008631   Bhargava R R;Satish Kumar (Mathematics Dep, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee-247 667) : Generalised strip yield crack arrest model for a piezoelectric strip with transverse crack. Asian J expl Sci 2008, 22(1), 67-78.

A study is carried for arrest of opening of a crack and fatigue crack growth rate for a piezoelectric ceramic strip weakened by a transverse, finite, hairline straight crack. A strip yield model is considered under anti-plane shear stress and in-plane electric loading conditions. The developed slide zone rims are subjected to quadratically varying yield point cohesive anti-plane shear stress to arrest the crack from further opening. Fourier integral transform method is employed, which reduces problem to the solution of Fredholm integral equation of second kind. This integral equation in turn is solved numerically. Expressions are derived for the length of slide zone, crack sliding displacement and crack growth rate. A qualitative study is presented for the parameters affecting the opening of the crack with respect to the strip width, material constants etc. in the form of the graphs. The results obtained are analyzed and conclusions are drawn.

ref

007668   Venkata Mohan S;Veer Raghavulu S;Srikanth S; Sarma P N (Bioengineering and Envir Engng Centre, IICT, Hyderabad-500 007, Email: sarma 1950@yahoo.com) : Bioelectricity production by mediatorless microbial fuel cell under acidophilic condition using wastewater as substrate: influence of substrate loading rate. Curr Sci 2007, 92(12), 1720-6.

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) employing low-cost materials (non-coated plain graphite electrodes) without any toxic mediators (aerated cathode and mediatorless anode) was evaluated under acidophilic (anode pH of 5.5) conditions using anaerobic mixed consortia to enumerate the influence' of substrate loading rate on bioelectricity generation from anaerobic wastewater treatment at ambient temperature (28± 2°C). Experimental data showed the feasibility of power generation from waste-water treatment. However, the overall voltage generation, power yield and substrate degradation was found to depend on the substrate/organic loading rate (OLR). Maximum potential difference of 423 mV (1.66 mA) was recorded at stable operating conditions. Apart from power generation, the fuel cell also demonstrated substrate removal (62.5%). Applied OLR documented marked influence on both power yield and substrate degradation rate. Maximum power yield (274 mW/g COD_R; 50 Ω), was observed at operation OLR of 0.574 kg COD/m³-day. Voltage and current started decreasing due to substrate exhaustion (COD reduction) in the anode chamber. It is evident from the experimental data that the anodic chamber of MFC mimicked anaerobic suspended growth reactor normally used for wastewater treatment with respect to COD removal. The study documented the advantage of both wastewater treatment and electricity production in a single system.

5 illus, 2 tables, 34 ref

007667   Trivedi A;Mehra D K (Information and Communication Technol Dep, ABV Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Gwalior-474 010, Email: adityatrivedi@indiatimes.com) : Convolutionally coded adaptive space-time MMSE receiver for W-CDMA systems in multipath channels. IETE J Res 2007, 53(2), 137-51.

Author consider the use of convolutionally coded adaptive space-time, minimum mean-square error (MMSE) receiver for wide band code division multiple access (W-CDMA) systems in multipath channels. In the adaptive space-time MMSE receiver, antenna array processing is combined with MMSE multiuser detection (MUD). Simulations are carried out to evaluate the performance in the directional multi path quasi-static Rayleigh fading channels. Simulation results show that substantial performance improvement may be obtained by using convolutional codes jointly with the adaptive space-time MMSE receiver. Only requirement to implement the receiver is a training sequence and a priori knowledge of the users' timing for only the strongest path.

5 illus, 32 ref

007666   Tian B R;Cheng Y F (Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Dep, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1 N4. Canada, Email: fcheng@ucalgary.ca) : Erosion-corrosion of hydrotransport pipes in oil sand slurries. Bull Electrochem 2006, 22(7), 329-35.

The hydrotransport pipes provide a flexible and more economic manner to transport oil sand slurry from excavation to the extraction plants. However, erosion-corrosion induced pipe failure constitutes a major threat to the integrity of the slurry hydrotransport system. This work reviews the erosion-corrosion phenomena encountered in oil sand slurry hydro transport pipes. The major affecting factors and occurrence mechanism for the pipe erosion-corrosion are summarized. Furthermore, the mapping erosion-corrosion in a wide range of material-environment combinations is introduced, and the electrochemical research approaches and techniques are analyzed. Finally, the potential protective methodology for oil sand slurry erosion-corrosion are discussed.

3 illus, 1 table, 34 ref

007665   Thamizh Arasan V;Suhas B K (Transportation Engng Div, Civil Engng Dep, Indian Inst Technol, Madras-600 036, Email: arasan@iitm.ac.in) : Methodology for prolonging the functional efficiency of high-volume signalized intersections. Indian Highw 2006, 34(9), 19-28.

7 illus, 2 tables, 8 ref

007664   Thamizh Arasan V;Boltze I M;Subramanyam S (Transportation Engng Div, Civil Engng Dep, IIT, Madras-600 036, Email: arasan@iitm.ac.in) : Determination of intergreen intervals in signal-time settings for heterogeneous traffic. Indian Highw 2006, 34(8), 47-58.

