018498   Moharil R M;Kulkarni P S (Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering, Wanadongri, Hingna Road, Nagpur, Maharashtra, Pin-441 110) : Design and performance of solar photovoltaic water pump. J Instn Engrs-Pt ID 2006, 87(Nov), 25-32.

Solar energy is gaining popularity for meeting electrical power demand in remote rural area Solar water pumps are especially useful in remote locations where a continuous supply of fuel such as, kerosene or diesel and skilled maintenance are not available. To have optimum output at minimum cost is the aim of any designer. In this paper the design of solar Photovoltaic water pumping system is carried out by considering the effect of total dynamic head, azimuth angle and frictional loss in piping.

10 illus, 3 tables, 28 ref

018497   Mittal M K (Mechanical Engineering Dep, Moradabad Institute of Technology, Moradabad-244 001) : Heat transfer and friction characteristics in rectangular channel having Inclined and Transverse Ribs on the absorber plate. J Instn Engrs-Pt MC 2006, 87(Jul), 26-9.

Experiments were conducted to study the heat transfer coefficient and friction factor for fully developed flow of air in a rectangular channel with compound rib roughness on absorber surface. The inclined discrete ribs and transverse full ribs were arranged in alternative rows. The angle of attack (α) for discrete and full ribs were kept at 60° and 90°, respectively. A comparison of fully developed heat transfer and friction factor characteristic were made in rectangular channel roughened with three rib configurations. Results were obtained for relative roughness height (e/D_h ) of 0.03, aspect ratio (W/H) of 10, relative roughness pitch between discrete and full ribs (p/e) of 8, 6 and 3. The experiments were conducted for Reynolds number ranging from 1500 to 13000. Results show that the heat transfer coefficient was maximum for relative roughness pitch of 8 and it was also been observed that friction factor was minimum for the same.

7 illus, 13 ref

018496   Mishra S S;Kumar K;Krishna P (Civil Engineering Dep, NERIST, Nirjuli, Itanagar-791 109) : Aerostatic response of a super long span cable-stayed bridge. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2006, 87(Nov), 3-7.

Long span cable-supported bridges are prone to wind induced instabilities because of their flexibility. This paper presents response of a super long (1020 m main span) cable-stayed bridge to aerostatic forces. The static aerodynamic coefficients of the bridge deck were determined from wind tunnel test on a geometrically scaled section-model. The results show large vertical, lateral and rotational deformations at probable wind speeds at sites. The bridge must be safeguarded against such divergent instabilities. The paper would be useful to cable bridge aerodynamicists.

6 illus, 10 ref

018495   Mehndirata H C;Kumar ;Velicherla R K (Civil Engineering Dep, IIT Roorkee, Roorkee-247 667) : Investigations on cost effective design of rural roads under PMGSY. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2006, 87(May), 48-52.

Important aspect of developing low volume roads in rural areas is to aim at providing basic access at minimum cost covering as many as villages as possible, within the allocated funds. Experience all over the world has shown that it is possible to incorporate locally available materials at low cost and yet provide a road facility at an appropriate, acceptable level of serviceability. The local materials may be incorporated as such, as they occur in nature, or may be suitably processed at low cost to render them suitable for use in road works. In the present study, engineering properties of low grade materials are studied. The mix proportions are obtained from codal provisions. CBR and flexural strength tests are carried out on these mixes. Pavement sections are designed in accordance to rural road manual IRC SP 20: 2002. Costs of these pavement sections are analyzed. It is observed that flyash bound macadam can replace conventional water bound macadam construction and up to 27 % reduction in cost can be achieved. Pavement sections designed with steel industry wastes have shown 30% to 40% reduction in cost compared to other alternatives that are studied in the present study. Lime flyash stabilized base courses showed 25 % decrease in cast compared to conventional type of construction.

6 illus, 21 tables, 4 ref

018494   Mathew B S;Bhuduru S;Isaac K P (Civil Engineering Dep, College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram-695 016) : Influence of flaky and elongated aggregates on the properties of bituminous concrete mix. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2006, 87(Nov), 54-8.

Flakiness index and elongation index are important physical properties of mineral aggregate which affects the quality of bituminous mixes. The presence of flaky and elongated aggregates beyond certain limits increases degradation of bituminous mixes. The objective of this study is to bring out the effect of flaky and elongated aggregates on the strength of bituminous concrete mixes and to determine the allowable percentages of these aggregates in the mix without adversely affecting the characteristics of the mix. Marshall tests were conducted for different combinations of flaky and elongated aggregates to determine optimum bitumen content, stability value, tensile strength and strain and the results were compared.

4 illus, 6 tables, 5 ref

018493   Masood M;Mehdi S N;Omar M;Reddy P R (Muffakahum Jha College of Engineering and Technology, , Hyderabad-500 034) : Effect of injection delay on performance and emissions in hydrogen diesel dual fuel engine at different compression ratios. J Instn Engrs-Pt MC 2006, 87(Jul), 24-5.

Hydrogen is considered to be the fuel of future as it's use does not lead to CO, C0₂ hydrocarbon (HC) emission. It can be used in existing internal combustion engines, yielding unprecedented efficiencies and extremely low levels of exhaust pollution. Hydrogen can be used in conjunction with compact liquid fuels such as gasoline, alcohol or diesel provided each is stored separately. The drawback of lean Operation with hydrocarbon fuels is a reduced power output, Lean operation of hydrocarbon engines has additional drawbacks. Lean mixtures are hard to ignite. Mixing hydrogen with other hydrocarbon fuels reduces all these drawbacks. Hydrogen's low ignition energy limit and high burning speed makes the hydrogen/ hydrocarbon mixture easier to ignite, reducing misfire and thereby improving emissions, performance and fuel economy. The engine used in the present study was a Kirloskar AV-1, single cylinder direct injection diesel engine. Diesel was injected through a nozzle of hole size 0.15mm. A. CNG injector (to inject simultaneously hydrogen directly in to the cylinder) was also provided. The engine was coupled to a dc dynamometer. The engine was modified and provision was made to vary the compression ratio from 14.5 to 24.5. A computer interfaced piezo sensor, of range (2000 psi) was used to note the pressure inside the cylinder. Special software was used to obtain combustion parameters related with pressure inside the cylinder. The hydrogen gas was inducted into the intake manifold and a thermal mass flow controller controlled its flow rate. The pressure of hydrogen which was at 150 bars inside the cylinder was reduced to atmospheric pressure before inducting it into the manifold. The airflow rate was measured using a laminar flow element. The speed of the engine was maintained constant by controlling the hydrogen gas mass flow rate. Emissions were measured using an advanced AVL five-gas analyzer. All the tests were conducted at a constant speed of 1400 rev/min, at various loads ranging from 20% to 100% of full load. The injection timing of diesel was varied from 40° BTDC to 5° ATDC. During the experiments heating the air in the intake charge tank varied the inlet temperature of the air. The temperature was measured after the hydrogen was mixed with: air in the inlet manifold.

