Table of contents

Department of Civil Engineering, TKM College of Engineering has been organizing a series of biennial conference on modeling and simulation in Civil Engineering since 2011. The fifth edition of the International Conference on Modeling and Simulation in Civil Engineering (ICMSC 2019) was organized as part of the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the college and was held at the college during 11-13 December, 2019. The conference provided a platform for the experts in the field and academicians to share, debate and promote ideas on modeling and simulation in various streams of Civil Engineering such as Structural Engineering, Hydraulics and Water Resources Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Building Technology and Construction Management.

The conference was inaugurated by Prof. Slobodan P. Simonovic, Professor Emeritus, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. Keynote lectures are delivered by Prof. Slobodan P. Simonovic, Prof. Vahid Nourani (University of Tabriz, Iran), Prof. Narayanan Neithalath (Arizona State University, USA), Prof. C. S. Manohar (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore), Prof. R. G. Robinson (Indian Institute of Technology, Madras) and Prof. Bhargab Maitra (Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur).

The proceedings of the conference contains 56 papers out of the 115 papers presented at the conference. The papers were selected from over 170 submissions through a meticulous review process performed by experts in the field from premier institutes at the international, national and state level.

We would like to thank the keynote speakers, authors, presenters, reviewers and session chairs for their contribution to the success of ICMSC 2019. We express our sincere thanks to Dr. Shahal Hassan Musaliar, Chairman, TKM College Trust, Er. T. K. Jalaluddin Musaliar, Treasurer, TKM College Trust, Dr. T A Shahul Hameed, Principal, TKM College of Engineering and all members of the TKM College Trust for their unconditional support towards organizing the conference. We would like to express our sincere thanks to all faculty members, staff and students of the Department of Civil Engineering, TKM College of Engineering for their whole hearted support.

The conference was organized with financial assistance from TEQIP (Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme). We have received financial support from TKM College Trust, Institution of Engineers (India) and TKM College of Engineering Alumni Association also. We place on record our gratitude to all sponsors of the conference. Finally, we express our sincere thanks to the team of IOP Conference series lead by Kayleigh Parsons for bringing out this proceedings.

Dr. M. Sirajuddin

Convener

Dr. Sajeeb R. and Dr. Adarsh S.

Coordinators

International Conference on Modeling and Simulation in Civil Engineering

Department of Civil Engineering

TKM College of Engineering, Kollam, Kerala, India.

List of conference photoghraphs are available in this pdf.

All papers published in this volume of IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the proceedings Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.

In this paper, the point prediction of the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for the suspended sediment load modeling was evaluated for the Lighvanchai River located in Iran, in monthly and daily scales. Since point prediction of ANN convey no information about the accuracy of prediction, so prediction intervals (PIs) were constructed by the Bootstrap method as a most frequently used technique for assessing the uncertainty of ANN. In this way, the accuracy of PIs was quantified by coverage and width criteria. The results showed that the ANN-based modeling in daily scale had better performance compared to that in monthly scale and Nash Sutcliff efficiency was 32% higher in daily scale compared to monthly. Moreover, the width and coverage of the constructed PIs in daily scale were 14% and 24%, lower and higher compared to that in monthly scale and the Bootstrap method could appropriately capture the target values.

In this paper, artificial neural network (ANN) was used for downscaling the outputs of general circulation models (GCMs) to evaluate changes in precipitation and mean temperature for a future period in Urmia at the north-west of Iran. MIROC-ESM-CHEM from IPCC AR5 was selected as an acceptable model based on correlation coefficient (CC) values, which is calculated between precipitation of GCM models and precipitation data prepared by Urmia Meteorological Organization for 1951-2000. As a first step, the most important parameters of the MIROC-ESM-CHEM were selected before the downscaling process by ANN in the base period (1951-2000). Afterward, the future projections of precipitation and mean temperature during 2020-2060 were applied using ANN-based simulation according to the CC method. By comparing the results, the MIROC-ESM-CHEM showed a 2.01% increase under RCP4.5 and a 0.16% decrease under RCP8.5 in annual precipitation. Also, the temperature projection outputs showed the annual mean temperature would increase in the future period in this area, and it is likely to get warmer.

Flood, as the most destructive natural phenomenon in Iran, causes a multitude of deaths and financial losses every year in different parts of the country. This study sought to determine flood-prone areas in one of the Ajay River sub-basins (Lighvan River basin), Iran using Analysis Hierarchy Procedure (AHP) for ranking, fuzzy logic (FZ) for integrating with AHP in order to rank and Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) for the combination of maps. For this purpose, the geomorphologic and hydrologic factors affecting the occurrence of floods such as slope, distance from the river, Hydrological Soil Group (HSG), Curve Number (CN), runoff, lithology, land use, drainage density, Gravilius coefficient in each of the 23 sub-basins were considered based on the literature. The desired criteria and sub-criteria were weighted by the AHP and FZ, respectively. Then, WLC aggregation method was applied to generate the flood susceptibility map in five classes. The results earned by the combination of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (AHP and WLC)-FZ (MCDM-FZ) show that 28% of the area is in high and very high hazard classes that these areas are located almost at the entrance of Tabriz city, which is a densely populated urban area. Basic measured need to be taken in the upstream of the basin especially in areas with the high flood zone.

This study evaluates the performance of an integrated version of artificial neural network namely HS-ANN (which is a combination of neural network and heuristic harmony search algorithm) as an alternative approach to predict the sediment transport in terms of sediment volumetric concentration (Cv) in sewer pipe systems. To overcome the complexities of choosing the optimum number of the input variables and to consider the effective parameters of the model, the factor analysis technique is utilized. In addition to the HS-ANN model, an empirical equation, as well as a multiple linear regression model, are also considered. The mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and Pearson correlation coefficients (PCC) are used for evaluating the accuracy of the applied models. As the comparisons demonstrate, the HS-ANN model (PCC = 0.97) is more accurate than the existing empirical equation and MLR model and could be successfully employed in predicting sediment transport in sewer networks.

The coastal state of Kerala, India experienced unprecedented levels of rainfall and flooding in August 2018, resulting in huge life and property loss. Since then the impact reservoir management may have had on the severity of the 2018 Kerala floods has been in question. This study presents a novel approach to developing a reservoir model using HEC-HMS and HEC-ResSim models, combined with satellite remote sensing data. In order to establish a link between flood severity and reservoir management, a model of the Kakki reservoir in southern Kerala was created. Simulations were carried out for six long term, two short term, and two immediate run cases. It was found that all cases except the immediate simulation run resulted in a reduced peak flow. The long simulation run, which altered the guide curve after the heavy rainfall occurring on 14th August 2018, while constraining the outflow, was found to produce the greatest reduction in peak outflow. The significant peak outflow reduction achieved suggests that improved reservoir management could have reduced the severity of the 2018 floods.

