007376   Sankaraiah G;Rangajanardhan G;Sarma B D;Babu K S (Mechanical Engineering Dep, G Pulla Reddy Engineering College, Kurnool-518 002) : Design of integrated reliability redundancy system with multiple constraints-ant colony optimization technique. J Instn Engrs-Pt MC 2009, 90(18), 32-6.

Reliability of a system can be maximized by attaching parallel components to each of the components in the system such that if one component fails, one of its parallel components comes into operation and the system does not fail until the failure of all it's parallel units. In the present study, an attempt is made to develop an integrated reliability model fora series-parallel configuration subject to cost, weight and volume constraints. The Lagrangean multiplier method can be used to design such model, but it does not yield integer values. Moreover, a non-integer value for number of components is meaningless. Hence Ant Colony Optimization Technique has successfully been applied to obtain an integer solution and a computer program has been developed in C++ language.

3 illus, 3 tables, 11 ref

007375   Sampaio A Z;Ferreira M M;Rosario D P (Civil Engineering and Architecture Dep, Technical Lisbon Univ, Av. Rovisco Pais, Lisbon, Portual, Email: zita@civil.ist.utl.pt) : Interactive data management concerning the ligting system in building: a virtual reality application. Int J appl Res Inf Technol Comput 2010, 1(2), 151-9.

The main aim of the research project, which is in progress at the UTL, is to develop a virtual interactive model as a tool to support decision-making in the planning of construction maintenance and facilities management. The virtual model gives the capacity to allow the user to transmit, visually and interactively, information related to the components of a building, defined as a function of the time variable. In addition, the analysis of solutions for repair work/substitution and inherent cost are predicted, the results being obtained interactively and visualized in the virtual environment itself. The first component of the virtual prototype concerns the management of lamps in a lighting system. It was applied in a study case. The interactive application allows the examination of the physical model, visualizing, for each element modeled in 3D and linked to a database, the corresponding technical information concerned with the wear and tear aspects of the material, calculated for different points in time during their life. The control of a lamp stock, the constant updating of lifetime information and the planning of periodical local inspections are attended on the prototype.

7 illus, 11 ref

007374   Samanta B;Bandopadhyay S;Bhattacherjee A (Mining Engineering Dep, IIT, Kahragpur) : Comparative evaluation of Gaussian Markov random model based simulation and sequential Gaussian simulation for forebody modelling. J Mines Metals Fuels 2009, 57(1-2), 8-22.

Presents two conditional simulation algorithms: sequential Gaussian simulation (SGSIM) and Gaussian Markov random (GMR) model based simulation. A comparative evaluation of these two algorithms was performed. The study results revealed that although the Gaussian Markov random model based algorithm was computationally faster; however, the sequential Gaussian algorithm performed fairly well particularly in variogram reproduction. The poor performance of the Gaussian Markov random model might be due to the apparent lack of fit for the Gaussian Markov random model to the full Gaussian model. Finally, the SGSIM algorithm has been investigated in the Nome placer gold deposit as it provided better performance in comparison with the other algorithm. The simulated realizations generated in the Nome deposit although reproduce the shapes of the histogram and variogram appropriately; however, the variance and sill values increased highly. This is due to the influences of some extreme values of the conditioning data.

15 illus, 22 ref

007373   Roy J (NO, Barddhaman Univ, Barddhaman, West Bengal) : Production in the eastern coalfield limited since 1973 to 2000. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2009, 32(2), 293-8.

Eastern coalfield limited is playing a vital role in the economic development of India. After nationalization of coal industry in 1973, the Eastern Coalfield Limited was created in order to manage all the collieries of West Bengal and a few collieries in Bihar. Production of coal in the Eastern Coalfield Limited (ECL) at the time of nationalization (1973-74) was 21.06 million tonnes, which went upto 30.13 tonnes in the year 1988-89, but production in 1999-2000 as not good and decreased to exceptionally low level of 21.35 million tonnes only. In this paper, it has been discussed about total production of coal of Eastern Coalfield Limited.

5 tables, 4 ref

007372   Ray S K;Patra A K;Rai S;Ghosh A K (NO, Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Reasearch, Barwa Road, Dhanbad-862 001) : Clean coal technology to improve environmental quality and energy efficiency. J Mines Metals Fuels 2009, 57(9), 267-74.

Coal is the world's most abundant and widely distributed fossil fuel source. It is a major source of commercial energy in the present scenario. Coal currently supplies over one third of the world's electricity and 23% of global primary energy needs. Conventional power generation system, though one of the cheapest means of production of electricity in the world, have energy efficiency only 30-35%. However, it has enormous environmental impact which includes emission of large amount of gases like CO₂ SO₂ NO_x, and Hg, particulate matter which primarily includes fly ash. This is responsible for global warming and air and water pollution. To reduce this environmental impact due to emissions from thermal power plant and to meet the quality requirements of the coal consumers, it is imperative to adopt clean coal technologies. "Clean coal" is a term used in the promotion of the use of coal as an energy source by emphasizing methods being developed to reduce its environmental impact. This paper addresses advanced power generation systems like integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) system and underground coal gasification (UCG) which claim to have energy efficiency in the range of 45-50%. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology for capturing emitted CO₂ and storing it in geological formation appears to be one of the efficient means to reduce CO₂ in the atmosphere. This technology has also been enumerated in this paper. An account for global and Indian initiatives for clean coal technology is given. Clean coal mining operation along with coal preparation technology practiced in India is also discussed in brief.

5 illus 1 table, 23 ref

007371   Ratnakar J;Sundaram R M (Geology Dep, Post-Graduate College of Science, Osmania Univ, Saifabad, Hyderabad-500 004, Email: jrtnkr@yahoo.com) : Remote sensing and GIS study of the Ravipadu gabbro pluton, Prakasam alkaline province, Andhra Pradesh, India. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2009, 37(1), 89-98.

Geospatial themes namely geology, topography and classified satellite image of the area in and around Ravipadu gabbro pluton (RGP), Prakasam alkaline province, Andhra Pradesh has been studied. The geological map of co-magmatic suite of RGP predominantly exposes olivine gabbro followed by olivine norite, troctolite and anorthosite. Graphic portrayal of the attributes such as mineralogical (modal) and chemical compositions of rocks of RGP is supplemented in the map display. The topography reveals that the terrain is flat and that it underwent differential erosion thereby exposing the deeply eroded RGP flanked on the North and South by two hilly mounds composed of cordierite-gamet gneiss (metapelite). Digital analysis of satellite image (IRS-ID) of the Ravipadu area, based on the spatial and spectral characteristics producing a classified image superposing on the vectorised geological map of the gabbroic body on a spatially referenced base, reveal a near perfect match of the two digital data products. A digital correspondence of the thematic classes with the units in the geological map was significantly remarkable. Integration of the geology, satellite image and topo-layer by digital means on a common platform providing a unified GIS picture of RGP is the crux of this study. GIS tool application on RGP provisionally suggests that the base of magma chamber for RGP is towards east and the top is towards the west.

6 illus, 1 table, 8 ref

007370   Raslavicius L;Bazaras Z (NO, Lithuanian Agriculture Institute of Agro-Engineering Univ, 54132 Raudondvaris, Kaunas Region, Lithuania) : Prediction of multi-component effects on ignition delay of oxygenated diesel fuel blends. Indian J Engng Mater Sci 2010, 17(4), 243-50.