3 illus, 3 ref

018492   Mallikarjuna P;Reddy K C;Lakshmi A G (Civil Engineering Dep, SVU College of Engineering, Tirupati-517 502) : Model studies on discharge characteristics of weirs with modified crest shapes. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2006, 87(May), 64-8.

Paper presents model studies on discharge characteristics of weirs with modified crest shapes under free and submerged flow conditions. Based on the experimental investigations carried out, a significant improvement in the weir coefficient is observed by suitably modifying the crest shapes of weirs. The weirs with modified crest shapes also possess relatively high submergence limit.

9 illus, 1 table, 7 ref

018491   Maheshwari M;Arora R;Singh G (Electrical Engineering Dep, Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh-160 012) : Invisible image watermarking using a public key algorithm. J Instn Engrs-Pt CP 2006, 87(Nov), 27-31.

Online digital multimedia content has increased manifolds. More and more people are now publishing their books, photographs and videos on the internet. With such access to digital content and easy availability of manipulating tools it becomes imperative to protect property rights. Digital watermarking has been proposed as a means for intellectual property rights of digital data. Watermarking refers to adding a message or a signature to establish the ownership and verify the media integrity. Watermarking may be done through various techniques. Combining watermarking techniques with cryptographic security provides a full-proof method for data security and verification. Such methods provide both imperceptibility to the added watermark, maintaining a certain level of robustness and security. This paper discusses an implementation of such a watermarking scheme. The work deals with an invisible image watermarking scheme which uses a public key algorithm for embedding the watermark in the image.

3 illus, 1 table, 7 ref

018490   Mahapatra S S;Patnaik A (Mechanical Engineering Dep, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela-769 008) : Determination of optimal parameters setting in wire electrical discharge machining(WEDM) process using taguchi method. J Instn Engrs-Pt PR 2006, 87(Sept), 16-25.

Development of a model and its application to optimize wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) parameters has been outlined. Experiments have been conducted to test the model and satisfactory results are obtained. The methodology outlined in this article is expected to be highly beneficial to manufacturing industries, and also other areas, such as, aerospace, automobile and tool making industries.

12 illus, 11 tables, 16 ref

018489   Lu X;Jia X;Wang F (College of Tourism and Environment, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, P.R. China, Email: luxinwei@snnu.edu.cn) : Natural radioactivity of coal and its by-products in the Baoji coal-fired power plant, China. Curr Sci 2006, 91(11), 1508-11.

Coal, bottom ash and fly ash from the Baoji coal-fired Eower plant, China were measured for ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and oK by a NaI(TI) γ-ray spectrometer. The results show that fly ash or bottom ash contain three to six times more natural radionuclides than feed coal. The results are compared with the available data from other countries. Radium equivalent activity and external index are calculated for by-products to assess the radiation hazards arising due to the use of these ash samples in the construction of dwellings. Some fly-ash samples have radium equivalent activities and external hazard index values more than 370 Bq kg^-1 and unity respectively. The absorbed dose rate at 1 m above the ash pond was (155 nGy h^-1 higher than the global average value of 55 nGy h^-1 and the Chinese average value of 81.5 nGy h^-1. The corresponding annual external effective dose is estimated to be 0.191 mSv y-l, which is less than that (0.46 mSv y^-1 in areas of natural background radiation.

1 illus, 1 table, 27 ref

018488   Kuppuswamy N;Rudramoorthy R (NO, Maharaja Prithvi Engineering College, Avinashi, Coimbatore-641 654) : Deformation of discharge ring in bulb turbine due to cavitation-a case study. J Instn Engrs-Pt MC 2006, 87(Jul), 3-6.

Deformation of discharge ring in the bulb turbines, installed in a run of river LMHEPH under Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, due to cavitation is reported. It was found that the top and bottom sides of the discharge ring have been enlarged in size from the designed dimensions , which are measured during erection of the turbine. The left hand side and right hand side dimensions were found to be reduced from the designed data. The geometry of the discharge ring had become elliptical after an operation of 28 000 h in eight years. Repair and reconditioning were carried out on the discharge ring to bring the unit into service in the ninth year of its operation and the same tendency of deformation is observed after 28000 h of working in seven years. Equations an derived for both the conditions and are useful to predict the condition of the discharge ring after a specified period of operation interms of working hours. Numerical results compared with the experimental data are showed that the prediction is very efficient. The developed equations are found to be very helpful to bulb turbine design engineers.

7 illus, 3 tables, 14 ref

018487   Kumar M;Rai C S (Department of Physics, B R A B U, Muzaffarpur-842001) : Millimeter wave attenuation in layers of sand layer and dust particals in storm. J Instn Engrs-Pt ET 2006, 87(Jul), 32-7.

Theoretical investigation has been carried out to evaluate the effect of the layers of sand and dust particles on the propagation of millimeter wave. For this purpose, the concept of transmission line has been utilized, assuming each layer of the dust particles ' as a section of transmission line. The entire link has been considered as a number of transmission line normal and oblique incidence of wave have been taken into account: Consequently, the expressions for reflection coefficient different and absorption loss have been developed in terms of visibility, frequency, and angle of incidence. It has been found that reflection coefficient, transmission coefficient and absorption loss depend heavily on frequency, visibility, and angle of incidence.

