Applegen Joyo and Allan Botuyan work in the Philippines, Martin Wijaya in Indonesia, and all three design on slopes. Each account below spends most of its length on the investigation rather than on the design that followed it.
In their own words.
01
Applegen Joyo
Primary Engineer · AC Joyo Design and Technical Services · Philippines
"Adept at optimizing resource allocation, technical consulting, and aligning engineering methodologies with high-level business objectives."
Design solutions that are safe for the riding public
I led the geotechnical investigation for the collapsed section along the Bukidnon–Davao City Road at Brgy. Palacapao, Quezon, Bukidnon.
Every part of that investigation was allocated to what the failure demanded. Five lines of two-dimensional Electrical Resistivity Tomography, each spanning 300 meters, reached exploration depths of up to 50 meters. Six boreholes went down between 25.50 and 42.00 meters, with Standard Penetration Testing at every 1.0-meter interval near the surface and every 3.00-meter interval beyond 30.00 meters. Two lines of Multi-channel Analysis of Surface Waves provided the shear wave velocity profiles and a site-specific response spectrum.
I generated the slope stability analysis using Midas GTS NX to determine the extent of the sliding failure and to provide design solutions that are safe for the riding public. What MIDAS has made easier for me is the transition from borehole data, ERT data and MASW data.
02
Allan Botuyan
President and CEO · Qialitest Solutions & Technologies, Inc. (QSTI), AE Botuyan Construction & Structural Consultancy, Inc. and Concretek, Inc. · Philippines
"Integrity in work, conscientiousness in work, a never-ending learner, always creating ways to improve how things are done, responsible execution of design, analysis and implementation."
Without the FEA, the analysis would have remained two-dimensional
As a holder of two patents for engineering application, the AB blocks, now being used as a component of mechanically stabilized earth for slope protection and for bridge approaches, the impact was crucial, especially in reducing the time of design and construction, and in the ease of sourcing materials as an alternative to quarrying boulders for gabion baskets and aprons. Slope protection works and bridge approaches in the Davao region have been using the AB blocks since then, for the benefit it brought the construction industry.
Right now, the introduction of geophysics such as Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), Multi-Channel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW), the Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) into the practice of geotechnical earthquake engineering in the Philippine region, to upgrade it to global level, is indeed an innovation worth mentioning.
Seeing the whole slope in three dimensions
The Rise of Monterrazas de Cebu is the project where MIDAS GTS NX capabilities were put to good use, especially the 3D FEA of the mountainous terrain and the irregular building excavation analysis. Without the FEA, the analysis would have remained two-dimensional and a lot of assumptions would have been made, especially about the location of the unstable slopes before and after the proposed excavation. Modelling is accurate for the surface digital elevation model (DEM) and the subsurface soil model. The process became so intuitive and visual that you can somehow "feel" the physical meaning of the analysis and its results.
03
Martin Wijaya
President Director · Hamdany Wijaya Konsultan · Indonesia
"Soil parameters and behaviour, as well as the effect of geometry, shall always be considered in our model."
A rainfall-induced slope failure in unsaturated residual soil
I have applied my geotechnical expertise to address challenging slope stability problems, particularly where soil suction, rainfall infiltration and groundwater conditions significantly affected slope performance. In one project, I evaluated a rainfall-induced slope failure in unsaturated residual soil. I reviewed the site investigation data, soil parameters, rainfall conditions and suction behaviour, then performed numerical seepage and slope stability analyses to assess the changes in pore-water pressure and shear strength. I also considered the limitations of conventional suction measurements and used numerical simulation to better understand the suction distribution along the slope.
This approach helped identify the critical mechanisms contributing to the failure and supported the development of a more reliable and conservative slope stabilization design. Midas has brought design to life through 3D analysis.
Before any slope in these stories was stabilised, someone spent a long time reading the ground beneath it, with boreholes, geophysics and simulation. Applegen Joyo, Allan Botuyan and Martin Wijaya each made that reading the foundation of a safer design.