DLSU- CHULA U Summer Student Exchange Program 2013

CU Structural Testing Lab Tour

Ten Days in Thailand: A Remarkable Experience 

by Jonathan Cañete

Chulalongkorn University (CU)  yet again welcomed De La Salle University  (DLSU) Civil Engineering undergraduate students namely: Jonathan Cañete, Reymark Orlina, Dondon Vergara, John Danson Uy and  together with their professor Miss Irene Olivia Ubay-Anongphouth to Thailand. The Student Exchange program which was formalized by the CE Departments of CU and DLSU started in September 2012. This year the ten day study trip was held on May 10-19, 2013.

City Tour with DLSU CE Prof. Irene Ubay-Anongphouth

Cultural Tour at Ancient City

 The trip was a mixed of a cultural tour and  a technical exposure on research and and laboratory facilities of CU. The first three days consisted of a tour around the city of Bangkok and an introduction to its rich culture, the Siam Niramit Cultural Show, Ayutthaya whole day field trip of ancient palace and historical locations and the Muang Boran which was the Ancient City.

The 5th day of the trip on May 14 was the official start of the research and technical visit of the students at CU. The day started with the campus tour and followed by the formal welcoming of the Civil Engineering Department of CU by Assoc. Prof. Dr Sorawit Narupiti, Head of division, and CU faculty members. Dr Sorawit together with the CU faculty members presented an overview about the university and the different Graduate Programs and Scholarship at CU. In the afternoon, an in-campus laboratory tour and demonstration were held. The laboratories visited include the CM Laboratory, Geotechnical Laboratory,  Highway material Laboratory and  the Full scale structural and material testing Laboratory. The group was assisted by the CU professors namely: Dr. Veerasak Likhitruangsilp,  Dr. Suched Likitlersuang, Dr. Boonchai Sangpetngam, Dr. Akhrawat Lenwari.

Off-campus tour at Saraburi 

The CU Lab Tour started at the CM laboratory where they showcased their very own 3D screen where in models of to be built structures are shown and can be virtually toured and also showed a system in which there would be less cost in construction and less errors during the communication of different sectors during planning and construction of a structure. The next laboratory was the Geotechnical Laboratory where in old equipment meets the new technology. There were different apparatus which were on dial or gage and with the help of the advancement, they were hooked up to different readers and fed into the main computer to have easier access, accurate reading and  easier to perform the actual experiments. For the third laboratory, it was the Highway material laboratory where in road materials such as asphalt, cement and embankments are tested for road construction and use. And lastly, the Full scale structural and  material testing laboratory where they test structural components, not just scaled members but actual size materials.

A Visit at a Construction Site of MRT

After the laboratory tour, there were other activities prepared by the CU. A technical training where the students were taught how to model building under seismic loading the application of building information modeling for construction was conducted. Also, there was the fire testing laboratory where they test both structural and non-structural components of a structure and to check whether these parts are within the specifications of their fire code. After that, they toured us to an underground construction site of the MRT. With the use of different approach in construction, they were able to excavate or dig underneath the main road without fully disrupting the flow of traffic and causing congestion around the area. Then, to wrap up the campus and technical tour of the students, it was the off-campus tour at Saraburi where they have two warehouses for equipment and testing and they also have their very own supply of energy for each of these equipment. The apparatus within the warehouses were purely for research as of the moment .

The technical and training tour a was remarkable experience!  The visit has  widened our outlook on the various fields in civil engineering and inspired us to pursue graduate studies not only in STE but in other specialization.

Ten days might have been short but there would be more time in the future. Thailand is surely a great place to visit.