Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India) Series A

Malik, Masroor Ahmad; Faisal, Shahzad; Muzamil, Mohd.; Langoo, Bilal Ahmad; Shukla, Rakesh Mohan; Reshi, Monica; Dhekale, Bhagyashree; Hussain, Syed Zameer

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00726-9

A study was conducted to design, develop and evaluate a low-cost willow wicker peeling machine for farmers and wicker craft industry of Jammu and Kashmir. The relevant physical characteristics of willow wicker were measured in terms of length, diameter and peel thickness to finalize the design values of individual working components of willow wicker machine. The machine comprised of hopper, peeling rollers, electric motor and discharging unit with overall dimension of 736 × 406 × 609 mm. The evaluation was carried out at three moisture content (13, 18 and 23% w.b), roller speeds (350, 700 and 1050 rpm) and wicker varieties (Salix triandra, Salix purpurea and Salix viminalis). The optimization of the data through design expert 10.0.1 revealed that operating the machine at 700 rpm with S. purpurea variety containing 13% (w.b) moisture content resulted in throughput capacity of 15 twigs/min, 83.85% peeling efficiency, 0.74% damage percentage, 0.064 man-min/twig labour requirement and 1.4 kJ/twig specific mechanical energy consumption. The cost economics showed that operating the machine requires 64.3 Rs h−1 with benefit–cost ratio of 2.35:1, breakeven point of 109,800 twigs and payback period of 640.44 hours. The comparative analysis showed the cost difference of Rs. 45 per hour between manual and mechanical peeling of willow wicker twigs. The weight of the machine was recorded as 53 kilograms. The study can be useful for wicker craft (keani keam) industry with huge employment and entrepreneurship generation potential.

Nayak, Ramesh Chandra; Samal, Chandrika; Roul, Manmatha K.; Padhi, Payodhar

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00730-z

India is the second most populous country in the world and relies heavily on agriculture as its main source of income. The combination of agriculture and technology is needed to accelerate the development of agriculture, especially in rural areas, to increase productivity, efficiency and profitability. The application of technology in agriculture will enhance the farmer’s involvement in their occupation. Agriculture mainly consists of field grounding, transplantation, and harvesting. In each step of agriculture, irrigation is the main requirement. Farmers are spending more to irrigate their farms for agriculture. So, the application of technology to irrigation is the most important requirement to sustain the farmers. In this work, a pendulum-operated irrigation model is presented. The designed model is required to attach to the hand pump. The developed system will work without any external source of power, which will provide maximum profit to farmers.

Khanke, Venushree S.; Tande, S. N.

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00728-7

Functionally Graded Materials have wide applications in aerospace and space wherein the material is susceptible to environmental conditions such as temperature and moisture, which can be a reason for its failure. This study aims to analyze even and uneven functionally graded sandwich plates with geometric distortions under hygro-thermo-mechanical loading. A theoretical formulation based on Higher Order Zig-zag Theory is generated. Finite Element-based coding is developed in MATLAB to obtain dimensionless deflections. The material properties follow power law variation and depend on temperature and moisture conditions. The comparison study indicates the validation of the present findings. The parametric study is presented to study the effect of various geometric distortions, such as sine, global and local distortions, on dimensionless deflections are observed. The influence of various configurations of the plate and volume fraction index is also studied. The current formulation portrays its exceptional capability in projecting the accurate behavior of FG sandwich plates with geometric distortions as it considers the criteria of continuous transverse shear stress at inter-laminar junctions. New findings are put forth for future studies in similar fields.

