Recent Advances in Civil Engineering

The topography can have a substantial effect on the streamflows of the mountainous river basins. The Sutlej river basin (SRB) is mountainous, often with streamflows affected by its natural topography, which ranges from 443 to 6988 m. The hydrological modeling tools used for streamflow assessment in such river basins should accommodate the elevation differences or bands. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model framework, coupled with the help of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) capable of fitting the elevation bands in the model. The present study demonstrates the performance of the SWAT model through a statistical performance indicator, namely, Kling-Gupta efficiency (KGE), while assessing the monthly streamflows in the SRB with the consideration of the elevation bands and without them. Optimal model parameters and the level of uncertainty are calibrated through the SUFI-2 algorithm by taking KGE as an objective function. The results obtained with the elevation band use in the SWAT model proved better compared to the model without elevation band use. The model performance statistics, such as KGE, R², p-bias, and p-factor, show 0.91, 0.83, 2.30, and 0.82, respectively, with the use of elevation band, and 0.21, 0.47, 0.85, and 0.01, respectively, for without the elevation band use in the model, signifies the SWAT model poorly performed without the use of elevation band or natural topography of the river basin. It confirms that the topography shows a significant effect on the streamflows of the mountainous river basins. This work will help the researchers to make them aware of the limitations of the SWAT model use while applying it to the mountainous river basins.

The study is based on the slope stability analysis for a hill slope which is located at Langdeibung of Senapati District, Manipur, India. A portion of the slope in this location has developed a crown, which is a warning indication of a potential landslide. This is due to the angle of the slope along with its soil properties and the absence of vegetation in that particular area. Utilising the Geoslope software, a slope stability analysis using Morgenstern Price's limit equilibrium method is carried out to identify the crucial element of the area's safety. This location's slope has developed a crown in a specific area, which is a sign of a future landslide. This is due to the area's lack of vegetation, the slope's angle, and the quality of the soil. A slope stability analysis utilising Morgenstern Price’s method is conducted using the Geoslope software to determine the critical factor of safety.

In this research, numerical study using finite elements has been conducted on cold formed carbon circular and square hollow steel sections subjected to torsional load. The numerical analysis has been performed with the validation of experimental square section using ABAQUS software. The study has been carried out for both slender and stocky sections. The circular hollow steel section has higher resistance to torsion as compared to square hollow steel section. The stocky section had higher torsional resistance as compared to slender section. As the thickness keeps on increasing from very slender to stocky section the percentage increase in torsional resistance of circular to square section keeps on increasing.

This study presents the detection of land surface temperature and carbon pools (stock and its sequestration) using Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques with satellite data. The chosen study area (Imphal West district in the state of Manipur in North East India) has been steadily urbanizing over the last few decades, resulting in significant changes in LULC (landuse/landcover) patterns. Land surface temperature is a very important climatic parameter and is high in urban places with 20.4 °C and low at forest areas with 9.93 °C in the year 1996 and 22.10 and 10.70 °C in the year 2016 respectively in the study region. It was observed that the build-up area increased by around 13% from 1996 to 2026 and crop land decreased by around 9% in this period. Carbon stock and its sequestration are estimated based on the LULC types and it was observed that crop land (around 40%) provides the highest carbon stock and sequestration as compared with other types of land cover patterns. The amount of carbon stock ranges from 0 to a maximum of 26.59 Mg of C in 1996 and slowly decreases to 23.13 Mg of C and 21.27 Mg of C for the years 2016 and 2026, respectively. The predicted carbon sequestration for the year 2026 has been calculated as 0.36 Mg of C. The predicted carbon sequestration indicates that water bodies will contain a minimum of −1.8504 Mg of C and a maximum of 0 Mg of C. Since the water bodies do not have the capacity to hold carbon, the value will remain zero (0). In this study region, there is no change in water bodies, but forest areas have an enormous change in carbon storage capacity due to urbanization and climatic parameters.