The quasi-stationary (Q-S), spherically symmetric combustion of the isolated multi-component droplets of oxygenated diesel fuel has been modelled using a variable mechanism, which has been developed and validated against several independent data sets. The composition of three-component motor fuel, consisting of fossil diesel (DF), rapeseed oil methyl ester (hereinafter RME; B100) and dehydrated ethyl alcohol (DBA), closing to DF by its ignition delay characteristic is established. Numerical simulation results show that in contrast to RME, the additive of dehydrated ethyl alcohol to DF/RME blend tends to increase a time of ignition delay. Striving for improving of the combustion process strained by bigger volumes of fossil diesel being replaced by oxygenated biofuels to meet ecological behavior and economical independence on imported fuels, as well as simultaneously omitting any regulatory adjustment, leads to combining of dehydrated ethyl alcohol and rapeseed oil methyl ester to compound the conventional diesel fuel.

6 illus, 36 ref

007369   Rao T C S;Rao T D G;Rao N V R (Civil Engineering Dep, DMSSVH College of Engineering, Machilipatnam-521 002) : Investigation on voided ferrocement channel beams in shear. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2009, 90(Aug), 38-44.

Presents an experimental study on the strength and behavioural aspects of voided ferrocement channel type beams for pro-cast purposes. As these beams are lighter in weight, these find their place in seismic resistant design of structures. Forty-eight channel type (24 solid and 24 voided) ferrocement beams were cast and tested under four-point loading. The variable parameters included the number of layers of wire mesh and shear span to depth (a/d) ratio. From the test results, it is observed that the cracking and ultimate shear strength of solid and voided beams increases as the a/d ratio is decreased and volume fraction of mesh reinforcement is increased. As the number of mesh layers is increased the post cracking ductility of the ferrocement beams also increases. It is also found that, up to a shear span to depth ratio of three, shear behaviour is predominant. Beyond shear span to depth ratio three, the flexural behaviour is predominant for both solid and voided beams. An empirical equation is proposed in this paper to estimate the shear resistance of each of the solid and voided ferrocement channel beams.

14 illus, 1 table, 5 ref

007368   Rama Raju K;Cinitha A;Kamatchi P;Iyer N R (NO, Structural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai-600 113) : Estimation of enhanced desing base shear for strengthening the existing RC buildings designed as per IS codes prior to IS: 1893-2002 by seismic coefficient method. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2009, 90(Aug), 9-13.

The existing low/medium-rise buildings(less than six-storeys and 40 m height) designed as per the then prevailing (old) codes of practice are required to be retrofitted to comply with the base shear requirement of present seismic code (IS:1893-2002). This paper gives an estimate of the additional shear as per 18:1893-2002 for which existing buildings need to be provided with retrofit measures based on the seismic zone, site soil condition and importance factors to be considered at the location of the building, the type of frame and type of foundation considered in design phase of the building. In order to estimate the additional demand in base shear due to the upgradation of seismic codes, this paper reviews the provisions of the three revisions of codes, namely, IS:1893-1966, 1984 and 2002 using seismic coefficient method. Two typical buildings were studied in order to bring out the increased demand in base shears. It was found from the analysis, the base shear demand of the existing buildings (designed as per old versions of seismic codes IS:1893-1966, 1984) are such that these need varying degrees of retrofitting. Thus, this study brings out the need to compute the seismic demand of existing buildings to determine the required level of retrofit.

2 illus, 9 tables, 7 ref

007367   Rajesha Kumar S;Barve S G;Badari Narayana K (Thermal System Group, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore-560 017) : Thermal design and in-orbit performance of ANUSAT. J Spacecraft Technol 2010, 20(2), 37-46.

ANUSAT, a micro-satellite developed by Anna University under the overall guidance oflSRO is intended to provide digital communication facilities between a number of universities/colleges and amature satellite radio operators. The thermal design of the satellite poses several challenges mainly because of its lower thermal inertia and power generation. This paper briefs about the thermal design for the ANUSAT, which uses passive thermal control system. No thermal heaters are provided because of the limited power generation. With this thermal design, predicted temperatures are expected to be well within the thermal operating limits. The in-orbit data for the ANUSAT confirms the judicious selection and effectiveness of the thermal control system.

17 illus, 8 tables, 5 ref

007366   Raina A K;Chakraborty A K;More R;Choudhury P B (Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Research, Regional Centre, 3rd Florr MECL Complex Seminary Hills, Nagpur-440 006, Email: cmrirc@dataone.in.) : What 'aches' my industry? Deviation between planned and practised blast design in opencast mines in India: a comprehensive analysis. J Mines Metals Fuels 2009, 57(1-2), 33-42.

A comprehensive analysis of blasting data of opencast mines has been conducted for variations in basic design parameters like burden, spacing, stemming and specific charge. 354 data sets of 19 mines belonging to the coal, limestone, and metal sectors have been analysed and presented in this paper. The analysis reveals that there are strong anomalies in the design and application of blasting methods in most of the mines in India. The deviation from the calculated values of the design parameters and the observed values is beyond acceptable limits. This in turn indicates a strong compromise on production in terms of breakage or fragmentation, loading and hauling of the blasted materials. Since there are significant spado-environmental constraints in present day opencast mines, equipment selection must be in conformity with the production which in turn should define the blast design. The study provides an insight for planners and executing agencies in Indian mining industry when a serious introspection is anticipated for equipment selection in order to achieve optimal production with safety and overall performance of blasting.

6 illus, 9 tables, 43 ref

007365   Priya S S;Premalatha M;Subramanian P (Chemical Engineering Dep, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal) : Elucidation of kinetics of photolysis of phenol. J Instn Engrs-Pt CH 2009, 90(Sep), 10-6.

Photolysis of phenol has been carried out in a batch reactor using 8W (253.7 nm) UV lamp at initial concentrations of 600ppm, 400ppm, 300ppm, 200ppm, and 100ppm in aqueous solution. The transmittance (T) was found to be unity for 600 ppm and was decreasing for other concentrations. The rate of degradation was found to be constant and was independent of optical density (D) and T for 600 ppm. At all other concentrations, the rate varied non-linearly with time, moles, D and T. Equation based on the combination of Stark-Einstein law and Lambert-Beer Law is found to explain the rate of degradation satisfactorily at all concentrations. The order of the reaction was found to vary from zero to one depending upon the mole or optical density. An effectiveness factor, defined as the ratio of the rate of reaction during falling period of T to that at the constant T has been found to explain degradation from 600 ppm to 10 ppm satisfactorily.

2 illus, 16 ref

007364   Prasanna S R M;Gandhi N;Krishnamoorthy P (Electronics and Communication Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati-781 039) : Reduction of musical noise in spectral subtracted speech using excitation source information. J Instn Engrs-Pt CP 2009, 90(May), 32-5.

During speech production, the significant excitation of the vocal tract occurs at places like instants of glottal closure and the onset of events like bursts. Hence the energy in the excitation signal is high around these places and these instants play an important role in the perception of speech. This property had been exploited in this work to derive a weight function. The linear prediction (LP) residual of spectral subtracted speech signal was weighted by the weight function to enhance the instants of significant excitation of speech. The musical noise in the enhanced speech obtained by exciting the time varying pole filter with the modified residual was found to be reduced significantly.

