IRICEN JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

VOLUME 1, NO. 4 SEPT. 2008 www.iricen.gov.in

Indian Railways Institute of Civil Engineering, Pune

Readers View
In response to article "Maintenance of steel Foot Over Bridges" published in Vol. No. 1, Issue No. 3, June 2008, a response have been received from our reader. Following are the excerpts of letter received from Shri. Sudhir Kumar, CRS, Central Circle, Mumbai. 1.
VOLUME 1, NO. 3 JUNE 2008 www.iricen.gov.in

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I have gone through the various articles. The content and presentation are very good. However, on the subject of light steel structures, such as FOBs and Ops. I had an occasion to inquire into the failure of 1 FOB and 1 COP (Cover on Platform). Following additional comments are offered in the design, construction and maintenance of these light steel structures. On Central Railways, FOBs at Akola 3 x 28 m span, Bhigwan 30 m span and Dombivali 33m span cllapsed immediately after fabrication and erection on 29.09.1994, 23.09.1999 and 02.01.2004 dates respectively. Details of other similar Indian Railways Institute of Civil Engineering, Pune FOB collapses at Pulgaon and other could not be traced by Central Railway. In addition, the COP structure had collapsed at ABH on 04.07.2008 and the COP at Govandi had collapsed on 05.08.2008 on Mumbai Division of Central Railway. Following aspects have emerged Design Aspect FOBs are designed by Zonal Railways on Central Railway in 30 m span FOB, top bracings were not provided. Instead of that, end raker were provided. The column consists of 2 ISMBs. The bottom beam was in 3 pieces. The end member of the girder was fixed with the web of the column with nuts and bolts. After the collapse, following modifications have been done in the detailing of FOBs structure. a. Top bracings have been provided; b. Bottom member has been made of single piece; c. Column consists of 4 ISMBs pressed together d. On Western Railway no such failure has been reported and it is told that for FOBs span for more than 20 m instead of fixing girder with the column the girder is being supported over the columns. Construction Aspects The quality of welding should be minutely observed in case of FOB. It is noticed that the Ex. Engineers and SSE (W) do not pay due attention to learn and ensure good quality welding in case of light structures. This aspect needs improvement. Maintenance Aspects : It is noticed that COP and FOB are not being inspected periodically by SE (W) and ADEN as per Para 228 at IRWM 2000, treating them as light structures. After the collapse of COP on Central Railway following aspects have been suggested : Branch officers should ask a certificate of zero missing fittings from ADEN and SE(W) every year to ensure that they inspect the light structures, periodically as per Manual. The copies of Inquiry Reports of failure of FOBs at Akola and Bhigwan are enclosed herewith and the copy of Inquire Report of failure of FOB at Dombivali is available in the IRICEN Library. These should be meticulously analysed and discussed in bridge course at IRICEN to avoid similar failures, in future. (Sudhir Kumar) Commissioner of Railway Safety Central Circle, Mumbai

EDITORIAL BOARD
Shri A. K. Goel
Director/IRICEN Chairman

Index
I) World Railway News II) Other News III) Technical Papers 1. Renewal of corroded head plate screws and bearing plates on PSC fan shaped layout 2. Launching of fish belly PSC girders in Neemuch-Ratlam GC project 3. Innovative method for regirdering as plate girders by lifting frame method 4. Strengthening of distressed bridge No. 462 between HWH-NGP 5. Beijing olympics an excellence in architecture & construction too 6. Re - building of stone top bridges & arch bridges opting blasting technique. 7. Raising of Road Over Bridge on Western Railway 8. Improved tools of training at IRICEN: Its new website 9. Suggested good practices for digitization of engineering drawings IV) Literature digest VI) New products

01 03

Shri Suresh Gupta

Dean/IRICEN Executive Editor

TRACK
Shri Rajesh Kumar
Sr. Professor/IRICEN Member

05 08 11 16 21 25 27 33 36 41 45

Shri V. B. Sood
Professor/IRICEN Member

BRIDGE
Shri Ajay Goyal
Sr. Professor/IRICEN Editor

WORKS Shri Naresh Lalwani

Sr. Professor/IRICEN Editor

Shri Manoj Arora

Professor/IRICEN Member

The papers & articles express the opinions of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of IRICEN editorial panel. The institute is not responsible for the statements or opinions expressed in its publication.

Guidelines to contributors Articles on the Railway Civil Engineering are always welcome from the authors. The authors who are willing to contribute articles in the IRICEN Journal of Civil Engineering are requested to please go through the following guidelines : 1. The paper should be about the Railway Civil Engineering. The article should be detailing the advancement in technology in Railway Civil Engineering. 2. The paper may be a review of conventional technology, possibilities of improvement in the technology or any other item which may be of interest to the readers. The paper should be reasonably detailed so that it could help the reader to understand the topic. The paper may contain analysis, design, construction, maintenance of railway civil engineering assets. The paper should be concise. 3. The journal is likely to be printed in a paper of size 215 mm X 280 mm. While sending the articles the author should write in 2 columns. Sketches, tables and figures should be accommodated in a 2 column set up only. 4. Author should send the original printout of photograph along with the digital copy of the photograph. 5. Soft copy as well as hard copy of article must be invariably sent to the editors of concerned subject. 6. Only selected articles will be included in the IRICEN Journal of Civil Engineering.

From director's Desk:

Dear readers, Today, the structure and maintenance requirements of track, bridges and works have quite changed from some 30 years back. Majority of track is now machine maintained, the increase of axle loads by 10% with a likely hood of further increase to 15% (25 T) has been adopted rather well by Engineers, without much inputs of additional technology and change in work culture. The bridges were attended under SRSF as a one time measure. The state of the Works and Projects has improved inspite of severe pressures but does not give us reason to complement ourselves. However, strength shown by the Engineers of working under adverse conditions does not entitle us to be complacent and overlook the weaknesses in our working ethos. The time and cost overruns in projects are normal. The Gang man now called Trackman still walks every day, under all weathers, about 8-10 km. with 20-25 kg of tools on his shoulder to reach work site. Works cadre is shrinking and departmental capacity depleted to insignificant levels. BRI's inspect and maintain concrete/PSC, welded steel bridges without necessary safety, equipment and skilled staff. The living conditions and health of workers is unsatisfactory and they age before their time. There are vacancies in all cadres, filling of the posts is being found to be insurmountable task. The only recourse left is to outsource a large no. of activities to contractors, outcome of the contracts also has not been as satisfactory as one would like it to be. Survival of the Railway as a healthy organization depends on increased throughput of freight. The age old dictum, Passenger traffic is a drain on Railway resources but has to be done, Railway being the National Carrier is giving way to a fresh focus on this sector, due to spurt in economy and increased paying capacity of more than 30% of the population, mostly living in cities. Providing fast and good services to passengers is now making a political and economic sense. Increase of speeds to 160 Kmph with prospects of dedicated corridors with speeds of 300-350 Kmph and existing routes upgraded for speeds of 200 Kmph , are developments on horizon. These are new challenges before us. Railway Board has been addressing many of these issues. Funds are not a problem in most of the plan heads any longer. Lots of structural changes have been made in the Tendering and contract procedures based on the feedback of the field engineers. Project Management consultants, design consultants, Project preparation consultants have been allowed to be engaged on projects, much enhanced financial powers have been delegated to Zones, besides many other long felt changes have been done. More machines are being procured for track and bridge inspection and maintenance. It is now time for all Engineers to respond and make the best of the changed environment and live up to the name our predecessors have earned to the department. This calls for a commitment from us to succeed, the will to change our traditional attitudes toward our juniors and contractors from that of 'Master and Servant relation', to that of mutual respect, and to work in a more transparent manner.

World Railway News

Under-designed Gusset Plates Cited by NTSB in I-35W Bridge Collapse Investigation: On 15th January 08, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of USA issued interim findings of its investigation into the collapse of the Minneapolis bridge over Mississippi river on 01-08-07 in which 13 people were killed and 145 others injured. The Board has discovered the under designed gusset plates on panel points U10 and L11 of the steel deck truss failed, leading to the collapse. These gussets were 12.7mm thick, roughly half the required thickness. The demand to capacity ratio (D/C) for the gussets was over 1.45 whereas it shall be less than 1. U10 gussets also violated the unsupported edge limitation. The bridges completed in 1967, had been renovated in 1977 and 1988, adding weight to structure and another upgrade using construction equipment/ material was in progress when collapse occurred. The role of this increase in loads in the collapse is being investigated. Ref.: Civil Engineering, Feb 2008, Vol.78, No.2, Pge 10-11. TGV hits lorry: A serious accident occurred on a level crossing on Pris-Geneve TGV line on 19-12-07. The accident occurred when a lorry carrying special oversized load got caught under the level crossing height gauge set at 4.4m. The level crossing barriers lowered and came to rest on lorry. A little later TGV traveling at about 100 kmph dashed into the lorry, killing the lorry driver. The lorry and train suffered severe damage. The accident occurred as the level crossing barriers in France are activated by double contact before a train passes and if powers fail, the barriers lower automatically. This is considered a fail safe system but no return signal to train that the barrier has reached its end position. Ref.: Railway Update, 2/2008, Page 62, 63 Close to catastrophe in the Landrucken tunnel On 26 April 2008, ICE 885, traveling at 215 kmph hit a flock of sheep and derailed in the Landrucken tunnel. There were two dozen passengers injured and no casualty in the accident which saw 20 sheep killed. The accident occurred minutes after ICE 782/732 travailing in opposite direction hit several sheep which was reported by driver to traffic controller but the driver of derailed train was not informed. The public prosecutor has initiated as investigation against the shepherd responsible for the stray sheep. The accident revived discussion about fencing of the railway lines, especially on high speed routes. Ref.: Railway Update, March 2008, Page 118-119. New Stadler articulated multiple units for Netherlands In the new multiple units built by stadler, a new system for alighting from the train has been provided with two level steps. When the platform is higher, top level step comes out and when the platform is lower, through a mode selection switch, a lower level step comes out and the top level step remains retracted. This considerably reduces the gap between the platform and the step making boarding/alighting lot easier. Ref.: Railway Update, March 2008, Page 123-130 India MumbaiFor a 11 km long, Versova-AndheriGhatkopar section of proposed Mumbai Metro, CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling stock company is to supply 16 four car trains for line no.1. The whole fleet of these rakes is expected to arrive in Mumbai by mid 2010. Ref.: Railway Gazette International-August 2008 page 478 Alaska Railroad Daylights Moody Tunnel Moody tunnel, constructed in 1920s on Alaskan Railway and supported on timber strut has been 'day lighted'. The tunnel was having very less clearances to run double stack containers and the tunnel had a history of collapses inside as well as landslides sinkholes etc on the approaches. The tunnel was removed by first reducing the overburden from 70ft thickness to 10 ft thickness, working carefully under running traffic conditions and then, during a block, the tunnel was imploded and debris cleared from the track. Ref.: Civil Engineering July 2008, Page 19-20. The path is clear for partial privatization of DB Germany's government has agreed to a flotation on the stock Market. Up to 24.9% of the passenger and freight rail transport will be allowed to be sold off to private investors whereas railway stations and rail network will remain entirely in state hands. The staff participation in share holding was also agreed to. The sale proceeds are expected in the range of EURO five to eight billion. Ref.: Railway Update, March 2008, Page110. Beijing- Hamburg in 14 days: A trial freight train traveled from China to Germany covering 10,000 kms in 14 days. During the journey, the container cargo had to trainsshipped twice, once at ChinaMongolian border and then at Belarus Poland border. This was part of efforts to develop rail freight transport link between Asia and Europe. Ref.: Railway Update, 2/2008, Page 85

S w i s s pa r t i c l e f i l t e r s f o r Eurotunnel Diesels In 1991 and 1992, Mak and ABB supplied five four-axle diesel electric locomotive for rescue and works train duties to Eurotunnel. The locomotives were operated in pairs on 50 km long tunnel with a two-axle exhaust gas purification car between them. This was not a satisfactory system. A Swiss firm has fitted in particle filters by redesigning the hood, and as a world first, fitted in urea injection system to improve exhaust emission. Ref.: Railway Update, March 2008, Page-07.

Rail traffic grows in India and China in 2007. As per UIC annual statistics, the passenger traffic growth for India and China was 8.5% and 12.9% respectively whereas in freight traffic, the growth was 9.4% and 7.2%. The growth in other countries was modest except UK where passenger traffic grew by 10%. Russia saw decrease in passenger, Kilometers by 2.4%. Ref.: Railway Update, March 2008, Page 112.

Replacement of Bridges Work to replace bridge over river Rhein between kehl and strashoura was launched on july 8, 2008. Scheduled to open in 2010, the new truss bridge will replace currentbridge structure, contracted in 1954. This new bridge comprises of two spans of 131 m & 107 m and clearance along the river will be 7.0M. running speed on the bride will be raised to 160 KMPH as compared to existing 100 KMPH. Ref.: Railway Gazette International-August 2008 page 482

BETTER HEALTH OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Civil engineering is in better health now than in May 2003.The profession is more visible than it was, the decline in university applicants has reversed, graduate shortages combined with a high workload means employment and starting salaries are relatively good, and most engineers are fairly happy in their work. However, civil engineering is notoriously 'boom and bust' industry, and one of narrow profit margins. The danger is that the next downturn in workload will reduce salaries again and re-establish macho long hour culture at the expense of many of the flexible, family-friendly working practices that have been adopted. This can only result in the profession regaining its 'unhappy' tag with relatively low status, a poor image and recruitment and retention problems. The climatic extremes of the summer of 2007, whether a blip of nature or a precursor of global warming , have brought to the public attention the problems of flood protection , drainage, water supplies, sanitation and transportation systems. There have been few better opportunities for the civil engineering professions to present itself as the key provider of the essential services that have so been taken for granted. Civil engineering is not about the past, it is about the future, and civil engineers can make a difference. The time to ensure the future is when things are going well and the high point of the sigmoid curve has not yet been reached. By the time the peak has passed it is too late. The profession should aim to maintain into the future progress that has already been made, continue to improve the areas that are still unsatisfactory and give some thought to new initiatives that might be introduced to enhance further both the image and reality of the civil engineering.

Did You Know ?

Now a days in market such types of glasses are available in which degree of transparency can be changed by user. Sain Gobain Glass India has launched its latest offering SGG Priva-lite. The intelligent glass offers privacy at the flick of a switch. Its unique technology allows it to be from an ordinary looking clear glass to a whitish translucent glass, ensuring optimal vision control. SGG Priva-lite is a laminated glass comprising two panes of glass, either clear or tinted, and a liquid crystal interlayer film. When the glass is switched off from its special power supply (transformers provided), the liquid crystals are randomly scattered, preventing both sides from seeing through the glass. By switching the glass on, the liquid crystals line up and reorient themselves, turning the SGG Priva-lite totally transparent. SGG Priva-lite has various applications. It can be used for partitions as the quantity of light transmitted is the same (approximtely 77%) in both transparent and translucent states. Glass being more hygienic and easier to clean than fabric, curtains and blinds become redundant. Besides its excellent acoustic insulation properties, SGG Privalite can also be combined with companies' other range of sound-proof glazing.

Other News
Masdar- A Sustainable City The world's first zero-carbon, zerowaste, car-free city is being built in Abu Dhabi. This is being developed by the government-owned Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company and master-planned by London-based Faster and Partners as an integrated green community. This is scheduled to be completed by 2015. The principle of Masdar development is a dense walled city to be constructed in energy efficient two-stages. Stage one relies on the creation of a large photovoltaic power plant, which later becomes the site for the city's second phase, allowing for urban growth. Water will be available from a solar powered desalination plant, while the landscaping and crops in the city will be watered using grey water and treated waste water from the city's water treatment plant. The city will fulfill its energy requirements using state-of-the-art renewable technologies like photovoltaic (for electricity), concentrated solar power (for heating and cooling needs) waste to energy etc. A conventional city of this size would need 800 MW of installed power capacity but here the requirement will be only 200 MW Ref. MGS Architecture JulyAugust 2008) Bathroom Remodeling.org has launched an on online platform for discussing bath room remodeling and bath room fixtures. Besides the discussion amongst the regular visitors, a group of plumbers, contractors and industry experts will weigh in on questions and issues posted on the forum. Ref.: Times Journal of Construction and Design, Feb.08, Page 51 Steel Turns Green Indian born professor Veena Sahajwalla, of Material Science and Engineering at the University of New South Wales in Sydney developed a technique to use waste plastic in steel making. In manufacture of steel, carbon is used to add strength to steel. The higher the carbon content, the stronger but less ductile it is. To achieve ductility and strength by carbon generally coal and coke are used. Coke can be partially replaced with waste plastic thus reducing the amount of coal inside the furnace. Like coke, polythene plastic contains carbon along with hydrogen and oxygen. Carbon which is an essential raw material used in electric arc furnace steelmaking can be derived from plastic waste. Plastic give off less amount of carbon dioxide than equivalent amounts of coal. Also plastics do not produce the other noxious by products. Shopping bags, containers and drink bottles contains high levels of carbon to be useful in steel making. It was found that a 50/50 mixture of coke and plastic works just as well as a furnace filled with coke. Plastic, much ends up as waste destined for land fills can be used in the manufacture of steel by using this process. This is an alternative technology for disposal of plastic which is an environmentally friendly process. If this technology succeeds on large scale and commercially, the environmental problems faced by plastics waste will disappear and in fact, plastics waste would provide a value addition. Veena Sahajwalla has won the prestigious Australian science award for her work and hopes that an environmental headache would run in to a valuable resource. Ref. The Master Builder March-08 Formwork Forum If you have not heard the name of the firm DOKA, then better hear it. This name was splashed in construction magazines around the world recently for providing formwork solutions for the highest building in the world 'The Burj Dubai'. The firm used the climbing formwork system for this building. This Austrian formwork technology group recently showcased its new 2500 m2 seminar and education centre in Vienna, dedicated to formwork technology. The firm has expertise in different areas of formwork like walls, tunnels, shafts, high rises etc. Just think for a moment how important you had considered the formwork technology in your professional life. But if you deal with buildings as high as half a kilometer high, or thin long chimneys, or any other important stricture you realize the importance of the formwork. Ref. page 9 of Concrete Engineering International Spring 2008 Performance Based Repairs Of Concrete We are living in the world of concrete (it's a better word to use in place of concrete jungle) and in days to come repairs to concrete will become a major activity, as is already there in the West and even Metros in India. But the quality of concrete repairs is still to come out of age not only in India but in the World. A survey done in Europe revealed that 55% of repairs failed within 10 years. The performance based approach to concrete repairs is the requirement of the day and gradual shift in that direction will pave the way for the improvement of the specifications as well as the quality control procedures. Ref. page 10 of Concrete Engineering International Spring 2008
3

Maps predict places at greatest risk of dengue Malaysia : Imagine opening a map and immediately being able to identify the area where a dengue outbreak is going to occur. Now imagine doing this monthly and preventing an outbreak. This would be the reality next year if Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency Director General Darus Ahmad has his way. Preferring to focus on prevention rather than the cure, Darus came up with the idea of using remote sensing technology to come up with a dengue risk map. The idea came about when we realised that current approaches are only used to address the issue after it had already happened. So we thought of preventing it before it happened by narrowing down the likely areas to be affected before the dengue outbreak even occurred, Darus said. The map, which is expected to be ready by the end of the year, would identify dengue hot-spots on a monthly basis. The map will also be able to identify areas which are not dengue-prone in the past but may be in the future. It will also show the exact locations and severity of dengue outbreaks. Ref : GIS Development, Vol.12, Issue 6, June 2008, Page 9 Tilt-up Structures - This is an inventive construction method in which the panels of the structure are cast in the sleeping position and then tilted up using the cranes. The advantage of this technology is ease of casting, better quality control, more durable structures and speed of construction. For more information visit www.tiltup.org. Ref. page 26 & 27 of Concrete Engineering International Spring 2008

