ICEEMS14 - Proceedings PDF

ICEEMS 14
Proceedings of the
International Conference on
Energy, Environment, Materials, and Safety
School of Engineering
Cochin University of Science and Technology
December 10-12, 2014.
Editors
Dr. Biju N.
Dr. James Varghese
Dr. Sahoo D. K.
Dr. Tide P. S.
Supported by
Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme
(TEQIP Phase-II)
ICEEMS14
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
Proceedings of the
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, MATERIALS AND
SAFETY (ICEEMS 14)
December 10-12, 2014.
ISBN: 978 93 80095 58 5
Disclaimer
The authors are solely responsible for the contents/claims of the
papers complied in this volume. The Publishers/Editors do not take
any responsibility for the same in any manner.
Published by
The Directorate of Public Relations & Publications
for the School of Engineering,
Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin 22.
ADVISORY BOARD
Prof. Calin-Cristian Cormos, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania
Prof. (Emeritus) Chem Nayar, Curtin University, Australia
Prof. Dominic Foo, University of Nottingham, Malaysia
Prof. Faisal Khan, Memorial University, St. Johns, Canada
Prof. John P. Tharakan, Howard University, USA
Prof. Lalit Goel, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Dr. Muralee Thummarukudy, United Nations Environment Programme
Prof. P. Paramasivam, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Prof. (Emeritus) Babu T. Jose, CUSAT, India
Prof. Bikash Mohanty, IIT Roorkee, India
Prof. D. Thukaram, IISc. Bangalore, India
Prof. Krishnan Balasubramaniam, IIT Madras, India
Prof. Santanu Bandyopadhyay, IIT Bombay, India
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Conference Chair: Prof. G. Madhu, Principal, School of Engineering
Organising Secretary: Dr. James Varghese, Division of ME
Joint Organising Secretaries:
Prof. C. A. Babu, Division of EEE
Prof. D. K. Sahoo, Division of SE
Mr. Arunkumar T, Division of CE
Treasurer: Prof. M. N. Vinodkumar, Division of SE
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
Chairman: Prof. Sahoo D. K.
Dr. Babu C. A.
Dr. Beena K. S.
Dr. Biju N.
Dr. George Mathew
Dr. Glory Joseph
Dr. Jayadas N. H.
Dr. Job Thomas
Mrs. Latha P. G.
Mr. Nirmal Job
Dr. M. R. Radhakrishna Panicker
Dr. Renjith V. R.
Dr. Renu Pawels
Dr. Subha V.
Dr. Tide P. S.
Dr. Vinodkumar M. N.
Dr. Dhannia T.
PROGRAMME COMMITTEE
Chairman: Dr. George Mathew
Dr. Asha Elizabeth Daniel
Dr. Babu C. A.
Dr. Deepa G. Nair
Mr. Joseph Alexander
Mr. Joshy P. J.
Mr. Gireesh Kumaran Thampi B. S.
Dr. Renjith V. R.
PUBLICITY COMMITTEE
Chairman: Prof. Sobha Cyrus
Dr. Jacob Elias
Mrs. Latha P. G.
Dr. Usha Nair
HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE
Chairman: Dr. Renu Pawels
Dr. Bindu C. S.
Dr. Abdul Rahman
Mrs. Lailabhai T. S.
RECEPTION COMMITTEE
Chairman: Dr. Biju N.
Mr. Ramadass S.
Dr. Usha Nair
Mrs. Sheena K. M.
Dr. Ajithkumar G.
Dr. Tide P. S.
Mr. Franklin R. John
Mr. Vipin A. M.
Mr. Emil Mathews
Mr. Sajith T. A.
Ms. Tintu Joy
Ms. Lekshmi M. S.
CULTURAL PROGRAM COMMITTEE

Chairman: Dr. M. R. Radhakrishna Panicker
Dr. V. N. Narayanan Namboothiri
Dr. Asha Elizabeth Daniel
ACCOMODATION COMMITTEE
Chairman: Dr. Renjith V. R.
Mr. Eldho Jacob Joy
Mr. Vipin A. M.
CONTRIBUTED REVIEWERS
Ajithkumar G.
Anand Puthirath
Anandraj Hariharan
Babu C. A.
Beena K. S.
Bhasi A. B.
Biju N.
Bindu Prakash
Deepa Balakrishnan S.
Deepa G. Nair
Gireesh Kumaran Thampi B. S.
Glory Joseph
Jacob Elias
Jagadanand G.
James Varghese
Jayanand B.
Jayadas N. H.
Job Thomas
Joshy P. J.
Lakshmikutty Amma B.
Latha P. G.
Lity Alen Varghese
Mansoor Ahammed M.
Mathew M. D.
Narayanan Namboothiri V. N.
Radhakrishna Panicker M. R.
Renu Pawels
Sahoo D. K.
Sankaranarayanan Nair K. P.
Santhosh Kumar M. C.
Shaji K.
Soosan J. Panicker
Tide P. S.
Vinodkumar M. N.
PREFACE
Energy security, economic growth, and environment protection are

the national energy policy drivers of any country. The increased
production and consumption in energy sector lead to higher levels
of pollution and eventually climate change, with possible disastrous
consequences. At the same time, energy need to be made available
at an acceptable cost in order to avoid negative impacts on economic
growth. Hence, it is high time to address the important aspects of
energy and environment with a holistic approach. Research on
materials is expected to play a prominent role in the development of
sustainable technologies for energy conversion, storage and savings.
ICEEMS14 offers a common platform to share and discuss the
emerging green technologies and related safety issues.
Our thanks goes to the authors who accepted to travel from different
parts of the world and meet at CUSAT to present and share their
scientific contributions. We are also thankful to all the reviewers and
the members of the scientific committee who contributed to the quality
of the proceedings. Organizing committee is also grateful to all the
sponsors who greatly helped for this fruitful event.
Dr. James Varghese

Organizing Secretary
CONTENTS
Power Quality
1.
Critical Bus Identification using ANN and Optimal

Placement of SVC using PSO for Voltage Stability
Enhancement in Power Systems
Thakku Peter, Sajith R. P, Jasmy Paul
2.
Reactive Power Compensation of an Isolated

WindDiesel Hybrid Power System with a
Dynamic Load
Sreedevi P. R, Aparna Thampi
3.
Simulation of Closed Loop Control of BLDC Motor

Drive fed by Canonical Switching Cell Converter
with Improved Power Quality
13
Anu Narayanan, Ginnes K John
4.
Steady State Mathematical Model for Performance

Evaluation of Passive Feed Direct Methanol Fuel Cell
21
Naveen Shrivastava, Rajkumar Chadge,

Sanjeev Bankar, Sharad Chaudhari
5.
An Eleven Level Inverter with Reduced Filter Size
27
Siji Chacko, Jaimol Thomas
6.
Smart Grid Evolution Trajectories and Emerging

Trends in Techno-Scientific Literature
33
Hiran H Lathabai, Thara Prabhakaran,

Manoj Changat
7.
PSO Based Operating Cost Minimization of IEEE 14

Bus System considering Stability
Vipin Das P, Emil Ninan Skariah, Tibin Joseph,
Sasidharan Sreedharan, Chittesh V. C,
Sebin Joseph, Vishnu J.
43
8.
High Power Factor Bridgeless Buck Converter with

Average Current Mode Control
53
Anju Elza Koshy, Filmy Francis
9.
Voltage Sag Compensation using Dynamic Voltage

Restorer with Super Capacitor
61
Preethi Sebastian, Usha Nair
Energy Efficiency
10.
Economical Analysis of Energy Star Labeled

Products with Varying Operating Parameters
67
Manu M. John, James Varghese
11.
Battery Super-Capacitor Combination in PV

Powered Zeta Converter Fed BLDC Drive
75
Rosemin Parackal, Rinu Alice Koshy
12.
Fabrication of Graphene Super-capacitors with

High Rated Voltage using Ionic Liquid as Electrolyte
81
S. Suraj, A. J. Mejo, M. Divya,

M. N. Muralidharan, A. Seema
13.
Performance Evaluation of an Absorption

Airconditioning System operated by Engine Exhaust
87
Dhayananth S, Kumaran S, Madanlal D R, Suresh M.
14.
Energy Efficiency of Lecture Halls in Educational

Institutions - A Modeling Study
93
Naveen Tiwari, Sudhir Misra
15.
Performance Improvement of Photovoltaic Systems

by Extracting Thermal Energy - An Experimental
99
StudySajith K. G, Muraleedharan C.
Industrial Safety
16.
Risk Analysis of Methane and Ethane Gas Release

at different Conditions using Arial Location of
Hazardous Atmospheres
Shashank Tiwari, Tejeswi Ramprasad, Diptendu Das
107
17.
Analysis of work factors influencing High Frequency

Low Severity Work injuries among welders for Safety
Interventions
113
R Mahesa Rengaraj, M. N. Vinodkumar
18.
Study of Role of Critical Safety Management

Practices in Construction Safety
119
Neethu Vinod, Alice Mathai, M. N. Vinodkumar
19.
Assessment and Development of Control Strategy to

Prevent Exposure from Radioactive Waste in Health
Care Sectors in India
125
Sreejesh. K, Bikram Singh, Shyam Prakash
20.
Analysis of Causes and Modes of Failures of LPG

Refueling Station using Fuzzy Based FMEA
133
Rajakarunakaran. S, Maniram Kumar. A,

Arumuga Prabhu. V
21.
Lightning Risk Assessment and Protection of

Structures Housing Explosive Materials
139
Shyam Prakash, Sreejesh. K, Bikram Singh
22.
Investigations on the Influence of Age, Gender and

Driving Experience on Risky Driving Behaviors of
two Wheeler Riders in Kerala
147
Thajudeen Hassan, M. N. Vinodkumar
Structural Engineering
23.
Comparison in Strength of Laterally Unsupported

Beams by Limit State Method and Working Stress
Method
153
Dileep Kumar P. G, Ammad K. K.
24.
A Study on the Compression Dispersion Behaviour

of Isolated Struts
Biju P. Varghese, D. K. Sahoo
161
25.
Investigation on the Influence of Replacement

Percentage of GGBS on the Seismic Performance
of RC Beam-Columns
167
Susan Abraham, Joanna P. S.
26.
Partial Replacement of Steel Reinforcement with

Bamboo and Arecanut Wood in RC Beams
175
Rinu Tenison, Rani Tenison, Aryamol Ravindran,

Rajesh R, Sruthi Krishnan V.
27.
Strut Efficiency in Deep Beams under the Effect of

Vertical and Horizontal Stirrups at Various Strut
Angles - A Numerical Study
181
Praveen Mathew, Dipak Kumar Sahoo, Glory Joseph
Bio/Nano Materials
28.
Low Temperature Electrochemical Fabrication of

Zn-O Nano Rod Array Electrodes for Flexible Solar
Cells
189
Selvarani. K, R. Prasanth
29.
Experimental Investigation of Heat Transfer and

Pressure Drop Characteristics of Alumina Nanofluid
in Tubular Flow with Ring Sector Inserts
197
Venkitaraj K. P, Praveen B.
30.
Viscosity of Vegetable Oil Biodiesel: Regression

Analysis
Narayan Gaonkar, R. G. Vaidya
203
31
Estimation of Calorific Value and Proximate Analysis

Parameters of some Abundantly Available Biomass
Species in Kashmir Region and Development of a
Correlation for Higher Heating Value in terms of
Proximate Analysis
209
Mushtaq Ahmad Rather, Parveena Bano,

Sohail Rasool Lone, Qaiser Hajam, Pankaj Pradhan
32.
Thermophysical Property Analysis of TiO2 PVA

Nanofluid
Remya K, Renjanadevi B.
219
33.
Application of Different Isotherm Models for

Equilibrium Sorption Studies of Crystal Violet onto
Functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes
225
Sabna V, Santosh G. Thampi, S Chandrakaran
34.
Impact of the TiO2 Nanotube Geometry on

Electrochemical Energy Storage
235
C. Clement Raj, R. Prasanth
35.
Synthesis of C Doped TiO2/CdS Core-Shell

Nanoparticles using Microemulsion Method for
Visible Light Photocatalytic Degradation of Dye
243
Atul B. Lavand, Yuvraj S. Malghe, Suraj H. Singh
36.
The Inhibitive Effect of Caesalpinia Sappan Extract

on Mild Steel Corrosion in Aqueous Media
253
S. M. A. Shibli, L. Suji, M.S. Suma, K. S. Chinchu,

P. Jineesh, Rubina Basheer
37.
Selection of the Material for Welded Disc Bellows

for FBR Applications in Low and High Fluence
Environment
263
S. C. S. P. Kumar Krovvidi, E. Ramesh, R. Vijayashree,

B. Anandapadmanaban, G. Srinivasan
38.
Effective and Robust Impregnated and Strewn

Polystyrene-Supported Floating Titanium Dioxide
Photocatalysts: Preparation, Characterization and
Comparison
275
Seema Singh, Pramod Kumar Singh, Hari Mahalingam
39.
Synthesis and Characterization of Bioactive Silver

Nano Particles using Uneconomic Weeds
281
Surega R, Anita B, Gunasekaran K, Ramakrishnan S.
Environmental Management, Pollution and Control

40.
Study on the Treatment and Reuse of Agricultural

Waste Fibres
Beena K.S, Meril George
287
41.
Geoenvironmental Characteristics of Jarofix Mixed Soil
293
Anu Raj, Beena K.S, Santhosh G, Santhosh K. N.
42.
Biodegradation of Phenols and Sulphides from

Refinery Effluent using Photobioreactor
299
Jitha G, Madhu G.
43.
Adsorption of Arsenic on Chemically (Mg Cl2)

Activated Carbon derived from Peltophorum
Pterocarpum
305
Indrale Divyarani, Shashikanth R. Mise
44.
NOx Abatement by Discharge Plasma: Effect of

Adsorbents in Cascade
315
Pooja Talapatra, Vijetha Reddy, Sanjana Kerketta,

Anusuya Bhattacharyya, B. S. Rajanikanth
45.
Influence of Settling Time on Aerobic Granulation

process for the Treatment of Wastewater
327
B. K. Bindhu, G. Madhu
46.
La1-xAxCoO3 (A= Sr, Ce; x=0, 0.2) Perovskite

Based Catalysts for Abating Automotive CO Emission
333
Femina Patel, Sanjay Patel
47.
Eco-Restoration of Coal Mine Spoil Through an

Integrated Biotechnological Approach
339
Vipin Kumar, Avantika Chandra
48.
Studies on the Treatment of Pulp and Paper Mill

Wastewater using Electrocoagulation Process
345
C.B Shiyayogimath, S. Mohammedayub,

P.B. Bhagawati
49.
Study of Merits and Demerits of Existing Toilet Systems 353

in Indian Trains and Proposal of a New Approach
Krishnappa G. B, Pavan R. S.
50.
Artificial Neural Network Approach for the Adsorption

of Chromium (VI) Ions from its Aqueous Solution by
Riverbed Sand
B. Kavitha, D. Sarala Thambavani
359
51.
Regulatory Framework in Petroleum Industry

Regarding Environment Sustainability
365
Mary Vimochana
52.
Adaptation Measures to Environmental Regulatory

Compliance in Small and Medium Enterprises A Study to Combat Operational Issues
371
A. B. Bhasi, P. S. Tide, P. V. Shouri
53.
Heavy Metals and PAHs Characteristics of the

Ashes from Unchahar Thermal Power Plant
379
S. K. Verma, L. C. Ram, S. K. Maiti, R. E. Masto
54.
Electrochemical Treatment of Sugar Industry

Wastewater
387
Vandana Gupta, Bidyut Mazumdar, Neela Achaya
55.
Microbial Fuel Cell Technology for Wastewater

Treatment and Electricity Production
395
Sanju Sreedharan, Renu Pawels
56.
Catalytic Treatment of Dye Wastewater
401
Neela Acharya, P. K. Chaudhari, Vandana Gupta
Energy System Modeling

57.
Numerical Investigation of Injector Geometries on

Jet in Cross-flow at High Speed
409
Anand Raj Hariharan, Tide P. S, Bhasi A. B.
58.
Prediction of Turbulence Characteristics of Coaxial

Dual Nozzle Flows
415
Bindu M. D, Karun V. Gopal, Tide P. S.
59.
Numerical Investigation of Flow Characteristics of

Subsonic Jets from Round & Beveled Nozzles
423
Sandhya M, Tide P. S.
60.
Thermodynamic Modeling of a Single-Effect Vapour

Absorption System for a Constant Cooling Load
Jayadeep Kumar J, James Varghese
431
61.
An Investigation on Fluid Flow Oscillations for Flow

past a Square Cylinder at various Reynolds Numbers
443
Sunil A. S, Tide P.S.
62.
Design of CD Nozzle and its CFD Analysis
451
Kens Babu, Navaneeth Kishan, Rohith C,

Subramanian G, Anand Raj Hariharan
63.
Numerical Investigation on the Effect of Secondary

Gas Injection In Dual Bell Nozzle Flow Transition
459
Aswith R.Shenoy, J. C. Pisharady, Khalid Rashid, Tide P.S.
64.
Estimation of Performance of Turbulence Models in

471
Imperfectly Expanded Jets from a Convergent Divergent
Nozzle
Mubarak A. K, Jaison K. A, Tide P. S.
65.
Health Assessment of Gas Turbine Inlet Air Filter

System Using Artificial Neural Network Model
477
Shaiju M. R, Arun P, S. Jayaraj
66.
Modelling and Simulation of Two-Component Lean

Fuel/Air Flames
483
B. Manickam, S. P. R. Muppala, F. Dinkelack, S. Dembele
Hybrid/Alternate Energy System

67.
An Advanced Grid Connected Photovoltaic System

with Modular Structure
Arya Sasi, Jasmy Paul
493
68.
Adaptive MPPT Using Sliding Mode Control for

Wind Power Plant
499
Raji Reghunathan, Ancy Sara Varghese
69.
PSO based Optimal Placement and Setting of Fuel

Cell in Wind Integrated Power System for Maximizing
Loadability
Sebin Joseph, Emil Ninan Skariah, Tibin Joseph,
Sasidharan Sreedharan, Chittesh V. C, Vipin Das P, Vishnu J.
507
70.
Five Level Cascaded H Bridge Multilevel Converter

for Photovoltaic Application
517
Deepa Sankar, C. A. Babu
71.
Experimental Study of Especially Designed Heat

Exchanger fitted with Flat Reflectors used in Hybrid
Solar Water System
523
V. N. Palaskar, S. P. Deshmukh
72.
Determination of River Current Energy Density A Statistical Approach
529
James Varghese, Bony John
73
Prospect of Renewable Energy in India: An analysis

from Climate Change Perspective
537
Meenakshi Sharma, D. Chattopadhyay
Green Building Technology and Eco Friendly Materials

74.
Hybrid Fibre Reinforced Concrete (HFRC) An

Innovative Construction Material
545
Shashi Kumara S. R, Venkatesh Babu D. L.
75.
Utilization of Indian Red Mud and Fly Ash with

Combustible Additives to prepare Foam Bricks
551
K. K. Singh, Vinay K. Singh, T. R. Mankhand, A. K. Mandal
76.
Experimental Investigation on Partial Replacement

of Fine Aggregate with Cinder in Concrete
557
P. S. Raghuprasad
77.
Strength Behaviour of Blended Cement and OPC

Composites in Marine Enviornment
563
Satish R, P. S. Raghuprasad, Ravikiran R, Abhishek N.
78.
Analysis of Strength Behaviour of Lime Treated Red

Earth and Mine Tailings Mixtures Using X-Ray
Diffraction and SEM Techniques
Ramesh H. N, Krishnaiah A. J.
571
79
Vertical Urban Farming: A Solution for Sustainable