This study investigated the cross-correlation between daily streamflow and total suspended sediment (TSS) data of 65 gauging stations located in three major river basins in a multifractal perspective. The novel Multifractal Cross Correlation Analysis (MFCCA) method of cross correlation studies is used to analyze the streamflow-sediment links of Krishna, Godavari and Mahanadi basins. The results showed that for the records of a particular station, the joint persistence of streamflow and TSS is approximately the mean of the persistence of individual series. The streamflow displayed higher persistence than TSS in 60 % of the stations while in majority of stations of Godavari basin the trend was opposite. The annual cross correlation is higher than overall cross correlation in majority of stations but at these time scales strength of their association differs with river basin.

Drought is an obscure climatic state that has socioeconomic repercussions on power generation, agricultural production, forestry, tourism and construction. In this study, an Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) based Time Dependent Intrinsic Correlation (TDIC) analysis was conducted to assess the impacts of Indian Ocean Dipole(IOD) and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to drought events of Peninsular region in India. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) at three different time scales (SPI-3, SPI-6 and SPI-12) are considered for analysis. The teleconnections IOD and ENSO on the three indices are evaluated independently using TDIC method and the detection and attribution was made from the obtained correlation plots. From the detailed analysis, short term drought (SPI-3) is found to have better correlation with both IOD and ENSO. It is also interpreted that high frequency modes of SPI-3 have more association to IOD while low frequency modes show more correlation to ENSO. Thereby, IOD experiences a lagged influence on ENSO relation to rainfall. The IMF3 and IMF7 of SPI-12 also show positive association that can be added to existing data for efficient prediction of drought events. Similarly, for ENSO IMF1, IMF6 and IMF7 of SPI-6 and IMF6 and IMF7 of SPI-12 can also be used for determining the drought accurately.

Global warming and climate change are currently topics of importance in environmental studies. Climate change is predominantly contributed by human activities and it presents a serious threat to nature and people. Greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide trap heat in the atmosphere and regulate climate. In addition, rapid urbanization and industrialization add more greenhouse gases to atmosphere and increase overall global temperature and further change the weather patterns. The unexpected weather conditions in Chennai has gained wide attention, especially after 2015 flood, Vardah and Ocki cyclones. In this study, the possible impact of climate change on rainfall over Chennai city is analysed under various Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios. Simulations of a Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) Regional Climate Model (RCM) is downscaled using change factor method. The study results show that the intensity and frequency of extreme rainfall over Chennai is likely to increase.

In the 21st century, Climate change has become one of the prominent global challenges which threats the world, and the changes in climate extremes are estimated to have catastrophic consequences on human society and the natural environment. To overcome the spatial-temporal inadequacy of the GCMs, Linking large-scale General Circulation Model (GCM) data with small-scale local climatic data highly comes to the fore. In this paper, two statistical downscaling techniques encompass LARS-WG and SDSM were employed for assessing the fluctuations of temperature predictand in Tabriz city, Iran. In order to choose the well-response GCMs a Multi-GCM ensemble approach was utilized by EC-EARTH, HadCM2, MIROC5, MPI-ESM GCMs from the CMIP5. To study the impact of climate change over the region, the periods of 1961-1990 and 1991-2005 were used as the baseline and validation period, respectively. Results of evaluation criteria disclosed the superior performance of Multi-GCM ensemble for predicting temperature predictand compared to single GCM models. Furthermore, the result of climate projection for the temperature predictand by both models revealed that the city will experience an increasing trend in temperatures for the horizon of 2021-2080. The average temperature will increase by 2.9 and 3.7 (°C) under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) (i.e., RCP4.5 and 8.5), respectively.

Fuzzy analysis helps in understanding how the uncertainty in various independent parameters of water distribution network such as, nodal demands, pipe roughness values, reservoir heads, pipe diameters and so forth will affect the dependent parameters such as pipe velocities, discharges and nodal pressures. The membership functions of dependent parameters are obtained by considering membership functions of uncertain independent parameters. The Impact Table method from literature suggests a repetitive analysis by considering the monotonous relationship between dependent and independent parameters. The Impact Table method was also employed for carrying out fuzzy analysis under pressure deficient condition to obtain fuzzy membership function of nodal outflows. Optimization based methods of fuzzy analysis are more useful when relationship between dependent and independent parameters are non-monotonous. A novel algorithm, Jaya is used in this study for performing fuzzy analysis on a benchmark network by pressure dependent approach. The analysis is performed by setting up hydraulic model in the software EPANET and linking it with the MATLAB for performing optimization through an EPANET-MATLAB toolkit. The propagation of the uncertainties of the input parameters for some non-linear hydraulic responses were identified and the algorithm was found to be a powerful tool for optimization.

Study of wave characteristics off the Kollam coast has been carried out to understand the predominant wave representation during the different seasons of a year. This study becomes important since any developmental activities and coastal issues are confined to the coastal processes of the region. One year continuously measured wave data available with INCOIS is used for the present study. The waves during the monsoon are characterized by higher energy waves and intermediate periods with waves approaching from western directions. The pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons are characterized by lower energy waves and shorter periods with the direction being more southwesterly.

In this study, the meteorological drought characteristics (severity, frequency, and persistence) over the Hoshangabad district, Madhya Pradesh, India are analyzed. The percent departure from mean (PDM) is employed to describe the drought characteristics, considering the monthly rainfall data for the duration of 62 years (1951-2012). Rainfall during monsoon season contributes over 95% of the annual rainfall and thus, only monsoon season is considered for identifying the drought years. The entire duration of 62 years was divided into two epochs of 31 years i.e. 1951-1981 and 1982-2012. The results revealed that the rainfall over the district possesses remarkable inter-annual variability. The district is prone to droughts with a frequency of once in four years. More importantly, the comparative assessment of two epochs indicates an increase in frequency, severity, and persistence of droughts in the latter epoch. The frequency of droughts has tripled in 1982-2012 as compared to 1951-1981. Since Hoshangabad is a monsoon-dominated district with high agricultural importance, proper management strategies need to be devised to minimize the harmful consequences of droughts.

Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) curve is an essential hydrologic tool used for the design of hydraulic infrastructure. In a changing climate scenario, the assumption of a static return period of precipitation extremes is not valid; the under-estimation of rainfall intensity values may lead to the failure of critical infrastructure. This paper is focused on identifying the extent of non-stationary behaviour at different locations in Kerala. The annual maxima rainfall data prepared from daily time series was idealized into non-stationary Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distributions, with time-varying parameters after rainfall disaggregation operation. Non-stationary rainfall intensities were estimated using different non-stationary models, and the best model was identified using Akaike Information Criteria (AIC). From the analysis using station-wise data, it was found that districts including Palakkad, Malappuram, Idukki and Pathanamthitta were experiencing significant non-stationarity in extreme precipitation events. Non-stationary rainfall extremes were concentrated at Eastern regions of Kerala compared to coastal and midlands of Kerala.