3 illus, 8 ref

007363   Prakasha A S;Sanjeev Kumar K S;Chakraborty A; Zolgikar S;Nayak H C;Hegde P;Vasanth Madhav S;Anjaneyulu K V (Mission Development Group, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore-560 058) : Comercial dynamic software satellite simulator. J Spacecraft Technol 2010, 20(2), 1-8.

Dynamic Software Satellite Simulator (DSSS) is a training and testing tool for the Satellite Operators working in Spacecraft Control Centre for different phases of spacecraft lifecycle. It is also used to check the adequacy of the satellite operating procedures and to validate the ground systems. It simulates the characteristics of geostationary communication satellites using a momentum-biased three-axes stabilization control technique. DSSS is a specific requirement in the international contracts of Antrix/ISRO for W2M and Hylas. The new design and development of the commercial simulator caters to user requirements and meets international standards. In its commercial form DSSS has been realized, tested, delivered and accepted by the international customers, EUTELSAT (W2M) and AVANTI (Hylas) and is being extensively used. This paper presents the features, design and architecture, subsystem modeling and applications of the DSSS and this paper presents the onboard observations and its detailed analysis. Suggestions for future are made.

5 illus, 3 ref

007362   Prabhakar N;Kumar A;Chandravanshi H; Vijayalkshmi D (NO, DRDL, Hyderabad-500 058) : Rule based air threat classification. J Instn Engrs-Pt AS 2009, 90(Nov), 9-14.

This work develops a novel rule-based target classification algorithm, which leads to the automation of threat classification process and hence supports situation awareness and threat engagement. For developing the algorithm, vast study was done on various threats available. This work is restricted to the threats present in air. The target classification was performed with available information from surveillance and tracking radars. Parameters used for the classification were altitude, specific energy and total velocity of the target. Nominal behaviour of various threats was used as the reference for threat classification process. The classification process was carried out in two steps. First, the described three parameters were compared with the nominal behaviour of the threats and first level identification was assigned. Thereafter, a set of crisp rules based on threat rate of change of specific energy, flight path angle and vertical velocity were formed to strengthen the threat identification in second level and then the target classification was declared. The algorithm has been implemented and validated using simulated and real time data for various types of targets. This algorithm was tested on simulated cruise missile trajectories, simulated and live aircraft trajectories, and simulated and live ballistic missile trajectories of different classes. All types of aircrafts like rotary wing, fixed wing fighter and commercial aircrafts were grouped in air breathing target class.

11 illus, 14 ref

007361   Porwal G;Singh S (Biology Dep, San Francisco State Univ, 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94132 U.S.A., Email: sarnam@iirs.gov.in) : Geo spatial approach for phytodiversity charcterization in Panna National Prak (part), M.P. (India). J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2009, 37(1), 51-67.

Panna National Park is situated in the north-central part of Madhya Pradesh, India. Landscape parameters like fragmentation, porosity, patchiness and jaxtaposition have been analysed for disturbance gradient characterization. Disturbance on biodiversity due to human activities has been studied both qualitatively and quantitatively. The species richness is highest in northern mixed dry deciduous forest followed by dry deciduous open scrub and southern tropical dry deciduous teak forest. Species richness of the open thorny dry deciduous forest with grasses is found to be the lowest. Disturbance analysis indicates that 22.02% of the southern slightly moist teak forests are highly disturbed whereas Anogeissus forest and Riverine forest have 17.04% and 12.41% of the area under high disturbance, respectively. A total of 88 field sample plots were laid to enumerate trees, shrubs, herbs, climbers, etc. Biological richness parameters such as Shannon-Wiener biodiversity index, biodiversity value, ecosystem uniqueness were derived from field data. High biological richness is found in northern mixed dry deciduous forest and mixed dry deciduous forest with bamboo. More than 99% of such areas are falling under medium to high biological richness. Nearly 55% of the gentle and flat to gentle, slope categories were found to have low biological richness.

6 illus, 6 tables, 37 ref

007360   Poovalinga Geanesh B;Rajendran S; Thirunavukkarasu A;Maharani K (Earth Sciences Dep, Anamalai Univ, Annamalai Nagar-608 002, Email: sankaranrajendran@yahoo.com) : Visualizing uncertainty-how fuzzy logic approach can help to explore iron ore deposits?. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2009, 37(1), 1-8.

Uncertainties in Geovisualaization/GIScience spatial data can minimize but not completely provided by the different image processing classification methods. The methods of - image processing techniques are purely dependent ; on spectral signature values. In the present study, collected end member spectral values from both satellite data and field signatures and applied in supervised and fuzzy classification of image processing techniques to discriminate the iron ore formations and associated land cover features of part of Godumalai hill region of Salem District, Tamil Nadu State, India. The result of analysis shows that the fuzzy classified image discriminated the iron formation with better appearance and distinct boundary between the associated features than the analyses results obtained by supervised methods.

4 illus, 2 tables, 15 ref

007359   Phani Prasad D M S;Sharma U K;Bhargava P (Civil Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee-247 667) : Effect of elevated temperature on the properties of reinforcing steel bars. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2009, 90(Nov), 3-6.

In this experimental work, the effect of elevated temperature on the mechanical properties of steel reinforcing bars has been investigated. Steel rebars of diameters 8 mm, 12 mm, 16 mm and 20 mm conforming to grade Fe 415, were exposed to temperatures of 100°C, 200°C, 400°C, 600°C and 800°C in a high temperature programmable muffle furnace. The rate of heating was 5°C per min and after reaching the temperatures mentioned, the bars were heated constantly at those temperatures for exactly one hour. The rebars were cooled naturally to room temperature and subsequently, tensile tests were conducted on the specimens. It was observed that the properties like ultimate strength, yield strength and elastic modulus reduced with increase in temperature while percentage elongation increased.

5 illus, 2 tables, 7 ref

007358   Patro S;Chatterjee C;Mohanty S;Singh R; Raghuwanshi N S (Agricultural & Food Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur-721 302, Email: cchatterjee@agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in) : Flood inundation modeling using MIKE FLOOD and remote sensing data. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2009, 37(1), 107-18.

A coupled 1D-2D hydrodynamic model, MIKE FLOOD was used to simulate the flood inundation extent and flooding depth in the delta region of Mahanadi River basin in India. Initially, the 1D model MIKE 11 was calibrated using river water level and discharge data of various gauging sites for the monsoon period (June to October) of the year 2002. Subsequently, the calibrated set up was validated using both discharge and water level data for the same period of the year 2001. The performance of calibration and validation results of MIKE 11 were evaluated using different performance indices. A bathymetry of the study area with a spatial resolution of 90m was prepared from SRTM DEM and provided as an input to the 2D model, MIKE 21. MIKE 11 and MIKE 21 models were then coupled using lateral links to form the MIKE FLOOD model set up for simulating the two dimensional flood inundations in the study area. Flood inundation is simulated for the year 2001 and the maximum flood inundation extent simulated by the model was compared with the corresponding actual inundated area obtained from IRS-IDWiFS image.

