In Seoul 2017, Prof Fredlund one of top Unsaturated Researcher had delivered a talk in Soil Water Retention Curve in practice. The talk was delivered in Blight Lecture in ISSMGE conference. Basically, Soil Water retention curve is the relationship between the water content, θ, and the soil water potential, ψ. This curve is characteristic for different types of soil, and is also called the soil moisture characteristic.
It is used to predict the soil water storage, water supply to the plants (field capacity) and soil aggregate stability. Due to the hysteretic effect of water filling and draining the pores, different wetting and drying curves may be distinguished.
The general features of a water retention curve can be seen in the figure, in which the volume water content, θ, is plotted against the matric potential, {\displaystyle \Psi _{m}}. At potentials close to zero, a soil is close to saturation, and water is held in the soil primarily by capillary forces. As θ decreases, binding of the water becomes stronger, and at small potentials (more negative, approaching wilting point) water is strongly bound in the smallest of pores, at contact points between grains and as films bound by adsorptive forces around particles.
Sandy soils will involve mainly capillary binding, and will therefore release most of the water at higher potentials, while clayey soils, with adhesive and osmotic binding, will release water at lower (more negative) potentials. At any given potential, peaty soils will usually display much higher moisture contents than clayey soils, which would be expected to hold more water than sandy soils. The water holding capacity of any soil is due to the porosity and the nature of the bonding in the soil.
Please watch and read the full information below especially for Geotechnical Engineering Post Graduate Students.
Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.
Depression symptoms can vary from mild to severe and can include:
Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
Changes in appetite — weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting
Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
Loss of energy or increased fatigue
Increase in purposeless physical activity (e.g., hand-wringing or pacing) or slowed movements and speech (actions observable by others)
Feeling worthless or guilty
Difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions
Thoughts of death or suicide
Symptoms must last at least two weeks for a diagnosis of depression.
Also, medical conditions (e.g., thyroid problems, a brain tumor or vitamin deficiency) can mimic symptoms of depression so it is important to rule out general medical causes.
Depression affects an estimated one in 15 adults (6.7%) in any given year. And one in six people (16.6%) will experience depression at some time in their life. Depression can strike at any time, but on average, first appears during the late teens to mid-20s. Women are more likely than men to experience depression. Some studies show that one-third of women will experience a major depressive episode in their lifetime. (https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression)
In Malaysia, mental health cases have increases up 40% (read it in latest newpaper articles) due to concern in Malaysian citizens in recent years.
In newspaper excerpt following Mental health of Malaysian students cause of worry: Health Ministry causes me to worry more on my children development in coming years. Following are details of the paper excerpt
KUALA LUMPUR: Health Ministry statistics reveal a worsening state of mental health problems among Malaysian students, from one in 10 individuals in 2011 to one in five in 2016.
Experts cite anxiety and depression as the main causes of mental health problems among students although not ruling out the influence of drugs as a factor.
One of them, Dr Mohd Suhaimi Mohamad, said a prolonged state of mental health problems could make students become withdrawn, suffer from schizophrenia and develop the inclination to commit suicide.
The tendency to take one’s own life could become more severe if the mental health problems were not addressed within a period of two years, he said, adding that this was a serious matter that was often neglected.
Referring to the causes, Dr Mohd Suhaimi said anxiety developed from trauma, emotional disorders such as bulimia, developmental disorders such as hyperactivity, behaviourial disorders and severe stress due to family problems.
He said anxiety could be attributed to pressure of examinations that might instil fear in students.
“Low self-confidence as a result could cause a student to be in a state of worry and stress, coupled with the pressure from parents and teachers who drive them to be competitive.
“Besides studies, the fear of embarrassment over any matter could push students towards extreme consternation,” he told Bernama.
In a state of restlessness, a student would normally experience heavy sweating at all times and a pounding heart, inability to sleep at night and insomnia that could take a toll on his or her health if these were to prolong, he said.
“Depression, on the other hand, makes an individual isolate himself or herself from others,” Dr Mohd Suhaimi said, adding that the signs of extreme depression were sudden mood changes that led to extreme anger.
