019486   Barbe J;Dijoux E;Yardin C;Mace T (NO, Laboratoire National de Metrologie ed d'Essais (LNE), Paris, France, Email: jean.barbe@lne.fr) : Measurement of helium micro flows for gas chromatography by the dilution method. MAPAN 2012, 27(2), 77-81.

More and more chemical analysis laboratories using gas chromatography need to measure the different flows involved during the analysis process (split ratio, column flow). The measurement of the column flow is certainly the most difficult because the flow of carrier gas is generally very small. For example, the flow of helium (the most often used carrier gas) is typically <60>15 μg/s (5 cm³/min). To calibrate helium flowmeters, the "traced gas method" developed at LNE for nitrogen has been optimized for helium microflow measurements in the range of 0.75-30 μg/s (0.25-10 cm³/min) with an expanded uncertainty of 0.6% or less at the 95% confidence level. The traced gas method, the uncertainty estimation of the calibration bench and the calibration results of a laminar flow element type Molbloc and an industrial mass flowmeter are presented in this paper.

2 illus, 5 tables, 4 ref

019485   Balaram V;Mathur R;Satyanarayanan M;Sawant S S;Roy P;Subramanyam K S V;Kamala C T;Anjaiaj K V;Ramesh S L;Dasaram B (NO, National Geophysical Research Institute (Council of Scientific and Ind, Hyderabad-500 007, Email: balaram1951@yahoo.com) : Rapid method for the determination of gold in rocks, ores and other geological materials by F-AAS and GF-AAS after separation and preconcentration by DIBK extraction for prospecting studies. MAPAN 2012, 27(2), 87-95.

Solvent extraction method using diisobutyle ketone (DIBK) is designed for the accurate and precise estimation of very low concentrations of gold in rocks, ores and other geological samples. 30 g sample was digested using aqua regia after roasting and gold content was extracted into DIBK phase consisting of AliquatT 336 and estimated by flame atomic absorption spectrometer (F-AAS). Samples having gold concentration <60>0.1 μg/g were estimated using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer (GF-AAS). Results of DIBK extraction were compared to those obtained by other well established methods, such as classical Pb-fire assay and methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK)-AAS methods. Comparison was also made with results obtained by the direct determination of gold by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) technique. The analytical results for international gold reference materials measured by the proposed method were in close agreement with those obtained by other well established methods and recommended values. Detection limits (20 ng/g by F-AAS, 0.1 ng/g by GF-AAS and 0.01 ng/g by ICP-MS) of gold (3 σ x total procedure blank) is very low and could be further improved by using high pure acids and other reagents.

2 illus, 10 tables, 21 ref

019484   Babu S;Sharma S K;Upadhyay R;Govindan A;Singh D (NO, Institute of Engineering and Technology, Mangalayatn University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, Email: sanjesh_phd@rediffmail.com) : Piezoelectric properties of calcium modified lead zirconate titanate ceramic. Invertis J Sci Technol 2012, 5(2), 76-8.

Attempt has been made to study piezoelectric properties of calcium modified Lead Zirconate Titanate (PCZT) ceramic. For this, PZT was prepared by the conventional oxide route. The samples of Calcium modified PZT i.e., PCZT were used in the study. Results show that although the d33 values decrease steadily with the increase of Ca in the ceramic, the piezo figure of merit which is the parameter looked for when designing a sonar system, shows a peak at 6% Ca, implying that composition to be best suited for transducer application, this is due to the fall in ∑ accompanied by a fall in the numerical value of d₃₁.

019483   Arora M;Sati P C;Chauhan S;Kumar M (Physics and Materials Science and Engineering Dep, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida-201 307, Email: manisha.nanotech@gmail.com) : Structural and dielectric properties of Zr doped BiFeO₃ nanoparticles. Invertis J Sci Technol 2012, 5(2), 116.

In the work Zr doped BiFeO₃ (BiFe_1-xZr_xO₃, x=0.03, 0.07, 0.10 and 0.15) nanopowders were synthesized by Sol-gel method. The crystal structures of Zr doped BiFeO₃ samples were examined by XRD using CuK radiation. XRD patterns confirmed that all the samples were pure without any trace of impurity phase. The XRD patterns for the nanoscale BiFeO₃ have been refined by FULLPROF Rietveld refinement using space group R3c and also lattice parameters, were estimated. The dielectric properties were enhanced by Zr substitution i.e. dielectric constant (∑`) increases and dielectric loss (tan<sup>TM</sup>) decreases with increasing Zr content except for x =0.15 sample. An anomaly, both in dielectric constant and dielectric loss, was found in the vicinity of antiferromagnetic Neel temperature indicating magnetoelectric coupling between electric and magnetic dipoles. In low frequency range, both ` and tan have high values but decrease gradually with the increase in frequency. Space charge conduction is known to be an important contributor to tan at low frequencies. The constant values of ∑ ` at higher frequencies may be attributed to the electron exchange between Fe₂₊-Fe₃₊ dipole not following alternating field, beyond a certain frequency. Activation energy was estimated from a.c. conductivity vs. temperature curves at various frequencies. The activation energy from 0.3-0.5 eV in the temperature range of 416-476 K corresponds to singly ionized oxygen vacancies and that of 0.8-0.9 eV in the temperature range 694-724 K corresponds to doubly ionized oxygen vacancies. Variation of Z/ Z _max vs. frequency at different temperatures showed that peak shifted towards higher frequencies with increasing temperature indicating low frequency dispersion in the samples which may be due to the rigidity of dipoles (stronger bonding between the ions) with Zr doping in BiFeO₃.

019482   Ananthan T;Vaidyan M V;Varghese M V (Electrical and Electronics Dep, NIT-Calicut, Kerala, Email: ananthan_pee10@nitc.ac.in) : FPGA-based controller design for servo actuator using Xilinx system generator and HDL cosimulator. J VLSI Des Tool Technol 2012, 2(1), 1-6.

Aims at designing a Field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based proportional, integral derivative (PID) controller in a servo-actuated control system. In the conventional method of implementing control systems in FPGA, there is no interaction between the controller and the system except for the final stage of implementing control system in the hardware. The proposed methods provide approaches for analyzing the performance of the controller and system in MATLAB simulink environment prior to the implementation in FPGA. This results in a faster and efficient hardware implementation of digital control system. Two methods developed and used in designing the controller and corresponding simulation results are presented. In addition, a comparative evaluation of the two methods is also discussed.

7 illus, 9 ref

019481   Agarwal A;Shekhar C (Electronics and Communications Engineering Dep, Thapar University, Patiala, Punjab, Email: alpana.tiet@gmail.com) : Technology limits on differential gain and unity-gain bandwidth of a differential amplifier: a theoretical analysis. J VLSI Des Tool Technol 2012, 2(2), 38-44.

