ICI March Issue 28 3 11 - Indian Concrete Institute 2011.pdf · Ultratech Cement Limited, gave a presentation on 'A consequential relation between Durability & Sustainability of Concrete

ICI Update – March 2011 01

One welcome trend

which is clearly

discernible during

the recent past is

t h e c o n s i s t e n t

g r o w t h i n t h e

a d d i t i o n o f

students' chapters. ICI has been

adding at least one student chapter

every month during the past more

than a year. This issue contains

reports on new students' chapters,

including the one at IIT Madras. Local

ICI centres should take a clue from

this trend and devote little more

time and efforts in bringing students

of civil/structural/environmental

engineering from their region into the

ICI fold. ICI members who hold

faculty positions should encourage

students to open chapters in their

respective colleges. I am initiating a

proposal to give a further boost to this

trend, so that the student fraternity

feels that they are real beneficiaries.

The proposal will be discussed during

the next Governing Council meeting.

Incidentally, I feel that we need to take

serious cognizance of the recent

events in Japan. All of us were

shocked and greatly perturbed to

witness the catastrophe created by

Contents

the earthquake and the tsunami that

had struck Japan on March 11, 2011.

The effects of the sad event are still

unfolding. According to the United

States Geological Survey (USGS), this

earthquake was the largest ever

recorded in Japan and is the world's

fifth largest earthquake to strike since

1900. Japan is believed to be well-

equipped and prepared to resist

earthquakes of high intensity; yet the

devastations were horrendous.

The tragic events in Japan raise many

questions amongst Indians, especially

amongst the engineering fraternity.

Is India prepared to withstand high-

intensity earthquakes and tsunamis?

Prime Minister Dr. Manamohan Singh

was quick to order a “technical

review” of all critical installations.

The safety of critical structures

including nuclear installations is

certainly important. However, equally

pertinent question is about the safety

of all structures in densely populated

urban or rural areas. In recent

years reasonably high-intensity

earthquakes have struck India in

quick succession: Khilari (Latur) in

1993, Jabalpur in1997, Chamoli in

1999, Bhuj in 2001, Andaman in 2002,

Sumatra in 2004, Kashmir in 2005 and

From the President’s Desk

Sikkim in 2006. It is estimated that

nearly 70% of the Indian land mass is

prone to medium-to-high intensity

earthquakes. Despite certain laudable

efforts of many organizations and

individuals, the awareness about

earthquake-resistant design and

construction is still lacking in India.

Are we are in a position to state

confidently that the country is well

prepared to wi thstand large

earthquakes? Certainly, we have a

long way to go in achieving tangible

results in earthquake-preparedness.

Any earthquake is a sad reminder to

us about our shortcomings. In fact, we

should consider it as a wake-up call.

In this issue, we are including a write-

up by Prof C V R Murty on the theme

“Preparing for Earthquakes: Where

India Stands?” Considering the

sensitivity of the topic, we would

welcome worthwhile contributions on

this theme and request readers to

respond at an early date. The

contributions can also cover the role

that ICI can play in creating

awareness and render help in

bui lding earthquake -resistant

structures in India.

Vijay KulkarniPresident

March 2011 Vol. 3 Issue: 03

STEWOLS INDIA (P) LTD.5-10B & NS-6, Nagpur Industrial Estate,Kamnptee Road Uppalwadi Nagpur-440 026 INDIATel.: +91-712-2641040, 2640613, Fax No.: +91-712-2641760E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.stewols.com

• From the President’s Desk 1

• News from Centres 2

• ICI Students’ Chapters 6

• Forthcoming Events 12

• Discussion Forum 15

• Selected Seminar Papers 18

• New Members 25

ICI Nagpur Centre

Indian Concrete Institute, Nagpur Centre and

UltraTech Cement Ltd. has jointly instituted

Outstanding Concrete Structures Award of

Vidarbha with an objective of recognising &

appreciating outstanding concrete structures built in

Vidarbha. The event provided platform for

professional Engineers, Architects, Contractors &

Owners to showcase their good quality work that

enhances their dignity and motivates them for good

concrete constructions. The response to the

competition was overwhelming. 78 entries were

received from across Vidarbha. Function was

organised at Hotel Tuli International, Nagpur.

On this occasion, Dr. A. K. Mullick, Former

Director General, NCCBM, Ballabhgarh, New Delhi

delivered a technical lecture on “Sustainable

Concrete Constructions with Ternary Cement

Blends”.

Central Facility Building located in MIHAN,

Nagpur was adjudged as winner in Commercial /

Public building Category and Fathers' House

located at St. Vincent Palloti College of Engineering

& Technology campus on Wardha road was adjudged

as winner in Residential Building Category; and

were awarded in the function.

In the beginning, Mr. Ashwin Moghe, UltraTech

Cement presented the theme of the award while

Er. L. K. Jain, the Chairman of Jury constituted for

the awards spoke about the award and the process

followed to select the awardee. Dr. A. D. Pofale, Prof.

VNIT & Sr. Architect Ar. D. L. Naware were amongst

the Jury.

Er. K. C. Tayade, Chairman, ICI, Nagpur Centre and

Er. Ashwin Moghe, Asst. VP, Technical Services,

UltraTech Cement gave Plaques & Citations to the

contractors of these buildings. Certificate of Merit

was given to the Owners, Architectural Consultants

& Structural Consultants of the buildings. In

addition to awards, Letter of Appreciation was given

to few consultants & Owners for construction of good

quality buildings. Er. M. A. Kawalkar, Secretary, ICI

Nagpur proposed vote of thanks and the programme

was conducted by Er. Ish Jain.

Construction professionals in Vidarbha welcomed

the initiative of UltraTech Cement & ICI for the

promotion of good quality concrete constructions in

Vidarbha. The award distribution function was

attended by about 160 ICI members & leading

professionals from across Vidarbha.