The present climate change has a warming impact on the Earth's climate system, hence called as global warming. Study about oceans is relevant to the current scenario of changing climate and many studies show significant warming trends in the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in the ocean during the past several decades. Extensive warming is found in deeper layers of oceans too. In this study, the monthly mean deep ocean temperature data which was spatially averaged over the tropical Indian Ocean (IO) during the period 1950 to 2012 was subjected to a statistical EMD analysis to estimate the impact of warming to deeper IO. The temperature signal is decomposed into components called as Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs) along with a residual part. The IMFs represent the temperature fluctuations resulting from inter-annual oscillations such as ENSO (El-Nino Southern Oscillation) and the residual part can be considered as the long-term trend. The IMFs obtained at each depth showed variabilities in QBO, ENSO and tidal frequencies. Residual part of the signal too had significant magnitudes, indicating the impact of global warming signals at deeper oceans.

Estimation of morphometric indices can be useful in defining similarity relationships between catchments over a wide range of scales and it facilitates the effective understanding of hydrogeologic processes. This study aims at evaluating morphometric parameters to investigate geomorphologic similarity between the sub-catchments of the Cauvery river basin which is a major river basin in Peninsular India. The Digital Elevation Model (DEM) obtained from Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) at 30 m spatial resolution is used for assessing the linear, areal and relief aspects of morphometric analysis. The stream network analysis of sub-catchments reveals that the basin is dominated by streams of lower order and the Cauvery basin can be characterized as a seventh order basin. Linear parameters indicate that the basin is subjected to less structural disturbances. Assessment of areal parameters shows that most of the sub-catchments have elongated shape, low drainage density and course drainage texture. Evaluation of relief parameters suggests that the sub-catchments have mild slopes with moderate ruggedness and resistant soil surface. The sub-catchments are found to be geomorphologically similar in behaviour and this analysis can throw insight on development of scaling relationships as well as hydrological predictions in ungauged areas of the drainage basin.

Dissolved trace metal concentrations of Fe, Cd, Cu and Zn were analysed in the Muthupet estuary, a well-mixed micro-tidal estuary in India during the post-monsoon and pre-monsoon in 2014. There was a significant variation in the salinity and suspended sediment concentration over the seasonal scale with peak salinity occurring at the downstream mouth during the post-monsoon and at intermediate locations during the pre-monsoon. Strong seasonal variations were observed in the concentration of trace metals. The concentration of Fe, Cd and Zn exceeded the USEPA standards, while that of Cu was within the permissible limits. Fe, Cu and Zn showed non-conservative behavior with peak concentrations at mid-estuarine reaches, irrespective of the location of salinity maxima, while the peak concentration of Cd occurred at high salinity reaches. The complexation of Cd as chlorocomplexes enhanced the mobilization of Cd, resulting in a peak value at high salinity reaches. The study indicated that the estuary is influenced by oceanic water and the anthropogenic input is secondary. Resuspension of bed sediments is identified as the major process controlling the trace metal concentration. Partition coefficient (Kd) of Fe, Cu and Zn was observed to be an increasing function of salinity, of which, the effect on Fe was much significant. The coagulation of suspended sediments at high salinity reaches enhanced the removal of Fe as Fe oxyhydroxides.

The traces of pharmaceutical products present as emerging contaminants in water bodies needs to be extracted since it causes risk to human health and environment, also as these cannot be removed by conventional water treatment processes. The occurrence and fate of pharmaceutical parameters in water bodies in Indian scenario were studied, from which two pharmaceutical parameters, paracetamol and amoxicillin were selected. This paper primarily focuses on the extraction of paracetamol and amoxicillin from its synthetic sample solutions prepared using Activated carbon as the adsorbent. The analysis is done using UV-vis Spectrophotometry and with solutions of different concentration, pH and adsorbent dosages, removal efficiency is calculated in each case. With the optimized pH and concentration of solution, the optimum dosage of activated carbon is determined by comparing its removal efficiencies.

The pH, salinity, SSC and variations of heavy metals were studied for Ashtamudi estuary during the pre-monsoon period of 2019. Both pH and salinity decreased from the mouth of the estuary, while SSC exhibited a higher value within 4 to 10 Kms from the estuarine mouth. Concentrations of Fe, Cr, Cu, Zn and Ni decreased from the mouth towards the head of the estuary. Among which both Fe and Cr showed higher concentrations within 4 to 10 Kms. Variation of the distribution coefficients (K_d) of trace metals with pH, salinity and suspended sediments indicated lower values for Fe, Cr and Zn at the locations 2 and 3, . As the dissolved concentrations of Fe and Cr showed higher values at locations with higher SSC, adsorption and desorption studies were performed using sediments at those locations. Adsorption studies on Fe indicated higher adsorption at higher salinity values, while for Cr, the adsorption decreased with salinity. Kinetic adsorption and desorption studies for Fe and Cr indicated that the adsorption rates of Fe and Cr approached equilibrium after 2 hours and 1.5 hours respectively, while the desorption rates did not exhibit an equilibrium within the experiment duration. The results of kinetic sorption and desorption studies conducted for Fe and Cr exhibiting higher rate of adsorption for Fe and lower rate of adsorption for Cr at higher salinities, were in agreement with the higher K_d values of Fe and lower K_d values of Cr obtained from the field analysis.

The performance of Alumina-Iron Oxide nanocomposite as an adsorbent in the removal of Copper has been investigated. The experimental studies reveal that the removal of heavy metal from waste water can be increased within shorter duration when the nanocomposite is coated with a suitable polymer. The adsorptive properties of prepared nanocomposite with and without polymer were evaluated for the removal of copper ions using batch mode adsorption system. Characterization of the prepared nanocomposite using SEM, TEM and XRD analysis was done to check the removal efficiency before and after adsorption. This paper deals with the removal of copper from synthetic waste water using alumina/iron oxide nano composite and the increase in removal efficiency within a short period of time when it is treated with polymer coated alumina Iron/Oxide nanocomposite. The effects of pH, adsorbent dosage and time were investigated for optimum adsorption on the uptake of copper ions and observed 98 % removal. An ideal experimental response design has been carried out using Box Behnken design to evaluate the effect of different parameters in the batch mode study.

