Abstract

Road vehicle emission is an important effectiveness measurement of any sustainable highway transportation system. Deterioration of road surface is considered as the basic problem, such as traffic congestion and road accidents including the increase in fuel consumption which leads to increase in emissions. Evaluating the effects of traffic emissions due to roughness of the highway system is the objective of the work taken up. The analysis takes account of emissions from the vehicles based on the road roughness characteristics. The road roughness and the vehicle emissions data can be used as ready reckoners to estimate the timely need of pavement surface treatment.

The work was conducted on three stretches of roads in Hyderabad, namely Road Opposite to Arts College Physics Department to New Godavari Hostel, OUCT Road Temple to Sports Hostel, and DD colony A-lane. The roughness of these roads has been measured using MERLIN (Machine for Evaluation Roughness using Low-cost Instrumentation). Vehicle emissions over these road stretches were measured and determined by using AVL DiGas 444 Analyzer. Different ages and models of vehicle (Alto and Swift petrol vehicles) were used in this study. Comparisons were made for emissions on different stretches. The comparisons show appreciable percentage of increase in emission on the stretches with higher distress, i.e., higher IRI value.

Abstract

Pavement is the part of the road or street, consisting of various materials and that are placed on the natural ground or in landfills, in order to directly support traffic. Nowadays one of the coatings used in the design of pavements is precast concrete paver blocks. The application of pavements which use precast concrete blocks were generally associated with sidewalks and access the residential areas. They can also be used in gasoline service stations, parking lots, and sometimes bus bays (Morgado, 2008). Concrete paver block not only provide a functional, hard-wearing surface, and minimum maintenance, but it also harmonizes with the environment. With a structural behaviour similar to that of flexible pavements, the concrete block pavements allow the repairs without leaving a trace. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of coir fibre on physical properties of concrete. The paver blocks made of FRC concrete may serve as the placement for conventional pavements. Mix design is used as an experimental tool to evaluate the optimum content of cement, aggregates, water and concrete mix properties in-line with the various standards and specifications conforming to the Indian climatic conditions. Various properties of materials have been tested before using it for the mix. Paver blocks of 0% fibre, coir fibres of 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4%, Recron 3S polyester fibres of 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3% to the total weight of cement, Coarse aggregate, Fine aggregate, and water are prepared and tested for Compressive strength, Rebound Hammer test, Water Absorption test, and Ultrasonic pulse velocity test. It is observed from results that there is 10.3% increase in compressive strength in fibre reinforced paver blocks when compared to conventional concrete paver blocks. The compressive strength of the paver blocks with coir fibres 0.3% show 8% more strength when compared to the paver block with 0.1% coir fiber. The compressive strength of the paver blocks with an optimum fiber content of Recron 3S polyester fibres shows 5.5% more compressive strength than the paver blocks with coir fibers of optimum fiber content.

Abstract

The roadways in India is dominated by flexible pavements and the conventional bituminous mixes proves to be obsolete for the quantum loads exerted by the commercial vehicles which ply on the pavement. Superior quality of pavement is achieved by using superior grade of materials and proper quality control during construction. To modily bitumen, there are many commercially available chemicals which are claimed to be the best in the market to modify bitumen, but only few prove the worthiness. One such commercially available elastomeric pellet VIATOP plus FEP Das Pellet is used in this work and it is evaluated based on laboratory investigation. The rheology of the modified bitumen mainly depends on the percentage of dosage, the mixing temperature, the mixing RPM, and also the mixing process (Dry process or Wet process). The present study is aimed at obtaining the optimum dosage of the elastomeric pellets that has to be added to the neat bitumen, in order to get a superior bituminous mix. The study is conducted on VG-10 bitumen and VG-30 bitumen for both BC Grade-II and DBM Grade-II mixes. Performance studies, such as Indirect Tensile Strength, Moisture Susceptibility, and Repeated load test are done at obtained OBC using Marshall Criteria.

Abstract

A study is carried out to determine the crop water requirement of some selected crops for the Ghataprabha command area situated in the state of Karnataka, India. Crop water requirement for each of the crops is determined by using 30- year climatic data in CROPWAT. Reference crop EvapoTranspiration (ET ) is determined using the FAO Penman Monteith o method. The crop water requirement and net irrigation requirement in the command area are determined for different hydrological years, viz., average, dry (P80), wet (P20), and normal rainfall (P50) scenario. The results of the modeling framework indicate that irrigation demand is highest during dry scenario and lowest for wet scenario whereas the water demand during normal scenario is well approached by that in average scenario. Kharif crops have lower irrigation water demand compared to other cropping criteria. Whereas the two seasonal crops require the highest water for cultivation compared to Kharif and Rabi crops. The proposed modeling framework recommends farmers to select most suitable scenario for better management of agricultural water resource.

Abstract

The present study emphasis the need of management plan for reduction of land degradation induced by natural as well as anthropogenic activities that has led to decrease in the fertility of soil and has a huge impact on humans. The study was carried out at watershed level, and Pohru watershed of Jammu and Kashmir State was chosen as the study area. A detailed Land degradation map was prepared using different remote sensing and GIS techniques combined with ground survey. The study revealed that major portion of the study area belongs to moderate-severe status of land degradation. In order to address the present Land degradation status, proper management strategies need to be taken in accordance to the intensity and magnitude of the problem which includes both biological and engineering measures. A management plan was prepared for the watershed in order to reduce the level of degradation.

Abstract

Pure conical elevated water tanks are widely used as water reservoirs in various locations around the world. Current Indian codes of practice do not provide any provisions or guidelines for the analysis and design of reinforced concrete pure conical elevated water tanks under hydrostatic loading. Available code provisions are limited only for the design of cylindrical and rectangular tanks. In this paper, a Finite Element Model (FEM) of pure conical elevated water tank is made by using a structural analysis and design computer program, i.e. STAAD.Pro. The current study focus on the behavior of pure conical elevated water tanks under varying tank inclination (θ) for a constant volume of 500 cubic meter. The aim of this research paper is to find out the optimum angle of inclination (θ) for the conical tank by performingDynamic analysis, i.e. using response spectrum method. The inclination (θ) of the conical tank is increased at a rate of 5^o and varies from 15^o to 80^o are considered in the analysis. The entire tanks are model for the seismic zone-V as per IS-1893-2002. The Response of each conical tank with respect to others will be checked for Base Shear, Principal stresses, Hoop Stresses, Meridional Stresses, Bending Moment in plates, for conical portion and Shaft portion, Bending Moments in ring Beam, and Lateral displacement. The behavior of each conical tank with respect to others is shown with the help of graphs for Empty tank and Full tank condition.

Abstract

As part of the post-earthquake recovery, a major rebuild programme was launched and a number of new assets and systems (pressure sewers, vacuum sewers, lift stations, and enhanced gravity systems) were installed in different parts of the wastewater network of Christchurch. As part of the rebuild works, 56 new lift stations were constructed in the sewer network to improve the performance of the earthquake-prone wastewater network. This paper will critically review the effectiveness of lift stations in a complex wastewater network. The paper will examine the importance of wastewater network hydraulic modelling to avoid some unusual challenges during lift station design and operations. The paper concludes that sewer network hydraulic modelling inputs are essential for lift station design. Simple theoretical calculation methods may pose some major challenges causing a lift station to fail to operate effectively resulting sewer overflow into the environment.