Indian Cities
579
A. Madhumathi, Shiren Naushaba, S. Vignesh
Mechanical Properties of Materials

80.
Mechanical properties of Bio-Based Acrylated

Epoxidized Castor oil Nanocomposites
593
Nagarjuna Reddy Paluvai, Smita Mohanty, Sanjay K. Nayak
81.
An Investigation on Mechanical Strength and Dynamic

Stability of an Ornithopter Manufactured Using ABS
Plastic By FDM Technology
599
Manoj Kumar M, Antony J K, Rakesh V Babu, Jithu K. S,

Milosh C. Chinnan, Anand T.R, Muhammed Nesleel M. A.
82.
Comparative Analysis of Flexure Springs for a Stirling

Cryocooler
605
Rajesh V. R, Biju T. Kuzhiveli
83.
Estimation of Distortions and Residual Stresses in

Welded Joints
613
Jees Varghese, C. G. Nandakumar
84.
Material Property Evaluation of Carbon Fibre

Reinforced Plastic from Tone Burst Eddy Current
Thermography Data using Inversion Method
619
Suni Mathai, Biju N, Krishnan Balasubramaniam
85.
Feasibility Study on Implementing Shock Response

Spectrum in a Finite Element Software
627
Anjana Krishnan, Ajimon Thomas, Tom George
86.
Analysis of Mechanical Properties of Prosopis

Juliflora Composite Treated with Sodium Hydroxide
635
Lakshmanan V, Gopal P, SivaKumar E.
87.
Springback Analysis of L-Sectioned bar of Linear

Work-Hardening Materials under Torsional Loading
J. P. Dwivedi, V. P. Singh, Radha Krishna Lal,
Vikas Kumar Choubey, S. K. Srivastava
641
Proceedings of the International Conference on

Energy, Environment, Materials and Safety (ICEEMS14)
December 10-12, 2014, CUSAT, Kochi, India, 1- 6
Critical Bus Identification using ANN and Optimal

Placement Of SVC Using PSO for Voltage Stability
Enhancement in Power Systems
Thakku Peter1, Sajith R P2, Jasmy Paul3
1
M-Tech Scholar, 2, 3 Assistant Professor

Adi Shankara College of Engineering & Technology
Kalady, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
Voltage stability is a major concern in operations and planning of power
systems. The main factor causing instability is the inability of the power system to
meet the demand for reactive power. The system operator must be provided with a
fast and accurate method to predict the voltage stability margin, so as to initiate the
control actions to keep the system stable and to prevent voltage collapse.. The paper
presents critical bus identification of a system during voltage instability condition,
using an index based Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Optimal Placement of
Static Var Compensator (SVC) using Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) for
voltage stability enhancement. L-index was identified as an efficient measure to
assess voltage instability. Using the model of IEEE-14 bus system, L-index for 14
buses are predicted using ANN. Most critical buses of the system are identified using
this prediction. The identified critical buses are chosen as the position for placement
of FACTS devices. SVC is selected as the FACTS device for voltage stability
enhancement. Particle Swarm Optimisation method is used for Optimal Placement
of SVC in the system with L-index minimisation as the objective function. The results
show that the ANN technique can be effectively used to find the critical buses of a
system, to initiate control actions. PSO Optimal Placement of SVC increased the
voltage profile of the buses, minimising L-index and reduced the real and reactive
power losses of the system
Thakku Peter. E-mail: thakkupeter@gmail.com
Critical Bus Identification Using Ann and Optimal Placement Of Svc Using PSO
INTRODUCTION
An electric power system is a network of electrical components used to
supply, transmit and use power. As power system is operated under stressed
conditions the ability to maintain voltage stability becomes a growing concern. The
development and use of accurate methods to predict the voltage stability is crucial in
preventing such conditions and therefore of special interest in the field of power
system protection and planning. If the operator has better knowledge of the stress on
the major bus, the power correction methods can be implemented easily and fastly.
Placement of FACTS (Flexible AC Transmission Systems) devices in suitable
location can maintain bus voltages in desired level and can improve voltage stability
margins. The prediction, identification and avoidance of voltage instability play a
significant role in power system planning and operation.
PV curves, QV curves P. Kundur (1994), Modal analysis technique B.Gao
et al. (1992) are the conventional methods used for Voltage stability assessment.
Index based voltage stability assessment methods include different indices which
measures the closeness to voltage collapse point ,Claudio A. Canizares et
al.(1996). Artificial Intelligence techniques include Decision tree technique, Fuzzy
networks and Artificial Neural Network O.P. Rahib (2011) which are the current
research trends in this field. Genetic Algorithms, S.K. Dheebika & Dr.R.Kalaivani
(2014), Harmony Search Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimisation, Sunil Joseph
et al. (2013) are widely used for optimal placement of FACTS devices to improve
the voltage profile of a bus system.
CRITICAL BUS IDENTIFICATION USING

ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS (ANN)
The proposed solution method is tested on an IEEE 14 bus test system. The network
consists of 5 generators, of which one is slack and there are 16 lines. Bus 1 is the
slack bus, 2 is a PV bus, Bus 3, 6 and 8 are synchronous compensator buses. Loads
were modelled as constant power loads (PQ load) and were solved by using Newton
Raphson Power flow method. The program was coded in MATLAB.
L- index indicates how far the load buses are from their voltage stability
limits and hence identifies the critical buses, O.P. Rahibet al. (2011). The index
gives the distance of the bus to the voltage stability limit. The mathematical
formulation of the Voltage Stability L index is shown in Equ . (1).
L = 4 (V0V L - V L2) / V02
(1)
Proceedings of ICEEMS14
December 10-12, 2014, CUSAT, Kochi, India.
Where, V0 is the Thevenin equivalent no load voltage at the node and VL is load
voltage. In order to maintain a stability of voltage condition in the system network,
the value of L for any load bus must be kept less than 1.0. If the value of L evaluated
at load bus approaches 1.0 the voltage is referred as collapse conditions. This index
will be used in the voltage stability analysis caused by the heavy loadings. It will be
assigned as the target output of the ANN.
ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS
The ANN is a functional imitation of simplified model of the biological
neurons and their goal is to reproduce intelligent data evaluation by using simple,
distributed and robust processing units called artificial neurons. A neuron is the
fundamental building block of nervous system that performs computational and
communication function. Neural network Architecture is shown in Fig.1, O.P.
Rahibet al. (2011).
Fig.1: Neural Network Architecture

By using the heavily loaded condition of the 14th bus system calculated the
L-index of 14 buses. The load of the 14th bus is increased 50% at each step.
According to the load increase system enters a voltage instability condition. L-index
of 14 buses is calculated by which we can find the most vulnerable buses of the
system. Artificial neural network is trained with 4 inputs and 14 outputs i.e. inputs
are Voltage, Phase angle, Active Power and Reactive Power of the heavily loaded
14th bus and outputs are the L-index of the 14 buses of the system. No variations
are there in the generator buses for a load increase. So L-index of buses 1, 2, 3, 6, 8
are not changed. Buses 4, 5, 9 and 14 are identified as the most critical buses.
OPTIMAL PLACEMENT OF SVC USING

PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMISATION (PSO)
Particle Swarm Optimisation is an optimization tool and a population based
search procedure in which individuals called particles change their position with
time J. Tibinet al.(2011). The solution to an optimization problem is found out
from a solution space with a population based search in which the particles change
their positions with time, Sunil Joseph P & C.Dinesh Balaji (2013).
OBJECTIVE FUNCTIONS AND CONSTRAINTS

Identified critical buses in the system 4, 5, 9 and 14 are taking as the position of
Static Var Compensators. The goal of voltage stability improvement under
contingency condition is to minimize the reactive power losses and voltage deviation
by optimal positioning of SVC and its corresponding parameter.
Objective Function
..(2)
subject to the constraints
1. Limit of Bus Voltages
.. (3)
2.
Power Flow Limits
3.
Generated Reactive Power Limits
......... (4)
.(5)
RESULT ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS

PSO IMPLEMETED FOR HEAVILY LOADED CONDITIONS
Newton Raphson power flow have been done using PSAT with 14th bus heavily
loaded. Particle Swarm Optimisation program is done with L-index minimisation as
the objective functions.
RESULT AFTER OPTIMISATION
svcloc = 9
svcvolt = 1.0624
Fig.2 shows the comparison of Bus Voltages before and after placing SVC
at bus 9. From Fig.2 we can infer that the voltage profile is increased when SVC is
placed at bus 9 as given by optimisation. Comparison of L-index before and after
placing SVC at bus 9 is shown in Fig 3.
Fig 2. Comparison of Bus Voltages after and before SVC placement at bus 9.
Fig 3: Comparison of L-index before and after placing SVC at bus 9
Table 1: Comparison of L-index after and before SVC placement at bus 9

Parameters
Real
power[p.u.]
Reactive
power [p.u.]
Bus 14
heavily
loaded
SVC at bus
9
SVC at
bus 14
SVC at
bus 4
SVC at
bus 5
0.41857
0.403072
0.403019
0.4077
0.41270
1.42123
1.34418
1.35041
1.3712
1.3752
Results shows that the optimal placement of SVC at bus 9 improved the bus
voltage profile are more compared to SVC placement at other critical buses. So
voltage instability condition is cleared. Table 2 shows that the real and reactive
power losses are minimum when SVC is placed at bus 9.
CONCLUSIONS
The result seemed to be quite promising when tested on IEEE 14-bus system and
can be used in a practical system to find the optimal location of SVC's for voltage
stability enhancement.
1. Neural network computation of L-index of IEEE-14 bus system is done and
the most critical buses in a system can be identified using ANN by training
it with the previous data.
2. PSO is easy to implement and is able to find the optimal solution with
regard to global best position and reference voltage of SVC.
REFERENCES
B.Gao, G.K.Morrison and P.Kundur, Voltage stability evaluation using modal
analysis, IEEE Trans.on Power System, Nov. 1992, vol. 7,no. 4, pp.1529-1542,.
Claudio A.Canizares Antonio C.Z. de Souza and Victor H.Quintana, Comparison
of performance indices for detection of proximity to voltage collapse IEEE Trans.
on Power System, Aug. 1996, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 1441-1450.
J. Tibin, X. Sini, S. Chitra, V.I. Cherian and Sasidharan Sreedharan, PSO Based
Optimal Placement and Setting of FACTS Devices for Improving the Performance
of Power Distribution System ", International Journal of Power Systems and
Integrated Circuits, Vol. 1, Special Issue, December 2011 60ISSN 2250 1088 2011
Bonfring
O.P. Rahib, Amit Kr Yadavb, Hasmat Malika, Abdul Azeemb, Bhupesh Krb,
Power System Voltage Stability Assessment through Artificial Neural Network"
International Conference on Communication Technology and System Design 2011
P. Kundur, Power System Stability and Control. New York: McGraw- Hill, 1994.
S.K.Dheebika & Dr.R.Kalaivani Enhancement of Voltage Stability by SVC and
TCSC Using Genetic Algorithm " IEEE International Conference on Innovations in
Engineering and Technology (ICIET14)
Sunil Joseph P.,C.Dinesh Balaji Transmission Loss Minimization Using
Optimization Technique Based On PSO",IOSR Journal of Electrical and Electronics
Engineering (IOSR-JEEE) e-ISSN: 2278-1676,p-ISSN: 2320-3331, Volume 6, Issue
1 (May. - Jun. 2013), PP 01-05
6

Reactive Power Compensation of an Isolated Wind

Diesel Hybrid Power System with a Dynamic Load
Sreedevi P.R1, Aparna Thampi2
1
M.Tech student,2Assistant Professor

Dept. of Electrical and Electronics
Saintgits College of Engineering
Kerala,India
ABSTRACT
This paper presents the automatic reactive power compensation of a hybrid
system formed from the combination of wind-diesel energy sources. Wind have
induction generator to generate electricity and most of the loads are inductive in
nature both these requires reactive power for proper operation. To capture the
dynamic performance of a system, dynamic load modeling is done. The load
considered in this case is an induction motor. The synchronous generator used by
the diesel generating system partially supplies the reactive power needed by the
system. The mismatch between generation and consumption of reactive power
causes voltage fluctuations at generator terminals, so a STATCOM is used to supply
the necessary reactive power. Reactive power flow balance equations are used for
the mathematical modeling of the system.
INTRODUCTION
Wind energy conversion system have induction generator(IG) to generate
electricity, which require reactive power for its operation. The performance of an IG
is poor in terms of voltage regulation this decreases both the power factor and
efficiency of the IG. The power factor, voltage regulation, and efficiency can be
improved by the use of permanent magnet induction generator(PMIG). The
modeling of PMIG is given by P. Sharma et al (2011) and is considered in this paper.
Most of the loads are also inductive in nature and load modelling is important for
power system dynamic analysis since power system variations affect the load and
1
Sreedevi P.R. E-mail: sreesree37@gmail.com
Reactive power compensation of
load variations affects the power system. A load model is a mathematical

representation of real and reactive power changes to power system voltage and
frequency changes explained by Tania et al (2011). The synchronous generator used
in hybrid system for generating power through diesel system is supplying reactive
power to the system partially. The mismatch between generation and consumption
of reactive power causes voltage fluctuations at generator terminal which reduces
the stability and quality of the supply explained by R.C Bansal (2006). Therefore, a
source of reactive power is required to fulfill this demand. The variable reactive
power needed by the system is provided by a static synchronous compensator
(STATCOM) explained by P. Sharma et al (2010,2013).
MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF HYBRID POWER SYSTEM

The reactive power balance equation of the system is
+
(1)
Due to load reactive power disturbance, the system voltage may change which
results in an incremental change in reactive power of other components. The net
reactive power surplus will change the system bus voltage which will govern by the
following transfer function equation
(S) +
Under transient condition,
(S) -
(S) -
(S)]
(2)
is given by
(3)
For small perturbation, above equation can be written as

=
(4)
For variable input wind power, the term

is not constant. The change in reactive
power absorbed, in terms of generator terminal voltage, slip, and generator
parameters can be written as
(s) =
(s) +
V(s)
(5)
Where
=8
(6)
=- [
+ }]
(7)
(8)
The reactive power injection to the system bus by the STATCOM has the form
=
VB cos
B-
(9)
The flow of reactive power depends upon the variables V and , and therefore, for
small perturbation, the linearized STATCOM equation can be
(s) +
(s) =
V(s)
(10)
Where
=
VB sin
(11)
=-
B cos
(12)
An induction motors reactive power equation is,

(13)
Small reactive power change from steady state value is,
Transfer function of reactive power change by changing the supply voltage is,
(14)
Table 1 Values of Constants/Parameters of Hybrid System

System Parameters
Values(p.u.)
SG
Reactive power
Voltage of internal armature
Internal armature electromotive force
(degree)
PMIG
Real power
0.2
1.1136
0.9603
21.05
0.6
9
Slip
STATCOM
Main time constant
Transport lag
Average dead time of zero crossings
-4
10 - 50
0.2 - 0.3
1.67
Fig.1. Transfer function block diagram of the wind-diesel hybrid power

system
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The simulations of the hybrid system have been carried out and the dynamic
performance is presented in this section. The proportional and integral gains
and
of the STATCOM were optimized using Integral Square Error technique.
(a)
10
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Fig.2.Transient response of the wind-diesel systems feeding an induction motor with step
increase in input wind power
11
CONCLUSIONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Terminal voltage variation of the system remains at a constant non zero value
when STATCOM is not used and this variation reduces to zero within a time
limit of .01 sec
STATCOM effectively stabilizes the oscillations, caused by disturbances in
load reactive power change and in input wind power.
The change in input wind power causes change in slip, therefore increase in
input wind power increases the reactive power absorption by PMIG which
results in more deviations in
and hence results more deviations in
terminal voltage.
During the transient condition reactive power requirement of the entire system
is met by both STATCOM and SG.
Reactive power requirement of the system during the steady state condition is
met by STATCOM alone.
REFERENCES
P. Sharma, T. S. Bhatti, and K. S. S. Ramakrishna,(2011) Study of an isolated
winddiesel hybrid power system with STATCOM by incorporating a new
mathematical model of PMIG, Eur. Trans. Elect. Power, DOI: 10.1002/etep.566
P. Sharma1, N. Kumar Saxena2, K. S. S. Ramakrishna3, and T. S. Bhatti (2010)
Reactive
Power Compensation of Isolated Wind-Diesel Hybrid Power Systems
with STATCOM and SVC International Journal on Electrical Engineering and
Informatics - Volume 2.
Pawan Sharma and T. S. Bhatti Performance Investigation of Isolated WindDiesel
Hybrid Power Systems With WECS Having PMIG IEEE trans. on industrial
electronics, vol. 60, no. 4, April 2013
R. C. Bansal,(2006) Automatic reactive power control of isolated winddiesel
hybrid power systems, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 11161126.
Tania Parveen Composite load model decomposition induction motor contribution
Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy
12

Simulation of Closed Loop Control of BLDC Motor

Drive Fed by Canonical Switching Cell Converter with
Improved Power Quality
Anu Narayanan1, Ginnes K John2
1
PG Scholar, 2Assistant Professor

Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology
Kochi- 682 039, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
The application of BLDC motor is increasing in industrial automation and
household appliances because of its high efficiency, ease of control, lower
maintenance, and increased life span. The conventional BLDC drive system has
power quality problems. Many active power factor correction methods are available
from which an optimal power factor correction technique, namely, canonical
switching cell converter, is implemented here. The motor speed is controlled by
controlling the DC link voltage. The closed loop control of the motor is made
possible with PI controller. Simulation of the proposed system is done in PSIM. It is
observed that, nearly unity power factor is achieved at the input ac mains and THD
of the input current is obtained as 1.67% which is as per the IEC 61000-3-2.
INTRODUCTION
As the need for clean and green energy is increasing, researchers have devoted
themselves in developing new techniques to increase the energy efficiency and
improve the power quality of electronic and electromechanical equipments.
Brushless DC motors are becoming popular in industrial, computer and household
products because of its high efficiency, ease of control and lower maintenance.
Hence these motors are utilized in many low and medium power applications.
Unlike a DC motor the brushless DC motors have permanent magnet as rotor and
stator consists of three phase concentrated windings. As the name suggests, it is a
brushless motor which has the characteristics of a DC motor. This synchronous
motor is electronically commutated, for which the exact rotor position is required
hence the losses associated with brushes such as sparking and wear and tear of
1
Anu Narayanan, E-mail: anusreeparnam@gmail.com
Simulation of a Closed Loop Control of BLDC Motor
commutator is eliminated. The rotor position can be determined using Hall Effect
sensors or encoders or we can go for sensorless methods. But sensorless methods
has complicated control algorithm and has starting problems.
In recent years, due to the rapid increase in the number of electronic equipments,
research is being focused on reducing the power quality issues. For a conventional
BLDC drive, the power circuit consists of a diode bridge rectifier and a voltage
source inverter for electronic commutation of the stator winding. In the conventional
BLDC drive model, the diode bridge rectifier is followed by a large DC link
capacitor. This dc link capacitor will only be charged when the input voltage is close
to its peak value or when it is greater than the capacitor voltage, hence large pulse of
current will be drawn for a short period of time, thus distorting the input current.
This is not desirable as it will reduce the input power factor and will increase the
power quality problems, S. Singh and B. Singh (2012). There is an urgent need to
reduce this wastage of energy.
In order to improve the power factor and the quality of power at the input mains, a
power factor correction converter is necessary. In the literature survey we came
across many topologies of power factor correction based BLDC drives, but the
primary aim was to design an optimal topology with better performance and reduced
components, thus making it cost effective. The mode of operation of this power
factor correction converter is also an important factor while designing the circuit as
it can be operated either in continuous inductor current mode or discontinuous
inductor current mode (DCM), Bhim Singh and S. Singh (2010). It is found that for
low and medium power applications, DCM is the best option to operate the PFC
converter. The canonical switching cell converter is the main block for all high
frequency switching converters O. Sago et al. (2004). It has minimum components
and it is suitable for single phase rectifier circuit for power factor correction. This
converter offers high input impedance and low output impedance.
In conventional system, speed control is made possible by maintaining the DC
link voltage constant and voltage source inverter (VSI) is switched at a high
frequency by PWM method. This increases switching losses and it requires more
number of sensors. Hence this method is not suitable for low power applications,
where cost and efficiency of the drive is a major concern. The speed can be
controlled by varying the DC link voltage and the VSI can be operated at a lower
frequency, thus reducing the switching losses. A closed loop PI controller is used for
the speed control of the motor. Simulation results are presented to verify the proposed
system. converter can be controlled effectively to draw sinusoidal current from the
supply mains, thereby improving the input power factor. It requires only one voltage
sensor for sensing the DC link voltage for voltage control and power factor
correction is achieved at the AC mains. The CSC converter consists of a MOSFET
switch, an intermediate capacitor, an inductor and a diode as shown in figure 2.
14
PROPOSED SYSTEM
Fig.1 Block Diagram of the proposed system
Fig.2 Circuit Configuration of the Canonical switching cell converter