Limiting relationship between differential dc voltage gain and unity-gain bandwidth of an externally unloaded differential amplifier have been explored. It has been observed that the product of differential dc voltage gain and unity-gain bandwidth of a differential amplifier has an upper limit which is a technology constant.

4 illus, 2 ref

019480   Acharjya K;Singh N B (Electronics and Communication Engineering Dep, Tezpur Central Univerity, Tezpur, Sonitpur-784 028, Email: kalyan.phy@gmail.com) : Design of 16-bit pipelined RISC processor. J VLSI Des Tool Technol 2012, 2(2), 1-6.

Presents the design of efficient and high throughput 16-bit pipelined RISC Processor. The design is challenge with the pipelined stall problem, speed with external memory, coding density and clock frequency for cost effectiveness and higher performance processor design. Describes about the architecture, programming model, synthesis results and analysis of the design. The presented design has throughpu <126> MHz, which shows better performance at a particular frequency. The coding is carried out in Verilog HDL and functionality is verified through simulation and test benches at different stages including behavioral and gate level RTL code using Modelsim (Mentor Graphics). The synthesis part is done using Leonardo Spectrum (Mentor Graphics) and implementation done in Xilinx ISE 9.1.

6 illus, 2 tables, 9 ref

018657   Zhang A;Gao Y;Liang K;Yang Z;Wang W;Ning D; Zhao K;Zhang Y;Huang Y;Zhang H;Gao X (NO, National Institute of Metrology, No. 18, Beisanhuan Dong Lu, Beijing, China, Email: zhangam@nim.ac.cn) : Research on time keeping at NIM. MAPAN 2012, 27(1), 55-61.

UTC(NIM), which is developed and maintained by NIM, is the time and frequency primary standard in China. UTC(NIM) is generated originally by a clock ensemble, and is traced to UTC by participating in TAI cooperation with GNSS time and frequency transfer methods. TWSTFT earth station has been established at NIM new campus to join the Europe-Asia link. In this paper, the new development on the realization of UTC(NIM), the GNSS time and frequency transfer and TWSTFT and our briefly future plan are introduced.

14 illus, 3 tables, 8 ref

018656   Vaze K K (Reactor Design and Development Group, BARC, Mumbai-400 085) : Design and development of advanced reactors. BARC Newsl 2013, 330, XII-XXVI.

Developing country like India requires increasing per capita electricity generation. Due to the depletion of fossil fuels and to meet this objective, the best option left for the country is utilisation of fissile fuels such as thorium which is in abundance. In addition to power requirements, the demand on fuel is also increasing in transport sector. Use of hydrogen as an alternate fuel will help to meet the demand. To meet these two objectives in particular, advanced heavy water reactors and high temperature reactors are being developed. Science and technology developments related to these reactors are discussed in this article.

25 illus, 6 ref

018655   Tien C L;Lin Y N;Chen Y C;Chen D C;Sun W S; Lin C S (Electrical Engineering Dep, Feng Chia Univ, Taichung, Taiwan 40724, R O C, Email: cltien@fcu.edu.tw) : Design and fabrication of aspherical microlenses used for a USB fiber-optic connector. Indian J pure appl Phys 2013, 51(2), 81-6.

Universal serial bus (USB) type fiber-optic connector combined with aspherical microlenses is designed and fabricated to be applied for high data rate communications. This study presents an optimization design and evaluation of a microlens fiber-optic connector with high efficiently coupling the light from verticle-cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL). An aspherical microlens has a small diameter of about 780 μm and a numerical aperture of 0.275. The fabrication and assembly of the microlens fiber-optic connector have been considered. The optical coupling characteristics of the microlens fiber-optic connector are evaluated by Light Tools software with a coupling loss of-0.80 dB. After fabrication of the microlens fiber-optic connector, an optical coupling loss of -1.04 dB was achieved in experimental measurements. The experimental results are found to be in agreement with those yielded by the simulations.

6 illus, 1 table, 19 ref

018654   Suri I K;Chakravorty B B (NO, , GH-13/795, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi-110 087) : Ensuring safety in fertiliser plants. Indian J Fertil 2012, 8(2), 70-3.

Safety management in a plant aims at providing an environment so that people working in the plant are able to work safely and put their best efforts in the work assigned. Safety is relative and implies freedom from danger. But there is always some element of danger or risk involved in plant activities. What is an acceptable level of risk and how to achieve it is all that goes in building a sound safety management. The article gives a review of safety practices followed in the industry.

ref

018653   Singh M;Lathkar G S;Basu S K (VRDE, (DRDO), Ahmednagar-414 006, Email: manmohanjs@gmail.com) : Failure prevention of Hydraulic system based on oil contamination. J Instn Engrs : Ser C 2012, 93(3), 269-74.

Oil contamination is the major source of failure and wear of hydraulic system components. As per literature survey, approximately 70% of hydraulic system failures are caused by oil contamination. Hence, to operate the hydraulic system reliably, the hydraulic oil should be of perfect condition. This requires a proper 'Contamination Management System' which involves monitoring of various parameters like oil viscosity, oil temperature, contamination level etc. A study has been carried out on vehicle mounted hydraulically operated system used for articulation of heavy article, after making the platform levelled with outrigger cylinders. It is observed that by proper monitoring of contamination level, there is considerably increase in reliability, economy in operation and long service life. This also prevents the frequent failure of hydraulic system.

3 illus, 5 tables, 13 ref

018652   Shome S N;Nandy S;Pal D;Das S K;Vadali S R K; Basu J;Ghosh S (NO, CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur, Email: snshome@cmeri.res.in) : Development of modular shallow water AUV: issues & Trial results. J Instn Engrs : Ser C 2012, 93(3), 217-28.

In view of their operational ease, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) find wide applications in different sub-sea operations, and the range encompasses bathymetry, seabed mapping, collection of marine data as well as strategic and commercial applications like underwater surveillance and reconnaissance, recovery and monitoring of submerged installations. A modular shallow water AUV having five degrees of freedom-christened AUV-150-has been designed and developed by CSIR-CMERI, Durgapur, India for operating up to a depth of 150 m. A fully functional AUV has been tested at various conditions in accordance to test protocols. This paper relates to the developmental issues, the hurdles faced during various phases of development of the AUV-150 and discusses the experimental results obtained during trials of the AUV in lake and sea.

17 illus, 1 table, 15 ref

018651   Sharma U;Siddiqui M J (NO, Banasthali Univ, Tonk-202 002, Email: uma.banasthali@gmail.com) : Performance evaluation of photovoltaic cell using MATLAB. Invertis J renewable Energy 2013, 3(1), 52-7.