In this paper, a comparative study has been carried out between Confined Masonry (CM) and Reinforced Concrete (RC) building structures using SAP2000. Two similar building structures, one made of CM and the other made of RC have been modeled in SAP2000. CM building is modeled using shell elements and RC frame building is modeled using frame elements. The same loadings in the form of dead load, live load, and seismic load have been applied to both structures. It has been observed that confined masonry structure exhibits higher base shear and lower story drift as compared to that reinforced concrete structure. Further, it has also been observed that construction cost is less for confined masonry buildings than that for reinforced concrete buildings for the same building configuration.

Global climate models (GCMs) are gaining in importance as scientists can more precisely determine climate characteristics. These characteristics will be of great help in the process of managing water resources plans and strategies. Since studies on GCMs’ performances can model and predict future climate scenarios, conducting such research is essential. The present study, therefore, focuses on ten CMIP6 GCMs using observed gridded precipitation obtained from IMD, to replicate 64 years of historical GCM precipitation. GCM results are compared to observed precipitation using ten performance criteria factors. Taking all characteristics into account and assigning weightage to them using Shannon entropy method, an MCDM algorithm known as Multi-Objective Optimization Ratio Analysis (MOORA) is used to evaluate the ranking based on four normalization techniques. Normalization converts criteria values into a single scale for ranking the options. Due to its high index ranking, the vector normalization technique is found ideally suited for use in MOORA's normalization process. As a consequence of these results, the quality of research on GCM selection has been enhanced through MOORA.

The effect of the addition of longitudinal inclined plates on the settling efficiency and the overall hydrodynamics of a rectangular sedimentation tank is investigated using computational fluid dynamics. A full-scale three-dimensional model is used for the simulation. Experimentally obtained particle size distribution data of a potable water treatment plant and an industrial wastewater treatment plant is used. After the addition of the longitudinal inclined plates, the settling efficiency reaches 67.54% for the industrial wastewater particle size distribution and 94.75% for the potable water treatment particle size distribution, which were 42.67% and 79.15% respectively, before the modification. This significant improvement in settling efficiencies can be attributed to the increase in the settleable area and also to the reduction in dead zones. A stark difference is also observed between the modified and the original sedimentation tank in the velocity contour, and turbulence kinetic energy contour.

This paper presents a preliminary study on the behaviour of high strength steel circular hollow sections subjected to torsion, through finite element models. A two-step validation procedure has been considered. Initially, numerical models were developed and validated against the test results, and further, the validated are used for parametric study. An extensive parametric study was conducted to study the structural performance by varying the thickness from t = 1.0 − 20 mm, considering two grades of high strength steel, namely S700 and S900. The finite element analysis results indicated a marked disparity in the deformation behaviour between slender and stocky sections. Further, a non-linear increase of ~+2100% in torque resistance for S700, while a ~+2700% for S900, is seen with the increase in thickness from t = 1.0 − 20 mm.

Owing to the rapid population growth and urbanization rate, most cities are affected by land use, and land cover (LULC) changes through urban area expansion. A feasibility study was proposed to examine the LULC changes and urban land expansion pattern for Kakinada city in Andhra Pradesh, as it was recently announced as one of the potential smart cities in India. The dynamics of LULC changes detection and prediction analysis were performed in QGIS 2.18.16 with the help of a cellular automata-based artificial neural network (CA-ANN) simulation model. The Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 satellite images from 1990 to 2020 are used for classification using the maximum likelihood classification (MLC) algorithm in ERDAS IMAGINE 2013. The image classification was conducted on five different LULC classes (i) agricultural, (ii) built-up, (iii) vegetation, (iv) wetlands, and (v) water bodies. The CA-ANN model was trained with the study area's explanatory variables (i.e., elevation, slope, population density, and distances from roads, settlement areas, and stream networks). Subsequently, the trained CA-ANN model was used to determine the dynamics of LULC changes from 1990 to 2020 and predict future urban sprawl by 2030 and 2040. The results indicate that the urban area in the city increased rapidly by 18.02% of the total area (906.79 km²) of the study area from 1990 to 2040, which mainly showed in the cost of vegetation and wetlands. Kakinada City is expanding in the direction of its bordering region with the conversion of rural, sub-urban regions into urban sprawls. A correlation analysis was also carried out between the explanatory variables and LULC changes, which revealed that all the explanatory variables significantly influenced the urbanization expansion in the study region. Urban expansion occurs haphazardly in the study region, which may lead to the in-equilibrium of environmental and anthropogenic activities. Since the study area is declared a smart city, a balance must be found between making the city smart and preserving the natural environment and cultural artifacts. Before making the city smart, the notions of urban planning are to be applied to the conservation and management of natural land use classes which will enhance the quality of life in an urban environment in the study region.

