Department of Environmental and Water Resources Engineering

Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) is a private university located in&nbsp;Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 1984, as Vellore Engineering College, the institution offers 20 undergraduate, 34 postgraduate, four integrated and four research programs. It has campuses in Vellore, Amravati, Bhopal and Chennai.

VIT is one of the top ranked private universities in India according to NIRF, THE and QS Rankings.&nbsp;Govt. of India has recognized&nbsp;VIT, Vellore as an&nbsp;Institution of Eminence. This has allowed VIT to take independent quality initiatives and move up in world ranking.

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VIT University

School of Civil Engineering

The present study investigates the rainfall-induced long-runout landslide that occurred in the Achanakkal area of the Nilgiris district in the Tamil Nadu state of India on November 11, 2009. The landslide damaged a house located on the runout path and killed its eight residents. The slide also damaged a road network, affecting traffic for several weeks. The main objective of the study is to understand the failure mechanism associated with Achanakkal 2009 landslide. This study is composed of a field investigation, laboratory experiments, and a numerical simulation of the landslide. Based on the field investigation including a topographical survey, a borehole investigation, a geophysical test, and laboratory classification tests, the slope geometry was identified and the subsoil was characterized. Ring shear tests were performed to estimate the shear strength parameters such as peak and residual friction angle (φp and φm) and steady-state shear resistance (τss). Numerical simulation of the landslide was carried out using the LS-RAPID landslide simulation model by incorporating the shear strength parameters obtained from the ring shear tests. The simulation results reproduced the failure mechanism of the Achanakkal landslide and matched the runout distance, landslide boundary, and distribution of debris mass that were observed from the topographical survey well. The analysis results revealed that the rainfall infiltration due to 5 days' antecedent rainfall of 594 mm; a very large amount of daily rainfall, 820 mm, on the event day; and accumulation of rainwater on the source area charging from the above plateau due to blocking of drainage culverts increased the soil saturation. An increase in saturation level of the soil developed the pore water pressure in the source area. The development of pore pressure to ru=0.5 significantly reduced the shear resistance of the soil at the slip surface from the peak value to the residual value along with shear displacement was the possible cause for triggering of Achanakkal landslide. The analysis also revealed that the simulation model initiates the landslide at a smaller pore water pressure ratio than the limit equilibrium method of stability analysis due to progressive failure. © 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.

VIT Unitversity

Department of Structural and Geotechical Engineering

Vellore Campus

Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering

Failure Mechanism of Long-Runout Landslide Triggered by Heavy Rainfall in Achanakkal, Nilgiris, India

Conservation of ancient buildings to make them long lasting is gaining importance. Lime mortars, which exhibit better strength and durability with progression over time, are used for this purpose. This study emphasizes the effect of adopting the traditional method of slaking and adding a natural polymer extract derived from Bilwa fruit. Lime mortars were slaked for different durations of 1, 15, 30, 60, and 90 days. Further, the admixture was added in concentrations of 5% and 10% to the lime mortar mix. The effects of slaking and the incorporation of the natural polymer extract on the fresh state, mechanical, and physical properties were studied. Durability properties in the form of resistance to salt crystallization and capillary action were also investigated. The microstructure of the mortars was examined through X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and thermogravimetric differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) techniques. Characteristics of lime mortar have shown improvement as the age of slaking increases. A similar pronounced effect was observed with the addition of natural polymers. © 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.

World University root node

Journal of Architectural Engineering

Alternative Approach for Traditional Slaking and Grinding of Air Lime Mortar for Restoration of Heritage Structures: Natural Polymer

Phycoremediation; biotransformation of nutrients and or pollutants by microalgae, supports sustainable wastewater treatment, coupled with biomass production, resulting in enhanced cost savings, waste minimization, and energy conservation. A major challenge in this technique involves cultivation system to be adopted, mode of treatment and harvesting methods. Three different algal cultivation systems; polybags (PB), photobioreactors (PBR) and race way ponds (RWP) were employed for culturing an indigenous microalga, Scenedesmus obliquus in rice mill paddy-soaked wastewater (PSW). The maximum biomass productivity (BP) of 340 ± 2 mg/L/d was observed in PBR with an ammonical nitrogen (NH3-N) removal (RN) of 96.12 ± 0.21% and the phosphates (PO4-P) removal (RP) of 97.58 ± 0.18%. Highest lipids (L)∼12% (% biomass), protein (P)∼40% and carbohydrates (C)∼20%) were gained in PBR culture system, followed by RWP and PB.

Computer Science

School of Computer Science and Engineering

Chennai Campus

Journal of Environmental Management

Phycoremediation of paddy-soaked wastewater by indigenous microalgae in open and closed culture system

This investigation is focused on durability studies of binary blended self-compacting concrete (SCC) with the replacement effect of electronic plastic waste, namely high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) granules as partial sand. In the current investigation, for all the SCC mixes, cement is replaced with pozzolanic material fly ash in the binder content of 497 kg/m3 and an adopted water-to-binder ratio of 0.36. Durability properties such as porosity, water absorption, and sorptivity are assessed for the curing periods of 28 and 90 days on SCC specimens produced with HIPS (0%–40% replacement by volume of sand). Both surface and internal water absorption rates were found to be minimal for SCC with HIPS. Replacement of HIPS up to 30% in SCC exhibited improved trends for all tests results. Reported durability parameter values were within permissible limits and revealed the excellent performance of HIPS in SCC. The optimum durability values can be attributed to the dense microstructure of SCC obtained with the combined effect of HIPS and fly ash. The continuous gradation of aggregates in the matrix reduced porosity due to the spherical shape of HIPS; additionally, the hydrophobicity of HIPS inhibits moisture migration in SCC. The additional benefits of fly ash, such as pozzolanic action and the filler effect at the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) are also major contributions to the long-term performance of durability. Electronic plastic waste replacement for fine aggregates in concrete compensates for the disposal problem and conserves natural sand.