7 illus, 9 ref

018486   Kumanan S;Nanne Saheb S K;Jesuthanam C P (Production Engineering Dep, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappali-620 015) : Prediction of machining forces using neural networks trained by a genetic algorithm. J Instn Engrs-Pt PR 2006, 87(Sept), 11-5.

Prediction of machining forces using multi-layered perceptron trained by genetic algorithm (GA) has been proposed. The data obtained from experimental results of a turning process are used to train the proposed artificial neural networks (ANNsj with three inputs to get machining forces as output. The optimal ANN weights are computed using GA search. This function-replacing hybrid made of GA and ANN is computationally efficient and accurate to predict the machining forces for the input machining conditions.

3 illus, 3 tables, 6 ref

018485   Kansara K D;Ramanjaneyulu K (Structural Engineering Research Centre, CSIR Madras Complex, TTTI P O, Taramani, Chennai-600 113) : Influence of geometric Non-Linearities on the response of suspension bridges. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2006, 87(Nov), 47-53.

Response of suspension bridge considering some important geometric non -linearities has been studied. Main cable, due to its excessive flexibility, is a major source of inducing geometric non-linearities. Under static condition, alteration of initial cable geometry due to change in the mean temperature and along-the-span displacement of pylon tops cause changes in geometric stiffness and natural frequencies. These effects are found more influencing, especially on cables with shallow sags. However, the influence of the latter source of alteration of cable geometry is less significant than the former. Under dynamic condition, the large vibrational cable forces are discussed as the major source of inducing geometric non-linearities in suspension bridges. The consequent effects on stiffening girder, namely, axial stretching and displacement-curvature non-linearity are also clubbed with it, for vertical vibration response. Two coupled non-linear equations accounting these non-linearities, and their solutions for frequency and time domain analysis are presented. Two unusual phenomena, namely, amplitude-dependency of frequency and drift are observed, which may not be identified if the non linearities and coupling of modes are ignored.

6 illus, 1 table, 11 ref

018484   Jothiprakash V;Devamane M G;Mohan S (Civil Engineering Dep, IIT, Bomay, Powai, Mumbai-400 076) : Comparative study on multisite streamflow generation model HEC-4 and ANN model. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2006, 87(May), 9-14.

Artificial neural network (ANN) model has been developed to generate the multisite streamflows and the results an compared with the classical multisite streamflow generation model developed by Hydrologic Engineering Centre named HEC-4. Both the models have been applied to the case study of Upper Krishna River Basin to evaluate their performances. Important statistical parameters, namely, mean, standard deviation, correlation coefficient of the historical and generated streamflows are compared for the evaluation. Hurst ratio has been used to evaluate the strength of persistence of the generated streamflows. This study shows that the streamflows predicted with simple ANN model are more satisfactory than the HEC-4 model in ease of multisite streamflow generation.

7 illus, 4 tables, 43 ref

018483   Jha J N;Gill K S (Civil Engineering Dep, Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhina, Punjab-141 006) : Effect of rice husk ash on lime stabilization of soil. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2006, 87(Nov), 33-9.

To evaluate the effectiveness of using rice husk ash (RHA) as a pozzolana to enhance the lime treatment of soil of aim of the paper. Influence of different mix proportions of lime and RHA on compaction, strength properties, CBR values and durability characteristics of soil have been presented. The results show that addition of RHA not only improves the strength development but also enhances the durability of lime stabilized soil.

5 illus, 5 tables, 19 ref

018482   Jaybhaye M D;Sonawane B U (Production Engineering Dep, Sinhgad College of Engineering, Pune-411 041) : Reliability analysis of some machine tool elements. J Instn Engrs-Pt PR 2006, 87(Sept), 7-10.

Working of machine tool depends primarily on the functioning of its individual elements. While assessing the reliability of a machine tool, it is necessary to determine the reliability of its essential functional elements and the specific configuration of the system through reliability block diagram. In the present study, an attempt has been made to analyse two vital units, using accelerated tests and a limited sample size. The sufficiency of the number of sample data taken has been validated using specific level of confidence. A typical collet chucking mechanism of a semi-automatic machine is analysed, considering limited operating cycles without failure. A new direction for reliability analysis of bearing is also done by using relubrication time as mission time.

5 illus, 2 tables, 7 ref

018481   Ingle R A;Ingle R N (Civil Engineering Dep, Visvesvaraya Natioal Institute of Technology, Nagpur) : Analysis of unsteady flow in multi-reservoir gravity transmission system. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2006, 87(Nov), 8-14.

Simple method for analysis of unsteady flow in a serially branched multi-reservoir gravity transmission system is developed for estimation of pressures in the pipes due to manual operation of the valve fitted in any one of the branched pipes. The operation of the valve is assumed to be slow, and therefore, rigid water column theory is applicable. The flow characteristics of valve are assumed to be known in terms of variation of discharge with respect to time. The method is based on the principle of application of correction to be applied to the assumed piezometric head. The relationship for correction is developed. The application of the method is demonstrated in a case study.

10 illus, 2 ref

018480   Harikumar R;Sukanesh R;Vijaykumar V (E C E Dep, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam-638 401) : Analysis of SIRM fuzzy systems in classification of epilepsy risk level for diabetic neuropathy patients using cerebral blood flow and EEG signals. J Instn Engrs-Pt ID 2006, 87(Nov), 33-6.

To compare two SIRM fuzzy systems, ie, (Mamdani and Sugeno methods) for classification of epilepsy risk levels in diabetic patients using Cerebral Blood Flow (CBF) and EEG signals is the aim of this paper. These fuzzy systems are having minimum number of fuzzy rules and tested with a group of 200 known diabetic patients. The bell shaped membership function's slope function is derived from the parameters of EEG signals using aggregation operators. The performance and quality value are the parametric index of these fuzzy systems. Both methods are closely following each other in the four linguistic labels of the risk levels ie, normal, medium risk, high risk and very high risk. In the case of low epilepsy risk level, the first order Sugeno method out performs the Mamdani method. However, the problem of missed classification is removed in the both classifiers. But the false alarm is retained at 1.2% in the classifiers. The SIRM Sugeno fuzzy method has 99.5% of performance and quality value of 40.2 in compare with SIRM Mamdani fuzzy system's 98.5% and 36. 56 respectively.

