011698   Ghose A;Quamruzzaman C (Geology and Mining Dep, Rajshahi Univ, Rajshahi, Bangladesh) : Sustainable energy development in Bangladesh coal as an alternative energy resource. Indian J Pwr River Valley Dev 2009, 59(11-12), 194-203.

Bangladesh faces formidable challenges in meeting her energy needs and assuring energy security for the near and long-term future. The nation needs to sustain a 7.8% economic growth to eradicate poverty and meet the economic and human development goals. The energy challenge is thus of fundamental importance to the economic growth imperatives of Bangladesh. The total installed capacity of all power plants in 2005-2006 was 5245 MW, while the generation was 23,703 MkWh, out of which the share of gas was 8,1.5%, hydro 4.3%, furnace oil 5.3%, diesel 4.07% and coal 4.74%. The nation has a per capita electricity consumption of about 167 kWh per year, probably one of the lowest in the world. The inventory of energy resources is not substantial and natural gas resources are fast depleting, in the absence of any major new discoveries in the recent past. The effects of price volatility, the sky-rocketing oil prices in the international market, the rising aspirations of people and above all the burgeoning population, have been the major drivers of power demand resulting in a yawning supply/demand gap. The critical issues of long-term energy prospects of Bangladesh hinge on security of energy supply, increased access to electricity, efficiency improvement, and updating and refurbishing of energy infrastructure, Recent discoveries of coal resources in northwest of Bangladesh have opened a window of opportunity for meeting the nation's galloping energy demand. The energy security concerns in Bangladesh with the outlook for coal as a major alternative source of energy. Additionally, the environmental issues related to open pit and underground coal mines vis-a-vis groundwater management need to be examined for facilitating coal mine development in the unique hydrogeological setting of coal deposits of Bangladesh. For the purposes of this study, we have sought to present an overview of the energy landscape vis-a-vis sustainable development, examined the geology of the coal deposits of Bangladesh, and the prospects of their optimum utilization, including the related issues of groundwater management. We have finally spelled out an agenda for actions.

2 illus, 12 tables, 11 ref

011697   Ganguly S;Pranay Kumar (Strategy and Product Development, Power Exchange India Limited, Mumbai) : Electricity trading and power exchanges in India. Indian J Pwr River Valley Dev 2009, 59(11-12), 167-9.

2 illus, ref

011696   Ganesan P;Hariharan S;Ramachandran T (Textile Technology Dep, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore-641 004) : Overview of textile bibre-reinforced thermaoplastic composites. J Instn Engrs-Pt TE 2009, 90(Aug), 11-16.

The thermoplastic composites offer some interesting advantages over their thermoset counterparts like higher toughness, faster manufacturing with recyclable nature. Traditional melt processing, however, limits thermoplastic composite parts in size and thickness. As an alternative, reactive processing of textile fibre-reinforced thermoplastics is introduced and discussed in this paper: a low viscosity oligomeric precursor is used to impregnate the fibres, followed by in situ polymerization. Processes that are currently associated to manufacturing of thermoset composites like resin transfer molding, vacuum infusion and resin film infusion, might be used for manufacturing of thermoplastic composite parts in near future. This paper provides an overview of engineering and high-performance textile and plastic materials that are suitable for reactive processing and discusses fundamental differences between reactive processing of thermoplastic and thermoset resins.

9 illus, 1 table, 19 ref

011695   Florinabel D J;Juliet S E;Sadasivam V (NO, Manonmaniam Sundaranar Univ, Tirunelveli-627 002) : Multi Echelon Gabor orientation driven morphoogical inpainting based recovery of digitized paintings. J Instn Engrs-Pt CP 2009, 90(Nov), 18-25.

A technique for restoring damaged digitized photographs based on steerable morphological inpainting is proposed. The inpainting order plays an important factor for human visualization and hence, it is guided by the orientation of edges at the known surrounding regions of the missing domain. The image is edge-plane-sliced to pack the edges in their corresponding orientations by Gabor filter. The edge-p/ane-sliced information is used twice for reconstructing the regions within the missing part, as well as for guiding the integration that follows. The damaged regions are morphologically eroded using the structuring elements of corresponding orientations dictated by the edge-planes. The resultant filled image is obtained using winner-takes-all integration. This algorithm can ensure the edge continuous character, which is one of the most important characters in. image inpainting and make the restored regions less blurry. By implementing region-filling through morphological erosion, several pixels instead of one can be restored at every inpainting step, making the method faster than many traditional texture synthesis inpainting algorithms and successfully recovers images with better peak signal to noise ratios even for massive damages.

3 illus, 3 tables, 25 ref

011694   Elbaradhi M (International Atomic Eergy Agency, P.O. 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria) : Tackling the global energy crisis. Indian J Pwr River Valley Dev 2009, 59(1-2), 1.

The world needs a global energy organization that would complement, not replace, bodies already active in the energy field.

011693   Dhariwal A (Civil Engineering Dep, Faculty of Engineering, Jai Narain Vyas Univ, Jodhpur-342 001) : Waste to wealth: flyash. Indian J envir Prot 2010, 30(3), 211-7.

Building industry, a fast growing sector is one of the key areas of infrastructure development. To cater to the requirements of building materials, we depend heavily on natural resources. There is a limit to which natural resources can be exploited. It is imperative to find alternate substitute materials. Use of industrial wastes for this purpose is beneficial in two ways; it conserves the natural resources, which would have been exploited otherwise on one hand and gives solution to safe disposal of industrial waste on the other hand. Flyash is one of such industrial wastes (resource material if understood properly), which is causing environmental pollution. Large stretches of land, which can otherwise be used for shelter, agriculture or some other productive purposes, are being wasted for disposal of flyash. The water, in which fiyash falls, becomes unfit for drinking. The land on which it falls becomes infertile. The air becomes polluted since it spreads into atmosphere and causes lung problems. The present generation of flyash is around 150 million tonne per year in the country. Such a huge generation of flyash causes a considerable impact on the environment/eco systems. Flyash has many valuable applications in building industry. Flyash building components are competitive to conventional material components and provide enormous indirect benefits. The country can gain a lot by gainful utilisation of flyash resulting in conservation of natural resources as well as protection of environment. Researches in India and abroad have established that the otherwise waste material, like flyash can be converted into meaningful wealth as a new construction material. In this paper an attempt has been made to study the structural behaviour of flyash concrete by conducting various tests on standard specimens, containing 20% flyash. The experimental work is based on mix design procedure for Ml5, M20, M25 and M30 to study the properties of flyash concrete, like compressive strength and bond stress. In this work, the factors are, gradation of aggregates, fineness modulus, size of aggregates, water content, concrete mixing method, flyash content, compaction factor, curing conditions, etc., are considered.