News from Centres

ICI (Nagpur)-UltraTech Outstanding Concrete Structures Award of Vidarbha 2010-11held on 18/3/2011 @ Hotel Tuli International Sadar, Nagpur

K.C.Tayade, Chairman, ICI-Nagpur Centre


Er.Hitesh Mogra, welcomes the participants

Dignitaries on the Dias

Concrete Institute and its activities in last one year in

the region. He requested all the engineers to share

their innovations & experiences in the field of

concrete through ICI technical seminars.

Key Speaker of the day Dr. Subrato Chowdhury, Joint

Executive President - Technical & HOD R&D Cell of

Ultratech Cement Limited, gave a presentation on 'A

consequential relation between Durability &

Sustainability of Concrete'.

In his presentation he emphasised that concrete

should be durable, constructible, predictable,

environment friendly and cost competitive. He

explained in detail the various aspects effecting

durability of concrete and spoke about major

research issues on Utilization of waste materials,

Prediction of life cycle of structure & Performance

based design for structures.

Dr.Subrato Chowdhury delivering lecture

Section of the audience

Meeting ended with vote of thanks by Mr.Avinsh Joshi, TSM, Ultratech Cement Limited, Jodhpur.

An evening Seminar on "Durability & Sustainability -

A Consequential Relation" was organized by Indian

Concrete Institute, Rajasthan State Centre and

Ultratech Cement Limited on March 12, 2011 in

Jodhpur city. The programme was held at Hotel Ajit

Bhawan, Jodhpur.

The Seminar was attended by more than 75 Civil

Engineers, Architects, Builders and Government

Department officials related to Construction.

Professors and post graduate students of MBM

Engineering Collage, Jodhpur were also present in

seminar.

Er.Hitesh Mogra, Treasurer, Indian Concrete

Institute - Rajasthan Centre, welcomed all the

distinguished guests and briefed about Indian

ICI Jaipur Centre

News from Centres


Annual General Body Meeting of ICI Tamil Nadu

Chennai Centre was conducted on 19th March 2011

at ICSR Hall at IIT Madras to elect the new office

bearers for the period 2011-13. Mr. K. Jayasankar –

current chairman of ICI TNCC was re-elected

unanimously as Chairman to lead ICI TNCC to its

future ambitious orbit. Mr. K. G. K. Moorthy was

elected as Secretary & Treasurer. The newly elected

Executive Committee Members are: Er. N. P.

Rajmane, Dr. Ravindra Gettu, Dr. M. Sekar,

Dr. K. C. Pazhani, Mr. K. P. Pradeep, Prof.

T. Senthilnayakam and Er. P. Dinakar.

Er. R. Radhakrishnan, Secretary General was the

Returning Officer under whose supervision, the

election for the new office bearers was held.

Earlier, Er. K. Jayasankar, Chairman ICI TNCC gave

a presentation on the past performance of ICI TNCC.

Er. N. P. Rajamane, Secretary ICI TNCC spoke on the

occasion and thanked all those who supported ICI

TNCC during the last tenure.

All the members of ICI TNCC who were present at

the meeting applauded the efforts of ICI TNCC and

hoped that the trend would continue leaps and

bounds in the coming years too.

On this occasion, ICI TNCC launched its monthly

news bulletin 'Concrete Matters' exclusively for its

members. The bulletin would cover the various

activities of ICI TNCC on monthly basis, important

events and happenings on concrete across the

globe etc. There is also an exclusive section for

Student Chapters of ICI called 'Student Matters'

which covers all the activities conducted by the

student chapters of Tamil Nadu, Cross Word, Poster

and Slogan contest etc. The inaugural edition of

'Concrete Matters' was released by Er. Zacharia

George, Founder Secretary General, ICI.

Er.K.Jayasankar, Chairman , ICI-TNCC presenting the Annual Report

ICI Tamilnadu Chennai Centre

AGM and Elections

Er. Zacharia George, Founder Secretary General of ICI releasing the news letter of Chennai Centre

News from Centres

Section of participants


Dr. C. V. R. Murthy delivering the Lecture

Newly elected Executive Committee Members of ICI-TNCC

Dr. Ravindra Gettu introducing Dr. C. V. R. Murthy

Dr.M.Sekar, Dean Anna University giving memento to Dr.C.V.R.Murthy

News from Centres

ICI-Mah-Mumbai Centre invites nominations for

the election of its office-bearers. Last date for filing

the nominations is 30-4-2011:

For details, pl contact :

Mr. A. D. Bhobe, Returning / Election officer,

ICI – MC Election for 2011 – 13, M/s. S. N. Bhobe &

Associates Pvt. Ltd., Unit No.10, Banking

Complex II, Unit No. 10, Plot No. 9 & 10,

Sector 19-A, Vashi, Navi Mumbai 400705

Elections for ICI-Maharashtra Mumbai Centre

ICI Mumbai Centre

Mobile : 9821120315,

Phone : 022 - 27831070, Fax : 022 - 27831173,

Email : [email protected]


Round Table Workshops on 'Concrete Roads and White Topping Experience and Success in the USA’

The recently concluded Round Table Workshops on

'Concrete Roads and White Topping Experience and

Success in the USA' at Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai,

Hyderabad and Delhi during the week of 21-25

February 2011 was a big success and with whelming

response in all five major Metro areas. In Delhi,

these workshops were concluded with ICI Delhi

Center meeting with a good turnover and lot of

interest. These workshops were ICI activity and was

sponsored entirely by UltraTech Cement with Mr. A.

K. Jain, Technical Advisor, who was also a

contributor to these meetings with his initial

evaluation of Indian Scenario in concrete pavements

and great possibilities of the usage of concrete roads

and overlay (with white topping) on asphalt

pavements to give them a much better life with very

little maintenance. Dr. Gajanan Sabnis, Emeritus

Professor from Howard University and who spends

more time in India coordinated the US efforts,

moderated the discussions throughout the

programme.