Identification of potential areas for mulberry plantation was carried out in Manipur (one of the north eastern states of India) using geographic information system (GIS) tools and remote sensing. Mulberry plantation is in the field of sericulture and for the rural farming families, sericulture gives employment throughout the year as well. Natural Silkworm food plants (castor and mulberry) are perennial crops that protect the soil from erosion, so it is also an eco-friendly activity. The agro-climatic conditions in the state are suitable to cultivate all four types of silk—mulberry, Muga, Tasar oak, and Eri. Based on parameters like cultivable land, physiography, soil characteristic suitability, and climate conditions, the site suitability for mulberry cultivation was identified through overlay analysis in a GIS environment with multi-criteria analysis. For the quantitative analysis, the RUSLE method is also used to observe soil erosion. It has been found that 19,958.87km² (90.68%) are suitable for mulberry plantation in Manipur, out of which 8458.78km² (38.42%) were highly suitable, 6816.07km² (30.97%) were moderately suitable, and 4684.02km² (21.28%) were marginally suitable. However, 1622.79 km² (7.37%) were found to be unsuitable for mulberry cultivation. Therefore, the whole of Manipur's fertile land is highly suitable for mulberry plantation and cultivation.

Reservoirs are subject to periodic degradation, resulting in a reduction in their overall performance. A timely performance assessment is required to address the deteriorating condition of the reservoir. In the present study the performance of the Ravi Shankar Sagar Project (RSSP) was assessed using some selected comparative performance indicators, namely, (i) agricultural (standard gross value of production (SGVP)); (ii) water-use (relative water and irrigation supply); (iii) Physical (irrigation ratio), and (iv) Hydropower (relative power supply). These indicators reveal the relative health of the RSSP over the years. The present study was carried out to evaluate the outputs and impacts of irrigation management practices and the hydropower performance of RSSP. The linear programming (LP) model was formulated using 1800 constraint equations and 1080 decision variables to maximize the monthly irrigation and hydropower releases from the RSSP. The LP model algorithm runs through Python 3.9 script. A total of 30 years (1989–2018) of monthly inflow data was collected from the Dhamtari gauging station of RSSP that was used in the LP model simulation. Monthly water requirements of the main cultivated crops in the study region, namely, rice, pulses, maize, wheat, and sugarcane, were estimated through CROPWAT 8.0 software in which the soil data obtained from the inbuilt system, and the required meteorological data obtained from CLIMWAT 2.0. The observed performance indicators varied significantly year-on-year based on RSSP cropping patterns, storage availability, and hydropower needs. This set of performance indicators developed in the study herein will help improve RSSP operations.

