i-manager's Journal on Future Engineering and Technology (JFET)


Volume 4 Issue 2 November - January 2009

Article

Emerging Technologies for Structural Damage Detection and Evaluation

Andrei Zagrai*
Department of Mechanical Engineering, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMIMT), USA.
Zagrai, A. (2009). Emerging Technologies For Structural Damage Detection And Evaluation. i-manager’s Journal on Future Engineering and Technology, 4(2), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.26634/jfet.4.2.505

Abstract

Structural fatigue life is a complex function of material composition, manufacturing process, operational loads and environmental conditions. Although deterioration of the structural material starts very early at the microscale, it is not until the damage develops into the macro-scale cracks, delaminations and disbonds that it becomes a subject of interest to the established nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and structural health monitoring (SHM) technologies. There is an increasing interest in the early damage detection NDE/SHM techniques permitting assessment of structural condition before initiation of the macro-scale damage and the onset of the irreversible material fracture. This paper reviews recent activities in the field of embeddable structural diagnostics and presents examples of practical implementation of novel damage detection methods. Traditional and emerging NDE/SHM technologies for the assessment of the incipient structural damage are discussed and perspective new directions are highlighted. The particular emphasis is placed on the existing and potential SHM applications.

Article

A Single Unit PLC System Operating under Extended Available and Inspection Periods

Ramasamy Sivasamy* , P.M. Kgosi**
* Professor, Department of Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Botswana, Botswana.
** Senior Lecturer, Department of Statistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Botswana, Botswana.
Sivasamy, R., and Kgosi, P. M. (2009). A Single Unit Plc System Operating Under Extended Available and Inspection Periods. i-manager’s Journal on Future Engineering and Technology, 4(2), 17-21. https://doi.org/10.26634/jfet.4.2.507

Abstract

A Single unit Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) operating simultaneously till either the random inspection period or the random extended available period is over whichever occurs first after the failure of the online unit is considered in this paper. Postulating the operative phase, partial system failure phase, repair phase, and replacement phase of that online unit as states of a Markov Renewal process (MRP) in a time cycle reliability indices and availability characteristics were obtained and it has been shown that profit will be constant in the context of increase in cost per unit time of inspection, repair and replacement and numerically illustrated and presented in a table.

Article

Design and Analysis of Piezo- Driven Valve-Less Micropump

P. Somasundaram* , S. Chandika**, C. Jegadheesan***
* Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, KSR college of Technology, Thiruchengode.
** Lecturer, Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Perundurai, Erode.
*** Lecturer, Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Perundurai, Erode.
Somasundaram, P., Chandika, S., and Jegadheesan, C. (2009). Design And Analysis Of Piezo - Driven Valve - Less Micropump. i-manager’s Journal on Future Engineering and Technology, 4(2), 22-26. https://doi.org/10.26634/jfet.4.2.512

Abstract

Nowadays researchers are focussing on compact system design for all engineering applications without sacrificing the system performance. This paper deals with the importance of micro electro mechanical systems and its usage in day-to-day life. One such mechanical component is mechanical pump, which is used in various sectors of industrial, household and medical systems.  This work is concentrated on Piezo-driven valve-less micro pump, which does not have check valves. The fluid flow direction is controlled by converging and diverging nozzles. Thermo Electro Mechanical Analysis is done to evaluate mechanical (stress, force, pressure, acceleration, piezoelectric), thermal (temperature, convection, heat flux, resistive heating—including variable resistors and Piezo resistors) and Electrical (capacitive forces defined by voltages) properties.