7 illus, 5 tables, 11 ref

007357   Pant R P;Arora M;Chhotey Lal;Annveer;Sukhvir Singh;Mathur R B (NO, National Physical Laboratory, Dr K S Krishnan Marg, New Delhi-110 012, Email: rppant@mail.nplindia.ernet.in) : Investigation on magnetic carbon nanofoam composites. Indian J Engng Mater Sci 2010, 17(5), 363-6.

Magnetic carbon nanofoam composites have been synthesized by employing electric arc discharge using nano-crystalline 1% by weight cobalt ferrite particles as catalyst. The material formed is a short-range fluffy type arrangement of carbon embedded with nano-magnetic particles. The volume percent of carbon is <126> 85% in the composite material and the density is <126> 0.8 g/cm³. Material has been characterized for its physical properties like structural, magnetic, shape and size distribution by XRD, TEM, SAXS, EPR and VSM measurement techniques. The prepared composite has low density, electrically conducting and soft magnetic properties. The developmental studies of magnetic carbon nanofoam process have been described.

5 illus, 15 ref

007356   Pankaj Arpita;Pankaj Kumar (NO, Geological Survey of India, Lucknow-226 024, Email: pankaj.arpita@gmail.com) : GIS-based morphometric analysis of five major sub-watersheds of Song river, Dehradun district, Uttarakhand with special reference to landslide incidences. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2009, 37(1), 157-66.

Evaluation of the morphometric parameters requires preparation of drainage map, contour map, ordering of the various streams and measurements of catchment area, perimeter, relative relief, relief ratio, length of drainage channels, drainage density, drainage frequency, bifurcation ratio, texture ratio, circulatory ratio and constant channel maintenance, which help to understand the nature of the drainage basin. The present study involves the Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis techniques to evaluate and compare linear, relief and aerial morphometry of the five sub-watersheds of Song River (tributary of the Ganga River) with special reference to landslide incidences, for future development and planning of the watershed. Jakhan Rao, Song River, Randal Nadi, Baldi Nadi and Suswa Nadi are the five major sub-watersheds of the Song River basin. All the sub-watersheds are basically of 5th to 6th order. Drainage patterns are mainly dendritic to sub dendritic. The drainage pattern of the Song River basin is mainly structurally controlled and the area is characterized by high to moderate relief. The asymmetric factor indicates that the tectonic rotation of the four sub-watersheds is upward on the right side of the drainage basin and only one sub-watershed is downward. The numbers of the landslide incidences are also more in the upward side, than the downward side of the Song river basin.

3 illus, 5 tables, 8 ref

007355   Pan S S (Geography Dep, Kalyani Univ, Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal) : Inter-urban transport efficiency-case study in Burdwan division, West Bengal. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2009, 32(2), 279-86.

Transport efficiency is a barometer of progress of any society. Transport efficiency of any region or a node may be considered as an index of economic, social and commercial progress. Efficient transport network paves the way for basic infrastructure for the growth and development of a node ensuring greater interaction with other places. It is an urgent need to gear up the available resource and population for better mobilization in order to achieve a state of development of a region or a node. Any node can ever flourish without efficient and better transport network facilities. In this present paper an attempt has been made to find out regional hierarchies based on index of transportation efficiency in the Burdwan Division of West Bengal.

6 illus, 1 tables, 7 ref

007354   Pal A;Mandal T N;Pal R K;Kundu D;Datta A K (NO, Harinavi Subhasini Balika Sikshalaya, PO: Harinavi, Dest.: 24 Parganas (South), Kolkata-700 148) : Algorithms for generating random channel instances for channel routing problem. Int J appl Res Inf Technol Comput 2010, 1(1), 106-29.

In this paper authors have developed algorithms for generating random channel instances for their use in computing channel routing solutions in VLSI physical design. Channel instances are usually of two types: simple and general, and there are usually two kinds of inherent constraints involving channel routing problem: horizontal constraint and vertical constraint. Simple channel instances do not contain any vertical constraint, whereas, general channel instances contain both horizontal as well as vertical constraints. Most of the optimization problems in two-, three-, and multi-layer channel routing are NP-hard and, in fact, very few are polynomial time computable. Hence for each of the NP-hard problems in channel routing, it is unlikely to design a polynomial time deterministic algorithm. Developing heuristic algorithm may be a probable way out that hopefully provides good solutions for most of the instances available in literature. Novelty of a heuristic algorithm is judged better if it works for a variety of large number of randomly generated instances of the problem.

6 illus, 6 tables, 10 ref

007353   Nema A;Khare V K;Khaira H K (Machanical Engineering Dep, National Institute of Technology, Bhopal-462 003) : Multi-objective optimisation model of power transmission substation location for sustainable environment. J Instn Engrs-Pt MC 2009, 90(18), 37-42.

Studies reveal the undesirable effects of extra high voltage (EHV) to the surrounding environment. Earlier, substation location research has emphasized on the proximity to demand points to minimize transmission losses. An attempt has been made to formulate a new model for minimizing both quantitative (installation and transmission losses) and qualitative costs (undesirable effects on the environment). For the latter purpose, activity relationship diagram (REL chart) or closeness relationship ratings have been quantified. The twin objectives have been weighted by vectors to transform and solve the multi-objective problem. The proposed model has been solved and verified by a case example of Madhya Pradesh state power transmission company data.

6 tables, 19 ref

007352   Nair M P S (NO, , XIV/450 Morical, PO : Kakkanad, Cochin-682 030) : Hazardous material storage installations: steps to address concerns on safety and build public confidence. J Instn Engrs-Pt CH 2009, 90(Sep), 17-26.

Much public concern is raised on hazardous material bulk storages at vulnerable locations that cater the requirements of basic industries. This concern has grown up into alarming proportions after the 'Bhopal' incident. Over these years considerable improvements have been taken place in almost all aspects relating to the design, construction, operation, maintenance and troubleshooting, assessment and mitigation of risk from such installations. Relying on concepts of inherent safety and with the help of modern instrumentation and renewed operating philosophy such units are operated today with a high degree of safety and reliability. Competent emergency management and response plans are also taken place to tackle emergency situations that are likely to crop up even with the remotest probability. This study attempts to trace the course of developments in increasing process safety to reasonably address public concerns on the risk to the neighbouring community emanating from units with a particular review in the case of port based refrigerated atmospheric pressure ammonia storage tank, which store and handle large quantities of ammonia imported for fertilizer manufacturing. Industrial accidents remain a major concern before the Governments consequent to the loss of lives, damage to property and environment that is inflicted on the society besides upsets in tranquil and a heavy economic strain. Along with the growth of the processing industry, the problem of accidents caused in the industry poses a big question with its regional and global implications and efforts are also underway to minimize the damages and ensure all safer working environments around industrial installations. Known experiences of accidents caused in the industry over and again caution us that the price of process safety is increasingly becoming a concern on the profitability of the unit, morale of its employees and the public image of the institution. Still, the growth and development of the processing industry is not deterred by occasional mishaps. At the same time these lessons from the past industrial accidents urge industry operators to continue efforts to better their safety standards and enhance public perception of the industry. Incidents like Flixborough, Sevaso, Bhopal, Chernobyl, North Sea and recently Toulouse etc have been enlightened with regard to achieving an accident free operating environment in the chemical processing industry, in which the future commitment is needed. Everywhere and especially in the matter of process safety, Murphy's Law holds good and it also provides the impetus for continuous research and improvement to unearth, identify and overcome the hidden and the unknown through a process of elimination.