15
CONTROLLER DESIGN
The proposed system is operated in closed loop and has a speed controller and a
PWM controller for controlling power factor correction based canonical switching
cell converter and Hall Effect sensor based electronic commutation for BLDC
motor. Speed is controlled by controlling DC link voltage. A PI controller, with
speed error as the input is used to obtain a value corresponding to the required
reference voltage. The output of this PI controller is compared with the voltage
sensed from the DC link capacitor to create a voltage error. This voltage error is
processed in a PI controller and it is compared with a high frequency triangular
wave to generate the switching signal for operating the MOSFET switch in the
converter. Thus speed can be controlled by controlling DC link voltage. A single
voltage sensor is used to control the CSC converter.
For the electronic commutation of the BLDC motor, the rotor position is sensed
using Hall Effect sensors and based on this value the corresponding phases are
commutated.
SIMULATION RESULTS
In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed system, simulation models
have been established using PSIM software. The motor parameter used in the
simulation is listed in Table I. Simulation time is taken as 5 seconds.
In the conventional model the VSI is fed by a high frequency PWM. The phase
relation between the voltage and current can be observed from figure 3. The input
current is highly distorted and it has a THD of 58 % as in figure 4. The input power
factor is very low. It is only coming around 0.75 which is shown in figure 3.
Table 1 BLDC Motor Parameters
PARAMETERS
Rate Voltage
UNIT
V
Pole pairs
VALUE
24
4
Rated Speed
Rpm
4000
Rated Torque
Nm
0.125
Phase Resistance
0.80
Phase inductance
mH
1.2
16
Fig.3 Input Voltage and Current Waveforms with Calculated Power Factor of
conventional system.
In the simulation model of the proposed system, the calculated value of
passive elements in the CSC converter are Li = 10 H and C = 4400 nF, which were
calculated using the design equations from the paper of Vashist Bist and Bhim Singh
(2014). The output of the PI controller is compared with a triangular wave having a
switching frequency of 20 kHz in a comparator to produce the switching signal.
The supply current waveform was obtained as in figure 5. It is found to be continuous
and is in phase with the supply voltage. The input power factor is obtained as 0.96.
The THD analysis of the input current is obtained as 1.65% as shown in figure 6.
Hence the power quality indices achieved in the proposed system is under the
acceptable limits of IEC 61000-3-2.
Fig.4 THD analysis of input current at the AC mains of conventional system.
17
Fig.5 In Phase relation between the input voltage and current of proposed
system.
Fig.6 THD analysis of the input current at the AC mains of the proposed
system.
The output speed and dc link voltage of motor was obtained as in figure 7. A
reference speed of 2500 rpm was given and the output speed reaches the reference
speed within 1.86 seconds.
Fig.7 Simulation result of the shaft speed at Speedref =2500 rpm, and the
variation in DC link voltage at the same instant.
18
CONCLUSION
This paper introduces a closed loop BLDC drive with power factor correction and
improved power quality. The power factor correction converter is cost effective with
minimum components and better performance when compared with conventional
system. The speed of BLDC motor is found to be proportional to the dc link voltage,
thereby, a smooth speed control is observed by controlling the dc link voltage. The
simulation result shows that the power factor of the proposed system is 0.96 and
THD of the input line current is less than 5%. The proposed strategy has been
successfully verified using simulation results. As a future enhancement, this method
of speed control can be implemented in a sensorless BLDC motor, thereby reducing
the overall cost of the system.
REFERENCES
Bhim Singh and S. Singh (2010), Single Phase Power Factor Controller Topologies
for Permanent Magnet Brushless DC Motor Drives, IET Power Electronics, vol.3,
no.2, 147-175.
S. Singh and B. Singh (2012), A Voltage Controlled PFC Cuk Converter Based
PMBLDCM Drive for Air-Conditioners, IEEE Transactions on Industrial
Applications, Vol. 48, No. 2, 832-838.
O. Sago et al. (2004), An Optimum Single Phase PFC Circuit Using CSC
Converter, 30th IEEE-IECON, vol.3, 2684- 2689.
Vashist Bist and Bhim Singh (2014), A PFC Based BLDC Motor Drive Using a
Canonical Switching Cell (CSC) Converter IEEE Transactions On Industrial
Informatics, vol. 10, No. 2, 1207-1215.
19
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20

Steady State Mathematical Model for Performance

Evaluation of Passive Feed Direct Methanol Fuel Cell
Naveen Shrivastava1, Rajkumar Chadge2, Sanjeev Bankar3, Sharad
Chaudhari4
1,2
Assistant Professor, 3,4Associate Professor

Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering,
Nagpur-441110, Maharashtra, India
ABSTRACT
One-dimensional, isothermal mathematical model has been developed for steady
state analysis of the passive direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). This model considers
methanol and oxygen mass transfer effects along with the electrochemical reactions
occurring in the DMFC. The model is validated with the available experimental data
and excellent agreement is found. With the help of this model, methanol
concentration profiles are predicted across the passive DMFC. This model also
enables to know the effect of methanol concentration on fuel cell performance and
variation of methanol crossover with current density. As expected, it was found that
the methanol crossover can be reduced by running the cell with low methanol
concentration and high current densities. The outcome of the research will be useful
for improving DMFC understanding and optimize fuel cell design.
INTRODUCTION
Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), uses liquid methanol as fuel and convert its
chemical energy directly into the electrical energy (J. Cho et al. 2009). DMFCs can
be categorized in active and passive types. In active feed DMFC fuel and oxidants
are supplied by pumps and blowers whereas those are supplied by passive mean e.g.
diffusion, capillary action, natural convection in the passive feed DMFC (Y. Park et
al. 2012. Literature review indicates that significant research work has been done to
improve the performance of passive DMFC in recent past. But, most of them are
based on experimental work, which is neither time nor cost efficient. Also, it is
important to understand the mechanism of species transport in the DMFC to
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: rbchadge@rediffmail.com
Steady State Mathematical Model for
improve its performance. For this a theoretical model is essential. In this work a
one-dimensional steady state model of passive DMFC has been developed.
PASSIVE DMFC: WORKING

The passive DMFC is composed of eight compartments namely fuel reservoir, anode
current collector (ACC), anode diffusion layer (ADL), anode catalyst layer (ACL),
polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM), cathode catalyst layer (CCL), cathode
diffusion layer (CDL), cathode current collector (CCC). The methanol water mixture
from reservoir diffuses through ACC and ADL and reaches to ACL where,
electrochemical reaction occurs to generate carbon di-oxide, protons and electrons
as:.
(1)
Electron through external circuit and proton through PEM reaches to CCL, where it
reacts with oxygen and produces water. Thus the cathode electrochemical reaction
can be written as:
(2)
MODEL ASSUMPTIONS
To simplify this complex passive DMFC system fallowing assumptions are made:
The DMFC operates under steady-state and isothermal condition.
Methanol concentration in the reservoir remains constant throughout the
operation.
Only the liquid phase is considered in the anode side, so carbon dioxide
remains dissolved in solution.
ACL and CCL are treated as an interface so; species concentration gradient not
exists in these layers.
Methanol permeated through membrane is fully consumed at CCL. Hence,
methanol concentration at CCL is neglected.
MODEL EQUATIONS
Cell voltage
Mass transport equations and kinetic equations are combined in order to calculate
the cell voltage, which can be expressed as:
(3)
where
is the open circuit voltage at cell operating temperature and is given by:
where
is the open circuit voltage at cell operating temperature and is given by:
(4)
22
is the standard temperature of 298 K. Also, the internal resistance of the fuel cell
is determined from:
(5)
Overpotentials can be calculated by Electrochemical kinetics equations, as discussed
next.
Electrochemical kinetics
The anode and cathode electrochemical reactions are described by Tafel equation
as:
(
(6)
and
(
(7)
Transfer coefficients can be calculated by incorporating methanol and oxygen

transport equations, as discussed next.
Methanol transport
Methanol stored in the reservoir diffuses through ACC and ADL and reaches to
ACL, which can be described by Ficks law as:
(8)
and
(9)
Where,
and
are the effective diffusion coefficient of methanol
in ACC and ADL respectively.
Methanol is not consumed in ACC and ADL, so methanol flux through these
compartments will be same.
(10)
At ACL methanol is partially consumed in anode electrochemical reaction while rest
is permeated through membrane, which is called methanol crossover (MCO). It
results in fuel loss and cell voltage loss. Methanol mass balance at ACL can be
written as:
(11)
The methanol permeation through PEM is governed by combined effects of
diffusion and electro osmotic drag. Thus the methanol crossover flux can be written
as:
23
(12)
Where,
is electro-osmotic drag coefficient of methanol, defined as the
number of methanol molecules dragged by the hydrogen ions moving through the
membrane.
Methanol crossover can be described in more understandable and expressive
term of crossover current as:
(13)
Oxygen transport
Atmospheric oxygen diffuses through CCC and CDL and reaches to CCL. The
oxygen flux through these compartments can be given by Ficks law as:
(14)
and
(15)
Oxygen is not consumed in CCC and CDL so the flux through these compartments
will be same.
(16)
Oxygen at CCL is partially consumed in cathode electrochemical reaction while rest
is utilized for oxidation of permeated methanol. Thus, the oxygen mass balance at
CCL can be written as:
(17)
RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Model is implemented to predict the polarization curve and the same is compared
with the experimental data of Liu et al. [16], for 2 M methanol feed concentration,
which is presented in Fig. 2.This reveals that model predictions are in excellent
agreement with the experimental results and thus it can be used for the study of
performance evaluation of passive DMFC. All constants adopted for this
polarization curve have been used same for rest of the study. Fig. 3 shows the model
prediction for the effect of methanol concentration on the cell performance for the
methanol feed concentration 1 M-4 M. All the polarization curves are showing
same general trend. It can be seen that cell performance increases with the increase
in the methanol feed concentration. This behaviour is a due to combines effect of
methanol mass transport to the anode, anode over potential characteristics and
methanol crossover to the cathode. Also, increment in the limiting current density
with the increase in the methanol feed concentration has been observed.
24
Fig. 1. Schematic of passive DMFC.
Fig. 2. Comparison between model prediction and

experimental result [16] for polarization curve ( Methanol
feed concentration: 2M, operating temperature: 298 K).
Predicted methanol concentration profile across the passive DMFC for three values
of current densities; 0.01 A/cm2, 0.04 A/cm2, and 0.07 A/cm2, are shown in Fig. 4.
These profiles are generated for the 2 M methanol feed concentration. In all the
layers methanol concentration gradient can be observed. This is due to diffusion
mass transfer of methanol, methanol consumption at the ACL and methanol
crossover (MCO) due to diffusion and electro-osmosis drag. In the ACC and ADL,
methanol concentration profile becomes more steep with the increase in the current
density i.e. methanol flux is increasing to provide sufficient methanol for the anode
electrochemical reaction. While, in the polymer membrane layer methanol crossover
is decreasing with the increase in current density. As methanol crossover is
proportional to methanol concentration at ACL, which is decreasing with increase in
current density.
Fig. 3. Effect of methanol concentration Fig. 4. Methanol concentration profiles

on fuel cell performance (operating
across the cell for different current
temperature: 298 K).
densities.
25
From Fig. 5, It can be seen that the MCO decreases with current density (for same
methanol concentration) and increases with methanol concentration (for constant
current density value). MCO is directly related to methanol concentration at ACL.
For high current density methanol concentration at ACL is low (Fig. 4) and
methanol concentration at ACL will be high for the increased value of methanol feed
concentration. MCO can be reduced and cell performance can be increased if, cell is
operated at low methanol concentration and high current density.
Fig. 6 shows variation in anode and cathode overpotential with cell current density.
It is clear that both anode and cathode overpotential increases with current density.
Anode overpotantial changes rapidly with current density and is responsible for the
limiting current density, which is the maximum current which can be drawn from
the cell.
Fig. 5. Variation in methanol crossover Fig. 6. Variation in anode and cathode

with current density for different
overpotential with current density
methanol concentrations
CONCLUDING REMARKS
In this paper, a one-dimensional, isothermal model of a passive DMFC has
been developed and validated successfully with the experimental data.
It is found that the better cell performance can be obtained by operating the
cell with low methanol concentration and high current density.
It is also found that anode overpotential is more responsible than cathode
overpotential for the limiting current density.
The model can be helpful in enhancing the understanding on species
transport behaviour and performance of passive DMFC.
REFERENCES
J. Cho, J. Kim, (2009), Fabrication and evaluation of membrane electrode assemblies by low
temperature decal methods for direct methanol fuel cells, J. Power Sources, 187, 378386.
Y. Park, D. Kim (2012), Design of a MEA with multi-layer electrodes for high concentration
methanol DMFCs. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 37, 4717-4727.
G. Liu, M. Wang, Y. Wang, F. Ye, T. Wang, Z. Tian, X. Wang (2012), Anode catalyst layer
with novel microstructure for a direct methanol fuel cell, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 37 ,86598663.
26

An Eleven Level Inverter with Reduced Filter Size

Siji Chacko1, Jaimol Thomas2
1
M.Tech Student,2Professor
Saintgits College of Engineering,Pathamuttom
Kottayam- 686532, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
Now multilevel inverter topologies for high voltage and high power applications are
increasing in demand. This is mainly due to the advantages of multilevel inverters such as
lower Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) in the output voltage, higher efficiency, less stress on
the power switches and low Electromagnetic Interference (EMI). In this paper structure of
eleven level inverter is modeled and shows the reduction in filter size with different levels. The
circuit is divided into two parts level generation and polarity generation part. This topology
requires fewer power switches, fewer carrier signals and gate drives compared to that of
conventional multilevel inverters, because only positive polarity of output voltage generated
in level generation part. The efficiency of this topology is quiet high because the polarity
generation part works similar to simple H-bridge that operates two times in a cycle i.e., it
works at line frequency. This leads to simpler control circuitary. This topology uses SPWM
modulation technique for simplicity. Simulation has been carried out in MATLAB
INTRODUCTION
Power-electronic inverters are becoming popular for various applications. To
overcome the limited semiconductor voltage and current ratings some kind of series
and/or parallel connection will be necessary. Due to their ability to synthesize
waveforms with a better harmonic spectrum and attain higher voltages multi-level
inverters are receiving increasing attention. Multi-level converter topologies are a
very interesting choice for renewable energy sources, K. Y. Lau et.al (2010).
The concept of multilevel converters has been introduced since 1975 and the term
Multilevel began with the three-level converter. The multilevel inverter was
introduced as a solution to increase the converter operating voltage above the
An Eleven Level Inverter with reduced filter size
voltage limits of classical semiconductors. One of the major advantages of

multilevel configuration is the harmonic reduction in the output waveform without
increasing switching frequency or decreasing the inverter power output.
There are different types of multilevel inverter topologies, J.-S. Lai and F. Z. Peng
(1996). The multilevel power converters presents several advantages over a
conventional two level converter such as reducing switching frequency, output
voltage with very low distortion and reduced dv/dt stress, K. Jang-Hwan et.al(2008).
Moreover as level increases the filter size get reduced.
Some applications for these new converters include industrial drives, Flexible AC
Transmission Systems (FACTS) and vehicle propulsion (Srikanthan and Mishra,
2010),(Tolbert et al., 1999). One area where multilevel converters are particularly
suitable is renewable photovoltaic energy in which efficiency and power quality are
of great concerns for the researchers. The reversing voltage type multilevel inverters
uses one part to change the polarity of output voltage (Najafi and Yatim, 2012).
As the number of levels reach infinity, the output THD (Total Harmonic Distortion)
approaches zero. The number of the achievable voltage levels however is limited by
voltage unbalance problems, voltage clamping requirement, circuit layout, and
packaging constraints.
Multilevel inverters synthesizing a large number of levels have a lot of merits such
as improved output waveform, a smaller filter size a lower EMI (Electro Magnetic
Interference and other advantages.
The pulse-width modulation (PWM) control is the most efficient method of
controlling output voltage within the inverters, F. Wang (2004). Here carrier based
PWM schemes used for multilevel inverters, realized by the intersection of a
modulating signal with triangular carrier waveform.
PROPOSED MULTILEVEL INVERTER

This topology separates the output voltage into two parts. One part is called level
generation part and is responsible for level generating in positive polarity. Level
generation part requires high frequency switches to generate the required levels. The
other part is named polarity generation part and is responsible for generating the
polarity of the output voltage. This part is the low-frequency part operating at line
frequency.
Fig.1 shows Schematic diagram of a single phase eleven level reversing voltage
topology. Isolated DC source are needed. It just requires half of the conventional
carriers for SPWM controller. SPWM for Eleven-level conventional converters
28
consists of ten carriers but here five carriers are needed. The reason is that the
multilevel converter works only in positive polarity. To generate polarity, the
positive voltage is fed to the full bridge. Multilevel inverter control is implemented
using reduced number of carriers, which is a great improvement. Proposed topology
does not need fast switches for the polarity generation part.
MODES OF OPERATION
There are ten possible switching patterns to control the multilevel inverter, shown in
table 1. In order to avoid unwanted voltage levels, the switching modes should be
Fig.1 Schematic Diagram of Single Phase Eleven Level Inverter
selected so that the switching transitions become minimal during each mode
transfer. This will minimize switching power dissipation.
Table 1 Modes of operation
Mode
1
2
0
2,3,4,5,6
Vdc
1,3,4,5,6,8
2,3,4,5,7
Level
2Vdc
3Vdc
1,45,6,9 1,10,5,6
2,3,4,10,7 2,3,9,7
4Vdc
1,6
2,7
5Vdc
1,7
CONTROL STRATEGY
The carrier based PWM technique fulfils the on and off states of the switches by
comparing a modulating signal Vm(sinusoidal) and a triangular waveform VC
(carrier signal). The modulating signal is a sinusoidal at frequency Fm and
29
amplitude Vm and the carrier signal is at frequency FC and amplitude VC. This is
the sinusoidal PWM (SPWM) method.
The modulation index is defined as ma = VC/Vm and the normalized carrier
frequency is mf =Fc/Fm
In this topology phase deposition-SPWM is adopted for its simplicity and the
carriers are in phase with each other.
Here phase deposition SPWM is used for driving the high frequency switches and
low frequency polarity generation part drive signals are generated with the line
frequency (50Hz), and they only changes at zero-voltage crossings. For a
conventional cascaded multilevel inverter (n-1) carriers are used and in the proposed
topology (n-1)/2 carriers for an n level inverter
SIMULATION RESULTS
Simulation of proposed seven, nine, eleven level multilevel inverter is performed
using MATLAB. The output waveform of is given in Fig.2. All input dc sources are
equal.
Fig .2 Output waveform for eleven- level inverter
30
OUTPUT CURRENT
1.5
Current(A)
0.5
-0.5
-1
-1.5
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
Time(Sec)
0.12
0.14
0.16
0.18
0.2
Fig .3 Output current waveform after filter