In signal time settings, the time from the end of green light of the phase loosing right-of-way to the start of green light of the phase gaining right of way is termed as intergreen interval. Detennination of intergreen interval is a crucial step in signal time design as it focuses directly on traffic safety. The main aim of the study reported here is to review the methodologies available for estimation of the intergreen interval in signal time settings, and apply them for estimation of intergreen interval for a signalized intersection carrying heterogeneous traffic to evaluate their suitability for applications to such traffic conditions. The three alternative methodologies considered are- (i) the probabilistic method (ii) the ITE method and (iii) the German method. The application of the three methods resulted in varying intergreen intervals for any given set of signal phases. Hence, it is suggested that the range of values of intergreen interval for each change of phase may first be fixed by taking the maximum and minimum of the values arrived at using the three methods. Then the exact duration of intergreen interval, with this range may be arrived at by field trials to ensure both capacity and safety.

5 illus, 3 tables

007663   Sonar A D;Sarode P S;Warang S M (Instrumentation & Control Dep, N.D.M.V.P. S's Coll of Engng, Nasik) : PC based flow control using fuzzy logic. Process Pl Engng 2006, 24(2), 53-5.

A closed loop control system incorporating fuzzy logic has been developed for a class of flow control problems. A unique fuzzy logic controller (FLC) structure with an efficient realization and a small rule base that can be easily implemented in existing controllers was proposed. It was demonstrated in both software and hardware test in an setting that the fuzzy logic control is mucfh more capable than the current flow controllers. This system dealing with unknown and variable delays, operating at very different flow setpoints. It is achieved by implementing, in FLC, a classical control strategy the proposed FLC was applied to different flow processes ad significant improvements in the system perform once is observed, frthermore, the stability of the FLC is investigated and a safeguard is established.

6 illus, 5 ref

007662   Siva R (School of Biotechnology, Chemical and Biomedicinal Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technololgy, Vellore-632 014, Email: rsiva77in@rediffmail.com) : Status of natural dyes and dye-yielding plants in India. Curr Sci 2007, 92(7), 916-25.

Indians have been considered as forerunners in the art of natural dyeing. Natural dyes find use in the colouring of textiles, drugs, cosmetics, etc. Owing to their nontoxic effects, they are also used for colouring various food products. In India, there are more than 450 plants that can yield dyes. In addition to their dye-yielding characteristics, some of these plants also possess medicinal value. Though there is a large plant resource base, little has been exploited so far. Due to lack of availability of precise technical knowledge on the extracting and dyeing technique, it has not commercially succeeded like the synthetic dyes. Although indigenous knowledge system has been practised over the years in the past, the use of natural dyes has diminished over generations due to lack of documentation. Also there is not much information available on databases of either dye-yielding plants or their products. Reviews the availability of natural dyes, their extraction, applications, mordant types, advantages and disadvantages.

3 tables, 23 ref

007661   Sinha B L;Sahu R K;Sinha J (Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur-492 006) : Estimation of hydrologic response to chaukhutia watershed by distribution hydrograph. J agric Issues 2006, 11(2), 53-60.

Distribution hydrograph was developed for Chaukhutia watershed (452.25 km²) of Ramganga River to estimate the peak runoff rate and temporal distribution of direct runoff on storm basis. The distribution hydrograph is considered to be more stable than unit hydrograph for rainfall runoff response of a watershed. The distribution hydrograph was calibrated for twenty storm events and verified for eight storm events. The peak runoff rates as well as direct runoff hydrographs computed by distribution hydrograph were in close agreement with the observed direct runoff hydrographs. The relationships of computed and observed peak runoff rates with effective rainfall were also established. The average value of the absolute relative error in estimated peak was found to be 3.68 and 4.11 per cent for calibration and verification events, respectively. 

4 illus, 2 tables, 8 ref

007660   Singh S P;Subba Rao K (ECE Dep, Coll of Engng, Osmania Univ, Hyderabad, Email: singh_spgahlot@rediffmail.com) : Polyphase radar signal design using modified simulated annealing algorithm. IETE J Res 2007, 53(2), 173-82.

Modified Simulated Annealing Algorithm (MSAA) is proposed as a statistical technique for obtaining approximate solutions to combinatorial optimization problems. The proposed algorithm is a combination of Simulated annealing and Hamming scan algorithm. It is used to design polyphase sequence sets which have good autocorrelation and cross correlation properties. Some of the synthesized results are presented, and the properties of the sequence sets are shown to be better than other sequence sets known in the literature. The synthesized polyphase sequence sets are promising for practical application to orthogonal netted radar systems/ multiple radar systems. The convergence rate of the algorithm is also shown to be good.

4 illus, 4 tables, 16 ref

007659   Singh R K (Military Engng Serivces, , Dehradun-248 003) : Runway resurfacing at air force station, Sirsa (a case study, year 1998-99). Indian Highw 2006, 34(9), 29-37.