1 illus, 24 ref

007351   Nair C S;Sreekumar S (Civil Engineering Dep, College of Engineernig, Trivandrum-695 016) : Investigation on the behaviour of rolled steel tension members. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2009, 90(Aug), 32-7.

Research on behaviour of steel structures during last few decades led to drastic change in design philosophy throughout the world, which motivated Bureau of Indian Standards to publish revised code, 18:800-2007, based on limit state method. The present study is to validate the methodology suggested in this code for single and double angle tension members experimentally and analytically. Analytical study is also extended to T sections. Load carrying capacities of these sections increased as the connection length and thickness increased. Net section efficiency of angle sections increased with increase in connection length, but thickness had negligible effect. The code predicts the design strength conservatively. The expression for design strength has to be modified for smaller sections since it affects the prediction of failure pattern. The code suggested lower limit of shear lag factor (β) needs revision for angle sections. The expression for β demands a modification for T sections.

3 illus, 12 tables, 11 ref

007350   Nagarajan P;Pillai T M M (Civil Engineering Dep, National Institute of Technoogy Calicut, Calicut-673 001) : Strut and tie model for continuous deep beam: analytical and experimental studies. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2009, 90(Nov), 34-40.

Regions of reinforced concrete elements can be divided into two regions, namely, B or Bernoulli regions where the strain distributions are linear, and D or Disturbed regions, where the strain distributions are nonlinear. A beam whose depth is comparable to span is known as deep beam and these structural elements belong to D regions. The present code recommendations are inadequate for the design of deep beams. It has been recently understood that the strut and tie model (STM) is an effective tool for the design of both B and D regions. In this paper simple equations using STM are developed for finding the area of steel required to have a balanced type of failure and to find the ultimate capacity of continuous dee beams failing in different failure modes. These equations are compared with experimental results and a good agreement is found.

12 illus, 3 tables, 10 ref

007349   Nagarajan M;Singh S (Civil Engineering School, Faculty of Engineering & Technology, SRM Univ, Kattankulathur, Chennai-603 203, Email: nagaswce@gmail.com) : Assessment of groundwater potential zones using GIS technique. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2009, 37(1), 69-77.

A case study was conducted to find out the groundwater potential zones in Kattakulathur block, Tamil Nadu, India with an aerial extent of 360.60 km². The thematic maps such as geology, geomorphology, soil hydrological group, land use/land cover and drainage map were prepared for the study area. The Digital Elevation Model (DEM) has been generated from the 10m interval contour lines (which is derived from SOI, Topcteheet 1:25000 scale) and obtained the slope (%) of the study area. The groundwater potential zones were obtained by overlaying all the thematic maps in terms of weighted overlay methods using the spatial analysis tool in ArcGIS 9.2. During weighted overlay analysis, the ranking has been given for each individual parameter of each thematic map and weights were assigned according to the influence such as soil -25%, geomorphology - 25%, land use/land cover -25%, slope - 15%, lineament - 5% and drainage/streams - 5% and find out the potential zones in terms of good, moderate and poor zones with the area of 49.70 km², 261.61 km² and 46.04 km² respectively. The potential zone wise study area was overlaid with village boundary map and the village wise groundwater potential zones with three categories such as good, moderate and poor zones were obtained. This GIS based output result was validated by conducting field survey by randomly selecting wells in different villages using GPS instruments. The coordinates of each well location were obtained by GPS and plotted in the GIS platform and it was clearly shown that the well coordinates were exactly seated with the classified zones.

12 illus, 1 tables, 5 ref

007348   Murali Krishna T;Ravikumar G;Krishnaveni M (Centre for Resources, CEG, Anna Univ, Chennai-600 025, Email: tanneerumurali@yahoo.com) : Remote sensing based agricultural drought assessment in Palar basin of Tamil Nadu state, India. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 2009, 37(1), 9-20.

Agricultural drought has been a recurrent phenomenon in many parts of India. Remote sensing plays a vital role in real time monitoring of the agricultural drought conditions over large area, there by effectively supplementing the ground mechanism. Conventional drought monitoring is based on subjective data. The satellite based monitoring such as National Agricultural Drought Assessment and Monitoring System (NADAMS) is based on the crop condition, which is an integrated effect of soil, effective rainfall, weather, etc. Drought causes changes in the external appearance of vegetation, which can clearly be identified (by their changed spectral response) and judged using satellite sensors through the use of vegetation indices. These indices are functions of rate of growth of the plants and are sensitive to the changes of moisture stress in vegetation. The satellite based drought assessment methodology was developed based on relationship obtained between previous year's Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) profiles with corresponding agricultural performance available at district/block level. Palar basin, one of the major river basins in Tamil Nadu state was selected as the study area. The basin covers 3 districts, which contain 44 blocks. Wide-Image Field Sensor (WiFS) of 188m spatial resolution from Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) data was used for the analysis. Satellite based vegetation index NDVI, was generated for Samba and Navarai seasons in teh year 1998 and 1999. An attempt has been made to estimate the area under paddy. It was also observed that, there was reduction in the crop area as well as vigour in the vegetation in both Samba and Navarai seasons in 1999 when compared with 1998. Drought severity maps were prepared in GIS environment giving blockwise agricultural water deficiency status.

9 illus, 9 tables, 10 ref

007347   Mukherjee M K (Civil Engineering Dep, Jalpaiguri Govt. Engineering College, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal) : Empirical modeling between suspended sediment load (SSL) and return period (T) of major Himalayan rivers in North Bengal. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2009, 32(2), 79-84.

Establishing a relationship between Suspended Sediment Load (SSL) and Return Period (T) for Himalayan river is extremely helpful in forecasting floods and design of important hydraulic structures. The present study aims to develop an empirical model of Suspended Sediment Load (SSL) and Return Period (T). The investigator has used Plotting Position Formulae for the development of models. The resulting model Correlating Suspended Sediment Load (SSL) and Return Period (T) for the river Tista at Domohoni, Jalpaiguri and Jaldhaka at NH-31 (Near Dhupguri) of Brahmputra Basin, are found to be satisfactory in terms of relatively small percentage deuation and small standard deviation of percentage deviation of the values of Suspended Sediment Load (SSL) as obtained from mathematical models and those values obtained from the Data Bank. Moreover, values of Correlation Coefficient (r) are found to be very satisfactory as the values of Correlation Coefficient in all cases except for river Jaldhaka (for Weibull Formula only) under the present study are equal to or greater than 0.77; it indicates that good correlation exists between the two parameters under the study. Hence, the researcher has taken attempts to develop different models.

4 illus, 4 tables, 12 ref

007346   Monokaran K;Vidya G;Sivaramakrishnan A E (Aerodynamics Design Div, ADTG, AERO Entity, VSSC, ISRO, Thiruvnanthapuram-695 022) : Pressure distribution over a nose cap for flush air data sysem calibration using CFD technique at supersonic mach numbers. J Instn Engrs-Pt AS 2009, 90(Nov), 19-23.

