Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India) Series A

Bhandari, Sanjay; Kaur, Harsimran

2023 Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India) Series A

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00759-0

It is essential to understand how culture, geography, and environment interact to create water systems that have sustained communities for years in hilly terrains of the globe. In India, Almora, Uttarakhand, is one such example where Naula and Dhara’s traditional water harvesting systems still persist as a consistent source of fresh drinking water. These systems are valuable due to historical, religious, and architectural importance as they exhibit ancient knowledge about architecture and hydraulics in hills. However, unplanned development and a decline in associated knowledge systems have damaged Naulas and their structures in the city. This paper aims to assess the Naulas in the Almora hill city and propose strategies for conserving traditional water sources and protecting their structures. A comprehensive survey of traditional water sources is carried out based on field surveys for resource mapping, inventories, documentation, visual inspection, and unstructured interviews with local historians and stakeholders. The findings are validated through analysis and condition assessment using non-destructive techniques. The study’s findings indicate that numerous barriers exist to integrating traditional water sources into the current water management system due to lack of expertise and training, persistent conflict and competition between conservation needs and developers’ interests, and lack of funding. There is an immediate need to protect and preserve these traditional water systems and elevate their neglected status to sustain freshwater resources along with associated knowledge systems as a valuable resource for sustainable and inclusive development.

Sthapit, Nima; Shrestha, Rajesh Kumar; Paudel, Satish

2023 Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India) Series A

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00758-1

For the past few years, the trend of construction of high-rise buildings has progressed due to rapid urbanization and lack of land for horizontal expansion, especially in metropolis. These buildings are uniquely characterized by the requirement of major design consideration under lateral loads, earthquakes, or wind. So, it becomes more difficult to control the drift and deflection with the increasing height of the structure. To this end, this study presents a few energy-dissipating techniques that can be used in buildings to increase their stiffness and stability under seismic forces, along with a comparative analysis of the appropriate system to dissipate the maximum energy induced by these forces. A total of one hundred twenty-three analytical models were created on finite element modeling software using two sets of models. The linear dynamic analysis was carried out in the reference building and building with three different outrigger systems. The best outrigger system was selected, and its optimum location was determined by comparing their results in terms of story drift and top story deflection. The seismic response analysis of the first set of models illustrates that the M3 system with belt truss and cap truss is the best outrigger system, and its position is nearly at the mid-height of the building. Furthermore, the research was extended to the second set of models with ten more different systems with varying numbers of stories to investigate the effect of the slenderness ratio to locate the optimum position of the outrigger. The study highlights that it is more effective to place the outrigger at the upper heights of the building with a lower slenderness ratio to control the lateral displacement.

Amin, Jignesh

2023 Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India) Series A

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00756-3

The wind-induced interference effects on structural responses of two nearby buildings due to partial shielding are examined based on wind tunnel studies. The wind pressure coefficients at various nodes on the walls of two study models arranged in L-shaped layouts and in isolation are evaluated for a broad range of wind orientations. The mean structural responses of prototype unit-1 and unit-2 imperiled to mutual partial shielding are estimated by applying acquired wind forces based on wind tunnel pressure measurements and compared to the corresponding responses of comparable prototype in isolated state to evaluate the interference factors. The effects of wind orientations and dimensions of buildings in modifying the pressure coefficients and structural responses of both units arranged in L-layout are also estimated. The presence of upstream units L1-1 and L2-1 attenuates the along-wind responses of downstream units L1-2 and L2-2 by up to 24% and 21%, respectively, at a wind inclination angle of 0° compared to that of identical units in isolation. However, the presence of upstream units L1-1 and L2-1 amplifies the maximum mean torsion on units L1-2 and L2-2 by up to 30% and 35%, respectively, in comparison with the peak torque created on a similar unit in isolation.

Tejaswi, S. Padma; Prasad, C. S. R. K.

2023 Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India) Series A

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00757-2

Hyderabad, a rapidly developing city in India, has seen a surge in private vehicle ownership due to its growing economy. As vehicle ownership increases, trip-makers are more likely to rely on their personal vehicles because of their flexibility in allowing for multiple stops. This contributes to a more complex travel behaviour, which emphasises the importance of understanding the interrelationship between mode choice and trip chain patterns and their influence on travel decisions. While previous studies have concentrated on the decision-making between trip chaining and mode choice using cross-sectional data, this study uses panel data to gain insights into travel behaviour changes over time in a developing country context. The present study examines the changes in travel decisions concerning trip chaining and mode choice over a period of 4 years. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is used to test the hypothesis of the decision hierarchy, with separate models developed for work and non-work trips by active modes, public and private transport users. The data sets of 2012 and 2016 reveal changes in travel behaviour over time. The results indicate that the increased vehicle ownership has led to a significant change in travel decisions and an increase in the complexity of trip chain patterns. Specifically, the study finds a change from simultaneous decision-making between trip chaining and mode choice to clear precedence of mode choice for non-work trips, while work trips exhibit the opposite trend. These findings provide valuable insights for revising planning strategies to increase public transport ridership in developing country contexts.

Baskaran, V.; Saravanane, R.

2023 Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India) Series A

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00760-7

Solar Steam Generation (SSG) is one among the many available methods of Desalination. But, here the name Solar Steam Generation is ineluctable due to its sustainable performance in the coastal region. To move toward the next step in this SSG system, this article makes use of Montmorillonite Clay Nanoparticle and Rice Straw with a view to attain robust evaporation rate and sturdy yield. Here, the Montmorillonite is dispersed in the input sea water which acts as a thermal conversion material, and the Rice Straw culms are used for its better water pumping capacity. The setup, Montmorillonite Clay Nanoparticle with Rice Straw (MMCN-RS) is made for carrying out SSG. The experiment was performed for a span of 2 weeks in two ways: indoor and outdoor. The resulting evaporation rate for 1 sun, 2 sun and 4 sun irradiations were observed as 0.82 kg/m2h, 1.43 kg/m2h and 3.56 kg/m2h, respectively, which means when compared to reference pure water 2.92 times, 3.57 times and 4.50 times the efficiency has been increased. The corresponding yield through MMCN-RS was 5.30–6.90 kg/m2/day. The obtained yield of this work was validated with WHO standards. The use of rice straw is unique which contributes toward unrestricted yield. Also, the highlight of this work is making a trash into utilitarian and the scope behind the work is to provide a solution to the existing socio-economic issue in the coastal regions for the survival. This work is budget friendly which will be useful for even the people in the BPL category and also can make use of this product if any subsidy is given from the government. Also, the operation does not need any technical knowledge and it will really help those in and around the coastal region improving their socio-economic standard.Graphical Abstract[graphic not available: see fulltext]