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Structural engineering involves the design and analysis of structures supporting or resisting loads. It is about finding elegant solutions which are safe, durable, practical and beautiful, such as for the Giant Interactive Campus in Shanghai, the award-winning Saint John’s Building in Hong Kong or the Lofu Bridge in Taiwan.
MAA is experienced in structural engineering for buildings, bridges and underground structures, and also in conducting inspection of existing structures for assessment and rehabilitation. Additionally, MAA is experienced in assessing and suppressing microvibrations, which could potentially interfere with industrial processes, and may damage buildings. In Tainan Science Park, where crucial semi-conductor manufacturing facilities were located, MAA was involved in the suppression of vibrations from the high speed rail.
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- Services Provided
- - Structure and Foundation
- Finite Element Analysis
- Special Structural Behavior Analysis
- Structure Inspection & Appraisal
- Structure Damage Assessment
- Structure Rehabilitation
- Structure Loading Test
- Design Interface Coordination
Project Safety and Economical Solution
Accurate structural analysis is a prerequisite to achieve properly designed structural components to sustain the loadings of the structure itself (bridges, buildings, stadiums and underground facilities) and to resist loadings from natural causes (earthquakes, wind, rain and floods). A thorough understanding of structural behavior and the correct choice of structural system can lead to structural efficiency – i.e. meeting the essential safety requirements within budget.
MAA has been participating in many important infrastructure projects internationally. As a result MAA has gathered many valuable experiences in the planning and design phases for various types of projects. With the close rapport in the academia world, MAA is consistently improving its technical capabilities and creativity. MAA has worked closely with many academic institutions to transform novel methods and ideas into practical, safe and economic solutions.
Advanced Technology Research and Application
MAA has devoted considerable efforts to invent and discover new engineering technology. New technology is usually used to overcome engineering problems, lower costs, improve quality and/or minimize construction time. Of the many new technologies used by MAA, the results have been impressive – quality and efficiency were improved and cost was lowered. For example, MAA was the first to introduce Incremental Launching Method for bridge construction in Taiwan during design of•Touchien and Fengshan Hsi River Bridges along Northern Second Freeway. MAA was the first consulting firm to adopt All Welding Technique in the design of the steel bridge with a forked arch spanning 140 m located at Nan-Fang-Au in I-Lan County. In the project of Fuhsing North Road Underpass of Song Shan International Airport, MAA was the first to introduce to Taiwan a construction technique, Endless Self Advancing Method, which successfully combined pipe-roof and pipe-jacking method to the construct the underpass that ran beneath the ongoing airport runway and glide way. This is the first project ever built in the world where a tunnel construction is made under an operating airport. The project was so well executed that the Public Construction Committee of Taiwan gave MAA the first prize of the 4th Golden Quality Award Ceremony in recognition of the superb performance demonstrated during the design and construction supervision phases. Recently, MAA, as a result of acknowledging its excellence in developing new technology, was invited to participate in vibration mitigation measurements planning and design for Tainan Science Park, which is the largest vibration mitigation project ever conducted in Taiwan. MAA was honored to take part in the crucial elements in the design and construction management service.
Structure Inspection, Assessment, Evaluation, Maintenance and Reinforcement
By incorporating of the ideas of life cycle maintenance, assuring public safety through structure durability/capacity enhancement and sustainable development through hazards prevention, MAA has been engaged in inspection, assessment, safety evaluation and reinforcement of existing structures as well as designing new ones. MAA has participated in and accomplished many research related and actual engineering projects, including:
- - Code Development on Diagnosis, Evaluation and Rehabilitation of Deteriorated Reinforced Concrete Bridges in Infrastructure System
- Development of Life-Cycle Based Bridge Information Management System and Automation Technologies for Bridge Maintenance and Management
- Retrofitting Design of T-14 Yen-Fen Bridge after 921 Earthquake
- HSR C342 Seismic Retrofitting Design Works of Civil Structures (including technical consulting services during construction)
- Seismic Capacity Performance Evaluation of THSR C260&C270
- Study on Post-Earthquake Bridge Inspection and Emergency Rehabilitation Procedure
- Inspection and Maintenance Program for Civil Infrastructure of THSR
- Managment of the Bridge Inspection Project of Taipei (under earthquake conditions)