4 illus, 2 table, 6 ref

011692   Deshmukh D K;Deb M K;Verma S K (Pt Ravishankar Shukla Univ, School of Studies in Chemistry, Raipur-492 010) : Distribution patterns of coarse, fine and ultrafine atmospheric aerosol particulate matters in major cities of Chhattisgarh. Indian J envir Prot 2010, 30(3), 184-97.

This work was initiated for a comparative study of the prevailing air quality in the 5 major cities of a central state, namely Chhattisgarh in India in terms of PM₁₀, PM_2.5 and PM₁ The five selected cities, geographically from north to south, were Ambikapur (non-industrial city), Jagdalpur (non-industrial city), Raipur (industrial city), Bilaspur (industrial city) and Korba (industrial city). Total 60 24 hr samples were collected to measure the mass concentration of PM₁₀, PM₂₅ and PM₁ during April 2005 to March 2006 at these locations. According to the results, the PM₁₀, PM₂₅ and PM₁ mass concentrations varied from 210.0 to 231.2 μg/m³, 82.7 to 113.8 μg/m³ and 40.5 to 69.2 μg/m³, respectively. The mean PM₂₅/PM₁₀ ratios of all samples were 0.42, indicating almost a 50% contribution from PM_2.5 particles in the state overall. The PM₁₀, PM_2.5 and PM₁ mass concentration in different cities falling under non-industrial and industrial categories were 215.5, 86.9, 44.4 and 227.2, 99.6, 58.1 μg/m³, respectively. The concentration of particulate matter (PM₁₀, PM_2.5 and PM₁ was highest at Korba (231.2 μg/m³ for PM₁₀, 113.8μg/m³ for PM_2.5 and 69.2 μg/m³ for PM₁ followed by Bilaspur and Raipur. The study concluded that the overall air quality in the city of Chhattisgarh was much inferior to other cities in India and abroad and there is a need to address the issue of PM_2.5 and PM₁ monitoring and control.

5 illus, 7 table, 31 ref

011691   Das P T;Tajo L;Goswami J (NO, North Eastern Space Applications Centre, Umiam-793 103, Email: thakuriapratibha@rediffmail.com) : Assessment of citrus crop condition in umling block of Ribhoi district using RS and GIS technique. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2009, 17(2), 317-24.

Orange orchards of Meghalaya are small in size and are found together with other plants on the slopes of hills. It is also reported that the productivity of orchards is declining in some parts of the state. Therefore author have attempted to map areas prone to citrus productivity decline based on the integrated effect of soil erosion, vegetation condition and moisture stress. It is difficult to identify orchards on hilly terrain using standard FCC of IRS-P6 LISS III data. Hence, an enhanced color composite image was prepared from three images generated from indices namely SBI, NDWI and NDVI. This enhanced color image was classified using the maximum likelihood classification method and enabled identifying villages prone to citrus decline. The study shows that orchards of 29 villages which are suffering from moisture stress and mostly located on steep slopes that cause heavy soil loss leading to nutrient imbalances are prone to citrus decline. These data will be useful in mapping potential citrus decline areas over zones having similar climatic conditions so that the concerned state horticulture/agriculture departments and citrus growers can take necessary remedial actions.

5 illus, 3 tables, 10 ref

011690   Das J N;Sinha S N;Sharan R (NO, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur) : Effect of sintering parameters on cold forgeability of iron-copper compacts. J Instn Engrs-Pt MM 2009, 90(Oct), 15-7.

Deals with an experimental investigation on the influence of electrolytic copper in atomized iron on cold forgeability of iron - copper powder compacts sintered under varying parameters. Cold forgeability evaluated by upset test has been found to increase uniformly for alloy compacts, containing up to 5% Cu, compacted at 30kg/mm² pressure (C) and sintered at 1100 °C for 2 h and 4 h, respectively. Sintering of Fe-Ce alloy compositions at 1200 ° C for 2 h improved marginally the cold forgeability of the alloy containing upto 2% Cu. Subsequent increase in copper contents upto 15% in the alloy improves forgeability within 9% to 13%. The increase in forgeability can be attributed to insoluble free copper and its proportion in the alloy matrix. Further, the ductile nature of copper in the matrix in all probability restricts crack initiation by bridging the pores during upset deformation in forgeability evaluation. The slopes of second order relations obtained for the dependence of forgeability on the copper content in the alloy have been found to decrease with increase in copper content.

1 illus, 5 tables, 9 ref

011689   Das D;Prabir K R;Dev Purkayastha P K (Commerce Dep, Gauhati Univ, Guwahati-781 014, Email: ddas_gu@rediffmail.com) : Power sector reforms in Assam: an introspection. Indian J Pwr River Valley Dev 2009, 59(5-6), 61-70.

5 tables, 8 ref

011688   Choudhury P B;Sitharam T G (Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Research, Refional Centre, 3 Floor, MBCL Complex, Seminary Hills, Nagpur-440 006, Email: parthonagpur@gmail.com) : Ground characterization using shear wave velocity for assessment of rippability. J Mines Metals Fuels 2009, 57(10), 317-20,334.

Details the use of shear wave velocity profiles to characterize the sub-surface ground and assess its rippability. Seismic profiling tests were conducted using multi-channel analysis of surface waves, at two different locations in a limestone mine. At each location, the tests were conducted with minimum two perpendicular scan lines, with 24 geophones in each scan line. Manual hammering was used as a source of generation of waves. The ability of seismic profiling using multi-channel analysis of surface wave for ground characterization and rippability assessment of strata has been successfully elaborated in this paper.