Some of the construction agencies of Govt. of India such as MES, CPWD etc. are not providing services in a particular specialized field of construction. The works such as `Runway Construction' are a few specialized works are to be executed by these departments. Whenever a new engineer is asked to get such type of projects executed ground he finds himself very uncomfortable and the end result may not be as satisfactory as desired. The main purpose of writing this paper is to provide assistance to anengineer who is new to this field. In this small project of runway resurfacing at air force station Sirsa, all the latest machinery has been used. The problems faced and lessons learnt faced has been provided in this paper with projer explanation. Non-woven of cracks. Results of geotextile on cracks for width of 30 cm has been aborated and covered in conclusion. Hot mix plan calibration has also been discussed in the paper which is very important in controlling the various ingredients of the mix. Project management with reference to Runway in this paper. In brief, the paper will be great help for an engineer who is Dew to the field of runways or highways.

007658   Sikdar P K (NO, M/s ICT Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi) : Proposed model of community participation in rural road maintenance. Indian Highw 2006, 34(6), 39-43.

Rural roads constructed under PMGSY and other programmes would generate new passenger and goods traffic to and from rural areas. Thus, these roads will require routine and periodic maintenance to provide all-weather connectivity with good serviceability. Since the Village Panchayats are the owners of these roads, their (routine maintenance should be delivered by the grass-root level organization. While the resources can be better mobilized at the District level, the low technology routine maintenance can be delivered by Maintenance Gang of the village. The proposed model is expected to provide a sense of ownership with responsibility in a competitive framework among the Gangs for yearly rewards by the administrative system.

2 tables

007657   Shukla A K;Jain S S;Parida M;Srivastava J B; Sharma S P (Civil Engng Dep, Inst of Engng & Technol, Lucknow-226 021, Email: akshuklaiet@yahoo.com) : Performance of cortn model for prediction of traffic noise in metropolitan cities: a case study of Lucknow. Indian Highw 2006, 34(8), 59-65.

Study for monitoring of noise pollution in the Lucknow Metropolitan city was carried out. Noise generated due to traffic was measured using noise level meter. Analysis of the observed data was made using Calculation of Traffic Noise (CORTN) model developed in U.K. On the basis of observed Noise data, distance from the receptor and percentage of heavy vehicles in traffic stream observed and predicted L₁₀ were worked out. The difference between the predicted and observed L₁₀ values was also calculated. It was found that CORTN model could be used for Indian conditions with slight modification as the percentage difference between observed and predicted values does not exceed by 12.5 per centm

1 illus, 4 tables, 13 ref

007656   Shukla A K;Jain S S;Parida M;Sharma S P (Civil Engineering Dep, Institute of Engineering and Technology, Sitapur Road, Lucknow) : Assessment of traffic impact on ambient air quality in Lucknow city. Indian Highw 2006, 34(5), 19-31.

9 illus, 6 tables, 25 ref

007655   Shaheem S;Syed Mohammed K M;Rajeevan (National Transportation Planning and Research Centre, , Sasthra Bhavan, Pattom, Trivandrum-4) : Evaluation of cost effectiveness of improvements of accident prone locations on NH-47 in Kerala state. Indian Highw 2006, 34(8), 35-46.

Increasing number of road accidents on National Highways calls for detailed evaluation of the contributing factors and development of preventive and remedial measures on a concerted manner. In this regard, a stretch of National Highway-47 in Thiruvananthapuram District was selected for the identification and evaluation of accident-prone locations. Detailed investigation of identified accident-prone locations were done to study the deficiencies and to suggest improvement measures. Based on the roadway and traffic characteristics, improvement measures were formulated for each of the accident-prone locations. Safety-effectiveness scores were worked out to determine the safety effectiveness of the proposed improvement measures. The improvement proposals at different accident-prone locations were evaluated for their cost-effectiveness. Prioritisation of improvement schemes was done considering the safety-effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the proposed improvement schemes.

4 illus, 8 tables, 9 ref

007654   Seth S;Sundaram S S (NO, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Email: sethmail@vsnl.com) : Road pricing: an assessment. Indian Highw 2006, 34(5), 61-7.

14 ref

007653   Seehra S S (NO, Intercontinental Consultants & Technocrats Pvt. Ltd., A-8, Green Park, New Delhi-16, Email: seehra62@yahoo.com) : Some aspects in design and construction of rigid pavement structures for paving projects. Indian Highw 2006, 34(10), 17-30.

Construction of rigid pavements has been revived in the country after a gap of nearly 40 years. Therefore, the recent innovations of fully mechanized concrete roads was not available earlier in this country. The process of modernization of India's road transportation system has begun fortuitously when the country's cement industry has augmented its production capacity substantially and is in a position to meet the requirements of concrete road construction. In this context, cement concrete road construction has a major role to play to keep pace with the state-of-the-art design and construction technological developments around the world. This paper brings out some aspects in design and construction of cement concrete pavement and its wider application in concrete road construction.