Research Paper

Relationship between Surface Water Qualities in Nambiyar River Basin, Tamil Nadu, India: A Statistical Approach

C. Gajendran* , P. Thamarai**
* Anna University Research Scholar & Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, Karunya University, Coimbatore.
** Asst. Professor in Civil Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Government College of Engineering, Salem.
Gajendran, C., and Thamarai, P. (2009). Relationship Between Surface Water Qualities In Nambiyar River Basin, Tamil Nadu, India: A Statistical Approach. i-manager’s Journal on Future Engineering and Technology, 4(2), 27-33. https://doi.org/10.26634/jfet.4.2.517

Abstract

Water itself is an energy resource. Monitoring all sources of pollution to assess the loads contributed by these sources is rather difficult if not, impossible, expensive and subject to analytical errors. Indirect methods to study source contributions of pollutant loads are essential to control water quality degradation in rivers. The objective of the present investigation is an attempt to assess the surface water quality of Nambiyar River Basin using statistical methods. The Nambiyar basin falls in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu. The Bio-Physico and Chemical parameters of the Nambiyar Basin have been taken in to account to find the interrelationship among them. The SPSS and Windows Excel were used as the statistical analysis tool. Based on the study it is found that strong correlation exists between TDS and BOD, SO4, COD. The highest interrelationship was obtained between SO4 and COD (r = 0.9532). A suitable regression equation has been established for the water quality parameters which have correlation coefficient greater than 0.8.These equations can be used for the rapid monitoring.

Research Paper

Energy and Exergy Analysis of Operating Thermal Power Plant at 50MWe Grid Load

T. Ganapathy* , R. M. Potdar**, Krishnan Murugesan***, N. Alagumurthi ****, M. Seran*****
*, ****, ***** Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee.
** Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pondicherry Engineering College, Pondicherry .
*** Thermal Station I, Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited, Neyveli.
T. Ganapathy, R.P. Gakkhar, Krishnan Murugesan, N. Alagumurthi and M. Seran (2009). Energy and Exergy Analysis of Operating Thermal Power Plant at 50MWe Grid Load. i-manager’s Journal on Future Engineering and Technology, 4(2), 34-40. https://doi.org/10.26634/jfet.4.2.519

Abstract

This paper deals with an energy and exergy analysis performed on an operating 50MWe unit of lignite fired steam power plant at Thermal Power Station-I, Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited, Neyveli, Tamil Nadu, India. The energy and exergy losses occurred in the various components of the plant have been calculated using the mass, energy and exergy balance equations. The distribution of the energy and exergy losses in several plant components during the real time plant running conditions has been assessed to locate the process inefficiency and irreversibility. The present analysis also evaluates the energy efficiency and the exergy efficiency of the plant. The comparison between the energy losses and the exergy losses of the individual components of the plant helps to identify the location of the system where the real losses occur.

Research Paper

Thermodynamics of Reactive Extraction of Propionic Acid

Amit Keshav* , Kailas L. Wasewar**, Shri Chand***, Hasan Uslu****, Ismail Inci *****
* Dept of Chemical Eng,National Institute of Tech (NIT) Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
**Dept of Chemical Eng,Visveswarya National Insti of Tech(VNIT)Nagpur, Maharashtra,India.
*** Dept of Chemical Eng, Indian Institute of Tech (IIT) Roorkee, Uttarakhand,
**** Faculty of Eng & Architect ,Dept of Chem Eng, Beykent University, Ayazaðý köyü, Ýstanbul,Turkey.
***** Engineer Faculty, Dept of Chem Eng, Istanbul Univer, Avcilar, Istanbul,Turkey.
Amit Keshav, Kailas L. Wasewar, Shri Chand, Hasan Uslu and Ismail Inci (2009). Thermodynamics Of Reactive Extraction Of Propionic Acid. i-manager’s Journal on Future Engineering and Technology, 4(2), 41-49. https://doi.org/10.26634/jfet.4.2.521