5 illus, 2 tables, 11 ref

018479   Hari Singh;Pradeep Kumar (Mechanical Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra 136 119, Email: hsingh_nitk@rediffmail.com) : Optimizing feed force for turned parts through the Taguchi technique. Sadhana 2006, 31(6), 671-81.

Objective is to obtain an optimal setting of turning process parameters (cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut) resulting in an optimal value of the feed force when machining EN24 steel with TiC-coated tungsten-carbide inserts. The effects of the selected turning process parameters on feed force and the subsequent optimal settings of the parameters have been accomplished using Taguchi's parameter design approach. The results indicate that the selected process parameters significantly affect the selected machining characteristics. The results are confirmed by further experiments.

4 illus, 7 tables, 16 ref

018478   Goel S C;Dhami M S (Materials Management- Import Group Electrical Machines Engineering, HEEP, BHEL, Haridwar-249 403) : Design and testing of pneumatic brake system for large size H T ac vertical motor. J Instn Engrs-Pt MC 2006, 87(Jul), 18-23.

For a special application of large size HT ac vertical motor, it is required to stop the motor, from 400 rpm to standstill in 7s-8 s when it has been switched-off. This necessitated design of a suitable brake system to meet the system requirement keeping in view the high amount of inertia (3500 kg-m² approximately) of motor rotor. The brake system has been designed which works on supply of pressurised air at 5 bar and has been tested on a prototype motor. The performance of the brake system has been found satisfactory.

9 illus, 3 tables, 2 ref

018477   Eldho T I;Sharique M M A (Civil Engineering Dep, IIT, Bombay, Powai, Mumbai-400 076) : Hydrodynamics modelling of estuaries using an implicit finite element model. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2006, 87(May), 15-23.

Estuaries and coastal water bodies are subjected to continuous stress by natural and man induced perturbations. Therefore, hydrodynamic information in the region of interest is very essential. As very few analytical solutions are available and physical modelling is very difficult, in estuary modelling, generally numerical models are used. In the numerical modelling, the hydrodynamic information is obtained by solution of shallow water equations. Finite element method which has advantages of grid flexibility and accurate representation of irregular boundaries is more suitable to coastal hydrodynamics simulation. In this paper, a two-dimensional implicit finite element model for shallow water flow in coastal anas is described. The model has been tested by applying to simple problems of straight rectangular channel and polar shaped channel. The results are compared with analytical and other solutions available in literature. Further the model is applied to simulate the hydrodynamics in a real field case study of Bombay harbour. The relatively simple form of this FEM model can be used in the simulation of different kinds of shallow water flow problems.

15 illus, 18 ref

018476   Dutta S S (N.F. Railway, , Jalpaiguri, Email: sankhasubhradutta@yahoo.com) : Inclinded box type solar cooker : an innovative design. J rur Technol 2005, 2(3), 115-19.

A highly efficient inclined box solar cooker is designed and fabricated. Details constructional feature of the cooker are described. The test results obtained so far, are encouraging. The proposed cooker can readily be put into use at its present state.

3 illus, 3 ref

018475   Deshmukh P R (Goverment College, of Engineering, Amravati-444 604) : Multiwavelet decomposition for audio compression. J Instn Engrs-Pt ET 2006, 87(Jul), 38-41.

Performance of different types of wavelets for composing the transient audio signal has been described. The wavelets that are investigated for this purpose are Dubechies family of wavelets, wavelet packets and multiwavelets. The performance of various wavelets are compared, based on compression ratio and the signal to noise ratio (SNR) value of the reconstructed signal.

4 illus, 1 table, 10 ref

018474   Deo D S (Department of Architecture, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab) : Applications of experts system/neural networks/genetic algorithms in an intelligent building complex. J Instn Engrs-Pt AR 2006, 87(Oct), 4-9.

Intellegent building is one, which provides a productive and cost-effective environment through optimization of four basic elements, namely, structure, system, services and management; and the inter-relationship between them. Intelligent buildings help building-owners, property-managers, and occupants realize their goals in the areas of cost, comfort, convenience, safety, long-term flexibility, and marketability. In order to deliver these substances, an intelligent building has to be quick-witted, smart, instantaneous, and efficient. This entails a delivering mechanism, which will take cue from activated parameters of emergent situations. Expert system, Neural networks, and Genetic algorithms provide this support with the help of computer machines. The contribution of each is described in the paper considering two applications of each technology. For each, the problem is detailed and an acceptable solution is suggested. Knowledge required is discussed and the most appropriate technique is suggested with reasons why. To propagate the usefulness of intelligent buildings in comparison to conventional buildings is the aim. An intentional effort is made to make it understand that intelligent buildings are not hi-tech buildings. The conclusion justifies the adoption of intelligent buildings in India in comparison to conventional buildings.

4 illus, 8 ref

018473   Choudhury D;Chatterjee S (Department of Civil Engineering, IITy-Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400 076, Email: dc@civil.iitb.ac.in) : Dynamic active earth pressure on retaining structures. Sadhana 2006, 31(6), 721-30.

Earth-retaining structures constitute an important topic of research in civil engineering, more so under earthquake conditions. For the analysis and design of retaining walls in earthquake-prone zones, accurate estimation of dynamic earth pressures is very important. Conventional methods either use pseudo-static approaches of analysis even for dynamic cases or a simple single-degree of freedom model for the retaining wall-soil system. A simplified two-degree of freedom mass-spring-dashpot (2-DOF) dynamic model has been proposed to estimate the active earth pressure at the back of the retaining walls for translation modes of wall movement under seismic conditions. The horizontal zone of influence on dynamic earth force on the wall is estimated. Results in terms of displacement, velocity and acceleration-time history are presented for some typical cases, which show the final movement of the wall in terms of wall height, which is required for the design. The non-dimensional design chart proposed in the present study can be used to compute the total dynamic earth force on the wall under different input ground motion and backfill conditions. Finally, the results obtained have been compared with those of the available Scott model and the merits of the present results have been discussed.