The major objective of these Round Table meetings

was to bring the industry stakeholders together and

have a fruitful discussion on critical issues in

adopting the concrete roads and white topping in

India. The invitees included individuals, who are in

specifications and standards (NHAI, IRC, etc), BOT

Operators, decision makers in Governments and

semi-government bodies, leading project

management consultants, material suppliers,

equipment manufacturers, etc.

Mr. Suneel Vanikar of Federal Highway

Administration FHWA) of the US and Dr. Tom Van

Dam of Applied Pavements Technology of Hancock,

Michigan who also works with FHWA projects

covered the topics on a broader perspective. It was

felt that once the interest is created, the next step

would be to hold one-day workshop on one major

topic.

The event was planned and executed for invited

attendees, who would fall under the category of

decision makers or technocrats, who may execute the

large projects. Thus, the attendance was average of

75 in these meetings. The series was inaugurated in

Mumbai by Mr.Vijay Kulkarni, President of ICI

followed by four presentations by Mr. Vanikar and

Dr.Van Dam. The topics were : Long-life and

Sustainability of Concrete Roads considering Life-

Cycle; Two lift Construction of Concrete Roads with

Success stories in the USA; The Role of Preservation

in creating Sustainable Concrete Pavements; and

Concrete Overlays (White Topping) as a Cost-

effective Alternative.

PHOTO GALLARY OF ROUND TABLE CONFERENCE

HYDERABAD


DELHI

MUMBAI

Er. Shashi Gagar, Asstt. Vice President, Ultratech, Er. Vinay Gupta, Chairman, ICI- New Delhi Centre, Er. Suneel Vanikar, P.E., FHWA, Washington, DC, Dr. Thomas J. Van Dam, P.E., LEED AP, Applied Pavement Technology, Michigan at the Dais.

Er. Vinay Gupta, Chairman, ICI- New Delhi Centre, Er. R.K Jain, Er. Suneel Vanikar, Dr. Thomas J. Van Dam, Er. Sanjay Mathur, President, Ultratech.


BENGALURUCHENNAI


Erode Builders Educational Trust's Group of

Institutions, Nathakadaiyur, Kangayam, Tiruppur

District inaugurated the ICI Students' Chapter on

07th March 2011. Mr. R. Radhakrishnan, Secretary

General, ICI Headquarters was the Chief Guest and

inaugurated the Chapter. During his speech, he

explained the benefits to the students of ICI

Students' Chapter and the role of ICI in

disseminating the knowledge on making Good

Concrete. Mr. K. Jayasankar, Chairman, ICI-TN

Lighting the lamp by Er. V. N. Varadharajan, Correspondent, EBETi

Inauguration of the ICI Students' Chapter along with Office Bearers

Students Membership Certificate Issued by Mr. R. Radhakrishnan, Secretary General, ICI and

Received by Dr. E.K. Mohanraj, Professor, EBETi.

Appreciation Certificate distributed to students by Mr. R. Radhakrishnan, Secretary General, ICI

ICI Students’ Chapters

EBET-ICI Students' ChapterInauguration on 07.03.2011 (Monday) @ 10.30 am

Chennai Centre presided over the function and gave

a special lecture on 'Challenges in Making Durable

Concrete'. Er. V. N. Varadharajan, Correspondent,

EBETi, Er.K.P. Duraisamy, Trustee, EBETi, Dr. P.

Govindasamy, Dean (R&D), EBETi and Dr. E. K.

Mohanraj, Professor of Civil Engg., EBETi spoke on

the occasion. Team leaders from UltraTech Cement

Ltd, Asst. Professors and students participated in the

event. ICI Organizational Life Membership

Certificate was received by Er. V. N. Varadharajan,

Correspondent, EBETi, Student's Membership

Certificates were received by Dr. E. K. Mohanraj, ICI

Student's Chapter Co-ordinator, EBETi and

certificates were awarded to achievers' for their

academic excellence on this occasion.


Mr. P. Nagesh, Head (Technical Services) Ultra tech Cements Ltd delivering the Lecture

Er.P.S.Niranjan, HOD, Civil Engg. Dept, with student toppers


ICI Students’ Chapter of MVJ College of

Engineering, Bengaluru organised one day

Workshop on “Concrete Mix Designs and

Admixtures'' on 9th March 2011 at Placement

Seminar Hall of the Institute. Mr. P. Nagesh, Head

(Technical Services), Ultra tech Cements Ltd., made

a presentation on the subject. Student toppers in the

subject 'Materials of Construction' were felicitated

during the function. Earlier Mr. P. S. Niranjan,

HOD, Civil Engg. Dept., welcomed the gathering.

The function was sponsored by Ultra tech Cements

Ltd., and concluded with vote of thanks.

MVJ College of Engineering Excel Group of Institutions

ICI Students’ Chapter of Civil Engineering

Department of Excel Group of Institutions,

organised a National Conference on 'Emerging

Trends in Construction Industry – NATCON 2011' on

3rd and 4th March 2011.

Prof. Dr. A. K. Natesan, Hon-Chairman, Excel Group

of Institutions presided over the function in the

presence of Dr. N. Madhan Karthik, Vice-Chairman,

Excel Group of Institutions, Dr. R. Malathy,

Principal, EEC, Dr. K. Bommanna Raja, Principal,

ECW, and Professors E. Rajendran and T.Sethurajan.

Er.C.Devarajan, Executive Director, URC

Constructions Pvt. Ltd., Erode and Dr. P.

Paramasivam, Professorial Fellow, National

University of Singapore, were the Chief Guests.

In the beginning, Dr. R. Malathy, elaborated the

theme of the conference and its objective. Dr. P.

Paramasivam, in his lecture emphasised

the importance of green building concept. Er. C.

Devarajan stressed on various cost control measures

in construction.