As level increases the THD get reduced because the output staircase waveform
becomes close to sinusoidal waveform. The filters are used to limit THD within
5%.And to bring this 5% limit the filter size is found by trial and error method. It
should be pointed out that the size of filter reduced as the level increases. The size of
filters used to limit THD within 5% in different multilevel inverters is shown in
Table 2.
Table.2 Value of L and C for different levels to limit THD within 5%
Level
7
Value of L and C
L=10mH
C=2F
L=7.8mH
C=2F
L=4.6mH
C=2F
9
11
CONCLUSIONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
The proposed topology uses reduced number of switches and carrier signals
As Number of level increases THD reduces.
Increase in number of levels reduces the filter size too.
Thus the cost and size of circuit reduces
Multilevel inverters are well suited for renewable energy sources. It can be applied
in large electrical drives and FACTS devices.
31
REFERENCES
F. Wang, Multi-level PWM VSIs, IEEE Ind. Appl. Mag., vol. 10, no. 4,pp. 5158,
Jul./Aug. 2004
J.-S. Lai and F. Z. Peng, Multilevel converters-a new breed of power
converters,IEEETrans. Ind. Appl., vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 509517,May/Jun. 1996
K. Jang-Hwan, S.-K. Sul, and P. N. Enjeti, A carrier-based PWM method with
optimal switching sequence for a multilevel four-leg voltage source inverter, IEEE
Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 12391248,Jul./Aug. 2008
K. Y. Lau, M. F. M. Yousof, S. N. M. Arshad, M. Anwari, andA. H. M. Yatim,
Performance analysis of hybrid photovoltaic/dieselenergy system under Malaysian
conditions, J. Energy, vol. 35, no. 8,pp. 32453255, Aug. 2010
Srikanthan, S. and M. K. Mishra (2010). Dc capacitor voltage equalization in neutral
clamped inverters for DSTATCOM application. Industrial Electronics, IEEE
Transactions on, 57(8), 27682775.
Tolbert, L. M., F. Z. Peng, and T. G. Habetler (1999). Multilevel converters for large
electric drives. Industry Applications, IEEE Transactions on, 35(1), 3644.
Najafi, E. and A. H. M. Yatim (2012). Design and implementation of a new
multilevel inverter topology. Industrial Electronics, IEEE Transactions on, 59(11),
41484154.
32

Smart grid Evolution Trajectories and Emerging Trends

in Techno-Scientific Literature
Hiran H Lathabai1, Thara Prabhakaran2, Manoj Changat3
1
Research Scholar, 2Asst. Professor, 3Professor

Department of Futures Studies, University of Kerala,
Thiruvananthapuram- 695581, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
Smart Grids are the power grids for the Future which are characterized by high
installation costs and low operation costs. They are intelligent power distribution
systems which make use of state-of-the art communication technologies and
automation. Being an active enabler of distribution through bidirectional flow of
energy, their development and implementation hoards challenges ranging from
integration of distributed energy resources to the transition towards prosumer
stakeholdership culture. In this work, evolution of smart grids through the scientific
literature in the past 15 years is analyzed using Citations network analysis. Path
analysis-especially main and critical path analysis revealed the important works
which played crucial role and made critical contributions in the growth of Smart
Grids as a research area. Major recent research trends are related to network
infrastructure architecture and its feasibility, distribution optimal power flow
(DOPF) models, and covers aspects like Performance, flexibility, reliability,
economics of the communication architecture of Smart Grids. Despite several
techno-managerial challenges, smart grids can be regarded as one of major strides
towards the clean energy consumption and energy conservation mission in the
overall `green movement'.
INTRODUCTION
Energy has been the basic driver of civilization and all the developments of
mankind. Power distribution systems that has grown complex due to the increased
energy requirements owing to the industrialization and population explosion played
a crucial role in such developments. However, due to the aging of the traditional
power delivery mechanism, exponential growth of energy demand and increase in
GHG (green house gas) emission rate , a re-engineering process for revolutionizing
the existing power grids has become inevitable. Smart Grids represents a group of
technologies which is expected to offer a potential solution to many goals behind the
need to revolutionize the traditional power delivery systems. These goals being 1)
decarbonization of electric supply 2) replacement of aging legacy systems and 3)
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: hiranhl007@gmail.com
Smart Grid evolution trajectories and
effective management of grid through the effective utilization of information about

state through ICT (information and communication technologies) ; Hossain et al
(2013). However, this potential solution which triggered a new paradigm in the
energy delivery, poses a wide variety of challenges too. Some of these challenges
include the integration of renewable energy resources into the grid due to
intermittency of the renewable energy generation from wind, solar and hydro plants;
Shafiullah et al. (2013), storage challenges, integration of carbon sequestration
mechanisms,
implementation of efficient communication and information
management systems at all the functions like generation, transmission and
distribution through efficient Wireless communication Protocols; Tariq & Dooley
(2013), load balancing in the grid by accommodating DER (Distributed energy
resources) and traditional generation and also nuclear reactors, data management and
security of customers and the grid; Ali et al (2013), even the pricing of the energy
utilization.
Research and development activities in the earlier stages of paradigm shift is crucial
for determining the success for revolutionizing the existing grid into a smart one
which could support the movement for realization of sustainable development in the
context of ever growing green consciousness. In this work, the evolutionary aspects
of smart grids are attempted to be uncovered through the analysis of scientific
publications about smart grid for the last 15 years. This literature is characterized by
the knowledge diffusion from works to works as evident from their citation
relationships. The knowledge flows are also characterized by the importance and
quality or the brilliance of the theme addressed by the published works. The citation
relationships in the literature forms a network known as network of scientific
citations; Price (1965) or simply the citation networks. Citation network analysis is
an emerging area of multidisciplinary spread and reach including the modeling of
scientific activity dynamics. Identification of critical papers of paradigm shifts,
emerging areas and other important research clusters etc. are some of the
applications of citation analysis; Prabhakaran et al (2014), Kajikawa et al (2011).
Network approach has become a new platform for scientometric research in addition
to other applications like social network analysis, epidemiological modeling,
biological network analysis etc. during the last two decades as evident from works
of ;Barabasi et al. (1999) and Watts et al.(1998). The main and critical knowledge
flows with in the literature can be identified by the main path and critical path
analysis of the network of scientific citations. In this work, we intend to identify the
evolutionary trajectory of the very relevant research field for the future- Smart
Grids.
The corpus of literature containing 2275 works related to smart grids are used for
our analysis to identify the latest research developments in this new power delivery
paradigm. The platform of the analysis was provided by open source packages like
histcite, Pajek and Gephi; Garfield (2004), Batagelj & Mrvar (1998), Bastian et
al. (2005).
34
DATA, NETWORK AND ANALYSIS

PATH ANALYSIS
Scientific Citation data collected from ISI Webof Science, an online database which
includes several of the worlds leading databases, are used for our analysis. Data
collection span is from 1st January 1999 to 4th April 2014. There were 2275 hits
from 460 journals covering research areas energy fuels, engineering etc. Main path
and critical path analysis covers the methodology adopted in this study. The
importance of main path and critical paths lies in the fact that they represent the
main and critical flows of knowledge in the network. The computational aspects of
main path was introduced by Hummon and Doreian (1989) and developed further by
Batagelj et al.(2003). SPC (Search Path Count) method, an efficient way of
computing SPNC and SPLC weights is used to identify the main path. While main
path represents the path which contains the largest SPC weighted links, critical path
represents the path in the network which consists of largest sum of weights, which
by against all odds might be the longest path in the network. The important
trajectories are represented in Fig. 1.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS

It can be seen from Fig. 1 that main path and citation path has several common
works. This clearly can be due to the lesser volume of research publications in the
area which in turn reveals that the infancy period of the smart grids as a research
field is not over yet. Lets first take a tour through the works which appear commonly
in both main path and citation path. Table 1 reveals the title and journal associated
with these works.
Fig.1 Main Path and Critical Path of the Smart Grid Publication network
35
Label
Title
Journal
name
(properly
abbreviated)
112 Wang J,
2009
Smart Grid Technologies
180 Liserre M,
2010
Future Energy Systems Integrating

Renewable Energy Sources into the
Smart Power Grid Through Industrial
Electronics
394 Sauter T,
2011
End-to-End Communication Architecture

for Smart Grids
539 Paudyal S,
2011
Optimal Operation of
Feeders in Smart Grids
567 Gungor
VC, 2011
Smart
Grid
Technologies:
Communication
Technologies
and
Standards
IEEE TRANS
IND INFOR
719 Su WC,
2012
A Survey on
Transportation
Environment
IEEE TRANS
IND INFOR
1890
Zakariazadeh
A, 2014
Economic-environmental
energy
and
reserve scheduling of smart distribution
systems: A multiobjective mathematical
programming approach
ENE CONV
MANGMNT
2021
Zakariazadeh
A, 2014
A new approach for real time voltage

control using demand response in an
automated distribution system
APP ENE
2132
Zakariazadeh
A, 2014
Stochastic multi-objective operational

planning of smart distribution systems
considering demand response programs
IEEE IND
ELE MAG
IEEE IND
ELE MAG
IEEE TRANS
IND ELE
Distribution
the Electrification of
in a Smart Grid
IEEE TRANS
IND ELE
ELTRC POW
SYS RES
Table 1 Works found in both Main Path as well as Critical Path
It can be found that the work 112 Wang J, 2009 entitled Smart Grid technologies
is the first work to appear in both the trajectories. It discusses the impacts of
development of Insulated Gate BiPolar Transistors (IGBT) on utility applications to
achieve high voltage, high frequency and high temperature applications; Wang et al.
(2009). 180 Liserre M, 2010 addresses the integration of renewable energy
resources into smart power grid through industrial electronics. It covers photovoltaic
36
power, wind energy conversion, hybrid energy systems, and tidal energy conversion
etc.; Liserre et al. (2010). The work 394 Sauter T, 2011 deals with an end-to-end
communication architecture for SG. This two tier architecture investigated in this
work based on heterogeneous network infrastructure with real time energy
management using powerlines and internet is found to be versatile enough for SG
solutions; Sauter & Lobashov (2011). This research which was an European
research project also builds upon the works- 90 Hammons TJ, 2008 titled
Integrating renewable energy sources into European grids and 138 Sarafi AM,
2009 titled Hybrid Wireless-Broadband over Power Lines A Promising Broadband
Solution in Rural Areas ; Hammons (2008), Sarafi et al. (2009): as evident from the
citation links in the main path. 539 Paudyal S, 2011 proposed a DOPF (Distribution
Optimal Power Flow) model that can be used by local distribution companies to
integrate their distribution system feeders into the SG. A novel method of
optimization by transforming the mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP)
to non-linear programming reduced the computational cost and enhanced the
practical implementation of the 3 phase DOPF as evident from the two case studies
where energy loss reduction as well as successful minimization of switching
operations was achieved ; Paudyal et al.(2011). 567 Gungor VC, 2011 intended to
provide an insight about various technologies, especially the then state-of-the art
communication technologies and also addressed critical issues in SG related to the
ICT, most of them being open issues which might invoke the interest of researchers;
Gungor V C et al. (2011). 719 Su WC, 2012 is a survey based work, about the
electrification of transportation in SG environment; Su et al. (2012). The
electrification of transportation has two fold effects- conservation of non-renewable
resources for energy by reduction in consumption and reduction in GHG emissions.
The challenges in the informatics support for the PEV and PHEV namely charging
infrastructure, energy management, Vehicle-to- Grid and communication
requirements are covered by the comprehensive survey. There are two more works
common to main path and critical path, but they are very recent ones and are
discussed in next section which deals with the divergence in trajectory as pointers
to the future.
Some works which are not common in main path and critical path are-1045 Siano P,
2012 (Main path) titled Real Time Operation of Smart Grids via FCN Networks
and Optimal Power Flow, 818 Soares J, 2012 (Critical Path) titled Electric
Vehicle Scenario Simulator Tool for Smart Grid Operators and 1321 Soares J,
2013 (Critical Path) titled Day-Ahead Resource Scheduling Including Demand
Response for Electric Vehicles; Siano et al. (2012), Soares et al. (2012, 2013).These
works addresses similar themes like power flow optimization and electric vehicle
integration in SG but from different vantage points. There are few more works in
critical path which are not found in main path but owing to their contempornity, they
are discussed in the next section.
Divergence in trajectory as pointers to the Future

Most important recent developments in SG literature as indicated by the main path
and critical path are contained in three works which consists of Zakariazadeh as the
first author. Intelligent demand response schemes, mostly using multiobjective
resource scheduling in order to make the distribution systems smarter, are addressed
in these works; Zakariazadeh & Homaee et al. (2014) and Zakariazadeh & Jadid &
37
Siano (2014, 2014). In the critical path it can be seen that one of the works by
Zakariazadeh- 1948 Zakariazadeh, 2014 titled Multi-objective scheduling of
electric vehicles in smart distribution system ; zakariazadeh et al. (2014) invoked a
divergence which could be regarded as hint for three directions of future research. It
is evident that one of the branch is extended by this very group while they tried to
develop a stochastic multiobjective operational planning in SG. 2137 Morais H,
2014 evaluates the impact of electric vehicles in the power demand curve in the SG
environment; Morais et al. (2014). This addresses the day ahead scheduling of
distributed resources based on the charging and discharging of EVs to achieve
reduction in operation cost and also the leveling of demand curve. Expert energy
management of a micro-grid considering wind energy uncertainty is the title of the
latest of the work- 2197 Motevasel M, 2014 ; Motevasel & Seifi (2014) which cited
Zakariazadehs work labeled as 1948. This work focuses on reducing the effect of
wind energy intermittency by effective usage of forecasting module based on ANN
while addressing the uncertainty by confidence levels and incorporation of smart
ESS (Energy Storage System) to avoid it. The conflicting objectives of cost and
emission reduction are also addressed by the Modified Bacterial Foraging
Optimization (MBFO) module. Though there are divergences the themes addressed
by them are closely related- the scheduling of DERs and leveling the power demand
with multiobjectives of operation cost reduction, emission reduction etc. Thus
improving efficiency of grids through the intelligent resource scheduling and smart
storage to overcome intermittency challenges, emission challenges and power
demand management and operation cost reduction etc. are the contemporary
important research interests which could have far reaching impacts in the future.
CONCLUSIONS
As evident from the analysis of the important papers in the literature, we can see that
the main areas of research focus had been the communication architecture,
integration of renewable energy resources and the load levelling or efficient demand
response strategy building etc. It seems that efficient storage technologies with low
cost in charge discharge cycle and easy connectivity similar to the plug and play
switching interfaces could enhance the progress of the smart paradigm in the energy
distribution and management. Intelligent methods based on optimisation are very
much anticipated so as to manage the resource scheduling powered by at least dayahead forecasting modules with proper pluggable ad-hoc provisions in case of
contingencies. The utilisation and scheduling of electric vehicles in the grid
environment would also improve the efficiency, and reduce emissions and could
avoid transmission losses as the need for transmission from central generation
facility could be considerably reduced. The emerging research work also addresses
the above challenges of multi-objective optimization. Though the divergence is seen
in trajectory, mainly the critical path, the goals still seems similar, only the
approaches differ. This work is intended to provide an insight to the budding
researchers so that their efforts and ingenuity could be devoted to the cause which
address techno-socio-economic-environmental foundations of sustainable
development, in alignment with the green movement which is at large these days.
38
As future works, either any one of the diverging trajectories (zachariazadeh path or
other two) can be chosen. These paths are addressing more or less the similar
theme- intelligent resource scheduling in SG environment.
Other equally challenging area like integration of different kinds of modern energy
resources like hydrogen plants, bioelectricity plants and the interoperability issues it
might invoke is also investigation worthy. The emission check objective of the SG
can be enhanced through cost-effective incorporation of CCS (Carbon Capture and
Storage) facilities at the emission prone regions in the grid and operation ends like
industrial area, commercial ends and residential ends. All these are having futuristic
relevance on all the four foundations of sustainable development and hoards enough
challenges which could satisfy the research appetite.
REFERENCES
Ali, A. S., Azad, S., & Khorshed, T. (2013). Securing the Smart Grid: A Machine
Learning Approach, Smart Grids, Springer London, 169-198.
Barabsi, A. L., & Albert, R. (1999), Emergence of scaling in random networks,
science, 286 (5439), 509-512.
Bastian, M., Heymann, S., & Jacomy, M. (2009). Gephi: an open source software
for exploring and manipulating networks, ICWSM, 8, 361-362.
Batagelj, V. (2003), Efficient algorithms for citation network analysis, arXiv
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Connections, 21(2), 47-57.
Garfield, E. (2004), Historiographic mapping of knowledge domains literature,
Journal of Information science, 30(2), 119-145.
Gungor, V. C., Sahin, D., Kocak, T., Ergut, S., Buccella, C., Cecati, C., & Hancke,
G. P. (2011), Smart grid technologies: communication technologies and standards,
IEEE transactions on Industrial informatics, 7(4), 529-539.
Hammons, T. J. (2008), Integrating renewable energy sources into European grids,
International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, 30(8), 462-475.
Hossain, M. R., Oo, A. M., & Ali, A. S. (2013), Smart Grid,Smart Grids, Springer
London, 23-44.
Hummon, N. P., & Dereian, P. (1989), Connectivity in a citation network: The
development of DNA theory, Social Networks, 11(1), 39-63.
Liserre, M., Sauter, T., & Hung, J. Y. (2010), Future energy systems: Integrating
renewable energy sources into the smart power grid through industrial electronics,
Industrial Electronics Magazine, IEEE, 4(1), 18-37.
39
Morais, H., Sousa, T., Vale, Z., & Faria, P. (2014), Evaluation of the electric
vehicle impact in the power demand curve in a smart grid environment, Energy
Conversion and Management, 82, 268-282.
Motevasel, M., & Seifi, A. R. (2014), Expert energy management of a micro-grid
considering wind energy uncertainty, Energy Conversion and Management, 83, 5872.
Paudyal, S., Canizares, C. A., & Bhattacharya, K. (2011), Optimal operation of
distribution feeders in smart grids, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics,
58(10), 4495-4503.
Prabhakaran, T., Lathabai, H. H., & Changat, M. (2014). Detection of paradigm
shifts and emerging fields using scientific network: A case study of Information
Technology for Engineering. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. DOI:
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Price, D. J., Networks of Scientific Papers, Science, 149 (3683), 510-515.
Sarafi, A., Tsiropoulos, G. I., & Cottis, P. G. (2009), Hybrid wireless-broadband
over power lines: A promising broadband solution in rural areas, Communications
Magazine, IEEE, 47(11), 140-147.
Sauter, T., & Lobashov, M. (2011). End-to-end communication architecture for
smart grids, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 58(4), 1218-1228.
Shafiullah, G. M., Oo, A. M., Ali, A. S., Wolfs, P., &Arif, M. T. (2013),
Renewable Energy Integration: Opportunities and Challenges, Smart Grids,
Springer London, 45-76.
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Change, 78 (2), 274-282.
Siano, P., Cecati, C., Yu, H., & Kolbusz, J. (2012), Real time operation of smart
grids via FCN networks and optimal power flow, IEEE Transactions on Industrial
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Soares, J., Canizes, B., Lobo, C., Vale, Z., & Morais, H. (2012), Electric vehicle
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Soares, J., Morais, H., Sousa, T., Vale, Z., & Faria, P. (2013), Day-ahead resource
scheduling including demand response for electric vehicles, IEEE Transactions on
Smart Grid, 4(1), 596-605.
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of transportation in a smart grid environment, IEEE Transactions on Industrial
Informatics, 8(1), 1-10.
40
Tariq, F., & Dooley, L. S. (2013), Smart Grid Communication and Networking
Technologies: Recent Developments and Future Challenges,Smart Grids, Springer
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system, Applied Energy, 117, 157-166.
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and reserve scheduling of smart distribution systems: A multiobjective mathematical
programming approach, Energy Conversion and Management, 78, 151-164.
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41
42