The rapid growth of the urban population and the consequent pressure of limited space have influenced city residential developments, which ultimately resulted in the sudden sprouting of tall and vertical structures. The structural system of present day has become less stiff and lighter than earlier, hence are usually more sensitive to the effect of lateral loads acting on it, especially wind loads. Inorder to ensure serviceability of the structure, the analysis and design must be carried out efficiently. From being termed a simple static drag force, wind force gained new dimension taking into consideration the dynamic aspects, thus demanding more attention in structural analysis and design. This paper deals with the comparative study of fluid parameters around tall structures when subjected to the traditional experimental analysis by Wind Tunnel test and the most modern approach of numerical simulation using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The comparison of result obtained via both of the above-mentioned approach and the further extend of possibilities in adopting CFD is also discussed.

The presence of irregularity in buildings is a matter of concern when it is subjected to devastating earthquakes. A sudden change in vertical or plan configuration in buildings tends to weaken the structure. To prevent failure and minimize the hazard potential of irregular buildings, the responses of such buildings to lateral loads have to be studied in detail. In this paper, the responses of irregular buildings are analyzed using Pushover analysis. 10 re-entrant corner models are analyzed to study their effect as per IS 1893 (Part 1): 2016 codal provisions. The analytical tools used include ETABS v 16.2.0 software and SeismoMatch 2018 software. The parameters considered in this study are storey displacement, stress concentration and performance levels. Strengthening techniques to strengthen vulnerable models are also discussed. The results obtained are compared with that of a regular structure.

Textile reinforced mortar (TRM) is an innovative material developed to overcome the limitations of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP). It consists of high strength textile fibre mesh embedded in cementitious binder which is organic in nature and compatible with concrete substrate. This paper presents the development of a finite element model for confinement of concrete columns using TRM. Concrete damaged plasticity model was used to represent the behaviour of TRM. The model accounts for nonlinear material behaviour in concrete core and mortar. The model was validated against experimental result from literature. Maximum divergence between experimental and numerical results was 5%. Following the validation, the developed model was used to carry out parametric studies on circular and square column confinement. The thickness of mortar layer, cross section shape of the core and corner radius of square column were considered in the study to gain a profound knowledge of the confinement and to study its influence on the behaviour of confined concrete column.

Laminated Glass, regarded as the safety glass, is widely used in modern architectural applications. The structural behaviour of this type of glass is highly complex owing to the presence of the interlayer. In such a case, classical theoretical formulations are of no use and it becomes necessary to employ specially formulated equations or numerical simulations to evaluate the performance of laminated glass. Present work consists of displacement-controlled four-point bending tests on laminated glass beams to study the load-deflection behaviour and fracture pattern of the samples. Numerical simulations of the test samples are carried out in ANSYS to achieve the maximum tensile stress and deflection values corresponding to the initial failure load. Three laminated glass performance models are used to analytically evaluate the values of failure stress for laminated glass.

Circular hollow sections are commonly used in steel industry and many types of joints like T, K, X etc., are encountered during the construction phase. The joints can be connected using weld or bolt assembly. In this paper, an attempt is made to study the response of K joints using cast steel nodes when subjected to quasi-static cyclic loading. Eight specimens are fabricated and connected using steel nodes to form K-joints and are tested under quasi-static cyclic loading. From the experimental study, ultimate failure load under tension and compression, mode of failure, hysteresis curve and load deflection envelope are determined. The load values obtained are compared with design strength values of welded K-joint and longitudinal gusset plate connected T-joint specimens as predicted by AISC and CIDECT guidelines. The study reveals that cast steel nodes can be used as an alternative for connecting joints and the strength obtained is slightly higher than that predicted with longitudinal gusset plate connected T-jointed specimens.

In this study, the flexural performance of Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) sandwich roof panel with multilayer polyurethane foam core was investigated using commercial FEM software ANSYS WORKBENCH. The GFRP sandwich panel is composed of thin GFRP face sheets at top and bottom infilled with Polyurethane (PU) foam core of two different densities. GFRP sandwich panels with different stacking sequences of the multilayer core was considered to determine the best sequence in which the different layers of core material can be laid on top of each other. The optimum panel size was obtained from parametric study conducted with number of GFRP plies and thickness of core as parameters. Alternatively, the flexural behaviour of GFRP sandwich panel with three different web core configurations were also studied, which includes trapezoidal shaped GFRP webs infilled with PU foam (Type 1), rhombus shaped GFRP webs infilled with PU foam (Type 2), and wave shaped GFRP webs infilled with PU foam (Type 3). Based on the finite element analysis, GFRP sandwich panel with Type 3 core configuration (wave shaped GFRP webs infilled with PU foam) with lesser deformation represented a feasible model to be used as a roofing panel for small residential buildings and prefabricated modular constructions.

Base isolation is one of the widely accepted seismic protection strategy. Scrap tyre pads have been identified to be suitable for the design of low-cost base isolation systems. The present study attempts to group scrap tyres of different brands based on their physical parameters and material properties. Five types of scrap tyres, from the same size group, have been identified in the present study. Tensile strength characteristics of scrap tyre pads were assessed by conducting experiments using ASTM D 638 specifications. The study investigates the compressive behaviour of seismic isolators made from different types of scrap tyre pads. Vertical stiffness and load bearing capacity of scrap tyre pad isolators were assessed for all the five types of scrap tyre pads. Three-dimensional finite element models of isolators were also developed and the response was found to be matching reasonably well with the experimentally observed response.

Irregularity in elevation of buildings is increasingly popular in modern urban construction. One of the prominent forms of vertically irregular frames is the setback building frames. The seismic performance of buildings with irregular distribution of mass, stiffness, and strength along the height may be significantly different from that of regular buildings. The present paper focuses on quantification of irregularity and studying the effect of irregularity on the seismic performance of setback building frames. An index namely Geometric Regularity Index (GRI), calculated based on the geometric parameter of the building frame, is proposed in the study to quantify the vertical irregularity of setback building frames. 55 numbers of 3 bay frames with stories 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13, with varying levels of irregularity, are considered in the study. Linear dynamic analysis of the frames is performed in ETABS using response spectrum method. The proposed index is correlated with the actual seismic response of the structure such as base shear and overturning moment. Based on the results of analysis, a simple method which employs the GRI of the frame is proposed to estimate the seismic responses such as base shear and overturning moment at the base. The proposed method is found to estimate the seismic response of setback frames with reasonable accuracy.