Nowadays, the photovoltaic (PV) energy is one of the most attractive options to electricity generation in form of clean and renewable source. This paper define a circuit-based simulation model for a Solar cell in order to allow estimate the electrical behavior of the cell with respect changes in environmental parameter of temperature and generation rate. A major factor that determines how efficient photovoltaic cells are in producing power is the temperature at which they operate. A general model is introduce to see the effects of temperature and illumination on the l-Vand P-V characteristics. MATLAB is used for the simulation of PV cell.

9 illus, 6 ref

018650   Sarkar A;Das S (Mechanical Engineering Dep, Kalyani Government Engineering College, Kalyani-741 235) : Application of grey-based taguchi method for optimising gas metal arc welding of stainless steels. Indian Weld J 2011, 44(1), 37-48.

Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) is widely used in industry to obtain high quality welds with high deposition rate. Carbon di-oxide is used in this work for GMAW, the process known as metal active gas (MAG) welding. In this experimental investigation, 1.2 mm diameter of stainless steel electrode is employed maintaining a root gap of 1.3 mm and 15 bar gas pressure. Welding voltage, welding current, and welding speed are varied to weld stainless steel specimens to make square butt joint. Experimental design is made using Taguchi's L9 orthogonal array design, and signal-to-noise ratio is used to derive objective functions to be optimized within experimental domain. Objective functions selected include weld bead reinforcement, depth of penetration, weld metal hardness and bending load at a bend angle of 100. Grey relational analysis is applied to solve this multi-response optimization problem. Within the experimental domain, optimum weld is found with a weld current of 160 amp and a weld voltage of 30 volt with 327 to 554 mm/min weld traverse speed.

1 illus, 16 tables, 11 ref

018649   Saini P;Choudhary V (Polymeric & Soft Materials Section, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi-110 012, Email: pksaini@nplindia.org) : Electrostatic charge dissipation and electromagnetic interference shielding response of polyaniline based conducting fabrics. Indian J pure appl Phys 2013, 51(2), 112-17.

Aqueous dispersions of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) or polystyrene sulphonic acid (PSS) doped polyanilines (PANIs) designated as PANI-PAA and PANI-PSS, respectively were prepared by in-situ polymerization of aniline in the presence of above acids (PAA and PSS). These dispersions were coated over cotton fabrics by dip coating technique so as to impart electrical conductivity making them useful for antistatic and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding applications. XRD of these fabrics display the characteristic peaks of polyaniline and cotton substrate, whereas SEM images show the presence of conducting PANI coating over individual fibers as well as in the inter-weave regions. There fabrics show rapid (within 0.2 sec) dissipation of static charges and conform to antistatic criteria of 10%-cutoff decay time of less than 2.0 sec. In addition, moderate EMI shielding response was also observed with effectiveness (SE) value of -5.2 dB and -5.7 dB for four layered shields made up of PANI-PAA and PANI-PSS coated cotton fabrics, respectively.

6 illus, 27 ref

018648   Rongali U;Singh G;Chourasiya A;Jain P K (NO, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi-110 025, Email: umadevi.rongali@gmail.com) : Laboratory performance of stone matrix asphalt containing composite of fly ash and plastic waste. J scient ind Res 2013, 72(3), 166-92.

In this paper, the optimum composition of fly ash and plastic waste in a composite has been established based on various performance tests. The optimum dose of plastic waste in composite is 8% weight of fly ash. Laboratory tests indicated increased resistance to moisture damage in stone Matrix Asphalt (SMA) mixture containing composite as filler. The values of resilient modulus of the SMA mixture containing composite are fairly high compared to SMA mixture containing lime as filler. The rutting in SMA mixture containing composite is reduced to one third as compared to conventional SMA mixture without composite. The results of mechanistic analysis indicate that there is an increase in allowable number of traffic on modification of SMA with fly ash - plastic waste composite as filler in place of lime.

6 illus, 4 tables, 34 ref

018647   Ravi Shekhar;Gupta K;Ravinder Kumar (NO, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, Delhi Mathura Road, New Delhi-110 025) : Provision of sustainable road transport infrastructure: a case study of urban corridor in Delhi. Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2012, 20(2), 196-205.

Indian economy is rapidly growing and along with it the travel demand is also increasing exponentially. The number of motor vehicles in India which were around half a million in the year 1950 has now increased to more than 60 million. This increased motorization, urbanization, population growth lead to traffic congestion, which can be particularly seen on many urban arterial roads. Congestion reduces utilization of the transportation infrastructure and increases travel time, fuel consumption, air pollution and traffic accidents etc. The existing congestion measure depends on average travel time, unable to quantify the performance of the transportation system in terms of sustainability. Therefore, there is a need to investigate performance measures to evaluate Sustainable Transportation System. Sustainable transportation attempts to estimate travel time reliability, economic development, environmental and social equity of current and future generations. The objective of this study is to evaluate sustainability of system by considering the delays in travel time and driving cycle patterns. Travel time based performance measures are considered to evaluate performance of sustainability of transportation system. In this study an urban arterial corridor of 4km long on National Highway No. 2 of Delhi Mathura road has been considered and videographic data in morning peak hours was collected for estimating travel time through license plate matching technique and driving cycle through V box. The benefits in terms of social, economical and environmental terms are studied and computed by providing suitable infrastructure facilities.

10 illus, 10 ref

018646   Rathod A;Mishra S;Ghildiyal S;Bahuguna S; Dhage S;Mukhopadhyay S (Precision Engineering Div, BARC, Mumbai-400 085) : Development of DSP based signal acquisition and processing system for Extrinsic Fabry-Perot Interferometric (EFPI) fiber optic sensors. BARC Newsl 2013, 330, 30-5.

This article reports in-house implementation of EFPI sensor cavity length estimation on a DSP hardware. The DSP based processing hardware is not specific to any one type of sensor. It could be used to measure any external measurand by using the right transduction principle. This would prove to be a huge advantage while multiplexing sensors. Such systems would not be constrained to multiplexing different types of sensors in one unit, For example, temperature, pressure and accelerations sensors could be multiplexed in one acquisition and processing system. Development of the systems for actual deployment is in progress.

8 illus, 1 ref

018645   Ramesha D K;Thimmannachar R K;Simhasan R; Nagappa M;Gowda P M (Mechanical Engineering Dep, Univ Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, Bangalore Univ, Bangalore, Email: rameshdkuvce@gmail.com) : Performance, combustion and emission characteristics of compression ignition engine using fish oil biodiesel blends. J Instn Engrs : Ser C 2012, 93(3), 195-201.