8 illus, 12 ref

018472   Choudhry R;Rao P V;Saritha S;Spenner D W J (Mechanical Engineering Dep, University College of Engineering, Andhra Univ, Visakhapatnam-530 003) : Design of composite drive shaft for optimal first natural frequency. J Instn Engrs-Pt MC 2006, 87(Jul), 7-11.

Paper deals with optimization of first natural frequency of composite drive shaft as well as meeting the requirements of torsion stiffness and strength. Experimental application of composite drive shafts revealed that the most persisting problem in the design is related to the lateral stability of the shaft as the shafts mere observed to fail due to lateral whipping. The design of a basic composite drive shaft is optimized using a general optimization procedure based on finite element analysis by modifying the sectional properties of the shaft. A comparison is made for four commonly used composites, for three fibre orientations and two base ply distributions. The first natural frequency of the drive shaft is improved by about 28% as compared to that of uniform shaft, with graphite-epoxy yielding the maximum improvement, and simultaneously having the minimum weight, Hence, it is considered to be the most preferable choice of the four classes of composites studied.

5 illus, 3 tables, 5 ref

018471   Choudhaury T K (B F 107, Salt lake, Kolkata-700 064) : Reinforced concrete hexapod-an Innovative material for river and shore management. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2006, 87(May), 30-4.

Paper brings to fore innovative concrete and composite materials to help in reducing erosion and flood. It also brings in the concept of detachable components that can be carried, assembled and handled manually. It describes a proven concrete material named Hexapod and a voluminous material named composite cage having hexapod as core as alternatives to traditional boulders/ stones/bricks for cost effective river and shore management. Constructions and completions with these materials have been depicted. This labour intensive, rural employment oriented, low cost, manually useable, composite material technology is likely to be of practical interest in many a developing country to manage flood and erosion.

11 illus, 1 ref

018470   Chitale S V (425/14 T M V Colony, , Pune-411 037) : Improvement in design practice of side slope protection of guide bunds for bridges. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2006, 87(May), 1-2.

Design norms for side slope protection and apron are given by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in IS 10751 : 1994 and Indian Road Congress (IRC ) in IRC : 89 - 1997. There are certain points not very clear requiring further consideration. The origin of the, equation recommended for stone size and weight is not given. The implied assumptions and limitations are therefore not known. The equations for apron stone size and weight recommended by BIS and IRC are significantly different. The slope of launched apron specified for concrete blocks and stone-crates is different from that for stones. Provision for allowance to be made in stone size and weight when flood flow is strongly turbulent, the flow is obligue, current eddies and waves are present is left to the judgement of the designer. These points are discussed and possible improvement suggested in this paper.

9 ref

018469   Chawla A;Mukherjee S;Karthikeyan B (Mechanicacl Enggineering Dep, IIT Delhi, Hauzkhas, New Delhi-110016) : Mechanical properties of human body soft tissues in the head, neck and spine. J Instn Engrs-Pt ID 2006, 87(Nov), 10-24.

Mechanical properties of soft tissues in head, neck and spine of human body as available in literature is reviewed. Human body regions are split into different parts to pursue this study. This review paper focuses on the soft tissues in the head, neck and spine. The tissues studied include brain tissues, scalp tissues, ligaments in cervical spine, neck muscles and spinal soft tissues. Material properties, which are directly extracted from the experimental methods, and the constitutive properties that have been used in finite element models are looked at. Isolated tissue tests, sub-segmental tests and full-scale tests used for validating the respective finite element models are investigated. Static and dynamic properties are sorted according to the tissue type. Variations in the data from different sources has been studied and summarized. Scatter in the static properties and less frequently available dynamic properties indicate the need for further testing and alternate material models.

6 illus, 6 tables, 87 ref

018468   Chawla A;Mukherjee S;Karthikeyan B (Mechanical Engineering IIT Delhi Dep, Hauz Khas, Pin-110 016) : Mechanical properties of soft tissues in the human chest, abdomen and upper extremiteies. J Instn Engrs-Pt ID 2006, 87(Nov), 3-9.

Mechanical properties of soft tissues available in human chest, abdomen and upper extremities are reviewed. Material properties, which are directly extracted from the experimental methods, and the constitutive properties that have been used in finite element model are looked at. Isolated tissue tests, sub-segmental tests and full-scale tests used for validating the respective finite element models are investigated. Static and dynamic properties are sorted according to the tissue type. Variations in the data from different sources has been studied and summarized. Scatter in the static properties and less frequently available dynamic properties indicate the need for further testing and alternate material models.

3 tables, 52 ref

018467   Chandra Mouki K V V;Venkata Subbaiah K; Mallilarjuna Roa K;Acharyulu S G (Mechanical Production and Industrial Engineering Dep, College of Engineering, GITAM, Vishakhapatanam-530 045) : Particle swarm optimization approach for vendors selection. J Instn Engrs-Pt PR 2006, 87(Sept), 3-6.

Global competitiveness is the measure of overall performance of a nation particularly in its level of productiiity and ability to export goods. For India, to withstand in the global competition and to improve its rank in world economic forum every effort needs to be taken in all aspects. As a part of this, the authors of this article have chosen purchasing and distribution area in a manufacturing organization. Purchasing from vendors is one of the significant activities in an organization. Procurement and order placing procedures of purchasing department play a crucial role in the reduction of product cost. Purchasing decisions include the selection of tendor, order quantities to be placed, etc. Such decisions are very much complicated due to the fact that various criteria must be considered in decision-making process. In this article, a methodology is proposed for selection of vendors and quantities to be ordered based on transportation cost criteria. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique is used in constrained handling to arrive an optimal solution. A case study of an automobile components manufacturing company is presented to illustrate the methodology.

