000612   Kapur P;Yadav M S (NO, Central Scientific Instruments Organization, Chandigarh) : Relative humidity estimation in tea industry. J Instrum Soc India 2007, 37(1), 32-9.

Relative humidity is an important parameter which needs to be continuously monitored at various stages of tea manufacturing. Withering, where enzymatic reactions take place within the cell walls, and fermentation (precisely oxidation and polymerisation), where these bio-chemical changes occur at faster rate due to cell breakage and exposure to oxygen, are two main unit operations which need precise humidity measurements. So far industry has been using conventional dry and wet bulb type of thermometers to manually read the difference between the two temperatures for RH estimates and has its own sources of error. Although this type of gadget is replaced by electronic version of RH meter but the issues related to calibration remain the same. Other types of RH sensors have been reported but not found suitable in the tea industry. The present paper describes a soft-computing technique and regression equations derived for implementation on microcontroller or on any PC for read out.

2 illus, 2 tables, 5 ref

000611   Jha M K;Lee J C (Minerals and Materials Processing Div, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), 30 Gajeong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-350, Korea, Email: maniskrjha@gmail.com) : Review on the status of weee recycling in Korea. J Metall Mater Sci 2006, 48(3), 117-27.

Worldwide, the production of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is one of the fastest growing areas. Particularly in Korea due to the rapid economical growth and continuous changes in equipment's features and capabilities cause tremendous increase in sale of new electrical EEE. This development has resulted in an increase of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The paper deals with the review of the trend of generation and recycling of WEEE mainly waste of electrical home appliances, PCs and mobile phones. However Korea has adopted and enforced the extended producer responsibility (EPR) system in the year 2003, the recycling of waste PCs particularly the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and mobile phones is found not satisfactory in comparison to the estimated obsolete generated in Korea. As the enormous amount of WEEE are being generated every year, the mandatory recycling amount of WEEE keeps rising and the target items subject to mandatory recycling increases at the same time. The Govt. of Korea is making consistent efforts to improve the recycling rate to the standards indicated in the EU directives for WEEE. The resources-deficient country Korea may survive as an industrial country, if it could make sustained efforts to develop eco-friendly and energy-saving technologies for the recycling of WEEE as secondary resources for recovering metal values.

ref

000610   Guru Prasad S G;Ashlesha M K;Sumathi P V; Sagayaraj R;Munikrishnaiah K;Krisnapur P P;Padaki V C;Agarwal G P (NO, , Defence Bio-engineering and Electromeical Laboratory, CV Raman Nagar, Bangalore-560 093) : Pc based, intelligent and dual purpose test rig, for the functional evalution of an embedded system. J Instrum Soc India 2007, 37(1), 20-31.

PC based Test Rig, to functionally qualify the Electronic Control Unit (ECU), a microcontroller based embedded system, is designed and developed. The Test Rig consists of a PC with a DAC Card, a DIG Card, a host software on the PC, a qualifying software in the ECU and an interface hardware, with level translators, relays, resistor-loads and signal paths. The functions of the ECU are to control, monitor and coordinate the activities related to the selection of the appropriate source of breathing gas, for the pilot, to overcome the physiological problems, which arise due to hypoxia, at high altitudes.

5 illus, 10 ref

000609   Gupta U P;Sharma N;Ojha C S P (NO, , Central Water commission New Delhi) : Economic analysis : riprap with geo-filter vs collar as scour protections around submerged vanes. Wat Energy int 2006, 63(1), 39-45.

Strongest circulation gives the maximum effects of submerged vanes at optimal angle of attack and at the same time local scour holes develop around the submerged vanes, which may dislodge the submerged vanes. With the introduction of collar or riprap with geo-filter at the leading edge of submerged vane, the local scour may be reduced. A comparison of the cost of riprap with geo-filter and collar has been attempted to get a general idea of economics. This paper explains theoretically how to compare the cost of riprap with geo-filter and collar.

4 illus, 3 tables, 16 ref

000608   Gupta P K;Saran S;Mittal R K (Civil Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee-247 667) : Behaviour of fibre reinforced sand in different test conditions. Indian Geotech J 2006, 36(3), 272-82.

Experimental study on the behaviour of dry sand reinforced with randomly dlstributed fibres of polypropylene was undertaken in the present investigation. The effect of various parameters such as fibre content (FC), length of fibre and relative density of sand were studied in direct shear and triaxial tests. Model footing tests were conducted to study the pressure settlement behaviour of square footing of size 150 mm x 150 mm resting on randomly distributed fibre reinforced sand (RDFS) at different fibre contents in a tank of size 1000 mm x 1000 mm x 450 mm depth. Analysis of direct shear and triaxial tests reveal that the ejI-value of the RDFS is more than that of the unreinforced sand. At 50% relative density fibre inclusion is more effective in increasing the strength of sand as compared to 70% relative density. From the footing tests it has been found that the bearing capacity of the RDFS increases with increase in fibre content. The percentage increase in the bearing capacity with the increase in the fibre content shows almost a linear trend. However, direct shear and triaxial tests do not show linear trend in the increase of strength with increase in fibre content. These findings suggest that results from small sample in direct shear and triaxial test may not be true indicator for prediction of improved strength of the RDFS.

8 illus, 6 tables, 22 ref

000607   Gupta A K;Shrivastava R K (Civil Engineering Dep, , Respectively, SGSITS, Indore) : Integral water treatment plant design optimization : a genetic algorithm based approach. J Instn Engrs-Pt EN 2006, 87(9), 3-7.

Solution for integrated water treatment plant design using genetic algorithm (GA)has been devloped and demonstirated. The GA approach is found to be useful optimization tool, capable of providing optimal design parameter estimates while incorporating design and effluent quality constraints. The GA approach has been presented with a case study and the solution obtained using GA is compared with the solution obtained by dynamic programming (DP) . The results obtained confirm the capability of proposed method for optimal design of water treatment plant. The CPU time required is almost one-tenth and storage space required is very-very less eliminating the problem of 'curse of dimensionality' posed by DP programming. Additionally the information provided by GA can be utilized to test the model sensitivity.