1 illus, 3 tables, 31 ref

007652   Saxena R K (Ministry of Shipping, , Road Transport & Highways, Bangalore) : Mobile bridge inspection unit it's features and utility. Indian Highw 2006, 34(6), 59-63.

1 ref

007651   Sarkar P P;Mazumdar M (Civil Engng, I.I.T., Kharagpur) : Use of over burnt brick aggregates in pavement construction. Indian Highw 2006, 34(9), 49-57.

Describes an investigation on the use of over burnt brick aggregate as sub base course in flexible pavement and also as an aggregate for cement treated base. The laboratory work consisted of investigation of properties of over burnt brick aggregate and that of soil mixed with different proportions of over burnt brick aggregate. Repeated tri-axial test and CBR test were carried out on the soil-brick mixture. Such weak aggregates, if used in bituminous mixes, are likely to get crushed under traffic. Therefore it was decided to study the feasibility of using over burnt brick in lean cement concrete mixes. Various mixes were selected with varying cement content. Compressive test, modulus of rupture, elastic modulus and fatigue test were also carried out. A few examples of pavement design with the help of the test results obtained are also presented.

11 illus, 13 tables, 17 ref

007650   Sanyal T;Choudhury P K (NO, , ) : Jute geotextile in controlling reflection cracks in roads. Indian Highw 2006, 34(10), 31-4.

Attempt is made to understand the process of crack formation and discuss the remedial concept with Jute Geotextile on the basis of interim findings of the field trial.

1 illus, 2 tables, 1 ref

007649   Rohira K L;Raja A (WRI, BHEL, , Tiruchirappalli-620 014) : Time twin welding of aluminum. WRI Jl 2006, 27(3), 5-12.

Single wire synergic MIG welding is compared with the twin wire synergic MIG welding with respect to fusion characteristics, mechanical properties and micro structural analysis on Aluminium alloy 5083.

20 illus, 4 tables

007648   Ray K P;Pandey H K;Chakrabarti A (RFMS Div, SAMEER, , IIT Campus, Hill Side, Powai, Mumbai-400 076, Email: kpray@rediffmail.com) : Design and implementation of multi-hormonics RF wave generator using lumped-element components. IETE J Res 2007, 53(2), 165-71.

Deals with lumped element approach for design and Implementation of line phase shifters, 3-dB hybrid coupler and power divider/combiner, which have been used for the generation of triangular and saw tooth wave forms at 25 MHz. The ABCD (transfer) matrix formulation is used for the analytical prediction of the performance of these components. Experiments have been carried out to validate the analytical results.

8 illus, 8 ref

007647   Ravi Shankar A U;Venkata Krishna H V;Suresha S N (Civil Engineering Dep, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, Srinivasnagar P.O., Mangalore-575 025) : Mix design aspects of steel fibre reinformced concrete (SFRC), pavement design. Indian Highw 2006, 34(5), 43-50.

In recent years, rigid pavements are gaining popularity for its versatility and durability. Concrete being brittle is weak in tension and is often subjected to shrinkage and creep. These factors have lead to the development of "Fibre Reinforced Concrete" (FRC) in which small fibres are spread randomly throughout the concrete mix. Inclusion of fibres in concrete improves the energy absorption capacity, impact resistance and gives the concrete a well defined post cracking behaviour. For the design of rigid pavements, the important factors governing are flexural strength and modulus of elasticity. As the fibre content increases the flexural strength improves and modulus of elasticity almost remains constant at higher fibre content. This criterion can be applied to pavements to decrease its thickness. In this context, an attempt was made to study experimentally, the variation in concrete properties as the fibre content increases and these results were applied for the evaluation of rigid pavement thickness. In the investigation, concrete grades having target strengths of 15 MPa, 20 MPa, 30 MPa and 40 MPa were studied. Steel fibres of circular cross section were used in different volume fractions. The characteristics like compressive strength, static modulus of elasticity and flexural strength were investigated. The test results were applied in the analysis for finding out the thickness of rigid pavement.

4 illus, 6 tables, 9 ref

007646   Ranjit Singh;Sharma J B;Bhanwala R S (NO, , Army HQ, New Delhi) : Safety at road construction zone. Indian Highw 2006, 34(6), 23-6.

Aim is to study the reasons and characteristics of construction zone related facilities and suggest ways and means to improve safety in construction zones.

007645   Raja A (WRI, BHEL, , Tiruchirappalli-620 014) : Influence of shielding gas composition on arc stability in flux cored arc welding with a basic type flux cored wire. WRI Jl 2006, 27(3), 18-23.

Arc stability has been evaluated from the statistica1 parameters generated by the analyzer. The arc stability of the basic type flux-cored wire is found to be better with 40%CO₂+60%Ar and 20%CO₂+ 80%Ar shielding gas mixtures as compared to the other CO₂ rich gas mixtures.

10 illus, 2 tables, 7 ref

007644   Parmar G;Prasad R;Mukherjee S (Electrical Engng Dep, Indian Inst of Technol, Roorkee-247 667, Email: rpdeefee@iitr.ernet.in) : Mixed method for large-scale systems modelling using eigen spectrum analysis and cauer second form. IETE J Res 2007, 53(2), 93-102.