It is common practice to describe seismic hazard in terms of Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) and Spectral acceleration (S_a). Response spectrum representation of ground motion is directly applicable in structural response analysis. However, in India, engineers have been using a standard response spectral shape as recommended by the code IS-1893:2016 all over the country, modified only by a zonal factor representing the PGA of unknown probability of occurrence. This approach is silent about the various seismo-tectonic sources and non-uniform level of hazard at different parts of India. Thus, the expected or desired design life of structures cannot rationally harmonize with existing earthquake hazard and economical construction practices. Whereas, the underestimation of the hazard will lead to questionable safety margins, overestimation makes the projects uneconomical and hence social goal suffers in either case. It is in this context, Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA) that addresses engineering safety issues with quantifiable risk levels has become more popular. Now-a-days, seismic hazard maps are prepared in different countries for a given annual frequency of exceedance. With this in mind, probabilistic seismic hazard for Aizawl City has been prepared.In this study, we have estimated seismic hazard for different return period in Aizawl city. The active fault within 300 km radius of the city are considered for this study. The seismic hazard values estimated in this study will be useful for the structural designers of Aizawl city and its adjacent region to design various types of Engineering Structures.

In this paper, a new ground-motion prediction model (GMPE) for North-eastern India (NEI) is developed based on the available recorded events. NEI has already faced several high magnitude earthquakes (moment magnitude [M_w]>7.0) during the period 1200 to 2018. It is difficult to develop GMPE and estimating the seismic hazard of NEI, due to sparse recorded strong motion database. To date, seismic hazard maps for NEI have not been prepared. All developed countries have developed seismic hazard maps for their cities using region-specific GMPE. So, to prepare the seismic hazard maps of NEI, a ground motion prediction model will be required. The success of earthquake hazard mitigation depends to a large extent on how accurately the ground motion hazard can be estimated at a vulnerable site. The GMPE developed in this study has been compared with other ground-motion models as well as with the available limited recorded strong motion database. Based on the comparison, it is observed that the new model is reasonably correct as the model is unbiased with respect to both magnitude and hypocentral distance. This model needs to be upgraded as and when more recorded strong ground motion database is available for this region.

Strength properties of structural steel are reduced when exposed to fire above temperature 600°C. A widely used general rule is that if the steel members in the building frame are reasonably straight with no visible distortion after a fire event, it can be reused. If these members are accepted for reuse with minor or no repairs, then the performance of steel members with a high-temperature fire exposure under a future earthquake event should be known. This study investigated the cyclic response of fire exposed steel Welded Unreinforced Flange Web (WUF-W) and Reduced Beam Section (RBS) welded connections. The results showed that fire exposed steel connections are vulnerable to earthquake loading if they are reused with minor or no repairs. When the performance of connections was compared, it was understood that the usage of RBS connection provides high safety, whereas WUF-W connection has the high moment capacity and energy dissipation capacity.

Layered composites are used in various engineering fields like the aircraft, marine, automotive, sports and health sectors. The widespread use of these materials can be attributed to its high stiffness, high strength-to-weight ratio, and ease of installation. Among the various layered composites, fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) laminates have high strength and stiffness of its constituent fibers and low-density due to its matrix properties. FRP laminate consists of unidirectional plies that can be tailor-made to achieve desirable performance. The demand for layered composite materials has driven the need for development of efficient analytical tools for accurate prediction of its performance. The present paper provides an insight into the analysis of a laminate plate. The effect of the number of layers, aspect ratio and the stacking sequence on the transverse deformation of a laminate plate under bending is analyzed. It is observed that the transverse deflection of the plate decreases with an increase in the number of layers. Also, the increase in aspect ratio leads to an increase in the deformation of the plates.

Controlled low strength materials (CLSM) are the materials which are flowable and self-compacting in nature. These materials are used in various civil engineering applications such as backfill in trenches abutments and retaining walls; void fills in abandoned structures and cavities, conduit bedding, and many more. The strength of these materials is less than 8.3 MPa. CLSM is generally made of Portland cement, fine aggregate, fly ash, and water. Many researchers have studied the performance of CLSM using different industrial by-products such as quarry dust, foundry dust, shredded rubber tire, and many others. In this study, various mix proportion made up of red mud, crusher dust, fly ash, and Portland cement is used to study the engineering properties of CLSM. Considering flow value as one of the important parameters of CLSM, firstly, the amount of water content required for the desired flow value (0.15-0.3 m) was determined. After finding the water contents, each mix proportion was tested for other engineering properties such as unconfined compressive strength, bleeding, density, and durability. The results primarily show that these geomaterials can be used as a CLSM material with further study of its environmental impact on the surrounding soil.

Ferrocement is a lightweight, homogeneous and versatile structural material which is made as a composite of wire mesh and tightly wound skeletal steel impregnated with cement mortar. Ferrocement excels reinforced concrete system because of the minimal formwork and scaffolding requirement, possibility of casting elements on ground at site, fast erection and decrease in time of construction, and savings in the overall cost. Even though ferrocement has been used for various applications since 1800s, the technology is not properly standardized and unconventional local construction practices continue to prevail. Due to this and the poor workmanship, the durability of ferrocement structures has become an issue. Factors such as the corrosion of mesh and or the skeletal reinforcement, improper mix design etc. lead to deterioration of ferrocement structures. The major corrosion prevention methods used in reinforced concrete systems are application of coating to the steel such as epoxy or cement polymer composite (CPC) coatings and use of corrosion inhibitor in the cementitious matrix. The present study evaluates the possibility of adoption of these corrosion prevention strategies in ferrocement. The objective of the study is to analyse the flexural and corrosion resistance behaviour of four different types of ferrocement systems. The systems studied include ferrocement with normal welded mesh in normal cement mortar(WM); CPC coated weld mesh in normal cement mortar (CPC); normal weld mesh in cement mortar with corrosion inhibitor (WM CI); and CPC coated weld mesh in cement mortar with corrosion inhibitor (CPC CI). The corrosion analysis is done by using half cell potential measurements following ASTM C876-15 and flexural analysis by flexural strength test following IS 516: 1959. The results indicate that usage of both corrosion inhibitor and CPC coating can prominently increase the durability of ferrocement structures.

Recycling, sustainability and environmental stewardship are some of the concepts that are in the front line now-a-days. Some strategies that can be adopted in order to bring these concepts in to the construction processes are the efficient use of materials, use of recycled materials, reduction in the waste materials produced etc. Use of recycled concrete aggregates as a substitute for natural (virgin) aggregates is a way to bring in these concepts into the manufacture of concrete. An experimental investigation was conducted to assess the effect of replacement of normal coarse aggregate with recycled coarse aggregate (prepared from old concrete specimens) on M25 grade concrete. Different levels of replacements studied include 0%, 20%, 50%, 80% and 100% were considered. The properties studied are fresh properties as well as mechanical properties which include compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength. It is concluded from the study that as the RCA content increases, it is necessary to increase the cement content and or to decrease the water cement ratio in order to attain target compressive strength.