Bio-fuel is a clean burning fuel made from natural renewable energy resource; it operates in C. I. engine similar to the petroleum diesel. The rising cost of diesel and the danger caused to the environment has led to an intensive and desperate search for alternative fuels. Among them, animal fats like the fish oil have proven to be a promising substitute to diesel. In this experimental study, A computerized 4-stroke, single cylinder, constant speed, direct injection diesel engine was operated on fish oil-biodiesel of different blends. Three different blends of 10, 20, and 30% by volume were used for this study. Various engine performance, combustion and emission parameters such as Brake Thermal Efficiency, Brake Specific Fuel Consumption, Heat Release Rate, Peak Pressure, Exhaust Gas Temperature, etc. were recorded from the acquired data. The data was recorded with the help of an engine analysis software. The recorded parameters were studied for varying loads and their corresponding graphs have been plotted for comparison purposes. Petroleum Diesel has been used as the reference. From the properties and engine test results it has been established that fish oil biodiesel is a better replacement for diesel without any engine modification.

13 illus, 9 ref

018644   Raghava Chari S (NO, , Flat No.3, Block B, Susheel House, 19, South Gangai Amman Koli Street, Choolaimedu, Chennai-600 094) : Modernisation of bag filling system. Indian J Fertil 2012, 8(5), 66-8.

Conventional bagging plants employ bagging scales with knife edge supported weigh beam systems. Accuracy of such system is ±250 g/50 kg bag. The modernization of these machines with load cell based system improves the accuracy of system to less than 30 g/50 kg bag. Load cell outputs linear milli volt (mv) signals proportional to the applied load with accuracy better than 0.03%. The modernization can be carried out online with in-house support. The article gives in detail the modernization of existing bag filling systems inexpensively to realize yearly recurring savings.

4 illus, ref

018643   Paul A K (NO, , 1602 Fiona, Hiranandani Estate, Thane (W)-400 607, Email: arunp_26@vsnl.net) : Practical reliability, availability and acceptability aspects of modern arc welding equipment. Indian Weld J 2011, 44(1), 19-29.

The role of smart engineering process is to optmwe its resources such as energy, material, labor, time to yield desired quality engineering goal etc. Arc welding equipment is engaged to feed its process to produce mechanical joints having diverse characteristics. Inverter technology provides multitude of benefits virtually to each entity associated with arc welding process. Still its acceptance among users, though gradual, is slow. India is in real upsurge in creating its infrastructure. The demand on welding equipment will be great. Hence, efficient system of welding should be in operation. This paper intends to clear wrong notions that inverter technology has inherent problem of reliability and availability that acts as hindrance for its acceptance in arc welding process.

10 illus, 13 ref

018642   Parida P;Nagar H S;Chakravarty N (NO, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, Delhi Mathura Road, New Delhi-110 025) : Causes of accidents on Yamuna expressway (Noida to Greater Noida) and suggested remedial measures. Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2012, 20(2), 212-20.

The Yamuna Expressway Project is conceived with the idea to not only reduce the travel time between New Delhi and Agra but also to open up avenue for industrial and urban development of the region and provide the base for convergence to tourism and other allied industries. The Government of Uttar Pradesh has been working proactively to improve the connectivity of the National Capital Region (NCR) to improve tourist attraction of Taj Mahal at Agra through the new 6 lanes (extendable to 8 lanes) Access Controlled Expressway with brand name of Yamuna Expressway. The 23.4 km long section of the Yamuna Expressway joins the Noida and Greater Noida. The study stretch starts from Amity University at Noida and ends at Pari Chowk in Greater Noida. The road is 6 lanes divided by approximately 3 m wide median and has 1.5 m paved shoulders. On Yamuna Expressway section joining Noida and Greater Noida, the rate of accidents is much higher than the national average. Degree of fatality is also very high. A study was carried out to identify the reasons for higher accident rate and to explore remedial measures to reduce the accidents.

11 illus, 7 tables, 10 ref

018641   Pant H J;Sharma V K;Goswami S;Samantray J S; Singh G (Isotope Applications Div, BARC, Mumbai-400 085) : Development and application of radiotracer technique for online leak detection in high pressure heat exchangers. BARC Newsl 2013, 330, 8-15.

Radiotracer technique for online leak detection in high-pressure heat exchanger systems have been developed and successfully applied in various process industries in India. Bromine-82 as dibromobiphenyl is used as a radiotracer for leak detectiori in heat exchangers involving flow of organic fluids. The radiotracer is injected into high pressure side of the heat exchanger system and monitored at strategically selected locations in low pressure side using Nal(TI) scintillation detectors connected to a preset data acquisition system. The tracer concentration curves monitored as a function of time are analyzed to identify the leaking heat exchanger(s). A number of leak detection investigations have been carried out since year 2001 leading to high economical benefits to the industry. This paper discusses principle of leak detection in high-pressure heat exchanger systems using radiotracer technique with two specific case studies.

9 illus, 3 tables, 3 ref

018640   Ozcanli M (Mechanical Engineering Dep, Cukurova Univ, 01330, Adana, Turkey, Email: ozcanli@cu.edu.tr) : Light and heavy phases derived from waste polyethlene by thermal cracking and their usage as fuel in DI diesel engine. J scient ind Res 2013, 72(3), 198-202.

Recycled fuels have been receiving great attention in order to supply energy recovery especially from waste products. An experimental study was conducted to evaluate the use of fuels produced from waste polyethylene (WPE) as an internal combustion engine fuel. Waste Polyethylene (WPE) was degraded thermally for conversion. The fuel collected at optimum conditions (414-480 °C range and 2 h reaction time) was fractionated at different temperatures and fuel property of the fractions was evaluated. The volatile fractions and the residue part of WPE final product are called as light phase (LP) and heavy phase (HP), respectively. Light Phase and Heavy Phase were blended with diesel fuel (D) at the volumetric ratios of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 100%. Fuel properties of plastic oils and their blends with diesel fuel were stated. On the other hand, performance and emission characteristics of 5% waste fuel-Diesel fuel were evaluated. The WPE fuels were compared with the diesel fuel. Although the pour points of waste fuels have been concluded as a disadvantage, it is found that they can also be used as recycled-fuel in compression ignition engines by blending them with diesel fuel in order to reduce fossil fuel usage.

5 illus, 2 tables, 14 ref

018639   Naik S S (Mechanical Engineering Dep, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological Univ, Lonere, Raigad-402 103, Email: ssnaik@dbatu.ac.in) : Crack detection in pipes using static deflection measurements. J Instn Engrs : Ser C 2012, 93(3), 209-15.