Bechtel Infrastructure corporation, San Francisco, and Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB), New York City, which served together in a joint venture as the management consultant on the Boston Central Artery/Tunnel project have agreed to settle claims by the commonwealth of Massachusetts for their role in the collapse of a ceiling panel in Interstate 90 connector tunnel, which killed a woman in 2006, and defects in the slurry walls of Interstate 93 tunnel, which experienced a breach in 2004. Bechtel has agreed to pay $352 million, whereas PB will pay $47.2 million and 24 other design consultants will pay a total of $51 million to the settlement, most of which will be used to establish a trust fund dedicated to any nonroutine repair and maintenance operations that may be required on the project in the future. Ref.: Civil Engineering, March 08, Vol.78, No.3, Page 22-24 Red Carpet For Civil Engineers There is a red carpet welcome for civil engineers in India as the construction industry reels under dire need of civil engineers. According to a recent study, the current pace of infrastructure growth needs 50,000 civil engineers per year while only 12,000 new civil engineers step out from engineering institutes. The shortage of civil engineer is so acute that companies are substituting roles of graduate engineers with diploma holders and are tying up with engineering institutes for training them. The companies are hiring experienced civil engineers at salaries not heard before. Ref : NB M & C W May 2008

A Unique Highway Extension Project (n B M & C W May 2008) Extension construction work as a 2, 600 year old city buried under a mound will be transplanted to make way for highway extension project off Kanpur. A massive work force with the expert help of archeologists are at work digging up the 6,000 sqm Jajmau mound on Kanpur outskirts which contains remnants of buildings and other relics dating back to sixth century BC to AD 1700. The excavated walls and rooms will be placed in the same order to retain the original design. The state government has already ear marked land in Kanpur for the transplant. Ref : NB M & C W May 2008 World's Deepest Immersed Tunnel In The Sea As a part 8.2 Km long Busan-Geoje Fixed link road project in South Korea's, 3.2 Km was undersea roadway tunnel, 48 meter below mean water level. First component (of the total of 18 components) which was 180 m long component weighing 45000 tons was successfully placed on the sea bed. This is the world's deepest undersea roadway tunnel and second longest one too. This technology is a promising one and has the potential of changing the face of commuting in the coastal metros of India. Ref. page 10 of Concrete Engineering International Spring 2008

Concrete for high rise buildings The construction of high rise buildings requires the provision of concrete with a combination of high strength, pumpability and excellent rheology properties. The use of high strength concrete is not necessarily a requirement, particularly at the top of the building, but may be a consequence of the need to pump to the full height of the building. As a guide, the maximum aggregate particle size should be less than one-third of the diameter of the pump line, with the fine mortar paste having good cohesion to prevent segregation during pumping. A continuously graded particle size distribution, with no discontinuous gradation ( i.e. 4-8 mm) is desirable. It is also essential to keep the water content low.
4

Renewal of corroded head plate screws and bearing plates on PSC fan shaped layout
by K. C. Gouda*

SYNOPSIS
PSC layouts are having steel bearing plates and plate screws. In the coastal area as well as on the line where passenger traffic is quite high there is a severe problem of corrosion on bearing plates and plate screws. While attempting to open the plate screws for replacement of corroded part the head of the plate screw often breaks which makes the sleeper irreplaceable if the broken screw is not removed form the ferrules of the sleeper. A methodology which can be followed to deal with such situation so as to save replacement of sleeper has been described in the paper.

1.0 INTRODUCTION: Corrosion is a very acute problem in track. The corrosion is leading to very high amount of premature renewals in track. The 60 Kg rails are being renewed after as low as 50 % of designed GMT life. There is quite a bit of research going on in the field of corrosion protection of the rail, which is the costliest component of track. However the corrosion affects the track as a whole and there are other problems like seizure of ERC clips, corrosion in fittings etc. Efforts are on to improve the performance of the rail- sleeper system as a whole under the corrosion. There are certain other issues which are creating problems to the field engineers. This paper deals with one such problem i.e. what action shall be taken when the plate screws in concrete sleeper track get corroded.. 2.0 CORROSION: The corrosion is cause in rails mainly form two phenomena: a) Location in coastal areas b) High density passenger traffic. The salty environment in coastal area (within 10-15 KMs of the sea) causes general corrosion in the rails and there is general loss of section. However the passenger traffic causes very high corrosion in the rail foot on the inside of the track due to the falling of human waste onto the track from the running trains. It has been seen that the tracks where the trains are approaching the destination in the morning are subjected to more corrosion as compared to the other tracks. This can be seen at the approach of major stations where one line where the trains enter the station in the morning is having, more corrosion as compared to the other line where most of the passenger trains leave in the evening. 3.0 INTRODUCTION OF THE SECTION: East Coast Railway track mostly runs along the Eastern Coast of India in the states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. The entire railway is facing the problem of corrosion in

tracks. The WAT-GPT & WAT-DVD section is an acute corrosion prone area due to heavy passenger traffic. As has been explained above, the corrosion is the primarily while approaching the major yards in the morning. As the train enters the stopping places, the points and crossing zone is subjected to heavy corrosion due to the slow speed of trains. The problem is more acute on the plate screws inside the rails due to more train droppings on them as compared to the plate screws outside the rails. The WAT station is a dead end and the trains go towards the WAT yard and then return back, therefore the intensity of the passenger train movement is very high. The total GMT of the track is 51 for UP line, 49 for DN line and 37 for the third line. 86 number of passenger trains run in either direction, making the corrosion a very acute problem. 4.0 THE PROBLEM: In the points and crossing area, the fittings like slide chairs, plate screws, ERCs etc. are badly corroded. The ERCs are being protected against jamming by regular greasing by the keymen or trackmen. However, the plate screws pose a difficult problem. The corrosion affects the head of the plate screw more than the shank. The corrosion is quite pronounced even though the plate screws are galvanized and a plate screw cannot be opened out after 1.5-2 years of service at the acute corrosion locations. The figure 1 shows the corroded and bent plate screws on the inside of the track. This causes various problems in maintaining the track: A] If there is corrosion in the slide chairs or other problems, the renewals become a difficult task. B] There is safety concern as the plate screws hold the entire track in position and the corroded plate screws can render the gauge holding under train load suspect. C] Forcible removal of the screws and slide chairs will render the sleeper damaged and will require odd sleepers from the complete set to be brought for replacement and will create logistic nightmare to the maintenance engineer.

*ADEN/Track/Waltair/S.E. Railway

IRICEN JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

e) With help of 90R spanner remove the Plate screw, it will easily come out as dowel becomes soft due to heating by gas flame/ welding and all the rust also leaves the screw shank. (Fig 6) Normally, the welded nut on top has enough grip to un-screw the shank. f) Clear the hole with wire brush. Fill inside of hole with grease to eliminate the possibility of any water getting entrapped. (Fig 7) g) Put the new plate screws in the hole after placing the rubber pad and old/new slide chair in position. Tighten the plate screws with help of box spanner. This method can be used for overhauling the entire switch portion of a fan shape layout. Slide chairs also can be replaced with new one if it is unserviceable. FIG 1: CORRODED PLATE SCREWS AND SLIDE CHAIR 5.0 THE SOLUTION: A simple method was developed and adopted in WAT yard for the replacement of corroded slide chairs using which the PSC sleepers could be saved and new plates and screws can be provided very effectively. The following procedure may be adopted: a) First of all the plate screws which are in good condition and feasible to be opened are to be taken out by Box spanner. b) Gas cut the heads of the badly corroded plate screws which cannot be opened by box spanners. The head shall be cut at the level of the slide chair. c) Lift the track and remove the broken/corroded slide chair. (Fig 2)

FIG 3: SLIDE CHAIR REMOVED. ENDS OF PLATE SCREWS CAN BE SEEN

6. EQUIPMENT REQUIRED:
l l l l l l

Welding generator with cable connectors Box spanners Gas set with cutter Electrode Released 90R/52Kg. nuts 5 to 6 Trackmen with their tools

FIG 2: OLD CORRODED SLIDE CHAIR BROKEN DURING REMOVAL d) The shank of the plate screws remain inside the hole, which has to be removed. Since the screws are cut at the level of plate, some portion of the shank remains projecting outside. ( Fig 3) Put released nuts on the projected portion of Plate screw. ( Fig 4) Weld the bolt thoroughly on the inside by manual Arc welding. (Fig 5)

FIG 4: NUT PLACED OVER THE END OF PLATE SCREW

8. CARE TO BE TAKEN IN THE WORK: While executing the work, the following care has to be taken: a. The screw shall be tackled as soon as the welding of nut is completed and some cooling of the weld has taken place. If the cooling of the dowel takes place, the same gets hard again and it becomes more difficult to remove the screw. b. While taking out the released slide chairs, signal gears as well as setting of tongue rails shall not get disturbed. c. This operation shall preferably be done under block, but the work can also be carried out in margin between trains but setting of tongue rail may get disturbed during lifting and signal failure may take place.

FIG 5: NUT WELDED ON THE SCREW

l l l

Two Trackmen for protection Grease, wire brush Spare fittings like slide chairs and plate screws, Dowels etc.

7. COMPLICATIONS IN THE PROCEDURE: Even though the procedure is straight forward, sometimes complications may arise: 1. If the plate screw is already broken due to corrosion, some portion of the shank must project outside the sleeper else the above procedure cannot be used. However, normally it is seen that some portion of plate screw is available for welding even in extreme corrosion cases.
FIG 7: HOLE CLEARED OF THE PLATE SCREW

While carrying out the welding/ gas cutting work near running rail, it must be ensured that the running rail is not affected due to the flames/ arc. The rail metallurgy may get affected and over time, fracture may take place at the location. e. If the old slide chair is good to be reused, the cutting of plate screws shall be done carefully as to not damage the slide chair. 9. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The above procedure for renewal of corroded fittings at WAT yard was adopted for 4 points and found very effective in dealing with the problem. With this we could save points and crossings sleepers which is not only very costly but also difficult to arrange and replace in piece meal manner. The above procedure is for the old corroded fittings. Now that we have got wiser to the problem posed by the corrosion, it will be very helpful if further periodical greasing of plate screws is done so as to avoid the corrosion in head and jamming of the screws. This will increase the life of the fittings and make the life of permanent way engineer lot easier. RDSO may specify the periodicity of such greasing for uniform adoption over all Indian Railways.

d.

FIG 6: PLATE SCREW WITH NUT BEING OPENED 2. Sometimes dowels also come out along with plate screws if it is jammed by corrosion and dust. In this case epoxy is to be filled up after cleaning the hole in concrete sleeper and new dowel is to be fixed. 3. Sometimes, if the plate screw is badly corroded, the same may break in the middle, and some portion of the same remains inside. If the length of embedded plate screw is short, the new plate screw to be provided shall be shortened in length by gas cutting, equal to the length remained inside and then the screw shall be tightened.

Launching of Fish belly PSC girders in Neemuch Ratlam GC project

byMukesh Kumar Kuclourya* Kuldeep Kumar** Ram Singh***

SYNOPSIS
Replacement of girder in gauge conversion projects is one area which requires innovative approach to form schemes which are feasible and easy in execution. This was a scheme which involved least disturbance to MG running traffic and also enable completion of the bridge work prior to mega-block. An attempt has been made to give a detail of the scheme successfully employed.

1.0 GENERAL Bridge No. 338 (8x18.3 m) MG was to be re-girdered with PSC fish belly girders of MBG for gauge conversion project. All the girders were precast with M-45 PSC concrete using 12.7mm x 7 ply strands of HTS wires for MBG 1987 standard of loading. Longitudinal pre-stressing force was 289 MT ( on each of the 2 Nos. 19T13 cable) in first stage and 151 MT ( on each of the 2 Nos. 12T13 cable) in second stage in middle girders and 179 MT ( on each of the 2 Nos. 12T13 cable) in first stage and 168 MT ( on each of the 2 Nos. 12T13 cable) in second stage in end girders. Cross pre-stressing force was 100 MT (on each of the 8 Nos. 7T13 cable) in intermediate diaphragm and 47.5 MT (on each of the 2 Nos. 7T13 cable) at end diaphragms of each girder. Each span converted for 4 segments - 2 middle girders & 2 end girders with tying by cross prestressing 1.1 DIMENSIONAL COMPUTATIONS: Due to variation in spans (clear and effective both) and dimensions of bed block from pier to pier, computation of end plugs at bottom and top pre-stressing cable was very essential in order to accommodate the girder in the available space. After casting the bare minimum end plugs the working space available for launching was 2 to 3 only and hence launching was required to be done very precisely and cautiously. After discussions with well-experienced crane operators it was concluded that site conditions (Height of bridge, availability of location for placement of crane for launching, and working angle of elevation etc.) Only 30% of the crane capacity would be available. Accordingly minimum two cranes of 100 MT capacity were required to launch a single girder (Wt. Approx. 63 MT). However the launching was done by three road cranes of 100 to 150 MT capacity, keeping one crane as stand-by. 1.2 It was not possible to launch all the spans in one day because of non availability of longer traffic block. Hence the launching was completed in 3 days ( The period of TWO
*AXEN (C) Ratlam, W. Rly. **AXEN (Br.) Delhi, N. Rly. ***AXEN (C) Bathinda, N. Rly.

was 12 days). Due to difference in height of bearing and girder above bed block a level difference of approximately 250 mm was created at the junction of PSC and steel girder, (calculations are given below) which was ramped out in two spans by lifting steel girder and supporting on wooden packing (providing grade of ramp as 1 in 160).
Height/ depth Height in mm Steel Girder PSC Girder 40 85 750 750 0 90 0 75 210 250

Bearing Girder Wearing Coat Cushion Sleeper ( Due to 40 mm notching) (250mm) Rail 114 114 Total 1114 1364 Difference = 1364 1114 = 250 mm

2.0 LAUNCHING PROCEDURE : The entire launching procedure were devided into three stages as under : -Pre block activities. -Activities during block. -Post block activities. 2.1 PRE BLOCK ACTIVITIES : Making approaches and working platform for cranes by earth filling in river bed. Fixing of neoprene bearing in the location of end girder, to reduce activities during block period and facilitate launching of end girder immediately after the traffic block, so that traffic is not continued on middle two girders for longer time. Collection of ballast in bags on both the approaches of bridge, so that they are easily transportable and spreadable on the girders. Launching of middle girders on either side of the steel
IRICEN JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

girder, so that only shifting of girders inside to final position in involved during traffic block. Thus saving a huge amount of time, in main block of six hours. Transportation of ballast bags on the launched girders. Part lifting of track on both the approaches to accommodate the vertical difference in super structures. Guard rail was also removed. Shifting of end girder nearer to span in river bed so that end girders are launched to position immediately after traffic block. On the day of block following activities were done 2 3 hours before commencement of block to reduce quantum of work and save time during traffic block. Cutting holding down bolts of steel girders. Removal of two bolts from all the fish plates. Tightening of all fittings, so that while dismantling the track panels, the panel structure is not disturbed much and entire panel lifts as one unit, which saves time in linking after launching.

spreaded uniformly. - Corresponding track panel placed place back. - A built-up / rolled T-section (ISNC-100) should be placed at each pier at lateral junction of each span to check falling of ballast on the pier. - To make up the vertical level difference at fifth span the steel girders of next two i.e. 5 th & 6 th spans were lifted and supported on wooden packing so as to ramp out the level difference in two spans. (Ramping grade was 1 in 160) - Alignment, lining, levelling, gauging and packing of track was done after launching of all track panels. - Traffic block was cleared and traffic was allowed to pass on middle two girders with dead slow speed. 2.3 ACTIVITIES DURING SUBSEQUENT BLOCKS:- End girders from ground were launched to their position in short block from one end. - Longitudinal gaps were filed by concrete mortar. - Cross pre-stressing done. - Sealing of butt joints of draphram to be done by epoxy and cross pre-stressing duct grouted. - Next four spans were launched on (D+5)th day and end girders on (D+6)th day and other related activities followed as sequenced above. 2.4 POST BLOCK ACTIVITIES:- Ballasting was done by ballast buckets and spreaded. Track properly lifted to give required cushion (150mm initially) aligned, gauged and packed. - After 14 days of grouting all the four girder were lifted simultaneously at one end just above the neoprene bearing level, so that bearings if deformed slightly during cross pre-stressing are distressed. All girders were lowered simultaneously and slowly to their position. - After three rounds of packing and lifting the track to final required level and attending slacks the traffic was restored to normal on (D+11)th day. - After lapse of min. 14 days of cross pre-stressing all the girder ends of one span on a pier/abutment should be lifted just above the bearing level and to be released to destress the bearings occurred during cross prestressing. - Casting of parapets.

2.2 ACTIVITIES DURING BLOCK : - Traffic block of 6 hours taken on (D+3)th day. d starsts from the day T.W.O. commences. - The left over two bolts of fish plate are also removed and track panels were removed. - Lifting on bridge approach at working end to final requirement is started. - Steel girder removed. - Bed plate removed. Projected holding down bolts were cut and area for fixing neoprene bearing for middle girders to be prepared. - Neoprene bearing for middle girder to be fixed on location. A template was used for quick work. This was prepared in advance. - Middle girder which had already been launched earlier on bed block adjoining to the steel girder were shifted inside to their location on neoprene bearings. - One of the crane shifted for launching the next span. - Longitudinal gaps between girders along the span filled by rich cement mortar. Wooden planks were hanged in advance to serve as bottom shuttering for cement mortar. GI sheet brackets were also hanged to facilitate as shuttering for sealing of diaphragms by epoxy mortar. - Ballast already available in bags on the girder
Rail level after launching

- Portion lifted before

250 mm lifting

Bridge approaches

Bridge Portion

Bridge approaches Rail level before launching

3.0 DETAILS OF DAY WISE ACTIVITIES, SPEED RESTRICTIONS AND BLOCK REQUIRED FOR SAFETY OF STRUCTURE AND TRAFFIC DURING REPLACEMENT OF EXISTING GIRDER ON THE BRIDGE BY PSC GIRDER

Days
1st day

Activities to be carried out

Imposition of SR 10 Kmph and placement of two middle girders for all span alongwith bearings on pier by side of steel girder and lifting of track on approaches of bridge by 150mm Cutting of holding down bolts of steel girders and loosening of fittings of track

Remarks
SR 10 Kmph

2nd day
3rd day

SR 10 Kmph
SR 10 Kmph Traffic allowed after block with SR 10 Kmph. MG traffic running over the middle girders only without cross prestrassing Traffic allowed after block with SR 10 Kmph Traffic allowed after block with SR 10 Kmph

Cutting of existing continuous steel bearing plates to saperate it for each steel girder
6 Hrs block ( for 4 spans out of 8 spans)

4th day

(i) Dismantling of existing track of bridge portion and removal of existing girder (ii) Fixing of neoprene bearing and placement of two middle girder (iii) Cement mortar fillsealing of diaphragm joints by epoxy mortar and fixing junction arrangement ing in longitudinal joint of two middle girders (iv) Junction raising and levelling arrangement to make up the level difference caused by different height of PSC and Steel Girder. (v) Spreading of ballast and linking of track

(vi) Packing and levelling of track

5th day
4 Hrs block ( 2 blocks of 2 Hrs each ) for 4 spans

(i) Placement of two end girders (ii) Cement mortar filling in longitudinal joint of girders and sealing of diaphragm joints by epoxy mortar. (iii) Insertion of HTS wires and Cross prestressing and grouting cables.
6th day

6 Hrs block ( for remaining 4 spans )

(i) (ii) (iii) (iv)
Dismantling of existing track of bridge portion and removal of existing girder Removal of junction raising arrangement Fixing of neoprene bearing and placement of two middle girder Cement mortar filling in longitudinal joint of two middle girders sealing of diaphragm joints by epoxy mortar and fixing junction arrangement (v) Spreading of ballast and linking of track (vi) Packing and levelling of track

7th day

4 Hrs block ( 2 blocks of 2 Hrs each ) for remaining 4 spans (i) Placement of two end girders (ii) Cement mortar filling in longitudinal joint of girders and sealing of diaphragm joints by epoxy mortar. (iii) Insertion of HTS wires and Cross prestressing and grouting cables. Cross prestressing of remaining girders(if any), full ballasting, picking up of slacks Final round of packing and speed relaxed
Speed relaxed to normal

Traffic allowed after block with SR 10 Kmph

8th day

9th day
10 day
th

SR 10 Kmph

11th day
12 day
th

SR 45 Kmph
75 Kmph

4.0 PROBLEMS AND SUGGESTIONS :During cross pre-stressing the girders are shifted inside and results in eccentric bearings therefore neoprene bearings should be finally fixed after cross pre-stressing. Cross pre-stressing force to be kept minimum possible during design to avoid inside tilting of end girders. During execution of work the cross pre-stressing force was reduced to 25 % as advised by the consultant. Due to fish belly shape of the girder the inspection of Neoprene bearing is very difficult.

