Civil Engineering

Hydrologic modelling of Maitland river watershed is conducted using Soil and Water Assessment Tool. The stages of data collection from various sources for Land-use, Soil, Topographical datasets and climate data is mentioned. Calibration of the model is done by comparing the measured and simulated streamflow values. The water budget analysis is done  by simulating conditions from the years 1970 to 1980. Climate change impact assessment is done by using data from the CCCMA-CGCM version 3. Two scenarios are chosen for analysis, scenario B1 and A2. Two sets of data are collected, both historical and future. The data collected for these scenarios is checked and corrected for biases using simple statistical methods. The change in temperature over time is compared between historical and future scenarios. Change in quantity and pattern of precipitation is compared  between historical and future scenarios. The SWAT model is used to simulate the streamflows for both historical and future scenarios. Analysis is done of the streamflows and evapotranspiration values and their change over time. The impacts of these changes and strategies to adapt to them are discussed in brief.

Outline of the Paper-

Objective- The objective of the study will be to analyse the different methods of analysing the vibrations due to traffic loads on bridge structures, study numerical modelling techniques and evaluate models/methods which can be utilised to control this type of vibration.
Scope of the study- The study will be limited to analysing the effects of only traffic loads on bridge structures. Though there are other forces like wind, earthquake etc. which by themselves or in conjunction to each other cause deformations in bridge structures which are considerably high. Different types of bridges will be considered for the study. Effects of traffic vibrations on suspension bridges, steel bridges, concrete girder bridges etc. will be evaluated.
Introduction
The current standards accepted in design of bridge structures with respect to the loads due to traffic.
Review the current AASHTO(American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) and OHBDC(Ontario Highway Bridge Design Code) requirements for design of bridges for dynamic effects of traffic induced vibration.
Numerical modelling of a standard truck according to AASHTO guidelines.
Come out with points where there can be improvements in the code.
Brief historical perspective of designing bridge structures considering the vibration induced due to moving traffic loads.
Methods of analysis of bridge structures and how they evolved over time.
Methods of measurements of vibration over time.
Analysis of bridge structures vibration induced due to traffic movement
Methods of measurement of effects on bridge structures due to moving traffic.
Strain gauges, Load cells and Accelerometers.
Positioning of instruments to capture the effect on the entire structure due to different loading conditions. Taking into account volume and speed of traffic.
Dynamic tests under controlled heavy traffic.
Bridge-vehicle models.
To analyse dynamic response of the structure.
Effects of pavement roughness and vehicle speeds on the free vibration of the structure.
Description of the problem in terms of different types of vibration induced due to traffic loads.
Longitudinal Flexural(LF), Symmetric Torsional(TS), Transverse Flexural(TF), Distortion(DS) etc.
Effects of each type of vibration on the life of the structure(fatigue stresses) and the comfort level of the drivers of vehicles.
Numerical modelling of the bridge-vehicle system.
Articulated lorry-AASHTO HS20-44 Truck
Finite Element method-Discretization of the structure into number of discrete small elements.
Calculating the DAF(Dynamic Amplification Factor).
Analysing the problem of vibration due to traffic and zooming down on the concentration areas-
Whether the problem is more with the bridge deck and isolating the deck from the piers will solve the problem.
Or the axial stresses on the stay cables increase due to traffic movement.
In case of suspension bridges-whether the effects of vibration are more on the suspended span.
Methods to mitigate effects of vibration due to traffic loads
Analyse various methods available presently to absorb the effects of vibration. Eg bearing pads under the deck system which isolate the deck from the piers, dampers placed strategically where the vibration amplitudes are maximum or using specially developed technologies like Tuned Vibration Absorbers.
Summary and Conclusions
From the study, coming up with methods of analysis best suited for the particular type of bridge.
Suggest vibration mitigating measures suited to the type of bridge and vibration type.