In his key note address Prof. D. Tensing spoke

on Design of Steel Structures – Limit State

Design'. Dr. S. Kothandaraman, spoke on 'Construction

Practices in Sustainable Development'. Dr. M.

Neelamegam made his presentation on 'Emerging

Trends in Advanced Cement Based Composites'.


Ms.Poornima delivering vote of thanks

Er.K.Jayasankar, Chairman, ICI-TNCC welcoming the participants

Er.Elson, Chairman of the Student Chapter welcomes the gathering

Er.R.Radhakrishnan, Secretary General, ICI handing over the membership certificates

Office bearers of the Students’ Chapters with Guests


Students’ chapter of ICI got a shot in the arm when

the much coveted institution in India, IIT Madras

inaugurated the students’ chapter of ICI at its

campus on 19th March 2011. This is the 14th

Students’ Chapter in Tamil Nadu. Er. R. Radha

Krishnan, Secretary General, ICI inaugurated the

student chapter and handed over the certificates of

the student members to Prof. S. R. Gandhi, Head -

Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras who

was the Chief Guest. Mr. Elson, Ph.D scholar, IIT

Madras is the Chairman of the student chapter.

Mr. Radhakrishnapillai, Assistant Professor,

Building Technology & Construction Management

(BTCM), Department of Civil Engineering, IIT

Madras will be the student co-ordinator. He was

instrumental in the start up of student chapter at IIT

Madras. The inauguration was attended by other

faculty members from IIT Madras and other

ICI members.

The student chapter inauguration was followed by an

earthshaking lecture by Dr. C. V. R. Murthy, Professor,

Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras on

"Ductile Detailing of Reinforced Concrete

Structures". He stressed the need for constructing

earthquake resistant structures as a service to

humanity.

IIT Madras


ICI-Ghaziabad Centre is organising a National Conference on ‘Repair and Rehabilitation of

Concrete Structures’.

Forthcoming Events


Forthcoming Events


Forthcoming Events


ICI Students' Chapter & Department of Civil Engineering, Adhiparasakthi Engineering College,

Melmaruvathur is organising a two day National Conference on “Advances in Earthquake

Resistant Design and Construction Techniques" on 20th and 21st April 2011

Preparing for Earthquakes: Where India Stands?

Department of Civil EngineeringIndian Institute of Technology Madras

C. V. R. Murty

You must know this… earthquakes take place at

locations where there are mountains. If you want to

know the exact locations, take the relief globe from

your study room and run your finger along the

mountain line. You now have the complete data on

where most earthquakes have been occurring in the

world. Now, that is not the end of it. Earthquakes can

and have been occurring at other locations too,

particularly where there are not necessarily any

major mountain ranges; the 1993 earthquake in

Deccan plateau of Marathwada in central India is an

example of this from our country. In India, virtually

over 60% of the area is under the threat of moderate

to strong earthquake shaking.

The Earthquake Hazard

Understanding earthquakes is an on-going process.

Two questions are most frequently asked: (a) Why do

earthquakes occur, and (b) Can we predict

earthquakes? Let us address the first one. There is a

large differential pressure and temperature between

the center of the Earth and its surface; the pressure

inside is about 4 million atmospheres and the

temperature about 2500°C. Most matter inside the

Earth is in the hot molten form of lava. These

gradients coupled with the presence of large the heat

produced from the incessant decay of radioactive

elements in the rocks throughout the Earth's interior,

generates circulations in the Earth's mass. Of course,

the rate of this motion is very small, on an average of

about 50mm per year in active earthquake areas. The

journey of the Earth's crust moving on the mantle, is

what all of us participate in. Understandably, since

the pace of motion is not uniform across the entire

Earth, some parts move faster than the others do.

Consequently, the Earth's surface can be visualised to

consist of a number of pieces, called tectonic plates.

Also, the motion of these plates is not a smooth one

but happens in fits and starts, thanks to the limited

strength of the Earth's material to resist the strains

generated by these relative motions. So, every time a

tectonic plate moves more than its neighbour and

slips over it, large amount of strain energy is suddenly

released and there is a shaking of the Earth, which we

call an earthquake. The junctions of these plates are

named as faults. Again, many of these faults lie along

the mountains that all of us observe.

Now, coming to the second question on predicting

earthquakes, it is virtually impossible to predict

when and where the next earthquake will occur in the

world. Reports of having predicted earthquakes are

hotly debated even today. Most prediction studies are

based on a presumed structure of the Earth's cross-

section and on simplified models of the movement of

the Earth's crust. These developments are based on a

limited data that too from the top few kilometers of

the Earth's crust. Therefore, prediction studies have

effectively not taken off.

The Earthquake Preparedness

But whether earthquake prediction is possible or not,

one has to learn to live with them, if one insists on

living in areas with earthquake hazard. So, most

effort of scientists and engineers is focused on

earthquake preparedness, from both engineering

and sociological points of view. To prepare facing

earthquakes, we must know two basic characteristics

of earthquakes, namely Magnitude and Intensity.

The former is a measure of the amount of energy

Discussion Forum

[The enclosed write -up by Prof. C V R Murthy was originally posted on the website of National Information

Center of Earthquake Engineering (NICEE) at IIT, Kanpur ( http://www.nicee.org ). On our request, the author

has modified the original write-up and the same is included here for wider dissemination and generating healthy

debate on the issue. We would welcome comments from members. - Editor]


released by the Earth during the earthquake.

Magnitude is represented on a numerical Magnitude

scale; many scales are used. Richter Magnitude scale

is one using the natural logarithm of maximum

displacement experienced by the ground. An

earthquake of Richter magnitude around 5.0

releases as much energy as that discharged by the

Hiroshima nuclear bomb. As the magnitude goes up

by 1.0 on the Richter scale, the energy release

increases by about 30 times.

On the other hand, the consequence of the above

energy released by the earth is the damage and

destruction to natural and man-made facilities.