Abstract

Temperature effect is an important subject of study in the reactive extraction process in view of operating temperature and back extraction/regeneration step. Usually in industrial scale, for production of carboxylic acids, fermentor operates in the temperature range of 303 to 313 K. Thus, an extractant can be considered as good, only if it could operate efficiently in this operating range. The study, thus aims two objectives: first to find the effect of temperature on extraction of the propionic acid and second whether temperature swing extraction/regeneration can be employed for recovery of the acid. Three types of extractants: tri-n-butylphosphate, tri-n-octylamine and Aliquat 336 were used in different diluents and the thermodynamics of extraction process was discussed in terms of enthalpy and entropy of reaction. Extraction of propionic acid using TOA in different diluents resulted in negative values of enthalpy and entropy. Thus, the reactive extraction process is exothermic in nature and decrease in entropy is obtained. Aliquat 336 in 2-octanol shows the similar behavior as TOA in different diluents but the entropy and enthalpy values were lower, thus suggesting not so high exothermic nature of the extraction process and not so strong acid — Aliquat 336 complexation as acid — TOA complexation. Two departures in the normal trend were observed when Aliquat 336 was used in oleyl alcohol and TBP was used in MIBK. In both cases an increase in KE was observed upto a certain temperature and whereupon a decrease was observed. The effect of temperature was correlated in terms of the heat of transfer from organic to aqueous phase (ΔHtransfer). It was found that the higher the ΔHtransfer for a particular diluent, higher is the temperature effect.

Research Paper

Thin Walled Steel Stiffened Concrete Composite Beams – An Innovative Construction Technique

R. Thenmozhi* , R. Sundararajan**
* Asst. Professor, Dept. of Civil Engg, Govt. College of Technology, Coimbatore.
** Principal, A.C. College of Engg & Tech., Karaikudi.
R. Thenmozhi and R. Sundararajan (2009). Thin Walled Steel Stiffened Concrete Composite Beams-An Innovative Construction Technique. i-manager’s Journal on Future Engineering and Technology, 4(2), 50-57. https://doi.org/10.26634/jfet.4.2.522

Abstract

A series of experiments on Thin walled steel stiffened concrete composite (TWSSCC) beams is reported. The TWSSCC beams consist of cold-formed sheet as formwork during construction stage and as reinforcement during service stage and infill concrete. As the three sides of the beams were enclosed by cold formed sheet, it aided in confinement whereas at the top, the braces were provided at suitable spacing which provided partial confinement. Companion specimens of concrete cubes, cylinders and prisms were also tested for compressive strength and elastic modulus properties.  Specimens of cold formed sheet and reinforcing steel bars were tested in tension to ascertain their yield stress and modulus of elasticity. The beams were tested for pure bending and the results were used to to study the failure modes of the beams. Load, Moment, Flexural rigidity and Rotation at yield and ultimate stage were determined from experiments. Based on the observations during testing, the failure modes were classified into two different types which were the flexural compression failure mode and shear bond failure. The influence of spacing of braces and nature of bond on Ultimate Strength and Deflection were reported. It is confirmed that, closer spacing of braces in pure bending region did not show significant influence in the flexural strength. Hence, the braces at the spacing of least lateral dimension held good for confinement.

Research Paper

Fatigue Crack Growth Studies on ZE41A Cast Magnesium Alloy

M. Sivapragash* , P.R. Lakshminarayanan**, K. Raghukandan***, R. Karthikeyan****, M. Hanumantha*****
* Professor & Vice Principal, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vivekanandha institute of Engineering & Technology Tamil Nadu, India.
**, ***, **** Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India.
***** Foundry & Forging Division, HAL, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
M. Sivapragash, P.R. Lakshminarayanan, K. Raghukandan, R. Karthikeyan and M. Hanumantha (2009). Fatigue Crack Growth Studies on ZE41A Cast Magnesium Alloy. i-manager’s Journal on Future Engineering and Technology, 4(2), 58-63. https://doi.org/10.26634/jfet.4.2.524

Abstract

In this research work, Fatigue Crack Growth (FCG) characteristics are studied using axial fatigue test on Compact Tension (CT) specimen for as cast, heat treated and welded material. The relation ship between fatigue crack growth rate and stress intensity factor range for crack growth are analyzed. How ever, the results of da/dN-?K curves for CT specimens and Paris constants are determined. The heat treated specimen shows lower growth rate compared to as cast and welded materials. The fracture surfaces of the tested specimen are observed under a scanning electron microscope to understand the type of fracture. The fracture mode is observed as quasi cleavage.