This could also occur due to heredity factors inherited from family members with mental health problems, he said.
Dr Mohd Suhaimi did not rule out the possibility of mental health problems stemming from the pressure from parents for their children to excel in the academic field.
“Parents should help their children live a normal life and not force them to study solely to meet their own expectations,” he said.
Dr Mohd Suhaimi said that once a child was diagnosed to have a mental health problem, treatment could be administered through the biopsychosocial way with an individual interacting with the patient so that the latter did not feel isolated and did not act aggressively.
“Besides, the administration of medication regularly can control and prevent a person from sliding towards mental illness,” he said.
He also said that the individual should be given guidance and support by those around him or her, especially parents, to rebuild his or her confidence.
“Parents should extend support and encouragement to children with mental health problems to prevent the condition from worsening,” he said. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR, 16 November 2017 – UTM researchers won Best of the Best and Special Award in Engineering Education awards at the 4th International Innovative Practices in Higher Education Expo (I-PHEX) 2017, which was held at Berjaya Times Square Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.
The winning Best of the Best project, which was led by Dr. Noraini Ibrahim and co-led by Dr. Shahliza Abd. Halim, and Dr. Masitah Ghazali from Faculty of Computing, with the project entitled Integrating Collaborative Case Study in Project-Oriented Problem-Based Learning Approach for Software Engineering Courses, was selected as the best innovative product in improving higher education.
Meanwhile, the selected project which won Special Award in Engineering Education was led by Ir. Dr. Zaki Yamani bin Zakaria from Faculty of Chemical & Energy Engineering, with the project entitled Metacognitive Development through an Introductory to Engineering Course Using Cooperative Problem Based Learning (CPBL).
n addition, UTM researchers also won three Gold awards at I-PHEX 2017. The winning researchers included Dr. Noraini Ibrahim, Ir. Dr. Zaki Yamani, Mr. Muhammad Azril Hezmi from Faculty of Computing, Faculty of Chemical & Energy Engineering, and Faculty of Civil Engineering, respectively.
Besides Gold, UTM researchers have also managed to grab Silver and Bronze awards. The Silver award recipients included Associate Professor Dr. Dayang Norhayati Abang Jawawi and Associate Professor Dr. Yudariah Mohammad Yusof from Faculty of Computing and Faculty of Science, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Bronze award was won by Dr. Noor Dayana Binti Abd Halim from Faculty of Education.
I-PHEX 2017 was jointly organised by the Society for Engineering Education Malaysia (SEEM) and the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES) with a total of 39 participants nationwide.
This was the fourth I-PHEX organised as an international level exhibition, with the purpose to recognise and award efforts to improve higher education. I-PHEX 2017 was held at the 7th World Engineering Education Forum 2017 (WEEF 2017).
The expo is not only viewed as a platform to showcase innovative efforts that contribute to resolving the challenges of higher education, but also as a trigger to inspire others to be involved in the discussion, research, and the implementation of higher education innovations.
KLUANG ; 25 JULAI 2017 – Masalah kekurangan bekalan air bersih yang membelenggu penduduk Orang Asli di Kampung Air Pasir, Kahang, dekat sini, sejak lebih 50 tahun yang lalu bakal diatasi dengan pembinaan telaga tiub baharu oleh sekumpulan penyelidik dari empat universiti tempatan.
Beach profile changes are subjected to various parameters such as tides, currents and wave effect. This study investigates the beach profile changes at Teluk Gorek Beach, Mersing and to evaluate the effect of soil density on beach sediment. A total of seven beach profile cross- sections with offset of 20 m apart were established to monitor the presence of erosion and accretion. The monitoring work was done on January and March 2016 during spring tide. The estimation of erosion and accretion were performed by comparing the profile obtained on January and March. The result shows that the beach profiles have experienced both erosion and accretion during the period of study. The soil density change varies to the erosion and accretion process. As a conclusion, the beach is slightly changes during the period of study. The density increase for erosion process while decrease when accretion takes place.