Understandably, the damage will vary depending on

the proximity of the facility to the region where the

slip has taken place along the earthquake fault. The

extent of this damage is measured on another scale

called the Intensity scale; many scales are used. MSK

Intensity scale is one of them. This scale is a

qualitative one and represented on a Roman scale I

to XII. Shaking from about intensity IV is felt by all

human beings. Shaking intensities VIII and IX

reflect heavy damage in buildings. When shaking of

the Earth reaches the upper end of XII on the MSK

intensity scale, the surface of the Earth is severely

distorted. Based on the occurrence of earthquakes in

the past in and around India, the country is divided

into four seismic zones, namely zones II, III, IV and

IV, where II is the least severe and V the most severe.

Based on this zoning, about 60% of India's land area

is under moderate seismic threat or more, i.e., under

seismic zone III or above. In fact, the 1993 Killari

earthquake in which over 10,000 persons died,

occurred in an area that was considered to be not

earthquake prone, i.e., in the earlier seismic zone I.

After this event, the seismic zone map has been

revised to have only four seismic zones, with zone I

merged to zone II. Now, amongst our four mega-

cities, Delhi is in seismic zone IV, while Bombay,

Calcutta and Madras are in seismic zone III. Despite

this level of seismic hazard, little is being done,

particularly in these cities, to make the development

akin to earthquake shaking. The quality of

architecture, design and construction is way behind

the expected seismic standards.

Earthquake-Proof versus Earthquake

Resistant Constructions

The common man concept of an earthquake-proof

house is only heuristic. If one attempts to make a

house that will not incur any damage during a large

earthquake, it is likely that another pyramid will be

built, though not of the Egyptian scale. Yes, it is

uneconomical to build houses, or any structure for

that matter, that don't incur any damage during

strong earthquake shaking. Therefore, some amount

of damage is permitted in structures, the extent being

decided based on the performance demand on the

damaged structures. Hence, engineering effort is to

balance the cost of the structure with the controlled-

damage in it during an earthquake. The engineers

who are already well conversant with making

structures for non-earthquake conditions, can design

such structures, termed as earthquake-resistant

structures, with a additional education.

Design of structures for earthquakes is different from

that for other natural phenomenon, like wind and

wave. An earthquake imposes displacement on the

structure, while winds and waves apply force on it.

The displacement imposed at the base of a structure

during an earthquake causes inertia forces to be

generated in it, which are responsible for damage in

the structure. As a consequence of this, the mass of

the structure being designed assumes importance;

more the mass, higher is the inertia force. After a

whole gamut of earthquake

experiences collected during the 20th century from

across the world, today the earthquake engineering

community agrees that there are four virtues of an

earthquake-resistant structure. These are: (a) good

configuration – features of building size, shape and

structural system that are not detrimental to

favourable seismic behaviour, (b) adequate stiffness –

capacity to not deform too much, (c) sufficient

strength – capacity to resist earthquake forces, and

(d) large ductility – capacity to stay stable even after a

damaging earthquake. Engineers designing

structures for winds and waves, tend to mostly

concentrate their attention on the first two aspects,

Discussion Forum


namely strength and stiffness. However, in

earthquake design, the latter two virtues assume a

more important role. The following parallel helps in

better remembering these four virtues. In looking for

a bride-groom for your daughter, you are looking at a

prospective son-in-law who (a) has no vices (Of

course, this depends on what your vices are!!), (b) is

educated, so that he can easily find another job if the

company he is working in winds up, (c) is rich, so that

he can take care of the shopping requirements of

your daughter, and (d) can bend-backwards, to the

rather abrupt changes in mood of your daughter.

Earthquake Engineering Education in

India

India has had many moderate earthquakes since

1988 as reminders to improve the earthquake

preparedness of the country, e.g., 1988 Bihar-Nepal,

1991 Uttarkashi, 1993 Killari, 1997 Jabalpur, 1999

Chamoli, 2001 Bhuj, 2002 Diglipur, 2004 Sumatra and

2005 Kashmir earthquakes. And, historically, some of

the great earthquakes (Richter Magnitudes >8.0)

have occurred in India and that too four in the last

114 years. Every time an earthquake took place in the

country, the world seismic community has taken

advantage of the experiences from the event, but we,

in India, do not seem to done as much as one has seen

in similar other countries with earthquake problem.

In the past five decades, the earthquake engineering

and preparedness education has been primarily

restricted to within the classrooms. Today, the

number of persons interested in improving the

earthquake preparedness in the country is

effectively small.

In 2003, Gujarat state passed an act to prepare the

state better against natural disasters. In 2005, the

Disasters Management Act was passed, and country

is in the nascent stage of preparing to resist

earthquakes. Even now, there is lot to be done

towards earthquake preparedness and mitigation.

For instance, earthquake engineering is taught as a

specialisation only at the University of Roorkee and

as an elective course at a few of the IITs and other

engineering colleges in the country. In fact, the

subject has been so mystified that it is unfortunately

considered to be different from the mainstream civil

engineering. Consequently, there is a serious

shortage of trained civil engineering manpower with

background in earthquake-resistant constructions.

Even today most consulting engineers do not follow

even the available Indian Standard design provisions

for making earthquake-resistant constructions, even

in projects being executed in the Delhi, which is in

seismic zone IV. The proliferation of an average of

~30,000-60,000 open ground storey buildings in each

of the 59 towns and cities in seismic zones III, IV and

V during 1990-2011, is a testimony of our fragile and

vulnerability building stock as demonstrated by the

2001 Bhuj earthquake. These buildings with 230mm

columns supporting even up to 20 storeys are being

built even today with no design but with prescriptive

thumb rules. But, over the last century, seismic

engineering has evolved in countries like Japan, New

Zealand and USA, and is reasonably well

documented. The Indian professional community

can learn from this vast experience available across

the world.