Method of detection of crack location based on measurement of deflection of long pipes under bending loads is presented in this paper. Crack is considered to be cross-sectional with straight front parallel to its diameter and perpendicular to the plane of deflection. The crack is modelled by a rotational spring whose stiffness can be determined using the linear elastic fracture mechanics approach. Pipes supported like cantilever and simply supported beams have been examined. The details of the method are presented. Experiments have been carried out using steel and aluminium pipes to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. Cracks were introduced by wire-cut machining. The crack locations have been theoretically predicted with error less than 9%.

5 illus, 6 tables, 14 ref

018638   Kuttieri R A;Sinha M (NO, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., ARDC, Bangalore, Email: akrnambiar@gmail.com) : Neural partial differentiation for aircraft parameter estimation under turbulent atmospheric conditions. J Instn Engrs : Ser C 2012, 93(3), 229-42.

Approach based on neural partial differentiation is suggested for aircraft parameter estimation using the flight data gathered under turbulent atmospheric conditions. The classical methods such as output error and equation error methods suffer from severe convergence issues; resulting in biased, inaccurate, and inconsistent estimates. Though filter error method yields better estimates while dealing with the flight data having process noise, it has few demerits like computational overheads and it allows estimation of a single set of process noise distribution matrix. The proposed neural method does not face any such problem of the classical methods. Moreover, the neural method does not require parameter initialization and a priori knowledge of the model structure. The neural network maps the aircraft state and control variables into the output variables corresponding to aerodynamic forces and moments. The parameter estimation, pertaining to lateral-directional motion, of the research aircraft de Havilland DHC-2 with simulated process noise, is presented. The results obtained using the neural partial differentiation are compared with the nominal values given in literature and with the classical methods. The neural method yields the aerodynamic derivatives very close to the nominal values and having quite low standard deviation. The neural methodology is also validated by comparing actual output variables with the neural predicted and neural reconstructed variables.

17 illus, 1 table, 25 ref

018637   Jain S K;Kalra M;Gaurav;Roy D A (Reactor Control Div, BARC, Mumbai-400 085) : Machinery protection system for large rotating machines. BARC Newsl 2013, 330, 23-9.

For vibration monitoring and protection of large rotating machines like turbines, large motors, etc, a DSP based Machinery Protection System (MPS) has been designed and developed jointly by BARC and ECIL. The system is designed to protect the rotating machines from catastrophic failures due to excessive vibration. The system provides continuous, online monitoring of vibration and related signals and meets the requirements of API 670 standard for machinery protection systems.

11 illus, 4 ref

018636   Divya M;Das C R;Albert S K;Ramasubbu Y; Bhaduri A K;Sivaraman P (Materials Joining Section, Materials Technology Div, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam-603 102) : In-situ weld repair of cracked shrouds of turbine and characterization of the weld joint. Indian Weld J 2011, 44(1), 49-57.

Cracked shrouds of the 3rd stage of a Low Pressure turbine was in-situ repaired by removing the cracked pieces of the shroud and welding new shroud pieces to the existing shroud. The shroud material was made of AISI414 martensitic stainless steel (SS), and the repair welding was carried out using ER 410NiMo filler wire. The tenon heads of the blades, which were removed for carrying out the in-situ repair, were also built-up by weld deposition. The repair welds were subjected to in-situ two-stage post weld heat treatment (PWHT) as required for the 414 SS material and the 410NiMo weld metal. For prior to simulation of the constraints of actual in-situ repair, a mock-up piece was made using the same blade material, welding consumable, welding procedure and PWHT as were to be used for the actual repair. After successful completion of the repair, the mock-up piece as well as separate weld pads prepared using the shroud material and ER 410NiMo consumable were subjected to detailed microstrurtural characterization and mechanical properties testing to generate data on the properties of the repair weld now in service. The paper discusses the details of the in-situ repair and results of the characterization of the weld joints. Results confirm the repair weld has adequate strength and ductility. The turbine with repair welded shrouds has been performing satisfactorily since 2008.

16 illus, 2 tables, 11 ref

018635   De B;Bose P K;Panua R S (Mechanical Engineering Dep, National Institute of Technology, Agartala, Email: biswajitphd@gmail.com) : Experimental investigation on performance and emissions characteristics of jatropha oil blends with diesel in a direct injection compression ignition engine. J Instn Engrs : Ser C 2012, 93(3), 203-8.

Continuous effort to reducing pollutant emissions, especially smoke and nitrogen oxides from internal combustion engines, have promoted research for alternative fuels. Vegetable oils, because of their agricultural origin and due to less carbon content compared to mineral diesel are producing less CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere. It also reduces import of petroleum products. In the present contribution, experiments were conducted using Jatropha oil blends with diesel to study the effect on performance and emissions characteristics of a existing diesel engine. In this study viscosity of Jatropha oil was reduced by blending with diesel. A single cylinder, four stroke, constant speed, water cooled, diesel engine was used. The results show that for lower blend concentrations various parameters such as thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption, smoke opacity, CO₂, and NO_x emissions are acceptable compared to that of mineral diesel. But, it was observed that for higher blend concentrations, performance and emissions were much inferior compared to diesel.

11 illus, 1 table, 12 ref

018634   Datta D;Pandey M;Brij Kumar;Sharma R S (Health Physics Div, BARC, Mumbai-400 085) : Uncertainty quantification of contaminant transport through geological repository using 2D Monte Carlo simulation. BARC Newsl 2013, 330, 1-7.

The safety of a radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel repository is related to its capacity to confine radioactivity and isolate it from the biosphere. The most likely process leading to the release of radionuciides from a radioactive waste repository in a geological formation is the transport by groundwater. Entry of radionuclide into the biosphere after traveling through geosphere may possess a risk per year to the people living in the vicinity of the site. Therefore, this study has been developed to assess the risk in presence of the uncertainty of the parameters that constitute the governing model for describing the migration of the radionuclide through geological repository. The risk addressed here is due to drinking of water possibly contaminated with the migrated nuclide. Double Monte Carlo simulation is applied for modeling and the basic reason is due to the uncertainties of the bounds of the parameter of the specified distribution function. The paper demonstrates the simulation by an example problem in which migration of 1-129 radionuclide released from waste disposal facility and migrated through a geological repository to a biosphere is focused.

9 illus, 3 tables, 10 ref

018633   Datta B (NO, , Tata Chemicals Ltd., Durgachawk, Halida-721 602, Email: bdatta@tatachemicals.com) : Plant throughput improvement and specific consumption reduction in SSP plant, TCL, Haldia. Indian J Fertil 2012, 8(2), 58-65.