6 tables, 13 ref

000606   Gohokar V V;Kshirsagar S P (Electronics Engineering Dep, Shri Sant Gajanan Maharaj College of Engineering, Shegaon-444 203, Email: vvgohokar@rediffmail.com) : Low-complexity rate control algorithm for hybrid video coding. J Indian Inst Sci 2006, 86(4), 407-13.

Design and operation of an encoder involves the optimization of many decisions to achieve the best possible tradeoff between rate and distortion under the given constraint on delay and complexity. In this paper, a new rate-control algorithm is proposed by optimal bit allocation and macroblock mode selection. It is low-complexity, single-pass algorithm applicable in areas that are sensitive to delay and having very limited resources. Improvement in PSNR is obtained for video sequences with varying contents and bit rate. The algorithm does not violate the buffer constraints.

5 illus, 7 ref

000605   Gogoi M M;Bhuyan P K;Krishna Moorthy K (Physics Dep, Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh-786 004, Email: pbhuyan@gmail.com) : Possible impact of a major oil-well fire on aerosol optical depth at Dibrugarh. Curr Sci 2007, 92(8), 1047-9.

^ssc2 illus, 2 tables

000604   Ghosh S;Ahmad Z (Civil Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee) : Characteristics of flow over bottom racks. Wat Energy int 2006, 63(2), 47-55.

Most common type of weir adopted in boulder streams for diversion of water for hydropower generation, water supply, irrigation etc. is the trench weir. It consists of a transverse trench in the streambed covered with metal bottom rack to prevent the transport of unwanted solid material into the trench. Most of the studies on the characteristics of flow over bottom racks are limited to bottom racks made of circular bars. However, from structural consideration, flat bars are preferred to circular bars as the flat bars have more flexural rigidity. The present paper deals with characteristics of flow over bottom racks made of flat bars: Experiments were performed to collect the relevant data. Variation of specific energy over the rack is constant. Existing relationship for coefficient of discharge is not accurate and thus a new relationship is proposed in this study which estimates the value of coefficient of discharge within ñ10% error.

9 illus, 2 tables, 15 ref

000603   Ghangrekar M M (Civil Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur-721 302) : Performance and correlation of sludge age and efficiency of UASB reactor during step increase in loading rates. J Instn Engrs-Pt EN 2006, 87(9), 8-15.

Efficacy of the UASB reactor to adopt the changes in loading rates has been discussed. The loading rates on the reactor were increased in steps to assess the maximum loading capacity of the reactor and to study the performance of the reactor at different loading rates. The COD concentrations mainly used for these laboratory experiments were between 1000 mg/ I and 5000 mgl I and performance of the reactor up to 29.96 kg COD/m³.d was evaluated. For increase in loading rates due to reduction in HRT very short duration of 2 to 3 days, was required for achieving the steady state at elevated loading up to about 15 kg COD/m³.d. Beyond this loading rate, longer time was required to achieve steady state. The time required to achieve steady state due to increase in loading by increasing COD concentration was greater than a week under all loading rates. The correlation is established between the sludge age and degree of treatment. The sludge age required to get good GOD reduction (around 90%) was observed to be more than 40 days. This correlation is validated by using simplified model of UASB reactor based on Monad's kinetics. The simplified model developed is able to predict the reactor performance fairly well for given sludge age in the reactor, with standard error of 3.25 % in efficiency predictions. The steady state model developed will be useful to acquire desired efficiency by controlling sludge age in the reactor.

6 illus, 17 ref

000602   Farooqui S A;Singh A K (NO, Directorate of Geology and Mining, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Email: afarooqui_2000@yahoo.com) : Platinum mineralization in Ikauna area, Lalitpur district, Uttar Pradesh. J Geol Soc India 2006, 68(10), 582-4.

Incidence of Pt and Pd along with Au and Ag has been recorded in the serpentinised peridotites near Ikauna village (24°23'19":78°52'40"), Lalitpur district, Uttar Pradesh, which are in contact with gabbroic/dioritic and granitic rocks in the north and dioritic rocks in the south. The peridotite/serpentinised talc-actinolite schist zone has been traced for a distance of 1.5 km along the strike with an average width of 90 m. Selected trench samples have shown Pt up to 1.71 ppm, Pd 2.02 ppm, Ir 0.62 ppm, Ru 0.07 ppm, Rh 0.30 ppm, Au 0.23 ppm, Ag 19.99 ppm, and Ni, 4800 ppm, Co, 397 ppm, and Cr 4400 ppm. The zone continues eastwards and westwards with reduced width, but with incidence of these metals. Exploration is continuing for ascertaining existence of economically viable mineralization.

1 illus, 1 table, 2 ref

000601   Dutta A K;Das G;De P K (NO, , National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur-831 007) : Steel production in India and its impact in construction. J Metall Mater Sci 0000, 48(4), 2006.

Steel is an efficient material for structural purposes because of its good strength to weight ratio. The basic requirement in the choice of particular steel is that it must be suitable for the product application and design conditions required. It must be available in the product form and shape required and it should be cost effective for the required applications. The versatility of steel for structural applications, rests on the fact that it can be readily available at a relatively cheaper price in a wide range of product forms, and with a useful range of material properties. The key to understanding the versatility of steel lies in its basic metallurgical behavior. This paper briefly describes the recent developments in steel construction technology, which have successfully transformed the market place and how India can take advantage of these developments and what strategies need to be adopted for large-scale introduction of steel intensive building construction in India.

10 illus, 15 ref

000600   Durairaj S;Devaraj D;Khannan P S (NO, A K College of Engineering, Krishnankoil) : Voltage stability constrained reactive power planning using improved genetic algorithm. Wat Energy int 2006, 63(2), 56-64.

lmproved Genetic Algorithm (IGA) approach for solving the Reactive Power Planning (RPP) problem is presented. Generator bus voltage magnitudes, transformer tap settings and reactive power generation of the capacitor bank are taken as the control variables. While solving the RPP problem using genetic algorithm, the voltage magnitudes are taken as continuous variables, whereas the transformer tap setting and the reactive power generation of capacitor are taken as discrete variables. A binary-coded GA with tournament selection, two point crossover and bit-wise mutation is used to solve this mixed-integer non-linear optimization problem. Some modifications have been made in the representation of the solution variables in the genetic population in order to take cafe of the discrete nature of transformer tap setting and capacitor bank. The proposed algorithm has been applied to find the optimal reactive power control variables in IEEE 30-bus system and in a practical Indian power system and is found to be more effective than the conventional methods and the simple Genetic Algorithm.