The Nation at the Cross-Roads even

today…

And yes, you must know this too… earthquakes don't

kill people; structures built by man kill people. With

frequent reminders of moderate earthquakes staring

into our eyes, India is

still at the crossroads of earthquake preparedness

and mitigation. It has two options to choose from –

prepare now or pay later. For a country with relatively

fragile economy, dense demographic distribution

and vulnerable constructions that are standing

precariously, the second option will be an expensive

proposition. Even if it means an uphill task, time is

ripe to take the challenge with open arms… of

earthquake preparedness and mitigation.

Discussion Forum


The author describes Indian experience in achieving long-term durability. Salient aspects of design, construction

and materials used in four ancient structures are described. All the four structures have withstood the test of time

and are still performing well even after 1000 years! Ancient Indian architects and engineers (sthapaties) avoided

using bricks, timber,and steel which have limited service life. Instead, they extensively used stone masonary to

ensure 1000-year durability. Further, the shape of the structure was designed in such a way that it was able to

withstand the effects of rains, earthquakes and wind over centuries.

Keywords: temples, ghats, stone masonry, vastu, sthapaties

* Dr C V Kand, Retired Chief Engineer (Designs), P.W.D., Madhya Pradesh.

Indian Experience in Sustainabilityof Civil Engineering Structures

C. V. Kand*

Introduction

Indian Science of Structures – Vastushastra

Thousand years ago Raja Bhoj King of Dhar in

Madhya Pradesh created several long life structures

in India. He not only created the structures but also

wrote a book entitled “Samarangan Sutradhar”

meaning creator of campus development –

“sthapati”, wherein he describes the philosophy,

procedures and technical details of some long life

structures – Vastu. The basic principle in making

these structures is explained. Vastu must be durable,

aesthetically beautiful and useful to the community.

This paper highlights the durability aspects of four

historical structures. Details of two of the structures

built by Raja Bhoj are described. One is the large lake

wall at Kamla Park, Bhopal and another is the

Shankar Temple at Bhojpur near Bhopal, which was

completed upto roof level but the shikhar was not

done. Third structures is Atharnalla Bridge in

Jagannath puri town and the fourth one is the

massive ghats at Vrindawan built on well foundation.

Itis interesting to note that well foundation

techniquewas evolved inIndia in eleventh century.

All these structures are thousand years old and are

still serving the community. Some aspectsof

durability are explained of these structures. Out of

these three are hydraulicstructures.

Kamla Park Bund at Bhopal : (Figs 1, 2 and 3)

An important road in Bhopal town passing from the

then centre of the town towards south east and west

MeeMJeleb megvojb Jeemleg, Ghe³egkeÌleb ®e led YeJesled~

was constructed during the 1070-90 A.D. For route

location, places of worship and source of water were

the focal points during those days. Raja Bhoj

constructed Bada Talab (upper lake) at Bhopal by

constructing a wide Bund Wall about 125 m. wide, 400

m. long and 18 m. high. Several temples were

constructed along the lake. The Bund Wall carried a

garden and a highway. Thus, this long stretch had a

lake, number of temples, a garden and a highway

going out of the town. This place is known as Kamla

Park. The temples are now destroyed. However, the

old Bund wall, garden and the Highway are intact.

The structure of the Bund wall has the following

features.

Selected Seminar Papers


i) The wall is made up of 600mm x 500mm size stones

with length more than 2 m, laid at lowest level on both

faces of the wall to a height of 6 m to 9 m.

ii) Dry masonry wall 4.5 m in height.

iii) Masonry wall in lime mortar for 4.5 m height.

iv) One metre high parapet wall with 2.5 x 0.6 x 0.2 m

cut stone coping above.

v) Portion in between walls on both faces is filled by

boulder and murum.

Dams with Earth Backing Masonry Walls

In India, there are several examples of dams

constructed by the technique of earth backing to

masonry walls. Hussain Sagar constructed in 1562

A.D. is usually quoted as the first work of its

type. However, Kamla Park bund was completed in

the eleventh century (1090 A.D.) itself. Similarly,

Bhojpur dam was also built in the eleventh century

by adopting this very technique .

The walls of Kamla park bund are of dry stone with

mud mortar. There are no weep holes. The pore

pressure is released through the mud mortar joint.

That is why the structure has stood well for

1000 years. However considerable traffic is allowed

on the top.

This is causing vibratory load and pollution. Some

temples and mosques are constructed on the top.

There was a proposal to build flyover founded on this

bund. The author has advised authorities not to do

so. Pipe lines are being laid on the bund which leak.

Without properly understanding the stability

aspects, pointing is being done at outer dry masonry

wall. There is perhaps no example of an earthen

bund 18 m high standing safe for 1000 years. The

parapet wall consists of large stones which are not

disturbed due to usage. The main features of

durability of the bund are :

i) Use of large stones weighing 1.5 tons in bund work.

These cannot be easily disturbed.

ii) Mud mortar to release pore pressure.

iii) Large stones on parapet do not get disturbed

when used for sitting.

iv) Compaction of earth boulder fill was done by

elephants who were used to carry stones from

quarries.

Bhojpur Temple

Raja Bhoj wanted to build twenty one temples in the

country. He built some temples along the large lake.

About 30 km from Bhopal is Bhojpur temple along

the Betwa river. A large masonry bund was built

across Betwa by Raja Bhoj. The same was breached

and dismantled by the Sultan of Hoshangabad since

his son died in the lake. At this bund Raja Bhoj built

Shankar Mandir. It has no Shikhar. One story says

that Raja Bhoj could not complete the roof. Another

story says this was also dismantled by the Sultan.

Some specialties of the temples are :

• Large stones used in the masonry wall. The

Shankar pindi is more than 6m high. It is

carved from the natural stone and is intact.