Authors present a mixed method for the reduction of large-scale systems which combines the Eigen spectrum analysis with the Cauer second form. The denominator of the reduced order model/low order system is found by Eigen spectrum analysis while the numerator dynamics is determined by Cauer second form. This method guarantees stability of the reduced model if the original high order system is stable. The method is illustrated by numerical examples.

4 illus, 3 tables, 26 ref

007643   Padmanaban K;Dhandapani K P;Narashimhan K (WRI, BHEL, , Tiruchirappalli-620 014) : Repair welding of weld hardfaced component. WRI Jl 2006, 27(3), 13-17.

Describes the repair procedure developed and applied for reclamation of pulveriser roll.

5 illus

007642   Nagalakshmi R;Rathinam A (WRI, BHEL, , Tiruchirappalli-620 014) : Mechanical properties and fracture characteristics of modified 9 Cr- 1 Mm steel weldments. WRI Jl 2006, 27(3), 24-35.

Study concerned with hot tensile properties of SA-welded P91material. The welding was carried out on a 406 mm diameter, 53 mm thick wall pipe by using root pass of TIG welding and subsequent passes of SMA Wand SAW. This study examines the effect of tensile test temperatures ranging from 400 to 700°C on the tensile properties of P91 SA-weldment. The hot tensile properties of SA welded P91 compared with SMA welded P91 steel. The fracture surfaces of the hot tensile & impact specimens were examined under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and fractographic studies were made. An attempt has also been made to evaluate the mechanical strength of the weldment and microstructural characteristics of the different regions in the weldment to correlate fractography features with tensile and impact strength.

22 illus, 15 tables, 15 ref

007641   Mythreyi S;Vaidehi V (Madras Inst of Technol, Anna Univ, , Chennai-600 044, Email: mythreyis@yahoo.com) : Gabor transform based image steganography. IETE J Res 2007, 53(2), 103-12.

Scheme for steganography namely Gabor Transfrom based Image Steganography (GTIS) is proposed. In this scheme, image steganography is achieved using Gabor compression. In normal methods of steganography, the secret message is distributed in all pixels whereas in this scheme the distribution of secret message Is more in high complex areas and less in low complex areas. Moreover for embedding the secret message over the image, pixel positions are obtained by Pseudo Random Number Generator. The password that is used by the generator function is known only to the sender and the receiver. Some of the inadequacies that have been identified in the literatures surveyed like known location storage, absolute compression etc have been overcome by GTIS. The experimental results prove the above claim. The quality and the histogram of the stegano image are very close to that of the original one. In addition, this scheme can survive efficient lossless compression for hiding data.

15 illus, 1 table, 26 ref

007640   Muthamilselvan M;Rangasamy K;Sampathrajan A (Agricultural Engineering Div, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam (Barapani), Meghalaya-793 103) : Feasibility and economic viability of knapsack cotton picker in India. Indian J agric Res 2007, 41(2), 86-91.

Knapsack cotton picker was developed and the cost economics was arrived as per the 'RNAM lest code and procedure for harvesters' to determine the feasibility and economical viability of the machine. The cost of machine was worked out Rs. 5000 and the cost of picking was Rs. 4.55 per kg of cotton. The saving in cost, time and energy compared to manual method of cotton picking was 9.00, 75.00 and 68.23 per cent respectively. The break even point was 394.46 kg/annum and the pay back period was 0.81 year.

1 illus, 4 tables, 7 ref

007639   Murugan R;Udayakumar M;Mohamed Musthafa M (Mechanical Engineering Dep, M.I.E.T. Engng Coll, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, Email: Murugan3212000@yahoo.com) : Numerical simulation of turbulent pre-mixed combustion in SI engine. Bull pure appl Sci-Sect E 2006, 25(2), 237-42.

Two dimensional simulation of turbulent pre-mixed combustion of SI Engine Combustion chamber in both Cartesian and Cylindrical coordinate system carried out by the authors is presented in this paper. Ignition process is represented by an artificial ignition term, which is kept at the ignition control volume. Turbulence is modeled using the popular two-equation standard k-e model and chemistry is modeled using modified Eddy break up model. The objective of approach is to find the temperature, pressure developed in the cylinder and the mass burning rate. The simulations were carried out in a program coded in MATLAB programming language. The results obtained on the pressure, mass burning rate and laminar burning velocity are discussed in detail.

3 illus, 3 tables, 6 ref

007638   Muralidharan V;Ravikumar P;Bonala S;Tagore M R (NO, , ) : Composite signal control strategy for Indian roads. Indian Highw 2006, 34(8), 21-33.