Campbell Scientific had published our work in Gunung Pulai in December 2016 newsletter. We have been using their equipment supplied by SureChem (Malaysia). Rain gauge and water level transmitter have been used as part of our integrated Early Warning Systems developed by Department of Geotechnics& Transportation, Faculty of Civil Engineering UTM. We also managed to produce SOP for early warning system for gunung pulai mudflow. The SOP currently is undertaking several process of copyright before been published to the public.
Problematic soils are those that make the construction of foundations extremely difficult. They include expansive soils, collapsing soils, and sanitary landfill. Their distribution can vary widely, both areas and with depth. However, the ability to identify these soils would be invaluable to developers and geotechnical engineers.
Besides that, problematic soil may also look on soil chemistry perspective. However on this lecture notes only we only touch upon on the geotechnical engineering prespective. Below is some discussion on acid, alkaline and saline problematic soils.
The soils with pH less than 6.5 and which respond to liming may be considered as acidic soils.
(a) Reasons for Acidity:
(i) Humus decomposition results in release of large amounts of acids. There by lowering the pH.
(ii) Rainfall: In areas with more than 100 cm rainfall associated with high R.H., Ca, Mg is dissolved in water and leached out due to this base saturation of soil decreases.
(iii) Application of elemental sulphur under goes reactions resulting in formation of H2SO4.
(iv) Continuous application of acid forming fertilizers like ammonium sulphates or ammonium chlorides results in depletion of Ca by CEC (cation exchange capacity) phenomenon.
(v) Parent Material: Generally rocks are considered as acidic, which contain large amount of silica (SiO2) when this combined with water, acidity increases.
(b) Characteristics:
(i) pH is less than 6.5
(ii) These soils are open textured with high massive Structure.
(iii) Low in Ca, Mg with negligible amount of soluble salts.
(iv) These soils appear as brown or reddish brown, sandy loams or sands.
(c) Injury to Crops:
(i) Direct Affects:
(1) Plant root system does not grow normally due to toxic hydrogen ions.
(2) Permeability of plant membranes are adversely affected due to soil acidity.
(3) Enzyme actions may be altered, since they are sensitive to pH changes.
(ii) Indirect Affects:
(1) Deficiency of Ca and Mg occur by leaching.
(2) Al, Mn and Fe available in toxic amounts.
(3) All the micro nutrients except molybdenum are available. So ‘Mo’ deficiency has been identified in leguminous crops.
(4) Phosphorous gets immobilized and its availability is reduced.
(iii) Effect on Activity of Microorganisms:
(1) Most of the activities of beneficial organisms like Azotobacter and nodule forming bacteria of legumes are adversely affected as acidity increases.
(e) Amelioration:
(i) Lime as reclaiming agent: Lime is added to neutralize acidity and to increase the pH, so that the availability of nutrients will be increased.
(ii) Basic slag obtained from Iron and steel industry can be substituted for lime. It contains about 48-54 per cent of CaO and 3-4 per cent MgO.
(iii) Ammonium sulphate and Ammonium chloride should not be applied to acid soils but urea can be applied.
(iv) Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN) is suitable to acidic soils.
(v) Any citrate soluble phosphate fertilizer is good source of phosphorous for acidic soils.
(vi) Eg. Dicalcium phosphate (DCP), Tricalcium phosphate (TCP) Potassium sulphate is a suitable source of ‘K’ for acidic soils. But MOP is better than K2SO4 because CI– of MOP replaces -OH ions, their by release of -OH ions tends to increase the pH.
Problematic Soils: Type # 2. Alkaline Soils:
Alkali soils are formed due to concentration of exchangeable sodium and high pH. Because of high alkalinity resulting from sodium carbonate the surface soil is discoloured to black; hence the term black alkali is used.
(a) Reasons for Alkalinity:
The excessive irrigation of uplands containing Na salts results in the accumulation of salts in the valleys.
(i) In arid and semi arid areas salt formed during weathering are not fully leached.
