Conference Report
 Third Asia-Pacific Conference on FRP in Structures (APFIS2012)

 Dr. Yasuhiko Sato
Associate Professor
Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Japan

 The Third Asia-Pacific Conference on FRP in Structures (APFIS2012) was held from 2 to 4 February 2012 at the Hokkaido University Conference Hall, Sapporo, Japan. APFIS is one of the official conferences of the International Institute for FRP in Construction (IIFC), which focuses on research and application of fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) in civil and architectural engineering in the Asia-Pacific region. Previous APFIS conferences were held in Hong Kong, China in 2007 and Seoul, Korea in 2009. APFIS2012 was organized jointly by IIFC and Japan Concrete Institute (JCI).

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The conference consisted of six keynote lectures (Table-1) and 80 presentations (66 oral and 14 poster presentations) from about 15 countries. Although it was anticipated that the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011 might affect the number of attendees, in the end 100 participants joined the conference.

Table-1 Keynote Lectures
Title Lecturer (affiliation)
Proposals of CF, GF and NF Composites to Civil and Architectural Structures Prof. Goichi Ben
(Nihon University)
Performance Evaluation of Precast Concrete Block Reinforced with GFRP Rebars for Erosion Control Prof. Jongsung Sim
(Hanyang University)
Debonding Failures in CFRP-Strengthened Steel Structures Prof. Jin-Guang Teng
(The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
All FRP and FRP-Concrete Hybrid Components for Bridges: Experiments, Theories and Case Study Dr. Peng Feng
(Tsinghua University)
Research and Development of Fibre Composites in Civil Infrastructure – The Australian Experience Dr. Thiru Aravinthan
(University of Southern Queensland)
Damage of Bridges by the Tsunami and Current Activity of JSCE Committee on Bridge Design against Tsunami Prof. Kyuichi Maruyama
(Nagaoka University of Technology)



Photo-1 Group photo

At the opening ceremony, the opening address was given by Professor Tamon Ueda, chairman of the local organizing committee. This was followed with a speech by Professor Yoshihiro Masuda, president of JCI and professor of Utsunomiya University, and a welcoming address by Professor Naoshi Baba, dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University.
The themed general sessions were held in two conference rooms simultaneously. The themes are listed below (with the number in brackets giving the number of presentations).
- Strengthening of concrete, metallic, timber and masonry structures (11)
- Bond behavior and debonding failures (15)
- Confinement and seismic retrofit / Concrete structures reinforced or prestressed with FRP / Fire, impact and blast loading (10)
- Hybrid structures and all FRP structures / Strengthening of concrete, metallic, timber and masonry structures (14)
- Durability and long-term performance / Strengthening of concrete, metallic, timber and masonry structures (10)


Photo-2 Performance by Mr. Nakamura

The welcome reception in the evening of the first day was held at the Conference Hall of Hokkaido University, hosted by the Association for Advanced Composite Technology in the Construction Field (ACC). During the reception, the winners of the best poster awards, as selected during the afternoon by the judging committee, were announced as follows.
BEST POSTER for Research on FRP in Strengthening of Existing Structures
Dawei Zhang, Tamon Ueda, Hitoshi Furuuchi; A New Analytical Model for Concrete Cover Separation of R/C Beams Strengthened with FRP Laminates
BEST POSTER for Research on FRP in New Construction
Lining Ding, Sami Rizkalla, Gang Wu, Zhishen Wu; Confinement Effectiveness of CFRP Grids on Concrete Columns

There was also a surprise performance on the alto sax by ACC member Osamu Nakamura (of P.S. Mitsubishi Construction). Participants enjoyed his brilliant performance (Photo-2).
In the evening of the second day, a banquet was held at the Sapporo Beer Garden. After a casual speech and toast by Professor Ueda, participants enjoyed a lamb barbeque meal in typical Hokkaido style: "all you can eat and drink in 90 minutes". The more than 60 participants had a great time at this wild dinner and beer party (Photo-3).


Photo-3 Banquet dinner

At the closing ceremony on the final day, winners of the best paper awards were announced, as follows.
BEST PAPER for Research on FRP Strengthening of Existing Structures
D.S. Lunn, S.H. Rizkalla, S. Maeda, and T. Ueda; FRP Anchorage Systems for Infill Masonry Structures
BEST PAPER for Research on FRP in New Construction
N. Nakai, H. Watanabe, E. Enomoto, and T. Uomoto; Durability of Aramid and Carbon FRP PC Beams under Tidal and Thermal Accelerated Exposure

The official web-site of APFIS 2012 (http://www.eng.hokudai.ac.jp/labo/maintenance/APFIS2012/) is still active and the many photos taken at every opportunity during the conference are available. Anyone wishing to have more details of the conference program and activities should please visit the web site. The next APFIS will be held from 11 to 13 December 2013 in Melbourne, Australia, and we expect this successful series to continue there.