8 illus, 4 table, 7 ref

011687   Bhowmik N;Ganguly S (Metallurgy and Materials Engineering Dep, Bengal Engineering and Science Univ, Shibpur, Howrah-711 103) : Development of high manganese steel for thin gauge application using ANN. J Instn Engrs-Pt MM 2009, 90(Oct), 3-8.

The work is intended to examine the possibilities of designing steels with affordable composition and simplified processing route compatible with the existing hot strip mills. An artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed for composition-process-microstructure-property (CPMP) correlation and used to judiciously derive the design strategy of advanced high strength steels (AHSS) for bench marked mechanical properties as 1300 MPa -1500 MPa ultimate tensile strength and 15% -20%, uniform elongation. The model was studied to identify the suitable compositions of the steel. The steel with identified composition was developed and studied for evolution ofmicrostructure and mechanical properties.

10 illus, 3 tables, 21 ref

011686   Bhattacharya S (Fuel and Mineral Engineering Dep, Indian School of Mines Univ, Dhanbad-826 004, Email: bhattac1957@yahoo.co.in) : Recent developments in crushing technology and the challenges face in India. J Mines Metals Fuels 2009, 57(8), 206-13.

Among all the reciprocating crushers, major technological improvement appears to have been achieved in case of cone crushers including pebble crushers. More reliability and higher production have been added to basic cone crasher designs. Some of the models currently available have physical dimensions less by about 30% or more than traditional design. 20 different cavity profiles are available covering the secondary, tertiary and quarternary crushing. New automation system ensures minimum cost per tonne produced by keeping the cavity full, compensating for wear, maximizing the unit availability and providing 24hours graphic trending of operation. Large scale application of VSI has made possible the delivery of a generally consistent cubicle shape such as that required by modern SUPERPAVE highway asphalt applications. Sizers represent the only fundamental developments in primary crushers in 75years. With a low profile, low headroom design, this crusher excels at primary, secondary, and tertiary reduction of low silica materials such as coal, salt, gypsum, limestone and others up to a product size of -40mm. Sizers are also being increasingly used to replace rotary breakers. Stage loader crusher is a relatively recent development and is virtually tailor made to longwall mining system.

6 illus, 7 table, 16 ref

011685   Bhattacharya C (NO, National Power Training Institute Institute, Eastern Region, City Centre, Durgapur-713 216, Email: chittatosh_bhattacharya@rediffmail.com) : Problems and prospects of Indian coal-power sector: strategic planning for sustainable power crisis mitigation. Indian J Pwr River Valley Dev 2009, 59(11-12), 175-88.

3 illus, 8 tables, 5 ref

011684   Bhatacharjee S;Deb G (Electrical Engineering Dep, Tripura Univ, Suryamaninagar-799 130, Email: subhadeep_bhattacharjee@yahoo.co.in) : Some studies on the performance analysis between synchronous and indiction generators for wind electrical system. Indian J Pwr River Valley Dev 2009, 59(5-6), 71-5.

The amount of wind power in the world increases fast. The background for this development is improved technology, decreased costs for the units and an increased concern of the environmental problems of competing technologies such as fossil fuels. In present-day practice, two types of generators generally find application in wind power plants: the synchronous generator and the induction generator. In this present work two models of wind electrical systems with synchronous and induction generators have been designed with the help of PSCAD (Power System Computer Aided Design) software. A comparative study between the alternator and induction generator's various performance characteristics for wind electrical system application thus has been carried out in this present work. The study also reveals the better generator option suitable for present-day wind power generation plants.

7 illus, 1 table, 6 ref

011683   Bajpai U;Singh K (Physics Dep, Lucknow Univ, Lucknow-226 007) : Instant solar radiation and its dependence on metorological parameters. Indian J Pwr River Valley Dev 2009, 59(3-4), 34-7.

Efficiency of solar devices depends on the availability of - instant solar radiation. An attempt has been made to get an estimation of instant solar radiation from other meteorological parameters. The other meteorological parameters are instant temperature and relative humidity. The relationships are polynomial and exponential in nature. These studies may help to get a relation between instant solar radiation and other meteorological parameters.

8 illus, 2 tbles, 7 ref

011682   Babu V R;Koushik C V;Ramachandaran T (Fashion Technology Dep, Sona College of Technology, Salem-636 005) : Performance of polyster/cotton sewing threads on seam strength. J Instn Engrs-Pt TE 2009, 90(Aug), 17-21.

Studies the effect of different type of sewing threads, stitch density and washing cycles on the seam properties of plain weave fabric. The work has been carried out in two steps. In the first step, three types of polyester based sewing thread are chosen to prepare warp-way and weft-way seams in plain woven fabric, using three different values of stitch density. In the second step, the seamed fabric was subjected to a standard industry-range washing test involving 10, 20 and 30 wash cycles. The samples are tested for its seam properties such as seam strength, seam efficiency and seam slippage. It was observed that the seam direction, stitches/cm and number of washes influence various seam properties.

4 tbales, 3 ref

011681   Ashokkumar T;Rajadurai A;Gouthama (Automobile Engineering Dep, Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Thandalam-602 105) : Effect of mechanical alloying on microstructure, morphology and magnetic properties of 75wt % Ni-Fe nanopowder. J Instn Engrs-Pt MM 2009, 90(Oct), 9-14.