(ii) In coastal areas if the soil contains carbonates the ingression of sea water leads to the formation of alkali soils due to formation of sodium carbonates.
(iii) Irrigated soils with poor drainage.
(b) Characteristics:
(i) Saline soil has soil pH of more than 8.5
(ii) Ec is less than 4.0 m.mhos/cm
(iii) ESP (exchangeable sodium per cent) is more than 15
(iv) It has black colour that why it is also called as Black alkali
(c) Injury to Crops:
(i) High exchangeable sodium decreases the availability of calcium, magnesium to plants.
(ii) Dispersion of soil particles due to high exchangeable ‘Na’ leads to poor physical condition of soil, low permeability to water and air, tends to be sticky when wet and becomes hard on drying.
(iii) Toxicity due to excess hydroxyl and carbonate ions.
(iv) Growth of plant gets affected mainly due to nutritional imbalance.
(v) Restricted root system and delay in flowering in sensitive varieties.
(vi) Typical leaf burn in annuals and woody plants due to excess of chloride and sodium.
(vii) Bronzing of leaves in citrus.
(viii) It affects the solubility of zinc (Zn).
(d) Crops Suitable for Cultivation in Alkaline Soils:
(i) The process of amelioration consists of two steps:
(1) To convert exchangeable sodium into water soluble form.
(2) To leach out the soluble sodium from the field. Amendments used for reclamation of Alkali soils.
(ii) Gypsum:
(1) It is slightly soluble in water. So it should be applied well in advance.
(2) For every 1 m.e. of exchangeable Na per 100 gm of soil, 1.7 tones of Gypsum/acre is to be added.
(3) If the requirement is 3 tonnes/acre- apply in one dose.
(4) If the requirement is 3 to 5 tonnes/acre- apply in 2 split doses.
(5) If the requirement is 5 or more tonnes/acre – apply in 3 split doses.
(iii) Use of Pyrites (FeS2) .
(iv) Sulphur present in pyrites causes decrease in pH of soil due to formation of H2SO4.
(v) Application of sulphur.
(vi) Application of molasses.
(vii) Drainage channels must be arranged around the field.
(viii) Growing the green manure crops and incorporates in the field.
Problematic Soils: Type # 3. Saline Soils:
The saline soils contain toxic concentration of soluble salts in the root zone. Soluble salts consist of chlorides and sulphates of sodium, calcium, magnesium. Because of the white encrustation formed due to salts, the saline soils are also called white alkali soils.
(a) Reasons for Salinity:
In arid and semi arid areas salts formed during weathering are not fully leached. During the periods of higher rainfall the soluble salts are leached from the more permeable high laying areas to low laying areas and where ever the drainage is restricted, salts accumulate on the soil surface, as water evaporates
(i) The excessive irrigation of uplands containing salts results in the accumulation of salts in the valleys.
(ii) In areas having salt layer at lower depths in the profile, seasonal irrigation may favour the upward movement of salts.
(iii) Salinity is also caused if the soils are irrigated with saline water.
(iv) In coastal areas the ingress of sea water induces salinity in the soil.
(b) Characteristics:
(i) Saline soil has soil pH of less than 8.5
(ii) EC is more than 4.0 m.mhos/cm
(iii) ESP (exchangeable sodium per cent) is less than 15
(iv) Dominated by sulphate and chloride ions and low in exchangeable sodium
(v) Flocculation due to excess soluble salts.
(vi) High osmotic pressure of soil solution
(vii) Presence of white crust
(viii) It has white colour that why it is also called as White alkali
(c) Injury to Crops:
(i) High osmotic pressure decreases the water availability to plants hence retardation of growth rate.
(ii) As a result of retarded growth rate, leaves and stems of affected plants are stunted.
(iii) Development of thicker layer of surface wax imparts bluish green tinge on leaves during to high EC germination per cent of seeds is reduced.
(d) Crops Suitable for Cultivation in Saline Soils:
(i) The salts are to be leached below the root zone and not allowed to come up. However this practice is somewhat difficult in deep and fine textured soils containing more salts in the lower layers. Under these conditions, a provision of some kind of sub-surface drains becomes important.