2 illus, 6 tables, 15 ref

000599   Deshmukh K;Shinde G N (NO, M.G.M's College of Computer Science and Information Technology, Near Airport, Nanded-431 605, Email: dkanchan_99@yahoo.com) : An adaptive neuro-fuzzy system for color image segmentation. J Indian Inst Sci 2006, 86(5), 493-506.

Image segmentation and object extraction plays an important role in image analysis and computer vision. Proposes a novel technique for color image segmentation called 'adaptive neuro-fuzzy color image segmentation (ANFCIS)'.The proposed system consists of multilayer perceptron (MLP)-like network which performs color image segmentation using multilevel thresholding. Threshold values for detecting clusters and their labels are found automatically using fuzzy C-means (FCM) clustering technique. Fuzzy entropy is used as a tool to decide the number of clusters. ANFCIS uses saturation and intensity planes of HSV (hue, saturation, intensity) color space for segmentation. Neural network is employed to find the number of objects automatically from an image. The major advantage of this method is that it does not require a priori knowledge to segment a color image. The algorithm is found to be robust and relatively computationally inexpensive for large variety of color images. Experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method.

11 illus, 46 ref

000598   Datta A K;Das G;De P K (NO, , Jamshedpur-831 007, Email: akd@nmlindia.org) : Finite element modelling of steel rolling process. J Metall Mater Sci 2006, 48(3), 173-80.

Recent advances in the development of scientific basis for deformation processing have provided a new perspective on the traditional study of microstructure-property relationship. It is now realized that rolling parameters can be selected to control final microstructure and properties in addition to shape and conforming to workability limit. The research reported here is a part of what is possible in the way of detailed examination of these processes using modem finite element computational tool. ANSYS multipurpose software has been applied to evaluate the complete stress and strain distribution in rolling process. In this paper, the results of subsequent investigations of deformation induced microstructure of SS304 is reported.

7 illus, 7 ref

000597   Dahikar P B;Dhoble S J;Moharil S V (NO, Kamla Nehru College, Sakkardara Square, Nagpur-440 009, Email: pbdahikarns@rediffmail.com) : Temprature controlling and monitorng system for thermoluminescence reader. J Instrum Soc India 2007, 37(1), 13-19.

Design of temperature measurement and controlling very low cost and simple system ranging from 0°C to 330°C & also set limit up to 1000°C for thermoluminescence measurement device. A PC based TL Reader system has been developed for the measurement of thermoluminescence of phosphors. The fabrication cost of the complete assembly is less than Rs. 3500/- (exclusively PC & PMT). The versatility of the system has been enhanced by storing of data in ASCII format, which enables easy enables easy analysis with other developed software packages like MSW, EXCEL, & high level languages like 'C' etc. It is also enhanced by the programmable temperature controlling system visualized the two extremes limits.

8 illus, 6 ref

000596   Choubey U B;Gupta U;Prasad B K (Civil Engineering & Applied Mechanics Dep, Shri G.S. Institute of Technology and, Science, Indore-452 003) : Cyclic response of latex modified reinforced concrete beams. J Struct Engng 2007, 33(5), 407-12.

Experimental program was carried out to investigate the behaviour of latex modified reinforced concrete (LMRC) beams in flexure under cyclic loading. Tests on 14 RC and LMRC beam specimens, containing latex in two different proportions, that is, 10% and 15% by weight of cement, have been conducted. The load-deflection envelope curves, common point curves and stability point curves are established for LMRC beams and compared with that of RC beams. Analytical expressions are proposed to represent the plastic deflection curves.

15 illus, 3 tables, 26 ref

000595   Chatterjee R S;Wahiduzzaman M;Shah A;Raju E V R;Lakhera R C;Dadhwal V K (NO, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun-248 001, Email: rschatterjee@iirs.gov.in) : Dynamics of coal fire in Jharia coalfield, Jharkhand, India during the 1990s as observed from space. Curr Sci 2007, 92(1), 61-8.

Jharia Coalfield in Jharkhand, India, is known for be-ing the exclusive storehouse of prime coking coal in the country. The coalfield is also known for hosting the fields in India. An attempt was made to study the coal fire dynamics of Jharia Coalfield during the 1990s from medium resolution satellite thermal 1R data such as Landsat-5 TM and Landsal-7 ETM+ data (acquired in 10.4-12.5 μm spectral region). The dynamics of coal fire was addressed on the two following aspects: (i) changes in the spatial extent of fire-affected areas, and (ii) propagation of coal fire during the 1990s. A marked decrease in the spatial extent of fire-affected areas during the 1990s was observed in this study. The spatial coverage of surface and subsurface coal fires was found to change from 0.42 and 2.06 km² respectively, in 1992, to 0.33 and 1.36 km² respectively, in 1996 and 0.08 and 1.60 km¹ respectively, in 2001. Using the three available satellite thermal datasets acquired in 1992, 1996 and 2001, an attempt was made to find the net lateral propagation during 1992-96 and 1996-2001. The propagation of coal fire was found to be more erratic than regular in nature. During 1992-96, the net lateral propagation was in general towards south and at places towards west, whereas during 1996-2001 it was in general towards north.

9 illus, 15 ref

000594   Bogner B R (NO, , AOC, LLC, Illinois, USA) : Composites for chemical resistance and infrastructure applications. Process Pl Engng 2006, 24(), 58-62.

Composites are continuing to show utility in applications and systems that demand corrosion-resistant service as well as applications in infrastructure projects. This paper documents several applications where composites have produced structures that have better longevity and lower maintenance costs than the conventional products they replaced. The reasons for the continued growth of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites in infrastructure and corrosion-resistant applications are discussed.