Thakur, Pankaj Kumar; Kumar, Vinod; Deoli, Vaibhav

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00709-w

Springs are the important source of natural water supply in hilly regions of Uttarakhand since ancient times. Due to erratic rainfall patterns, seismic activity, landslides and changes in land use in association with climate change are impacting the mountain aquifer system badly resulting in half of the Himalayan springs either have died, reduced discharge, becoming seasonal or deteriorating their water quality. The 18 spring water samples were collected from the Pithoragarh block of the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand. The assessment of 20 physicochemical parameters namely colour, odour, taste, temperature, pH, Total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, turbidity, total hardness, calcium, sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, free carbon dioxide CO2, acidity, alkalinity, sulphate, Calcium hardness and Magnesium hardness as carried out in the laboratory and evaluated values was compared with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and World Health Organization (WHO) standards to adjudge the suitability of water for drinking as well irrigation purposes. The spatial distribution maps were created using the inverse distance weighting method. The water quality indices (WQI) for drinking and irrigation purposes were also developed using the weighted arithmetic index method for selected parameters. On the basis of the average value of physicochemical parameters, no water sample was found completely suitable for drinking and the main reason for the unsuitability of water for drinking purposes was total hardness; therefore, treatment measures specifically for total hardness removal need to be applied before consumption. Only 5% of the samples were found in the “Excellent” category for drinking purposes in accordance with WQI as per the BIS and WHO standards. For irrigation purposes, on the basis of sodium absorption ratio (SAR) all the water samples can be used for irrigation whereas based on the permeability index 22% of samples are moderated safe and 78% of samples are unsafe for irrigation purposes. The irrigation water quality index showed that no water sample is safe for irrigation purposes. Furthermore, cluster analysis has also been done to classify the quality of water in different ranges for drinking purposes and it has been classified into 3 clusters. On the basis of cluster analysis, it was concluded that cluster-3 was most polluted as compared to cluster-1 and cluster-2.

Sarkar, Debasis; Dhaneshwar, Dhaval; Raval, Purvesh

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00727-8

The Architecture Engineering and Construction/Facility Management (AEC/FM) industry assumes a significant part in financial turn of events. Lately, the inescapable use and improvement of Building Information Modeling (BIM) has advanced the advancement of information and digitalization of the AEC/FM industry. The absence of accountability within the construction industry has been a continuous issue for a long time, and with amazingly crushed net revenues, firms are poised to seek out ways to chop corners and deflect blame from the subsequent failures. Subsequently, change and advancement in the business may get affected. Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain can be considered as two advancements that can be facilitated with the BIM of the AEC/FM sector. This paper aims at developing an integrated BIM-IoT-Blockchain prototype which would help in automation of the monitoring process of mega complex infrastructure projects. The proposed prototype/model would enable to carry out data management for the construction project through Decentralized Common Data Environment (DCDE). Furthermore, the proposed model would improve the payment process to the contractors and subcontractors of the project. The model would also help in improved construction supply chain management, construction asset management and also for administering of smart construction contracts.

Roberts, S.; Mathaka, N.; Zeleke, M. A.; Nwaigwe, K. N.

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00715-y

A work on the analysis of five kinetic models for predicting methane yield is presented. The selected five common models for predicting methane yield include Gompertz, logistic, first-order, Richards and transfert models. Anaerobic digestion of orange and banana peels was simulated using the selected models. A comparative analysis of the models was carried out to determine the best-fit model. When predicting the methane yield of banana peels, all models reached a maximum of 99.23% and the model which was most accurate was the Gompertz model with 76% cumulative deviation and the least accurate model was the transfert model with 274.7% cumulative deviation. The prediction of methane yield on orange peels was 99.49% accurate for all models having the most accurate model being the Gompertz and first-order kinetic model with a cumulative deviation of 20.67% and the least accurate model being the transfert model with a cumulative deviation of 112%. This work presents the simulation considerations and application for each model.

Al-Rajhi, M. A.; Osman, Y. K.