PSO Based Operating Cost Minimization of IEEE 14

Bus System considering Stability
Vipin Das P1, Emil Ninan Skariah2, Tibin Joseph3, Sasidharan
Sreedharan4, Chittesh V C1, Sebin Joseph1, Vishnu J1
1
PG Scholar, SAINTGITS College of Engineering, Kottayam, Kerala,

Asst. Professor, SAINTGITS College of Engineering, Kottayam, Kerala
3
Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher, Institute of Energy, Cardiff University,
Cardiff, UK
4
Postdoctoral Researcher Renewable Energy Design Laboratory, University of
Hawaii
2
ABSTRACT
The use of electrical energy increasing day by day, so we need more generation to
meet the demand. Nowadays due to environmental and fuel cost constraints more
and more renewable energy sources are introduced into the power system. Since
renewable energy sources are both inexhaustible and nonpolluting they are the key
to a sustainable energy supply system. With the rapid growth of wind power
generation, wind farms will exert a growing influence in the economic operation of
power system. This paper presents a new approach for cost minimization in power
system operation with Distributed Generation (DG), without violating the system
constraints. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is used in this paper for
optimizing the cost functions. The proposed method is simulated on an IEEE 14 bus
standard test system. The test system for the proposed method is modeled and
simulated using MATLAB/PSAT.
Corresponding author. E-mail: vipindas504@gmail.com
PSO Based Operating Cost Minimization
INTRODUCTION
Use of electrical energy is increasing day by day and the power industry became
more complex now. For meeting the future load demand we need new generation.
Renewable energy sources are better solution for the future energy demand. Many
countries are placing enormous pressure on entire energy industry to reduce carbon
emission and thereby reducing greenhouse effect. Combustion of fossil fuels, coal,
oils is the main cause of greenhouse gases. All these effects can be avoided using
renewable energy sources. Wind, Solar Photovoltaic, Fuel cells are examples of
renewable energy sources. Among these wind and solar photovoltaic are most
commonly used. Wind energy is the most promising source of clean and cheap
energy. According to the wind energy council report the total worldwide installation
of wind farm is 31% in 2009 i.e., 157.9GW. It is predicted that by the end of 2020
the total wind energy generation will be 1261GW.
The increasing environmental challenges forces the electric power utilities to modify
their system operation routine to reduce carbon emission. Economic Dispatch aims
scheduling the generation and optimizes the operating cost without changing the
system constraints. Due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy, they bring a
great challenge to power system optimization problems. In this paper an extended
Optimal Power Flow (OPF) [1] is presented to research the effect of renewable
energy sources and operating cost minimization of power system. The IEEE 14 bus
system is used to analyze the effect of connected wind farm on the power system
operation and verify the effectiveness of model and the validity of proposed
algorithm.
PROBLEM FORMULATION
MINIIMIZE THE OPERATING COST WITHIN STABILITY MARGIN
The optimization problem to find the maximum wind penetration and minimize the
operating cost.
[ (
Subject to the equality constraints
44
)]
[ (
)]
(1)
N
b
=P +V V (G cos +B sin ) ;i=1,2,...N

Li i
j ij
ij ij
ij
b
j=1
N
b
Q =Q +V V (G sin B cos ) ;i=1,2,...N
Gi Li i
j ij
ij ij
ij
b
j=1
P
Where, P
Gi
Li
(2)
(3)
is the total active load at bus i and N is the total number of buses in the
b
system.
The inequality constraints h(x,u) are Apparent power flow limit:
S S
ij ijmax
(4)
Bus voltage limit:

V
imin
V V
i imax
Slack generator power output limit

P
P
slack slackmax
Q
Q
slack slackmax
(5)
(6)
(7)
Wind Power output limit. The wind power dispatch should not exceed the available
wind power from the wind park:
P
Q
wind
wind
windmax
windmax
(8)
(9)
In eq. (1), is a load parameter of the system, which maximizes the total power that
the network can supply within the system stability margin.
The load factor represents the variation of system real & reactive loads P
Li
andQ , defined as Error! Reference source not found.:

Li
P ()=P
;i=m+1.......,N
Li
Li
b
Q ()=Q
;i=m+1.......,N
Li
Li
b
(10)
(11)
Where, m is the total number of generator buses, = 1 indicates the base load case.
45

POWER SYSTEM STABILITY CONSTRAINTS
1) FAST VOLTAGE STABILITY INDEX
The safe bus loading of the system is assured by incorporating the Fast Voltage
Stability Index (FVSI) proposed by [2].
2
4Z Q
j
FVSI =
(12)
ij
2
Vi X
If FVSI 1.00: bus connected to the line is approaching its instability point. If FVSI
1.00: one of the buses connected to the line will experience a sudden voltage drop
and the bus will collapse due to overloading.
1)
LINE STABILITY INDEX
The line stability index symbolized by L
proposed by [3] is formulated based

mn
on a power transmission concept in a single line. The line stability index L
is
mn
given by
4Q X
r
L =
(13)
mn
2
[|V |sin()]
s
where X is the line reactance, Q is the reactive power at the receiving end, V is the
r
s
sending end voltage, is the line impedance angle, and is the angle difference
between the supply voltage and the receiving voltage. The value of L must be less
mn
than 1.00 to maintain a stable system.
2) LINE STABILITY FACTOR
System Stability is also assured by Line Stability Factor (LQP) proposed by [4]. The
LQP should be less than 1.00 to maintain a stable system.
LQP=4
X X 2
P +Q
V2 V2 i j
i i
LQP assure that at no level of bus loading the line is overloaded.
46
(14)
SIMULATION RESULTS & DISCUSSION

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
The proposed solution method was tested on an IEEE 14 bus test system, shown in
fig.3. The bus system consists of 5 generators, of which one is slack and there are 20
lines. Bus 2, 3, 6 and 8 are PV buses and 3, 6 and 8 are synchronous compensator
buses. It has generators located at buses 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8 and four transformers with
off-nominal tap ratio in lines 4-7, 4-9, 5-6 and 8-9. The lower voltage magnitude
limits at all buses are 0.9 p.u. and the upper limits are 1.1 p.u. Total real and reactive
power of load is 259 MW and 81.4 MVAr respectively.
Wind farm consisting of 300 wind turbines and 600 MVA / 69 kV capacities has
been connected to bus 3 as identified using wind farm placement index [5]. The kV
rating of DG is the kV of the bus to which it is connected. All the lines of the system
except line with generators are selected to be the optimal location of the DER. The
analysis was done using PSAT/MATLAB integrated environment as suggested by
[6].
RESULTS & ANALYSIS
PSO is used as an optimization tool in this work [7]. Voltage profile of each bus is
shown below. The Fig.1 given below shows that by adding the wind farm at bus 3
the voltage at each bus is within the limit.
WITHOUT WIND
WITH WIND
1.11
1.09
Bus voltage (pu)
1.07
1.05
1.03
1.01
0.99
0.97
0.95
7Bus8no.9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Fig.1 Voltage profile

Fig.2 shows the generation of each bus by adding the wind farm at bus 3. From the
figure it is clear that generation by conventional buses is reduced and therefore the
47

fuel cost for the conventional generators can be reduced. Here bus 1 is the slack
bus and bus 15 is the bus where wind farm is connected.
4.00
Series1
Series2
Series3
Real power generation (pu)
3.50
3.00
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
1
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Bus no.
Fig.2 Generation at each buses

Fig.3 shows the load at each buses. The load at each bus can be increased without
violating the constraints is the inference from the figure. From the figure bus 3 has
the maximum load share.
Series1
Series2
Series3
Real power load (pu)
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
1
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Bus no.
Fig.3 Load share by each buses

48
Fig.4 shows the line flows at each lines. The line flows are within the limit
Maximum penetration (with controller)

Line Real power flow (pu)
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11no.
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Line
Fig.4 Line Flows
Fig.5 shows the generation cost comparison in different cases. From the figure it is
clear that generation cost is much reduced with wind and is further reduced with
maximum wind penetration.
5000
4414.927576
4500
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
COST(Rs/MWhr)
4000
2874.156282
2358.911705
CASE 1 CASE 2 CASE
COST WITHOUT WIND

COST WITH WIND
COST WITH MAXIMUM
WIND PENETRATION
500
0
1
Fig.5 operating cost comparison

49
CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, a new methodology of optimal allocation of distributed energy

resources has been proposed to minimize the system operating cost by taking
into consideration the power system stability and security constraints. A
particle swarm optimization based algorithm has been used to minimize the
system operating cost. The result seemed to be quite promising, when tested
on IEEE 14-bus system. The results indicate that the proposed controller is
working properly. Here load is assumed to be constraints in each case.
1.
A new methodology of optimal allocation of distributed energy

resources has been proposed.
2.
Stability constraints are within the limit.
3.
Operating cost is minimized
4.
Proposed algorithm is working properly on IEEE 14 bus system.
REFERENCES
[1] M, M. B., Muthyala, S., & Maheswarapu, S. (2010). Security Constraint Optimal Power
Flow ( SCOPF ) A Comprehensive Survey, 11(6), 4252.
[2]I. Musirin and A. Rahman, Estimating Maximum Loadability for Weak Bus Identification
Using FVSI, vol. 50, pp. 50-52, November 2002.
[3]Moghavvemi, M., & Omar, F. M. (1998). Technique for contingency monitoring and
voltage collapse prediction. IEE Proceedings - Generation, Transmission and Distribution,
145(6), 634. doi:10.1049/ipgtd:19982355
50
[4]Mohamed, a., & Jasmon, G. B. (1989). Voltage contingency selection technique for
security assessment. IEE Proceedings C Generation, Transmission and Distribution, 136(1),
24. doi:10.1049/ip-c.1989.0004
[5]Sreedharan, S., Member, S., Member, W. O., & Singh, J. G. (2011). Development of PSO
Based Control Algorithms for Maximizing Wind Energy Penetration, 16.
[6]Milano, F. (2005). An Open Source Power System Analysis Toolbox. IEEE Transactions
on Power Systems, 20(3), 11991206. doi:10.1109/TPWRS.2005.851911
[7]Valle, Y., Member, S., Venayagamoorthy, G. K., Member, S., & Harley, R. G. (2008).
Particle Swarm Optimization : Basic Concepts , Variants and Applications in Power Systems,
12(2), 17119
51
52

December 10-12, 2014, CUSAT, Kochi, India, 53-59
High Power Factor Bridgeless Buck Converter with

Average Current Mode Control
Anju Elza Koshy1, Filmy Francis2
1
MTech Scholar, 2Assistant Professor

Saintgits College of Engineering,
Kottayam- 682 022, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
This paper presents the bridgeless buck converter controlled by average current
mode control. This converter reduces the switching losses and stress. Average
current mode control has better noise immunity and it achieves better accuracy. The
circuit maintains high power factor throughout the line voltages. The rectification,
voltage doubling can be carried out in a single circuit. Simulation of bridgeless buck
converter with average current mode control is done in MATLAB/Simulink.
INTRODUCTION
As the increasing demand for power from the ac line and more stringent
requirements for power quality, power factor correction is becoming an inevitable
part of switching power supplies.
In the conventional method, a bridgeless buck converter that improves the low-line
(115V) efficiency of the buck front end by reducing the conduction loss through the
minimization of number of simultaneously conducting semiconductor employing
peak current method is introduced by Y. Jang, M. Jovanovich (2011). In this paper,
the peak current method is replaced by average current mode control. It gives better
performance than the peak current method as there are no issues related to ripple or
slope compensation. The average current mode control provides better noise
immunity and it give high accuracy L. Dixon (2001).
1
Anju Elza Koshy. E-mail: anjukoshy89@gmail.com
High Power Factor Bridgeless Buck
As the total harmonic distortion decreases it will help to increase the power factor.
Power factor depends upon the distortion factor and the displacement factor by
Daniel et al. (2007). The output voltage regulation of the converter against load and
supply voltage fluctuations have important role in designing high-density power
supplies.
BRIDGELESS BUCK CONVERTER

The bridgeless buck rectifier works as a voltage doubler, it can be designed to meet
harmonic limit specifications EN 61000-3-2 with an output voltage twice than that
of a conventional buck converter.
The proposed bridgeless buck PFC rectifier is shown in Fig. 1. It employs two buck
converters that operate in alternative positive and negatives of the line-voltage cycle.
The circuit consists of two switches and four diodes.
Fig. 1 Proposed bridgeless buck PFC rectifier

The first buck only operates during positive half-cycles of line voltage Vac and
consists of a unidirectional switch implemented by diode D1 in series with switch S1,
freewheeling diode D3, filter inductor L1, and output capacitor C1. During the first
buck operation, the voltage across capacitor C1 must be chosen lower than the peak
of line voltage is regulated by pulse width modulation of switch S1.
The second buck converter consisting of the unidirectional switch implemented by
diode D2 in series with switch S2, freewheeling diode D4, filter inductor L2, and
output capacitor C2 operates only during negative half-cycles of line voltage Vac.
The output voltage Vout of the PFC rectifier is the sum of voltages across output
capacitors C1 and C2,
54
out
(1)
in
Because the PFC buck rectifier does not shape the line current during the time
intervals when the line voltage is lower than output voltage. The design of bridgeless
buck converter is same as that of the simple buck converter.
The ideal control requirement of the power factor correction circuit under steady
state are maintaining a pure dc output voltage of constant value and maintain input
current wave shape as pure sinusoidal at unity power factor. Here, the
implementation of average current mode control and peak current mode control has
been carried out.
The power factor can be expressed as the product of the distortion power factor and
the displacement power factor, as given in Eq.2
(2)
PEAK AND AVERAGE CURRENT MODE CONTROL

In peak current mode control, the active switch is turned on with constant switching
frequency, and turned off when the upslope of the inductor current reaches a level
set by the outer loop. When the power switch is on it senses the peak inductor
current information, then uses it to turn off the switch.
In average current scheme the inductor current is sensed and the output from it
drives a PWM modulator. The inner current loop minimizes the error between the
average input current and its reference. A fixed ramp is compared with the error
voltage to generate necessary drive of the switch. Hence in this, the average inductor
current is controlled to follow the line voltage. The advantages of peak and average
current mode control are, it operates with a constant switching frequency. Average
current mode is more advantageous than peak because it provides much accurate
output, no need of compensation and Noise immunity is excellent
SIMULATION RESULTS
Simulation of the proposed bridgeless high power factor buck converter with
average current mode control and peak current mode control is done in MATLAB.
It is shown in Fig.2 and Fig.3 Simulation is done with an input voltage Vac =230V,
fs=65 kHz, R=36, L1=L2 =57H, C1=C2=5000F, P =700W and Vout=160V.
55
Fig. 2 Simulink model for bridgeless buck PFC rectifier

The same gate signal from the PWM controller simultaneously operates the switches
S1 and S2. In Fig. 4, shows the gate pulses given to the switches S1 and S2.
Fig. 3 Peak current and Average current mode control for

Bridgeless Buck rectifier
Fig.4 FFT analysis of input current at 230 Vac for bridgeless buck converter
with peak and average current control
56
Fig. 5 Waveforms of Input voltage and Input current at

230 Vac with peak current mode control
Fig. 6 Waveforms of Input voltage, Input current and output voltage at

230 Vac with average current mode control
57
From the Table.1, the proposed converter having the power factor of 0.998 at 230
Vac and power factor of 0.957 at 115 Vac and it satisfies the harmonic limit
specifications EN 61000-3-2 for 16A maximum rated input current. Here the power
factor is maintained high throughout the high line and low line. From the simulation
results Fig.5, Fig. 6, it is clear that both the control methods keep the dc output
constant. And the average current mode control provides higher power factor and
less THD and it provides more accuracy.
CONCLUSIONS
In this bridgeless PFC having two buck converters connected back to back is
modeled.
1. Converter acts as a voltage doubler, and rectification, power factor
correction is carried out in the same circuit.
2. By using peak and average current methods, provides constant dc output
voltage.
3. Average current mode provides high power factor than that of the peak in
bridgeless buck converter and reduced THD.
4. By using control techniques, the input current tracks the sinusoidal
waveshape.
58
REFERENCES
Yungtaek Jang, and Mi.lan M. Jovanovich, Bridgeless High-Power-Factor Buck
Converter, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 602-611,
2011
L. Huber, L. Gang, and M. M. Jovanovic, Design-Oriented analysis and
performance evaluation of buck PFC front-end, IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol.
25, no. 1, pp. 8594, Jan. 2010.
L. Rossetto, G. Spiazzi, P. Tenti, Control Techniques for Power Factor Correction
Converters, Proc. Of Power Electronics, Motion Control (PEMC), September 1994,
1310-1318.
Chen Zhou and .lan M. Jovanovich, Design Trade-offs in Continuous CurrentMode Controlled Boost Power-Factor Correction Circuits, DELTA Power
Electronics Lab., Inc. HFPC-May 1992 Proceedings.
Lloyd Dixon, Average mode control of switching power supplies, Unitrode and
Applications Handbook, 2001.
59
60

Voltage Sag Compensation using Dynamic Voltage

Restorer with Super Capacitor
Preethi Sebastian1, Usha Nair2
1
Research Scholar,2 Associate Professor