Durability of a structure depend on the quantum of

joints which are affected by heat and humidity. In the

stone masonry which is being done now, the number

of joints is 30 to 35%. In Ashlar masonry the joints

account for only 15%. If a stone is chiseled on all six

sides and used in masonry, the number of joints is

less than 10%. That is why such a stone masonry is

more durable and can last for 1000 years.



Fig. 4 Atharanala over the Madupur stream near Puri, Orissa. Reprodution of a plan by Stirling Asiatic Researches, Vol. XV, F. p. 336.

Hemanpant, an architect and prime minister of King

of Devgiri (Aurangabad) evolved a technique known

as Hemandpanth temple. Mortar was not used for

joints. Stones were chiseled on all sides and placed

one above each other. Vertical joint between two

layers was by socket in lower stone and spigart on

upper stone. Joints in horizontal layers were copper

plates fixed on two adjoining stones and the gap was

filled by led. Spanning for roof was done by



corbelling as shown in the sketch. Even domes were

built by corbelling of layers. Frames of doors used to

be of stones.

Ancient engineers knew that bricks, timber, lime

mortar, steel are the materials which cannot last long.

Use of these materials was avoided in the tructures.

Doors used to be made of copper plates. Many such

Hemandpant temples are built in Maharashtra.

Some of these are more than 600 years old. A king in

south India gave a challenge to the architect to build

a temple which can last for 1000 years. One architect

took the challenge & built a temple. On the stone

wall, there is an inscription which says –

Deefve<ìkeÀced DemegOeced DeueesnkeÀced DeoeªJeve ®ekeÀejme:

“I have built a 1000 years temple where there are no

bricks, no lime, no timber and no steel”.

Durability of temple also depends upon the shape.

Generally, a temple or even a mosque or church was

constructed to be the tallest structure in the town so

that whenever one comes out of the house, one

should see the pinnacle of the place of worship, fold

his/her hands and pray. Such tall structures are

subjected to rainfall, wind and earthquake effects.

Therefore the slope should be such that it can stand

these effects. Moreover it should be the most

beautiful, massive and pleasing structure. Temple

designers of past had a very disciplined ritual.

Besides pranayam and exercise, they were asked to



observations develop a concept of tall and beautiful

temples. That is why temple has wide base and

sloping shape reducing with height. The shape

should be safe against wind and earthquake.

Rainwater is quickly drained out from the slopes.

Concept of aesthetics also came from the

observations of nature. Besides, these observations

of nature gave Sthapati a peace of mind and faculty of

imagination.

3.5 Ancient Sthapatis have laid down 5 essential

requirements of a structure.

• Basic material,

• Jointing material,

• Stability (design),

• Aesthetics and

• Rhythm.

A structure is going to vibrate due to wind and

earthquake. In order that it is stable, it must have a

rhythm so that it does not fall by vibration like a

experienced dancer who bends in any direction but

maintains her posture by practice. All these

ingredients give a long life sustainability to a

structure. The shape of a place of worship is square

so that effect of earthquake is equal in all directions .

Concept of a square shape came from human body. If

you stand and stretch your two hands, the height and

width are equal. It is a square shape. Places of

worship face East so that morning sunrays make it

disinfectant. A temple structure is not in the form of

long straight walls. Several offsets sides are provided

by providing perpendicular wall length at 1 m. or 2 m

distance. Long straight wall is fully heated. It is not

pleasant to look at. In offset structure half the area

gets direct sunlight but adjoining is in shadow. Thus,

the structure is protected from the effect of heat and

looks pleasing. These are the concepts of

sustainability for 1000 years of temples in India.

Temples of Khajuraho, Mahakal (Ujjain),

Omkareshwar and many other temples in India are

more than 1000 years old. The materials, the shape,

the least joints, aesthetics and rhythm imparted to

them have made them sustainable for 1000 years.

Athar Nalla Bridge Jagannathpuri (Orissa) (Fig. 4)

The road from Bengal to Jagannath-Puri is lined with

a number of bridges constructed on the horizontal

corbel formula characteristic of Hindu works. In this

structure the arches are formed by making each

successive layer of masonry overlap the layer below

until the two piers come at the top to within a foot of

each other, then, on the space between, a long narrow

block of stone is laid as a sort of keystone. The

Archaeological Survey of India restored two of such

bridges:

The Atharanala over the Madhupur stream, north-

east of Puri, and the Tentulimala, over the Madaguiin

river, near Jajpur.

The former is built of sandstone and laterite and is 84

m. long, 5.4 m. wide and has 19 openings. The piers

are 2.1 m. wide with intervening spans of about 2.4 m

and the corbelled spans are finally closed with a deep

lintel across them. The two centre spans and their

piers are wider and the bridge rises gradually from

the banks to the centre; the abutments at the ends of

the work are rounded on both sides to resist the force

of the current; the corners of the piers too have been

rounded off on the east face.

No other bridge in India was serviceable for 1000

years. Recently some repairs have been carried out.

Indian sthapatis (architects and engineers) were

aware that a large part of India is subjected to

Earthquake effects. Earthquakes 5000 years ago

submerged Dwarka and several buildings in

Maharashtra around Latur collapsed and huge

stones were thrown above and dumped in areas upto

200 km in this earthquake. It was not possible to

predict when earthquake would come. Ancient

Rishis like Parashar advised people to build Shankar

Mandir in zones worst affected by Earthquake and

pray The Lord to prevent severe earthquakes.

Jyotirlings were established in Earthquake affected

areas. These are at Somnath in Saurashtra,

Trimbakeshwar, Bhimashankar, Ondhya Nagnath,

Parali Vajnath, Nageshwar in Maharashtra,

R a m e s h w a r a n d S h r i s h a i l a m i n S o u t h ,

Omkareshwar and Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh,

Varanasi and Kedarnath in UP. All these regions are

earthquake prone regions.