Tata Chemicals Ltd. (TCL) launched a Lean Six Sigma (LSS) initiative in June 2010 to help develop new capabilities in people and build sustainable processes that deliver significant improvement in profitability. An LSS project was launched "to improve the throughput and reduce the specific consumption of rock phosphate" in the SSP Plant. The project objectives were achieved by: 1. Improving Ball Mill grinding efficiency, 2) Improving Bag Filter efficiency, 3) Arresting Nutrient give away, 4) Reducing the Weight give away. Successful innovative solutions were developed through brainstorming and executed after trials. In the last three years, the average throughput of the Single Super Phosphate (SSP) Plant was 19.58 tons per hour (TPH). By using the proven methodology of Lean Six Sigma, the plant throughput was improved to 22.75 TPH. Apart from increasing the plant throughput by 14%, the implementation of solutions reduced stack emissions from 20 to 12 mg per Mm³ and increased Ball Mill throughput from 12 to 13.8 TPH and reduced specific consumption of rock from 0.58 to 0.54.

13 illus, 2 tables, 9 ref

018632   Dandavate A L;Sarje S H (Mechanical Engineering Dep, GND College of Engineering, Bidar-585 401, Email: suhas_sarje7@rediffmail.com) : Concept generation process for patient transferring device. J Instn Engrs : Ser C 2012, 93(3), 251-5.

In this paper, an attempt has been made to develop concepts for patient transferring tasks. The concept generation process of patient transferring device (PTD), which includes interviews of the customers, interpretation of the needs, organizing the needs into a hierarchy, establishing relative importance of the needs, establishing target specifications, and conceptualization has been discussed in this paper. The authors conducted the interviews of customers at Mobilink NGO, St. John's Hospital, Bangalore in order to know the needs and wants for the PTD. AHP technique was used for establishing and evaluating relative importance of needs, and based on the importance of the customer needs, concepts were developed through brainstorming.

3 illus, 3 tables, 3 ref

018631   Chatterjee H;Singh J P;Ranjon R;Kulkarni M P; Patel R J (Refuelling Technology Div, BARC, Mumbai-400 085) : Design & development of weld inspection manipulator for reactor pressure vessel of TAPS-1. BARC Newsl 2013, 330, 16-22.

The reactor pressure vessel (RPV) of TAPS-1 BWR contains six longitudinal and four circumferential welds. Periodical in-service inspection of these weld joints has been a regulatory issue pending for long. In the 22nd refuelling outage in July 201 2 the inspection of L1 -1, L1 -2 longitudinal welds as well as their junctions with C1 circumferential weld were proposed to be done using ultrasonic technique. Approaching these welds from OD side of the RPV is a difficult and tedious task. Therefore it was decided to examine these welds from ID side of the RPV by filling the cavity with water and approaching the RPV from top. No technology was locally available to take the probes at a depth of 10-12 m under water. NPCIL approached RTD, BARC to develop an underwater manipulator to accomplish this task. RTD took up this work as a challenge and came out with the design of manipulator. The weld inspection manipulator (WIM) was fabricated on a war foot basis, tested and successfully implemented in the reactor for the first time in TAPS history. The entire activity was completed in three months time. This article gives the details of design, manufacturing, performance testing, qualification trials and implementation of WIM in the reactor. Ultrasonic testing techniques were developed by QAD, BARC which are not covered in this article.

16 illus, ref

018630   Chakraborty G;Pal T K;Palit Sagar S;Parida N (Welding Technology Center, Metallurgical Engg Dep, Jadavpur Univ, Kolkata-700 032) : Non destructive characterization of resistance spot welded joints by ultrasonic techniques. Indian Weld J 2011, 44(1), 30-6.

Spot weld quality in terms of soundness of joint and nugget penetrations have been evaluated by ultrasonic technique. Furthermore, the variations in ultrasonic attenuation characteristics caused by grain boundary scattering have been utilized to assess grain coarsening at weld metal due to spot welding heat. The interpretations of ultrasonic signals are found to correspond with the results obtained from peel off and shear tensile test and are at par with the optical and TEN observations.

6 illus, 3 tables, 16 ref

018629   Cernigliaro A;Sesia I (National Institute of Metrological Research (INRIM), Strada delle Cacce 91, 10135 Turin, Italy, Email: a.cernigliaro@inrim.it) : INRIM tool for satellite clock characterization: frequency drift estimation and removal. MAPAN 2012, 27(1), 41-8.

In Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), atomic clocks are fundamental for their excellent stability. Being the distance measured from the time, any error on the measure of time leads to an error in the positioning: accurate and stable atomic clocks need to be employed on board satellites. Hence, the on board clock behaviour has to be continuously monitored and any malfunctioning has to be immediately detected. In this work, we illustrate a software tool developed at the National Institute of Metrological Research (INRIM) for GNSS clock characterization and monitoring. In particular we focus on the functionality of frequency drift estimation and removal, including the uncertainty evaluation. Actually, the frequency drift evaluation and the monitoring of its evolution over time is extremely important in GNSS applications to ensure the adequacy of the timing system to the integrity requirements of the positioning service. The software has been optimized for space clock data, which are different from the ones from timing laboratories, since often present missing data and outliers. The tool allows to easily handle satellite clock data, and get a quick estimate and graphic representation of clock key parameters, such as the clock frequency drift.

5 illus, 17 ref

018628   Bhaskaran E (NO, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Email: e.bhaskaran19@gmail.com) : Technical efficiency of automotive industry cluster in Chennai. J Instn Engrs : Ser C 2012, 93(3), 243-9.

Chennai is also called as Detroit of India due to its automotive industry presence producing over 40% of the India's vehicle and components. During 2001-2002, diagnostic study was conducted on the Automotive Component Industries (ACI) in Ambattur Industrial Estate, Chennai and in SWOT analysis it was found that it had faced problems on infrastructure, technology, procurement, production and marketing. In the year 2004-2005 under the cluster development approach (CDA), they formed Chennai auto cluster, under public private partnership concept, received grant from Government of India, Government of Tamil Nadu, Ambattur Municipality, bank loans and stake holders. This results development in infrastructure, technology, procurement, production and marketing interrelationships among ACI. The objective is to determine the correlation coefficient, regression equation, technical efficiency, peer weights, slack variables and return to scale of cluster before and after the CDA. The methodology adopted is collection of primary data from ACI and analyzing using data envelopment analysis (DEA) of input oriented Banker-Charnes-Cooper model. There is significant increase in correlation coefficient and the regression analysis reveals that for one percent increase in employment and net worth, the gross output increases significantly after the CDA. The DEA solver gives the technical efficiency of ACI by taking shift, employment, net worth as input data and quality, gross output and export ratio as output data. From the technical score and ranking of ACI, it is found that there is significant increase in technical efficiency of ACI when compared to CDA. The slack variables obtained clearly reveals the excess employment and net worth and no shortage of gross output. To conclude there is increase in technical efficiency of not only Chennai auto cluster in general but also Chennai auto components industries in particular.