With the rapid growth in vehicle population, traffic congestion has become a major concern on most of our city roads. Increasing the capacity by increasing the road width is a highly expensive proposition, and in many cases not possible. Better management of city traffic with the state-of-the-art technology is the way out to a large extent. Almost all research and development of traffic control has been in highly developed countries; traffic characteristics in developing countries, like Indian cities, can be very different. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), Thiruvananthapuram is developing an Area Traffic Control System for Indian conditions with an implementation plan at Pune, Maharashtra covering 38 intersections in the pilot phase. This Paper discusses the various aspects of the control strategy adopted for addressing the typical Indian road conditions.

9 illus, 1 table, 8 ref

007637   Mukhopadhyay D;Tiwari D;Kanchan P K; Shrivastava R K (Computer and Data Management Cell, CRRI, New Delhi) : Maintenance policy for Andaman trunk road using HDM-4. Indian Highw 2006, 34(10), 35-44.

Pavement management system has been developed for Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) which is the only all weather motorable road in the island. Field investigations included traffic data collection, Benkelman Beam Study, Test pit observations and collection of climatic and drainage data. Laboratory investigations were conducted to obtain characteristics/properties of sub-grade soil, aggregate, and old bituminous mixes. Data analysis revealed gross inadequacy in pavement structure causing premature distress/failure in many sections. As the traffic volume was much less compared to mainland city areas, the maintenance treatment received by the sections was nominal. Andaman island is near equatorial region with high rainfall and the subgrade soil being clayey, there was a need to give special attention to subgrade and base preparation. The compaction of base and sub-base layers were also found not good. To develop the maintenance policy, HDM-4 is used. Deterioration models ofHDM-4 were calibrated and maintenance work items were framed appropriately. Novelty in this exercise is to calibrate the deterioration factors when distress is mainly due to environmental condition and not due to traffic loading. A few important parameters such as Roughness-Age-Environment, Roughness-Progression, Crack-Initiation and progression were calibrated and finally strategic analysis was performed to obtain unconstrained and optimized budget programme.

2 illus, 11 tables, 3 ref

007636   Mohanty K P (Works Dep, , Orissa) : Road construction management and it application. Indian Highw 2006, 34(6), 45-53.

Presents potential applications of IT (Information Technology) for road construction. Relevant information technologies, both existing and emerging, for the road construction industry are discussed in the context of how these new developments in technology may impact engineering practice, especially in the area of road construction. The author had the chance to associate with the Engineers of Japan during his visit to the country and observed the development of systems for electronic information process under the construction CALS/EC project advocated by Ministry of Construction. Information integrated systems are developed to computerize and rationalize project execution.

5 illus, 4 ref

007635   Krishnamurthy C;Arunah D (Traffic Laboratory, Highways Research Station, , Chennai-25) : Truck transportation on NH-4 connecting Cheenai city. Indian Highw 2006, 34(8), 67-75.

Study of truck transportation on NH-4 connecting Chennai was carried out to analyse the goods traffic movement carried into and out of Chennai city. For this purpose an Origin and Destination Survey for one day and the vehicle volume count for three days were conducted on NH-4 and the results were analysed. The recommendations and suggestions are offered to overcome the shortcomings, from Engineering and operators point of view.

6 illus, 4 tables, 6 ref

007634   Kadiyali L R (NO, L.R. Kadiyali & Associates, New Delhi) : Flexible pavement design methodology: the way ahead. Indian Highw 2006, 34(6), 55-7.

Paper reviews the evolution of Flexible Pavement design methodology in India over the past 50 years, culminating in the present IRC:37-2001. The Paper gives a critique of the present methodology and makes a case for revising it to suit the present conditions in India. An emphasis is made that a revision should be based on evaluating the performance of successful and failed sections covering the vast geographical area of the country and the variations in climatic conditions. The revision should also incorporate concepts such as reliability factor, new materials such as soil-cement, soil-lime-flyash, polymer-modified binders, geotextiles, high performance bases and stone-mastic-asphalt and new mix design methods such as refusal density.

^iia11 ref

007633   Harsh Kumar;Chaudhary R S (Chem Dep, Ch Devi Lal Univ, Sirsa, Haryana, Email: harimaudgill@rediffmail.com) : Influence of sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) antiscalant on the corrosion of carbon steel in cooling water systems. Bull Electrochem 2006, 22(7), 289-96.

Use of high perfonnance antiscalants, corrosion inhibitors, polymer for better dispersion, total prevention of microbial deposits by using powerful biocides and biodispersants, pH boosters and advanced hardness stabilizers is the current practice in cooling water systems (CWS). But addition of so many different chemicals makes the cooling water chemistry so complex and complicated that it is very difficult to control it by the operator. A clear understanding about the contribution of antiscalant and zinc ions separately towards the corrosion control in a CWS is required. In the present work, a single antiscalant (sodium tripolyphosphate) was tried which may control scaling as well as corrosion problem in CWS. Weight loss and electrochemical polarization technique have been carried out at different temperatures using various concentrations of the inhibitor. Mechanism of inhibition is explained on the basis of molecular' structure of the inhibitor and inhibitor provides good inhibition efficiency and act as anodic inhibitor when present alone and mixed inhibitor with zinc ions. Moreover, addition of zinc ions along with inhibitor, does not increase inhibition efficiency of inhibitor to an appreciable extent.

