Abstract

The provision of openings in beams is to facilitate the passage of utility pipes and ducts. So, a considerable reduction in the depth between the ceiling and the floor above is achieved, which also translates into substantial savings in the construction of a multi-storey building. However, current Indian code of practice of construction of building structures do not provide provision for design of beam with openings. In present study, a total 10 beams of size 1800 x 150 x 300 mm were prepared with two openings of 120 x 120 mm provided in the shear zone. Three beams were strengthened and three beams were rehabilitated with CFRP sheets and tested under flexure, load carrying capacity and cracking pattern were studied and it is found that strengthened and repaired beams were effective and overcomes the actual strength and deflection in rehabilitated beams more over controlled opening beams. Furthermore the cracking pattern, modes of failure and cracking distance in shear and flexure were presented and compared with controlled beams.

Abstract

Hydraulic characteristic is very essential to do any seepage modeling study for better understanding of the flow behavior through the soil. It was found in the literature, that seepage losses through the base of an irrigation canal effect significantly in the total volume of water flowing through it. The cracking occurs in concrete lined irrigation canal due to rise in water level and other environmental factors necessitate the use of flexible material like geo-synthetic on the canal surface instead of concrete. The main advantage of using this flexible material is that it eliminates the cracking phenomena and simultaneously reduces the seepage of water through canal to a considerable extent. To understand this, an effort was made by conducting a modeling study with the help of finite element based software SEEP/W. The study considers a two dimensional canal model to see the variation of seepage through the soil underneath the canal base and sides. In this work, the seepage variation was indirectly studied by observing the Pore Water Pressure (PWP) variation in the soil. The PWP changes with the change in the amount of water in the soil. The PWP for a saturated soil is positive, while for an unsaturated soil it belongs to negative range. The variation of PWP beneath the canal bed was noted and plotted against the depth. Based on this variation, the seepage losses for the lined and unlined canal were compared for different water head in the canal. The study indicates that there is a considerable influence of water head in the PWP variation. Also, application of liner in canal surface reduces the seepage losses which was confirmed by the high negative PWP.

Abstract

The present experimental work deals with the development of fiber reinforced geopolymer concrete in standard grade of (G40) incorporating polypropylene and basalt fibers. Equal proportions of fly ash and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) were used as binders by replacing cement, active alkaline liquids like Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) of (12M) Molarity concentration, and Sodium Silicate (Na₂SiO₃). In this experimental work, polypropylene fibers were varied at 0.25%, 0.75%, 1.25%, 1.75% and maximum up to 2.25%; volume of basalt fibers were kept constant at 0.25%. The detailed study was performed to analyze, how fibers effect in the geopolymer concrete specimens; also Standard increase in the Compressive strength, Split tensile strength was noticed and increase in flexural strength was found to be adequate.

Abstract

To enrich the performance of structures, the stability of underlying soils must be checked. The stability of soil may change due to the discharge of pollutants into water bodies without adequate treatment, which causes momentous changes in the behavior of water, further leading to changes in the pH of water. In the present study, the black cotton soil has been treated with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) of 53 Grade and Portland Slag Cement (PSC) with different percentages (3%, 6%, and 9%), and laboratory tests such as Atterberg limits, Compaction, Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS),California Bearing Ratio (CBR) and Consolidation have been performed. This paper attempts to assess the effect of pH (pH=5, pH=7, pH=9) levels on curing time (7, 14 and 28days) and behavior of cement treated soil. Tests results have shown that there is an increase in Optimum Water Content (OMC) which leads to decrease in Maximum Dry Density (MDD). The UCS and CBR strengths of soil got increased due to the addition of cement, besides that there is a reduction in the compressibility with the addition of cement content which were cured for ages (7, 14 and 28 days).

Abstract

In the past few years, Road accidents have been are increasing in most of the developing countries, including India. The main causes of the road accidents are drunken driving, improper vehicle condition, and rash driving. Traffic collision may result in injury, death, vehicle damage, and property damage. The analysis and identification of such accident prone zones are essential to reduce the same. The aim of this paper is to identify the crash prone zones, and to develop regression models using multiple linear regression and negative binomial models, which predict the crashes. Crash data is collected for different intersections of the selected segments. Data was collected for the year 2011 to 2015, from Hyderabad police stations in terms of crashes per year, traffic volume (major and minor road), turning traffic volume in vehicle per day etc. These data are analysed, and a regression model is developed using various intersection parameters. The model was developed to show the relationship between crash rate and various intersection parameters from regression analysis. If the number of intersections and vehicles increase, then crashes are going to increase. Hence, the model has been developed to reduce the collision.

Abstract

Measurement of road condition in terms of its surface roughness is an important parameter. Assessment of longitudinal profile quality of road surfaces is a commonly considered primary requirement of any newly constructed roads and also in service pavements. Internationally, the riding quality is related to unevenness of pavement surface and quantified in terms of roughness, and is expressed as International Roughness Index (IRI).

There are several low cost, traditional instruments used for measuring roughness of pavements such as Straight Edge, Wedge scale etc. However with the advancement of technology, different sophisticated equipments have emerged, which gives accurate values of unevenness or IRI (Kumar, 2014).

In this study, a low cost device, MERLIN has been fabricated to measure road roughness. Evaluation of roughness of two selected pavements has been made with the fabricated MERLIN and also Reduced Level (RL) values are determined along the same road stretches by using Total Station. Statistical analysis has been carried out on the data collected and regression equations were developed between these two parameters. A comparison between the results of MERLIN and Total Station is made, and suitability of MERLIN as a low cost equipment is investigated with reference to routine evaluation of pavements on short stretches.

Abstract

Water models can be used for concept design, What-If scenarios, emergency damage assessments, real-time decision making, operational decision making, land-use planning, and also to quantify the post-emergency recovery of a threewaters (water supply, wastewater, stormwater) network. Three-waters hydraulic models had been extensively used in Christchurch, New Zealand as part of the post-earthquake damage assessments, emergency response and recovery work. This paper outlines where the hydraulic models have been used in Christchurch, what worked well and what did not. The paper emphasises the importance of a three-waters hydraulic modelling strategy to prepare a water authority for any unforeseen situations and also to take correct, timely, cost-effective decisions for capital works programming and water network planning. Once isolated, individual systems – such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), hydraulic model simulation engines, asset management systems, and Geographic Information System (GIS) – are capable of interconnectivity and communication. This paper strongly recommends modern water authorities and relevant management professionals to develop and implement a three-waters modelling strategy for managing and planning three-waters network assets for present and future generations.

Abstract

Rapid urbanization with haphazard industrialization will lead to increase in motorized vehicular traffic and this increase will certainly affect the air quality levels. The gases released from vehicular exhaust should be monitored and assessed for understanding the present air quality. Air quality levels shall be monitored on regular basis in urban areas for maintaining the health of commuters. In this context, the authors have made an attempt to understand the present air quality levels in Hyderabad city of Telangana State. Ten locations were chosen which are scattered into three zones, such as industrial, commercial, and residential. Parameters, such as NO₂, SO₂, and PM₁₀ were considered to access the quality of air levels in the study area. Variables like wind speed, temperature, humidity, traffic volume and its composition were considered for assessment of air quality parameters. These variables provide good correlation in predicting the air quality parameter. The model also provides closer results with the observed field data. Proper enforcement regulation and education to the commuters will help in improving the air quality standards.