Accurate measurement of airdata is critical for the flight control and guidance of atmospheric flight vehicles. The airdata state can be described by Mach number (M), angle of attack (a), side slip angle (β), free stream static pressure and true air speed. For winged Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV), usage of intrusive conventional airdata measurement systems are highly undesirable, due to high aerodynamic heating during re-entry. So, Flush Air-Data Sensing (FADS) system which relies on a mathematical model relating the forebody surface pressures and the airdata state is envisaged. In the present work, CFD simulations have been carried out on the forebody of a typical RLV. The coefficient of pressure on nose cap has been computed at nine ports at supersonic Mach numbers for FADS calibration. Aerodynamic models for coefficient of pressure as functions of Mach number and angle of attack have been obtained. Shock and flow separation regions on the forebody have been identified.

5 illus, 5 tables, 5 ref

007345   Monjezi M;Dehghani M H;Farrokhi A;Bahrami A (NO, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran) : Determination of effective parameters on fragmentation using artificial neural networks. J Mines Metals Fuels 2009, 57(9), 287-90.

In this research work, using artificial neural networks technique a model was developed to determine the most effective parameters on blasting fragmentation in Chadormalu iron mine of Iran. Comparing different types of networks, a four-layer generalized regression neural network (GRNN) with an architecture 7-18-2-1 was found to be optimum. Also sensitivity analysis revealed that blastability index, delay time and blast hole diameter are the most effective parameters and burden to spacing ratio, stemming, water content and powder factor are the least effective parameters on the rock fragmentation in blasting operation.

3 illus, 4 table, 23 ref

007344   Mondal D;Quamruzzaman C;Samsuddinahmed S; Josimuddin Shah M;Forhad Hawlader M (Geology and Mining Dep, Univ of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Email: cqzam@yahoo.com) : Subsidence prediction based on longwall mining in Khalaspir coalfield, Rangpur, Bangladesh. J Mines Metals Fuels 2009, 57(9), 291-97.

Surface subsidence is a major problem in the underground mine. The mine subsidence can be defined as movement of the ground surfaces as a result of readjustments of the overburden due to collapse or failure of underground mine workings. The present paper represents the construction of subsidence profile for the prediction of ultimate subsidence due to the mined out coal seam-I on the basis of longwall multi-slice mining in the Khalaspir coalmine. In this research work the subsidence is calculated by an empirical graphical method given in the Subsidence Engineer's Handbook (NCB, 1975). In the basic design of the mine total 4 slices will be mined. The sequence of slicing mining is descending in order. By applying NCB (England, 1975) methods, it is estimated that about 1.4 m vertical ground subsidence may occur for mining of 1st slice, which is about 35% of the total extracted height. Successively after the mining of 2nd slice, 3rd slice and finally 4th slice the calculated vertical subsidence about 2.76 m, 3.75 m and 4.73 m respectively. That is after mining of all slices ofseam-I, the vertical subsidence may occur about 4.73 m, which is 28% of the total extracted height. So it should have to be considered by the mine authority of the Khalaspir coal mine at the time of selection of mining method and also mine design.

13 illus, 3 table, 6 ref

007343   Mittal M K;Varun (Mechanical Engineering Dep, Ideal Institute of Technology, Ghaziabad-201 003) : Thermohydraulic performance of solar air heater provided with artifical roughness on the absorber plate. J Instn Engrs-Pt MC 2009, 90(18), 43-8.

The experimental investigation of the thermohydraulic performance of a solar air heater having roughness elements on the absorber plate and the comparison of its performance with that of a conventional smooth one have been presented in this work. The experiments have covered the Reynolds number ranges in between 1500-13000, relative roughness pitch (p/e) between angled discrete and transverse full ribs of 8, 6 and 3, for a fixed value of relative roughness height (e/Dη) of 0.03 and aspect ratio (W/H) of 10. It has been observed that the thermohydraulic performance of rib roughened solar air heater is always more than that of smooth one in the range of Reynolds-number investigated.

5 illus, 1 table, 16 ref

007342   Mishra A;Chatterjee C (Agricultural & Food Engineering Dep, IIT, Kharagpur) : Temporal changes in rainfall occurence and distribution in West Midnapore district of West Bengal. J Indian Wat Resour Soc 2009, 29(1), 38-48.

Monsoon rains are the backbone of Indian economy as rural livelihood solely dependents on good monsoon rains. Well distributed monsoon rains over the season support the production and prosperity of rural society. In recent decades the changes in rainfall occurrence and distribution has affected society in terms of frequent floods, droughts and/or insufficient rains to cultivate the crops even in monsoon season. Therefore we studied the changes in rainfall pattern as a possible result of changed climate over the West Midnapore district of West Bengal. The characteristics of rainfall frequency and intensity over the region, covered under 4 grids of 1° x 1° have been statistically analyzed for mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variance and anomaly. The monthly, seasonal and annual grided data for 54 years (1951 to 2004) has been used to establish the rainfall frequency and intensity pattern as a result of proclaimed changing climate. The results indicate that annual frequency as well as the intensity of rainfall has increased in last 50 years. However, month wise analysis showed that both the rainfall intensity and frequency has an increasing trend for the months of June, July and August but September month showed spatial changes and decreasing trend. There is also an increase in high rainfall events, which might be a result of climate change, and resulting frequent flood conditions with less availability of water for crops. Results are enumerating to explore the adoptability of climate change in terms of changed rainfall pattern.

5 illus, 2 tables, 10 ref

007341   Meskaoui N;Kabalan K Y;Gaiti D (NO, Lebanese Univ, Hadath, Beirut, Lebanon, Email: nadames@ul.edu.lb) : Reliability of agents integration in telecommunication networks. Int J appl Res Inf Technol Comput 2010, 1(2), 175-85.

Multi-agent Systems (MAS), which are composed of multiple intelligent agents have been used for a long time to solve problems related to online trading, disaster response, modeling social structures, and others. Recently, MAS have found its way into networking and telecommunication networks. This paper presents a number of tests that show the improvements gained in the performance of a Diffserv network after integrating a multi-agent system. The suggested DiffServ technique adopts the standard lowest metric routing path along with an agent's behavior able to help the different routers in finding and using other possible routes than the default one, even if the cost of these new paths is higher. The adopted network, based on an extension to the J-Sim simulation environment, is used to support integration of agents and multi-agent systems within a telecommunication network. Simulation shows that agents, especially cooperative agents, are able to increase the performance of a telecommunication network.

15 illus, 7 ref

007340   Mazumder P (Geography Dep, Calcutta Univ, Kolkata) : "Flyovers"-The life in a traffic congested metro a case study on Kolkata. Indian J Landsc Syst ecol Stud 2009, 32(2), 397-402.

The rapid growth of urbanization is a unique feature of Kolkata amongst all the leading cities of the world. The busiest Metropolis is well recognized as an important commercial and educational hub of Eastern India and acts as a vital commuter's zone from adjoining areas. With the alarming increase of population supported by industrialization, the pressure of transportation has also accelerated in last few decades. The demand for using the roadways has increased leading to the quantum leap of vehicular traffic. In spite of this, the fact remains that the city has inadequate road space to support such enormous vehicular traffic. To bring a solution to this rising problem, the city planners have idealized and put to effect the concept of 'fly- over'. Since the end of 20th century the construction of fly- overs are in progress in Kolkata.