Madhya Pradesh has experienced rapid urbanization and a severe housing shortage, particularly among the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Low-Income Group (LIG). With the blooming of numerous revived infrastructure and housing projects that serve prompt urban expansion, the construction sector is expected to be the first beneficiary. In tandem with the thriving grasp of its neighboring countries' sustainable expansion, numerous visionary efforts from professional bodies and government endeavors to orient the sustainability vision to Madhya Pradesh, India. Regardless, the scarcity of evidence on sustainability advancement suggests that these values are not yet at the top of the list of the construction industry's strategy. As a result, we require a study to identify the challenges and opportunities that exist in Madhya Pradesh. Thus, the study's proposed recommendations will enable future promotion and improvement of the adoption of sustainable practices in affordable housing. This research study aims to identify the Sustainable Affordable housing indicator for Madhya Pradesh, India. To outline the prevailing situation toward Sustainable affordable housing we need to identify the challenges economic, societal, technological and professional to get a brief overview on the potential problem associated with sustainable affordable housing within Madhya Pradesh. We are also including a study on different policies and schemes concerning central, state and local governments for affordable housing. We will also find out the opportunities present regarding sustainable affordable housing within Madhya Pradesh.

This paper implements a multiscale method for plane strain problems in linear elasticity with highly oscillating material coefficients that represent material heterogeneity. We present a computer algorithm for the multiscale method and perform numerical experiments. The multiscale solutions of the problems are compared with the classical fine scale finite element solution, as well as a homogenized solution. With the help of numerical experiments, we show the wide applicability of the method as well its computational efficiency.

Ever since man discovered how to build the bridge elements to cross broad rivers, scour in stream beds has continued to be a significant factor in bridge failures involving the release of sediment from the stream bed and banks. Because both scour and flooding are time-dependent phenomena, understanding how they evolve is crucial in streambed flooding. Over the decades, several researchers have proposed approaches to predict temporal local scour at circular piers. It is very important to examine the progress of such formulae as these formulae can be useful for designing bridge piers. In this study, therefore, four formulae are analyzed using previous literature data where, the parameters that influence temporal scour are Reynolds number, Froude number, constriction ratio, pier slenderness ratio, sediment coarseness ratio, flow intensity, geometric standard deviation and time. Reviewing and analyzing all four formulae under cohesionless and clear water scour conditions, the performances corresponding to observed and computed scour depths are assessed by applying useful statistical factors. The best performing formula is identified for the given experimental range.

In the present study, is primarily to develop a geometric design consistency analysis criterion for 2- Lane horizontal curves for 2-Lane Rural Highway that applies to Indian conditions. Road accidents result in significant social and economic issues. Studies targeted at geometrical design and safety aim to enhance road design and also to eliminate dangerous locations that can cause accidents. The consequences of design parts like horizontal and vertical curves, lane width, shoulder dimension, Superelevation, median dimension, curve radius, sight distances, etc. on safety were studied. Although it has been clearly shown text extremely restrictive geometrical details like short sight distance and sharp horizontal curves result in a significantly higher accident and combining these defects in geometrical elements causes a bizarrely serve accident.

Settling mechanisms in sedimentation tanks can be simulated and analyzed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques. The simulation's accuracy is highly dependent on the type of turbulence model used. The performances of three distinct models, RNG k-ε, Realizable k-ε, and SST k-ω, are evaluated in the current research. A full-scale three-dimensional CFD model of a sedimentation tank is being utilized for the current investigation. Before injecting the particles into the flow field, the clean water is first simulated in the tank without them. Then, the particles are supplied and tracked along their trajectories by the method of the discrete phase model. Comparisons are made between the settling efficiency acquired experimentally from a published work and the settling efficiencies obtained from simulations using the three models. The predicted settling efficiencies are 45.48% for RNG k-ε, 40.10% for Realizable k-ε, and 40.16% for SST k-ω, while the experimental settling efficiency is 42.67%. It is observed that all the findings obtained from the simulations are close to the experimental value. When compared to the other two turbulence models, the settling efficiency determined by the SST k-ω yields the most accurate and consistent results.