3 illus, 3 tables, 14 ref

018627   Bhagwat T M (NO, Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd., Thal Unit, Distt. Raigad-402 208, Email: tmbhagwat@rcfltd.com) : Major in-situ modifications on benfield regenerator. Indian J Fertil 2012, 8(5), 58-63.

RCF Thal carried out modifications in existing single stage Benfield regenerator to enable operation of two stage GV process. The major jobs required modification in bottom sump area, installation of semi-lean solution and rich solution take off tray, replacement of existing redistributors with new high efficiency redistributors and replacement of existing demister with new demister. The jobs were planned for 15 days for column modifications and 5 days for packing replacement. The articles gives details of the modification work which was completed exactly in 20 days and without any man hour lost.

7 illus, ref

018626   Baker N;Estrada A;Affan Badar M (Applied Engineering and Technology Management Dep, Indiana State Univ, Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA, Email: nbaker4@sycamores.indstate.edu) : Door Hinge reliability: a case study. Invertis J Sci Technol 2013, 6(2), 78-85.

Purpose of this paper is to verify if the model method based on estimation of observations of customer complaint levels, when applied to the hinges of a range door, is an acceptable method of estimating future warranty costs. Design/methodology/Approach: Data based reliability was calculated by converting service failures reported in time to service failures in cycles. The data based reliability was then compared against the model method and MTBF calculations at different confidence estimates to verify the accuracy of the calculations against this application. The use of the model method based on estimation of observation is acceptable as a method of estimating future warranty cost. Calculated reliability matched the actual test data. Data from the MTBF method did not support a robust method to predict failure rates in field data. The reliability at the 95% confidence estimate from the MTBF costing is approximately 38% below actual failure costs. Based on the high margin of error the MTBF method is not accurate enough to estimate warranty cost. The study relied on estimates of the ratio of cycles to time, manufacturing instability, and limited consistency of a field definition of failures. Methods to achieve a more robust estimate would be to create multiple models at multiple estimate levels. Applications of this study include product reliability estimation before new product introduction. While a product is in the design stages the consumer average usage charts available through outlets like Association of Home Appliance Manufactures (AHAM) or Consumer Union may be consulted to predict warranty costing. An increase in design robustness could be achieved by using a Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (DFMEA) approach and eliminating causes of design errors. DFMEA has been presented.

2 illus, 1 table, 22 ref

018625   Arya S;Sharma S M;Sharma R K;Srivastava V; Bindal V K;Paul A K (NO, CSIR- Central Eclectronics Engineering Research Institute, Pilani-333 031) : Development of attenuators by carbon coating on APBN support rods using RF sputtering technique. Bhartiya Vaigyanik Evam Audyogik Anusandhan Patrika 2012, 20(2), 221-4.

There are chances of reflections of unwanted signal, due to several unavoidable reasons, in any working microwave tube. Due to this, the tubes do not give the desired performance. To minimise the chances of reflections the attenuators are used in microwave tubes. These attenuators may be used either inside or outside the tube depending upon its end use. For the fabrication of the attenuators in helix TWTs, the support rods are coated with controlled carbon layer with the specific profile and length using the specific processes. In this paper process of carbon coating on support rods using RF sputtering technique has been described in detail.

6 illus, 1 table, 3 ref

018624   Al-Dois H A;Jha A K;Mishra R B (Mechanical Engineering Dep, Institute ot Technology, Banaras Hindu Univ, Varanasi-221 005, Email: haldois@yahoo.com) : Dynamic manipulability of 3-RRR planar manipulator. J Instn Engrs : Ser C 2012, 93(3), 257-67.

In this paper a simulation study is proposed to study the factors influencing the dynamic manipulability of 3-RRR planar manipulator with and without payload. Different combinations of robot parameters are examined using design of experiment technique while performing variety of tasks. The kinematic and dynamic models are derived symbolically and used to simulate the dynamic performance of 3-RRR planar manipulator while following different trajectories. Finally, the results generated from the simulation of various parameter combinations are analyzed using analysis of variance and discussed to include the optimization of robot's performance based on the dynamic manipulability measure.

7 illus, 6 tables, 72 ref

018623   Ahuja A K;Chakka R (NO, Meerut Institute of Engineering and Technology, Meerut-250 005, Email: ramchakka@yahoo.com) : New approach to bit error rate reduction and its impact on telecom performance. J scient ind Res 2013, 72(3), 149-59.

Improved techniques for BER (Bit-Error-Rate) reduction at receivers are much needed in digital communications, in order to make it possible to transmit bit streams effectively at lower SNRs (Signal-to-Noise-Ratio) and for other advantages. This paper proposes and evaluates a new scheme for BER reduction applicable to a large class of correlated digital signals. Substantial improvements over classical method are realized and demonstrated. Its impact on telecommunications performance measures is analyzed.

6 illus, 28 ref

017625   Yildirim H;Altun B (Material Science Div, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, 34469, Maslak, Istanbul, Turkey) : Usage of molasses in concrete as a water reducing and retarding admixture. Indian J Engng Mater Sci 2012, 19(6), 421-6.

Molasses is a by-product material like lignosulphonate, which is obtained from paper and sugar industries. Molasses shows plasticizing effect in concrete. In this study a comparison is made between molasses with 40% purity grade and lignosulphonate with respect to the improvements in properties of concrete. Three molasses obtained from different sugar factories are used in this study at two admixture dosages, such as 0.4% and 0.7% of cement dosage. Two types of concretes are prepared with two cement dosages, such as 270 and 320 kg/m3, respectively. The workability and setting times are determined at the fresh state and both compressive and flexural strength properties are measured on hardened concretes. Furthermore, durability properties are compared by using capillary and sulphate resistance tests. Molasses can be used as a Type D, if initial and final setting times and compressive strengths at 35 and 125 days which are measured in this work, are considered, and can be used as Type A because of reducing the dosage of admixture, in concrete in accordance with ASTM C 494 standard.

8 illus, 4 tables, 18 ref

017624   Xudong Chen;Huang W;Jikai Zhou (NO, College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, Jingsu, 210098, China) : Effect of moisture content on compressive and split tensile strength of concrete. Indian J Engng Mater Sci 2012, 19(6), 427-5.

Aim of this study is to evaluate the moisture effect on the strength of concrete specimens that has completely cured. This study is also aimed to develop relations that can be used to determine the properties of concrete with different moisture contents that are normally experienced in outside conditions. Numerous compressions and split tensile tests are performed. In order to better understand the results obtained from mechanical tests, a simple empirical formula is suggested that accurately fits experimentally measured sorption data for concrete specimens. Analysis of the collected test results suggests that the moisture content in concrete does have a significant effect on the compressive strength of concrete, but has a much lesser effect on the split tensile strength. As the specimen degrees of saturation increased, the compressive strength fell. However, at nearly saturated condition, an increase in compressive strength can be found.