7 illus, 3 ref

000593   Bhupinder Singh;Kaushik S.K. (Civil Engineering Dep, IIT Roorkee, Roorkee-247 667) : Design of a deep beam using the strut and tie method. J Struct Engng 2007, 33(5), 429-34.

11 illus, 6 ref

000592   Bhattamishra A K (NO, Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur-831 007, National) : Hot-dip galvanised zinc and zinc-copper alloy coatings in chloride and chloride containing carboxylic acids media. J Metall Mater Sci 2006, 48(4), 215-220.

Purpose of the present paper is to have a comparative study on the response of hot dipped galvanised commercial zinc and zinc-copper alloy coating on mild steel towards chloride and chloride containing different carboxylic acids media. Response of Hot-dip galvanised Zinc & Zinc-Copper alloy coating on mild steel sheets were assessed in 3.5%NaCI solution and natural sea water obtained from Bay of Bengal. Weight loss was measured. Electrochemical test of the galvanised coatings was carried out in 2% & 3.5% NaCI solution and sea water. It was also carried out in 3.5% NaCl solution containing citric, formic and acetic acid respectively. OCP, E_corr and i_corr were obtained by using PARC 273 EG&G Potentiostat /Galvanostat. Minor alloying additions of copper in hot dip galvanised bath improves corrosion resistance of zinc coating on mild steel in chloride media.Aggressiveness of carboxylic acids in chloride medium on hot dip galvanised zinc-copper alloy and zinc coating can be arranged in the following order.

4 illus, 5 tables, ref

000591   Bhardhwaj J R;Padhi R (Aerospace Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai-600 036, Email: padhi@aero.iisc.ernet.in) : Effective drug dosage design for treatment of infectious diseases using dynamic inversion. J Indian Inst Sci 2006, 86(4), 377-88.

A generic nonlinear mathematical model describing the human immunological dynamics is used to design an effective automatic drug administration scheme. Even though the model describes the effects of various drugs on the dynamic system, this work is confined to the drugs that kill the invading pathogen and heal the affected .organ. From a system theoretic point of view, the drug inputs can be interpreted as control inputs, which can be designed based on control theoretic concepts. The controller is designed based on the principle of dynamic inversion and is found to be effective in curing the 'nominal model patient' by killing the invading microbes and healing the damaged organ. A major advantage of this technique is that it leads to a closed-form state feedback form of control. It is also proved from a rigorous mathematical analysis that the internal dynamics of the system remains stable when the proposed controller is applied. A robustness study is also carried out for testing the effectiveness of the drug administration scheme for parameter uncertainties. It is observed from simulation studies that the technique has adequate robustness for many 'realistic model patients' having off-nominal parameter values as well.

4 illus, 17 ref

000590   Basu R;Patnaik A (NO, , Paradeep Phosphates Limited, Orissa) : Optimisation of phosphoric acid plant operation by in-house modifications. Process Pl Engng 2006, 24(3), 20-4.

Paradeep Phosphates Limited (PPL) has registered a remarkable improvement in its performance in last five years. Capacity utilization has gone up and plant operating efficiencies have improved, though there was no big ticket capital investment. In fact, the salient features of PPL's turnaround are in-house innovation, experimentation, minor modifications and further experimentation. The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle repeats again and again. This article captures developments in PPL Phosphoric Acid Plant during this time - its legacy and its journey to excellence.

3 illus, 5 tables, ref

000589   Bapu R H Suresh;Natarajan P;Paul L;Nayak N U (NO, Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi-630 006) : Devlopment of a multi-chennel corrosion surveyor for non destructive testing of RCC structures. J Instrum Soc India 2007, 37(1), 7-12.

Deals with the design and development of a PIC micro-controller based Muhi-channel corrosion surveyor for RCC structures. Electrical potential between the reinforcing steel and a reference electrode is named as half-cell. Based on the half-cell potential values, one can identify the area that is affected by corrosion. The developed system measures the half-cell potential at 4 locations and temperature at a single point simultaneously. This system has been developed according to the ASTM C876-80 standard, the basis of which is that the corrosion potential of the rebar will shift in the negative direction if the surface changes from the passive to the active state.

3 illus, 2 tables, 7 ref

000588   Balakrishnan R;Sridharan N;Viswanathan Iyer K (NO, Srinivasa Ramanujan Centre, Kumbakonam-612 001, Email: mathbala@satyam.net.in) : The wiener index of odd graphs. J Indian Inst Sci 2006, 86(5), 527-31.

The Wiener index of a graph G is defined to be 1/2 Σa_u,veV(G) d(u, v), where d(u, v) is the distance between the vertices u and v in G. Obtains an explicit expression for the Wiener index of an odd graph.

9 ref

000587   Aparna K M (NO, National Institute of Technology, Calicut) : Earthing of transmission line to limit lightning induced stresses in tower members. Wat Energy int 2006, 63(1), 46-8.

6 illus, ref

000586   Ajay Kumar;Marwaha S;Marwaha A (Electronics and Communication Engineering Dep, Beant College of Engineering and Technology, Gurdaspur, Punjab-143 521, Email: ajaykm_20@yahoo.co.in) : Comparison of methods of minimization of cogging torque in wind generators using FE analysis. J Indian Inst Sci 2006, 86(4), 355-62.

Most small wind turbines use permanent magnet (PM) generators. Small wind turbines are usually self-starting and require very simple controls. The cogging torque, which is generated by the interaction between the magnetized pole of PMs and the salient poles of the armature core, affects the self-start ability and results in undesirable mechanical vibrations and noises. Thus, minimization of cogging torque, which is of utmost importance in improving the operation of small wind turbines is investigated in the present work, In this paper, three design options are investigated to minimize cogging torque: uniformity of air gap, pole width, and skewing. Although the design improvement is intended for small wind turbines it is also applicable to larger wind turbines. A software package based on 2D finite-element analysis is used for the analysis of cogging torque.

6 illus, 10 ref

000585   Adewumi B A;Odunbaku A A A;Bayode (Grain Science and Technology Dep, Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore-570 020, Email: babatunde_adewumi@yahoo.com) : Design and construction of solar incubator for rural farmers in Nigeria. J rur Technol 2006, 3(1), 5-11.