Mechanical alloying through high energy ball milling was used to produce Ni-Fe alloy powders starting from elemental Ni and Fe powders of average particle sizes 80 μm and 25 μm, respectively. High energy planetary ball milling at room temperature was performed for various time durations ranging between 2 h to 100 h. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Particle Size Analyzer and Vibrating Sample Magnetometer were used for characterization. The morphological study shows that the grain size decreases continuously with milling time reaching the value of 34 nm at 100 h of mi/ling. It is observed that the particle size generally decreases with milling time. The particle size is seen to remain constant at 13.5 μm during 2h to 8/7 of milling and at 7,5 μm during 32 h to 64 h of milling. This may be due to equilibrium between the fracturing and cold welding processes occurring during the said duration of ball milling. The particle size decreases after 64 h and reaches the lowest value of 3 μm at 100 h of milling. Average coercive field increases as the grain s/ze decreases and reaches a maximum value of 103 Oe at the end of 100 h of milling, when the panicle size and grain size were 3 μm and 34 nm, respectively. The study indicates that the average saturation magnetization, the average remanent magnetization, hysteresis loss and maximum permeability decrease with decrease in particle and grain size.

17 illus, 3 tables, 13 ref

011680   Arunachalam S;Lakshmanan N (Wind Engineering Laboratory, CSIR - Structural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai-600 113) : Modelling of across-wind force and response of a circular chimney including lock-in effects. J Wind Engng 2010, 7(2), 10-27.

Presents an empirical model for prediction of across-wind response of a circular RC Chimney. The total variance of the lift force is computed as the sum of the variance of the forces due to vortex shedding and lateral turbulence. Using the modified rms lift coefficient only due to vortex shedding, C_I.V which attains almost a constant value of 0.089, independent of Reynolds number regime as shown by authors in an earlier paper, the spectrum of across-wind generalized lift force, only due to vortex shedding is evaluated for non-lock-in region. As regards the lock-in region, the spectrum is suitably modified using a parameter 'fact' as discussed in this paper. The evaluation of spectrum of lift force due to lateral turbulence is treated in the same way for both lock-in and non-lock-in regions. Once the spectrum of across-wind overall generalized lift force is computed, the spectrum of across-wind response is obtained using conventional structural dynamics with the use of only structural damping. The method is verified by applying it to data for two chimneys and the results are encouraging.

8 illus, 3 tables, 20 ref

011679   Anuradha B;Ambujam N K (Civil Engineering Dep, Madha Engineering College, Chennai-600 069) : Impact of water conservation in irrigation tanks for improved wet land agriculture-a case study in peri-urban village. Int J agric statist Sci 2010, 6(2), 663-7.

Tank irrigation which received top priority and played dominant role in the development of agriculture in particular and the national economy in general. There is a great potential for better conservation and management of water resources in its various uses. Increased storage of water after tank rehabilitation helps farmers to increase the area cultivated and reduced leaving land fallow. Also the number of seasons cultivating paddy is increased with better availability of water in irrigation tanks. Even if paddy cultivation is not possible for farmers due to its high input cost, they cultivate groundnut in third season. Hence there is an overall improvement seen in wet land agriculture. Results of this paper prove the above statement. A study was undertaken in Somangalam village of Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu, India, Twenty percent of total land holding households was selected as respondents. Interview schedule was used to collect data and SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) was used to analyse the data. Paired t-test technique was used to test the null hypothesis and compare the results to prove that the increased tank storage in post rehabilitation period is highly associated with improved wet land agriculture.

1 illus, 4 tables, 8 ref

011678   Anandanadarajah S;Furtado E J (NO, Span-Symonds (U.K.) JV, Pune) : Construction twin tunnels on Katraj ghat bypass, Pune-satara section of NH-4-a case study. Indian Highw 2009, 37(1), 35-42.

National Highway No. 4 passes through Katraj spur in western mountain range between Pune and Shirwal. The existing Highway has a 275 m long two way tunnel in this section. The approaches to the tunnel generally have steep gradients and sharp curves/ bends. It is not possible to improve the existing curves/bends/ gradients to even minimum National Highways Standards due to space limitations/constraints. Keeping in view the present traffic and anticipated growth of traffic in this section during the next decade, the road in this section was re-aligned and twin 'D' shaped tunnel tubes about 1.5 km long each with three lane carriageway, has been constructed. The new alignment takes off from NH-4 near westerly bypass at Katraj village and after negotiating the western/Zorai mountain, rejoins NH-4 past the slopes of the mountains. The Paper describes the salient features of the tunnels, necessity of providing the tunnel, geology rock mass rating of the area, approach methodology for design of tunnel supporting system, methodology for construction of the tunnels, concrete pavement for tunnel carriageway and slope stabilization measures in tunnels approaches in open cut sections to tame the slide zones.

7 illus

011677   Ali S;Sujatha P;Anjaneyulu (NO, , , Email: sali_elect@yahoo.com) : Minimization of harmonics using FACTS controller for the improvement of power transfer capability. Indian J Pwr River Valley Dev 2009, 59(7-8), 96-105.

Power electronic loads introduce harmonic currents into the utility power system. Presents harmonic reduction techniques, which satisfy the current harmonic limits. The techniques which are considered here, are active filter, hybrid filter and zig-zag transformer rectifier as FACTS controllers. According to rectifying or inverting operation of HVDC converters, reactive power is absorbed from the bus in which the converter is connected. In either case of operation reactive power compensation in AC side of converters is quite necessary. In addition to reactive power compensation, due to nonlinear behaviour of power electronics converters. The characterized and uncharacterized harmonics are produced in both sides of links and often they are filtered by passive and active filters. There has been a great growth in application of AC/DC links and therefore the harmonic reduction and reactive power compensation method should be improved but this increases the complexity in hardware and control strategies and also increases the total cost of links. In this paper the new switching patterns of capacitance for achieving continuously controlled compensation and reduction of harmonics produced by HVDC converters are described. This method has a simple structure and easier switching control strategies compared to active filter configuration alone.

14 illus, 2 tables, 22 ref

011676   Akbari M;Ahmadi M (NO, Amikabir Univ of Technology, Tehran, Iran, Email: akbar_meisam@hotmail.com) : Experimental study of onset of plastic deformation in low carbon steel using acoustic emission technique. J pure appl Ultrasonics 2009, 31(3), 110-14.

In this study, using AE technique, the onset of plastic deformation has been investigated on smooth and notched specimens of low carbon steel. All the specimens were stretched under uniaxial tension test. AE activities (number of counts and signal energy) and stress-strain curve were measured during tests. The results show that activity of AE increases near the yield point and reaches to maximum at beginning of plastic deformation. AE activity decreases significantly with further straining. The main source of AE at all stages of deformation is associated with massive dislocation motion.