(ii) The required area is to be made into smaller plots and each plot should be bounded to hold irrigation water.
(iii) Separate irrigation and drainage channels are to be provided for each plot.
(iv) Plots are to be flooded with good quality water up to 15 – 20 cms and puddled.
(v) Thus, soluble salts will be dissolved in the water.
(vi) The excess water with dissolved salts is to be removed into the drainage channels.
(vii) Flooding and drainage are to be repeated 5 or 6 times, till the soluble salts are leached from the soil to a safer limit
(viii) Green manure crops like Daincha can be grown up to flowering stage and incorporated into the soil. Paddy straw can also be used.
(ix) Super phosphate. Ammonium sulphate or Urea can be applied in the last puddle. MOP and Ammonium chlorides should not be used.
(x) Scrape the salt layer on the surface of the soil with spade.
(xi) Grow salt tolerant crops like sugar beet, tomato, beet root, barley etc. Before sowing, the seeds are to be treated by soaking the seeds in 0.1 per cent salt solution for 2 to 3 hours.
KULAI: The Gunung Pulai Forest Reserve, which was closed down some 15 years ago following a tragedy that saw the loss of five lives, has finally reopened to the public with an early warning system installed for the safety of visitors.
Johor Education, Information, Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development executive committee chairman Datuk Md Jais Sarday said the forest reserve was thoroughly inspected with safety measures in placed before its doors were reopened.
He added, however, only the lowest level of the area is accessible to the public while level two and level three were still being monitored.
“We have three officers from the Forestry Department on duty here daily to ensure visitors abide by the rules and regulations as well as to monitor the safety of the public,” he told reporters after launching the reopening ceremony here on Tuesday.
The official reopening ceremony was also in conjunction with the International Forest Day 2016 state-level celebrations here.
In Dec 2001, the Gunung Pulai Forest Reserve was ordered shut following a landslide incident that took the lives of five and destroyed four homes at Kampung Sri Gunung Pulai here.
KULAI: Kerajaan negeri yakin pembukaan semula Hutan Lipur Gunung Pulai 1, dekat sini, selepas ditutup hampir 15 tahun sejak Disember 2001, mampu merancakkan kembali pertumbuhan ekonomi setempat. Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pendidikan, Penerangan, Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi Johor, Datuk Md Jais Sarday, berkata kawasan rekreasi itu yang dibangunkan semula dengan kos hampir RM700,000 bukan sahaja mampu menarik kehadiran lebih ramai pengunjung dari dalam dan luar negara, malah perlu dimanfaatkan oleh penduduk kampung. “Selain menempatkan Pejabat Penguat Kuasa Jabatan Perhutanan Johor, kemudahan lain yang dibina untuk keselesaan pengunjung ialah pondok rehat dan tandas serta dilengkapi sistem amaran awal. “Dengan beroperasi semula hutan lipur ini, kita percaya ia akan kembali menjadi tarikan ramai dan peluang ini seharusnya digunakan penduduk setempat untuk menambah pendapatan masing-masing. Misalnya mereka boleh membuka restoran, kedai menjual cenderamata atau menjadi pemandu pelancong. “Pada masa sama, kerajaan negeri amat berharap pengunjung akan sentiasa menjaga kemudahan yang disediakan dan tidak membuang sampah merata-rata,” katanya. Beliau yang mewakili Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin berkata demikian pada sidang media selepas merasmikan Pembukaan Semula Hutan Lipur Gunung Pulai 1 sempena sambutan Hari Hutan Antarabangsa Peringkat Negeri Johor di sini, hari ini. Hutan lipur itu ditutup pada 26 Disember 2011 atas arahan Majlis Keselamatan Negara (MKN) berikutan tragedi banjir lumpur di kawasan rekreasi berkenaan sehingga mengorbankan lima orang, selain empat rumah turut musnah dihanyutkan air deras di Kampung Sri Gunung Pulai, dekat sini.