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00714-z

This research manufactures a self-propelled machine for scraping poultry litter off the concrete floor and packing it mechanically into sacks by a screw elevating system to reduce hygienic problems by preventing atmospheric emissions, such as hydrogen, sulfide, and ammonia. This system saves feedlot operators and increases profit for poultry litter contractors who sell it as fertilizer. Also, it aims to study the factors affecting the packing of poultry litter. The machine is provided with a dust protection divider to keep dust away and protect operators from rising dust. The study includes three experimental variables: four screw speed levels of 2.10, 2.62, 3.14, and 3.84 m/sec (733.3, 600, 500, and 400 rpm) with three screw pitch levels of 6, 8, and 10 cm, and three poultry litter moisture contents of 31.8%, 46.5% and 60.7%. The measurements include gathering efficiency, actual volumetric capacity, volumetric efficiency, machine productivity, machine efficiency, rising dust, and operating costs. The gathering efficiency, conveyor screw volumetric efficiency, machine productivity, and machine efficiency maximum values were 94.67%, 95.33%, 1.47 ton/h, and 92.33% at a screw speed of 3.84 m/sec, screw pitch of 10 cm, and poultry litter moisture content of 30.8%. The minimum amount of rising dust was 0.57 mg/m3 at a screw speed of 2.1 m/sec, screw pitch of 6 cm, and poultry litter moisture content of 60.7%. The manufactured machine can decrease the operating cost by 76.27%. Therefore, it is recommended to use the self-propelled machine for cleaning poultry houses.

Rashid, Zarka; Faisal, Shahzad; Muzamil, Mohd.; Dixit, Jagvir; Shukla, Rakesh Mohan; Khan, Imran

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00718-9

A study was conducted to utilize the engineering properties of walnut shells and kernels at 14% and 5% moisture content (wb) to design, develop and evaluate walnut cracker and separator machine. The average bulk density of shells (228–242.7 kg m−3) and kernels (401.7–414.2 kg m−3) along with mathematical calculations and review of literature was used to conceptualize working components of universal walnut cracker and separator machine. The machine comprised of feeding hopper, cracking rollers, separation tray, main frame, power transmission system and collection tray. The functional performance of the developed prototype was tested in terms of rotational speed of the cracker (75, 85 and 95 rpm) and amplitude of vibration (55, 65 and 75 mm). The economic parameters of operational cost, breakeven point, benefit-cost ratio and pay back period were also calculated. The optimum conditions were obtained with the help of design expert 10.0.1 and response surface methodology. A cracker speed of 85 rpm and vibrational amplitude of 65 mm resulted in throughput capacity of 15.98 kg h−1, 86.0% cracking efficiency, 74.0% separation efficiency, 81.34% kernel recovery, 18.6% kernel damage, 62.74 man-hours ton−1labour requirement and 1136.7 MJ ton−1 energy consumption. The operating cost of the machine was 67.73 Rs h−1, benefit cost ratio 1.35, breakeven point at 5001.8 kg and payback period of 1129.8 h, respectively. This machine can be beneficial for income augmentation of walnut growers and rural employment through custom hiring centres.

Pallela, Sruthi Sekhar; Mehar, Arpan

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00720-1

Increase in traffic flow demand on urban roads invites significant challenges in evaluation of operational performance measures and design of traffic flow facility. The complexity in design, analysis and modelling further increases due to presence of side friction in a form of curb-side bus stop. Present study is an effort on finding the impact of a curb-side bus stop on time headway and speed characteristics of traffic stream on individual lanes of four-lane divided urban roads. The field data are collected for study at four locations in two cities in India. Lane distribution analysis result indicates, more than 50% of vehicles tend to travel in inner lanes at bus stop resulting lower mean time headway in inner lane. Statistical analysis of time headway and speed data carried out to understand the vehicular behaviour by developing frequency distribution profiles. The relationship between mean time headway on inner lane and bus dwell time established to know the impact and duration of bus occupancy at curb side. The field data analysis performed at various locations showed a signification reduction in the mean speed of vehicles up to 22% due to bus stop. The present study also defined zone of influence at bus stop sections taking average speed of vehicular stream as measure of effectiveness. It is observed for every 20 m increase in zone of influence the percentage reduction in speed has been increased by 54.3%. The findings of the present study help engineers to design proper layout of bus stop facility and provide insight to manage the traffic operations on urban roads.