10

Innovative method for regirdering as plate girders by lifting frame method

by Dipankar Dasgupta*

SYNOPSIS
Re-girdering of Railway Bridges is a common phenomenon all over Indian Railways. Due to age factor and increased loading standards, there is a need to replace most of the existing girder bridges. Already replacement of Early Steel Girders is on the verge of completion all over Indian Railways. Introduction of DFC & 25T axle load will also require re-girdering of some bridges. Moreover, the recent instruction of Railway Board reducing the life of Steel Girders from 100 years to 60 years and that of Masonry Bridges to 100 years will also necessitate regirdering of more bridges. Engineering cranes are now obsolete in Indian Railway. Hence, we are now dependent on 140T BD cranes of Mechanical Department. These cranes are having limitation of working over bridges without propping. Different methods have been introduced for re-girdering of steel girders bridges according to site condition. This method has been adopted by some Railways and may be adopted as an unified system for all bridges irrespective of site condition. This method has a big advantage of doing the entire work from the track level.

1.0 INTRODUCTION: A large majority of bridges in Indian Railway were constructed more than 100 years ago. During their construction, design practices were not advanced enough to cater to fatigue life. It was only for high value of factor of safety and robust design and construction, these bridges have faithfully served Indian Railway for more than a century. Construction of new bridge and re-girdering/re-habilitation of bridges involves high quality of technical efficiency backed by experience. Constructions of new bridges are difficult as the accessibility to bridge site is difficult. Whereas, rehabilitation/re-girdering involves time constrains as they are to be done under running traffic which demands lot of attention and energy towards maintaining safety. Re-girdering of steel girder bridges was previously tackled with Engineering Cranes. Most of these Engineering cranes were steam driven having self counter weight and a larger jib length. Hence, these cranes were able to move freely with load. Though the capacity of these cranes was much less and became obsolete due to requirement of coal as fuel. The alternate remains with 140T BD crane of Mechanical Wing or utilization of Road crane or some other method as found suitable according to site condition. 2.0 NECESSITY OF ALTERNATE METHOD: A. Utilization of 140T BDF Crane : Although this is a very good method for launching of girders including replacement, there are some limitations and difficulties in using these cranes as discussed below:

i. Permission of Mechanical Department: Utilization of this crane requires prior approval of CME/CMPE. According to prevalent culture of Railway, it takes a lot of time in receiving such permission and has even caused numerous delays in scheduled dates of launching. ii. Huge preparatory arrangement: These cranes can be ready only after full propping for which prior preparation is required. Moreover, these cranes require removing and re-fixing of OHE in the over-head traction zone. iii. Limitation of jib length: Jib length of this crane is 16.0m mostly, only a few are available with 17.0m jib length. The centre of the jib to buffer end of crane is 6.5m which leaves only 10.5m (11.5 in case of 17.0m jib length) effective working length. It is suitable only for single/double span bridges upto 18.3m span and upto 12.2 m standard spans free launching on wheel. iv. Uncertainty of crane: These cranes are mainly meant for derailment management. During a programmed day if there is any such situation this crane will be diverted there, wasting all the arrangements and labour. B. Utilization of Road Crane: Although this is also a very good method for launching of girders including replacement, there are some limitations and difficulties in using these cranes as are discussed below: i. Road access is not available in many places over Indian Railway. ii. Availability of Road crane, especially for a remote location is difficult and expensive. iii. This method can only be used where the river bed is dry. C. Utilization of other methods: These depend on the site condition. Different methods are adopted based on the

* Dy. Chief Engineer/ Dep. Works, Eastern Railway, Kolkata,

IRICEN JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

11

experience of Bridge Officials according to site condition. But no standardized system has been adopted till date which is easy and can be adopted in all situations. Lifting frame, specially designed, for regirdering plate girders, was adopted for re-girdering more than 100 span of 18.3 M and 12.2 M & is described below.

on the other side of the track to pull the lifting frame, new girder & special trolleys. B. Block period activities: i. Fixing of a piece of rail with the rail placed below girder. ii. Fixing of pulling arrangement with girder, lifting brackets, special trolleys. iii. Pulling of Lifting frames & Special Trolleys on running track. iv. Lifting of existing girder over rail. Simultaneously release of 60% bolts & nuts from bracings of existing girder.

Ph1 - Arrangement for lifting of girder 3.0 OUTLINE OF THE PRESENT SCHEME: A. Pre-block activities: i. Assembling & Riveting of Girder over staging on approach at a safe distance from running track. ii. Patch painting of damaged locations during transportation and handling. iii. Final painting of girder after riveting. iv. Assembling of Lifting crane and Special trolley on approach at a safe distance from running track. v. Placement of rails below girder. vi. Fixing of bed plates over bed blocks with the help of HD bolts, nuts & washers. One layer of tarfelt to be placed between bed blocks and bed plates. vii. Hanging of bed blocks below girder with the help of Pulling & Lifting machine. viii. Dismantling of existing bed block with the help of outrigger arrangement after imposition of 20kmph Speed restriction (If bed blocks/ stone are to be replaced) and place the existing girder over wooden block. ix. Cutting of rivets from the existing girder bracings for isolation of I - sections and fixing with bolt, nuts & washers. x. Fixing of Lifting & Pulling machine of suitable capacity

Ph 2 - Arrangement for slewing the lifting frame & girder over the track during block v. Pulling of new girder over special trolleys over track. vi. Pushing of lifting frame of far end to the pier/abutment followed by new girder and lifting frame of near end over existing girder and near end pier/ abutment respectively. vii. Propping of lifting frame and removal of front set of wheels from lifting frame.

Ph 3 - Pushing of girder & lifting frame to the span location

12

Ph 4 - New girder over a span to be replace hanging form the lifting frame viii. Lifting of new girder from special trolleys. ix. Pushing of specials trolleys below lifting frame. x. Slewing of existing girder to either end after removal of track structure and connecting bracings. 4.0 TIME STUDY DURING BLOCK PERIOD:
Time Required in Minutes

xi. Removal of wooden blocks from pier/ abutment and cleaning of pier/ abutment top. xii. Laying of epoxy mortar 25mm thick over pier/ abutment top. xiii. Releasing of new bed block in position after 30 minutes. xiv. Placing of new girder in position. xv. Holding the released I -sections with lifting frame. xvi. Release the propping and fixing wheels in position. xvii. Placing the released girders over special trolleys. xviii. Removing all lifting frames and special trolleys loaded with girder from bridge and then slew it out from track at approach. xix. Linking of rails and remove block. C. Post-block activities: i. Grout the holding down bolts with epoxy compounds. ii. Stack the released girder at a safe distance.

Activities

Activities

Time Required in Minutes

i. Fixing of rails for pulling of girders ii. Fixing of wire ropes for pulling girders. iii. Pulling of lifting frames iv. Pulling of special trolleys over track v. Placing of lifting frames over running track vi. Placing of special trolleys over running rack after removal of rails and sliding arrangements vii. Pulling of new girder over track viii. Placing of new girder over special trolleys after removal of rails and sliding arrangements ix. Pushing of lifting frame of far end over pier/ abutment. x. Pushing of special trolleys loaded with new girder over existing girder. xi. Pushing of lifting frame of near end over pier/ abutment. xii. Propping of lifting frames xiii. Fixing of chain pulley block with new girder xiv. Lifting of girder by lifting frames. xv. Placing of trolleys over pier/ abutments below lifting frame. xvi. Lifting of existing girder, placing of rails and skidding arrangement between rails and existing girders xvii. Removal of bracings and track structure from existing girders.

5 10 10

xviii. Slewing of girders in either side of pier/ abutment xix. Cleaning of pier/ abutment top xx. Laying of epoxy mortar over pier top xxi. Setting time for epoxy xxii. Lowering of bed blocks and girder keeping a gap of 100mm between bed block and epoxy layer

10 10 10 15 30

10 10 10

xxiii. Placing of bed blocks xxiv. Placing of girders in position xxv. Holding of released I-sections xxvi. Linking of rails over new girder xxvii. Placing of released I- sections over special trolleys

5 10 15

10

xxviii. De-propping of lifting frames and re-fixing front wheel set xxix. Removal of all frames and trolleys from track Total Time Required

10 10 15 240 30 270

10 10 5

xxx. Removal of all materials from track Add time for unwanted occurrences Total block required

10 10 20

xxxi. Simultaneous activity on adjacent piers/ abutments for breaking of bed stones/ bed blocks and placing girders over wooden blocks.

13

5.0 TOOLS & PLANTS: Name of Equipments i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. Lifting Frame Special Trolleys Pulling of lifting machines 10T capacity Pulling of lifting machines 3T capacity Chain Pulley Block 10T capacity Air Compressor 260 cfm with accessories like hose pipe, nozzles etc. Riveting equipments Roller Frame with roller for slewing of girders and frames. Hydraulic/ Mechanical Jacks 25T capacity Traverser Base Crow Bar/ Tommy Bar and other small tools like punch, drifts etc. Quantity Required 2 sets. 2 sets. 10+5 spares =15 nos. 4+2 spares = 6 nos. 8+4 spares=12 nos. 1 set. x. iii. iv. v. vii. viii. ix.

Designation Sareng/ Rigger Khalasi Gas-cutter Helper for Fitter & Gas-cutter Black Smith P. Way gang

Nos. 16 20 2 4 2 One gang consists of 12 staff and 1 Mate. 4 75

Chowkidars, Storeman, etc Total

vii. viii.

2 sets. 6 sets. 8.0 IMPORTANT ITEMS TO BE MONITORED: A. General arrangement drawing: i. During site measurement all the spans of a bridge to be measured individually. It is not essential that all the spans will be identical in length, both for effective & clear span. ii. Each individual abutment and pier to be measured in respect to the position of girder. iii. Details of obstructions, like traction mast, Trolley refuges in pier/ abutment should also be incorporated in the drawing iv. 50m approach on either side to be checked for facility of assembling of girders etc. B. Assembling of girder: i. Girder to be assembled as far as possible on the approach bank. ii. Before riveting check the alignment of girder. iii. After riveting draw the girder nearer to the track and keep at a safe distance as per SOD. iv. Top level of girder to be in true alignment for placement of channel sleepers. C. Laying of channel sleepers over girder: i. All fittings placed accurately with proper adhesive. ii. After fixing of table-rail, check the rail level. iii. Check the Gauge & Alignment and position of hook bolts. D. Erection of Lifting Frame & Trolleys: i. Erected in true line & level and perfectly squared. ii. Placed over rail support for pulling at a safe distance and the rolling arrangements secured properly. It is better to place the rolling arrangement in the morning of replacement. iii. Calculated counter-load provided on the backside of lifting frame. iv. Wheels are properly rolling and fitted tightly.

ix. x. xi.

6 nos. 6 nos. As per requirement.

6.0 CONSUMABLES: Name of Consumable i. ii. iii. iv. MS Snap Head Rivets Coal for riveting MS Service Bolt & Nuts for assembling HS Turn Bolts & Nuts/ HSFG Bolts & Nuts for replacing bracing rivets of existing girder. Finish Paints for final painting after assembling. Paint primer for painting hidden portion and patch painting of damaged location Washers Oxy-cutting equipment for cutting of existing HD bolts nuts & washers. 2 sets. Quantity Required As per requirement + 20% extra.

v. vi.

vii. viii.

7.0 STAFF REQUIRED: Designation i. ii. Supervisor Fitter Nos. 2 2

14

E. During movement to bridge and return: i. Pushing should be equal and longitudinally directed otherwise derailment may take place. ii. Loading of girder over specially designed trolleys should be evenly placed. iii. Movement should be as less as possible, thus, assemble all the girders and gadgets near the bridge as much as possible. F. Pl acing of Bed-block: i. Level should be checked so that both the bed blocks over adjacent piers/ abutments should be in same level. ii. Agency supplying epoxy should explain in details about the procedure of mixing hardener & resign, the proportion, the temperature effect, setting time, etc. iii. There should always be a layer of tar felt placed between bed blocks and bed plates. iv. During casting of Bed Blocks provision should be kept for adjustment of bed plates to accommodate girder in position. G. Released girder: All released girders to be marked and kept at a safer

distance for auction from site. Small parts to be kept at a safe custody till delivery of girders. 9.0 CONCLUSION: This method has been adopted as a guideline for regirdering of plate girders at any site condition. ii. Easier method can be adopted according to the site condition like side slewing, utilization of Rail or Road cranes, etc. iii. This method has been developed in consultation with M/s BBJ Construction Co. Ltd., Kolkata, under the guidance of Sri Chahatey Ram, DRM/ Lucknow/NR & Sri R. N. Dwivedi, CTE/ TM/ WR (Previously CBE & Dy.CE/Bridge, Eastern Railway respectively). iv. Eastern Railway has successfully adopted this method and replaced more than 100 girders all over Eastern Railway. v. To be an expert in this method, Railway should adopt this method departmentally. This will provide good experience and further development/ refinement can be done during course of execution. i.

MATERIAL PROTECTION SYSTEMS

Multichem Group manufactures complete range of floor protection systems to give long term performance of concrete floors. Floor Hardeners: Floor-Hard NM and M Series Floor Hardeners are being used as dry shakes for increasing abrasion and impact resistance and compressive strength along with varied colors. Floor Hardeners are available in metallic and non-metallic types depending on requirement of floor usage. Four basic concept were discovered for making the floor harder. a) When the surface of the concrete is dandified by hard steel troweling, the abrasion resistance of the concrete is greatly increased. A second method for increasing abrasion resistance is to increase the density of the concrete through control of the mix design. The third method treats concrete surfaces with a chemical hardener. Most chemical hardeners are rich in silica in the form of soluble silicate or siliconates. These siliceous compounds, when placed on the surface of hardened concrete, chemically react with calcium hydroxide, a weak by-product of the hydration of cement to produce a hard compound known as calcium silicate hydrate (CSH). The formation of C-S-H hardens and densities the concrete surface. This chemical treatment is effective primarily in the Protection is only beneficial in the zone area, as this protection is only beneficial in that zone area. Finally, the fourth method for improving the hardness and abrasion resistance of concrete uses a very hard aggregate that is placed on the surface of the concrete.

b)

c)

d)

15

Strengthening of Distressed bridge No. 462 between HWH-NGP

by Akshaya Kumar* A. B. Gupta**

SYNOPSIS
On steel bridges cracking of stringers takes place at many vulnerable locations. These cracked stringers are to be detected and replaced in time. In the present paper 2 methods of strengthening the cracked stringers have been described. Such cracks were observed during Nov 03 and a speed restriction of 20 kmph was imposed immediately after detection of the crack. This speed restriction could be relaxed to normal after changing the stringers.

1.0 INTRODUCTION:This work was carried out on Bridge No. 462 UP situated between station DGS - NPI in Group 'A' Rout (HWH NGP) at km 744/13-43. Technical Details of Bridge:Span - 14 x 150' (open web Girder). Type of Girder BA 11101 Strength of Girder BGML Standard. Year of construction 31.03.1964. Completion drawing No. DEN (c)/BSP No. BR/CD/1/65 2.0 DETAILS OF CRACKS IN STRINGERS. First crack was noticed during Nov. 2003 by a trollyman in span no. 9. Then after thorough inspection of complete bridge cracks were seen in Span no 1,4,5,6 and 9. at similar locations. All the cracks were emanating from ends of stringer angle(Photograph no:1).

Dropped piece from stringer angle

Photo no:2 Stringer with dropped metal due to crack

2.1.1 - Pre Block Activities. (a) Making working platform for labours. (b) Dismantling the guard rail, pathway for the Span to be tackled in block. (c) To cut all the rivets of cracked stringers and replace them by turn bolts. (d) To cut all the rivets of "intermediate vertical stiffeners and end vertical stiffeners of cross girder and replace the rivets by turn bolts. 2.1.2. Block Activities. (a) Dismantling the running track, existing bridge timber for the panel to be tackled. (b) Taking out all the turn bolts and remove the cracked stringer. (c) Place the cracked stringer angle over the new angle for marking the rivet holes diameter, pitching and other dimensions. (This is only for first block) (d) Cracked stringer is placed back in the girder and all the bolts fixed again for cancellation of block (This is only for first block) e) New stringer is placed replacing the cracked stringer and all the bolts tightened for cancellation of block. (After first block) Note: Item(c) and (d) will be not executed after first block.
IRICEN JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Cracks initiating in stringer angle (130X130X12 mm)

Photo No:1 (Cracks in stringer angle starting from ends) Cracks were seen on both the left and right stringer angle. Also number of loose rivets were noticed on those panels. At one of the location (Span 14, Panel 1) metal piece had separated and dropped form the stringer angle (Ref photograph no: 2 ). 2.1 - Method I:- Replacement of cracked stringer by new angle under traffic Block.

16

*ADEN/Bhatapara, SECR. **Sr. DEN/I/Raipur, SECR

Details of location of crack in bridge No. 462 UP at Km 744/13 - 43 as on 03.09.2004.

