and its mechanism of “People’s Process” and analyzes the success factors by investigating how this universal concept of community participation was customized in the given local context.

In this paper, we mathematically analyze the piano education process in postwar Japan society by using big data of student piano competition. Specifically, we used a total of 560,000 databases of PTNA piano competition from 1992 to 2015. By analyzing the database, the social distance in terms of piano culture and the process of piano technology transfer will be clarified. The focus of this research is "network" and "distance" concerning （i） teacher relations in piano education and （ii） learning process of music. By quantitatively analyzing piano education "process" developed on three axes of time, space and difficulty, not only visualization of the hypothesis perceived by the piano educator sensibly but also new findings by mathematical consequences was derived.

Reinforced concrete （RC） frame structures with masonry infill walls have been widely used throughout the world. In these structures, due to the complicated interaction of the masonry infill wall and its surrounding RC frame, they have suffered great damage in the past earthquake. Especially when the moment resistant capacity of beam-column joint is insufficient, the damage becomes serious. The general damage mechanism is that cracks in the masonry wall are caused by the frame giving shear deformation to the wall. The masonry wall with cracks falls out of the plane due to earthquake external force in the out-of-plane direction and the wall loses bearing capacity for supporting upper structure. Further, the horizontal displacement becomes large, and the beam-column joint breaks.

Therefore, in this research, we propose a new efficient retrofit method to improve the seismic capacity of RC frame structure by installing interface material between the masonry wall and beams and columns and connecting the masonry wall to the surrounding RC frame with PP-band meshes from both inside and outside of the masonry wall. The proposed method can be applied to both new construction and existing structures.

Based on the evaluation results by numerical approach using the Applied Element Method （AEM）, which can simulate total collapse behavior of structure from sound state to complete collapse state, the proposed method can improve the seismic capacity of RC frame structures although the method is simple and inexpensive.