12 illus, 7 ref

010671   Zhang Y;Changfaxiao;Shulinan (Key Laboratoty of Hollow Fiber Membrane Material and Membrane Proess, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ti, Tianjin-300 160, People's Republic of China, Email: zhyab@126.com) : Research progress on preparation and reaction mechanism for long alumina based fibers using spinning polymer aid. J Polym Mater 2009, 26(4), 401-10.

Alumina based fibers, which are used as reinforcement of composite materials and high temperature insulating materials, are one of the most promising materials. In most recent research, the application of organic spinning aids has been a trend for the preparation of long alumina based fiber, and it could help to improve viscosity and rheological properties of spinning sol. The current paper reviews the research done in this area. Firstly, the requirement of spinning aids and solvent which helps to obtain the sol with spinnability is concluded. Secondly, the effect of spinning aids on the sol structure and final fiber properties is summarized. Thirdly, a discussion of reaction between spinning aids and Al source is then focused on.

3 illus, 2 tables, 26 ref

010670   Vijaya Ramnath B;Elanchezhian C;Kesavan R (Production Technology Dep, M.I.T. Campus, Anna Univ, Chrompet, Chennai, Email: bvijayaramnath@yahoo.com) : Lean manufacturing for cycle time reduction in an assembly shop. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(6), 11-17.

In order to sustain in present competitive market, on-time delivery, excellent quality and aesthetic are very much essential. The objective of this paper is reducing the cycle time of assembly of automobile door trim panels by implementing various modernized techniques using lean manufacturing concepts. It is evident from the past reports that in the existing system the cycle time is more and it has poor aesthetic. Here a leading automobile company's front door panel assembly is considered and the assembly line is modernized and automated to reduce the cycle time and to improve the aesthetic. The outcome of this paper leads to substantial reduction in cycle time, reduced cost of maintenance, reduced defects, better utilization of machines and man power. Statistical quality control is carried out on the new method of welding joints. The result shows that the process is under control. Also, the proposed system is validated for its increased productivity and for return on investment (ROI). It has been proved and validated by an empirical relation. The improved return on investment (ROI) and productivity shows the method of performing welding is feasible.

3 illus, 4 tables, 21 ref

010669   Usha S (Applied mechatronics integration facility, Central Manfacturing Technology Institute, Bangalore, Email: usha@cmti-india.net) : Optical 3-d measurement techniques. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(11-12), 26-7.

This part of the series on recent trends in machine vision' deals with the performance assessment issues and techniques comprising calibration, sensors, occlusion, obscuration and softwares.

ref

010668   Usha S (Applied Mechatronics Integration Facility, Central Manufacturing Technology Institute, Bangalore, Email: usha@cmti-india.net) : Optical 3-D measurement techniques. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(9-10), 31-3.

This part of the series on recent trends in machine vision' in 'what is new in technology' deals with the technological developments in 3D measurements in vision field such as BIRIS range sensor, micro projectors, digital micromirror devices and their working principles in difficult enviroments.

4 illus

010667   Usha S (Applied Mechatronics Integration Facility, Central Manufacturing Technology Institute, Bangalore, Email: usha@cmti-india.net) : Optical 3-D measurement techniques. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(7-8), 30-2.

this part of the series on 'recent trends in machine vision' in 'what is new in technology' describes different measurements such as interferometry, stereophotogrammetry and laser tracking system.

3 illus

010666   Usha S (Applied Mechatronics Integration Facility, Central Manufacturing Technology Institute, Bangalore, Email: usha@cmti-india.net) : Optical 3-D measurement techniques. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(6), 27-8.

This part of the series on recent trends in machine vision' in 'what is new in technology' deals with the moire technique and laser radar 3-D imaging method or the speckle pattern sampling method in measurement applications, their advantages and limitations.

2 illus

010665   Usha S (Applied Mechatronics Integration Facility, Central Manufacturing Technology Institute, Bangalore, Email: usha@cmti-india.net) : Optical 3-D measurement techniques. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(5), 25-7.

This fourth part of our special series on recent trends in machine vision' in 'what is new in Technology' deals with the structured light technique comprising laser interference method and fringe projection method and their resolution.

3 illus

010664   Usha S (Applied Mechatronics Integration Facility, Central Manufacturing Technology Institute, Bangalore, Email: usha@cmti-india.net) : Optical 3-D measurement techniques. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(4), 28-30.

This third part of our special series on Recent Trends in Machine Vision' in the 'What is new in Technology' talks about the princilples of optical active triangulation & limitations of the approach and solutions.

3 illus

010663   Usha S (Applied Mechatronics Integration Facility, Central Manufacturing Technology Institute, Bangalore, Email: usha@cmti-india.net) : Optical 3-D measurement techniques. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(3), 25-7.

This second part of the special series on recent trends in machine vision' in the 'What is new in technology' talks about the active and passive vision measurement techniques.

3 illus

010662   Thanigaivelan R;Arunachalam R M (Mechanical Engg Dep, Muthayammal Engg. College, Rasipuram, Email: tvelan10@gmail.com ) : Dominant variables in electrochemical micromachining. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(1), 22-8.

The requirements for micro components in all emerging areas are rapidly increasing. To meet this demand, micromachining is considered as one of the key technologies for the production of micro parts and components. Among the various capable processes, electrochemical micromachining is considered due its advantages of accuracy, no electrode wear and various ranges of materials that can be machined. An experimental set-up for Electrochemical Micromachining (EMM) is developed, which consists of various elements. This paper focuses on experimental study of dominant variables like pulse on- time, current, voltage, and electrolyte concentration on machining speed and overcut when machining 304 stainless steel. From the experimental results, it is evident that the machining speed reaches maximum at a pulse on-time of 30 ms. The most effective range of pulse on-time and electrolyte concentration can be considered as 25-30 ms and 0.23-0.29 mole/l, which gives moderate machining speed and lower overcut.