Rural farmers in Nigeria mostly utilize the natural means only to multiply poultry whereas population and animal protein requirements are growing at a very fast rate in the nation. It is essential to mechanize and increase the level of rural poultry production via the use of mechanical devices. The large scale poultry industries in Nigeria utilize hatcheries but the profit margin is relatively low because of relatively high cost of acquiring imported hatcheries and heavy investment to secure regular supply of electricity. Solar energy is proposed as an alternative cheaper source of energy. There is also a short fall in the engineering aspects of animal research in Nigeria. This has prompted the Department of Agricultural Engineering of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria to focus on the development of machines for animal production and processing, particularly for rural farmers. One of such machines aimed at meeting the needs of rural farmers is the incubator. Already, the department has developed efficient kerosene fueled and charcoal fueled incubators. Solar incubators however have relative advantages over other incubators, particularly in tropical environment like Nigeria where solar radiation and intensity are relatively high. Efforts are now geared at developing solar incubator for the Nigerian farmers at the department. Presents the development of a laboratory scale solar incubator.

7 illus, 2 tables, 17 ref

000584   Abdalla K M;Chen W F (Civil Engineering Dep, Jordan Univ Sci & Technol, Jordan- 221 10) : Base plate design in steel structures: a new approach. J Struct Engng 2007, 33(5), 375-82.

Base plates are simple and economic devices used to transfer column loads to the supporting member or foundation. These loads include axial due to gravity, moments, shear, and sometimes axial due to uplift. They allow the column to stand as a temporary vertical cantilever after the lifting line is released without having to guy off the column. Presents a new approach for the analysis of base plate connection. The approach is based on a theoretical analysis of unilateral contact problems. A trial and error method combined with special rules which guarantee its convergence is used for the numerical solution for this kind of problems. The effectiveness of the method proposed herein is demonstrated by means of a numerical solution which is suitable for practical applications.

12 illus, 2 tables, 35 ref

000662   Vijayan P;Chandrakaran S;Ganesan N (Civil Engineering Dep, National Institute of Technology, Calicut, Kerala) : Vertical stiffness of rectangular footings embedded into elastic half space. Indian Geotech J 2006, 36(3), 195-219.

Presents a simple and accurate method for evaluating the vertical load-displacement behaviour under static conditions of rectangular footings resting on the surface of or embedded into a semi-infinite elastic soil medium. The effects on the vertical stiffness of the various parameters like size and aspect ratio of the footing, its embedment depth and elastic properties like shear modulus and Poisson's ratio of the soil are studied in detail. The effect of rigidity of the footing is also considered indirectly by incorporating three common types of pressure distributions under the footing, namely rigid-base, uniform and parabolic contact pressures. The results reported in the literature in respect of the vertical stiffness of rectangular footings are scarce. The available results are restricted to a few cases in which the aspect ratio and the embedment ratio of the footing, and Poisson's ratio of the soil are allowed to assume only some selected discrete values. In addition, only one type of pressure distribution under the footing seems to have been incorporated so far. The method of analysis can be seen to be superior to the existing ones in the literature. This method can be used for obtaining the vertical stiffness coefficient for rectangular footings of any desired aspect ratio and ,embedment ratio with soil of any Poisson's ratio. As a testimony to, the accuracy of the present method of analysis, the results obtained from the same are compared with those available, though a few, in the literature for the limited number of values of the related parameters. It is found that there is a very good agreement between these results.

22 illus, 4 tables, 24 ref

000661   Verma H K;Thote N R (NO, Central Minining Research Institute, Regional Centre, CBRI Campus, Roorkee-247 667, Email: drharsh77@gmail.com) : Delay precision in permitted copper delay detonators. J Mines Metals Fuels 2006, 54(10-11), 226-30.

Blasting off-sthe-solid is the most commonly used method during development of galleries in bord and pillar method of underground coal mining. /n this method, only P₅ explosives are used with permitted delay detonators in accordance with the safety requirements stipulated by the regulatory bodies. Delay detonators made with pyrotechnic delay compositions have inherent scattering in their delay timings. It is desirable to use precise detonators to achieve better fragmentation, less vibration and noise. Overlapping of delay period is undesirable from production as well as safety point of view. In order to assess delay accuracy of permitted detonators of a domestic manufacturer, randomly selected fifty nos. of detonators from the same batch of detonators' which was found suitable for use in underground coal mines in respect of their incendivity, handling and electrical safety, performance and water resistance characteristics were evaluated. Overlapping possibilities amongst delay periods were evaluated by calculating Winzer index and graphical methods. The findings reveal that significant scattering exist in all the delay periods. Scattering increases with higher delay periods. Overlapping possibilities between delay period 5 and 6 is found to be significantly high. Winzer index for the pair of delay period 5 and 6 is found to be vel)' close to the threshold value for overlapping.

5 illus, 1 table, 12 ref

000660   Verma A;Sharma V;Agnihotry S A;Saxena T K (NO, , National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishna Road, New Delhi-110 012) : Fully computer controlled setup for determining the characteristics of electrochromic devices. J Instrum Soc India 2007, 37(1), 57-62.

Electrochromic devices (ECDs) are generally assessed in terms of switching time: coloring time (t_c) and bleaching time (t_b), coloring charge (Q_c), bleaching charge (Q_b), optical modulation (ΔT) it can offer, and cyclic life time (10ⁿ cycles). A fully computer controlled system has been developed to study the performance of ECDs. This system is capable of applying any positive or negative voltage from 0 to ±5 V for the period of time specified by the user. The system is also capable of giving the current up to 100 mA in either language. In the beginning program asks the user to enter positive and negative voltages to be applied and time for applying the same in seconds as well as number of cycles for which the process is to be repeated. The program starts the process after pressing the "Start" button. After applying the voltage it starts measuring the applied voltage, current through the sample (plate current) and sensor current (used to measure the transmittance) and plots them simultaneously on the screen in graphical form. At the end of every cycle the program calculates t_c,t_b, Q_c, Q_b, and the ratio of Q_c and Q_b and displays them on the MSFlexgrid.