1 illus, 5 tables, 11 ref

018466   Chandra A;Pal P;Naskar M K (Electronics and Telecomunication Engineering Dep, Jadavpur Univ, Kolkata-700 032) : Comparative study of Lagrangean and genetic approach for optimal capacity assignment in computer networks. J Instn Engrs-Pt CP 2006, 87(Nov), 3-8.

Problem of assigning the link capacities in a computer network with unreliable links have been considered. Main objective is to obtain a minimum cost network which satisfies the given conditions and constraints. The given conditions are the nodes, links, link reliabilities and cost functions of a network. As for the constraints, a minimum network capacity must be ensured under both link failure and no failure. The problem is to find the optimum link capacities that minimize the network design cost. The problem is solved with two different approaches, Lagrangean relaxation and genetic algorithm. Various networks have been tested and comparison is made depending upon the results.

4 illus, 2 tables, 10 ref,

018465   Buvanashekaran G;Balasubramanian K R; Sankaranarayanasamy K (Welding Research Institute, BHEL, Tiruchirappalli-620 014, Email: gbs@bheltry.co.in) : Characterization of process parameters for laser welding of stainless steel. WRI Jl 2006, 27(2), 14-21.

Laser welding performance is strongly determined by its process parameters. The heat flow and the fluid flow in the weld pool can significantly influence the temperature gradients, the cooling rates and the solidification structure. For the effective control of weld parameters, modeling is an appropriate tool. Laser welding of Austenitic stainless steel (AISI 304) was investigated using CW 2kW Nd:YAG laser. The effect of laser power (0.6-1.4 kW), welding speed (0.8-2 m/min) Beam angle (5-15 degrees) and shielding gas flow rate (5-15 1/min) on the weld-bead geometry i.e. depth of penetration (DOP) and weld bead width (BW) was investigated. Multiple Non-Linear Regression equations were developed using a four factor 3-level design of experiment technique to predict the weld bead geometry. The models developed have been verified for their significance using F-test and T-test. The results indicate that the proposed model predict response adequately and within the limits of welding parameters being used.

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018464   Bose M C (CPWD, Architecture and Building Services, ) : Ecofriendly and green, smart and safe, sustainable and affordable, intelligent, beautiful anddurable building design-India as global leaders n architectural Engineering. J Instn Engrs-Pt AR 2006, 87(Oct), 17-9.

India is having a boom not only in IT sector but in real estate but it is generally limited to the cities only and 90% of the population live in villages which unlike the countries and countryside of UK and USA are deprived of most modern amenities including a shelter over their heads. The need of the hour is to provide shelter to all by 2012, the end of eleventh plan period. But who will do it? The government hardly has the money. The architects are interested to practice in cities. There is need of barefoot architectural engineers who can do it.

3 illus, 10 ref

018463   Barai S V (Civil Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagput-721 302) : Material behaviour modelling using machine learning model. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2006, 87(Nov), 59-66.

Material behaviour modelling involves the development of mathematical models based on experimental data, experts' observations and reasoning. Against the rigorous iterative exercise of developing mathematical models, machine learning (ML) model - neural networks (NN) offer a fundamentally different and appealing approach to the derivation and representation of material behaviour relationships. Such networks would contain sufficient information about the material behaviour complexities, non-linear characteristics, stress strain behaviour, material properties etc. Further, these networks could be used effectively as material model to reproduce the trained experimental data and untrained experimental data. This paper addresses identification of comprehensive data set and developing a systematic approach for material model using NN. Demonstration examples of this study are taken up using the experimental data of shear behaviour of reinforced concrete beam under effects of fire.

4 illus, 3 tables, 12 ref

018462   Arasan V T;Selva Kumar M (Civil Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Chennai-600 036) : Demand forecasting for long-haul intercity rail travel: a case study. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2006, 87(Nov), 26-32.

Intercity travel demand models are developed by relating the travel to the aggregate socio -economic characteristics of the travellers and the technical and level of service characteristics of the transportation system. Indian population census data, which is based on hundred percent sampling, serves as a reliable base for study of the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the people of any chosen geographic region of the country. The demand for travel being dependent on the socio-economic characteristics of the people, the census data has good potential for use in travel demand predictions. This study deals with development of demand model for long-haul rail travel in India by making use of the population census data for quantification of the causal variables. The developed model was found to be statistically significant in explaining the variation in the demand for travel. The developed model was also used to forecast the demand for long-haul rail travel.

6 table, 10 ref

018461   Ameen M;Suresh A (Civil Engineering Dep, National Institute of Technology, Kerala-673 601) : Optimal design of fuzzy structural systems using genetic algorithm. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2006, 87(May), 58-63.

Genetic algorithm based procedure for the optimisation of structural systems with fuzzy constraints is addressed in this paper. The fuzzy problem is solved by decomposing it into three independent nonfuzzy problems. Each of these problems is solved using an improved genetic algorithm which is found to be very efficient. The rate of convergence is improved by adopting a new technique of generating the initial population. Two sample problems dealing with the optimal design of steel trusses are presented to illustrate the working of the proposed method.

5 illus, 2 tables, 19 ref

018460   Ahmad Z (Civil Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Roorkee-247 667) : Flow measuerment with triangular free overfall. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2006, 87(May), 35-40.

Available end-depth-discharge (EDD) relationships for free overfall in triangular channels are tested for their accuracy with the experimental data collected in the present study. Experiments were performed in a triangular channel of length 4.7 m and apex angle 60° at various bed slopes. The experimental results revealed that the end depth ratio is 0.804 for subcritical flows, however it decreases with increase of bed slope in supercritical flows. The discharges computed by the available EDD relationships are not comparable to the observed one. Thus an attempt is made to fit a relationship for EDD to the experimental data collected in the present study.

5 illus, 1 table, 23 ref

018459   Afzalimehr H;Heidarpour M;Salimi A (Department of Water Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran, Email: hafzali@cc.iut.ac.ir) : Flow resistance in a compound gravel-bed bend. Sadhana 2006, 31(6), 731-41.

