Heights - Spring12

7/31/2019 Heights - Spring12

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HEIGHTS http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/hyderabad/civilengineering/CivilEngineering

HEIGHTS

In and AroundIn Space and On Earth,

Why Build It, When a Robot

Can Build It for You?

Cornell University (2012, March

1): Like something straight out of

"Star Wars," armies of robots could

nimbly be crawling up towers and

skyscrapers to make repairs in the

not-so-distant future, so humans

don't have to. That's just one thing

researchers in Hod Lipson's Creative

Machines Lab envision with their

latest robot prototype. It can

a u t o n o m o u s l y t r a v e r s e a n d

manipulate a 3-D truss structure,

using specially designed gears and

joints to assemble and disassemble

the structure as it climbs. Lipson is

an associate professor of mechanical

and aerospace engineering, and of

computing and information sciencea t Corne l l U n iv e r s i t y . The

researchers also point to space-

exploration applications. Instead of

sending astronauts out on a

dangerous spacewa lk a t the

International Space Station, a robot

could be deployed to repair a

damaged truss.

The robot is equipped with an

onboard power system, as well as

reflectivity sensors so it can identify

where it is on the structure. This

allows it to maneuver accuratelywithout explicit commands. Also,

instead of making buildings out of

concrete or other non-recyclable

materials, components designed

specifically for robots could be used

to build or reconfigure structures

more efficiently -- for example, after

an earthquake, or if an outdated

building needed to be torn down in

favor of something better.

New Bridge Can Be Built In

Two Weeks

C h a l m e r s U n i v e r s i t y o f

Technology With new bridge-

building mater ia l s , industr ia l

production methods, and an efficient

construction process, it will be

possible to start using a bridge only

two weeks after construction starts on

the site. This is shown in a new

di s s e r t a t io n f rom Cha l mer s

University of Technology.

The bridge consists of extremely

light sections that are assembled on

site. The load-bearing parts consist of

v-shaped fiberglass beams that are

reinforced with carbon fibers on the

underside. The beams interact with a

thin bridge deck that is prefabricatedout of steel-fiber-reinforced cement

with extremely high strength. Since

these materials are very durable, they

are advantageous in a life-cycle

perspective, and they are highly

suitable for industrial construction.

However, these materials are not in

use in the new construction of

bridges today.

The new bridge type is a

construction that projects several

years into the future, but the study

s h o w s t h a t i t w o u l d b etechnologically possible to build this

bridge today if the concept is further

elaborated, say the researchers.

However, at present the economic

conditions are constrained by the

major investments that would be

needed to start production, and by

the high prices for fiber-composite

materials.

CIVIL ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION SPRING 2012

FUCKUkia

Volume: 3

Issue: 2
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Dr K.M. Birla Visits

the Campus

Dr Kumar Mangalam Birla,

Chancellor of BITS Pilani paid a

brief official visit to BITS PilaniHyderabad Campus on Dec 26,

2011.

This was his first visit to the

campus. His visit commenced

with the t radi t iona l Tree

plantation program followed by a

tour to various departments and

r e s e a r c h l a b s . H e w a s

accompanied with Dr B N Jain,

Vice Chancellor of BITS Pilani.

The Directors of BITS Pilani

Pilani campus, BITS Pilani K K

Birla Goa Campus and BITS

Pilani Dubai Campus were also

present on the occasion. Dr V S

Rao, Director, BITS Pilani

Hyderabad Campus, briefed

them about the facilities and

ac t i v i t i e s o f the camp us ,

particularly about the new

Library building.

Dr A Vasan, HOD, Civil

Engineering Department, briefedthe Chancellor about the research

activities of the Civil Engineering

Department and showed him the

various facilities and laboratories

of the Department. Mr. Birla was

particularly curious about the

research work of Dr Vinayaka

Rao, Assistant Professor, Civil

Engineering Department, titled

Investigations on Sandwiched

M o d u l a r M u l t i l a y e r S e l f

Compacting Cement Concrete

Pavements. In a lighter vein, Mr

Birla said that the work of Dr

Vinayaka Rao will be beneficial to

his company if the demand of

cement increases by 15-20% as

projected by Dr Vinayaka Rao. A

detailed description of this project

of Dr Vinayaka Rao will be

available in the upcoming Civil

Magazine Sthapana 2011-12.

After the tour of all the

departments, the Chancellor metall the faculty members, some

alumni and students over lunch.

He had a brief interaction with

the student council members and

representatives of associations

and clubs in the evening. He

enquired about PS1 experiences,

placements, syllabus and even

attendance in the meeting. The

Chancellor also spent time with

the steering committee members,

the task force leaders and task

force members reviewing Mission

2012 and Vision 2020.