SL. Span Panel Left / Right Inner /Outer Size of No. No. No. stringer crack (mm) 1 1 3 Left Stringer Outer 100 2 1 4 Right Stringer Outer 50 3 1 6 Right Stringer Inner 300 4 2 5 Right Stringer Outer 50 5 3 2 Right Stringer Outer 112 6 3 5 Left Stringer Outer 450 7 3 7 Left Stringer Outer 300 8 5 2 Left Stringer Outer 150 9 5 7 Left Stringer Outer 300 10 6 4 Left Stringer Outer 250 11 7 1 Left Stringer Outer 200 12 7 2 Left Stringer Outer 65 13 7 3 Left Stringer Outer 25 14 7 7 Right Stringer Outer 125 15 7 8 Right Stringer Inner 300 16 7 8 Left Stringer Outer 325 17 8 4 Left Stringer Outer 250 18 8 7 Left Stringer Outer 225 19 8 8 Right Stringer Outer 50 20 10 2 Left Stringer Outer 100 21 10 3 Left Stringer Outer 300 22 10 5 Right Stringer Outer 40 23 10 5 Left Stringer Outer 25 24 11 4 Right Stringer Outer 350 25 12 1 Left Stringer Outer 15 26 12 1 Right Stringer Outer 25 27 12 3 Left Stringer Outer 50 28 13 3 Left Stringer Outer 200 29 14 1 Left Stringer Outer 125 30 14 1 Right Stringer Outer 80 20 Kmph Speed restriction was imposed since detection of cracks. GMT on this line is about 40. 2.1.3. Post- Block Activities (a) As per the markings taken in the new angle it is cut for changing in the next block.

Since all the stringers are symmetrical (In respect to length, dia, pitch etc) no measurement is required further. All the turn bolts will be removed and riveting has to be done. (b) Fixing the pathways, guard rail and other fittings in place. Note: Item(a) will not be executed after first block. (Refer photograph no: 3) That is after changing of cracked stringer with new angle. Eight number of cracked stringers were changed. Work was stopped since block available was not sufficient. Also use of gas cutting of rivet heads was unavoidable. Then a sample (No. 164/04/1) was send to RDSO for metallurgical investigation. The details of metallurgical investigation is as follows: (a) Visual Examination Sample No. 164/04/1 Visual examination revealed that the stringer was cracked at one end and gas cut at other end. the crack had taken place from base vertical arm towards the horizontal flat extended portion of angle. The crack had initiated from edge of base of vertical arm in shear mode and taken place in slant manner separating a small piece. (b) Chemical Analysis The test results are as follows. Sample No. 164/04/1 Specified as per IS: 2062/92 Gr. A (c) Tensile Test Sample No. 164/04/1 Y.S in N/mm 316.6 UTS in N/mm 456.6 410 min % El (GL = 5.65 A) 30 23.0 min %C % Mn % Si % S % P 0.20 0.57 0.05 0.022 0.21 0.23 1.5 0.4 0.050 0.050 Max Max Max Max Max

Specified as per 250 IS: 2062/92 Gr. A min (d) Hardness Test Sample No.

Changed stringer angle

Observation in BHN (3000 Kg/10 mm/ 15 Secs) 149, 149t

164/04/1 (e) Bend Test

One bend test sample was made as per specification from Sample No. 164/04/1 and subjected to bend test. It shows satisfactory. Photo No. 3 (Photograph showing the changed stringer angle)

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(f) Micro examination A piece adjacent to the cracked location was examined under optical microscope. It revealed normalized ferrite pearlite structure with grain size ASTM 6 to 7. Adjacent to fracture initiation zone, towards the end surface it revealed heat affected zone (HAZ) having coarse pearlite structure with decarburisation. (g) Discussion (RDSO) Chemical analysis is satisfactory. Yield strength, tensile strength (UTS) and Elongation % are satisfactory. Hardness though not specified, yet it is satisfactory for such material. Bend test is satisfactory. Micro examination of parent metal shows mormalised structure, which is satisfactory. Micro examination further shows heat affected area adjacent to fracture initiation zone. This indicates that the vertical arm of stringer was gas cut. It is evident from visual examination that the stringer sample No. 164/04/1 had cracked from edge of vertical arm towards the horizontal flat extended portion of the stringer. The crack had taken place in a slant manner initiating from edge of base in shear mode. Visual examination further revealed formation of similar type of crack at vertical arm in the sample No. 164/04/2 of stringer, which was received afterwards. Sign of gas cut also revealed in the vertical arm indicating that the stringer was fabricated from angle iron by gas cutting of vertical arm. The gas cutting was further confirmed by micro examination showing structural variation due to heating affect during gas cutting. The gas cutting of vertical arm during fabrication of stringer from angle iron has resulted in uneven surface/dragging lines and heat affected zone. The uneven surface/dragging lines acted as stress raiser, especially at landing of vertical arm where stress concentration is higher, for initiation of shear crack. Further presence of heat affected area due to heat input in gas cutting had caused localized brittleness in vertical arm. The combined affect of dragging lines of gas cutting and heat affected area at landing of vertical arm had caused formation of shear crack and resulted in formation of shear crack and resulted in formation of crack. (h) Conclusion by RDSO Cracking of stringer at transition of vertical to horizontal arm adjacent to horizontal extended portion is attributed to improper practice of fabrication of stringer by gas cutting of the vertical arm of angle iron. Gas cutting has resulted in formation uneven surface and heat affected area and resulted in crack. The crack has initiated at landing of vertical arm where arm where stress concentration is higher. Stringer material conforms to IS 2062 grade A (i) Recommendations by RDSO Fabrication of stringer by gas cutting may not be permitted as it will cause formation of gas cutting marked & heat affected area, which may result crack formation.

2.2 - Method II: Fixing 32mm thick plate over the cracked portion: In this method M.S. plates of size (1050x245x32mm) were fixed above the cracked angle. The plates were welded to the top of stringers along the length for the full length. (Ref: Drawing No. 1) Length of the plate was fixed as 1050mm assuming the maximum size of crack as 700mm and 350mm edge distance. If crack is located at any intermediate location plate should be fixed such that equal edge distance of minimum 480mm length is available booth sides of the crack. Steel channel sleepers were fixed directly over the welded MS plate and at other locations pad plates with rubber pad were used below it. 2.2.1. Pre Block Activities. (a) All pitch of the rivet in the outstand of top flange angle and all other relevant measurements to be taken and plates to be cut accordingly and holes to be drilled in new plates to suit the spacing of rivets at site. (b) All fabricated plates to be brought at work site well in advance after painting with two coats of red lead. (c) Before block, temporary speed restriction of 20 kmph is to be imposed for preparatory work and during entire block period. 2.2.2. Block activities: (a) During suitable Engineering block existing rails and sleepers to be shifted and new fabricated M.S. plates to be fixed at proper position and hold with sufficient 'U' clamps. (b) After fixing of plate and holding with 'U' clamps, first tack welding is to be done and thereafter through welding is to be done as per IRS welding bridge code. (c) Sleepers and rails are to be re-fixed after touch painting on weld. (d) Temporary speed restriction shall be relaxed gradually to normal.

Details of 32 mm plate fixed in Bridge No. 462 MID between DGS-NPI at Km. 744/13-41. Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Span No 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 Panel No. 3 4 6 8 1 2 5 2 5 No of plates sets fixed 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

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Sl. No. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38

Span No 3 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 10 11 11 11 12 12 12 14 14 14

Panel No. 6 3 7 2 7 8 4 6 1 2 3 7 8 4 7 2 7 2 3 5 1 4 7 1 3 7 2 5 6

No of plates sets fixed 1 1 1 2 1 1 3 3 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

SIDE ELEVATION
32mm THICK 245mm WIDE STRENGTHENING LATE

130X130X12mm ALL DIMENSIONS ARE IN MM NOT TO SCALE

Drawing No. 1 - Strenthenging of crack stringer for Bridge No. 462 MID bet DGS-NPI

32mm MS plate fixed over cracked stringer

(Photo No. 4 - Showing the 32mm plate welded above the cracked stringer)
3.0 - CONCLUSION: a. After changing the cracked stringers by the above mentioned two methods and fixing steel channel sleepers speed restriction of 20 Kmph was raised to normal. b. It is clear from the above discussion that never use the gas cutting equipment in bridge works for changing any of its component. The adverse affect will not be reflected soon but it may be seen any time afterwards. c. Any alteration in the bridge component should not be planned during traffic block unless no other method is feasible. d. Both the angles and plates are performing good till date. It has been kept under observation for any other defect.

TOP PLAN OF SINGLE PANEL

CENTRE LINE OF CROSS GIRDER
CRACKED PORTION OF STRINGERS

130x130x12

8 mm ELECTRIC ARC WELDING

EDGE DISTANCE CRACK

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Important Recommendations made during CTE Seminar 2008

1. Price variation clause for P.Way fittings: PVC formula for supply of P.Way fittings should be revised in which price of steel component should be linked with actual increase / decrease of price of steel item in market. Criteria for provision of joggle fish plate: Joggle fish plates should be provided only on themit welds on outer rails of curve sharper than 2o, on major and important bridges along with approaches and on high banks having bank height more than 5.5m. 2.

3.

RAILWAY ENGINEERING TECHNICAL SOCIETY Engineering time allowance of sanctioned works:

For sanctioned P.Way & Bridge Works, ETA should be over and above 12 minutes per 200 km section permitted by Board. 4. Implementation of MCNTM Report: Due to non-filling of vacancies in gang, activities related with regular track maintenance of track (in addition to 20 activities specified in MCNTM Report) should also be permitted to be executed through contract and expenditure should be charged to the saving achieved due to vacant post in gang. Qualification of Machine Staff: All track machine staff should be skilled and technically qualified. Entry level post in Group D should be of Technician and minimum qualification should be ITI Pass. Norms of creating post for small track machines: List of small track machines required by PWI should be reduced to 19 only. Manpower required for operation and routine maintenance for each SE should be 11 skilled and 26semi-skilled and cadre of these staff should be merged with cadre of track machines. Supply of tamping banks for CSM/Unimat as capital spares: Sufficient number of imported tamping banks should be procured as capital spare as life of overhauled tamping bank is less and performance is also not satisfactory.

5.

6.

7.

Discussion is On, Where Are You ?

IRICEN DISCUSSION FORUM, THE PLACE TO PUT UP YOUR PROBLEMS, PLACE TO HEAR OTHERS' VIEWS, AND THE PLACE TO SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE AND VIEWS
Some of the recent lively discussions Track Forum F Raising of speed on turnout to 30 KMPH F Software for realignment of curve F Corrosion under Liner - A serious Problem F Pulling out 20 rail panel between the ohe masts for Laying in New 3rd Line Under Construction Bridge Forum F Construction of New ROB's, Approval of Gads F Concrete foot over bridge on Indian Railways Works Forum F Percentage of test check for AXEN/XENs in construction wing. F Vetting of variations F Contingency charges in rate analysis General Forum F New IRICEN website F Sixth Pay Commission F Creation of posts of DEN (Special) For works in divisions. Visit the discussion forum for many more interesting discussions. Interested in participating, become a members of IRICEN website. Contact Webmaster with photograph and details at mail@iricen.gov.in

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The Olympic Games 2008 were held at Beijing from 8th Sept 2008 to 24th Sept 2008. These games were a great success in terms of organization and sporting activities. Not only maximum gold medals were won by China but hearts of billions of spectators in stadium as well as on TV watching games were won by grand & beautiful structures built by Chinese authorities. The whole world was mesmerized by structural concept and construction by the host country. The theme of architectural designs, use of technology in structural design and construction and the overall aesthetics were beyond imagination. Although the structures were quite world class, but still the cost of construction was controlled and limited as compared to European nations. Details of few most prominent structures used for Beijing Olympics are given here so that one can appreciate the efforts put in conceptualization, planning and project management.

National Stadium
Inauguration & closing ceremonies and many sports were held in this stadium. Because of crisscross pattern of steel members the stadium has been compared to a bird's nest, which had become it's nick name. The National Stadium covers an area of 258,000 square meters. It is world's largest steel structure. The design was awarded to Swiss architecture firm Merzog and de Meuron. It is 333m. long from North to South, 294 m. wide from East to West and 69 m. tall. Stadium was opened for use on 28th June 08 after completion. It has seating capacity of 91,000 spectators. All 91,000 seats are made of modified polypropylene . Total cost of construction was 423 million US dollars. The stadium consists of 2 independent structure, standing 50 feet apart, a red concrete seating bowl and the outer steel frame around it. The primary structures are the 24 towers made of massive steel box section on the stadium's perimeter. Each tower weighs approximately 1000 tons. The towers are joined by a series of trusses that also connect to a ring in the centre. Secondary beams span the primary members to complete the stadium's skeleton. Q460 grade plate steel was used for the bird's nest. This new steel can withstand earthquakes, low temperatures and is suitable for welding. Steel plates used were 10 mm thicker than that of China's national standard. CATIA software was also used for the first time in steel structure design. CATIA software played a vital role in stadium design; the software has formidable functions in modeling three dimensional examination and duplication. Engineers used it to solve complex modeling question in spatial structure. The crisscrossed interwoven steel roof structure was supported by 78 temporary steel columns during erection. For additional stability huge twigs were welded on to the supports. After completion of the structure the twigs had to be cut off the support pier before dismantling of temporary steel columns could be started. For the lowering of temporary supports the structure is required to be lifted off its support with the help of synchronically lifting hydraulic jacks. For load control the 78 support points were divided into 10 regions. Every region was supposed to have its own satellite controller. For the process of stage lifting and lowering each support pier is equipped with two 150 ton double acting hydrolic jacks. Full process of lifting and

lowering was pre-programmed in computer. . For added safety, control and accuracy, multi-functional valves, load sensors, stroke sensors, shift detection and a digital feedback system were integrated. During the stage lowering process the stadium structure is alternatively supported by hydraulic cylinder and the leveling plates on temporary supports. The entire process of stage lifting and lowering including central computer, satellite computer controllers, 156 double acting high pressure hydraulic cylinder, power unit was designed and organized by ENERPAC

Original design was having a retractable roof but after collapse of roof of the Charles de Gaulle International Airport, its design was reviewed and retractable roof was removed to reduce weight and to increase its capacity to withstand seismic activity. The Bird's Nest is designed to withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake, and its frame to last

100 years. The revised proposal resulted in 22.3 percent less steel used and a 13 percent reduction in membrane material by abandoning the convertible cover and enlarging the opening in the roof. However, upper section of roof was altered to protect spectators from weather. The membrane covering of the Bird's Nest is curved and double-layered, providing decorative, soundproof, wind-proof, rain-proof, and even UVA protection to its already impressive body.The outer layer is made of ETFE panels and the inner layer consists of PTFE material. Maximum of 17000 workers worked for construction. All 45,000 MT of steel was made in China making it the largest steel structure in the world. On 14th May 2008 grass field of 7811 sq. mts was laid in the 24 hours. Beijing national stadium officially opened at a ceremony on June 28, 2008.

Beijing National Acquatic Centre

Swimming & diving events were held in this centre.It is also known as water cube on ice cube although building is design as cuboid (not cube). Comprising a steel space frame, it is the largest ETFE clad structure in the world with over 100000 m2 of ETFE pillows that are only 2 mm thick. ETFE cladding allows more light and heat penetration than traditional glass. Swimming pool requires a lot of heating. So water cube has been designed to be highly energy efficient. Approximately, 90% of the solar energy falling on the building will be trapped within the

structure and used for heating of pools and other areas. Looking for a link to theme of water, architects and engineers adopted the idea of bubbles as structural form. The idea of architecture was to give building of spirit of water. The bubble like steel structure was covered by pillows made of a transparent plastic called ethylene tetrafluoroethene (ETFE) filled with air. Water cube' external cladding is made of 4000 ETFE bubble some as large as 9.14 mts across with seven different sizes for the roof and is for the walls. Creating a structure that mimics the natural formation of bubbles is complicated. 19th Century scientist devised a solution but with aid of computer a more efficient solution merged that involves a series of interlocking cells with either 12 or 14 faces that can be repeated to form a larger volume or cube. One slice along the top and other along the side produces the basic shape of the building. Pattern within slice will become the structural steel members for the building and they will form the bubble geometry on the exterior facades. It was designed and built by PTW Architects (an Australian architecture firm), Arup international engineering group, CSCEC (China State construction Engineering Corportion) and CCDI (China Construction Design International) of Shanghai. Beijing gets very less of rain hence design takes care of it by recycling most of backwater that would normally be drained away and also by rain water harvesting of all water falling on the structure. At first glance a foam design might appear less robust than a more conventional structure but water cube design is ideally suited to absorb energy from earthquake. Ground was broken on Dec 14, 2003 and centre was completed and handed over for use on Jan 28, 08.

CCTV Headquarters
Designed by Dutch architect Rim Koolhas the CCTV building in the headquarters for China's state Television network. The architect describes it as loop of interconnected activities rather than a sky scrapper in the hopeless, race for ultimate height. The new building involves two 'L' shaped high-rise towers linked at the top and the bottom at an angle to form a loop, which has been described as a 'Z' criss-cross. The building contains 9 to 13 storey base. Two towers lean at an angle of 60 from vertical in each direction 9 to 13 storey over-hang is suspended 36 stories in the air. The highest point is 768 feet from ground. Building has a complex pattern of steel members along its facade. To arrive at this pattern building engineers began by applying uniform series of diagonals braces to a model of the structures surface. A computer model revealed where structure loads were greatest the pattern of steel members was adjusted to provide support where necessary. The total construction cost is estimated at 600 million ($750 million). The CCTV tower will employ 10,000 people after completion. But the construction was delayed because of the opposition against this buildings cost, so the developers say the building will probably not be completed before 2009.