Effect of a gravel-bed in a compound bend (similar to sinusoidal top view) of a natural river (Zayandehrud river flowing through Isfahan, Iran) has been investigated for flow resistance analysis, measuring the velocity with a micro current meter. The data were analysed and the following observations were made. In a compound bend, the law of the wall can be valid for up to 66% of the flow depth from the bed. The parabolic law is the most effective method for the determination of shear velocity. Based on the existing criteria for verifying the equilibrium boundary layer, the flow cannot be in equilibrium. The shear stress distribution and the sediment transport parameters have considerable influence on resistance to flow. Froude number and the flow depth relative to the representative gravel size have little effect on the flow resistance estimation.

12 illus, 16 ref

018458   Acharya Y B (NO, Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad- 338 009) : Temperature dependence of device constant (n) in junction diodes. J Instn Engrs-Pt ET 2006, 87(Jul), 55-7.

Temperature dependence of the device constant (n) of junction diode is experimentally measured. It has been found that it varies, linearly with temperature. Experiment has been performed on different types of LEDs and a low leakage silicon diode. It has been shown that the percentage difference in n for all diodes is within 5%, for temperature range 223K to 443K. The constant value of E_g/n is obtained by the temperature dependent relationship of the reverse saturation current by which E_g value of the device can be estimated. This may find applications in the design of logarithmic electrometer, thermometer design etc.

3 illus, 12 ref

017328   Virendra Kumar (Civil Engng Dep, Inst of Technol, Banaras Hindu Univ, Varanasi-221 005) : Plastic design of orthotropic clamped circular plates. J Struct Engng 2006, 33(4), 257-66.

The method of limit analysis is used to determine the load carrying capacities of thin orthotropic clamped circular plates composed of rigid perfectly plastic material and subjected to axially symmetric loading. The modified Tresca yield condition and its associated flow rules have been used in this study. Design charts for these loading conditions are constructed and an example is presented illustrating their use in the design of a pressure vessel head.

12 illus, 19 ref

017327   Vaity K N;Reddy G R;Vaze K K;Kushwaha H S (Reactor Safety Div, Bhabha Atomic Res Centre, Trombay, Mumbai-400 085) : Seismic analysis of shear wall structures using different equivalent beam approach. J Struct Engng 2006, 33(3), 197-205.

Any building structure is an assemblage of beams, columns and shear walls. Seismic analysis of structure may be carried out by continuum mechanics, Finite Element Method (FEM) or by Equivalent Beam Approach (EBA). Continuum mechanics approach is very difficult to apply for complex geometry. In such cases, FEM is preferred. It involves modeling of structures using solid, plate and shell elements. For complex structures, it may pose numerical problem and requires large computational effort as compared to the EBA. The various approaches used in equivalent beam are based on either of Euler Bernoulli Beam Theory (EBBT), Timoshenko Beam Theory (TBT) with shear deformations, Strain Energy Equivalence (SEE) or Component Element method (CE). In EBA, the structure is idealized with the equivalent beam element with the properties representing the actual structure. It is the simplest of all cases and takes less computational time. Recently, an EBA based on Trigonometric Shear Deformation Theory (18DT) was introduced. In this no shear correction factor is required as compared to conventional EBA approach. Free vibration and response spectrum analysis is carried out to compare the various approaches. The structure considered varies in behavior from flexure to shear dominant and also reflects the discontinuities existing in the complex structure. A good comparison of analysis result is observed between the finite element method and equivalent beam approach based on SEE, irrespective of the type of structure.

17 illus, 8 tables, 8 ref

017326   Umar A;Naqvi S Q A;Seema;Datta T K (Civil Engng Dep, Aligarh Muslim Univ, Aligarh-202 002) : Dynamic analysis of a taut mooring system under first and second order wave forces. J Struct Engng 2006, 33(4), 297-307.

The nonlinear dynamic analysis of a multi-point taut moored buoy is performed under first and second order wave forces. Diffraction effect have been duly considered. The analysis is done using time domain integration scheme. Results are presented which illustrate the effects of the geometric nonlinearity of the mooring tines on the response of the buoy.

22 illus, 10 ref

017325   Thamarai Selvi S;Malmathanraj R (NO, Madras Institute of Technology, Chennai-600 044) : Solving battle management/command control and communication problem using modified BIONET. Def Sci J 2006, 56(4), 627-36.

Proposes and implements a neural architecture to solve the weapon allocation problem in the multi-layer defense scenario using modified BIONET neural network architecture. The presynaptic layer of the modified BIONET recduces the dimensionality of the principal state equation by partitioning the state space. The post-synaptic layer of the modified BIONET includes the perceptron Q-learning rule. The cortical layer incorporates L-learning scheme to provide better exploration over action space. Thus, action selection is effectively made with quicker convergence of training. The reward scheme in the reinforcement learning is obtained by calculating the measure of probability of survival. The decision module has been enhanced by incorporating the features corresponding to the battle weapons for effective representation of the environment. Thus, the modified BIONET neural architecture is used to increase the efficiency of assets saved in the simulation and the time complexity is reduced due to the state-space partitioning scheme involved in the neural network. The proposed modified BIONET is implemented in MATLAB and the percentage of assets saved is increased. Also, the training time is drastically reduced. Thus, the modified BIONET resulted in saving more assets with faster convergence of learning.

5 illus, 1 table, 25 ref

017324   Thakkar B K;Pandey P C (Civil Engng Dep, Indian Inst of Sci, Bangalore) : Continuum damage mechanics applied to progressive failure analysis of FRP composites. J Struct Engng 2006, 33(4), 267-85.

New discipline called Continuum Damage Mechanics (COM) has recently emerged in which, theory of continuum mechanics and thermodynamics forms the basis for mathematical modelling of physical phenomena of deformation and damage of engineering material including composites subjected to various loads. Number of continuum damage models and methodologies for progressive failure analysis have been proposed by researchers to assess the extent of damage in a composite member and to predict failure. Damage models are based on micro-mechanics or homogenization principle, each model being suitable for a particular material system. A critical review is presented in order to compare some of the significant continuum damage models and methodologies analyzing their merits and demerits.