ABSTRACT
Dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) is a series connected custom power device used for
protection of sensitive loads from power quality problems especially voltage sags.
The use of a proper energy storage device for DVR is important for fast injection of
the required ac voltage to the grid during occurrence of voltage sags and faults. Use
of Super capacitors as energy storage device improves the performance of DVR due
to their fast charging and discharging properties as compared to batteries and more
energy density and longer life as compared to traditional capacitors. This paper
compares the transient performance of a DVR connected to a sensitive load using
capacitor and super capacitor as energy storage devices under both balanced and
unbalanced voltage sags and faults. The DVR system with capacitor and super
capacitor as energy storage devices are modeled and simulated using Mat lab
simulink software. The transient behavior of the system is studied by simulating
balanced and unbalanced voltage sags and faults at the point of common coupling.
The control technique used in the proposed system consists of dqo transformation,
phase locked loop and Proportional Integral(PI) controller which control the
switching of the sinusoidal PWM inverter. The PWM inverter injects the
compensating voltage in series with the load during sags. The results show that
when DVR using super capacitor is used there is substantial improvement in the
injected voltage during both balanced and unbalanced voltage sags and faults,
reduction in total harmonic distortion and standby mode injected voltage.
Corresponding author. E-mail: preethi.jimmy@gmail.com
Voltage Sag Compensation
INTRODUCTION
Power quality problems like voltage sags, swells, flicker and interruptions have an
adverse effect on customers with sensitive loads like adjustable speed drives. Of
these voltage sags have the highest frequency of occurrence. Custom power devices
like STATCOM and dynamic voltage restorer help to mitigate voltage sags quickly
and efficiently.DVR has a simpler solution with a smaller current injection as
compared with STATCOM, Ramirez et.al(2011) shows the operation of DVR in
series with the line.).
The components of DVR include an injection transformer, filters, pulse width
modulated inverter and energy storage device. Selection of proper energy storage
device is important for proper functioning of DVR.The commonly used energy
storage devices like batteries provide minimum phase compensation while capacitor
provides minimum energy compensation.
Super capacitors are double layer capacitors when used as energy storage device
increases the energy density,prolongs the service life and it can be manufactured
with capacitor values of several hundred farads. Super capacitors have capacitance
values 10,000 times that of a conventional capacitor while the power density is 10 to
100 times greater than conventional battery. They have faster response time since
their charging and discharging cycles are in the range of milliseconds as compared
to hours in case of battery. As the maximum available voltage is limited to 2.7V a
large number of super capacitors are to be connected in series to get the required
voltage. Simulation studies are carried out using super capacitor and capacitors
under both balanced and unbalanced conditions of voltage sags and faults.
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS
MODELLING OF DVR WITH SUPER CAPACITOR
Figure1 shows the block diagram of the DVR controller. The DVR operates in
injection and standby mode. When a fault occurs the DVR controller injects the
missing voltage in series with the line through injection transformers. The DVR
controller detects the sag and computes the correcting voltage using synchronous
reference frame theory, JayaPrakash et.al(2013).The source voltage is converted into
d-q form and on comparison with the reference voltage an error signal is produced
using PI controller which is fed to a sinusoidal PWM invertor and the missing
voltage is generated. The controller provides fast detection and compensation of
voltage sags.
62
Fig.1 Basic concept of a DVR controller

The source is an 11kv grid which is stepped down to 415V before supplying to the
critical three phase load. The super capacitor used is 100PP14 model, Vanitha et.al
(2011). Four such modules are connected in series to get the rated value of
600V.The transient behavior of the system under study using super capacitor and
capacitor are simulated and the behavior of DVR under balanced and unbalanced
voltage sags, balanced and unbalanced faults for duration of 150 milliseconds at the
point of common coupling are analyzed.
DVR WITH SUPER CAPACITOR.
The behavior of super capacitor under balanced fault, unbalanced single line to
ground fault,50% balanced and unbalanced sags are estimated. Total harmonic
distortion (THD) corresponding to all the above conditions are also analyzed. The
results are compared with that using conventional capacitor, Nielsen and Blaabjerg
(2005). Figures 2 to4 shows the source voltage, DVR injected voltage and load
voltage respectively under three phase fault conditions.
Fig.2 Source voltage during three phase fault
Fig.3 DVR voltage during three phase fault

63
Fig.4 Load voltage during three phase fault

Figures 5 to 7 shows the source voltage, injected voltage and load voltage for
balanced 50% voltage sag.
Fig.5 Source voltage during balanced 50%voltage sag
Fig.6 DVR voltage during balanced 50% voltage sag
Fig.7 Load voltage during balanced 50% voltage sag

Figures 8 to 10 shows the source voltage, injected voltage and load voltage during
unbalanced fault.
Fig.8 Source voltage during unbalanced fault
64
Fig.9 DVR voltage during unbalanced fault
Fig.10 Load voltage during unbalanced fault

Figures 11 to 13 show the source voltage, injected voltage and load voltage during
unbalanced 50% voltage sag.
Fig.11 Source voltage during single phase sag
Fig.12 DVR voltage during single phase sag
Fig.13 Load voltage during single phase sag

A comparison of simulation results when using super capacitor and capacitor as
energy storage devices show that under both balanced and unbalanced fault
conditions for a duration of 150milli seconds,DVR using super capacitor shows
superior performance in terms of higher voltage injection capability, lower standby
mode injected voltage, and lower value of THD.as shown in table1.
65
Table 1 Performance Parameters of DVR with Super Capacitor and Capacitor

Performance
Parameters
DVR injected
Super
voltage
capacitor
(Volts)
Capacitor
Total
Super
Harmonic
capacitor
Distortion (%) Capacitor
Standby
injected
Voltage(Volts)
Super
capacitor
Capacitor
Unbalanced
Sag
130
Balanced
Sag
230
Unbalanced
fault
140
Balanced
Fault
290
120
0.95
220
1.63
130
1.33
270
1.95
1.02
1.83
1.40
2.04
50
50
50
50
90
90
90
90
CONCLUSIONS
The transient behavior of DVR using capacitor and super capacitor as energy storage
devices are studied and compared. It is seen that the use of super capacitor
increases the injected voltage by 10%, decreases the standby injected voltage from
80V to 50V and decreases the THD value of Load voltage.
REFERENCES
J. G. Nielsen, M. Newman, H. Nielsen, and F. Blaabjerg.(2004),Control and testing
of a dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) at medium voltage level, IEEE Trans. Power
Electron., vol.19, no. 3, pp. 806813
P. Jayaprakash, Bhim Singh and D. P. Kothari(2004),Control of reduced rating
Dynamic Voltage Restorer with Battery Energy storage System, IEEE Trans. on
Industry applications, vol. 54
John Godsk Nielsen and Frede Blaabjerg (2005),"A Detailed Comparison of System
Topologies for Dynamic Voltage Restorers", IEEE Trans. on Industry applications
VOL.41, 1272-1280.
Vanitha, V., Ashok, S, Anandanarayanan, C.,Balasubramanian, G.and
Gowrishankar, G(2011).Determination of equivalent circuit parameters of super
capacitor and its testing with three phase inverter,International Journal of Electrical
Engineering,vol.4,No.5, 567-584, 2011.
66

Economical Analysis of Energy Star Labeled Products

with Varying Operating Parameters
Manu M. John1, James Varghese2
1
Assistant Professor,
College Of Engineering, Adoor,
Adoor-691551, Kerala, India
2
Assistant Professor
ABSTRACT
Energy labeling of consumer products is a tool adopted by various governments

around the world to indicate the energy efficiency ratings of the equipment to a
costumer. Improvements in the energy efficiency of appliances can lead to reduction
of energy use at the country level. The cost of the equipment is related to the energy
star level. Equipments with higher energy star level needs continuous technological
advances or material modifications to achieve improved energy performance. In the
proposed work a techno economical analysis is performed for energy star rated
products. This paper describes an analysis of the economic impacts of energy
efficiency standards for commercial air conditioners for individual and industrial
customers in terms of payback period (PBP). Results indicate that increase in
working hours and tariff rate decreases the pay back period .
INTRODUCTION
Improving the energy efficiency of various equipments is aimed to reduce the
energy consumption at the national level. Various governments are implementing
1
Manu M. John. E-mail: johnmanu007@gmail.com
Economical analysis of energy star labeled products with varying operating parameters
Standards and Labeling (S&L) programs as a key activity for energy efficiency
improvement. The S & L program, when in place would ensure that only energy
efficient equipment and appliance would be made available to the consumers. The
BEE would be responsible for implementation of policy programmes and
coordination of implementation of energy conservation activities in India. To reduce
residential energy consumption, many countries have imposed energy efficiency
standards on newly manufactured household appliances. Government of India
planning to reduce the energy usage characteristics of appliances that are currently
being sold on the market using EER (Energy Efficiency Rating). Labeling schemes
are often promoted as a cost-effective measure to overcome barriers related to
information and search costs as reported by Sutherland (1996) and Howarth et al.
(2000). In this case, the labeling scheme is designed to make consumers aware of the
relative energy-efficiency of appliances and associated potential cost savings
through the provision of observable, uniform, and credible standards .Truffer et al.
(2001) analyzes the fundamentals of voluntary, third-party eco-labeling of electricity
products and compares different labeling approaches, which have been developed in
Europe and in the US. They concluded that in the medium and long term, public
awareness and potential criticisms may rise and rather simple eco-labeling schemes
will have to be adapted. Richard B. Howarth and Bo Andersson(1993) examines the
theory of the market for energy-using equipment, showing that imperfect
information and transaction costs may bias consumers to purchase devices that use
more energy than those that would be selected by a well-informed social planner
guided by the criterion of economic efficiency.
Banerjee and Solomon (2003) evaluated energy-labeling programs in the US based
on Green Seal, Scientific Certification Systems, Energy Guide, Energy Star, and
Green-effect. They reported that simple seal, logos and labels have generally
affected consumer behavior more than the complex information-disclosure labels.
Davis (2008) finds that the adoption of high efficiency washing machines is
profitable in terms of energy use and water use saving relative to the price for most
households. Although the people value the cost of an appliance, they also value the
long term savings that can be achieved due to lower energy consumption of certain
types of equipments.Reiss and White (2008) observe that consumers respond to both
energy prices and information campaigns to reduce energy consumption. This article
presents new evidence on how price changes and conservation appeals affect energy
consumption, using household data from California.
In the Indian context cost benefits analysis on energy efficient appliances are rarely
studied and Rao (2004) presents energy saving potentials in Indias industrial sector,
proposes a number of financing mechanisms or schemes for industrial energy
efficiency projects, and introduces the basic concepts of project cost-effective
analyses. BEE (2004) has undertaken a large number of energy conservation projects
and programs. However, it provides very little information on the suitability of
68
Indian energy efficiency policies to its applications. Chaturvedi (2005) shows Indias
short-, medium- and long-term energy policies. It reviewed the governments major
energy policies since 1992.None of these papers analyze the effectiveness of energy
policy and economics of the same. Generally people are placing more interest on
aspects such as the cost of the appliances, quality and brand. Consumers are
interested in the extra benefits they are getting from the purchase of energy efficient
appliances like energy savings and quality of the appliances. The monetary gains
from switching to a more energy efficient appliance will depend on future energy
prices. The consumers have to pay extra amount of money for purchase of energy
efficient equipments. Sometimes the increment in cost associated with an increase in
energy star level prohibits the consumer from buying energy efficient products. In
this paper the pay back period of air conditioners and effect of various factors on pay
back period is analyzed.
PAYBACK PERIOD INPUTS

The payback period (PBP) is the total time it takes the consumer to recover the
increased expense for purchase of more energy-efficient equipment. Numerically,
the PBP is the ratio of the increase in purchase expense (i.e., from a less efficient
design to a more efficient design) to the decrease in annual operating expenditures.
This type of calculation is known as a simple payback period, because it does not
take into account changes in operating expense over time or the time value of
money.
The equation for PBP is
PBP=IC/OC
(1)
Where IC is the difference in the total equipment cost between the more efficient
standard level and the base equipment design, and OC is the difference in annual
operating expenses. PBPs are expressed in years. PBPs greater than the life of the
product mean that the increased investment cost is not recovered in reduced
operating expenses. Inputs of the operating cost are categorized as follows:1) Inputs
for establishing the purchase expense, otherwise known as the total installed cost
2)inputs for calculating operating expense.
Electricity prices are determined using two approaches: 1) a monthly approach based
on the use of tariffs from an electric utility company. The monthly approach
calculates energy expenses based upon actual electricity prices which customers are
currently paying. A peak hour approach based on the time of use electricity price as
in deregulated electricity markets. In this paper the performance of a 1.5 ton air
conditioner under various SRB (star rating band) is analyzed. The price of the air
conditioner is obtained from the manufactures website www.lg.com (2014). The unit
cost of electricity is obtained from Kerala State Electricity Board, in Indian Rupees.
69

The performance of the air conditioner for different operating conditions is
discussed in this section. The results are based on annual operating costs calculated
from yearly operating hours and electricity prices. The economical impacts of major
significant factors are highlighted by considering different working hours for 1.5T,
air conditioner. The average working hours of domestic air conditioners depends
upon the different climatic conditions. Pay back period is calculated by considering
8, 12 and 24 hours of operation for 5, 8 and 12 months period for different energy
efficient models. Table 1 shows the sample calculation of the pay back period for
domestic as well as for industrial by considering 12 hour 12 month period.
Table 1 Pay Back Period Calculation

L G AC 1.5 T ,FOR 12 HR ,12 MONTHS,Tariff rate of@ 7.2 Rupees per unit-Industrial,@3.8 Rupeesper unit for Domestic
Price of Extra amount to Amount pay back pay back
Star rating
Power
consumptiom In
W
LSA5AU2F
2 STAR
1760
7708.8
35990
LSA5AP3M
3 STAR
1645
7205.1
37990
LSA5AU4F
4 STAR
1575
6898.5
LSA5TM5M
5 STAR
1465
6416.7
Model
Energy
of energy period in period in
consumption the model be spent on higher
savedin Years for Years for
in KW
in Rupees star rated model
KW
industrial domestic
2000
3626.64
0.551475 1.044899
39990
2000
2207.52
0.905994
44990
5000
3468.96
1.441354 2.730987
1.71662
The results show that as the working hours increases the pay back period is
decreasing very drastically Fig.1. This means that for a normal house operating AC
only for 8 hour and5 months period (1200 Hrs) it takes almost 4 years to pay back
the extra amount spent on 3 stars model. If domestic users are selecting 4 star 5 star
models the pay back period increases considerably. If he operates the AC for 12 hr
and 12 months period (4320 hrs) the pay back period decreases to half a year. This
means that for those who are using air conditioners for larger time have the benefits
of getting back the money spent in smaller time period.For industrial purpose the
tariff rate is high and pay back period reduces considerably. Also we can see that as
the working hours increases the pay back period decreases like in the case of
domestic use. Due to higher rate of electricity tariff in industrial use it is
advantageous to go for higher energy efficient model as the pay back period reduces.
70
Fig. 1 Pay back period of a 3 star over 2 star against yearly working hours for
1.5T air conditioner for industrial and domestic purpose.
It is believed that more efficient models will cost more to manufacture, and that
these costs will be passed on to the consumer through higher prices. This argument
has often been used against standards by people, who complain that standards reduce
consumer choice by forcing consumers to pay more for higher-priced units. The
higher cost of energy efficient appliances keeps customers away from purchasing the
same if they are not aware of the benefits of the same. The pay back period of
higher energy efficient model is very high while considering 12 hours of working for
the whole year Fig.2. For domestic purpose the people may find it difficult due to
higher pay back time and for industrial purpose it is advisable that they should select
higher energy efficient model due to lesser pay back period. Since the pay back
period is less than 2 year for industrial it gives better value of extra money spent.
Fig. 2 Pay back period of higher star model for an operating period of 12 hour
for whole year -industrial and domestic
71
The monetary gains from switching to a more energy efficient appliance will depend
on future energy prices; the most important energy price to be considered is that for
electricity. The pay back period is calculated for 3 star rated model air conditioners
over 2 star rated models for different working hours for domestic and industrial
fixed tariff rates. Regional energy prices play an important part in cost benefit
analisys. Tariff rate considered is the prevailing Kerala state electricity boards rates.
Overall, the results indicate that that the increase in tariff rates decreases the pay
back period Fig.3. This means that customers who use air conditioners for more
duration the tariff rate will be higher. Since the pay back period is inversely
proportional to tariff rate, usage of energy efficient models for longer time yields
better value of money. For customers who use air conditioners for lesser time the
pay back period is very high and hence they are not getting the benefits of extra
money spent on higher energy efficient models. For industrial purposes the
operating hours will be higher and hence energy efficient model yields better pay
back, almost less than 1 year. Due to lesser slope of the curve it is better to choose 5
star or 4 star rated models than 2 or 1 star model.
Fig. 3 The effect of tariff rate on pay back period for 3 star over 2 stars
The price per kWh paid by customers for electricity are considered using two
approaches: 1) a monthly approach based on the use of tariffs from a of electric
utilities, and 2) an peak hour approach based on the use of using peak hour
consumption electricity rate prices for in future deregulated electricity rates. Since
the Government is considering the peak hour consumption rate naturally electricity
prices will go high and hence the pay back period decreases. Therefore the choice of
energy efficient appliances yields earlier pay back Fig. 4 Comparison of pay back
period of normal tariff and peak hour rate. Obviously the average pay back period
will decrease and the selection of high energy efficient products is reasonable.
72
Fig. 4 Comparison of pay back period of normal tariff and peak hour rate
CONCLUSIONS
1. The results indicates that duration of working, tariff rates have a direct impact on
pay back period of air conditioners. As these factors increases the pay back period
decreases drastically, the amount of extra money spent on energy efficient
appliances can recovered in a very short span of time only if the equipment usage
time per day is high. For a customer whose utilization hours for air conditioners is
very less doesnt get the benefits of the extra amount spent as the pay back period of
energy efficient appliances is high. Due to higher rate of electricity tariff in
industrial use it is advantageous to go for higher energy efficient model.
2. And also in near future the electricity tariff increases and Government is planning
to implement peak hour tariff rate system, the purchase of energy efficient
appliances will be a good choice as the pay back period will decreases with increase
in tariff rate.
3. In order to promote the sale of energy efficient appliances, some incentives should
be given to domestic users. Future studies should be conducted on the consumer
awareness of energy efficiency standards and its impacts on consumer purchase
decision.
REFERENCES
Banerjee A. Solomon B. D (2003). Eco-Labeling for energy efficiency and
sustainability: a meta- evaluation of the US programs. Energy Policy 31,109-123
Bureau of Energy Efficiency of India (BEE), (2004). Action planthrust areas,
http://www.bee-india.com
73
Chaturvedi, P. (2005), Energy Conservation in India World Energy Council 5th

Floor. Regency House, London, UK.
Davis, L, (2008). Durable goods and residential demand for energy and water:
evidence from a field trail. RAND Journal of Economics 39, 530546.
Howarth, R.B, Haddad, B.M, Paton, B. (2000), The economics of energy
efficiency: insights from voluntary participation programmes, Energy Policy 28,
477486
Koomey, J.G, Mahler, S.A, Webber, C.A, McMahon, J.E. (1999), Projected
regional impacts of appliance efficiency standards for the US residential sector,
Energy Policy 24, 6984.
Manufactureswebsite,(2014),http://www.lg.com/in/compare/compare.lg?category=/i
n/split-ac
Rao, K. M. (2004), Financing of energy efficiency investment: principal options for
industrial investors. Promotion of Energy Efficiency in Industry, Published in
http://www.unescap.org/esd/energy/publications/finance/part2.html
Reiss, P.C, White, M.W, (2008). What changes energy consumption? Process and
public pressures, RAND Journal of Economics 39, 636663.
Richard B Howarth, Bo Andersson, (1993). Market Barriers to energy efficiency,
Energy Policy 5262-272.
Sutherland, R.J. (1996), The economics of energy conservation policy, Energy
Policy 24, 361370.
Truffer, B, Markard, J, Wustenhagen, R. (2001),Eco-labeling of electricity
strategies and tradeoffs in the definition of environmental standards, Energy Policy
29,885897.
74

Battery Super-Capacitor Combination in PV Powered

Zeta Converter Fed BLDC Drive
Rosemin Parackal1, Rinu Alice Koshy2
1
Assistant Professor, Federal Institute of Science and Technology,

Mookkannoor, Angamaly 683577, Kerala, India.
2
Assistant Professor, Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology,
Kochi,Kerala, India..
ABSTRACT
Many of the remote areas that lack electric supply will have to depend on alternate
sources like solar energy. This could be harnessed using photo-voltaic panels, with
Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) an indispensable part of it. Among the
algorithms the paper proposes the usage of Perturb and Observe (P&O) algorithm
for tracking the maximum power point. The P&O controller controls the zeta
converter, which charges the battery. A super-capacitor is also added to form hybrid
energy storage, as it can supply higher load current than battery. This will protect
the battery and increases the life time of the entire system .The battery super
capacitor combination in PV powered zeta converter is used to drive BLDC motor.
The drive performance can be enhanced by the closed loop operation with outer
speed control and inner current control. The effectiveness of the proposed method is
verified using simulation done in PSIM.
INTRODUCTION
BLDC motors have been proven as a good workhorse in many motoring applications
including electric vehicles, motion control, positioning and actuation systems .With
the advent of the motors in 1962 and later with the permanent magnets being readily
available in 1980; the BLDC motors have replaced the conventional in many areas.
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: roseminparackal@gmail.com
Battery Super-Capacitor Combination