8 illus, 6 tables, 39 ref

017623   Wang C;Nam-Young K (RFIC Laboratory, Electronic Engineering Dep, Kwangwoon University, 447-1 Wolgye-dong, Nowon-ku, Seoul-139 701, Email: kevinhunter0141@hotmail.com) : Comparative analysis of Ni-Cr/Pt thin film resistors on silicon and GaAs substrates for IPD technology. Indian J Engng Mater Sci 2012, 19(5), 304-6.

Ni-Cr/Pt thin film resistors (TFRs) deposited on silicon and GaAs substrates using the RF cluster sputtering system are comparatively analyzed in electrical and physical properties for integrated passive device (IPD) technology. In order to find the suitability of these substrates, the electrical and morphology characterizations for pure and thermally annealed samples have been demonstrated. The pure and the annealed samples on GaAs substrate have shown very less variation of resistivity from room temperature to 200°C. But the variation of resistivity on silicon substrate has changed much for different annealed temperatures. This is due to the mobility variation and the inter-diffusion of silicon with the other metals. This study presents that the resistive Ni-Cr/Pt layers on the GaAs substrate shows more stability, less inter-diffusion and less formation of voids compared to the resistive layers on silicon substrate.

5 illus, 16 ref

017622   Viswanath A;Ajith Kumar K K;Pillai U T S;Pai B C (Materials Science and Technology Div, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST, Trivandrum-695 019, Email: utspillai@rediffmail.com) : Processing and properties of in situ synthesized reinforcements in molten magnesium. J Mater metall Engng 2013, 3(1), 25-34.

In situ synthesized reinforcements for magnesium composites are an attractive area of research especially due to the inherent advantages of the process. Various reinforcements such as intermetallics and ceramics have proved their effectiveness in magnesium by imparting higher mechanical and tribological properties to the metal matrix. Fabrication of reinforcements in molten magnesium matrix is a very critical area owing to large scale production prospective and ease of implementation. This paper comprehensively discusses the major in situ synthesized reinforcements used in molten magnesium, their processing techniques and properties.

2 illus, 1 table, 58 ref

017621   Vetri Selvan R;Raju N;Ravichandran G;Suresh S (NO, Welding Research Institute, BHEL, Tiruchirappalli-620 014) : Angular distortion analysis in stainless steel T-joint. WRI Jl 2011, 32(4), 29-38.

Distortion is one of the major issues while warding Stainless steels due to its higher thermal expansion coefficient and lower thermal conductivity compared to ferritic steels. Amongst the different type of distortions normally observed in welding, angular distortion is often encountered in Tee joints with fillet welds. As correction becomes more and more difficult in thicker sections and sometimes not feasible, need exists to control the distortion within acceptable limits. In -depth analysis and development of control measures are essential to control or minimize distortion. In this paper, the analysis of angular distortion of stainless steel tee joint is presented numerically and experimentally. A double side welded tee joint model has been considered for the study. The effect of welding sequence on angular distortion has been studied with a three dimensional thermo-mechanical model. The study deals with effect of weld sequence on the angular distortion of the Tee joint. Numerical simulation of the tee joint model for three sequences was carried out using commercially available finite element based SYSWELD software. The effect of Tack welding, Filler metal shrinkage, Welding sequence, Heat input, and Material properties on angular distortion was investigated. Experiments were carried out to validate the thermo mechanical model. The values predicted by the model were found to agree with the experimentally obtained data closely. The study shows that the stainless steel produces higher angular distortion than carbon steel. Weld sequence technique with sequential heat input can be employed effectively to minimize angular distortion in Tee joints made of stainless steels.

20 illus, 3 tables, 10 ref

017620   Vara Prasad U S;Madhu Murthy K;Amba Prasad Rao G (Mechanical Engineering Dep, National Institute of Technology, Warangal-506 004, Email: gap@nitw.ac.in) : Effective reduction of emissions of a DI diesel Engine fuelled with biodiesel and diesel blends with oxygenated additives. J Alternate Energy Sour Technol 2012, 3(2), 1-10.

Fatty acid methyl ester, popularly called biodiesel, has become more prominent alternate fuel for diesel engines on the basis of single-fuel concept. Since use of neat biodiesel on a large scale is raising certain constraints, both in terms of long-term availability of feed stock, fertile land and high NO_x emissions, biodiesel is being adopted in blended form with petro-diesel fuel as B20 or B40. However, the HC and NO_x emissions of these blends are still on the higher side. The present work aims at experimental evaluation of a single-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine by adopting different amounts of ethanol and di-ethyl ether blends in order to further improve performance and emission characteristics of blends. Besides employing these oxygenated additives, simultaneous influence of fuel injection pressure is also investigated to arrive at the optimum blend for the chosen engine configuration. Higher brake-specific fuel consumption values are realized with these additives compared to pure diesel fuel operation of the engine; however, significant reduction in gaseous emissions is obtained.

9 illus, 2 tables, 15 ref

017619   Tripura D D (Civil Engineering Dep, National Institute of Technology, Agartala, Barjala, Jirania, Tripura-799 055, Email: debdulaltripura@gmail.com) : Traffic noise in the city Agartala. Recent Trends Civil Engng Technol 2012, 2(1), 31-37.

This paper refers to a study of the impact of road traffic noise in a heterogeneous traffic flow condition in the city Agartala. The traffic noise levels were monitored using sound level meter SL-4001 everyday at 48 locations for 7 days and simultaneous measurements were done regarding vehicle flow, spot speed and distance of residence from the road. The measured noise levels were further converted to equivalent noise level (Leq) using a formula prescribed by Indian Standard Code. Every acoustical parameter were averaged based on 7 days record. Analyses showed that the Leg and maximum noise levels (MNLs) exceed the maximum acceptable standard limit 55 dB (A) for the residential areas at about 80% and 100% of the measuring sites, respectively. There exist strong correlations between MNL values and Leg (rxy = 0.9SO); MNL and L20 (rxy - 0.987); and Leq and L20 (rxy = 0.976). The co-variation between MNL and Leq is very negligible at different locations during different times. This illustrates that MNL as an acoustical parameter is not different from both Leq and L20. Hence, Leq, can also be expressed in terms of MNL or L20 in this type of traffic flow condition.

5 illus, 1 table, 8 ref

017618   Tomar M;Vineet Kumar;Sharma N (NO, , Gitam Kablana, Jhajjar, Haryana, Email: Mohitkumar295@gmail.com) : Small-scale distributed energy generation and cogeneration in renewable energy. Int J latest Technol Mgmt appl Sci 2012, 1(4), 74-80.

13 ref