13 illus, 14 ref

010661   Thakur A G;Nandedkar V M (Mechanical Engineering Dep, College of Engineering, Kopargaon-423 603) : Application of Taguchi method to determine resistance spot welding conditions of austenitic stainless steel AISI 304. J scient ind Res 2010, 69(9), 680-3.

Study presents a systematic approach to determine effect of process parameters (pressure, weld time and current) on tensile shear strength of resistance weld joint of austenitic stainless steel AISI 304 using Taguchi method. Optimum welding parameters determined by Taguchi method improved welding strength.

3 illus, 5 tables, 9 ref

010660   Tengli P N;Ramesh C S;Viswanathan K (NO, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Jagdalpur) : Vbiration analysis of static test system. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(11-12), 11-18.

Static testing of a Solid Rocket Motor which is the work horse of any Missile is carried out to qualify its design and evaluate its ballistic performance. The thrust produced by the rocket motor gives the missile the required velocity in order to travel the distance to reach the desired target. Hence, dynamic responses of the various subsystems of the test stand system should not interact with each other affecting the accurate measurement of the thrust produced by the motor during static testing. In this paper, the vibration analyses carried out on the static test system of DS1 Solid Rocket Motor are presented. Vibration analyses carried out on three major subsystems of the static test system, namely the test bed, test stand and thrust measurement elements are explained. The results of the vibration analyses are compared with the desired values that prevent interaction of dynamic behavior of each subsystem during static testing. Based on the results of vibration analyses, it is concluded that there is no interaction of dynamic responses of major subsystems of static test system that affect the accurate measurement of thrust produced by the rocket motor.

4 illus, 2 table, 9 ref

010659   Swathi P S;Sharada M K;Yajnik K S (NO, CSIR Centre for Mathematical Modeling and Computer Simulation(C-MMACS), Wind Tunnel Road, Bangalore-560 037, Email: swathi@cmmacs.ernet.in) : Seasonal cycles of a 3D marine ecosystem model in the North Indian Ocean: sensitivity to biological process parameters. Indian J Mar Sci 2010, 39(3), 341-61.

Parameter sensitivity studies are done at C-MMACS using a 3D coupled physical-biological-chemical model of the oceanic carbon cycle. This model is evaluated by using U.S. Joint Global Ocean Flux Studies (U.S. JGOFS) data, satellite data and buoy data for different values of a few of the parameters which influence the regeneration of ammonium and growth of zooplankton and hence the carbon flux across the air-sea interface. Important processes which affect the primary productivity and chlorophyll have been identified. A set of ecosystem parameters which have great potential for studying the marine productivity and carbon dioxide transfer in the Indian Ocean have been isolated in the study.

12 illus, 3 tables, 24 ref

010658   Sujatha P;Pradeep Kumar G N (Civil Engineering Dep, Govt. Polytechnic for Women, Kadapa-516 002) : Prediction of groundwater levels using different artificial neural network architectures for Tirupati mandal. Nat Envir Pollut Technol 2009, 8(3), 429-36.

Performance of four types of functionally different artificial neural network (ANN) models, namely Feed forward neural network, Elman type recurrent neural netyyefk, Input delay neural network and Radial basis function network was examined in order to identify an efficient ANN architecture that can simulate the water table fluctuations using a relatively short length of groundwater level records. Due to inherent advantages, Levenberg Marquardt algorithm (trainlm) has been used in the present study. The town Tirupati, located in Chittoor district of the drought-prone Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh having resident population of over 3.0 lakhs and pilgrims of over 50,000 per day was chosen as the study area as its groundwater levels showed a rapid decline in the last decade due to overexploitation for the domestic, agricultural and industrial needs. Accurate prediction of groundwater levels will help the administrators to plan better the groundwater resources. Results show that accurate predictions can be achieved, with Feed Forward Neural Network trained with training algorithm Levenberg-Marquardt with the available shorter length data.

3 illus, 1 table, 14 ref

010657   Sudhakaran A;Sathiya P (Production Engg Dep, National Institute of Technology, Tirichirappalli, Tamilnadu, Email: psathiya@nitt.edu) : Effect of shielding gas composition on weld metal (GMAW) properties of SA 516 grade 70 steel. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(7-8), 11-19.

SA 516 Grade 70 steel is one of the most popular grades used in the boiler and pressure vessel industry. Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process is employed in this study. The GMAW produces smooth, neat, clean and spatter free welded surfaces which require little or no further cleaning. Plates of SA 516 Grade 70 of 20mm thickness were used in this study. Two sets of weld beads were produced each at two different shielding gas mixtures such as 80% Ar + 20% CO₂ and 85% Ar + 15% CO₂. One set of weld was subjected to post weld heat treatment (PWHT) while the other was maintained in the as-welded condition. Mechanical properties of the weld joint such as tensile strength, impact strength and hardness were evaluated and also compared with PWHT weld. Microstructure evaluation of the weld as well asfractography of the fracture surface was carried out.

9 illus, 5 table, 14 ref

010656   Sri Rama Krishna A A;Ravinder Reddy P (Mech. Engg. Dep, CBIT, Gandipet, Hyderabad, Email: krish_cbit@yahoo.co.in) : Experimental study of surface integrity during turning of Al/SiC_p composites. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(11-12), 19-25.

The quality of the components produced during the turning of AI/SiC_p particulate metal-matrix composites is important as it influences to a great extent the performance of the finished component. In a machining operation surface quality depends more on the variables of processes rather than characteristic features of the material. Hence estimation of surface roughness in variation to the machining parameters and minimization of the same has become an essential requirement. This paper deals with the surface integrity of machined AI-SiC_p MMC material with AI-6061 as matrix with 10%, 20%, and 30% SiC_p of size 10 to 30 μm dispersed uniformly. Dry turning tests, at different cutting speeds (19.6, 31.4, 58.8, 100 m/min) with feed rates (0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3mm/rev) and depths of cuts (0.5, 1.0 mm) were conducted in order to investigate effect of various parameters on surface quality. In addition, the surface roughness of the specimens was evaluated with respect to volume fraction of SiC_p particles. The surface quality was evaluated by using K10, K20, P20, P30 carbide tools and poly crystalline diamond tools. It was observed that under certain cutting conditions, the surface finish was comparable to that of polycrystalline diamond tool, obtained with P30 carbide tool.