Fibre reinforcement is a technique used to provide toughness and ductility to brittle cementitious matrices. Reinforcement of concrete using a single type of fibre could improve the properties to a limited level. A hybrid composite refers to two or more types of fibres that are rationally combined to produce a composite that stems benefits from each of the individual fibres and exhibits a synergetic response. This study intends to illustrate and quantify the mechanical properties of Hybrid Fibre Reinforced Concrete. For this purpose, a reference High Performance Concrete (HPC) of grade M65 with water-binder ratio of 0.34 was used. Specimens of plain concrete mix, HPC with silica fume, Steel Fibre Reinforced High Performance Concrete (SFRHPC) containing only steel fibres, and Hybrid Fibre Reinforced High Performance Concrete (HFRHPC) containing steel fibres and carbon fibres were prepared. Optimum amount of silica fume was taken as 12.5%. The crimped steel fibre was added initially at 0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75%, 1% and 1.25% by weight of concrete and its optimum percentage was found out. Once the optimum dosage of crimped steel fibre was obtained, carbon fibre was used to replace the optimum steel fibre dosage at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% by volume fraction. Thus an optimum hybrid fibre dosage was obtained. The mechanical properties of the HFRHPC like compressive strength, flexural strength, splitting tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and impact resistance were studied and compared with HPC mix. The results revealed that the addition of steel fibre improved all the mechanical properties of concrete.

This paper presents the details of experimental study on the fracture properties of high strength geopolymer concrete. The geopolymer concrete prepared in this study was cured in ambient temperature. This was achieved by adding small amount of OPC in the mixture. A total of 42 notched beam specimens with varying span to depth ratio (l/d) between 8 and 6 and notch depth to total depth ratio (a₀/d) between 0.2 and 0.4 was cast. All beam specimens were tested under three point bending test. The fracture properties, namely, fracture energy (G_f), critical stress intensity factor (K_Ic), process zone length (c_f), and crack tip opening displacement corresponding to peak load (δ_c) were determined by size effect law (SEL). The results show that the fracture properties of ambient cured geopolymer concrete are comparable with that of ordinary concrete of same strength.

Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) being a sustainable high-performance concrete capable of flowing through congested reinforcement and can fill the shuttering without any external energy. The investigation focuses on the effect of waste materials generated from industries on the fresh and mechanical properties of SCC. Experiments were carried out to develop SCC by using Fly Ash (FA) and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) as Supplementary Cementitious Material (SCM). Light weight Perlite Aggregates (PA) were used as a partial replacement material in M-Sand. Workability tests were conducted to check the rheological properties of developed SCC mix in accordance with the European Federation of National Associations Representing for Concrete (EFNARC) guidelines. An optimal mix was developed satisfying the criteria as per EFNARC. The developed mix design exhibited a significant reduction in cement content. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) was replaced with 31% of FA and GGBFS is kept constant at 31%. The specimens were cured in water under ambient temperature. Performance of the developed mix in terms of compressive strength at different ages of 7, 28, 56 and 90 days were also examined. The results showed that SCC developed with industrial wastes provide adequate workability and strength with a substantial reduction in the cement content. Hence, the developed SCC with FA and GGBFS along with PA can be used as a sustainable concrete due to its high strength for the infrastructure development.

Reduced Graphene oxide (rGO) is a 2D nanoplane fiber that contains highly reactive hydroxyl, epoxide, carboxyl, and carbonyl functional groups. These oxygen bearing functional groups increases solubility in cement matrix and serve as a nucleation agent for C-S-H crystals. rGO can serve as a reinforcing material in cement composites and can improve the mechanical properties of cement-based materials. This paper presents the mechanical properties of concrete modified with 0.03%, 0.05% and 0.07% reduced grapheme oxide by the weight of the OPC. Compressive strength of concrete was found to be increased by rGO especially the early age strength due the hydration acceleration and reinforcement of cement matrix and strong adhesion between aggregate and cement matrix by rGO. The mechanical properties, compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength and modulus of elasticity are found to be maximum at 0.05% rGO replacement by the weight of the cement. The properties were found to be decreased at 0.07% of rGO content due to the formation of the agglomerated structure and poor dispersion of rGO.

The chemical durability of concretes exposed to sulphate environment largely depends on the quality and quantity of products of cement hydration. Certain hydration products are readily reactive with the sulphate ions and form expansive products such as gypsum and ettringite. On the other hand, some sulphate compounds participate in reducing the cementing property of hydration products. These reactions cause expansion and deterioration of strength of concrete. Sulphate resistance of concrete can be improved by the incorporation of Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs). Reduced water-binder ratio and proper curing can make concrete more durable in sulphate environment. This paper reports the details and results of an investigation of effect of chemical composition of binder materials on the sulphate resisting property of concrete exposed to a rich MgSO₄ solution. The effect of initial curing is also investigated so that it may be possible to suggest the mix compositions for typical field applications of concrete. The variables investigated in this report are the oxide composition of binder components and the initial curing conditions. A set of concrete mixes, all with a constant binder content and water-binder ratio are used in the investigation.

This paper discusses a study on the use of wood ash as partial replacement of cement and waste glass as partial replacement of fine aggregate in concrete. Wood ash was used to replace cement at 5% and 10% and waste glass was used to replace fine aggregate at 10% and 15%. When wood ash was added to concrete, the compressive strength of concrete was found to reduce marginally with respect to the reference mix and the optimal value of compressive strength was obtained at 5% replacement. Addition of waste glass to replace fine aggregate resulted in marginal reduction of compressive strength of concrete at 10% replacement. However, a drastic reduction in compressive strength was observed at 15% replacement level of waste glass. Replacing 5% of cement with wood ash and 10% of fine aggregate with waste glass yielded satisfactory results and thereby at these replacement levels, wood ash and waste glass can be used as replacement materials in concrete. Incorporating the waste materials in concrete will be an efficient and effective way to dispose these materials and will result in lower consumption of natural materials in the manufacturing process of concrete thereby resulting in an environment friendly and cheaper concrete.

It is essential to understand the durability aspects as the cementitious systems exposed to agricultural zones, fertilizer plants, waste waters, mining and industrial applications can be subjected to chemical attack by ammonium based compounds. This paper reviews the different mechanisms of deterioration of cement composites on exposure to different ammonium compounds namely ammonium sulphate, nitrate and chloride. The magnitude and mechanism of degradation follows different trends depending on the type of anion associated with the ammonium salts. The principle process involved in the deterioration of cementitious systems in the presence of ammonium compounds is the chemical reaction of portlandite with the anion of the ammonium salts. Generally the interaction of ammonium salts with cement based materials results in decalcification, leaching and/or expansion accompanied by strength loss. The presence of Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs) along with cement reduces the amount of portlandite which may be attributed to the dilution of cement component or increased pozzolanic activity, resulting in the production of additional or secondary C-S-H gel. It is observed that the incorporation of SCMs is found to have low penetrability, thus capable of controlling the degradation process upon exposure to ammonium based salt solutions.