Re - Building of Stone Top Bridges & Arch Bridges By Opting Blasting Technique.
by P. Aruna Prasad* D. Suresh, ** N. Somashekhar***

SYNOPSIS
On various railways there large numbers of stone top culverts available, large proposition of these bridges are required to be re-built. These natural stone top culverts are having restriction to its clear span not more then 0.60 m, due to the restriction for the span and water way these bridges are normally falling under IW(Insufficient water way), and not reliable for present scenario of increased axle loads & traffic density. These bridges are to be replaced with upgraded technology. Re building with pre-cast R.C.C. box segments is a suitable option. This method is simple and involves less requirement of traffic blocks. 1.0 BRIEF HISTORY: Bridge No:378. at K.M.270/29-31between stations ALERPEMBARTI on KZJ-SC, 4 spans of 0.60 m tone top bridge was constructed during the year 1937 with CR masonry for pier, abutment, splayed wing and return walls. The past history of this bridge was seen as per the records. During heavy rains in the year 2005 on the up stream side of the bridge flood water headed up due to in adequate water way resulting in damaging the approaches due to over flow of flood water. Although it did not cause disruption to the through traffic, but speed restriction was in force for a long duration. 2.0 AVAILABLE METODS FOR RE- BUILDING THE BRIDGE UNDER TRAFFIC CONDITIONS: 1. Temporary diversion. 2. Introducing relieving girder (insertion of restricted height girder). 3. Box pushing. 4. Blasting the exiting bridge under line block and placing the pre Cast RCC-box segments. 3.0 THE LAST METHOD AT SR. NO. 4 WAS ADOPTED FOR THE REASON AS BELOW In SECUNDERABAD KHAZIPET section, available time allowance has been occupied by the track works sanctioned under SRSF and no time allowance is available for undertaking the bridge works. Introducing R.H. Girder or BOX pushing will take about 27 to 30 days for which imposition of SR is difficult to get. Therefore a method which needed less number of days of speed restriction, was adopted. This involved blasting the stone masonry under line block, removal of debris using heavy earth movers like JCBs for clearing of site, placing pre-cast RCC BOX with the help of hydraulic operated heavy duty crane in position, filling the gaps with gravel already collected at site, spreading ballast on the top of box and placing the pre fabricated box units in position.
*ADEN/Pakala, SC Railway **AXEN, C/Gantur, SC Railway ***AXEN/C, Hubli, SW Railway

3.1 MATERIAL REQUIRED The following equipment are required to be brought on to the site Road crane ( hydraulically operated ) 40 to 50T capacity with one stand by crane of equal capacity. Excavator ( proclain/ Hitachi) with one JCB as stand by. Leveling equipment. For lifting of track and aligning, track lifting jacks and crow bars. Wire ropes. Cement bag filled with sand /Moorum. Jack hammer along with compressor. Tractors. Sufficient number of CC cribs and released wooden sleepers 3.2 PRE BLOCK ARRANGEMENTS: 1. Casting of RCC BOX segments, verification of site condition for box placement 2. Reference lines are marked on both the sides of the track for correct alignment and levels are fixed by dumpy level w.r.t. rail level or OHE structure etc. 3. Speed restriction of 20 kmph is imposed and rail closure of 6.5 to 13 m as required at site is cut from existing LWR and 1m long f ish plate with clamps is provided. 4. The existing wing and return walls are dismantled; required excavation is done before the block in the vicinity of track as far as possible from safety consideration. At the end of the day before the actual line block is obtained sufficient number of holes are made for providing the explosive (Gelatin sticks). 5 . Centre line is marked on the boxes and wire rope should be inserted in to the lifting hooks with proper locking arrangements. 6. Submitting the application for line block of four hour as planned duly advising the OHE department officials. 7. Imposition of speed restriction on the adjoining track in

IRICEN JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

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case of double line as a safety measure in view of blasting and also for safety of the men, machinery working at site although the track centers have sufficient distance . 3.3 ACTIVITIES DURING THE LINE BLOCK Protection of track on either lines and dismantling the track of 6.50 to 13m with the help crane kept aside. Before obtaining the line block explosives are placed in the pre drilled holes and soon after the dismantling of track in line block the explosives are connected in serial and to the megger. After ensuring both track are protected and all the staff working at the site are moved away to a safe distance duly ensuring the machinery also kept away from the bridge site then the megger is operated for blasting the bridge. After the completion of the blasting earth movers are brought on to the site to clear the debris and further excavation is made as required at site. Immediately after completion of leveling to the required bed level, concrete is made by using admixtures and bed layer laid. Then the pre cast RCC box segments are placed in the position. The pre assembled track panel of 6.5 to 13.0m is placed in the position with the help of the crane after spreading required ballast on top of box and then track is linked. After giving one round of packing the line block is cleared and the

traffic is allowed, the first train passed at stop and proceed with 10 kmph and the subsequent trains with the existing SR of 20kmph. 3.4 ACTIVITIES AFTER LINE BLOCK 1 . Joints between the Box segments are filled with epoxy. 2. Welding the closure rails after giving required packings and partial distressing, speed is relaxed to 50 kmph on second day, and after three days SR is relaxed to normal. 3. Till such time the ballast retaining walls are constructed the ballast on the box is supported using sand bags. 4. The wing and return walls are constructed in due course as per drawing . 4.0 CONCLUSION The entire execution part of work requiring speed restrictions is 4 to 5 days and disturbance to the track structure and embankment is very less in case of smaller span bridges. More number of line blocks in series are not necessary as such it is comparatively economical when compared with insertion of RH Girder procedure. The man power requirement is also minimized by using earth movers and heavy duty cranes.

Art museums going 'green'

Now a days apart from commercial and residential buildings, museums also are being constructed with Green Building concepts in USA. The new Grand Rapids Art Museum in Michigan, the $75 million, 125,000 sq. ft building, has become the first art museum in the US to receive a LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council in Washington. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is considered the benchmark for green construction. The fact that a second museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, will soon gain Gold status is just one sign of the greening of US museums. The developers of Michigan's Grand Rapids Art Museum planned to conserve energy, while also providing a climate controlled venue for the works it houses. Museums need strict temperature and humidity controls to protect their holdings. The Grand Rapids Art Museum solved this by funneling outside air underground where the temperature is a consistent 550F Humidity and heat can be added before the air is pumped into the museum.

SAIL in A New Role

Sail is planning to enter into equipment manufacturing to cash on the boom in domestic steel sector. The company plans to convert its engineering shops as separate profit centres to manufacture medium and small equipment for commercial sale. It is finalizing a joint venture arrangement with an existing equipment manufacturer to scale up its manufacturing activities. Its workshops have already statutory licences for manufacturing activities. Its workshops have already statutory licences for manufacturing specialized equipment such as high pressure vessels, medium size cranes, electro-magnets. These workshops are already undergoing expansion as the company is set to increase its steel manufacturing capacity from 15 million tonnes to 26 million tonnes. These workshops will function as a separate entities.

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Raising of Road Over Bridge on Western Railway

by

N D Chumber * R Tolani **

SYNOPSIS
The paper describes the raising scheme adopted in raising of the ROBs at Sidhpur in Delhi Ahmedabad Section, Ahmedabad Division of Western Railway. This work was carried out in connection with operation of Double Stack Container (9.50 ft. high) between Palanpur Mehsana Viramgam section of Western Railway. The ROB, 779 M long, is having 34 Nos. of spans of different length. These all spans were raised within a period of 2 months using Hydraulic Synchronized lifting of Girders without taking any traffic block. The scheme of raising of Girders have been illustrated in the paper.

1.0 INTRODUCTION : Indian Railways with network of Approx 63000 Route Kms across the length and the breadth of the country is the largest railway system under a single management in the world. The transportation of goods for consumption, for import and exports has grown exponentially in the recent past. Transportation of goods globally takes place predominantly by sea routes and ports are very important links in the transportation. Gujarat has developed ports along its coast line to meet the growing demand of the galloping economy. Since the newly developed ports are source of additional goods traffic, the railways face a continuous challenge to augment the system to meet its obligation towards country with the sectional capacities getting over-saturated on all routes connecting ports to the Northern hinterland. There are various ways by which the capacity augmentation has been done by traffic facility The traffic from the ports is carried on various ways such as BOXN, BCX, container wagons etc. Amongst these, the containerization of the freight is going on at a very rapid pace due to the obvious benefits of the same. The ports are gearing up in a big way to handle large volumes of container traffic. The railway is also called upon to make its network ready for the additional traffic anticipated. Line capacity on the existing routs of Western Railway between Ahmedabad and Delhi is otherwise saturated and one of the ways to easily upgrade the capacity is by operation of

HIGHWAY SIDE APPROACH double stack containers on the same train. The route is not electrified and the running of double stack containers was found feasible after initially feasibility studies was coordinated by RITES, PRC and CANAC. The route Rewari-Jaipur-Palanpur-Mehsana-Viramgam Rajula - Pipavav was initially identified for the double stack containers. Subsequently, the Palanpur-GandhidhamMundra Port and Mehsana-Sabarmati were also identified

CITY SIDE APPROACH works/ yard remodeling etc, upgradation of signaling system, gauge conversions, doublings etc.
* Sr. DEN/HQ/Ahmedabad/W.RLY * ADEN/MG/Sabarmati/W. RLY

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for the double stack container operations. The physical survey undertaken by mounting a flexible box structure on a wagon, to identify various infringement like ROBs, FOBs to HT lines and signaling port etc. This paper describes the planning and execution of the work of lifting of Road Over Bridge at Sidhpur for getting the required clearances and the various problems encountered during execution of the works. 2.0 LOCATION OF THE SIDHPUR ROB: The ROB is situated near Sidhpur Yard, Ahmedabad Division on Ahmedabad-Delhi group B line (BG/SL) at Km.

Foundation Open trapezoidal sedimentary.

4.0 PLANNING: The ROB was under construction when the planning for the raising was being done. The railway span had already been constructed by the construction organization of Western Railway and the approach spans were already cast by the state government. The detailed drawings of the existing ROB collected from the respective organizations to study the feasibility of raising the ROB. The revised gradient of approach roads after lifting the Railway span by 450mm was calculated. In the case of Sidhpur ROB the length of approached road could not be increased due to space constraints at the city end. The existing gradient on Approach Road was approximately 1:24.5 and after raising the Railway span by 450mm, the gradient on approach span became 1:23.5. This was within the limits of gradient laid down in IRC and hence it was decided that the length of the existing approaches be maintained and the gradient be changed. This also avoided earthwork and raising/ altering the approach retaining walls and the entire raising was done in the girders only. By the time the preparations for the raising were done, the state government had completed the work and was ready for opening the ROB for public. The decision of raising only the girders increased the speed of work, and this helped in securing the permission of the state government for closing the ROB for the lifting work. For the duration of the work, the level crossing in lieu of which the ROB had been constructed was kept open to give the alternate way to the ROB users. As per planning, the GAD was prepared and submitted to Western Railway H.Q. design office for approval along with the original design document to check the stability of ROB at raised position. The existing sub structure and foundation were found fit even for the raised girders. After accepting the approval from H.Q. design office, the GAD and design was submitted to R&B Department, Gujarat Government for approval. 5.0 SELECTION OF RAISING SCHEME The main aim of the scheme made was to execute the work as speedily as possible to meet the railway's requirements of early completion of work as well as to mitigate the problems being faced by the ROB users as early as possible. The work was a difficult one as handling the PSC girders requires skill. The spans consisted of multiple Isection PSC girders tied together by RCC deck slab and diaphragms. All the I-girders have to be raised simultaneously else the RCC components can very easily get cracked. Any such failure in the girders would have led to increase in the time for completing the work. Since the girders belonged to the state government, the work was to be done extra cautiously lest the railway's reputation be sullied during the execution of the work. It was deemed that the work was of specialized nature, requiring precise handling of the girders, with adequate care and safety margins. This required the agency chosen

SIDHPUR ROB 682/11-12. The ROB is Connecting Sidhpur City to NH8. The ROB crosses railway track near the Sidhpur yard and the nearest points and crossing is within 50 m of the ROB. The gradient in the yard is 1 in 400 i.e. already at the minimum allowed gradient in the yards. The creation of clearance for the double stack containers required the track to be lowered by 45 cm. This would have necessitated an increase in gradient. This would have required the approval of CRS and condonation of Railway Board. Such condonation also requires provision of extra safety measures such as catch/ slip siding or operating restrictions. Since this would have required more time for execution, and was not a preferred long term arrangement for the running of the trains, the raising of the ROB was decided as the better alternative. 3.0 TECHNICAL DATA OF ROB SIDHPUR:
l l l

Existing vertical clearance from Rail Level: 6.85m Length of ROB: 779m Total No. of spans: 34 01 No Railway Span of 47m long 18 spans of 15m towards Highway side. 15 spans of 15m towards city side. Retaining wall for the earthwork: 147m towards highway 98m towards City Super Structure: T-Beam, deck slab supported on neoprene bearing. Sub- Structure RCC pier, RCC abutment and RCC wall.

28

for the work to be well versed in the ROB works. The contractors in the area who had constructed large number of ROBs in the area and one agency who had prior experience of the raising of the ROB for Mundra Port authorities were chosen as the parties capable of carrying out the work, and accordingly, six parties were short listed and Special Limited tender was called with finance vetting and PCE approval. For ensuring safety and speed of the work, the following points were incorporated in the special conditions:
l

6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19

l l

To avoid differential lifting of the girders, it was stipulated that the raising of the girders is to be done using synchronous jacks only. It was specified that the jacks used shall have single feed. The jacks with self locking only were permitted. The contractor had to carry out the work carefully and if during lifting, there is any damage to the girders due to differential lifting/ lowering, if any, in the girders the same were to be repaired at their own cost. The packing under the girders was planned with steel stools so that the time required for curing of concrete be eliminated. The contractor could get the stools fabricated at workshop independent of the preparations of the raising work. There were concerns regarding the strength of the diaphragms and the seat of bearing to take the jacking loads. The same is due to the fact that the concrete is poured in very closely spaced reinforcement at the location. Unless extra care is taken, the concrete is likely to be honey combed in this area. In the tender documents, the repairs of these areas before the start of work, and using steel plates on top of jack to prevent failure of concrete were provided for. The work in railway span was to be done under moving traffic only, so special conditions were laid down so that the train safety is not jeopardized at any point of time due to the work. Special conditions for providing the scaffolding and supports were laid down for the railway span.

Hydraulic Pump of 2 litre per minute capacity with hand pump. Hydraulic power pack of 5 litre per minute capacity with 5 HP motor. Hydraulic Pipes of different length suitable for working pressure up to 450 Kg./ sqcm. Chain Pulley block 4 Nos.of 5 T capacity. Scaffolding arrangement in sufficient numbers. Tirfor 2 Nos. of 2 T capacity. Stair case arrangement. Wooden blocks in sufficient quantity of different thickness. Welding equipment Portable Grinding Machine with disc. Portable Chipping Machine. Two set of hand tools ie , spanners, chisel , hammer etc. Dial gauges 4 Nos. Electric Generator and lighting system. Steel packing plates. Pipes for making tripod. Guy ropes, Steel ropes, Clamping bolts, Hooks etc. Safety Slings

The process of the lifting of girders hydraulically is a very interesting activity. It involves precision devices. Each jack was equipped with a locknut and accompanied by a pressure gauge, a flow control valve and a solenoid valve and dial gauges sensors. The position dial gauges sensor indicates any slant in the girder to prevent any fracture or tilt while of the girder is being lifted by the hydraulic lift cylinders. All the hydraulic cylinders are connected through hydraulic pipe to a hydraulic pump and a main hydraulic oil distributor to ensure the equal distribution of pressure to lift the girders. 6.0 EQUIPMENT AND MATERIAL USED 6.1 Hydraulic Jack of different capacity Ranging from 100-300 MT. 100 T 10 Nos. 200 T 10 Nos. 300 T 05 Nos. 7.0

EQUIPMENT USED: DRILL MACHINE, GRINDING MACHINE, TAPE, GAS CUTTER ETC COMPUTATIONS FOR CARRYING OUT THE WORK:

Weight of each Span: The weight of each span was calculated using the volume of concrete as per the cross section, and adding lump sum for the appurtenances. There are three types of spans: 1) Main Railway Span 47m long weight approximately 2100MT. 2) Adjoining Railway Span 15m long - weight approximately 410MT. 3) Other Approach Span 15m long - weight approximately 345MT.

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LOAD ON VARIOUS JACKING LOCATIONS: 1) Main Railway span was having 05 I-girders supported on 10 pedestals, so there was 210MT load on each bearing. 300T/200T jacks were used for this span 2) Adjoining Railway Span having 04 I-girders supported on 08 pedestals, so there was 51.25MT load on each bearing. 200T jacks were used for this span 3) Other Non Railway Spans having 03 I-girders supported on 06 pedestals, so there was 57.50MT load on each bearing. 200T/100T jacks were used for this span

CHECKING THE AVAILABLE JACKS: The safe working pressure of the Hydraulic Jacks should be checked with the help of testing rig or got tested from reputed laboratory before using the Hydraulic Jacks. In this case, Hydraulic jacks were tested on pressure of 450 Kg/cm2 and the working pressure was around 280 Kg/cm2. All pressure pipes, connected with various jacks and hydraulic pump should have more capacity than the ultimate hydraulic pressure in the jacks. Good quality seals and connectors shall be used else there are chances of failures are there. In this case, the seals and connectors from reputed manufacturers were used. Along with the jacks, all the other arrangements including the locking arrangement for the jack ram were checked under load. 8.0 PRELIMINARY WORKS 1) Remove all expansion joints between the spans 2) Remove all obstructions such as railings, cables, pipelines etc. 3) Provide scaffolding arrangement for working platform at suitable height. 4) The scaffolding shall be strong enough as to not fail/ settle during the execution of the work. 5) Provide arrangements to ensure that nothing falls on the tracks 6) Inspect the all existing pedestals and remove the loose concrete or mortar surrounding it. 7) Arrange wooden blocks in sufficient quantity required during raising of spans. 8) Check the jacking points strength by just gently hammering the bottom surface. Hollow sound indicates defects due to the 'Honeycombing defect' in diaphragm concrete. 9) Mark the position of each girder with respect to pedestals means marking the clearance between pedestals and girder. This is very useful to check the raising of span. 10) Fix the dial gauge at the each end of the span to ensure the uniform lifting of the span. 11) Steel stool or steel packing plates required to be used should be fabricated well in advance.

IDENTIFICATION OF JACKING POINTS BEARING SIZE: Railway Span bearing size was 800x520x52 mm. For other spans, bearing size was 500x320x52mm. IDENTIFICATION OF JACKING POINT: Prior to the lifting of the span, jacking point are required to be identified and detailed design drawing was referred to conform the position of the Jacking points. Jacking points are required to be identified because these are only locations where load can be applied to raise, after identification of the jacking points number of jack required and their capacity can be decided. The jacking points were under the diaphragm and center of jack was approximately 300 mm away from joining line of girder and diaphragm. CALCULATION OF NUMBER OF JACK REQUIRED AND THEIR CAPACITY: Considering the number of jacking point and weight of the span to be raised, the number of jack and their capacity was decided, to raise the span uniformly. The jacks were chosen with the consideration of 25% more than the expected load. The load at each end is taken as 60% of the weight of the span. This 25 % extra is a factor of safety to account for the eccentricity of loading, minor miscalculations, jerks due to mis-handling etc. This factor of safety is over and above the factor of safety built-in in the jacks for the rated capacity which is less than the ultimate load capacity on the jacks.

STEEL STOOL FABRICATION

30

9.0 STAGES IN RAISING OF ROB 9.1 The jack were placed under the diaphragms of girders. One jack was provided under each support point of the diaphragm. The jacks were supported on the piers. All the jacks were connected with Hydraulic Distribution connector & all jacks were synchronized. The Hydraulic pressure through Hydraulic pumps was applied on jack. Before starting the lifting operation, it was checked that there is no obstruction to the smooth lifting. This includes the gap between the girders taking the tilted position of the girder into consideration. The span is lifted by a small amount, say, 2 -3 mm and the equal lifting of each girder was checked by marking a reference line on each girder with respect to pedestal. It is very important that all girders should lift equally otherwise it may damage the RCC connecting parts of the span. If pressure increased beyond working pressure and the lifting is not taking place, it means that there is obstruction in the lifting or the jacking load is less than the load required for raising. In such circumstances, the Hydraulic system may fail during working, which may cause damage to girders. If such a situation is encountered, the lifting is stopped and the calculations have to be re-done, and the girder is physically checked for obstructions. The lifting of Girders was done in stages and after every lift of 10 mm, the jacks were locked with their locking arrangement. This is essentially required because in case of failure of hydraulic system, the jack shall not come down suddenly. The one end of span was raised by about 25mm. All girders were checked with respect to reference point for uniform lifting. If found uniform then only can be continued for further lifting upto 50 - 60mm, if not then rate of lifting at each jack can be altered by altering the hydraulic pressure.