The permanent magnet rotor, the stator with the three phase winding and the
electronic commutation makes the motor attractive. The paper proposes a PV
powered BLDC drive, which depends on PV panel as the main source of energy.
The panel output will be affected by changes in temperature, irradiance and load
variations. So MPPT is an unavoidable part of the system, for which P&O method is
proposed. Compared to other algorithms for maximum power point tracking, the
proposed method is simple and easy to implement .Proper converter for interfacing
the MPPT devices to the system is needed, for which zeta converter is chosen.
Effective and reliable energy storage is a prerequisite for solar energy systems. The
atmospheric variations, rolling clouds may cause sudden ups or downs in the
voltage. Also there can be chances when there is mismatch between generated power
and load requirements. The MPPT controlled zeta converter is used for charging the
battery. M.E. Glavin et al. (2008) proposed energy storage systems using various
control algorithms and battery management conditions for battery charging .But
A.Lahyani et al.(2013) pointed that the battery has less number of charge/discharge
cycles. The power density is also low. If pulsed power is extracted from battery for
applications like lasers, radars etc, it can adversely affect the lifetime .Also Glavin et
al. (2008) discussed cases like starting of motor,(for applications like electric
vehicle) that require large current initially, later it is not at all needed. If the battery
is sized with this consideration, the price will shoot up. To mitigate all these issues,
the paper proposes to use a hybrid energy storage system involving a controlled
combination of battery and super-capacitor.
Finally a battery super-capacitor combination in MPPT controlled zeta
converter is proposed for a BLDC drive .The paper proposes a closed loop control of
the BLDC drive, with an outer speed control loop and inner current control loop.
The block diagram of the model is shown in fig.1.
Fig.1 Block Diagram of the Proposed Model
76
COMPONENTS OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM

P&O MPPT
Due to the environmental conditions and load variations, the P-V characteristic of
the panel is nonlinear .There is a unique point corresponding to maximum power on
the P-V curve for particular illumination. The purpose of P&O MPPT is to provide
the operation at this point as suggested by F.Liu(2008).
ZETA CONVERTER
The converter is designed using the equations (1) to (5) as proposed by Sanjeev
Singh and Bhim Singh(2010).Fig.2 shows the basic circuit of the converter.
Fig.2 Zeta Converter

Vout =VinD/(1-D) .(1)
L1a = VinD/fs IL1a .. (2)
Cc =IoutD/fsVCc .. (3)
L1b =Vout(1-D)/fsIL1b...(4)
Cout =Iout/2VCout(5)
HYBRID ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM
A hybrid storage system using a combination of battery and super-capacitor is used
in the model. Super capacitor is an electric double layer capacitor which can have
larger number of charge discharge cycles than a battery. Also it is a good solution to
support the application that need large power for a small period of time Though it is
a costly solution, the dropping prices, longer life time and improving performance
make them acceptable. A new controlled combination is proposed such that the peak
power needs are met by the super-capacitor and steady normal power levels are
supplied by the battery.The system works by comparing the dc bus voltage with a
reference value. A simple circuit is used in the model for the controlled combination
77

on based on the table I. The PV powered zeta converter will charge the battery.
During the normal load conditions the battery will supply the load. The supercapacitor is also charged from the battery. At the time of high load, the bus voltage
will fall by significant amount. When it drops below the set reference value, the
super-capacitor gets the control signal. Super-capacitor then supplies the load and
protects the other storage from supplying heavy currents. The battery and the supercapacitor are modelled using the following values, specifically a battery of 12V 7Ah
and a super capacitor of 1.25F 2.5V(6 super capacitors in series). To visualize the
effect of a heavy load during the simulation time, a suitable load is connected to the
bus using a switch. The simulated result of the bus voltage are attached in fig.3.The
difference in the bus voltage with a battery alone and a combination of battery and
super-capacitor points out the significance of the combination. With only the battery
in the system, the bus voltage dips to zero at times of overload causing temporary
interruptions. But when the super-capacitor is connected it will supply the peak
current, giving a stable operation.
Table 1 Hybrid system condition and action
Condition
Vbus < Vref
Vbus > Vref
Action
Super capacitor supplies the load

Battery supplies the load
Fig.3 Bus voltage with battery alone, with battery super capacitor combination
BLDC DRIVE
The drive is proposed for applications that require more accurate and adaptive
control and so it seeks the help of closed loop operation. These method uses
feedback mechanism in which the actual values of the speed & current are fed back
The controller adjusts the duty cycle of the PWM pulses such that they correspond
to the voltage needed to maintain the target speed.
78
SIMULATION
The simulation was done in PSIM. The complete simulation diagram is shown in
fig.4.A step variation of 800W/m2 to 1000W/m2 is used as the input(S) of the solar
module. P&O subsystem is designed and added as subsystem under MPPT block in
the model.The panel maximum power and the output power (using MPPT)
waveforms was obtained as in fig.5. After a delay period, they almost
coincides.Fig.6 and fig.7 indicates respectively the speed and the torque
waveforms of the considered drive.
Fig.4 Complete simulation diagram
Fig.5 Maximum power and obtained power from the panel
Fig.6 Reference speed and actual speed of the motor

79
Fig.7 Torque waveform of the motor

CONCLUSIONS
The proposed drive is working satisfactorily with hybrid energy storage involving a
controlled combination of battery and super-capacitor for supplying the power
whenever PV power is inadequate .In the system, MPPT control using P&O method
is implemented. MPPT devices are integrated to the designed Zeta converter. The
system is proposed as a promising solution for low power applications in rural
households. The conclusions can be summarized as follows.
1.
2.
3.
Maximum power available from the panel can be harnessed.

HESS reduces the stress of the battery and helps to meet heavy load currents.
Closed loop operation is maintained irrespective of the load variations.
REFERENCES
M.E. Glavin, Chan P.K.W, S. Armstrong, and W.G Hurley,.(2008), A Standalone
Photovoltaic Supercapacitor Battery Hybrid Energy Storage System, PEMC,16881695.
A.Lahyani,P.Vanet,A.Troudi,A.Guermazi.( 2013), Battery/Supercapacitor
combination in UPS, IEEE Trans. Power. Electron.,vol. 28, no. 4, 1509-1522,.
F.Liu,Y.Kong,Y.Zhang,S.Duan,. (2008.), Comparison of P&O and Hill Climbing
MPPT Methods for Grid-Connected PV Converter, 804-807
Sanjeev Singh,Bhim Singh(2010), Voltage controlled PFC zeta converter
based PMBLDC, ICIIS,550-555
80

Fabrication of Graphene Super-capacitors with High

Rated Voltage using Ionic Liquid as Electrolyte
S. Suraj, A. J. Mejo, M. Divya, M. N. Muralidharan, A. Seema1
Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology,
Athani P.O, Thrissur - 680581, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
With many thousands of times higher power density than batteries and much larger
energy density compared to conventional capacitors, supercapacitors based on
electric double layer capacitance (EDLC) are one of the efficient and ideal
electrical energy storage devices. Though supercapacitors have high power density
when compared to batteries, their energy density is much lower than batteries. The
working voltage of commercially available supercapacitors is limited to 2.7 V. In the
present study, graphene supercapacitors having working voltage up to 4.5V were
developed using ionic liquids as electrolyte.1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium
tetrafluoroborate (BMIMBF4) and its solution in different solvents such as
acetonitrile and propylene carbonate were used as electrolytes. We have obtained a
specific capacitance of 114F/g and much higher energy density of 48.73 Wh/Kg
when pure BMIMBF4 was used as electrolyte.
INTRODUCTION
Supercapacitors are electrochemical energy storage devices in which the electric
charge is stored in the electrical double layer formed at the interface between
electrode and an electrolyte solution, R.P. Deshpande (2014). The excellent
properties of supercapacitors such as high power density, high capacitance and long
cycle life (>100000 cycles), have attracted considerable attention and their use as an
electrical energy storage device, often complementary to batteries, B.E. Conway
(1999).
Graphene, a one atom thick layer of carbon, having exceptional electrical
conductivity and high surface area (~ 2630 m2/g, theoretical) is a promising
candidate as electrode material for supercapacitors. Highly accessible surface area
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: seema@cmet.gov.in
High rated voltage graphene supercapacitors
results in exceptional charge storage. To compete with batteries, the energy density
of supercapacitors have to be increased, which can be achieved both by enhancing
the operating voltage of the device, which is currently limited to 2.7 and by
improving the accessibility of ions on the active regions of electrode, Tae Young
Kim et al. (2011).
Propylene carbonate and acetonitrile solutions of tetra ethyl ammonium tetra fluoro
borate (TEABF4 ) are the commonly used electrolytes, which are also the best in the
current scenario too, Testuo Nishida et al. (2003). One of the main constraints for
energy density is the dissociation voltage of electrolyte which is 2.7 for the
commercial organic electrolytes, such as propylene carbonate and acetonitrile
solutions. In order to achieve wider electrochemical window and high specific
capacitance, graphene based supercapacitors with ionic liquid electrolyte has to be
developed.
Herein we report our progress towards high energy density supercapacitors based on
BMIMBF4 as an electrolyte. Cyclic voltammetry, Galvanostatic charge/discharge
and impedance spectroscopy were used to characterize the graphene supercapacitors.
MATERIALS
Graphite flakes were obtained from Hind Minerals, India. Potassium permanganate
(KMnO4), Sulphuric acid (H2SO4), Ortho phosphoric acid (H3PO4), Hydrogen
peroxide (H2O2), Hydrochloric acid (HCl), Hydrazine Hydrate, N,N - dimethyl
formamide and acetonitrile were procured from Merck, India. Propylene carbonate
and 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium tetrafluoroborate of Sigma Aldrich, USA were
used as received.
SYNTHESIS OF GRAPHENE
Graphite oxide was synthesized using improved Hummers method. Graphite flakes
were added to the 9:1 mixture of H2SO4 and H3PO4 and allowed to stir continuously
and KMNO4 was added slowly by providing ice bath to maintain the temperature
below 20C. After the reaction is completed (24h) ice cooled distilled water was
added to the reaction mixture followed by H 2O2 and stirring is continued for another
1 h. The synthesized graphite oxide was then washed with HCl and distilled water to
separate it from the reaction mixture. The graphite oxide was then exfoliated using
ultrasonication to form graphene oxide.
Graphene oxide was reduced into graphene using 35% solution of hydrazine hydrate
at 75C for 8h. The reduced graphene was filtered out and washed with distilled
water to remove the excess hydrazine and dried out.
82
FABRICATION OF SUPERCAPACITORS
The reduced graphene was mixed with binder (5% w/w) to form a dough. The
mixture was then calendared to form a thin sheet of thickness in the range of 60 -90
m. Aluminium foil (Al foil) was used as current collector and the leads are
attached by stitching. The graphene sheets were pasted on the current collector (Al
foil) using custom made carbon paste. The pasted sheets were dried at 100C.
Porous cellulose membrane separator was sandwiched between the two electrodes so
that it becomes electrically isolated and ionically conducting. The two electrode
assemblies along with separator were wound together to form a coil. The assembly
is wetted by suitable electrolyte using a low pressure to drive the fluid in to it and
then the aluminium can is sealed. BMIMBF4 and 50% solutions of BMIMBF4 with
propylene carbonate (PC) and acetonitrile (AN) were used as electrolytes.
Aluminum can is sealed.
ELECTROCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION
Galvanostatic charge-discharge studies were done using a supercapacitor test system
(Arbin Instruments, USA). The cell capacitance and equivalent series resistance
(ESR) were calculated from the discharge curves. The specific capacitance, energy
density and power density were also calculated. The electrochemical performance of
supercapacitors are also evaluated using cyclic voltammetry and impedance
spectroscopy using an electrochemical workstation (Autolab 302NFRA32, The
Netherlands). The cyclic voltammetry was performed at various scan rates ranging
from 10mV/s to 80mV/s for all the above mentioned electrolytes. The AC
impedance spectroscopy was performed at frequencies ranging from 10mHz to
100kHz.

ELECTROCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SUPERCAPACITORS
The supercapacitors were made with graphene based electrodes with ionic liquid
BMIMBF4 as electrolyte and 50% solution of BMIMBF4 in PC and AN as
electrolytes. The electro chemical characteristics of graphene supercapacitors
having different electrolytes were evaluated by the galvanostatic charge/discharge
studies. The results are given in Fig.1. The supercapacitors were charged under
constant current to 3.5V. The specific capacitance, ESR, power density and energy
density were evaluated from these curves.
The capacitance of the supercapacitor cells can be obtained from the slope of the
discharge curve. It is calculated using the Eq. (1)
83
C = I/(dV/dt)
(1)
Where C is the cell capacitance in Farads, I is the discharge current and dV/dt is the
slope of the discharge curve.
Specific capacitance can be calculated using the Eq. (2)
Csp = (4C)/m
(2)
Where Csp is the specific capacitance C is the cell capacitance and m is the total
weight of electrodes
The equivalent series resistance which is the total series resistance offered by the
supercapacitor in series with the capacitance, can be obtained from initial drop of the
discharge curve. The electrolyte resistance, the collector or electrode contact
resistance and the electrode/electrolyte interface resistance contributes to ESR of the
supercapacitors. The working voltage and cell capacitance can be used to obtain the
energy density and power density of the supercapacitors with the help of Eq. (3) &
Eq. (4).
E = (CV2)/(2m)
(3)
P = V2/(4ESRm)
...(4)
Where E is the energy density, P is the power density C is the cell capacitance and
m is the total weight of electrodes
From Fig.1a it can be observed that when BMIMBF4 was used as electrolytes for
graphene supercapacitors, the charge and discharge curves are mirror image in
nature which shows an ideal capacitive behavior. The initial drop of the discharge
curve is narrow when compared to the other two systems which is due to the lower
internal resistance of the electrolyte. The ESR and Capacitance values obtained from
the charge discharge curves are 6.141 and 6.505F. A specific capacitance of
114.57 F/g and a very high energy density of 48.73 Wh/kg are obtained for these
supercapacitors. Graphene supercapacitors with 50% solution of BMIMBF4 in AN
as electrolyte (Fig.1b), first charging takes more time to complete than the second
one indicating that the accessibility of ions to the electrode surface is poor. These
supercapacitors showed higher ESR of 10.661 , capacitance of 5.453 F, the
specific capacitance of 105.67 F/g and energy density of 44.94Wh/kg . From Fig.1c,
it can be seen that BMIMBF4 in PC based electrolyte supercapacitors have a larger
initial drop. The results are summarized in Table1.
84
(a)
(b)
(c)
Fig. 1 Charge/discharge curves of (a) BMIMBF4 (b) BMIMBF4 in AN (c)
BMIMBF4 in PC
Table 1 Electrochemical characteristics of Graphene supercapacitors
Super
cap. No
MS 71
MS 72
MS 89
Electrolyte
used
BMIMBF4+AN
BMIMBF4
BMIMBF4+PC
C
(F)
5.453
6.505
6.671
ESR
()
10.661
6.141
11.285
Csp
(F/g)
105.67
114.57
101.46
E
(Wh/kg)
44.94
48.73
43.15
P
(kW/kg)
1.391
2.195
1.03
Cyclic voltammetry (CV) studies were carried out on graphene supercapacitors to

obtain the information regarding the reversibility of the supercapacitor electrodes. It
also provides a measure of the capacitance of supercapacitors. The cyclic
voltammetry for BMIMBF4 based system is shown in figure 2. The capacitance in
farad is calculated using the Eq. (5).
C = I/s
(5)
Where I is the current response in Amperes and s is the scan rate applied in V/s.
(a)
(b)
(c)
Fig. 2 (a) Cyclic voltammetery (b) Nyquist plot (c) Multiple charge/discharge
studies of pure BMIMBF4 electrolyte based graphene supercapacitor
The cyclic voltammetry of ionic liquid based supercapacitors deviate from the ideal
behavior of supercapacitors which is rectangular in shape. The deviation is due to
the high internal resistance offered by the electrolyte. While increasing the voltage
scan rates, the plot deviates more from the ideal behavior. This is due to the
inadequate time required for the electrolyte to access the electrode surface area,
85
thereby reducing the formation of electric double layer and thus reduces the
capacitance. The characteristic frequency response of graphene supercapacitors
was studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. At fully discharged
conditions, supercapacitors were analyzed at frequency range of 10mHz to 100kHz.
The ESR and Equivalent distributed resistance (EDR) of pure BMIMBF4 electrolyte
based graphene supercapacitor were calculated from the Nyquist plot (Fig. 2b). EDR
is a resistive component which comes in parallel with the capacitance in the
equivalent circuit of supercapacitors, which includes Warburg impedance and
faradaic resistance. ESR is the point at which the curve meets the real axis. The
faradic resistance is the diameter of the semicircle formed after the ESR portion in
the plot. The Warburg resistance is calculated by measuring the displacement
between straight line and semicircle when coming to lower frequency region.
The multiple charge discharge studies were also done on the BMIMBF 4 electrolyte
system (Fig. 2C). All the cycles are identical in nature which shows good
reversibility of the graphene supercapacitors. The multiple charge discharge studies
were carried out at a current rate of 20mA and voltage of 3.5V.
CONCLUSIONS
1.
2.
3.
Graphene supercapacitors with high rated voltage was developed using ionic
liquid as electrolyte.
Graphene supercapacitors having specific capacitance of 114F/g and much
higher energy density of 48.73 Wh/Kg was obtained when pure BMIMBF4 was
used as electrolyte.
ESR of the graphene supercapacitors has to be further reduced to improve the
performance.
REFERENCES
B.E. Conway (1999) Electrochemical Supercapacitors Scientific fundamentals and
technological applications, Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York.
R.P. Deshpande (2014) Ultracapacitors future of energy storage, McGraw Hill
Education (India) Private Limited, New Delhi.
Tae Young Kim et al(2011), High performance Supercapacitors based on
poly(ionic liquid)-modified graphene electrodes, ACS nano,vol.5,No.1 ,436-442.
Testuo Nishida et al (2003), Physical and electrochemical properties of 1-alkyl-3methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate for electrolyte, Journal of fluorine chemistry,
135-141.
86

Performance Evaluation of an Absorption

Airconditioning System operated by Engine Exhaust
Dhayananth S1, Kumaran S1, Madanlal D R1, Suresh M2
1
UG final year students, 2Associate Professor