PIC

PERSPECTIVE

View from the Top of Burj Khalifa

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3/10


The Centre of Excellence in Water Resources

and Management (CEWRM), Department of Civil

Engineering, BPHC organized a workshop on

Recent Advances in Climate modeling for water

resources planning and management on Nov 19,

2011. Prof. K. Srinivasa Raju, coordinator ofCEWRM, was also the coordinator of this

workshop.

It is said that in world issues, Global Climate

Change is more focused on compared to Terrorism.

Various mathematical and hydrological models areused for simulating and modeling the global climate

pattern. GCMs (General Circulation Model) are key

components of Global Climatic Models, which is a

mathematical model of the general circulation ofthe planetary atmosphere and ocean. But it presents

a few drawbacks, like it shows the climatic variables

at the global scale. So as we scale down to district

and local levels, the statistics changes drastically. The

trend in rainfall pattern and its spatial distribution

was also discussed extensively. We now face a

reduced frequency of less intense rainfall and an

increased occurrence of high intensity rainfalls. This

leads to frequent floods, cyclones and otherhydrological hazards. Here arises the need for

Watershed Management developing infrastructure

to increase discharge carrying capacity of drains to

prevent floods.

The program commenced with lighting of the

divine lamp by the honorable chief guest Prof. D.N.

Reddy, Former Vice Chancellor of JNTU. The

workshop saw delegates and speakers from various

deemed organizations like JNTUH, WAPCOS,

Central Water Commission, NGRI, NIT Warangal,

IIT Hyderabad, GRIET, NABARD etc. Selected

speakers were invited for a brainstorming and opendiscussion session to discuss on critical issues like

sustainable and replicable water resource

management, applicability of the existing GCM

models etc.

In the presentations that followed, globe and

ecological balance threatening issues and

measurement of climatic variables were discussed.

The speakers spoke on topics like water resource

planning, impact on water cycle, groundwatermodeling, importance of short duration rainfall,

earth observation systems to name a few.

From BITS, our very own professors threw light

on climate monitoring issues. Dr. A. Jagadeesh

talked about Fourier analysis and development of

2D finite element schemes. Dr. K Rajitha discussed

the applications of GIS. Dr. Murari Verma

explained the Hydrological modeling studies in

forested catchments.Thus the workshop concluded at a note on the

need of the hour, the most demanding issues to be

addressed and the efforts being taken in that

direction.


Workshop - Recent advances in Climatic Modeling for Water Resources

Planning and Management


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M r . A . R A M A K R I S H N A O F L & T

ADDRESSES THE STUDENTS

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is Indias largest

technology, engineering, manufacturing and

construction organization with a record of over 70

years. L&T Construction is the largest construction

organization in the country. So it was an honour for

the faculty and the students to have Dr. Anumolu

Ramakrishna, the former President (Operations) and

Deputy Managing Director, Larsen & Toubro Ltd.,

Chennai, give a guest lecture on the recent advances

in civil engineering.

Addressing the students, Mr.Ramakrishna said

"Civil engineering is all around us and civil engineers

are involved everywhere. There are approximately 3.2

crore people involved in infrastructure industry, which

is the second highest after agriculture." He

emphasized that it would be very beneficial and

purposeful to have a career in civil engineering.

Talking about the current challenges faced by the

construction sector, he pointed out that lack of

trained workers, poor safety standards, less reliance on

technology, engineering and mechanization are acting

as major hindrances. Inspite of this, with some of the

best education and healthcare facilities in the world,

backed by excellent information and communication

technology, India has a lot going for it, he said. "If it is

cheaper, import, if it is competitive, export. We are as

capable as anybody else. With indigenous technology,

we can easily compete with the Japanese and

Germans. But, of course, we must all work united."

He also pointed out that India's projected plan

expenditure on infrastructure is higher and this is a

good sign.

His proficiency in the areas of system formwork

and application of pre-cast and pre-stressed form was

evident from the specialist insight he gave, into some

of the amazing constructions across the world,

starting from the Zernograd township in Russia which

was built in a record 18 months to the Delhi metro to

the Burj Al Arab and Millau Viaduct. All in all, it was

an inspiring talk for everybody present.

QUOTE MARTIAL

Engineering is the art of modeling materials wedo not wholly understand, into shapes we cannotprecisely analyze so as to withstand forces we

cannot properly assess, in such a way that thepublic has no reason to suspect the extent of ourignorance.

- Dr AR Dykes



5/10


Why Civil Engineering? - Guest Talk

On 27th January 2012, Dr. S.R. Parimi addressed

the gathering of civil engineers on the topic Why

Civil Engineering? Dr. Parimi did his M. Tech in

Structural Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1969. In

1972, he received his PhD from University of

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada in Structural and Applied

Mechanics. He is a member of ASCE and ACI.

It was indeed an honor to have such an eminent

personality with 40 years of experience in the field of

Civil engineering to motivate us with his enlightening

words. For those of you who missed his guest lecture,

here are some of the highlights of his presentation.