5 illus, 2 ref

000659   Venkatasubramani G S;Yohannan J C; Parameswaran P (Civil Engg. Dept, VLB Janakiammal College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore) : Analytical and experimental investigation on eccentrically loaded slender reinforced concrete columns. J Struct Engng 2007, 33(5), 391-400.

Existing methods to analyze a slender reinforced concrete column are either complex or made simple with many approximations. The methods used to analyze and design a slender column should be based on stability criteria, considering the actual material properties, sectional properties and P-Δ effects, thus leading to rational and realistic methods. A simple approach for predicting the failure load of eccentrically loaded reinforced concrete columns, taking into account the above factors, is presented. A realistic value of stiffness of the member (El) is used, considering tangent modulus and effect of cracking of the section. Non-linear stress -strain characteristics of concrete as well as steel are used in the analysis. The theory is validated by comparing the results with data available in literature, code provisions and from the experiments. Charts are prepared for easy application.

9 illus, 5 tables, 17 ref

000658   Thombare P I;Sangal S P (NO, , M.S.E.B. Thermal Power Station Khaperkheda, Nagpur) : Recovery and recycling of wastewater from soft [cooling] water plant at thermal power station, Khaperkheda, Nagpur. Wat Energy int 0000, 63(1), 2006.

Prime indicator of economic growth or sell-reliance of any country can be known by per capita power generation and consumption of electrical power. The depletion of natural resources is of prime concern for the existence of mankind. In India generation of electric power is mainly from coal and water (i.e., thermal process)where electricity is generated by high-pressure steam, which drives the turbines, which in turn drives the generator. This process required large quantity of treated water and coal. Consumption of resources is now the watch word for every process. In the coal fired thermal power station the high-pressure steam is produced by using demineralized (DM) water. The exhausted system is condensed in condenser where soft water is used as cooling water. The daily requirement of cooling water make-up, at thermal power station Khaperkheda is approximately 40,000 m³ per day. For the production of soft water polystyrene based strong acid cation exchange resin in the sodium form is used. The exhausted resin is regenerated by using 7° Be to 8° Be solution of sodium chloride (Brine solution). During the regeneration the amount of wastewater produced is around 800 to 900 m³/regeneration, which is responsible for the pollution of the Kolar river. In the present paper the results on the study are given to show that by proper management of waste about 7,20,000 m³ of water can be segregated per year and recycled.

2 illus, 6 tables, 6 ref

000657   Tandale J P;Rao C R (Chemical Engineering Dep, Tatyasaheb Kore Institute of Engineering and Technology, Warananagar-416 416) : Energy conservation. Ecol Envir Conserv 2007, 13(1), 95-103.

Some basic strategies for energy conservation in chemical plants in a sustainable and profitable manner, through case studies of success stories in sugar and fertilizer industries and petrochemical complex are described. Also brief information about the consumption of various energy sources by different indusªtries as well as by domestic sector is given with their conservation option. The basic strategy explained in this report can be applied to the entire spectrum of chemical process industries such as pharmaceuticals and drugs, petroleum refineries, steel, cement and thermal power industries etc. Collectively it consumes 50% of the total energy consumption in India, which is an about 1000 billion unit. An energy saving target of even a modest 20% in the industrial sector will be a saving of 100 billion units which is worth about Rs.50,000 crores annually.

3 tables, 13 ref

000656   Swarup K S;Corthis P (Electrical Engineering Dep, IIT Madras, Chennai-600 036) : Power system static security assessment using self-organizing neural network. J Indian Inst Sci 2006, 86(4), 327-42.

Artificial neural network approach to the problem of static security assessment of power system is presented. This paper utilizes the artificial neural net of Kohonen's self-organizing feature map (SOFM) technique that transforms input patterns into neurons on the two-dimensional grid to classify the secure/insecure status of the power system. SOFM uses the line flows under different component cases as inputs and self-organizes to obtain the cluster of the components based on their loading limits. The output of SOFM provides information about the violation of the constraints from which the operating state of the power system can be identified, which can be classified as secure or insecure. The proposed method of security assessment was initially demonstrated for a model 3 generator 6-bus system and later extended to IEEE-14, -30 and -57 bus systems.

24 illus, 11 tables, 26 ref

000655   Swarup K S (Electrical Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai-600 036, Email: swarup@ee.iitm.ac.in) : Swarm intelligence approach to the solution of optimal power flow. J Indian Inst Sci 2006, 86(5), 439-55.

Efficient and reliable evolutionary-based meta-heuristic approach, termed as swarm intelligence, is presented for the solution of optimal power flow with both continuous and discrete variables. The continuous control variables are unit-active power outputs and generator-bus voltage magnitudes, while the discrete variables are transformer tap settings and switchable shunt devices. Particle swarm optimization, a new evolutionary computation technique based on swarm intelligence, is illustrated for two case studies of IEEE-30 bus system and 3-area IEEE RTS-96 system. Both normal and contingency states are considered for the optimal power flow solution. The feasibility of the proposed method is compared with a simple genetic algorithm. The algorithm is computationally faster, in terms of the number of load flows executed, and provides better results than other heuristic techniques.

3 illus, 11 tables, 28 ref

000654   Swaminathan B;Ramanarayanan V (NO, , APC India Pvt. Ltd. 15 Queen's Road) : Application of network analyzer in measuring the performance functions of power supply. J Indian Inst Sci 2006, 86(4), 315-25.

Frequency response analysis is critical in understanding the steady- and transient state behaviour of any electrical network. To study the system behaviour analytical model of the system is required. If the system is well understood it may be easy to develop an analytical model, and hence frequency response can be determined. But practical systems have non-idealities (or complex) which are difficult to simulate. Hence, measuring the frequency response of any black box (electrical network) makes the job practically simpler. Network analyzer or frequency response analyzer is used to determine the frequency response of an electrical network. This paper deals with the application of network analyzer in measuring the performance functions of switched-mode power supplies, which is to validate the analytical model of power supply.

17 illus, 1 table, 5 ref

000653   Sunil Kumar (Applied Science Dep, T.I.T.S. College, Birla Colony, Bhiwani-127 021) : Crude desalting under various operating parameters. Acta Cienc Indica-Chem 2006, 32(2), 115-18.