Fulltext

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Effect of Recycled Plastic Granules as a Partial Substitute for Natural Resource Sand on the Durability of SCC

Construction industry across the world has been facing immense challenges in improving its productivity and efficiency. In the path of continuous improvement, the companies are forced to impart new technologies and methods into their work culture. But still there is a fine line between what they have achieved and what they wanted to achieve. Lean Construction is an ideology designed to fill this fine line. The aim of this paper is to discuss the application of Lean techniques in construction management. A case study where the Lean concept is applied using Value Stream Mapping tool to reduce the cost of the design process of foundation for Gas Insulated Switchgear by improving the process productivity has been discussed. The current state of the activities in the design process was mapped first which was followed by preparing the future state map of the activities after eliminating the non-value adding tasks. The results exhibited a promising increase in productivity of about 30% after the application of Lean tool. © 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor &amp; Francis Group.

International Journal of Construction Management

Developing a lean model to reduce the design process cost of gas insulated switchgear foundation using value stream mapping – a case study

Geocarto International

Enhance the prediction of complex hydrological models by pseudo-simulators

Transportation Letters

Short-term prediction of intersection turning volume using seasonal ARIMA model

PurposeAdvanced fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have been increasingly used over the past two decades for strengthening, upgrading and restoring degraded civil engineering infrastructure. Substantial experimental investigations have been conducted in recent years to understand the compressive behaviour of FRP-confined concrete columns. A considerable number of confinement models to predict the compressive behaviour of FRP-strengthened concrete columns have been developed from the results of these experimental investigations. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of experimental investigations and theoretical models of circular and non-circular concrete columns confined with FRP reinforcement.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews previous experimental test results on circular and non-circular concrete columns confined with FRP reinforcement under concentric and eccentric loading conditions and highlights the behaviour and mechanics of FRP confinement in these columns. The paper also reviews existing confinement models for concrete columns confined with FRP composites in both circular and non-circular sections.FindingsThis paper demonstrates that the performance and effectiveness of FRP confinement in concrete columns have been extensively investigated and proven effective in enhancing the structural performance and ductility of strengthened columns. The strength and ductility enhancement depend on the number of FRP layers, concrete compressive strength, corner radius for non-circular columns and intensity of load eccentricity for eccentrically loaded columns. The impact of existing theoretical models and directions for future research are also presented.Originality/valuePotential researchers will gain insight into existing experimental and theoretical studies and future research directions.

World Journal of Engineering

Experimental studies and theoretical models for concrete columns confined with FRP composites: a review

The role of organics in ancient mortars of Thanjavur palace was characterized through wet chemical analysis, biochemical tests and sophisticated techniques (XRD, FESEM, FT-IR). All the analytical techniques confirm the presence of all the polymorphs of calcium carbonate with vaterite as a major mineral followed by calcite and aragonite minerals. A part from calcium carbonates, calcium oxalates were noticed in the form of film in FESEM which was supported by XRD and FT-IR. The presence of calcium oxalates in lime mortars was due to the interaction of organic compounds with bacterial species. The confirmation came through 16s rRNA molecular characterization, the bacterial colonies bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas stutzeri, was identified. These strains are capable of producing oxalic acid in the presence of plant extracts and are also responsible for initiation of biominerals in lime mortar. FT-IR and organic tests substantiated the presence of carbohydrates and proteinous compounds present in the mortars. Carbohydrate content in organics is responsible for increased carbonation. The chemical analysis indicates the hydraulic nature of lime with 30% of clay. © 2019 Taylor &amp; Francis.

International Journal of Architectural Heritage

Identification of Bio-Minerals and Their Origin in Lime Mortars of Ancient Monument: Thanjavur Palace

The surface modification of biomaterials with matrikines for tissue engineering application is one of the recent approaches to improve their biocompatibility. In an earlier study, a peptide containing 21 amino acid isolated from bovine tendon collagen was shown to promote good cell adhesion in HeLa cell, and a smaller region in the peptide was identified using bioinformatics tool to mediate cell-peptide interaction. Hence, the present study was undertaken to validate the cell adhesion property of the smaller region of the peptide and elucidate probable peptide-cell interaction pathway. Cell adhesion and proliferation properties of the peptide were studied on cells cultured on surfaces coated with varying concentrations of peptide. Expression of focal adhesion related proteins like paxillin and pFAK Tyr397 was confirmed by immunoblotting and immunofluorescence microscopy respectively. The anti-pFAK Tyr 397 stained confocal micrographs and mRNA transcription levels of Cdc42 and Rho further confirmed peptide mediated cell spreading. The change in the expression levels of integrin α1 and β1 indicates an integrin mediated cell–peptide interaction for cell survival and proliferation. Integrin mediated adhesion was further confirmed by anti-integrin blocking assay. The modulation of ECM components by the peptide was assessed by expression of COL1A1, TIMP mRNA levels and gelatin zymography for MMPs. The results of the study confirm the role of the small region of the larger collagen peptide in cell adhesion and proliferation and hint at the possible use of such small peptides as biocompatible surface modifiers for tissue scaffolds. © 2019 Elsevier Inc.