9.2

9.3

SPAN LOWERED ON STEEL PLATES / STOOL 9.6 The jacks were released by placing wooden block under each girder. Before releasing the jacks, neoprene bearing under the girder was removed and pedestal cleaned with the help of wire brush, hand grinder etc. The other end of span was raised by about 120mm, same precaution & method adopted as explained above. Here it should be ensured that the difference between the raising of two ends should not be more than 50-60mm to avoid any development of stress in the span. At each stage, the equal lifting of each of the girders shall be measured. Same cycle is repeated till final raising of the span is achieved. The raising was calculated at 15-20 mm more than the final raising of the girders required as per calculations to account for settlement of packing etc. After achieving the required raising of the girder, all pedestals were cleaned & a layer of epoxy mortar was applied for smooth & level surface for seating of stool. Epoxy mortar took around 4-6Hrs. to achieve the full strength. After 4-6Hrs, the pre fabricated steel stool/plates was placed on the pedestal. The neoprene bearing were already fixed on top of the stool and the span was lowered in stages to avoid any sudden jerks on the girders. The raising was checked for each girder with respect to previous marking on pedestals. In case of any discrepancy, additional steel packing plates could be provided under the stools. Steel stool/plate were fixed by providing 04 numbers holding down bolts at the corner of steel stool/plate which were fixed in holes made in concrete in piers. These were further embedded in concrete by providing jacketing around pedestals. The expansion joints, hand railings, and other appurtenances opened for carrying out the work were re-provided. Some components of the rubber

9.7

9.4

9.5

9.8

9.9

9.10

9.11

9.12

9.13 CLEANING OF PEDESTALS

31

expansion joints had to be replaced as the old ones were rendered useless during the removal. 10.0 PROBLEMS FACED DURING EXECUTION: 10.1 HONEYCOMBED CONCRETE AT DIAPHRAGM: As was apprehended beforehand, during lifting of spans, it was found that quite a few spans had badly honey combed concrete in the diaphragms. When load was applied at jacking point, the concrete cracked and reinforcement got exposed. The diaphragm was made fit for applying load, by using epoxy mortar. It was good that the failure took place in the initial lifting only. If the failure had taken place after some lifting was achieved, damage to the girders was possible. 10.2 HYDRAULIC HAND PUMPS ARE INSUFFICIENT TO LIFT HEAVY SPANS: The work was done using hand operated pumps. However, due to the very heavy girders, the progress was very slow. The efforts required for operation of the jacks was also very much. It would have expedited the work if motorized low flow rate pump were used. 11.0 CONCLUSION: Due to the proper precautions taken, and careful working, the extremely difficult work of raising the PSC girders tied

REPAIRING HONEY COMBING DEFECT BY EPOXY MORTAR by RCC deck slab and diaphragms by 450 mm could be accomplished within a period of 45 days. The contractor's engineers, workers were skilled and adopted good practices for the handling of the jacks and lifting work and due to them only such a difficult work could be done without any mishap and without any problem for the trains or the girders. In such intricate works, therefore, the key to getting the work executed is meticulous planning, disciplined working and a no-risk approach.

OVER 650000M3 CONCRETE PRODUCED IN 12 MONTHS.

The Ghatghar pumped Storage Project is a hydraulic power generation project sponsored by the irrigation Department, Government of Maharashtra, India. It is made up of two reservoirs of different heights. The upper basin consists of three dams two saddle dams and the upper dam. The lower dam forms the lower lying basin. During the construction of 86 m high and 450m long lower dam, approximately 650000m3 of concrete was manufactured by three Stetter mixing plants. The systems concerned were two type HN3-0 (120m3/hr) plants and one type HN 4.0(160 m3/hr), which were all linked together. The plants were equipped with two shaft, forced action mixers and a Stetter type MCI 300 control system. Their 3 maximum monthly performance peaked at over 90000m with a maximum daily output in the region of 3 3 46000m . On averge, the mixers produced 51000 m of concrete per month.

WORLD'S TALLEST TOWER ?

The Burj Dubai Skyscraper under construction here reached its 100th story early two thirds of the way in its relentless climb to become the world's tallest building. With 3000 laborers adding a new floor nearly every three days. When finished in two years, the silvery steel and glass building is expected to rise beyond 2300 feet and more than 160 floors dozens of stories taller than the world's current tallest building, the Taipei 101 tower in Taiwan, which measures 1671 feet. In addition, it will assume the title of the world's tallest structure, surpassing tallest free standing structure on land Toronto CN Tower and the guyed KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, the latter setting a minimum height for the tower at almost 630m. Emaar isn't releasing its plans for the final height of the Burj Dubai so it can add more stories if a competing developer mounts a challenge.

32

Improved Tools of Training at IRICEN: Its New website

by V B Sood*

SYNOPSIS
IRICEN is the premier training institute on Indian Railways. It has been on the forefront in adopting latest technologies for the benefit of all stakeholders, the officers, Railways and the other clients. The website is one of the ways by which, IRICEN has not only adopted the latest technology but also has outreached its traditional audience and reached out to the supervisors and officers who might not be able to come to IRICEN for training but who want to learn. To meet the growing challenges, a need was felt to improve the website and a new website was designed and launched on 1st of August 2008 at the hands of Sh R Velu, Hon'ble Minister of State for Railways in the IRICEN auditorium. This paper describes the features and facilities of the new website. 1. INTRODUCTION: IRICEN is striving to become a world class training institute. The institute is catering to the training needs of the probationers, and officers of the engineering department of Indian Railways. In addition, there is a tremendous demand for the training at IRICEN from the public sector undertakings, project management consultants and some foreign railways. The training at IRICEN is not just theoretical one dealing with the abstract ideas, but totally aligned with the practical aspects of the railway working and towards managing the day to day working and solving the actual problems. Due to this approach, the training at IRICEN is very popular amongst the participants. The training at IRICEN in the fields such as Contracts and Arbitration are much sought after and all the departments attend these courses. 2. NEED FOR WEBSITE: The classroom training is the primary mode of training at IRICEN, supplemented by the field demonstrations. But there is one element which gets left out, namely, the training requires physical presence of the officers in the IRICEN campus. In a year IRICEN trains between 1400 and 1500 officers, which covers approximately 20 % of the officers. Given the variety of courses being run, it is not possible for an officer to cover all of them in any reasonable period of time. Further, learning in a course attended today will get outdated over time as the technology and policies change. Also, the learning at IRICEN is not the end of it. There might be doubts, new conditions and situations which require further study or guidance. Further, there are supervisors who are a very important part of the organization but who do not come to IRICEN for training but are interested in learning/ knowing about various things. Absence of a supplementary effort to imparting knowledge to the people not physically present at IRICEN is not in the interest of the railways. To meet the above objectives, the IRICEN started the use of information technology in big way. Since 2004, IRICEN has started a website which is delivering knowledge to the railway civil engineers at the click
IRICEN JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Professor / Track-2 / IRICEN, Pune

33

of the mouse. To tap the potential of the website, IRICEN has started providing computers with internet facility in the hostel and recently, 100 % of the rooms have been provided with computers. A need was felt to upgrade the facilities available on the website as per the changing demands of the people. The new website was completed and launched on 1st August 2008 and the website was inaugurated by Sh R Velu, Hon'ble Minister of State for Railways at the IRICEN auditorium. The website address is www.iricen.gov.in and the server is hosted at IP address 203.199.146.196. The server is hosted at the IRICEN office premises itself and the maintenance of the server and the other hardware is done in house only. 3. ABOUT IRICEN WEBSITE: The IRICEN website is meant for distance learning. The IRICEN website is a platform for dynamically generating content using all the stakeholders. The important portions of the website are accessible only to the members of the website. The membership of the website is given FREE to all the officials coming for training to IRICEN. It is also given to all the visiting faculty who come and teach at IRICEN. Further, the interested railway persons who want to become members of the website are given the user id and password if they send the request to the webmaster. The email id of the webmaster is mail@iricen.gov.in. The photo and details of the members are a must for accessing the website. The various means for the same in the IRICEN website are as follows: a. Members' Contribution: The most popular section of the website is the discussion forum. The discussion forum is a democratic forum where all the members can ask questions and all the members can come together and share the views, technical solutions, references, experiences and other aspects of the problems raised by the members regarding various issues related to the engineers in their working. The discussion forum is divided into four parts : Track, Bridges, Works and General for ease in navigation. b. IRICEN's Contribution: IRICEN has put in lot of technical material for the use of the members of the IRICEN website. The members' area is the portion where IRICEN shares the technical content generated by IRICEN with the members. This area has various sections and provides the following to the members: I. Manuals: IRICEN has uploaded a large number of manuals in soft copy which are useful for the reference of the members. The manuals are available in asprinted form. Some manuals are in the audio versions which can be listened to by the members. Further, 'internet version' of manuals are available where IRICEN has digitally pasted the correction slips so that there is no confusion for the reader. Correction slips to the manuals are also uploaded in this area. Books and Films: IRICEN has published 24 books and 16 films on various technical topics. These are available for viewing of the members in the Members' Area.

circulars which take time to reach the field offices are uploaded in the Members' area so that these are available as soon as possible to the members. IV. Technical Guidance: IRICEN provides lot of material for the technical guidance to the members through some e-learning modules, projects, seminar proceedings, RDSO documentation/ drawings etc to the members. V. Software for railway Civil Engineers: IRICEN has provided 10 nos software for the specialised use in the field by Railway Civil Engineers.

VI. IRICEN publications: IRICEN website provides the technical features rich quarterly 'IRICEN Journal of Civil Engineering' and biennial 'Compendium of Correction Slips' which publishes all the correction slips issued to the manuals pertaining to the engineering department in the last six months. c. Others' Contribution: The learning of the members is as much by knowing about the theoretical aspect of the issue as the work which has been practically done by the others in similar situations. The IRICEN website has provided space to all the railways' Construction and Open Line organizations, Railway Board, RDSO and PSUs related to engineering department so that they can share the good work, innovations etc for the benefit of all concerned. d. Messages: IRICEN website hosts the messages of the Member Engineering and Director IRICEN so that the visitors are enlightened regarding the challenges and the opportunities in front of railways and the direction being taken by the organization. The remarks given by visiting dignitaries to IRICEN are also posted on the website. e. Training Management: The basic job of IRICEN is training and so the website has been designed such that the courses are run on the website itself. The website is used for the registration of the trainee officials and thereafter the statistics are generated and viewed at the website. The website shows the people who have attended courses at any point of time, the list of officers who have attended the mandatory courses can be compiled on the website. This facilitates the nomination of the officers to the courses by the railways. Further, the complete calendar of courses for the year along with the course plan is posted and can be used by the officers to get them nominated to the courses of their requirement. f. Extending the Library: IRICEN has provided its rich library for searching on the website. Anyone who requires some book, journal article etc can find the status i.e. whether available or not, rack no etc are on the website. The synopsis of the articles in the journals subscribed to by IRICEN are posted on the website and on request IRICEN sends any particular chapter of a book, or any particular article by fax/ post. The requests for such articles/ technical material shall be made to the librarian at IRICEN. g. Transfer/ Posting Orders and Notifications: The website has provided a platform for the immediate

II.

III. Railway Board Circulars: Important Railway Board

34

dissemination of the information on the transfer/ promotions and the notifications issued by the Railway Board, which otherwise take a lot of time reaching the concerned officials. These orders are coming on the website within a day or two of publishing h. Members' Search: The IRICEN website provides a facility for searching the members. The members' profile can be viewed and any body who wishes to search for any batchmate (for IRSE officers only) or any colleague/ acquaintance can search the same. Since most of the officers keep visiting IRICEN for training, the chances of finding him/her here are very high. If the members update their profile on the website, the current contact numbers, address, posting etc can be seen very easily. i. Other Information: The website disseminates the information about the institute, faculty, their expertise, contact numbers at IRICEN, and other information such as tenders, notifications etc on the website. Improvements in the New IRICEN Website: In the new website, efforts have been made to improve lot of features. Some of the improvements for the members are: Separate Members' Area: In the website, the members' area was accessible through the web address and the login was not mandatory for viewing the pages. In the new website, the login is must before the Members' Area can be viewed. Security: The new website has been made such that it is hacking proof. In the website programming has been done to automatically logout the people who accidentally leave their computers after logging into the website. This will prevent misuse of the identity. The user id shall not be revealed anywhere on the website. The photo of the users and details are available on the website. To prevent misuse and identity theft, the photos have been watermarked with the letters "IRICEN". The photos cannot now be downloaded without the watermark. Improved Protection of Members' Data:The Members' data is protected by suppressing the display of residence details on the new website. Zonal Railways' Sites: A space has been provided to all zonal railways, engineering related PSUs, Railway Board, etc to share the improvements, innovations etc on the new website. This feature was not available in the old website. Shared Images' Homepage: The new website has provided a homepage for the members' images which they want to share with others. These can be searched and viewed easily.

the people coming on training. VII. On line Nomination: To promote paperless working, a module is being developed where the secretary to PCEs, and Secretary to CAO(C)s can nominate officers as per the calendar of courses. Alerts are builtin in the page and the person using the "on line nominations" module will be given guidance regarding the pending nominations, inadequate nominations. The nominations can be viewed directly at IRICEN and the need for the fax on paper will get eliminated through this. k.Other Facilities: I. A facility has been provided on the website for posting the transfer/ promotion orders and vacancy notifications issued by Railway Board for the benefit of the members. The orders are being posted directly from Railway Board. This has fulfilled a long standing requirement of the members. Sitemap has been provided on the top right hand corner of the homepage. If there is some problem in navigation in the website, the entire link structure can be seen in one page. A link "IRICEN Location Map" has been provided which gives the satellite picture showing the location of IRICEN institute and hostel and the road map from railway station and airport for the convenience of the people visiting IRICEN. A facility has been provided to the members to do PNR enquiry direct from the site. The google search facility for searching the website as well as the internet has been provided on the homepage.

j.

II.

I.

III.

II.

IV. V.

l. Improvements Required: I.At the moment, the website is accessible on internet only. It shall be made available on Railnet also to improve the accessibility of the website to the engineering officials down the line. II. In due course, the website shall be modified and the classes shall be held as a full fledged remote teaching aid and the live virtual classroom on the website to be conducted by IRICEN faculty with question/answer sessions shall be possible to be held over internet/ railnet. 4. CONCLUSION: IRICEN website is a very feature rich website. Lots of content is published here by IRICEN, and lots more comes form the various stake holders. The website, thus is providing a yeoman service for promoting the cause of the spreading awareness, knowledge and learning in the field of railway civil engineering. It is hoped that with more features in the new website, in days to come, the website will be even more popular and will meet its objectives more meaningfully. Active contribution from the members is a must for the website to meet its desired objectives, and to keep the team engaged in running the website motivated.

III.

IV.

V.

VI. On line Registration: Members who are coming to IRICEN sometimes like inform regarding their program for arrival and the family details or other correspondence. A module is under development so that this program can be easily given on the website and the message will go to concerned persons, i.e. hostel, transport and course in charge who can plan the further activities. This will provide convenience to

35

Suggested Good Practices for Digitization of Engineering Drawings

By Vijay Bhargava*

SYNOPSIS
March 2008 issue of IRICEN Journal of Civil Engineering carried a write-up on System for Management of Engineering Drawings. The present article is an attempt to structure the process of digitization and manage both paper copy and digital copies. The formulation of standards, in many international institutions suggest Good Practices before creating standards. This article is presented using the knowledge based on processing (Digitization, Restoration and Long Term Preservation) of a substantial quantities of the drawings of Railways. 9 stages deal with practically all aspects of management of old drawings. Though this is mainly addressed to 'Civil Engineering' wing of Railways (Civil engineering wing creates and manages longest lasting assets) the suggested practices are/should be equally applicable to engineering drawings of the other wings of the Railways. Organizations managing important documents have established procedures for the same. One such organizations is National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) of U.S.A. The idea to write this article came after I read their report Technical Guidance 2004. A substantial amount of information on Archiving and digitization is available on website: www.archives.gov.us. They have detailed report as their scope is for managing the records of Government of U.S.A. The second input for this article comes from the practical experience of processing a substantial volume of drawings of Railways and other organizations.

1. INTRODUCTION: The Railways are operating in a highly competitive environment. With the world economy on the upswing, there are great growth opportunities. There is a requirement for fast response to the emerging situations and to upgrade/ improve the services in response to the

market/ competition strategies. There is, therefore, a need to have the maximum information available at the finger tips to aid in decision making. As a part of the same, there is a need for digitizing the drawings so that they could become part of the information, which can be retrieved and transmitted with speed.

2. ELEMENTS OF GOOD PRACTICES FOR DIGITIZATION OF DRAWINGS: The elements for the digitization of drawings for the railways shall have the following components: Table 1 Sr. Element 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Codification Data Base Preparation Storage Purpose

Essential for storage, retrieval, database preparation specially for digital files. Information compilation with relevant variables Safe, secure storage with systematic approach is pre-requisite for efficient operation Classification Will assist storage and retrieval system based on importance of the drawings Restoration/Digitization Process for converting Analog to Digital. Removal of noise. Retrieval/Search Text and image data base help in storage and retrieval for quick reference o information in physical or digital form. Dissemination Providing the information to various users at the earliest. Choice is Analog or digital. Adding/Modifying Data Software for editing Raster Images, adding new drawings. Disaster Plan Long term preservation and securing against earthquake, fire or any other disaster.

The above factors are discussed in detail further

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* Director of B.B. Scima, New Delhi.

IRICEN JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

3. CODIFICATION: Unique identification code for each drawing is essential input for digitization. The speed with which Railway is modernizing and upgrading will require digitization of drawings for efficient working. The drawing nos. by which drawings were recognized in manual system was a long one. Railway should consider evolving a system for providing unique ID for each drawing for all Railways. We suggest following :1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

a railway, maximum numbers of storage points are less than 9. Therefore 2 digits for railway and a single digit for division. One digit provided for departments like Bridges, Land, Buildings etc. last 4 digits are for serial number. This suggestion can be applicable to all the Railways. All the drawings will have unique ID. This will create a system which is Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive. 4.0 DATABASE: Compiling information about drawings has been done
historically on registers, loose papers, files etc. Very few variables were noted and balance of the relevant data was in the memory of people. The location of drawings has been person specific. With the computers being inducted in working system, it is strongly recommended that database of the drawings should be made. A suggested table of variables for use in preparing database of different departments may be as follows:

Railway Alpha Numeric

Division Content Numeric Alpha

Serial No. Numeric

At the moment, there are 16 Railways, 66 Divisions thus storage points are minimum 66 + 16 = 82. Within

Table 2

The above table is meant to assist the users in deciding variables of data base.

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5. STORAGE SYSTEMS Engineering Drawings are large format documents and therefore need different planning than library or office for a proper storage. Drawings are loose leaf documents and do not have protection and organization that exists for books (binding) or office documents (file covers) As has been discussed in the paper published in the IRICEN Journal of Civil Engineering, March 2008 issue, the drawing paper gets affected by Temperature, Humidity, Light and Chemical pollution. Efforts have to be made to minimize the impact of above elements on storage area. In the Railway System, Engineering Drawings are stored at Headquarter Office of the Railways, Division Offices, Support Offices and manufacturing wings. Within these offices, there could be storage points for different disciplines of engineering. As a rough estimate, there could be more than 300 storage rooms. For archives, there might be separate areas.

The floor area required for large format documents has to be large. In the absence of proper regime for looking after the drawings, the storage space is often sacrificed for the additional office space. This compression of space could mean storing the drawings in bad condition (say filling them in Gunny bags), partially storing in unused covered area (say attic or in basement) or even destruction. The destruction of drawings could take place if the alternate container or area is not found. Therefore, it is very important that the engineers shall plan for the proper storage and upkeep of the drawings. An example of the plan for storing drawings is given below to show the requirements of an effective storage system with good planning. An attempt has been made to structure the items required to store 1000 drawings of A0 size. It is supposed to provide a check list in the event officers of Railway want to build/upgrade/modify the drawing storage area.