The history of the world shows that beautiful

buildings were constructed long before the

professional training of Civil Engineers, without the

use of Tools and Technology that we have today.

Even today, people think that a Civil Engineer is

not required, because they can directly approach the

mason to get their house built. So as Civil

Engineers, we should groom ourselves to such

efficiency that we can uproot such myths from the

society. A successful Civil Engineer should be able to

-Identify all possible loading

-Decide on suitable form and materials for a

structure

-Follow the loading through the building

components all the way to the soil below the

foundation system.

-Identify all possible failure modes

-Interpret the results and check for their

consistency with the structure

-Know the relevant Code provisions along with

associated failure modes

When working as Civil Engineers, if we keep

these points in mind, well surely be able to make a

difference in the society and make our profession look

worthwhile. Let us give people the Civil Engineer

whom they cannot refuse.

Nothing can be of great worth or holy which is the

work of builders and mechanics.

- Zeno, Stoic Philosopher



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Q&A Rendezvous with Dr. Chandu ParimiDr. Chandu Parimi joined BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus in January 12. He isthe Faculty-in-charge of the Civil Engineering Association. Lets read about him as he

describes himself.

Please brief us about your

undergraduate and graduate studies.

I did my B Tech in REC Allahabad in Civil Engineering. Then I went to

Northwestern University, Chicago for a Masters in Theoretical and Applied

Mechanics, but ended up getting a PhD in Mechanical Engineering on the suggestion

of my advisor there. My area of specialization is Computational Mechanics

Was Civil Engineering always your

prime interest?

Civil Engineering was circumstantial. I was always inclined towards solid

mechanics and hence structural engineering and subsequently civil.

Did your dads civil engineering

background influence you decision?

My father being a Civil engineer assured me that civil is okay. But basically I

preferred a good college. So I opted for Civil Engineering at REC Allahabad (my

marks played a role here!) instead of Electronics in some private college.

What did you do after getting a PhD? In the first year after my PhD, there was a break in my thesis program. I joined

University of California as a Departmental Assistant in their newly established

Mechanical Department, and helped in setting up their labs, and tutoring students.

After working there for a year, I joined as a structural engineer consulting for Nuclear

Power Plants, where I worked for next 6 years. During this time, the company grew

enormously.

After returning to India, how did you

decide upon joining BITS?

I came back to India in Feb 2011. I couldve involved myself in some industrial

projects, but being a professor has always been my desire. Due to the break in my

research getting back in to academia was a slight struggle. But I am very happy to be in

this prestigious institute.

You had teaching experience in US and

here. So what difference did you notice

between the students there and here?

The main thing is that even the undergrad students there pay their own fee-. So

they understand the gravity of the situation better and hence are more punctual and

value studies a little more. But students here are better academically even though they

dont take studies seriously. Personally I am of the opinion that students should go far

away from home for college and live on their own without a safety net to fall back to.

What all are your hobbies and

achievements?

I like dancing and choreographing very much. I am a trained Bharatanatyam

dancer. I won a gold medal in Bharatanatyam as a kid, and many other prizes for

choreography during college. I was ranked 8th in the US Carrom Tournament (though

I had just one good season). And I am a good American fantasy football player too.

Besides all this, I am a big movie buff and a sports fan. In short, I am a Jack of all andMaster of none!

And your personal life..? I met my wife Preeti in Champaign close to Chicago, and that was a turning point

in my life. Before that I used to see loads of movies daily I was a movie buff of nth

order. Now I have put a check on my movie addiction. I became more organiz ed now...

So I watch sports and movies periodically. And most of my time is spent with my two

lovely kids. They are lot of fun.

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What do expect from CEA? I feel there should be more workshops on how to get into good universities for

higher studies as well as how to get jobs. Rather than holding a talk on this topic, its

better if we conduct some informal discussion or forum with the experts. It should be

more of a Q&A session. And you can call some BITS alumni too to discuss their

experiences regarding this.

Describe yourself in a few words. I am a person who lives in the present. I enjoy teaching and it excites me when a

student understands something.

And finally what is your advice to the

students?

Live life. Have fun. Just be slightly punctual; its not a rocket science. You have to

try really hard to mess up, so dont worry.


STICK - THE BRIDGE

Pic Courtesy - Chinmay Maheshwari
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8/10


General Events

MINED IT!

Civil Engineering Association gifted the quizzing

kings and queens of BPHC, a nice brain teasing exercise.

Mined it was a four leveled general (general for

civilites) quiz where bitsians mined out answers. The first

round was a lateral thinking test in which the participants

tickled their grey cells. Out of 30 participating teams, 6

qualified to the next level. This was a rapid fire round.