2 illus, 7 tables, 20 ref

007632   Hanmandlu M (Electrical Engng Dep, Indian Inst of Technol, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110 016, Email: goyalhimani@yahoo.com) : Al based governing technique for automatic control of small hydro power plants. IETE J Res 2007, 53(2), 119-26.

Presents a flow control approach for the speed control of hydro turbines. Power can be controlled by controlling the rotary motion of the spear valve. In this paper, a flow control based model is proposed for the automatic control of small hydro power plants. In the proposed model, a servomotor is used to control the flow of water by controlling the rotational motion of the spear valve. The spear valve causes a 'continuous' control of the flow of water. The suitability of servomotors for the control of small hydro power plants is discussed and PI controllers are used to further enhance their governing capability. State space representation is used to mathematically model the proposed model. Extensive simulations are performed to analyze the behaviour of the proposed model. Parameter optimization is performed using Artificial Neural Networks.

7 illus, 2 tables, 9 ref

007631   Gupta D P (NO, , ) : Rural roads-an entry point for poverty alleviation and employment generation. Indian Highw 2006, 34(6), 35-7.

2 illus

007630   Gul J;Saleemi A R;Mirza S (Chemical Engineering Dep, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan, Email: jamalgul2001@yahoo.com) : Effect of mixing order of curing package (sulpher + accelerators) on the physical properteis of EPDM vulcanizate. Bull pure appl Sci-Sect C 2007, 26(1), 33-46.

Effect of mixing order of curing package on the physical properties of EPDM vulcanizates was studied. EPDM was compounded with other ingredients i.e. fillers, process aid, curing package etc in order to get the needed physical properties for thermal insulation. All the factors, which could affect the physical properties of EPDM vulcanizates such as quality and quantity of raw materials, storage conditions of ingredients & vulcanizates, compounding and testing facilities, mixing time, process parameters etc were kept constant except mixing order of curing package to EPDM. Different batches of EPDM vulcanizates with different mixing order of curing package to EPDM were prepared and tested for required physical properties like density, hardens, tensile strength and elongation. It was concluded that mixing order of curing package to EPDM affects tensile strength, elongation and hardness and does not affect density of the EPDM vulcanizates.

10 illus, 5 tables, 3 ref

007629   Farooqui A;Gaur A S (NO, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, 53, University Road, Lucknow-226 007, Email: afarooqui_2000@yahoo.com) : Arcellaceans and pollen/spores of a late Harappan settlement near Porbandar, west coast of India: implications for palaeoecology and environmental monitoring. Curr Sci 2007, 92(7), 992-8.

Archaeological sites have been a storehouse of information on various aspects of the past, including climatic conditions and hydrological characteristics in a particular time bracket. Recent excavation near Porbandar has brought to light a late Bronze Age settlement close to Porbandar creek. The archaeological artefacts have close similarities with those of other Harappan settlements in the Saurashtra region. Soil samples were collected and analysed for pollen content. The samples show shallow riverine depositional environment, which was influenced by relative sea-level rise and fall corresponding to warm and dry climatic periods. The area was devoid of vegetation except anthropogenic Sesbania plantation in the middle of late Holocene. Also elucidates the role of Arcellaceans (testate amoebae) for analysing palaeoecological and climatic hydroperiods during the human settlement (early to mid 2nd millennium BC) around Porbandar region.

3 illus, 3 tables, 41 ref

007628   Dey P P;Satish Chandra;Gangopadhaya S (Civil Engng Dep, IIT, Roorkee-247 667, Email: deyparthapratim@rediffmail.com) : Lateral placement of vehicles under mixed traffic conditions. Indian Highw 2006, 34(9), 9-17.

Data collected on placement of vehicles at different sections of two-lane roads are analysed. The statistical distributions were fitted to the data and their parameters are evaluated. It is found that the placement data mayor may not follow the normal distribution depending upon the traffic composition. A parameter called the Placement Factor (PF) is introduced in the Paper to explain the type of distribution. It is defined as the difference between the 90^th percentile and the 10^th percentile placement to the 50^th percentile placement. The placement data follow a normal distribution only when placement factor is less than 1.30 otherwise the fast moving vehicles would follow a normal distribution and the slow moving vehicles would follow a gamma distribution.

6 illus, 6 tables, 8 ref

007627   Deb S K (Civil Engng Dep, IIT, Delhi Hauz Khas, New Delhi, Email: skdeb@hotmail.com) : Sustainable campus and the parent city from transportation perspective. Indian Highw 2006, 34(10), 9-16.

"Sustainability" is an important criterion for human society. This was identified by United Nations in 1992. After this declaration it is getting increasing importance in every sphere of human life. During the last decade campus planners in Western Europe and North America have been attempting to improve the campus life by encouraging green and blue mode. An attempt is also being made to put restrictions on red mode. It has been observed that in general the culture of a city is very influential. So campus being dependent on parent city can not overcome this phenomenon. Various campuses have been discussed. Few well-known Indian educational campuses have been selected as case studies. Fuzzy mathematical tool has been used to asses the commuter's perceived value to study the culture of movement.