Table 3 Sr. Item 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Plastic Pouches Slotted angle Shelf Fire Proof Box/Cabinet Computer Plotter Photocopier A0 size Air-Conditioners Lights (Incandescent only) Table 5' x 4' Purpose To keep 25 rolled drawings together with index available in pocket on out side. Matrix of 12 x 8 or 10 x 10 to give 96 or 100 pigeon holes to store 4 pouches To store film negatives and digital media For administrative work and search 40 or 44 width. For plotting digitized file on paper, tracing paper or polyester paper base material. For providing copies to the users Temperature and Humidity control Ultra violet to be avoided For seeing drawings 1 No. As per advise of Vender As required 1 No. processing and timing for each classification could vary. 3. Fine Tuning of Search System Normally there is no unanimity in deciding the importance of drawings. A good practice could be to select few officers who generally use the drawings and give them the electronic file of data base as well as print outs. They should be requested to classify as per their perception. Combining such views could give basis for acceptable and appropriate classification. One of the alternatives is to classify the drawings in :A. Regularly Required B. Required Occasionally C. Required only in special circumstances This classification will help in deciding the location of the storage and the drawings in category A can be stored in a storage room in the office itself and those in the latter two Quantity 40 Drgs/Pouch 4 x 100 x 40 = 1600 Drawings 2000 Negatives 2 Nos. 1 No.

I will be overstepping my limits, if I suggest any layout plan as the readers of this article are experienced and qualified in civil engineering. I am sure that if contents of this article are of interest to them, then best possible secure and systematic area for storage can be created. I intend to repeat the question as to 'How important are the drawings for discharge of the duties? 1. CLASSIFICATION Every drawing in the storage will have different importance depending on the applicability. Having prepared the data base of the drawings, the exercise for the classification can be started. The variables for the data base must have been chosen by the responsible officers and therefore the basis of classification can be evolved. The classification will help in :1. Designing Storage System 2. Reduction and spread of cost as the method of

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categories can even be stored at remote locations. 7. DIGITIZATION & RESTORATION Railway's history is more than 150 years and therefore substantial volume of drawings is 75 years to 150 years of age. Depending on base media, storage history and physical handling, they could be varying in optical and physical conditions. The data base and subsequent classification would assist in deciding the choice of method/technology for digitization. Technically, there are three methods : 1. Redraw in a CAD Software 2. Film and Scan 3. Direct Scanning Within film, there are two types: Conventional Microfilm Macro Film (RADS) The advantages of digitization are many, and these have been discussed in the IRICEN Journal of Civil Engineering, March 2008 issue. This article is arguing need for good practices of management of drawings and therefore, it is stressed here that a prior step should be of Documenting the quality requirement of digitized output. The basis for quality requirement should be : The Engineering Integrity of the original drawing can not be compromised. The digitized output should give same engineering interpretation as original would have given. For this purpose, it is important that the contractor or agency involved in the restoration process has sufficient experience or technical knowledge regarding the details mentioned in the drawings. Any normal computer fellow with a scanner will not be able to do justice to maintaining the engineering integrity of the drawing. The second step suggested is of documenting the technical specifications. The contents of this should

consider the A. Total Quantity B. Percentage of drawings having poor optical quality C. Percentage of drawings having poor physical quality This will help the agency which is engaged in digitizing the drawings to quote the rates appropriately. Quality of Scanning: Scanning is the process used to convert the analog image to the digital image. The scanning can be done in three modes: A. Color scan where the original colors will be seen in digitized image. B. Gray scale where the image will be converted to 256 shades of gray. Black is one extreme and white is at other. C. Black & White or line art. In this mode the colors including black & white are converted to either black dots or white dots. One has the option of choosing the 'threshold level' which determines the levels above which the dots will be black and below white. This method is very good, if the original is with white background and black content. However, in old drawings and blue prints, the color shades are many. Based on the level of threshold, either the images will have missing parts (converted to white dots) or unreadable black portion (converted to black dots) The scanning method to be used shall be decided on the basis of the drawing quality. For the drawings in good optical quality, any method will be good enough but for the drawings having poor optical quality/ colours in drawings etc, the method is to be chosen carefully and the final output will depend on the method of scanning as well as the skill of the persons engaged in the scanning process. The close specifications shall be laid down, especially for the drawings having slightly poor quality, otherwise, there are chances of the drawing getting further damaged in the process of scanning without any advantages to the railway.

An image of old drawing scanned with different levels of threshold gives totally different results as can be seen below :-

Image with fading type blue print

Desired Final quality

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Threshold value - 15

Threshold value - 20

Threshold value - 30

Threshold value - 40

Threshold value varies from 1 to 100 in Black & White scanning (1 black

100 white).

8.0 ADDING AND MODIFYING In the present economic situation of India, the railways are a dynamic organization in terms of growth, modification and upgradation. Therefore, it is logical to presume that new drawings will be added to drawing management system. The good practices should include a Unique ID Allocation System. Along with this, a procedure for including the newly prepared drawing into the drawing management system should be laid out. Since, new drawings are prepared mostly in digital format, there will not be much problem in integrating the same into the existing database. Whenever a drawing is approved, the Unique id shall be generated through the computer and the number shall be continued till the alterations/ additions are made and the final completion drawings come into existence. The proper storage of the drawings in physical form shall be ensured. Whatever storage system is planned shall take into account the rate of accrual of new drawings and the storage system shall cater for all existing drawings as also new drawings for a longish period, say 3040 years. 9.0 DISASTER PLAN The Central and State governments are stressing the need for minimizing the damage done by the natural and manmade disasters. One of things Indian Railways may want to consider is the safeguarding of the important documents against the possible disasters. The again raises the point Whether Railway considers

engineering drawings to be important enough to be considered for protection against disasters. It is human nature to assume that disasters will not strike their place and therefore why plan for it. The interest in this activity will be generated if there are resources allocated. Therefore this activity has to be a strategic decision. It will be prudent to store drawings in fire proof and flood proof storage rooms, and take further safeguards in storing the drawings as mentioned in the paper published IRICEN Journal of Civil Engineering, March 2008 issue. Further care can be taken if new storage room is being constructed to build in the features of safety during earthquake also. 10.0 SUMMARY: The decision point for the records is whether the drawings in their custody are important and valuable assets or not. If they are important, then what is the process by which to fix a value? If the value is accepted by the railways, then carrying out cost-benefit analysis and proposing resources would become more systematic. The benefits are unquantifiable at present academic level of working. Some research in this direction will assist in giving this topic, the importance it deserves. This paper is meant to introduce the concept. A substantial amount of academic thinking supported by the instances of practical experience is required to lay down the specifications for management of the drawings, which an organization of the size and importance of the railways must have. It is hoped that in short time, such a document will emerge and the engineering drawings will be maintained properly for the benefit of the organization.

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Literature Digest
Non Destructive Testing of Buildings Infrared thermography (IRT) can be defined as the science of acquisition and analysis of data from non-contact thermal imaging devices. The process of thermal imaging has simplified over the years with the availability of efficient, high resolution infrared cameras that convert the radiation sensed from the surfaces into thermal images. Thermography literally means 'writing with heat', just as photography implies 'writing with light'. The invisible infrared radiation emitted by bodies is converted into temperature and displayed as thermal images (thermographs). The recent developments in thermography and image processing has made the technique a valuable addition to the repertoire of non-destructive testing methods. Thermography is not only a non-contact technique but also totally non-destructive. Infrared thermography is a powerful tool to investigate structural condition and equally useful for damage assessment. It is a noncontact and non-destructive method that enables rapid investigations. Highly efficient infrared cameras and versatile software have simplified thermography considerably over the years. While infrared thermography has wide applications in process industries, it is not yet extensively adopted in the investigation of buildings. The paper presents a brief historical account of infrared thermography, t h e p h e n o m e n o n o f electromagnetic radiation, thermal imaging and applications in civil engineering. Numerous other applications of thermal imaging are also discussed briefly along with the advantages and limitations. Ref. : D.S. Prakash Rao, Infrared Thermography and its Applications in Civil Engineering, The Indian Concrete Journal, Vol.82, No.5, May 2008, pp 41-50. Journal Details Based on extensive tests and analyse, the following conclusions can be drawn: 1. The mechanical frozen condition of the lower link pin was the root cause of the failure of the Southeast strut of the Paseo Bridge. As a result, the strut was subjected to significant bending in addition to its design axial action as the temperature dropped to below zero. Therefore, the strut was overstressed and fractured when its fracture toughness was reduced at low temperatures. 2. Fatigue was not a contributing factor for the strut failure. If the lower link pins were free to rotate, the crack initiation life of the strut is practically infinite even under the worst scenario of live loads and at low temperatures. 3. Fracture initiated at the point where the flange of the rolled section S24x120 was coped from the web. The mechanical freezing of the lower link pin has been attributed to salt and sand accumulation in the lower link housing, discovered during the bridge inspection two months prior to failure. 4. Greasing the upper and lower pins during normal in sections would have prevented the freezing condition of the lower link pin. However, the original design of the lower link pin housing did not allow for the routine maintenance of the pin without dissembling the housing system. An engineering lesson learned from this incidence was lack of access to the lower link area for proper maintenance. BY:- M.S.HAJI Sheik Mohammed & G,M,SAMUEL KNIGHT Ref. :Journal of structural engineering, Vol.35. No.1, AprilMay 2008) Jacketing of Columns Following previous studies, the authors described an experimental study performed to analyze the influence of the interface treatment on the seismic behaviour of columns strengthened by reinforced concrete (RC) jacketing to increase their ultimate bending moment. A numerical study, subsequently conducted to further investigate this subject, is also presented. I has been concluded that, for undamaged columns with a bending moment/shear force ratio greater than 1.0, it is not necessary to consider any type of interface treatment before casting a RC jacket with a thickness less than 17.5% of the column width to obtain a monolithic behaviour of the composite element. Ref. : Eduardo N.B.S. Julio and Fernando A.B. Branco, Reinforced Concrete Jacketing Influence on Cyclic Loading Response, ACI Structural Journal, Vol. 105, No.4, July-August 2008, pp 471-477. The stabilized Mud Block: This paper deals with energy efficient low carbon emission alternative for masonry buildings. Clay is used in building after burning to improve its strength and imperviousness. The consumption of bricks in India is over 150 billion per annum. The manufacture of burnt bricks requires energy, releases green house gases and natural resources including fertile top soil. Stabilized Mud Block (SMB) is one of the alternatives to these bricks. SMB is a dense solid block manufacture from local materials like soil and sand, and stabilizers like cement/lime, without burning. Majority of soils including black cotton soil can be used for SMBs with varying quantity of lime. These bricks can be manufactured at the construction site itself. Author: Dr. BV Venkatrama Reddy Ref.: Time Journal of Construction and Design February 2008, Page 26 to 28.

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Development Of Soil-cement Fly Ash Slab Panel For CostEffective Housing During investigation carried out to study the strength and durability of soil-cement fly ash block (SCF block) locally available soil was blended with 5% cement and fly ash varying from 5 to 50 % with the increment of 5%. Blending of two different soil with sand was done to achieve the grading of blended soil which closely matches the fuller curve of minimum voids. Optimum fly ash content to be added in the mix was determined from experimental programme. Standard SCF block specimens of size 215x100x75 mm were prepared and cured. These SCF blocks having wet compressive strength of 3.3 to 5.3 MPa and satisfying the performance in terms of durability were used to develop slab panels. The slab panel of size 180x350x75 mm were cast using SCF blocks and were subjected to flexural test. The test results indicate higher experimental load carrying capacity and moment carrying capacity when compared to the corresponding theoretical value. The slab panels were then assembled to form a roof over 3mx3m room and integrated performance of slab was tested for deflection recovery as per Indian Standard Code procedure. The test results indicate satisfactory performance complying with the requirements given in relevant Indian Standard Codes. Further, the slab also indicates satisfactory performance in terms of durability requirements. Ref. : Master builder Feb-08

Aerial Mapping and Surveys Surveying and mapping has tremendous scope in a developing country like India. With the opening up of the Indian economy, there is a great demand for infrastructure services. The work is getting more diverse from wind farms, SEZs, telecom infrastructure to traditional areas like roads, pipelines, irrigation networks and townships. New and exciting technologies like LIDAR Mapping and Mobile Video Mapping are starting to make inroads. These technologies are still in their infant stage in India though they have existed in countries like the USA for over a decade. Private Sector photogrammetric mapping is also making a beginning. We foresee stunted and restricted growth in the private sector aerial mapping unless the permission process is made friendlier and the permit processing time is cut down drastically. There is large scope for Cadastral mapping and development of Land Information Systems is the country and this provides a tremendous opportunity. Andhra Pradesh has made the first steps with its Bhubharathi program a n d o t h e r s ta t e s a r e a l s o developing similar programmes. All these projects demand aerial mapping since the areas are very large and widely distributed. We must liberalise the permitting process to be on similar lines as other developed nations, if these projects are to be implemented in a rapid and timely manner. Ref. : Dhyan Appachu & Lalitha R, The Future of Surveying in India, GIS Development, Vol. 12, Issue 7, July 2008, pp 45.

Cable Replacement in Bridge: The Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge over river Mississippi, Louisiana (USA) has a cable stayed 372m main span and 837m overall length. At the time of construction (1983), the prefabricated cables had came in protective HDPE pipe. After erection, the space between wires and pipe of each cable was filled with a cementitious grout and the entire pipe was wrapped in tape to protect from UV rays. However even early on, inspections revealed protective sheathing to have split and cracked at places. After initial inspections, measuring in situ forces and damping levels in existing cables using laser vibrometer, detailed inspection of cables was done using visual inspection and infrared thermography. The inspections gave evidence of wire corrosion at few isolated locations. Upon cost benefit analysis of various repair schemes, to preclude the need for continuing maintenance of existing cables, complex cable replacement has been planned. This aims to extend service life by approximately 75 years, at an estimated cost of $20 million to $30 million. The new cables will have their own corrosion protection system as against grout in old cables. The construction sequence is to be made in such a manner as to avoid any transfer of load to old suspect cables. Temporary cables will be used for the same. Ref. : Author: Jeff L Brown Ref.: Civil Engineering, March 08, Vol.78, No.3, Page 24-27

Did You Know ?

Most of the Track engineers have a feeling that after packing of track by tamping machine the versine at the central circular curves are quite uniform (or the variation of versine between station to station is reasonable) but in the transition portion difference of versine between station to station is higher and some goose neck or S curve like track is formed at the end. This may happen because of non application of transition correction. Normally the machine has been provided with tables which indicate the transition correction in terms of versine is to be fed through Slew Potentio Meter in the front tower. The maximum value of versine correction for transition depends on the radius of curve and length of transition and the pattern of increase and decrease of slew correction is also given in the machine catalogue which can be obtained from the machine operator. If such a versine correction for transitin operation is applied properly the Track Geometry obtained in the transition portion will be far better.
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Recycled Aggregate Concrete The increase in the utilisation of concrete produced with recycled aggregate is gaining popularity of late, with the prospect of becoming a widely diffused product in the near future. Therefore, research on this material is still arousing the interest of the scientific medium, having in mind the need of searching the alternatives for sustainable development and lowering environmental impact. In the present work, an experimental programme was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, the viability of the physical properties of recycled aggregate for utilisation in concrete is being examined for different recycled aggregate replacement as per Indian Standard code provisions for aggregates. In the second stage, an experimental work was conducted to develop 40 Mpa concrete using higher recycled aggregate replacements and silica fume. It was found that the required compressive strength, flexural strength and split tensile strength could be developed using recycled aggregate replacements in concrete. It can be concluded from the study that recycled aggregate concrete is not inferior to normal concrete. Ref. : M.L.V. Prasad & P. Rathish Kumar, Utilisation of Recycled Aggregate Concrete from Demolished Waste for Structural Concrete, The Bridge & Structural Engineer, March 2008, pp 13-26. Plankton Power This paper discusses a system that takes advantage of the natural bacterial decomposition of biomass in the world's oceans and seas. This can not only produce biomethane to replace dwindling fossil fuels but also, by harnessing the absorptive power of algae, remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Ref. : Author: Mark E. Caproy Ref.: Civil Engineering, March 08, Vol 78, No.3, Page 52-57

Corrosion protection of reinforced Bars Based on the various tests conducted, the performance evaluation of coating systems is done and the following conclusions were drawn; l Inhibited cement slurry coating, Cement polymer composite coating and Cement polymer anticorrosive coating possesses the necessary corrosion resistance properties as required by the Indian Standards. l Galvanization offers excellent sacrificial protection to steel rebars in the tested mediums except 3M NaOH. The performance of Galvanized rebars in controlling corrosion under accelerated corrosion condition is for a limited period. l Cement polymer composite coating prolongs the time required for cracking to a factor of 6 compared to uncoated bar. Inhibited cement slurry coating, Galvanization and Cement Polymer anticorrosive coating appreciably increases the crack resistant time to a factor of 1.5-2.3 l Open circuit potential test results revealed a low corrosion risk for all the coating systems in the tested period. l Bond strength development of coated rebars with concrete is adequate for all the coating systems and pass the codal requirements of Indian Standards. l All the coating systems had the necessary impact resistance properties as required by the Indian Standard and ASTM. l Cement polymer composite coating and Galvanized coating exhibited excellent flexibility characteristics and pass the codal requirements as per Indian Standards and ASTM. Based on test results it was suggested that Inhibited cement slurry coating and Cement polymer anticorrosive coating has to be applied after the cutting and bending operation is over. BY:G.D.CHEN,C.COURTRIGHT,L.R.D HARANI,B.XU,B.HARTNGEL Ref. :Journal of structural engineering, Vol.35. No.1, April-May 2008)

This paper deals with the problem in construction sector which is notorious for the dichotomy between (a) its intensive use of information in its decision-making processes and (b) its limited access to, and insufficient use of, the pertinent information that is potentially available. In the context of the potential availability of valid information on the Web. Author have developed a question-andanswer system, which enables construction practitioners to seek for information by posing questions in English or French, instead of entering a list of relevant keywords. Based on a modular systems approach using natural language, relevant answers to questions are selected and presented in a convivial way, thus improving and speeding up the classical Web search procedure. The system consists of two main components: An intelligent robot that traverses a Web space and decides whether a page is construction oriented or not, and a question-answer (Q-A) component (comprising three modules) that uses a domainspecific thesaurus to extract meaningful parts of a question and to detect, process, and present paragraph passages extracted from relevant Web pages. The robot is trained on positive and unlabeled examples using a machine learning approach, while the Q-A component uses natural language processing techniques. Providing Answers to Questions from Automatically collected web pages for Intelligent Decision Making in the Construction Sector: By Milos Kovacevic1; Jian-Yun Nie2; and Colin Davidson. Ref.: Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, Jan./Feb.08, Vol 22, No.1 Sugarcane Waste As Pozzolanic Material Did this idea ever cross your mind while drinking the sugarcane juice in the hot summer afternoons that the waste pulp being generated can be used to build your dream home? This is one area of research now in Cuba, where the disposal of the sugarcane waste is a big environmental problem. It has been seen that the ashes of sugar straw
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and sugar bagasse burned at a temperature of 800 to 100OC in a furnace have pozzolanic properties. Even mixing of sugar cane straw with the clay and calcining with mixture has shown good pozzolanic properties. It has also been revealed that bagasse has comparatively less pozzolanic activity than sugar cane straw and that its pozzolanic properties exhibit variation with the calcining temperature. The different pozzolanic rates of these materials in fact give a technological advantage by giving a choice of materials required for different kind of construction activities. So next t i m e w h e n y o u pa r ta k e o f sugarcane juice don't look at the waste with disdain. On a serious note this could change the plight of sugarcane farmers. Ref : Ernesto Villar-Cocinq moisesfrias rojas eduardo valencia morales ACI material Journal May-June 2008

Data Compression In 1948, Dr. Claude E. Shannon formulated the theory of data compression. After that, a variety of data compression theories and methods have been developed. Today, they are an integral part of the applications software and not explicitly mentioned, but they certainly contribute a great deal of convenience to our daily life. There are various 'ready-to-use' compression tools available for many different types of usage. You may have heard of some of them, such as MP3, AAC, WMA formats, which were designed for audio data compression, JPEG, for picture compression, and ZIP, for the compression of data. Data compression technologies always work behind the scenes to improve the usability, conformability, and

convenience of hardware and related services. Today, Location-Based-Services (LBS) is focussed on expanding their markets and becoming as popular as other IT services. Especially in the mobile phone market in advanced countries, almost every mobile phone is equipped with a GPS and is LBSready. Yet people do not use these services unless they are as easy and comfortable to use as MP3 players and music download services. Now new data compression technologies especially designed for LBS/GIS data are in high demand. Ref. : Naoki Ueda, Data Compression, GIS Development, Vol. 12, Issue 6, June 2008, pp 40-44.