Samantaray, Sandeep; Agnihotri, Ankita; Sahoo, Abinash

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00725-w

Amongst the most destructive natural hazards, flood is the major cause of destruction to life and property. To ascertain the affected area under flood, development of flood models in various watersheds is the most important factor for decision makers. Lately, data mining techniques like artificial neural network (ANN) are being widely used to a higher extent for flood modelling. Present paper focuses on developing a flood model taking various factors causing flood with the help of ANN technique and Geographic Information System (GIS) for modelling and simulating flood affected areas lying under Narmada River Basin. ANN model was developed using MATLAB software, considering nine factors causing floods. Catchment characteristics are extracted by the application of GIS. The performance of the model is determined by considering four performance indices, including coefficient of determination (R2), mean square error (MSE), sum squared error (SSE), and root-mean-square error (RMSE). The results revealed that model 1 showed best performance with R2 value of 0.9907, MSE value of 0.000488, and SSE value of 7.69, whereas model 5 performed poorly with R2 (0.9036), highest MSE (0.000743), and SSE (2.89). Obtained results revealed suitable agreement amid predicted and actual hydrological datasets.

Srinath, Purushothaman; Varghese, Koshy

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00713-0

Project schedules play a critical role in managing a project’s time performance. Network-based techniques such as the Critical Path Method (CPM) and its extension, the Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) are widely used for project scheduling. Planning engineers have reported several cases where intricate schedule networks are developed to plan a project, however, these are not useful for managing the project as the details of the project are not accurately represented in the network. Schedules that cannot be used effectively for managing projects are termed to be of poor quality. As projects get more complex and demanding, the need for objectively assessing schedule quality has become important. To address this need, assessment guides/standards have been developed by client agencies such as United States Government Accountability Office as well as professional organizations such as the Project Management Institute (PMI) and Association for Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) International. These standards specify qualitative and quantitative guidelines to conform to the standard, and schedules that do not meet the guidelines are non-conformant schedules. Further, specific areas of non-conformances can be assessed, and changes can be made to conform to the guidelines. While assessing schedules against a standard guideline enables identifying areas of non-conformances for a specific schedule, there has been no systematic study to evaluate the patterns of non-conformance across baseline schedules. Further, there has been no work that has identified the causes of these non-conformances. Identifying the causes can enable preventive action to be taken rather than corrective action. This study addresses these gaps by first assessing the conformance of baseline schedules of thirty sample projects using standard guidelines and quantifying the categories of non-conformance across projects. As the assessment guidelines are both quantitative and qualitative, three types of assessment mechanisms are utilized to identify the non-conformances. Next, causes for non-conformances are identified using document review followed by semi-structured interviews with twenty-three experts. The root causes underlying the immediate causes for schedule non-conformances were derived using Root Cause Analysis (RCA) methodology and the impact of the root causes on the non-conformances was assessed. The root causes and their impact were verified through a modified Delphi study involving a second set of experts and strategies to address the root causes are discussed.

Chandra, Aitichya; Pani, Agnivesh; Sahu, Prasanta K.; Sharma, Sushant

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00712-1

The freight demand forecasting process is broadly categorized into trip-based modelling and commodity-based modelling due to the multidimensional units of analysis (i.e., trips, tonnage, volume, etc.). Freight activities can be represented in an improved manner when at least two of these measures can be jointly modelled. The joint modelling concept requires an approximate function to convert tonnage trip length distribution (TLD) to truck (trip) TLD. This research investigates the possibility of such a function for several ISIC commodity classes. Class-specific trip and tonnage lengths are modelled, and, subsequently, approximation functions are developed. The results reveal that approximated trip length distributions match closely with the observed distributions for each class. The approximation functions will be valuable in integrating commodity-based- and trip-based modelling approaches. The inclusion of this function at the trip distribution modelling stage would assist not only in planning for the logistics requirements but also cost-savings in data collection exercises.