Crude desalting under various operating parameters by changing operating parameters such as demulsifier injection, caustic injection, ammonia dosing, water injection, Desalter temp, as well as operating variables. The significance of these approaches of desalter performance especially oil in brine was better with neat injection of demulsifier. With increase in water injection rate to 40_45 M³ /hr. The trend in performance improvement could be observed by steady increase in O/H condensate pH and improvement in brine colour.

1 table, 11 ref

000652   Srinivasan P;Chellappan A;Annamalai S (NO, Structural Engineering Research Centre, CSIR Campus, Taramani, Chennai-600 113) : Pre-evaluation of fire-affected RC framed structure and its post-evaluation by load test after repair. J Struct Engng 2007, 33(5), 419-27.

Eight-storey reinforced concrete framed building was affected by fire in the fourth floor causing severe damage to columns, beams, and slabs. This paper presents an assessment of the extent of damage caused by fire by conducting non-destructive and partially destructive tests, methodology of repair and its post-evaluation through load test. Ultrasonic pulse velocity test was used to determine the extent of damage in concrete due to fire and core samples were taken from the structure to evaluate the available compressive strength. Reinforcement samples were taken from slab panels and subjected to tension test to know the residual strength and percentage elongation, and also to estimate the temperature. The damages caused to the members have been classified according to the severity of damage and degree to which they are manifested. The structural members were repaired using cement grouting and guniting with weld mesh. After the repair, the floor panels and the beams were subjected to load tests to an intensity of 1.25 times the live load. The deflection of the selected slabs and beams were measured at regular load intervals and the recovery was also obtained after 24 hours. The deflections were found to be within permissible limits and the building was restored for its functional requirements.

12 illus, 3 tables

000651   Sridevi T;Shanmugam A;Murthy D Thirugnana; Sambasivan S Ilango;Swaminathan P (Electronics and Instrumentation Div, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, Tamilnadu-603 102) : Static analyzer for computer based safety systems. J Instrum Soc India 2007, 37(1), 40-8.

Safety Critical Systems play a vital role in achieving safe operation of nuclear power plant and to ensure the safely of people and control on the environment around the nuclear power plants. SCS need to have high reliability, accuracy and availability. The cost of critical system and consequences of failure of such critical system are potentially dangerous than that for non-critical systems. So SCS need an augment of additional verification processes in addition to normal analysis and testing. This paper elaborates the in-house development of the Static Analyzer, which is used to achieve their required quality in software used in SCS. It analyzes the program in terms of quality aspects and not in terms of functionality. With result of the static analyzer the source code can be enhanced subsequently, which is the fust step towards Zero Defect Programming.

4 illus, 12 ref

000650   Sreekala R;Muthumani K;Lakshmanan N; Gopalakrishnan N;Sathishkumar K;Reddy G R;Parulekar Y M (NO, Structural Engineering Research Centre, CSIR Campus,Taramani, Chennai-600 113) : Shape memory alloys for seismic response control. J Struct Engng 2007, 33(5), 383-9.

There have been considerable research efforts in seismic response control for the past several decades. Super elastic nitinol is found to be very effective for passive vibration control, as it can sustain large amounts of inelastic deformation and recover that deformation at the end of the process with good energy dissipation compared to regular metallic materials. These properties make them suitable for accomplishing the objectives of aseismic standards, yet to be practiced in India. In order to find the particular properties of NiTi alloys in structural application, an experimental investigation has been conducted The paper seeks the suitability of this material for structural applications especially earthquake risk reduction. Protection of structures from damage during earthquakes can be addressed using passive protection devices designed to have maximum energy dissipation capacity with re-centering capabilities. Based on the study carried out passive energy dissipation devices were developed. The paper discusses various tests conducted on Nitinol wires to evaluate the possibility of using them as an energy dissipating material with re-centering capabilities. Devices were designed, developed and fabricated in Structural Engineering Research Centre and the same were tested to prove their efficacy.

10 illus, 2 tables, 7 ref

000649   Soni M S;Kadam S M;Ramachandran M (NO, Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani) : Energy saving measures for thermo-mechanical components in thermal power plants. Energy Fuel Users J 2006, 40(2), 19-28.

Energy saving measures as far as Thermo-mechanical components concerned are presented in this paper. It also provides an overview of the energy sector development in India during the last fifty years. The initial part of the paper gives a brief picture of the progress made in creation of the energy supply, the changes in energy consumption pattern as evolved over time. The scope of the present paper is to explore the saving potential scenarios for thermal power plant (TPP) under various assumptions as well as the best practices to save the energy by investigating this potential. The study is centered primarily on the Thermo-mechanical components. In this paper an attempt has been made to provide those practices which can be beneficially used in future. The paper also attempts to suggest the tools/equipments useful for reducing the exploitation of the resources in thermal power plants.

1 illus, 9 ref

000648   Sitharam T G;Maji V B (Civil Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, Bangalore-560 012, Email: sitharam@civil.iisc.ernet.in) : Numerical modelling of jointed rock mass using equivalent continuum model. Indian Geotech J 2006, 36(3), 220-32.

Nonlinear equivalent continuum analyses of jointed rock specimens have been done applying axi-symmetric modelling using FLAC and 3D modelling using FLAC3D. These models estimate the properties of jointed rock mass from the properties of intact rock and a joint factor (J_f), which include the properties of joints to take care of the effects of joint frequency, joint orientation and strength of the joint. Special FISH functions have been used to incorporate joint factor model along with the Duncan and Chang (1970) hyperbolic relationships. in the respective codes. A comparative study with respective to stress-strain behaviour is presented with actual experimental results using these two types of numerical modelling. The models were also compared with the explicit modelling results for some specific cases. The results have been presented in the form of stress strain curves, for different lumber of joints having different inclination and varying confining pressures and also in the form of variation of deviatoric strength ratio with joint frequency and joint inclination. The results compare well with the experimental results.

13 illus, 1 table, 12 ref

000647   Singh V (NO, Indian Institute of Ecology and Environment, Green Gate, A 15, Paryavaran Complex, New Delhi-110 030, Email: vijendersingh2005@yahoo.co.in) : Assessement of the quality of drinking water in outer rural Delhi. I. physico-chemical characteristics. Res J Chem Envir 2006, 10(3), 62-6.