3 tables, 10 ref

007626   Dashora A;Lohani B;Malik J N (Civil Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur-208 016, Email: blohani@iitk.ac.in) : Respiratory of earth resource information - CORONA satellite programme. Curr Sci 2007, 92(7), 926-32.

CORONA satellite programme was the first series of spy satellites aimed at observing the military strategy and arms power. These satellites captured photographs of the earth's surface using panoramic cameras during 1960-72. Continuous improvements in design of each mission provided photographs of higher resolution and coverage. Declassification of these photographs in 1995 revolutionized the remote sensing community, as it provided a rich source of earth resource information. These photographs are being used in the areas of geology, land use and archaeology. However, information and facts about the CORONA programme are not readily available. Attempts to compile all scattered information to serve as a comprehensive technical reference. Surveys the various applications where CORONA data have been used and assesses the potential of these data. Due to low cost, higher resolution and historical data, the CORONA photographs are especially useful for a developing country like India.

^iia5 illus, 1 table, 27 ref

007625   Chowdhury D (Phys Dep, Indian Inst of Technol, Kanpur-208 016, Email: debch@iitk.ac.in) : Natural nano-machines 2. Discussion on methods, materials and mechanisms. Resonance 2007, 12(2), 39-58.

4 illus, 1 table, 18 ref

007624   Chauhan S;Sarkar P K (Transport Planning Dep, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, Email: chauhan.sonia@rediffmail.com) : Critical appreciation of B.O.T. - based road projects in India. Indian Highw 2006, 34(5), 51-60.

Emergence of B.O.T. projects has provided an impetus to a number of infrastructure related projects in India and abroad. The success of B.O.T projects in transport sector relies heavily on the accurate forecasting of the traffic in the horizon year. An attempt has been made to evaluate the forecasting techniques adopted in some B.O.T projects with a view to identify their shortcomings as there is a significant difference between actual and predicted traffic. Further, attempt has been made to develop a realistic model for traffic estimates for B.O.T projects where error between observed and predicted traffic is acceptable. Concludes with the emphasis that the important variables mainly growth of NSDP, growth of Toll rates should be considered for estimation of future traffic in B. O. T projects. The conceptual model has been further translated into analytical framework in estimating the revenue with possible increase in toll from the range of 5 to 30 per cent as well as possible increase in concession period up to 13 years. In order to cover up the losses, the concession period is generally extended. If the toll is increased by 5, 10, 20 and 30 per cent the concession period varied by 13,11,9,7 and zero years. This means that if at current rate the toll is increased by 30 per cent, the losses would be covered up. But increase in toll to such a high amount would also mean that the traffic would be diverted to other routes.

12 illus, 3 tables

007623   Chandra A;Dubey A (Crop Improvement Div, Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Insitute, Jhansi-284 003, Email: amaresh_chandra@rediffmail.com) : Transferability of STS markers for studying genetic diversity within the genus Cenchrus (Poaceae). Curr Sci 2007, 92(7), 961-7.

Characterization of major tropical grasses is often difficult because of few discriminant morphological traits that exist due to apomictic nature of the crop. Furthermore, few molecular markers are publicly accessible. Analyses eight prominent species of genus Cenchrus using isozyme markers and also the transferability of sequence tagged site (STS) markers of Stylosanthes, a tropical fodder legume in five species of Cenchrus. Of the 11 STS markers developed on the basis of cDNA sequences of functional genes, ten have generated scorable bands, whereas only four have reacted among the six STS developed based on sequences of the clones of PstI library of Stylosanthes. Totally 195 bands were scored, of which 83% was polymorphic. Of the total 25 enzyme-coding loci generated from nine enzyme systems, 18 were polymorphic yielding 75 alleles. STS and isozyme markers separated the annual from the perennial species. However, C. myosuroides being perennial clustered with the annual species, possibly a bridging species among two growth habits. Results possibly suggest the use of trans genus STS markers in the analysis of polymorphism preferably at species level.

2 illus, 3 tables, 26 ref

007622   Bouyanzer A;Majidi L;Hammouti B (Laboratoire de Chimie des Eaux et Corrosion, Faculte des Sciences, , B.P. 717 Oujda, Morocco, Email: bhammouti@yahoo.fr) : Effect of Eucalyptus oil on the corrosion of steel in 1M HCl. Bull Electrochem 2006, 22(7), 321-4.

The inhibitory effect of natural oil extracted from Eucalyptus (Euc) was estimated on the corrosion of steel in 1 molar hydrochloric acid using electrochemical polarisation and weight loss measurements. The corrosion rate of steel is decreased in the presence of natural oil. The inhibition efficiency was found to increase with oil content to attain 72% at 3 mL/L. Euc oil acts as a cathodic inhibitor. The increase in temperature leads to an increase in the inhibition efficiency of the natural substance. The adsorption isotherm of natural product on the steel has been determined.

4 illus, 3 tables, 30 ref