^iia10 illus, 1 table, 68 ref

017323   Swami R K;Pundhir N K S;Mathur S (NO, Central Road Res Instit, New Delhi, Email: root@cscrri.ren.nic.in) : Utilisation of Kiberlite tailings in road works. Indian Highw 2006, 34(4), 51-62.

Kimberlite tailing is a waste material left after the recovery of diamond from its source rock. On an average about 2000 tonnes of Kimberlite tailings are produced everyday and about 2 million tonnes Kimberlite tailings have accumulated so far in Panna Mines. The production is expected to increase with the augmentation in the capacity of diamond recovery plants. Kimberlite mainly contains silica, alumina, iron oxide and magnesia. Kimberlite tailings have been tried for utilisation in different areas, such as, manufacturing of glazed tiles, ceramic tiles, mosaic tiles, recovery of magnesium salt, as flux in sintering process and in agriculture, etc. However, quantum of utilisation in these areas is very less and it is not significant. With this low rate of utilisation, the disposal problem would be enormous in the near future. With a view to assess the potential use of Kimberlite tailings in road works, the Central Road Research Institute had taken up a detailed laboratory study. Kimberlite tailings were characterised to determine their Physical/Engineering properties. The results indicate that Kimberlite tailings are a marginal material and possess adequate strength to be used for construction of rural roads. The feasibility of utilising this material for the construction of various layers of road pavement by adopting stabilisation techniques was investigated. Study was also undertaken to assess the suitability of this material for using in bituminous mixes as well as in cement concrete roads. The laboratory studies reveal that Kimberlite tailings can be used in sub-base and base course layers in a road pavement. It can also be used in bituminous macadam as base course and in premix carpet as a wearing course. Utilisation of Kimberlite tailings would not only conserve precious material resources, which are depleting fast but would also lead to considerable savings in construction cost.

2 illus, 20 tables, 3 ref

017322   Sun Y;Li S (University of Science & Technology of China, , Hefei Anhui-230 026, China) : Combustion characteristics of coated nano aluminium in composite propellants. Def Sci J 2006, 56(4), 543-550.

Effect of coated nano-sized aluminum (Al) powder (n-Al) and micron-sized Al powder (g-Al) in propellants on the burning rate and pressure exponent have been investigated. The results show that the burning rates of propellants increase as the n-Al content increases, but the burning rate pressure exponents tend to decrease. Compared with propellant containing μ-Al, the increments of burning rates of propellants containing n-Al powder reduce gradually with increase in the pressure because of the differences of the combustion characteristic and ignition performances of n-Al powder and g-Al powder. Single short distance photograph, scanning electron microscopy, x-ray fluorescence analysis were used to characterise the flame image, combustion phenomena, the quenched surface image, and surface elements. A substantial difference in combustion characteristics of n-Al powder has been found in comparison with μ-Al powder. In addition, oxygen-bomb combustion heat, ignition temperature, and recovery ratio of residues were measured.

6 illus, 2 tables, 11 ref

017321   Sridhar R;Bose S;Sharma B M;Venkat Narayan K (Pavement Design and Analysis, Central Road Res Instit, New Delhi, Email: root@cscrri.ren.nic.in) : Fatigue and permanent deforamation characteristics on flakiness and elongation indices of dense mixes. Indian Highw 2006, 34(4), 17-24.

Flakiness is an important physical property of mineral aggregates affecting the quality of bituminous mixes. The presence of flaky and elongated particles exceeding certain limits adversely affects the durability of bituminous mixes. Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRT&H) specified limiting value of 30 per cent has been found to be difficult to obtain using the conventional Jaw crusher. It has become a major problem in the National Highway Development Projects, where only jaw crushers are used for obtaining the crushed aggregates. Hence, there was a need to study the performance of mixes at higher percentages of combined flakiness and elongation indices than that has been specified by MORT&H. An attempt was made to study the performance of bituminous concrete mixes at combined flakiness and elongation indices of 25, 30 and 35 per cent. From the studies it was observed that the mixes with combined flakiness and elongation indices of 35 per cent showed similar mix properties and performance, while mixes with combined flakiness and elongation indices of 25 per cent showed substantial improvement in mix properties and performance. The fatigue life was 1.4 times higher for mixes with combined flakiness and elongation indices 25 per cent when compared to 30 per cent. For mixes with 35 per cent combined flakiness and elongation indices the reduction in fatigue life was less than 5 per cent compared to 30 per cent. Similarly, the permanent deformation properties showed that the increase in combined flakiness and elongation indices from 30 to 35 per cent the increase in accumulated strain is 10 to 20 per cent at temperatures of 40 to 60°C. The decrease in combined flakiness and elongation indices from 30 to 25 per cent resulted in decrease in accumulated strain by 10 to 20 per cent at temperatures of 40 to 60<144>C.

3 illus, 7 tables, 11 ref

017320   Soni H;Shah B J;Shah N H (NO, Chimanbhai Patel Post Graduate Institute of Computer Applications, Ahmedabad-382 051, Email: nita_sha_h@rediffmail.com) : EOQ model for deteriorating items with progressive payment scheme under DCF approach. Opsearch 2006, 43(3), 238-58.

EOQ model is developed in which items in inventory deteriorate at a constant rate and supplier offers the progressive trade credit to the retailer. A progressive trade credit is defined as follows: If the retailer pays the outstanding amount by M, the supplier does not charge any interest. If the retailer pays after M but before N (N <62> M), the retailer will have to pay interest charges at the rate I _c1. If the account is settled after N, the retailer will be charged at the rate I _c2 (I_c2> <62> I_c1). The model is developed under the Discounted-cash-flow (DCF) approach. The present value of all future cash-out-flows is derived for all the three possible scenarios. At the end, a numerical example is given to illustrate the results obtained and sensitivity analysis of various parameters on the optimal solutions is carried out.

3 illus, 2 tables, 22 ref