Structures with vertical irregularity are common for the purpose of good ventilation, lighting aesthetics etc. Seismic vulnerability of these structures relative to their symmetric companions has been studied in the past. Within the context of seismic loading, angle of attack of the excitation with respect to a principal axis of the structure, i.e., incidence angle is known to play a crucial role. With the increasing occurrence of a tsunami as in evidence worldwide, the response of vertically irregular buildings to tsunami loading taking the effects of incidence angles into account appears significant. In the present study, to achieve such end, a number of vertically irregular buildings are analyzed due to a set of generated tsunami histories. Structures are modelled using advanced fibre model, whereas the adequacy of the tsunami histories generated using standard software is validated against results reported earlier. The response of the buildings is computed for several incidence angles. A characteristic intensity parameter for the tsunami loading is defined and calculated for each orientation. A compilation of the response quantities and the associated intensity parameters across orientations suggest that the orientation for the maximum possible response can be uniquely identified in advance for a given tsunami history. This can eliminate the sheer enormity of analyzing buildings for several incidence angles by a single incidence angle and can be a very significant input in design. By and large, the responses of vertically irregular buildings are found greater than those of the symmetric counterparts.

The construction industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors and is gaining the huge attention of policymakers. The main reason for this attention is the rapid increase in energy demands due to urbanization and increasing salaries. It is consuming approximately 40% of the global energy, at the cost of equivalent carbon emissions. These consumptions are unavoidable and are growing significantly, thus posing higher risks for climate change. However, timely taken preventive measures can reduce these risks and the energy requirement substantially. Sustainable development is one of the projected solutions which involve meeting both energy and environmental demands without impacting the needs of the future generation. However, it involves a number of parameters like improved indoor air quality, adequate daylight, selection of material, etc. Monitoring such a complex system requires an efficient delivery process. The present manuscript is an attempt to review the integrated modeling approach for developing sustainable buildings. The focus of the study is on discussing the strategies for improving dwelling conditions with minimal ramifications on energy requirements. The study intends to bring light to the various complications faced by stakeholders in selecting an appropriate technique.

Localized scouring is an inevitable phenomenon that erodes the sediment bed surface in the surrounding areas of the pier. Adopting suitable scour protection countermeasures to mitigate the scour is a challenging issue for maintaining the stability of the bridge. This paper numerically studies the localized scouring that occurs around a circular bridge pier and the effect it has on the use of collar plate as scour protection device. The flow field around an unguarded pier and a pier guarded using a collar plate is investigated through numerical simulation. The LES turbulence model is employed for simulating transient phenomena. The Soulsby White House equation is used to compute the critical dimensionless shear stress. Vectors of flow patterns around the scour hole formation are also studied. The numerical results show that using a collar as a scour protection device is able to reduce scour depth by nearly 87.71%. Results of the 3-dimensional numerical model suggest that numerical simulation based on computational fluid dynamics has turned into a promising way to deal with bridge scour.

In this paper, the effective California Bearing Ratio (CBR) on design for flexible pavement is discussed. The design strength in CBR of the pavement layers is very much dependent on the strength of the subgrade soil. The weaker subgrade requires a higher thickness of the pavement layer and vice versa. The embankment soil at the top level is more compact as compared to the subgrade soils. If the top layer needs to be compacted to a thickness of 500 mm/300 mm from the borrowed materials of suitable quality. IRC: 37-2012 suggests the use of effective CBR for the design of pavements considering the strength of the existing soils. Moreover, if the soil CBR of the subgrades is high, the effective CBR also becomes higher. CBR is the most adopted method to find the strength of soil subgrades.

The advent of the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) interferometry technique has provided us with a vast opportunity to monitor different features on the Earth’s surface, including remote and difficult-to-access terrain. Out of the various cryospheric components, glaciers store a large reserve of the world’s fresh water and constitute a valuable resource for sustaining various lifeforms. Using the modified four-pass differential SAR interferometry (DInSAR) technique, the line-of-sight (LOS) velocity of the Rathong glacier in the Indian state of Sikkim was obtained. Data obtained from the Sentinel-1 satellite is used in the study. From the study, Rathong is found to be a slow-moving glacier. The method applied here is capable of measuring glacier velocity. Regular monitoring of glacial systems is very much needed, given the fast-changing global climatic conditions.