Geopolymers are a type of amorphous alumino-silicate product, and can be synthesised by the polycondensation reaction of geopolymeric precursor and alkali polysilicates. The binder is prepared by the alkaline activation of industrial by-product materials like fly ash, slag, metakaolin, rice husk ash, etc. as a source for aluminosilicate. The most commonly used alkaline activator is the combination of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate (Na₂SiO₃). Chemical admixtures are indispensable in alkali activated systems owing to its poor fresh properties such as workability, too quick setting etc. In this study, the chemical admixture – alkali activated binder interactions were carried out by using latest generation superplasticizers, such as Polycarboxylic ether admixture (PCE) and Sulphonated naphthalene formaldehyde (SNF). Mini slump test, initial and final setting time tests were conducted in alkali activated slag blended fly ash based geopolymer paste and the test results were analyzed with respect to parameters such as alkali to binder ratio (a/b), proportion of slag in blended geopolymer paste, type and dosage of superplasticizers. The test results indicated that the workability and setting time of alkali activated geopolymer paste enhanced due to the increase in alkali content and the reduction in slag content. Based on the effect of chemical admixtures in geopolymer mix, SNF performed better than PCE admixture with regards to mini slump test for all the mixes; whereas in the case of setting time test, SNF showed better results only for the mix with 100% slag. In the case of slag blended fly ash based geopolymer paste, both PCE and SNF showed similar effects, and also it was observed that, the flow of the paste got enhanced when the dosage of superplasticizers is increased from 0 to 3% by weight of binders.

Adoption of High-Performance Concrete (HPC) made with low water to binder ratios in practical applications are being encouraged widely for enhanced development of high early strength and durability. The type of superplasticizers incorporated, highly influences the development of HPC. At low water-cement ratio, HPC is made workable by the incorporation of superplasticizers. The wrong proportion of cement and admixture in a mix causes low fluidity, rapid/delayed setting, segregation, bleeding etc. Therefore, it is important to underline the interaction mechanism between cement and superplasticizer for the better utilization of concrete. As more blended cements are used now a day, it is imperative to investigate the compatibility of superplasticizers in such paste systems. In this study, the saturation dosages and compatibility of sulphonated naphthalene formaldehyde (SNF) and poly carboxylate ether (PCE) superplasticizers with cement paste prepared from Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) 53 grade, Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) and Slag cement (PSC) for different water-binder (w/b) ratios are analysed using the marsh cone test and mini slump test. As per the result obtained, PSC was found to have higher saturation dosages than OPC and PPC. The optimum dosages for PCE admixture are lower than that for SNF as their mechanism of action are different.

Deterioration of concrete in acidic environments result in premature degradation in terms of microstructural alteration of phases leading to mass changes, weakening of mechanical properties, increase in porosity due to calcium leaching etc. Industries are found to dispose acidic effluents directly into the environment without proper treatments. Again, these acids can be organic as well as inorganic acids. Organic acids unlike inorganic acids are found to be weak acids due to their partly dissociative nature. The mechanism of acid attack varies based on the acid type and the characteristics of the calcium salt that are formed. Conventional concrete made with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) are not resistant to acids. Also, as we strive towards sustainable development, alkali activated or geopolymer concrete has started to gain attention as it is found to have better mechanical properties and durability comparing to conventional concrete. This paper reviews the damage mechanisms of sulphuric acid, citric acid, nitric acid and acetic acid on the alkali activated binders.

Ingression of acids into concrete structure arrests its long-term durability by the progressive degradation of the highly alkaline cementitious materials. Acid attack results in the decalcification of hydration products leading to higher inherent porosity and both micro-macro cracks, providing a path for the passage of aggressive ions into the interior of concrete. Amplification of agriculture and food industries such as the breeding, dairy or sugar industries produce large quantities of effluents that are the major sources of organic acids. These effluents have complex acidic compositions leading to serious degradation of structures made for their production, collection, storage and treatment. New binder systems that are capable of proposing extensive long term durability in aggressive acidic environment and also being a sustainable option need to be evolved. From earlier studies, application of various binder systems containing materials such as fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, silica fume, bagasse ash etc. has an influence on the hydration products, micro-structural and macro-structural changes in cement-based materials when subjected to aggressive acidic media, thus enhancing the performance and durability of concrete structures. This paper outlines the basic mechanism of organic acid attack and highlights the influence of various binder systems on the alteration of degradation kinetics when exposed to various organic acids.

Nowadays, the demand for green concrete has increased due to the greenhouse gas emissions and uncontrolled pollution from the cement industry. At the same time, the green concrete should exhibit better mechanical properties and durability characteristics when replacing conventional concrete without compromising on the fresh properties. A better solution for the production of green concrete is to use air cured Alkali Activated Slag (AAS) composites, an innovative and sustainable binding material with very low carbon footprint. However, AAS exhibits demerits such as quick setting and poor workability and this demands the use of superplasticizers in such binder systems which are less explored thus far. Hence, this paper presents a study on the influence of superplasticizer type on the fresh and strength properties of AAS mortar. Paste/mortars were prepared with alkali activators composed of sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide and tested to study the setting times, workability, and evolution of compressive strength. It is found that the fresh properties are improved by increasing the alkali to binder ratio and the dosage of superplasticizer. Both sulphonated naphthalene formaldehyde (SNF) and polycarboxylate ether (PCE) based admixtures were found to be effective in alleviating the negatives of air cured alkali activated paste/mortar systems.

Sustainable construction involves the judicious use of resources so as to satisfy the demands of both present and future generations. It is supported on three pillars namely economic, environmental and social. This study aims to understand the key performance indicators of sustainability. Based on the literature review, this study develops a set of performance indicators relevant to Indian construction industry. Questionnaires and interviews are conducted among the architects and engineers. Using Relative Importance Index, the identified indicators are prioritised.