DID YOU KNOW ?

There are various types waterproofing methods adopted for the area (as mentioned in the article) using traditional as well as chemical based waterproofing compounds. They are as follows : Waterproofing method adopted Membrane based, bitumen based coatings, cementatious grouting, epoxy grouting, Emulsion polymers based grouting, saline and silicone based grouts, etc. Vertical walls/dead walls : Cementatious, grouts, solvent/water-based sealers, cement modified polymer coating film forming paints/coatings, etc. Kitchen/WC/toilets/balconies: Brickbat, cement modified polymers coatings, bitumen based coating and polymers modified compounds. Terrace waterproofing : Conventional brickbat, polymers modified cement based coating, flexible coating in combination with membranes based on modified plastics and textiles, saline/silicone modified coating, impregnating coating, use spl admixtures to make the concrete denser to reduce the porosity of the concrete. Swimming pools : Special cementations groups, polymeric groups, Bitumen based membranes, water reducing admixtures, crystalline based waterproofing compounds, acrylic polymers based compounds, etc. Treatment for expansion joints : Special silicone based scalars, Polysulphide Sealants, PE based Rods in combination with sealants. Over head and underground : Water reducing admixtures, polymer, modified cement based compounds, crystalline water tanks cased waterproofing, flexible polymer based sandwich layer waterproofing Injection grouting based on polymers and epoxy copounds. Terrace garden and sloping roots : Bitumenbased, Polymer modified membrane based coatings, flexible membrane along with polymer based waterproofing APP modified hot cold applied membrane based coating.
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Type of substrate Basement waterproofing :

NEW PRODUCTS
Concrete Floors For Platforms The trend in the western world is to have concrete floors as compared to vinyl tile/quarry tile/wood or carpet even for indoor retail shop floors. This is not a new development and concrete floors with good finishes were used few decades back. Present trend is not motivated only because of the economic considerations but is guided by other factors like l These require less and cheaper daily maintenance as compared to vinyl and other floors l The concrete floors are more permeable to vapors from ground moisture and help in reducing the pressure and maintenance problems as compared to impermeable vinyl fixed with epoxy. l Good penetrating breathable sealers are available in the market like Sodium and Lithium silicates l Good quality of coloring compounds in liquid form are now available l Good gloss finish with high abrasion resistance can be achieved with the availability of good grinding systems l Aesthetics offered by decorative flooring make the option of concrete attractive l Concrete floors are green floors and earn the owners the Leed rating Diamond polishing is a popular way to improve the floor reflectivity and results in elegant looking floors, which can be used in place of kota stone and granite. Ref.: Concrete Construction June 2008 Sweet sorghum produces 'GREEN' ethanol International Crops Research Institute for semi-arid tropics has found that individual stalks of sweet sorghum can be used to create ethanol as well as food. The plant grows in dry conditions. It requires 33% less energy for ethanol production than from corn. Re.: Civil Engineering, June 2008, Page-30 Dry Air Desiccant Dehumidifier Concrete, due to its reactive characteristics, requires protection from many common conditions found in the industrial and marine areas; However coating concrete for protection is more complex than other surfaces. Moisture in concrete is required for gain of strength of concrete. Excess moisture in concrete will travel to surface and cause fish eye or bubbling on the coating. This may cause coating failure. Normally this moisture is removed in six months (6 thick concrete) but it may lead to delay in projects. To remove the excess moisture, ventilation, heating and dehumidification etc are employed. Dry-Air Desiccant Dehumidifier is an economical and reliable method of concrete drying and it removes moisture from the air, through a process of continuous physical adsorption, and can maintain the humidity conditions required. It can maintain room humidity(RH) as low as one percent at conduct level regardless of ambient conditions Ref.: Time Journal of Construction and Design March 08, Page 41 Pergo Floars Pergo, a Swedish Company, has come out with new technology called Pergo SoftTech which makes extremely durable laminate floors, which are more silent and more comfortable to walk in. The secrete behind the technology is the sound proofing layer just under the hard laminate surface. This innovation complements the earlier Pergo Sound Bloc, which was an underlay material glued to bottom of the plank of all Prego floors. Thus Pergo SoftTech floor employs two sound blocks, and gives better performance. Ref.: Times Journal of Construction and Design, March 08, Page 61 Quippo Infra's All New Rotary Piling Rig In Kolkatta Quippo Infrstructure Equipment Limited (QIEL), has acquired new Rotary Piling Rig for infrastructural development. This Rotary Piling Rig can work at a depth of 40 mtrs., with a radius of 2000 mm and can drill any type of ground with different drilling techniques and is developed with the help of a CAD system. QIEL had started operations by lending it to Tantia Construction Ltd. (TCL) in Kolkatta which would use it for the 1117 mtr long flyover at Salt Lake Rajarhat bye pass aimed at easing heavy vehicular traffic in the area Kolkatta. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Delhi and Banglore Metro Corporation Banglore have also engaged Quippo's pilling rigs. Ref.: Master builder July-08 Tac Tiles Interface FLOR, recently launched ' Ta c Ti l e s ' a n d i n n o v a t i v e installation system for carpet tiles, in India. Tac Tiles is a new adhesive product, which is an eco friendly alternative that simplifies the process of carpet installation. Tac Tiles are 3 x 3 adhesive squares made from a chemically inert polymer, the same material used to create soda bottles. These stickers are affixed to the backing of adjoining carpet tiles, bonding them together to create floating floor. Ref.: Time Journal of Construction and Design Jan 2008, Page 54 Specialty Mall initiates operation of Construction Retail Store: Ishanya has reportedly announced the commencement of home town a new retail concept spread over 1,20,000 sq.ft. The Home Town outlet at Ishanya will apparently provide all the materials required for building and furnishing a house. Ref.: Times Journal of Construction and Design Jan 2008, page 52
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Flexible Concrete Flexible concrete which becomes stronger as it cracks has not only been made but used in the construction of multistory buildings in Japan. Japan as you all know is known is famous for its tea ceremony as also for the devastating Earthquakes. The flexible concrete uses polymer fiber having a thickness of a human hair, which prevents the concrete from cracking. Not only that this concrete can stretch 100 times more than the regular concrete. Ref- Concrete Engineering International Spring 2008 Fenesta unplasticized polyvinyl Chloride (UPVC) window and doors Fenesta UVC windows and doors promise to add comfort and ambicuce to modern office atmosphere. This product has triple sealing system to completely cut out noise and dust and there is no leakage of cold air from inside or hot air from outside. Since these are termite proof, fire resistant, do not fade or discolour even in harsh weather and are strong due to steel reinforcement, the product is markedly superior to other products in the category. Re.: Times Journal of Construction and design, April 2008, Page 64.

Correct Cement: The Indian cement market is obsessed with strength. Ordinary Portland cement grade 53 has the highest initial strength and thus, is perceived as the best product by the market. In the cement plants rated by GRP, grade 53 accounts for 58 percent of the total OPC manufactured. But most construction activities do not need stronger grade cement than OPC 33. In fact, PPC cement prides strength comparable to OPC 43-53 grade and is sufficient for most construction activities. The use of OPC-33, therefore, represents misuse of limestone and waste of energy. Ref.: Time Journal of Construction and Design March 08, page 18. Concrete to Grancrete Grancrete is a novel ceramic material which is twice as strong as concrete. Grancrete is 50% sandy oil, 25% ash and 25% binding material (magnesium oxide and potassium phosphate). Grancrete is fire resistant and can withstand high as well a low temperatures. Grancrete hardness very quickly and can be used for fast pace construction of buildings. Re.: Times Journal of Construction and Design, April 2008, PP-30-31.

CORROSHIELD (Construction fasteners) Corroshield is the fastening solution using welding technology in which shear connector and substrate are used. Shear connector is placed perpendicular to substrate, welding machine introduces current to ignite welding tip. After welding is complete, the ferrule is broken. This is the product of Engineering edge (Singapore) PTE LTD and marketed by ASONS ENTERPRISE, Chennai. Re.: Master builder May-08 For further details readers may refer to website www.corroshield.net

"Theam Concrete Conveyor Belt" Theam Concrete Conveyor Belt when equipped on concrete mixer trucks can place any type of concrete from 2-20cm slump, mortar and aggregates (sand, gravel, stone etc) at the final location with only on man. It is ideal for small / medium job sites where small quantity of concrete are required or in narrow areas where pumps and cranes cannot be used. The conveyor belt is 8 times cheaper than a concrete pump, and maintenance is easy. Re.: Time Journal of Construction and Design, April 2008, Page 58

INDIAN GRANITE FOR BEIJING GAMES

Indian granite industry has hogged the limelight in China contributing significantly for the Beijing Games 2008 for its huge construction programme. Indian granite varieties such as pure black, tan brown, white galaxy, blue from Visakhapatnam and grey from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were extensively used in construction of various facilities. China also imports granite from Brazil and countries in Africa but the export momentum from India would continue till next year. For instance in 2005, China imported 23.89 lakh tonne of marble block valued at around $380 million or Rs. 1700 crore and 20.46lakh tones of granite block worth around $400 million or Rs. 1800 crore and India's share was over ten percent in terms of volume and worth more than Rs. 600 crore. The numbers for this year would be much more, says the industry. China usually imports dimensional block granite stone from India, give value addition and sends finished products to various other countries. China as such has a number of quarries but it still depends on India for colors such as pure black, grey and white varieties.

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Railway Engineering Technical Society

Publications
Woodwork and Carpentry
The book is illustrated with sketches and drawings and explains the finer details of wood working and carpentry trade. There are several thumb rules to guide and instruct the proper method of working and improve the workman ship of artisans. The JE/SE (Works) can coach the carpenters by simple step wise procedure explained for all the details required for constructing and maintaining woodwork. Assistant Engineers and senior officers will find it very handy for conducting Trade tests and other departmental examinations. Table of Contents Chapter-1. Carpentry tools Chapter-2. Wood for carpentry 1. General 2. Hard Woods 3. Soft Wood 4. Manufactured Woods Chapter-3. Wood screws nails 1. General 2.Nails and nailing 3. Scerws and procedure 4.Hinges 5. Tower bolts 6. Aldrops 7. Right angle tees 8. Door closers 9. Sand papers 10.Synthetic glues Chapter-4. Wood work joints 1. Different types of joints 2. Tips for good working 3. Working drawingsa)Cutting and cleaning a shoulder b)T and X Joints c) Cutting the pin d) Cutting Mortise and tenon e)T and X Joints in Planks f) Dovetailed Joints Chapter -5. Doors and Windows 1. General 2. Doors- Frames and Shutters 3. Procedure of Fixing doors 4. Windows 5. Ventilators 6. Fixtures and fittings Chapter-6. Aluminum sliding Windows 1. General 2. Materials and sections 3. Making of frame 4. Making Shutter 5. Wire mesh and Glazing bars Chapter-7. Glass and Glazing 1. Types of glass 2. Guidelines for use of glass 3. Fixing of Glass in wooden frames 4. Fixing of glass in Aluminum or Steel sections Chapter- 8. Sloped Roofs and Ceilings 1. Pitched Roofs 2. Trusses 3. Spacing of Purlins 4. CGI/AC Sheet Roofing 5. False Ceilings- Types of ceilings, Frames, AC sheet or Hessian cloth ceiling, Aluminum frame ceilings Chapter-9. Miscellaneous 1. Timber Rot 2. Lamination Size- 9"X 71/2 , 150 pages(Apprx.) Price- Rs. 80.00

Water Supply, drainage and Plumbing

The book is meant to serve as a guide book with simplified concepts and working procedure explained in steps, profusely illustrated with sketches and diagrams, for skilled artisans and Engineers alike. It has been a deliberate attempt to avoid including complicated theory, reproduction of codes, and any involved mathematical formulae. It covers all the issues which concern the SE or JE/Works in day to day maintenance and construction of PLUMBING SYSTEMS in any colony or township. This book will also be helpful in answering the LDCE, GDCE and AMIE Examination.) Table of Contents Chapter 1- Plumbing tools Chapter 2- Pipes and fittings 1. Introduction, 2. Cast Iron Pipes, fittings, joining procedure 3. Ductile Iron Pipe, fittings, joining procedure 4. Galvanised Iron (GI) Pipes, fittings, joining procedure 5. Steel Pipes, fittings, joining procedure 6. Concrete pipes(PSC, RCC, Non pressure pipes), fittings, joining procedure 7. Asbestos Cement (AC) pipes, fittings, joining procedure 8. Stone ware pipes, fittings, joining procedure 9. Plastic pipes, fittings, joining procedure 10. Common guidelines for laying and fixing pipelines. Chapter 3- Plumbing Fixtures 1. Taps 2. Wash basins and sinks 3. Showers 4. Water closet, 5. Flushing Cisterns 6. Urinals , 7.Different type of valves 8. Traps. 9. Water tanks Chapter 4- Water supply and Distribution 1. Source of water supply 2. Water Requirement/Demand 3. Transmission 4. Treatment 5. distribution 6.Choice of Proper Pipe Matl. 7. Diameter of pipes 8. Storage Reservoirs: 9. Capacity of Pumping 10. Use of Valves 11.Water Pressure in water distribution system 12.Water supply plan 13. Preventive Maintenance of Pipe Lines Chapter 5- House Drainage 1. Principles for Drainage 2. Drain Appurtenances 3. Building Drainage 4. Storm water drainage 5. Drainage systems 6. Septic tanks, Principles of design of septic tanks 7. Maintenance of sewers Chapter 6- Development of subsurface water 1. Ground Water 2. Development of Ground water sources 3. Open wells 4. Drilling or Boring 5. Spacing of wells 6. Hand Pumps 7. Deep tube Wells Testing, Depth, Water level, Verticality, Yield and drawdown 8. Power driven Pumps 9. Water Harvesting Size-9"x71/2"x200(Appx) pages Price- Rs. 90.00

Railway Engineering Technical Society

Publication Masonary and Concrete
The book deals the subject in a very crisp and lucid manner without resorting to high worded theory or mathematics. This will be of great help to all civil engineers, whether in field, planning or construction. The topics are well illustrated with sketches diagrams and pictures. JE/SE(Works) would find it as a very useful companion in supervising the works and framing specifications of works. Table of contents Chapter-1. Tools for Mason Chapter-2. Excavation and Setting out works Chapter-3. Materials 1. Cement 2. Fine aggregates 3. Stone Aggregates 4. Bricks 5. Steel Reinforcement bars 6.Prestressing steel 7. Concrete blocks 8. Floor and wall tiles and slabs9. Paver blocks Chapter-4. Brick and UCR masonry 1. General 2. Mortar 3. Bonds in masonry 4. Half brick walls 5. Scaffolding 6. Brick columns 7. Corbelling 8. Grooves and chases 9. Measure in Seismic zones 10. UCR Masonry Chapter-5. Flooring and tiling 1. Introduction 2. I.P.S. Flooring 3. Tiles and stones Flooring 4.Skirting 5. Grinding and Polishing 6. Paver Blocks Chapter-6. Plastering and Pointing 1. General 2. Finishes of Plaster 3. External Plaster 4. Internal Plaster 5. Cracks in Plaster 6. Pointing Chapter-7. Concrete and R.C.C. 1. Introduction 2. Raw Materials - Cement, fine aggregates, Stone aggregates, Water, Form work, Steel Reinforcement, Admixtures 3. Properties of Wet Concrete- workability, Segregation, bleeding 4. Mixing of Concrete 5. Ready Mixed Concrete 6. Placing of Concrete 7. Ibration of Concrete 8. Curing of Concrete 9. Properties of Hard Concrete 10. Permeability of Concrete 11. Construction joints and cold joints 12. Under water Concrete 13. Guniting / shotcreting 14. Pressure grouting 15. Design Mix Chapter-8. Water Proofing of roofs 1. General 2. RCC Flat roofs 3. Water Closets 4. Bath rooms 5. Junction of parapet 6. Construction Joint Chapter-9. Miscellaneous 1. Chhajjas, Lintels, sunshades, rain breaker 2. Stairs Size - 9"X71/2" (225X176 mm) Pages-160 (Appx.) Price- Rs. 80.00

The RETS, Pune has published 3 books under the Practical Guidebook Series as under, 1. Masonary and Concrete Compiled by Shri A. V. Dasare, Technical Assistant/IRICEN 2. Woodwork and Carpentry- Compiled by Shri Sunil Pophale, Section Engineer/ IRICEN and 3. Plumbing- water Supply and Drainage - Compiled by Shri J. M. Patekari, Chief Tech. Assistant/IRICEN and edited by Shri A.K.Goel, Director/IRICEN and President of RETS. The purpose of writing the books has been to reach the various Artisans and Field Engineers to improve the skills in the respective trades. There is practically no written material directly available on the above subjects giving the details of materials, tools, and good working practices explained in steps which can be easily understood and followed to execute a job with good Engineering practice. The material is largely collected based on detailed discussions with Artisans, contractors and dealers in different materials. Reference has also been made to the printed matter in codes and handbooks wherever required. It is considered that these books shall be of immense help to all Engineers dealing in Construction and Maintenance of Civil structures, not only in spreading the knowledge of good workmanship but also framing practical and workable specifications of works and items executed by contractors. It may be worth considering to make these a standard text book in all Training institutes for Civil Engineers like DETS, ZETS and IRICEN etc. A beginning in this direction has already been made at IRICEN. These will be available from the office of Secretary, RETS C/O IRICEN, Pune. Due to constraints of funds only limited copies have been printed. You are requested to place demand for your requirements of copies, accompanied with cost of the books in any acceptable mode of payment like cash, M.O., D.D. etc. E-payment options will be made available shortly.