Each team had to answer 20 questions in 60s. Followed

by this, there was a Guess the Structure round in which

one of the team members picked up a chit containing the

name of a structure. The other member had to guess it

by asking 20 yes/no type questions. 4 teams made it to

level 3. This was a Connect the Picture Clues round. The

2 finalists fought the war of The World of Goo which

was a computer game wherein balls had to be stacked to

reach the edge of the cliff. The winners were Deepam

Jaiswal and Abdul Saboor, while Jayesh Kasture and

Ajinkya Badhan came second.

POPSA-2

The second edition of the popular civil event

POPSA was held on 20th November, 2011 during the

intra-college mini fest Shangri-La. The event witnessed

a big turnout of students. The participants were provided

with popsicles, thermocol and glue. The theme for

Popsa II was Earthquake Resistant Skyscrapers. A total

of 18 teams participated, with 3 members in each team.

A detailed description of Earthquake resistant buildings

was projected on screen to aid the participants with their

model. The structures were required to have a minimum

of three floors. Though the given time limit was just 3

hours, the participants still managed to come up with

spectacular structures, as the looks of the structures had

some weightage too. Finally all the structures were tested

on the vibrator table in the civil lab for their stability.

N.Praneetha, Sreenidhi P. and Meghna G were adjudged

winners.

Pearl 2012

STICK-THE BRIDGE

Stick - The Bridge was a popsicle stick bridge contest

conducted by the Civil Engineering Association during

Pearl-2012. The participants were supposed to make a

suspension bridge out of popsicle sticks, using creativity,

ingenuity and resourcefulness, satisfying the stated

constraints. 18 teams from various colleges came to

participate in this event with the completed models of

their bridges. Apart from a few shortcomings, the design

of each of those bridges was unique and proved that

creativity is the only limit to what can or cant be done

with popsicle sticks. Initially, each bridge was mounted on

a platform and checked for the accuracy of dimensions.

Later, the deck was subjected to concentrated loads to

estimate its strength. Based on the weight-age alloted to

each criterion, Dr Vinayaka Rao decided the winners

and SDES college bagged the first prize. They were

awarded with INR 3000. Participation certificates were

given to every student who took part in the event.

ENLIVEN

There were quite a few new and innovative ideas

presented by students on various topics like Intelligent

Transportation System, Green Building Technology,

Smart structures etc during ENLIVEN - the paper

presentation event organized by the Civil Engineering

Association during Pearl-2012. Each of the 25 teams,

that were selected by the organizers for the final round,

submitted their paper and gave a 10 minute presentation

on their ideas, which was scrutinized by the judges, Dr.

Murari R.R. Varma and Mr. Abhijeet. Suman

Kanukanti and team from Vasavi college of engineering

were given the first prize for their excellent presentation

on Grey water intelligent management system,

accompanied by an explanation of the experiment which

they've conducted on the same. There were a lot of other

such innovative ideas presented, which were well received

by the judges.


EVENTS


9/10



Lets test your lexical knowledge:

On the left are hints that will help you unscramble the words. In the end, rearrange the bold faced letters to get a word which

is closely integrated to our lives.

1. Branch of mechanics dealing with the relations of forces that produce equilibrium

among material bodies: TAISCST (STATICS)

2. An artificial dam which increases the depth of water of a river or watercourse, or

diverts it into a channel for navigation or irrigation:

GEARARB (BARRAGE)

3. Part of the building which is in direct contact with the ground and located below

the ground level: DANTOFUNOI (FOUNDATION)

4. A thin coat of mortar applied to wall surfaces: GATELPINSR

(PLASTERING)

5. Sudden violent shaking of the ground as a result of movements within the earths

crust: AEURKEAHTQ (EARTHQUAKE)

6. Cracking or breaking of a hard material or object: RECRAFTU (FRACTURE)

7. The science which deals with physical structure and substance of earth:

GOLGOYE (GEOLOGY)

8. A building at an airport especially designed in height and width to enable aircraft to

be stored or maintained in it: HRANGE (HANGER)

9. Branch of science dealing with the properties and distribution of water on the

earths surface: GYRDOYLHO (HYDROLOGY)

Unscramble the word formed of the red colored letters to find the last word

10.A word deep rooted in all of our lives


10/10

HEIGHTSFirst Floor, Block-D

Department of Civil Engineering

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad CampusJawahar Nagar,Shamirpet Mandal,Hyderabad,

Andhra Pradesh- 500078

Therefore O students study

mathematics and do not

build without foundations.

- Leonardo Da Vinci


Editors:Sanchari ThakurVivek Kannan

Sai Apoorva U.

Technical Editor:Sneha Thangaraja

You can send your suggestions and feedback to civil.editors@gmai

Articles, project reports, cartoons, personal experience or any relevant stuff are invited for the next ed

By Vivek Kannan

Documents

Heights - Spring12