Liquefaction study by in-situ tests like SPT and CPT are very complicated and time consuming. Cyclic Resistance Ratio (CRR) of a soil is controlled by various properties of the soil. Artificial intelligence techniques can identify relationship between various parameters which influence the liquefaction phenomenon from sufficiently large data set to generate models connecting those parameters. Models for prediction of cyclic resistance ratio (CRR) of clean sand is generated using MGGP, GPR and M5' model tree in the present study using data from cyclic triaxial test and cyclic direct shear test. Using 346 data points, divided in 50% train to 50%test ratio, sufficiently accurate models were generated through the algorithms considered. These algorithms were compared by means of the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Coefficient of correlation (R²) and Maximum absolute Error in prediction (MAE). An equation connecting the CRR with other input parameters was developed using the MGGP algorithm, which also showed the maximum R² value of 0.96 for the test data. The AI algorithms were observed to satisfactorily model the relation between the input parameters and the CRR without any prior knowledge of the same.

The foundation input motion (FIM) that a structure experiences during an earthquake, is known to be different from the free field ground motion due to soil structure interaction (SSI) effects. Kinematic interaction in a single pile can also introduce a rotational component to the FIM. Conventionally, soil structure interaction is performed by applying the free field ground motion to the structure ignoring the effects of kinematic interaction. Deep foundation elements such as piles are known to suppress certain frequencies of ground motion which in turn induces kinematic bending moments in them. In this study, kinematic soil pile interaction is simulated using 3D numerical models using a coupled finite element-boundary element method. Single pile, group pile and piled raft models in a homogeneous soil profile are analysed for vertically propagating shear waves. Three earthquake time histories with varying frequency content are considered in this study. Transfer functions are then plotted together to analyse the effects of pile induced filtering of ground motion. The ratio of response spectrum at the foundation level and free field ground, for the pile group considered, is found to closely follow the behaviour of a fixed headed single pile. It is found that embedment of the pile cap, as in the case of a piled raft can result in further filtering of ground motion.

Secondary consolidation of soils has gained much importance as a major contributor in the long term settlements of soft clays. In the scenario where constructions on such problematic soils are increasing, accurate prediction of long term settlements is very challenging. This paper reviews the evolution of the secondary compression characteristics from the concept of Cα to the creep isotaches. The generation of the 3 D elastic viscoplastic model from the equivalent time (isotache) approach is also discussed in this paper. This model is an extension of Maxwell's rheological model. With relevance to Indian soils, the secondary compression characteristics of Kuttanad and Cochin marine clay are also reported in this paper.

Several types of structures, such as bridge abutments, retaining walls, transmission line towers and other structures exposed to wind and earthquake loads, supported by pile foundation are being subjected to large lateral loads. Finned pile is an emerging form of pile foundation that is capable of resisting large lateral displacements. Here, it is attempted to assess the effect of the shape of fins on the lateral carrying capacity of a pile with fins subjected to combined loading conditions. Small-scale laboratory model tests were performed on normal piles (without fins) and also with finned piles. These piles were embedded in sand. The studies were carried out by varying the geometric factors such as length, width and shape of the fins. Results show that there is a substantial increase in lateral resistance capacity of the piles after fitting the fins close to the pile head. The increase in lateral resistance capacity gained by placing fins on a pile varies with dimension of the fins. On the basis of the laboratory model test results, optimum dimension of the fin for maximum improvement are recommended for combined loading conditions. The trend showed in the results were comparable with those reported in the literature as on studies with lateral load alone.

Indian traffic can be considered as mixed and heterogeneous due to the presence of various types of vehicles that operate with weak lane discipline. Consequently, vehicles can position themselves anywhere in the traffic stream depending on availability of gaps. The choice of lateral positioning is an important component in representing and characterising mixed traffic. The present study aims to develop a methodology to extract the trajectory of vehicle for heterogeneous non-lane based traffic condition. To study the movement pattern of vehicle types and to explore the vehicular behaviour and its reaction to different traffic environment, it is essential to extract the trajectory data of vehicles. Therefore, a semi-automated tool using python's graphical user interface is developed to extract the vehicle trajectory. The field data provides evidence that the trajectory of vehicles in Indian urban roads have significantly varying longitudinal and lateral components and the traffic flow characteristics of each vehicle types vary from one another. Present study analysis the variation in driving behaviour of vehicle with lateral position characteristics. It has been found that the following behaviour of vehicles varies with the lane position and the traffic parameters of each lane differ from each other.

The paper reports an investigation on the preferences of travelers in two Indian cities. The importance of travelers was collected from Kolkata and Kollam cities using 5-point Likert-type importance scale, and RIDIT analysis was carried out to obtain the priority rankings of travelers. A three-level analysis was carried for travelers, captive riders (travelers without car), and choice riders (travelers with car) of the two cities. The priority ranking obtained for the travelers of two cities were then compared using Spearman's rank correlation test. It was shown that there is a substantial difference in the perception of travelers from two cities. This was instrumental in establishing the fact that preferences of travelers are not transferable across the cities. Therefore, the selection of attributes for WTP studies require a separate investigation to understand the preference of travelers of the city under consideration. On-board safety was identified as a major concern for the travelers of Kolkata and Kollam cities, which clearly shows the importance of addressing safety issues for enhancing the quality of public transport. The results obtained from the present work is city specific. However, the derived insights are expected to encourage researchers and policymakers to carry out separate investigations in various cities for identifying important attributes prior to behavioural studies.

Vehicles are a major invention having significant impact on human progress.However, increasing private vehicle usage can cause many threats to the society like congestion, depleting environmental quality etc. The study is taken up to identify the factors influencing usage of private and public modes, with the help of mode choice models. The influence of psychological factors based on the 'Theory of Planned Behaviour' were analysed in the study.The variables considered for the study include service attributes like travel cost, travel time, waiting time, comfort and latent variables like 'attitude', 'subjective norm', 'perceived behavioural control' etc. Revealed preference survey was adopted to know the sociodemographic details and a stated preference survey was adopted to study the mode shift of people to a better public transit facility.Travel time, waiting time and travel cost had negative influence in the utility of new public transit mode.Comfort and perceived behavioural control had positive influence in utility of a new public transit service.The study was useful in developing a better understanding of mode choice behaviour and developing insights for policy formulations for improving the public transit.

India is witnessing a massive growth in the aviation industry. In 2016, the Government of India had launched Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), also known as UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) which translates as 'let the common citizen of the country fly'. It aims to make flying affordable for the masses, promote tourism, increase employment opportunities and promote balanced regional economic growth. The scheme incentivises the airlines to fly in non-financially viable regional routes. This study employs data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to evaluate the performance of 33 domestic air routes of India after UDAN has launched. The parameters for evaluation of the efficiency have been established using the literature survey and pilot studies. Four input variables (air distance between airports, VGF (Viability Gap Funding) sought, maximum airfare, the capacity of routes) and one output variable (load factor) are selected for the analysis. The results of DEA model demonstrate that eight routes are relatively efficient operationally. This performance analysis can be used to assess the management actions and strategies in developing more effective decision making for satisfying the objectives of the owners or operators of airports.