15 illus, 15 ref

010655   Shukla S P;Singh N B;Sharma M (Civil Engineering Dep, Institute of Engineering & Technology, Lucknow-226 021, Email: sps.iet@gmail.com) : Air quality survey of Kanpur city. Indian Surveyor 2010, 64(1), 74-80.

Planning and study design are of critical importance for air quality survey of any area, because particulate matter (PM) levels have significant seasonal variability. There could be several reasons for this variability including variable meteorology, wind-driven dust, land use pattern (site location) and atmospheric chemistry, which is responsible for formation of secondary particles. On the basis of these variables, four sampling sites were selected to represent various land-use patterns - Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK; control site), Fazalganj (FZ; industrial), Deputy Ka Padao (DP; commercial) and Kidwai Nagar (KN; residential) in the study area of Kanpur City.

3 illus, 5 tables, 9 ref

010654   Shahul Hameed M;Sekar A S S (Civil Engg. Dep, Sethu Institute of Technology, Kariapatti-626 106) : Use of waste and by-products as fine aggregate in concrete. Nat Envir Pollut Technol 2009, 8(3), 503-8.

Progress in concrete technology should necessarily take into account the widespread need for conserving resources and environment and for proper utilization of energy. Consequently, it can be expected that there will be major emphasis on the use of wastes and by-products in cement and concrete technology. Efforts will also be directed to use recycled materials such as quarry dust, marble powder and fly ash. The advancement of concrete technology can reduce the consumption of natural resources and energy sources and lessen the burden of pollutants on the environment. First, the physical and chemical properties of the waste were analysed. The strength development for various percentages of replacement of fine aggregate with quarry dust, marble powder and fly ash were compared to the strength development of normal concrete at various ages. Consequently, these contribute to improve the strength of concrete slump and air content of fresh concrete and absorption, compressive strength and flexural strength of hardened concrete were also investigated.

7 illus, 9 tables, 4 ref

010653   Sethuraman T R;Murugesan R (Civil Engineering Dep, Sun College of Engineering, Nagercoil-629 003) : Impact of sethu samudram ship canal project on marine traffic - an artificial neural network modelling. Nat Envir Pollut Technol 2009, 8(3), 589-96.

This paper serves as an introduction to artificial neural network ANN with emphasis on their application in Transportation Engineering. It presents a brief description of ANN, the underlaying concept and mathematical aspects and the role of ANN relative to other modelling approaches in transportation. Some popular ANN architecture and algorithms, and the merits and shortcomings of this methodology are discussed. The artificial neural network in this paper has demonstrated its usefulness and accuracy in predicting the traffic of Tuticorin port, which is going to gets maximum benefits due to the implementation of Sethu Samudram Ship Canal Project. The variation between the measured values and predicted values of traffic is very less, thus, proving that the artificial neural network has correctly predicted the traffic of Tuticorin port.

3 illus, 5 tables, 6 ref

010652   Senthilkumar V;Thangadurai K;Asha A (Production Engng Dep, National Institute of Technology, Trichy, Email: ckdurai_2004@yahoo.com) : Effect of severe plastic deformation on mechanical charecteristics of AI-6061: SiCp composites. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(2), 17-24.

Nowadays modern manufacturing system is enforced to find out the new material such as metal matrix composite or ceramic matrix composite. The aim of this research is to invent the aluminium based metal matrix composite such as 80% of Al 6061-20% of SiC and 90% of Al6061-10% of SiC. The aluminum 6061 alloy based composite is prepared through stir casting route. Then the composite is heat treated at the critical temperature. After heat treatment, the mechanical properties of composite are compared before extrusion and after heat treatment. Mechanical properties of both heat-treated and as fabricated composites showed a high dependence on the ceramic content. The yield, ultimate tensile strength, and the elastic modulus of the material were increased with volume fraction of carbide, whereas the ductility was decreased. The tensile properties are seen to vary significantly with ageing treatment. The highest strengths were obtained for the solution heat-treated and naturally aged Al-6061: SiC composites containing 20 vol. % SiC.

5 illus, 5 tables, 7 ref

010651   Selvakumar A S;Kalaichelvan K;Venkataswamy S; Natarajan S (Mechanical Engg Dep, Former Prof. B S Abdur Rahman Univ, Vandalur, Chennai, Email: selva_a_s@yahoo.co.in) : Evaluation of formability of tubular material by hydro forming technique. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(5), 3-6.

Hydro forming is a method of deforming sheet metal and tubular materials with the help of pressurized fluid medium using closed dies. In tube hydro forming process an internal fluid medium (inside the tube) serves as the forming medium and the tube is bulged into the desired shape through simultaneous application of axial feed and internal pressure. This paper aims to study the formability characteristic for aluminum tubular materials (A9 6063) for expansion zone geometry by considering various parameters such as axial feed, fluid medium, and semi cone angle of 20°. The formability of tube material was evaluated by varying the process parameters. In the experimental work, the tubular specimen was placed between the two halves of a split die and filled with oil as the forming medium. This tooling was mounted on a hydraulic press. The punch was advanced into the tube to increase the fluid pressure and to provide axial feed of the tube. The optimal expansion zone geometry was identified by various experimental trials, to get flaw free component.

6 illus, 3 tables, 10 ref

010650   Sathiyamurthy S;Abu Thaheer A S;Natarajan U; Shashikumar P V;Chellamalai M (Mechanical Engineering Dep, A C College of Engg. and Technology, Karaikudi, Email: ssathya1978@yahoo.com) : Modeling and optimization of cutting parameters for surface roughness in micro EDM drilling process using response surface methodology. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(6), 3-10.