Outline
Introduction
•About the windmill
o Different components: Foundation and tower, Nacelle, Rotor, Blades
•Importance of tower in the wind turbine
o 20-25% of windmill cost is the tower
o Relation of tower height and energy output
•Types of turbines and relation to tower design
o Up-wind/Down-wind turbines
•Historical development of the tower
o From mill-houses to modern windmills
•Review of International and Canadian codes for tower design
o IEC(International Electro-technical Commission) 61400
o Ontario Building Code

Procedures for Design of Wind Towers
•Loads considered for design of wind towers
o Deterministic component
o Stochastic component
•Finite Element Analysis
•Computational Fluid Dynamics
•Dynamics
o Tower coupling
     Rotor Blade movement may either amplify or dampen tower oscillation
o Eigen Frequency: Frequency at which tower oscillates. And factors on which it depends:
     Thickness of walls
     Height
     Type of material
     Weight of Nacelle and Rotor
o Tower’s first natural frequency and classification of tower
     Soft-soft tower
     Soft Tower
     Stiff tower

Analysis and comparison of conventional and alternative tower designs/materials
Based on the section above, using the design factors, compare newer technologies like those given below to the conventional steel tube design used now.
• Steel tube ‘soft’ tower
• Steel multi-petal tower
• Steel space frame tower
• Concrete Towers
• Hybrid Towers

Conclusions and Recommendations
• Based on the analysis of different materials and designs, make observations regarding advantages and disadvantages of each alternative
• Conclude on the future path the tower design is taking and remark on the best alternative based on the factors considered in this report

Modelling of Stormwater run-off for current and future scenarios in a sample sewershed in Windsor, Ontario.
Attempt to use Low-Impact Development controls to reduce runoff in the future time-period model, and increase infiltration and ground storage.
Software Used: EPA SWMM 5.1

Since independence, new administrative headquarters/capital complexes have been have been required for setting government offices of newly formed states. Need for planned cities having good infrastructure facilities were realized by the state governments. This resulted in planning for ‘Greenfield’ capital projects like Chandigarh (Punjab & Haryana), Gandhinagar (Gujarat), Bhubaneswar (Odisha) and
Naya Raipur (Chhattisgarh). The paper discusses the growth Chandigarh and Gandhinagar since their inception, till date. The paper also focuses on the changing status of peripheral lands reserved for such capital projects. The study uses secondary data, mostly literature review of published works from authors, development authorities and state governments.

The decision support system for agrotechnology transfer (DSSAT) has been in use for the last 15 years by researchers worldwide. This package incorporates models of 16 different crops with software that facilitates the evaluation and application of the crop models for different purposes. Over the last few years, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain the DSSAT crop models, partly due to fact that there were different sets of computer code for different crops with little attention to software design at the level of crop models themselves. Thus, the DSSAT crop models have been redesigned and programmed to facilitate more efficient incorporation of new scientific advances, applications, documentation and maintenance. The basis for the new DSSAT cropping system model (CSM) design is a modular structure in which components separate along scientific discipline lines and are structured to allow easy replacement or addition of modules. It has one Soil module, a Crop Template module which can simulate different crops by defining species input files, an interface to add individual crop models if they have the same design and interface, a Weather module, and a module for dealing with competition for light and water among the soil, plants, and atmosphere. It is also designed for incorporation into various application packages, ranging from those that help researchers adapt and test the CSM to those that operate the DSSAT Á/CSM to simulate production over time and space for different purposes. In this paper, we describe this new DSSAT Á/CSM design as well as approaches used to model the primary scientific components (soil, crop, weather, and management). In addition, the paper describes data requirements and methods used for model evaluation. We provide an overview of the hundreds of published studies in which the DSSAT crop models have been used for various applications. The benefits of the new, redesigned DSSAT Á/CSM will provide considerable opportunities to its developers and others in the scientific community for greater cooperation in interdisciplinary research and in the application of knowledge to solve problems at field, farm, and higher levels.