Study was conducted in the outer rural Delhi to examine the physico-chemical properties of the drinking water being used by the residents. The main objective was to assess the fitness of the potable water in view of the increased incidences of gastro-intestinal disorders and other water-borne disease prevalent there. The water samples were collected from three zones where the source of water was different, i.e. only by DJB or DJB plus ground water or only ground water. The sampled water was analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, turbidity, residual chlorides, nitrates, phosphates and total organic carbon. It was observed that water supplied by Delhi Jal Board (DJB) was safer to use and did not contain much amount of inorganic elements. In contrast the ground water was found to be rich in minerals (nitrates and phosphates) which promote the growth of pathogenic microorganisms and thus pose health threats to residents using the water. At some sampling areas using only ground water, the water supply contained significantly higher amounts of nitrates, phosphates and TOC that were above the prescribed limits.

3 tables, 9 ref

000646   Singh R R;Roy S K;Kumar R (NO, Central Minining Research Institute, Barwa Road, Dhanbad-826 001) : Deflagration behaviour of permitted explosives. J Mines Metals Fuels 2006, 54(10-11), 206-16.

Deflagration or slow decomposition of permitted explosives in underground coal mines is considered to be dangerous, initiating research activities in different countries on the subject. In India too the phenomenon has been a subject of research at Central Mining Research Institute, Dhanbad. From the initial studies with slurry, NG and emulsion explosives under varying experimental conditions favourable for an explosive to undergo deflagration were identified and reported. With the reports of few incidences of deflag ration of some NG-based and slurry permitted explosives in underground coal mines, it has become all the more necessity to adopt preventive measures towards reoccurrence of such hazards. Studies were conducted with some NG-based, slurry and emulsion permitted explosives of different manufacturers in different laboratory set-ups employed in different countries and a new, safe, sensitive and discriminatory set-up for star standardization of method and condition for assessment of deflagration propensity of Indian permitted explosives.

2 illus, 1 table, 19 ref

000645   Singh R P;Pandey J K (NO, Central Minining Research Institute, Barwa Road, Dhanbad-826 001) : Suppression of coal dust during open fires to improve visibility in underground coal mines. J Mines Metals Fuels 2006, 54(10-11), 217-20.

Poor visibility caused due to emission of suspended particulate matters (SPM) during open fires in underground coal mines generally dampened the fire fighting and rescue operations. Three sets of experiments at varied airflow rate, carried out in the CMRI mine fire model gallery, indicates that the open fires can cause more than 90% opacity, hence severely affects the visibility in the mine. Emission rate of SPM increase with the increase in air velocity while its concentration in the fire area depicts the opposite trend. Application of fire suppression techniques like LN₂ and HPHS nitrogen foam slightly improves the visibility but water mist is most effective in improving the visibility during open fires condition.

4 illus, 2 tables, 6 ref

000644   Singh A K;Paul A;Kumar N;Rao D G;Sinha A (NO, Central Minining Research Institute, Barwa Road, Dhanbad-826 001) : Framing of design of support for lip and drift of a new undergound coal mine. J Mines Metals Fuels 2006, 54(10-11), 203-5.

During opening of a new underground coal mine through inclines, some times it is very difficult to make first opening in the rocks even at some depth if the strata is not competent, especially in the case of poorly cemented medium to coarse grained sandstone. Support of the Lip (mouth of the opening) in Loose strata is very complex job. When the opening is made and prolonged at some distance, the problem is minimized. Resin bolting, which has been used during the study, is very important support system in bad ground conditions due to its fast setting nature and very good load bearing capacity. For permanent assessment of rock mass it is very important to study the amount of rock Load coming around the openings. An attempt has been made to throw some light on design of support system for drifts of a newly opened underground coal mines after detailed geotechnical studies of roof rocks, which is composed of poorly cemented strata.

5 illus, 4 ref

000643   Simon S P;Padhy N P (Electrical Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee) : A new ant colony system model for unit commitment problem. Wat Energy int 2006, 63(1), 49-57.

New ant colony system (ACS) model has been proposed for solving practical unit commitment problem (UCP). ACS is more suitable for solving combinatorial optimization problem, so a new ACS model has been applied to the UCP which is hard combinatorial in nature. Minimum cost path for the scheduling of thermal units has been obtained based on the concept of artificial ants find the shortest distance to the food source from the nest. In the first step, ants are allowed to search (ant search space) all the possible combination of the states satisfying the load demand for the complete scheduling period. Then an ant search mechanism is adopted where the artificial ants explore the ant search space to find the overall minimum generation cost. The search mechanism incorporates a multi decision states that makes the ACS approach superior over traditional dynamic programming (DP) method. In this new ACS model, elistic ants are added with the existing simple ACS model making the new ACS based model slightly advantageous over the ACS models presently in use. The proposed new ACS model successfully solves the and its performance has been tested for practical ten unit system and compared with the conventional dynamic programming and simple ACS. The proposed model may be extended to practical systems with large number of generating units.

5 illus, 1 table, 17 ref

000642   Sharma A K;Ravi M R;Kohli S (Mechanical Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi-110 016) : Modelling product composition in slow pyrolysis of wood. SESI Jl 2006, 16(1), 1-11.

Pyrolysis product composition has been modelled at low heating rates (<60> 100°C/min) for woody biomass materials to predict char yield, simplified composition of volatile species and heat of pyrolysis. The thermal decomposition of biomass has been described on the basis of decomposition of its three main constituents viz., cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Complete elemental balance along with data from the literature on CO/C0₂, H₂O/CO₂ and light hydrocarbon CO₂ ratios have been used for determining the product composition as a function of temperature. Model predictions are validated against data from published literature. The model has been used to illustrate the effect of temperature on the product composition for pyrolysis of different biomass materials. Model predictions show that the pyrolysis process changes from endothermic to exothermic with increase in temperature and reversal in heat of pyrolysis occurs when the tar yield falls to zero.

8 illus, 2 tables, 24 ref