4 tabls, 20 ref

007339   Manu;Shirlal K G;Rao S;Bharadwaj P (Applied Mechanics and Hydraulics Dep, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, Srinivasnagar-575 025) : Hydraulic performance of tandem breakwater with concrete cubes as armour units. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2009, 90(Nov), 7-12.

Tandem breakwater system consists of a conventional breakwater protected by a seaward submerged reef. The paper discusses physical model study on the hydraulic performance of an isolated as well as tandem breakwater system subjected to varying wave climate and water depths, while keeping a constant crest width of submerged reef. The breakwater in both the cases are armoured with concrete cubes and the submerged reef is constructed with natural stones. It is found that the isolated breakwater is damaged for all waves except those of period 2.5 s. While a submerged reef of crest width (B) 0.40m placed at a seaward spacing(X) of 2.5m transmits only 52% to 81% of the incident wave height and thereby reduces the wave force on the main structure which inturn protects the inner main breakwater completely without causing any damage.

9 illus, 1 tables, 18 ref

007338   Manocha S M;Patel K;Manocha L M (Materials Science Dep, Sardar Patel Univ, Vallabh Vidyanagar-388 120, Email: sm_manocha@rediffmail.com) : Development of carbon foam from phenolic resin via template route. Indian J Engng Mater Sci 2010, 17(5), 338-42.

Carbon foams fall in the class of porous, cellular high temperature non-metallic materials with interconnected porosity. In present work, carbon foams have been prepared using commercially available polymeric foams as templates and thermosetting phenolic resin as carbon source. The prepared preform has been carbonized at different temperatures up to 1400°C in inert atmosphere to form carbon foam with interconnected porosity. The removal of volatiles at different temperatures has been studied using FTIR. The effect of heat treatment temperature on density and volume shrinkage has been studied. Thermal stability of carbon foam has been examined by TGA. The porosity of carbon foam has been measured using water porosity and kerosene porosity. Surface morphological studies have been carried out using SEM, which showed that the pores are uniformly distributed and highly interconnected throughout the structure. Compressive strength of the foam has been found to increase with heat treatment temperature.

8 illus, 1 table, 12 ref

007337   Malhotra G;Sudhakar S;Bharadwaj K M; Parameswaran K (Control Systems Group, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore-560 058) : Design and realization of telecommand interface package (TIP) for on-board BMU-TC testing. J Spacecraft Technol 2010, 20(2), 9-21.

The various functions such as sensor electronics, TC and TM/HK, attitude and orbit control, thermal management etc., that have been traditionally allotted to different sub-systems are realized as a single spacecraft Bus Management Unit (BMU). The command processing logic in BMU realizes ON/OFF commands, data commands and internal software generated commands. In order to carry out the comprehensive testing of external command function, it is necessary to have testing unit. The command testing functions of BMU Test-System comprising testing of individual lines is a dedicated unit called TeleCommand Interface Package (TIP). This paper is about hardware design, realization and development of software for integrated automatic testing of TIP with BMU Test-System.

19 illus, 2 tables, 5 ref

007336   Madhavi T C;Sekar M;Paramasivam V (Civil Engineering Dep, Easwari Engineering College, Ramapuram, Chennai-600 089) : Efficient composite layered finite element modelling for prestressed concrete box girders. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2009, 90(May), 14-21.

Presents an efficient method for simulation of the complex behaviour of the prestressed concrete box girders using composite layered approach. To improve the accuracy of results the non-linear behaviour of materials is considered. The procedure for inducing prestress in the member is explained. An experimental investigation is conducted and a thorough review of results of tests conducted on three scaled down model box girders is undertaken in order to model the non-linear behaviour of prestressed concrete box girders through elastic, cracking, inelastic and ultimate load ranges and the experimental results are also used to validate the model developed. The proposed approach has a higfrpotential for use because of simple input requirement and improved accuracy. The study reveals the potential of numerical simulation developed for box girders using layered approach.

12 illus, 1 table, 9 ref

007335   Lu I F;Guo S J (Civil Engineering Dep, Taiwan Univ, Taipei, 3F,no 92, Sec 4, Roosevelt Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 100, Taiwan (ROC)) : Owner controlled insurance program for kaohsiung mass rapid transit system project in Taiwan. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2009, 90(Aug), 45-51.

In view of the growing size of construction works both in terms of the investment values, magnitude and complexity of work methods, the gravity of risks emanating from construction projects has increased substantially. Purchasing relevant insurances is currently the prevailing mechanism for transferring risk in the construction industry. However, the customary construction contract insurance requirements by which different tiers of contractors, their subcontractors and project designer insure their respective liabilities and exposures have inherent disadvantages for the project owner. It is simply because each insuring party is only concerned about its own premium outlay and the level of claim deductibles rather than the overall interests, quality of insurance protection and project efficiency. The consequences of such a traditional contractual insurance approach will involve problems, such as, mid-term cancellation, incomplete policy, inadequate coverage on the sum insured and policy period, unsound decision to increase the deductibles for the sake of premium reduction, as well as insurmountable claims disputes between insurers regarding whose policy should pay for what. In order to rectify the aforementioned problems, the concept of the Owner Controlled Insurance Program (OCIP) has emerged as an effective solution. However, few researches focus on the current issues of a mega-project with the OCIP concept. This research reviews relevant literature and investigates the impact and potential problems in a mega-project implementing the OCIP. The proposed case study is a mega-project of the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit (KMRT) system in Taiwan. The project cost is more than NT$181 billion and is constructed in a Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) model using the OCIP.

s, 2 tables, 9 ref

007334   Lee J;Pyo D;Lee Y;Yang X;Ryu S (Chemical Engineering Dep, Chungnam National Univ, Daejeon-305 764, Korea, Email: skryu@cnu.ac.kr) : Pt-Ru bimetallic nanoparticles loading on activated carbon fibers without using reducing agents. Indian J Engng Mater Sci 2010, 17(5), 327-30.

Platinum-ruthenium(Pt-Ru) bimetallic catalyst system is being used as catalyst materials of DMFCs anode due to its high tolerance for carbon monoxide poisoning. Recently, activated carbon fiber (ACF) is reported as a useful catalyst support because it has several advantages such as high dispersion of impregnated metals and low mass transfer resistance due to its uniformly developed micropores. Therefore, Pt-Ru nanoparticles loading on ACF without using reducing agents is carried out to develop an effective bimetallic catalyst. PtQ₆^-2 and Ru³⁺ are impregnated on ACF, and heated up to 800°C in N₂. TG, XRD, TEM and EDS analyses are carried out to confirm Pt/Ru particles loading and distribution on ACF. The amount of PtQ₆^-2 impregnation is average 75% larger than that of Ru³⁺ at pH upto 3.5 and increases after pH 3.5 by crossing that of PtC l₆^-2, while Ru³⁺ impregnation is much affected by pH. There are uniformly distributed Pt and Ru nanoparticles, which means simple impregnation and heating the PtCl₆^2- and Ru³⁺ complexes up to 400°C is enough to obtain pure Pt-Ru nanoparticles on ACF without using reducing agents.