The influence of Micro-EDM-drilling process variables on surface roughness using an Integrated multi-process micro machiningmachine (IMMM) is presented. The machining parameters considered are feed rate, capacitance & voltage and response parameter is surface roughness. Experiments are designed as per full factorial design using Design of experiments. Response surface methodology approach is used for modeling the surface roughness and finding out the optimal values of drilling parameters. The influence of each drilling parameter in micro-EDM process is characterized and the optimum value of parameters is determined. The interaction effects of parameters on surface roughness are discussed and the mathematical model and optimized parameters are validated for micro-EDM-drilling process.

5 illus, 5 tables, 14 ref

010649   Sarkar I;Sarkar P P;Chowdhury S K (Electronics and Commuication, Engineering Dep, JIS College of Engineering, Kalyani-741 235, Email: parthabe91@yahoo.co.in) : New multi frequency compact microstrip antenna. Indian J Phys 2010, 84(4), 413-18.

A single layer, single feed, multi frequency, compact rectangular microstrip antenna is proposed. Resonant frequency has been reduced drastically by cutting unequal rectangular slots at the edge of the patch along with two tiny circular slots created inside the patch to improve return loss. Antenna size has been reduced by 64% with an increased frequency ratio (the ratio of second or higher resonant frequency to the first resonant frequency).

9 illus, 1 tables, 14 ref

010648   Santhana Lakshmi M;Vanathi P T (Electronics and Communication Engineering Dep, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore-641 004, Email: lincs@fcu.edu.tw) : Low-power Gm-C low pass filter for mobile applications. J scient ind Res 2010, 69(10), 750-5.

Study presents a high performance complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) transconductor used in a multimode channel selection filter for mobile applications. The design employs a voltage to current (V-I) converter and a two quadrant current multiplier. Cascoded flipped voltage follower (CASFVF) is used as an input stage in class AB pseudo differential pair to perform V-I conversion. Current multipliers are used to linearise output from V-I converter and provide additional tuning ability to transconductor. A second - order Butterworth low pass filter (LPF) is designed with proposed transconductor and simulated using TSMC 0.35-μm CMOS technology in H-spice in synopsis tool. LPF consumes very low power (0.2 mW) and provides a wide tuning range (200 KHz - 3.1 MHz).

10 illus, 1 table, 12 ref

010647   Routara B C;Mohanty S D;Datta S;Bandyopadhyay A;Mahapatra S S (Mechanical Engg Dep, KIT Univ, Bhubaneswar, Email: sdatta@nitki.ac.in) : Combined quality loss (CQL) concept in WPCA based taguchi philosophy for optimization of multiple surface quality characteristics of 6061-T4 aluminum in cylindrical grinding. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(1), 13-21.

The present study highlights a multi-objective optimization problem by applying weighted principal component analysis (WPCA) coupled with Taguchi method through a case study in cylindrical grinding of 6O61-T4 Aluminum. The study aimed at evaluating the best process environment which could simultaneously satisfy multiple requirements of surface quality. In view of the fact, that traditional Taguchi method cannot solve a multi-objective optimization problem; to overcome this limitation, WPCA has been coupled with Taguchi method. Furthermore to follow the basic assumption of Taguchi method i.e. quality attributes should be uncorrelated or independent; which is not always satisfied in practical situation. To overcome this shortcoming the study applied Weighted Principal Component analysis (WPCA) to eliminate response correlation and to evaluate independent or uncorrelated quality indices called Principal Components which were aggregated to compute overall quality index denoted as multi-response performance index (MPI). A combined quality loss (CQL) was then estimated which was optimized (minimized) finally. The study combined WPCA and Taguchi method for predicting optimal setting. Optimal result was verified through confirmatory test. This indicates application feasibility of the aforesaid methodology proposed for multi-response optimization and off-line control of correlated multiple surface quality characteristics in cylindrical grinding.

1 illus, 9 tables, 17 ref

010646   Ravi Kumar N;Ramji K;Ratna Prasad A V;Murali Mohan Rao K (Mech. Engg. Dept., V R Siddhartha Engg. College, Vijayawada, Email: ravi_narra99@yahoo.com) : Flexural and impact properties of elephant grass fiber reinforced polypropylene composites. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(1), 8-12.

For Environmental concern on synthetic fibers (such as glass, carbon, ceramic fibers, etc.) natural fibers such as Sisal, flax, hemp, jute, kenaf3, etc. are widely used., In this research work, elephant grass fiber reinforced polypropylene matrix composites have been developed by injection molding technique with varying fiber percentages (o%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% by weight). The developed elephant grass fiber reinforced composites were then tested for their flexural and impact properties. The results show that flexural and impact properties increases with increase in the fiber percentage; however, after a certain fiber weight percentage, the properties are decreased. Elephant grass fiber introduced in the present study could be used as an effective reinforcement for making composites, which have an added advantage of being light weight.

7 illus, 1 table, 9 ref

010645   Ramanujam R;Raju R;Muthukrishnan N (Mechanical Engg. Dep, Sri Venkateswara College of Engg. Pennalur, Sriperumbudur, Email: ramanujam@svce.ac.in) : Optimization of multiple performance characteristics in turning Al-SiC_p metal matrix composites using weighted prinicipal component analysis. Mfg Technol Today 2010, 9(11-12), 3-10.

This paper presents a new approach for optimizing the machining parameters on turning Metal Matrix Composite (AI-SiC-MMC). Optimization of machining process parameters was done by an analysis called Weighted Principal Component Analysis (WPCA), which is a useful tool for optimizing multi-response problems. Based on Taguchi's L₂₇ orthogonal array, turning experiments were conducted for aluminium silicon carbide particulate reinforced metal matrix composite (A356/10/SiC_P) using polycrystalline diamond (PCD) fine grade insert. The machining process parameters such as cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut are optimized by multi response considerations namely surface roughness and specific power. The optimum combination of process parameters was studied by extracting more than one principal component and integrating into multi-response performance index(MPI). Finally, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to find out the most influential parameters for multi response criteria. As a result, optimization of the complicated multiple performance characteristics can be greatly simplified through this approach.

6 illus, 6 table, 17 ref