Nazir, Mehraab; Illahi, Ubaid; Gurjar, Jitendra; Mir, Mohammad Shafi

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00710-3

Crash severity analysis and prediction is a promising field in traffic safety. Various statistical methods have been used to model the severity of road crashes. However, machine learning algorithms have gained popularity in recent years. This study compares the predictive performance of various machine learning and statistical models, including prediction accuracy, and determines the influence of various variables on crash severity. The crash severity data were collected from a Hospital in Kashmir (India), an area with mixed topography. The crash severity levels (CSLs) were represented in the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). For estimations, the two statistical models, logistic regression (LR) and decision tree (DT), and four machine learning models, including random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), gradient boosted tree (GBT), and extreme gradient boosting (XG BOOST), have been used. The results show that the machine learning models have higher prediction accuracy than the statistical models. Among all, the GBT model has the best overall prediction accuracy, particularly in the prediction of individual CSLs while LR was found to have the least accuracy. The influence of variables on CSL was found from DT and GBT. Both models have indicated that ‘time’ as a variable was the most influencing, followed by the casualty class of pedestrians over the CSLs. The results also show that the variable influences over CSL were different from different models. Based on the influence of variables, certain policy implications are suggested, which might aid the transportation department, and other concerned departments to reduce the severity and number of road traffic crashes (RTCs).

Shinde, Sagar Maruti; Karjinni, Vilas Vijay

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00717-w

The number of registered motor vehicles (RMV) in Kolhapur, a medium-sized city, has steadily increased over the last few years, resulting in an increased risk of air pollution, but a comprehensive study is lacking. This study was aimed two-fold: (1) to develop and validate a 3-year (2010–2012) vehicular emission inventory (VEI) and (2) to find a relationship between the total RMV and air pollution in Kolhapur city. This study used the conventional approach to develop the VEI and the correlation technique to validate the developed VEI and find the relationship between RMV and air pollution. The emissions of three air pollutants, namely the oxides of nitrogen (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and respirable suspended particulate matter (or PM10), were calculated for the eight main RMV categories. The VEI results revealed that between 2010 and 2012, NOx, SO2, PM10, and total emissions have increased by 27%, 38%, 32%, and 30%, respectively. Major polluting vehicle categories contributing to the emissions of specific pollutants have also been explored. Among eight types of RMV, trucks & lorries (T&L) and light motor vehicles (goods) (LMVG) were dominant sources. T&L was the major contributor to both total emissions of NOx (42%) and PM10 (24%), and LMVG was the main contributor to total SO2 (34%) emissions. Similarly, the overall correlation coefficient values were between 0.9132 and 0.9999 (strongly positive), indicating the validity of the developed VEI and source confirmation in the city. This study could help policymakers to implement appropriate control policies.

Ravaliya, Nirmal Rakeshbhai; Singh, Lovepreet; Akbar, M. Abdul

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00722-z

The codal guidelines for the design of civil engineering structures are mostly based on the overall design of the structure with limited formula-based guidelines to consider the effect of stress concentration. In this study, two vulnerable, isolated infrastructures, namely a three-hinged arch and a tie connection, are modeled and analyzed using ABAQUS. The cross sections of the members originally designed as per IS 456 (2000) for a nominal load of 100kN are re-run for increased loads without increasing the cross-sectional dimensions of the members (but changing other parameters that increase the load-carrying capacity). It is observed that the reinforcement at the crown hinge portion of the three-hinged arch and the notch connecting the members for the tie connection increase in vulnerability for increasing loads and even exceeds the limits of linear analysis, which a civil engineering structure should typically not exceed. The study results are used to arrive at guidelines to be considered for the design of structures.

Das, Debi Prasad; Das, Diptesh; Topdar, Pijush; Biswas, Robin Kumar; Ghosh, Bibhuti Bhusan

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00723-y

The responses of the asymmetric building change under external load depending upon various factors. Most of high-rise building structures are analyzed without considering infill walls. Generally, infill wall structures are analyzed without considering tensile forces or dynamic loading. As per the literature review, analysis of partial open frame plan asymmetric structures and the effect of locations of openings in different floor levels is very rare. In such a scenario, a specific size of the opening is considered at different floor levels of a ten-storied plan asymmetric building to compare the responses. In this case, the structure is considered on different supports such as hard soil, medium soil, soft soil, and fixed support under wind load and ground motions. Maximum base shear has been found in the direction of the ground motion when the building foundation is on hard soil. The partial open wall structure is not suitable for the seismic prone zone. However, a suitable location of opening mitigates structural responses under wind load to some extent.