8 illus, 1 table, 16 ref

007333   Lakshmi C V;Jain R;Patvardhan C (Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Dayalbagh, Agra-282 005) : Content based image retrieval using quantized gradient descriptors. J Instn Engrs-Pt CP 2009, 90(May), 3-8.

Content Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) has gained prominence for handling retrievals of relevant images from large image databases. The concept owes its utility to the fact that text based annotation of images is subjective and error prone. A significant amount of research effort has been expended in recent times for the development of CBIR systems. The main roadblocks stem from the wide gap between human perception and low level features. This paper describes an effort to develop a CBIR system using quantized gradient features. Principal component analysis (PCA) is employed with the advantage to improve the retrieval performance. Further, relevance feedback is used to overcome the gap between human perception and low level features thereby improving the effectiveness of the system. The results show considerable improvement when the combination of quantized gradient descriptor (QGD) and PCA is used with relevance feedback.

4 illus, 4 tables, 12 ref

007332   Kumaresan M;Devaradjane G (Automobile Engineering Dep, SACS M A V M M Engineering College, Kidaripatty, Madurai-625 301, Email: phdkumar@yahoo.com) : Experimental investigation of performance and emission characteristics of oxygenated compounds in a DI diesel engine using split injection method. Indian J Engng Mater Sci 2010, 17(4), 251-5.

One of the important roles in diesel engine research is the development of a means to reduce the emission of oxides of nitrogen (NOx). An experimental study has been carried out to investigate the performance and emission characteristics of a direct injection (DI) single cylinder diesel engine using split injection method involving double lobed cam. The present results show that NOx can be reduced considerably while causing a minor decrease in engine efficiency. Hence to offset the reduction of Brake thermal efficiency blends of diesel and oxygenated compounds have also been tried and analyzed.

10 illus, 2 tables, 5 ref

007331   Kumar P;Patel V (Civil Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee-247 667) : Effect of various parameters on performance of PMGSY roads. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2009, 90(Aug), 3-8.

Pavement deterioration models, which simulate the deterioration process of pavement conditions and provide forecasting of pavement condition over time, play a pivotal role in pavement management systems. To develop pavement deterioration model, deflection and roughness measurements were carried out of 18 sections of PMGSY roads of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh States. Out of these 18 sections, data was collected on 17 sections last year also. Regression analysis and artificial neural network (ANN) were used to develop the models. Best model was chosen based on the coefficient of multiple determination R² and residual sum of squares (SSE) as well considering logical relationship between input parameters and output parameter. Polynomial relationship fit very well between input parameters, such as, pavement age, CBR of subgrade, traffic, pavement thickness and pavement condition indicators such as deflection, roughness. Parted t-test is carried out for the validation purpose of chosen best models. Maintenance priority index was also developed using three parameters named as deflection, roughness and traffic to decide the priority of road for maintenance work.

4 illus, 7 tables, 7 ref

007330   Kumar P;Kulkarni S Y;Parida M (Centre for Transportation Systems, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee-247 667) : Multi-modal transportation system in urban India: a way forward towards seamless transport. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2009, 90(Nov), 13-8.

The road capacity Has saturated and is not able to cope with the increasing transportation demand in urban India. The single mode of transport in day to day use is neither viable nor economic and efficient. It is equally important to integrate underutilized railway infrastructure, non-motorized vehicles, etc with other modes of mass transport. The Delhi Integrated Multi-modal Transit System (DIMMTS) has identified the synchronized operation of the Delhi Metro, bus system, ring rail, high capacity bus, etc. Integration of walk and bicycle may also be taken with public transport modes to assess enhanced share of non-motorized transport and reduce use of personalized vehicles. Multi-modal transportation system does not only require integration of various modes but creation of appropriate interchange facilities, bus service restructuring, integrated planning, intelligent transport systems, etc to create world class infrastructure to move a step forward towards seamless transport.

2 illus, 5 tables, 11 ref

007329   Krishnan A;Chndrasekar C (NO, K S R College of Technology, Tiruchengode-637 209) : Network selection for seamless mobility in WLAN and cellular networks. J Instn Engrs-Pt CP 2009, 90(May), 27-31.

Fourth generation(4G) mobile systems focus on seamlessly integrating the existing wireless technologies wireless LAN (WLAN) and cellular network. Currently, there is no protocol to switch between heterogeneous networks. This work proposes a novel seamless and mobility management system, which can maintain the connections based on the end-to-end principle by incorporating an intelligent network status detection mechanism. The proposed system consists of two components, seamless mobility gateway (seamoby) and connection manager (CM). The seamoby interconnects the two different interface WLAN and cellular network. The CM, by using novel media access control-layer and physical-layer sensing techniques, can obtain accurate network condition, by reducing the unnecessary handoff and ping-pong effect. The enterprise seamless mobility solution means only one phone to carry, inside or outside the office for mobile enterprise employees.

6 illus, 2 tables, 12 ref

007328   Kote A S;Jothiprakash V (Civil Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai-400 076) : Stochastic and artificial neural network models for reservoir inflow prediction. J Instn Engrs-Pt CI 2009, 90(Nov), 25-33.

The performance of artificial neural network (ANN) model was evaluated by applying it to the observed time series of Pawana reservoir in Upper Bhima River Basin, Maharashtra. The ANN model results were compared with conventional univariate auto regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models. Suitability of time lagged recurrent networks (TLRN) with time delay, gamma and laguarre memory structures was investigated for predicting seasonal (June to October) reservoir inflow with a monthly time step. The performance of back propagation through time (BPTT) algorithm trained networks for various inputs was compared with genetic algorithm (GA) trained networks. Due to large variation in the observed time series, transformation of the observed series to normal distribution was also tried and found that the network predicted better. The validation of the models was performed using comparison of the principal statistics, goodness-of-fit measures, time series and scatter plots. Encouraging results indicated that the logarithmic transformed, BPTT trained TLRN resulted in better and reliable forecasts of high and low inflows (extreme) compared to GA trained neural networks as well as ARIMA models.

11 illus, 7 tables, 28 ref

007327   Kilickap E (Mechanical Engineering Dep, Dicle Univ, 21280 Diyarbakir, Turkey, Email: ekilickap@dicle.edu) : Determination of optimum parameters on delamination in driling of GFRP composites by Taguchi method. Indian J Engng Mater Sci 2010, 17(4), 265-74.

Drilling is one of the important machining processes in hole making operations. Delamination is a vital problem during any drilling operation. It causes structural integrity reduction and poor assembly tolerance as well as potential for long-term performance deterioration. As a result, drilling of any material requires dimensional stability and interface quality. In this study, glass fibre reinforced plastic composite is selected as experimental material for investigation of cutting parameters (cutting speed, feed rate and tool geometry) affecting delamination in drilling operation. Moreover, the Taguchi method is used to determine optimal cutting parameters for damage-free drilling material. A plan of experiments, based on L'16 Taguchi design method, is performed drilling with cutting parameters in a GFRP composite. The orthogonal array, signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and analysis of variance (ANOVA) are employed to investigate the optimal drilling parameters of GFRP composites using four different drills. The experimental results demonstrate that the feed rate is the major parameter among the controllable factors that influence the delamination. Additionally, the optimal combinations of the cutting parameters are determined.

7 illus, 18 tables, 25 ref