Recent earthquake at Koyna, Khillare (Latur)

Jabalpur and Kuch have proved this. Therefore

Indian sthapaties knew that Arch shape evolved in

Egypt is not suitable for Indian conditions. Therefore

in old temples, Corbel system was adopted. It was

only during Moghal period, Arch form was used in

temples, mosque and bridges in India. Masonry arch

bridges cannot survive in severe earthquake. The

case of Atharnalla has proved that Corbel shape is

more durable & can sustain for 1000 years.

Ghats at Vrindavan(Fig. 5)

In the past, towns/cities used to be established along

river courses, particularly on the convex bank of the

river since there used to be a pool of water near

convex bank in summer. Concave bank has silty bed.

But there will be scouring of convex bank during

monsoon. Thus, there was a need to protect bank

where town was established an particularly where

rock was not available. Foundation of temples on

river bank used to go deep and became costly.

Therefore ghat were established on the banks which

acted as protective apron and protected scouring of

bank. Besides this, ghats also were useful for bathing.

Even cognations, discourses used to be held on flat

platform of the ghats. Indian culture, music dances

developed on these ghats in the vicinity of temples.

Where rock was not available, foundations of ghat

gave trouble and ghats used to collapse. The same

thing happened at Vrindavan (Mathura) along the

bank of Yamuna river, where pilgrims used to come to

visit. Vrindawan is a place of Lord Krishna. Ghats

were built on sandy bed for the pilgrims but these

used to collapse and could not last for three to four

years. Moreover, many buildings along Yamuna bank

suffered from scouring of sandy river bed. Even some

bridges used to collapse. Thus, in alluvial beds strong

& deep foundations were required for bridges,

buildings and ghats.

The bridges then were usually founded on small

wells usually filled up with lime and broken bricks,

and supporting a continuous masonry platform. In

moveable alluvium, piles would have been

inefficient, for the people had no machines with

which piles of a sufficient length could be driven,

timber moreover could not be procured easily. On the

other hand the means of making bricks were

available everywhere and the use of wells had been

“acknowledged as the standard resource in the

system of hydraulic architecture of upper India”.

It was probably tried out by Hindus on the banks of

sacred rivers. At Mathura and Brindaban where

flights of steps or ghats sweep the whole line of the

Jamuna river, wells have been extensively used in

foundations. The Muslim buildings at Agra, where

the proximity of the river made it necessary to have

deep foundations, are also largely indebted to wells.

European engineers at the end of the XVIIIth

century recognized the advantages of this native

conception. In 1804, Legoux de Flaix, once an officer

in the French military engineering corps, published a

memoir in which he demonstrated that Indian

bridges could have no better foundations and in the

early XIXth century the British built some of their

bridges on the same principles.

Taj Mahal and Jodhabai palace at Prayag have well

foundations on the outer periphery. Well foundation

at Brindavan was provided in eleventh century. It is

more than 1000 years old.

Well foundations have been adopted for Yamuna

bridge at Naini (Allahabad) by the British Engineers.

Wells at Tajmahal, Brindawan ghat have a diameter

of 10 feet and these have gone upto 12 m. Dewatering

used to be done by MOT (leather pan).

It was possible for Indian sthapatis to create

structure which can last for 1000 years by continuous

observations of nature and imagination.

Faiths, Continuous Study of Nature, Prayers

Indian engineers were aware that any structure is

affected by rains, wind, environmental efforts and

earthquakes. Therefore at the foundation ceremony

of a structure they would recite a prayer –

Meb vees JeªCe: Meb vees OeeefjCeer

Meb vees ceeªle: Meb vees YeJeleg De³e&cee

[Let the God of rains protect the structure. Let the

earth on which it is resting protect it from

disturbances like earthquake. Let the wind protect it.



And last but not least, let the god of environment i.e.

Sun protect it from its ill effects.]

It was perhaps only in India that considerable

attention was given to the training and daily rituals to

be followed by sthapatis. Daily observation of natural

shapes and aesthetics of forest, hillock was

prescribed to attain creativity for long sustainable

s t r u c t u r e s l i k e t e m p l e s . S a i n t R a m d a s

(Maharashtra) has advised that for happiness and

creativity, one must absorb the shape and beauty of

natural creations.

Modern science and technology does not talk about

training and self development of engineers. There is

no place for prayers. These are essential for creating

long life sustainable structures.

At the time of inauguration of the structure the

prayer in Vastupuja is –

mebkeÀuHeef®eblevew: Jeemlees meesefJeYeep³eeMe SJe ces~

ÖeefmeoHeener ceeie& efJeÍJesMe osefn .ces ienpeced megKeced~~

[I have thought of this Vastu structure for days and it

is now inseparable part of my personality. Oh God, be

kind enough and protect the structure and protect its

users, protect me, give us happiness derived from

observing aesthetically beautiful structure.

Conclusions

Long life sustainability of structures described above

and many other structures in India has been

obtained by:.

• Adopting large stones in the structure so that

heavy mass is not disturbed due to usage and

the number of joints is reduced. Spigot and

socket joints and copper strips at joints in place

of mortar gave stability. Stones were chiseled

on all six faces.

• Avoiding use of bricks, timber, steel which have

limited life.

• Choosing such a shape that the same can

sustain the effect of rains, earthquake and

wind.

• Evolve the concept of rhythm by observing the

same in natural shapes

• To achieve creativity and concept of durability

and by constant study and o b s e r v a t i o n s o f

nature and attain regulated life style and

mental strength by sthapatis in the personality

by penance and impart rhythm, aesthetics &

durability to the Vastu.

References

1. Samarangan Sutradhar by Raja Bho (Sanskrit).

2. The Ancient Bridges of India by Jean Deloche,

Arbindo Ashram, Pondicherry



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Documents

ICI March Issue 28 3 11 - Indian Concrete Institute 2011.pdf · Ultratech Cement Limited, gave a presentation on 'A consequential relation between Durability & Sustainability of Concrete