Vasilescu, Șerban; Ilincă, Costin; Tănase, Maria

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00716-x

The object of the present study is the quantification, with the finite element analysis, of the mechanical stress states related to the characteristic geometric-structural discontinuities in the case of the derrick supported chimney (used for noxious gas evacuation). The analysis establishes the states of stresses and deformations that appear during the operation process specific to the installation with the presentation of the safety coefficients related to the analyzed sections.

Goswami, Jayanta; Bhattacharjya, Rajib Kumar

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00724-x

The work aims to assess the social vulnerability index of the groundwater-based public water supply system of Kamrup district of Assam, India. The primary factor responsible for the vulnerability of groundwater-based drinking water supply systems is the water quality of the supplied water. However, vulnerability is also related to social factors such as age, literacy, economic status, asset value, accessibility to drinking water sources. As such, this study considered the social factor along with the water quality index to provide an integrated vulnerability index. The water quality data of the study area have been collected from the Public Health Engineering Department of the State of Assam. The other factors are calculated from the 2011 census data of India. The weight for the parameters is obtained as per the opinion survey conducted among the experts. The results of the vulnerability index calculation show that only one block of the district has a high vulnerability value, whereas other blocks are at a medium and very low to low vulnerability level. The high value of vulnerability in the block is mainly due to the high value of the water quality index factor and the low value of accessible water source and asset factor.

Kinjawadekar, Trupti Amit; Patil, Shantharam; Nayak, Gopinatha

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00729-6

Since the nineteenth century, reinforced concrete was evolved as a crucial material for construction. This popular composite material is broadly used in different building typologies. However, the decaying of steel rebar due to corrosion is identified as a hindrance that can affect the quality of reinforced concrete structures. In reference to this, the glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bar is essential because of corrosion-resistant properties. The researchers performed various tests and numerical analysis to know the response of GFRP-reinforced flexural members in shear and bending. Based on studies over the last decade, this study critically analyzes the response of flexural member reinforced using glass fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars. Understanding the behavior of the FRP bar as the alternating reinforcing material will be aided by this review. Since the GFRP bar has high strength and no yield point, the conventional characterizations of ductility may not be applicable to determine whether GFRP-reinforced concrete components are ductile. Hence, a detailed study is needed to understand the behavior of such structures. This paper explores various properties of GFRP-reinforced beams to appreciate the applications of GFRP reinforcement in flexural members.

Sharma, Ishu; Singh, Gyani Jail

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

doi: 10.1007/s40030-023-00721-0

The purpose of this article is to review the impact of stiffening the flange on the flexural behavior of box beams. Steel box beams with stiffeners applied to their flanges have a significantly lower effective width ratio than those with thickened flanges. In the reported studies, the effect of closely spaced stiffeners is discussed, but it is not explained how the stiffeners reduce the effective width ratio to a lower extent. A few studies have attempted to analyze the bending behavior of stiffened flange steel box girders considering shear lag effect; however, they are limited to fully retrained end box beams. Other studies ignore critical factors such as material properties and section properties. Steel box beams with stiffened flanges are typically evaluated by adding stiffeners to the flange area to mobilize stiffener stiffness. The proportional mobilization of stiffness from the stiffener to the flange is insufficient to produce a low effective width ratio. A concrete layer applied over the flange of steel box girders reduces the shear lag effect and, therefore, results in a higher effective width ratio. Using a concrete layer together with stiffeners to retrofit stiffened flange steel box girders is rarely reported in the literature. Therefore, estimating the shear flow capacity of the flange is necessary for steel box beams or composite box beams with stiffened flanges to analyze their bending behavior critically. A simplified procedure may be developed to examine how stiffeners placed across flanges (spacing), as well as their number, and dimensions, affect the bending behavior of box beams. The procedure may also be applicable to support types and loading conditions.