Research Paper

Prediction of Engineering Constants of GFRP Angle Lamina

Syed Altaf Hussain* , B. Sidda Reddy**, A.V. Hari Babu***
* Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Rajeev Gandhi Memorial College of Engineering & Technology, Nandyal, A.P.
** Assistant Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Rajeev Gandhi Memorial College of Eng& Tech, Nandyal, A.P
*** Assistant Prof, Dept. of Mech Eng, Rajeev Gandhi Memorial College of Eng&Tech,Nandyal, A.P
Syed Altaf Hussain, B. Sidda Reddy and A.V. Hari Babu (2009). Prediction of Engineering Constants of GFRP Angle Lamina. i-manager’s Journal on Future Engineering and Technology, 4(2), 64-70. https://doi.org/10.26634/jfet.4.2.525

Abstract

Composite materials are engineered materials, are made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical and chemical properties. FRP composites are slowly emerging from the realm of advanced materials and are replacing conventional materials in a variety of applications. In the present work the mechanical properties Ex, Ey, vxy, vyz, vzx and Gxy of continuous fiber GFRP angle ply lamina (Specially orthotropic lamina) are determined for three different fiber volume fractions using finite element method. A finite element model incorporating the necessary boundary conditions is developed and is solved using commercially available FEA package. A neural network model was developed using Neuro Intelligence package. The data set obtained from the FEA package was employed for training, validating and testing the neural networking model. The results obtained from the ANN architecture have been compared with the FEM results and some conclusions have been made.

Research Paper

Durability Studies on Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete

T. Seshadri Sekhar* , K.Chandra Mouli**, P. Srinivasa Rao***
* Professor and Head, Dept. of Civil Engineering, J.N.T.U College of Engineering, Ananthapur, A.P.
** Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Priyadarsani College of Engineering, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India.
*** Professor, Nishitha College of Engg. & Tech., Grater Hyderabad, Hyderabad.
P. Srinivasa Rao, K. Chandra Mouli and T. Seshadri Sekhar (2009). Durability Studies On Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete. i-manager’s Journal on Future Engineering and Technology, 4(2), 71-76. https://doi.org/10.26634/jfet.4.2.527

Abstract

The present day world is witnessing the construction of very challenging and difficult Civil Engineering structures. Quite often, concrete being the most important and widely used material is called upon to possess very high strength and sufficient workability properties. Efforts are being made in the field of Concrete Technology to develop such concretes with special characteristics. Researchers all over the world are attempting to develop high performance concretes by using fibres and other admixtures in concrete upto certain proportions. In the view of the global sustainable developments, it is imperative that fibres like Glass, carbon, Poly propylene and aramid fibers provide improvements in Tensile strength, Fatigue characteristics, durability, shrinkage characteristics, impact, cavitation, erosion resistance and serviceability of concrete. Fibres impart energy absorption, toughness and impact resistance properties to FRC material, and these characteristics in turn improve the fracture and fatigue properties of FRC. Research in GFRC (Glass fibre reinforced concrete) resulted in the development of an alkali resistance fibre (AR Glass fibres High Dispersion) that provided improved long term durability. This system was named alkali resistance glass fibre reinforced concrete. In the present experimental investigation the alkali resistance Glass fibres has been used to find out workability, resistance of concrete due to acids, sulphates and  Rapid chloride permeability tests  of M30 , M40 and M 50 grade of glass fiber  reinforced concrete and ordinary concrete at the 28 and 90 days  with varying percentages of glass fibres.