Department of Mechanical Engineering, SSN College of Engineering,
Kalavakkam 603110, Tamilnadu, India
ABSTRACT
This work presents a theoretically simulated performance of an ammoniawater
absorption airconditioning system of 1 kW capacity, using the exhaust of an internal
combustion engine as energy source. A 15 kW of spark ignition petrol engine is
taken into consideration and its exhaust pipe is connected to the vapour absorption
system (VAS). Exhaust gases in the temperature range of 150 - 180C pass through
the generator of VAS and supply the heat input. Absorber and condenser are cooled
by cooling water in the temperature range of 25 - 30C. Air from blower passes
through the evaporator of VAS and cooled air is supplied to the air-conditioned
space. Effects of operating parameters such as generator, condenser, and
evaporator temperatures on system performance namely coefficient of performance
(COP), circulation ratio, heat capacities of system components are studied. The
coefficient of performance increases when generator temperature is less than 120C
and decreases when the generator temperature is more than 120C. The coefficient
of performance is higher at high evaporator temperatures, whereas it is lower at
higher condenser temperatures. The airconditioning system could attain its full
capacity when the engine is operated above 50% of its rated capacity.
INTRODUCTION
Energy conservation and efficiency policies are being promoted in the area of
refrigeration and airconditioning for natural resources preservation and cost
reduction. Numerous investigations are carried out globally to develop energy
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: madan5311@gmail.com
Performance evaluation of an absorption
efficient refrigeration systems with negligible environmental pollution. Thermally

driven systems have gained importance due to abundantly available waste heat from
industrial process. Vapour absorption refrigeration system (VARS) has got the
attention of researchers due to its potential to utilize waste heat as major energy
input. Internal combustion engines are potential energy sources for absorption
airconditioning systems, as about one third of the energy availability in the
combustion process is wasted through the exhaust gas. Thus, use of the exhaust gas
in an absorption system can increase the overall system efficiency. The present work
studies the feasibility and potential of using the internal combustion engine exhaust
gas as energy source for an absorption airconditioning system. The first continuous
aqua-ammonia vapour absorption refrigeration system was built by Ferdinard Carre
in 1859 with ammonia as the refrigerant and water as the absorbent. From launch of
absorption refrigeration system, the pair ammoniawater has largely been used.
Ammonia has a high enthalpy of vaporization, which is necessary for satisfactory
system performance. The system can be used at low temperatures and at pressures
above atmospheric. Koehler et al. (1997) designed, built and tested a prototype of an
absorption refrigeration system for truck refrigeration using heat from the exhaust
gas. The refrigeration cycle was simulated by a computer model and validated by
test data. The prototype showed a coefficient of performance of about 27%. Zhao et
al (2003) studied two combined absorption/compression refrigeration cycles using
ammonia and water as the working fluid and by utilizing the waste heat efficiently
for a gas engine-driven heat pump running in a cooling mode. Manzela et al (2010)
carried out an experimental study of an ammoniawater absorption refrigeration
system using the exhaust of an internal combustion engine as energy source. They
concluded that exhaust hydrocarbon emissions were higher when the refrigeration
system was installed in the engine exhaust, but carbon monoxide emissions were
reduced, while carbon dioxide concentration remained practically unaltered.
Pandiarajan et al (2011) designed and fabricated a heat recovery system consisting
of a finned shell and tube heat exchanger and a thermal energy storage tank with
paraffin as phase change storage material for waste heat recovery from diesel engine
exhaust. Castor oil was used as heat transfer fluid in the tube side to extract heat
from exhaust gas. Rego et al (2014) evaluated the performance of an absorption
refrigeration system as a function of the engine exhaust gas heat and concluded that
it was possible to apply the exhaust gas heat from to effectively power an ammoniawater absorption refrigeration system. Taboas et al (2014) discussed the feasibility
of using ammonia based working fluids in a single-effect absorption refrigeration
cycle for fishing ships by using waste heat energy of jacket water in diesel engines.
88
ABSORPTION REFRIGERATION SYSTEM ANALYSIS

Fig.1 shows the schematic of a continuous vapour absorption refrigeration system.
Rectifier
QR
mr
QC
QG
Generator
Refrigerant flow rate (m r)

Strong solution flow rate (mss)
Weak solution flow rate (mws) = mss - mr
8
7
mss
Solution
heat exchanger
Condenser
mr
mws
Expansion
device
Pressure reducing
valve
10
Absorber
Evaporator
mr
5
Solution pump mss
QA
QE
Fig. 1 Schematic of ammonia-water vapour absorption refrigeration system

Thermodynamic heat quantities
Heat absorbed at evaporator
Heat rejected at condenser
Heat rejected at absorber
where
Heat supplied at generator
where
QE mr (h6 h5 )
QC mr (h2 h3 )
QA mr h6 mws h14 mss h7
mss (mws mr )
QG mr h11r mws h11s mss h10
(1)
... (2)
... (3)
(4)
... (5)
h11r and h11s are refrigerant vapour enthalpy and weak solution enthalpy at
state 11 respectively. Heat recovered by strong solution at solution heat exchanger

QHX ,SS mss (h10 h9 )
(6)
Pumping power required to pump strong solution
WP mss vss ( P9 P8 )
... (7)
89
where
vss is specific volume of strong solution at solution pump inlet i.e state 8.
Thermodynamic CR is calculated by assuming equilibrium conditions at absorber

and generator outlets.
CRth
X g X ws ,eq
X ss ,eq X ws ,eq
where X g is considered as concentration of ammonia vapour.
(8)
X ss ,eq is equilibrium
concentration calculated from absorber outlet pressure and temperature and
X ws ,eq
is equilibrium concentration calculated from generator outlet pressure and

temperature. COP is defined as ratio of refrigeration effect produced by the system
to energy supplied to the system. Cooling load at evaporator is termed as
refrigeration effect from the system. Heat input supplied to generator and power
supplied to solution pump is termed as energy inputs supplied to the system.
Theoretical COP is calculated as
COPth
QE
QG WP
... (9)
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

An ammoniawater absorption airconditioning system of 1 kW capacity, using the
exhaust of an internal combustion engine as energy source has been simulated for
analysis. A 15 kW of spark ignition petrol engine is taken into consideration and its
exhaust pipe is connected to the vapour absorption system. Exhaust gases in the
temperature range of 150 - 180C pass through the generator of the absorption
system and supply the heat input. Absorber and condenser are cooled by cooling
water in the temperature range of 25 - 30C. Air from blower passes through the
evaporator and cooled air is supplied to the airconditioned space. Effects of
operating parameters such as generator, condenser, and evaporator temperatures on
system performance namely COP, circulation ratio, and heat duties of system
components are studied. Fig.2 shows the effect of generator temperature on
circulation ratio (CR) at different condenser temperatures. At higher generator
temperatures, weak solution concentration decreases. This leads to increase in
concentration difference between strong and weak solutions, which results in
decrease in solution circulation rate to generate unit mass of refrigerant vapour. At
higher condenser temperatures, weak solution concentration increases. This leads to
decrease in concentration difference between strong and weak solutions, which
results in increase in solution circulation rate. In Fig.3, COP decreases at higher
generator temperatures. The reason is that at generator temperatures greater than
90
120C, internal irreversibilities increase in generator. This increases heat load, even
though, heat input required at the generator is less to generate unit mass of
refrigerant vapour at low CR. Since COP is the ratio of refrigeration effect to
generator heat input, the value is more at high generator temperatures. COP
decreases at high condenser temperatures. The reason is that at high CR, heat input
required at the generator is more to generate unit mass of refrigerant vapour. COP
increases when generator temperature is less than 120C and decreases when the
generator temperature is more than 120C. This is due to internal irreversibilities in
the generator at high temperatures. In Fig.4, generator heat input increases as
generator and condenser temperatures increase. The reasons have been explained
previously. Fig.5 shows that absorber heat load increases at high generator which is
due to increase in internal irreversibilities in generator. Absorber heat load increases
at high condenser temperatures which is due to more amount of heat rejection in the
absorber at high CR. Condenser heat load does not vary much at varying generator
and condenser temperatures.
8
0.44
Evaporator temp: 00 C
System capacity: 1 KW
Evaporator temp: 00C

0.4
COP
Circulation ratio
0.42
0.38
4
0.36
condensation temp 30 deg C


2
0.34
140
150
160
170
180
190
140
150
160
170
180
190
Generator temperature 0C
Generator temperature, 0C
Fig.2 Effect of generator temperature on

CR
Fig.3 Effect of generator temperature

on COP
2.5
Heat rejected at absorber, kW
Heat supplied at generator, kW
2.8
2.7
2.6
2.5
2.4

150
160
170
180
2.3
2.2
2.1
2.3
140
2.4
190
2
140
150
160
170
180
190
Fig.4 Effect of generator temperature on

generator heat load
Fig.5. Effect of generator temperature

on absorber heat load
91
CONCLUSIONS
Numerical studies have been performed on an ammoniawater absorption
airconditioning system of 1 kW capacity, using the exhaust of an internal
combustion engine as energy source and the following conclusions have been drawn
from the numerical results.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The circulation ratio is lower at high generator and evaporator

temperatures, whereas it is higher at higher condenser temperatures.
The coefficient of performance increases when generator temperature is
less than 120C and decreases when the generator temperature is more than
120C.
The coefficient of performance is higher at high evaporator temperatures,
whereas it is lower at higher condenser temperatures.
The air-conditioning system could attain its full capacity when the engine is
operated above 50% of its rated capacity.
Further, numerical studies shall be extended for alternate and environment
friendly working fluids.
REFERENCES
Koehler, J., Tegethoff, WJ., Westphalen, D. and Sonnekalb, M. (1997), Absorption
refrigeration system for mobile applications utilizing exhaust gases, Heat and Mass
Transfer, 32,33340.
Manzela, A. A. Hanriot, S. M., Gomez, L. C., Sodre, J. R. (2010), Using engine
exhaust gas as energy source for an absorption refrigeration system, Applied
Energy, 87,114148.
Pandiyarajan, V., Chinna Pandian, M., Malan, E., Velraj, R., Seeniraj, R.V., (2011),
Experimental investigation on heat recovery from diesel engine exhaust using
finned shell and tube heat exchanger and thermal storage system, Applied Energy,
88, 77-87
Rego, A.T., Hanriot, S.M., Oliveira, A.F., Brito, P., Rego T.F.U. (2014),
Automotive exhaust gas flow control for an ammonia-water absorption
refrigeration system, Applied Thermal Engineering, 64, 101-107.
Taboas, F., Bourouis, M., Valles, M. (2014), Analysis of ammonia/water and
ammonia/salt mixture absorption cycles for refrigeration purposes in fishing ships,
Applied Thermal Engineering, 66, 603-611.
Zhao, Y., Shigang, Z., Haibe, Z. (2003), Optimization study of combined
refrigeration cycles driven by an engine, Applied Energy, 76,37989.
92

Energy Efficiency of Lecture Halls in Educational

Institutions- A Modeling Study
Naveen Tiwari1, Sudhir Misra2
1
Department of Chemical Engineering,2Department of Civil Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Kanpur-208016, UP, India.
ABSTRACT
With an increase in thrust on education at all levels from the Government in India,
several new institutes have come-up in recent times across the country. A large part
of the energy consumption in higher education institutes such as engineering
colleges is due to air-conditioning system to maintain the thermal comfort inside the
building. The link between thermal comfort in these buildings and students
performance is well established in some earlier studies performed in developed
countries such as USA and UK. Therefore the envelopes of buildings such as lecture
halls and libraries in such institutes need to be better performing as far as energy
consumption is concerned to maintain a thermal comfort zone inside. In this study a
lecture hall inside IIT Kanpur is considered as a case study. The thermal model is
developed in TRNSYS. The model involves parameters such as load due to students,
infiltration and outdoor weather conditions. The simulation gives annual energy
consumption of this lecture hall. Computations are done to estimate change in
energy consumption by changing parameters such as thermal insulation, solar
reflectivity of outdoor walls, and outdoor weather conditions (which is equivalent to
a lecture hall located in a different city). Also the effect of a Phase Change
Material(PCM) on the outside walls is studied on the overall energy consumption.
INTRODUCTION
With the emphasis on higher education in India several new institutes have come up
recently including several engineering colleges. The energy consumption in an
educational institute can be significantly higher than residential consumption due to
large lecture halls, several offices, lab-equipments etc, One of the main reason for
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: naveent@iitk.ac.in
Energy Efficiency of Lecture Halls in Educational Institutions
large amount of energy consumption can be attributed to HVAC system to maintain

thermal comfort in the important student spaces in the institute for example lecture
halls and library. There have been several studies in the European and American
countries where thermal comfort has been correlated with the performance of the
students(e.g. McDonald (1960), Schneider (2002), Teli et. al. (2012)). Therefore the
functioning of HVAC in the education institutes at such places of learning is
appropriate. This also then implies a huge energy consumption in these buildings. It
is therefore necessary to estimate the energy requirements of these buildings and
understand the factors that prominently lead to the energy consumption. The energy
consumption can depend on several factors such as human behavior (e.g. settemperature) , material of the building, and external weather.
In this project a lecture hall at IIT Kanpur is studied using simulation tool TRNSYS
which is used to simulate transient heat transfer problems. The objective of the
project is to use the simulation tool along with some feasible experiments to monitor
the energy expenditure on lecture halls and propose methods to reduce the energy
consumption. There have been several studies in countries like US and UK but a
similar study has not been performed in India to the knowledge of the authors. Note
that the studies in US and UK focused mostly on heating energy requirement of the
building but in this study we have considered cooling energy requirement which is
consistent with the Indian climate. This study may therefore initiate the discussion in
the Indian context. The study focuses on few aspects of human behavior in the
context of conserving energy to maintain the thermal comfort in a building as also
discussed in Iwashita (1997). The effect of an embedded phase change material
(PCM) in the exterior walls is also studied (Gates (2003)).
MODEL DETAILS
Construction of an accurate thermal model on the lines of computational fluid
dynamics (CFD) for a building can be a herculean task if all the details are to taken
into account. In the traditional CFD the domain of interest is discretized in fine grids
so that the governing differential equations for heat and momentum transport can be
reduced to difference equations and finally set of algebraic equations are solved. The
result gives temperature as a function of spaces and time in the domain for example
inside the building. In the building physics often accurate description of the
temperature or air-flow field is not required but the effect of relevant parameters on
the energy consumption to maintain thermal comfort inside the building is of utmost
importance. TRNSYS is commercially available software that uses thermal and airflow equations at macro-level and simplifies them to find the energy requirements of
the building for a given thermal load. It takes into account the external weather,
loads such as infiltration, gain due to human activity, solar radiation, etc. The
primary assumption is that the air-zone in which there is not much variation in
temperature in space can be considered as a thermal-zone and the energy balance is
94
applied over that thermal-zone. Its interactions with the external factors come
through boundary conditions. Correlations are used to describe heat transfer
coefficients at the external envelope of the building to account for the convective
heat transfer due to external air-flow. The walls can also absorb direct and diffuse
solar radiation. The mathematical details are avoided here but TRNSYS manual can
be consulted for more details.
Table 1 Construction details of floors
S.
No.
1
2
3
Layer
Kotastone
Cement
plaster
Concrete
slab
Total
Thick
ness
(m)
0.025
Thermal
Conductivity
(W/mK)
1.299
Heat
Capacity
(kJ/kgK)
0.908
0.025
1.396
0.1
1.126
0.150
Density (kg/m3)
1554
2000
2200
2
U-Value=3.383 W/m K
Table 2 Construction of the walls
S.
No
Wall
material
Thickness
(m)
1
2
Fiberglass
Particle
Board
Perforated
Gypsum
Board
Cement
plaster
Brick wall
Cement
plaster
Total
4
5
6
Capacity
(kJ/kgK)
Density
(kg/m3)
0.050
0.012
Thermal
Conductivity
(W/mK)
0.039
0.055
0.84
1
12
300
0.012
0.239
800
0.012
1.396
2000
0.230
0.012
0.717
1.396
1
1
1700
2000
0.328
U-value=0.494 w/m2K
The most important input to the model is the construction of the building under
consideration. The dimensions of the lecture hall and design were obtained from the
Institute Works Department (IWD) of IIT Kanpur. The details of the construction
95
are not shown here but the volume of the hall is 402 m3(floor area = 116.64 m2 and
average height = 3.45m)). The details of the construction of the floor and walls
including material in each layer and thicknesses, and relevant thermal properties are
given in Table1 and 2 respectively. Similar details are available for roof also but
have been avoided here.
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
3300
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
3320
3340
3360
Time (Hours)
3380
Solar radiation (kW/m2)
Temperature ( deg C)
Another important input to the model is the weather data. The weather data includes
air-temperature, direct and diffuse radiation, wind, sky-temperature. TRNSYS has a
huge weather library that contains annual weather data for several cities of the
world. The data is a combination of measurements and model calculations. For the
present study weather data for Kanpur would have been ideal but in the absence of it
weather data for Agra was used. Few local measurements suggested that the
difference between the peak and average temperatures was not significant between
the two places. Shown in Fig 1 is a plot of air-temperature and solar radiation versus
time for this location. The time corresponds to hours in a year starting from zero
hour at 12 midnight on 1st January. Therefore the time-period shown in Fig 1
corresponds to 17th May to 21st May.
0
3400
Fig.1 Weather data for Agra (UP). Ambient temperature (deg C) and Total
Solar radiation(kW/m2) on a horizontal surface are plotted with time.

Results of the simulations are shown in Table 3 in which annual cooling energy
consumption of the lecture hall is shown as a function of several parameters to
maintain a temperature (T set) of 20 oC with no limit of power available with the
HVAC system. Also shown in the table is percent decrease in energy consumption
with each parameter as compared to base case. Therefore a negative value in this
column implies increase in the energy consumption. Base case consists of the
building description as mentioned in the previous section, Tset = 20 oC, no
infiltration, empty hall, solar absorptance = 0.6 from the exterior surface of the
walls, and no Phase Change Material (PCM).
96
In Table 3, case-2 to case-5 are linked to human behavior than any technology. For
example merely changing the T set from 20 oC to 27 oC leads to an energy saving of
84%. These few points emphasize the point that to save energy in a building society
may need to just change the behavior and be conscious about saving energy. Student
load was kept as 50 for case-5 which is a typical load for the lecture hall considered.
Case-3 in which an AC of 1 ton was used may not be sufficient to bring the
temperature of the hall to the desired level (results not shown here), and hence may
not be suitable in this context. Changing the weather from Agra to Delhi (case-6)
only illustrates the need to take into consideration the local weather and its impact
on energy consumption while deciding about the construction and proper material
selection. Doubling the wall insulation and change in solar (cases-7 and 8) are
examples of some typical retrofitting measures to make an existing building more
energy efficient. Case-9 illustrates the possible energy savings by using a phasechange material in an exterior wall. PCM is placed next to the exterior surface of the
envelope in order to keep the temperature constant. A phase-change material works
on the principle of latent heat storage where it utilizes the energy associated with a
change of state of a material such as the transition from a solid-to-liquid, or liquidto-gas. The solid-to-liquid phase change is preferred for building application because
of the much smaller volume change resulting in this transition for a given amount of
energy storage. In this case the PCM chosen has a transition temperature of 20 oC
and latent heat of 251 kJ/kg.
Table 3: Annual Energy Consumption for cooling as a function of different
parameters
Case
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Description
Base Case
Tset changed from 20 oC to
27 oC
AC power =1 ton
(changed from unlimited
in base-case)
Infiltration(due to door
opening)
Student load(50 students )
Delhi Weather
Wall insulation doubled
Wall solar absorptance
increased from 0.6 to 0.9
Phase Change Material
Energy Consumption
(kWh)x10-4
1.5
0.23
% decrease in
consumption
0
84.4
1.12
25.3
1.78
-18.7
3.08
1.38
1.42
1.53
-105.3
8
5.33
-2
1.21
19.3
97
CONCLUSIONS
This paper considers the energy consumption to maintain temperature of 20 oC in a
lecture hall at IIT Kanpur. The purpose is to demonstrate through simulations the
energy consumption under various scenarios. The simulations are done using
commercial software TRNSYS.
Following is the summary of the results:
1. Human behavior for example set temperature in the building, infiltration, human
load can contribute significantly to the energy performance of a building.
2. A suitable phase change material embedded in the exterior walls can lead to
significant energy savings.
3. Other factors to improve the energy efficiency of a building are insulation in the
wall and solar reflectivity/absorptance of the exterior surface of the wall.
The future studies will focus on developing a building to perform controlled
experiments in order to validate existing and new ideas to save energy consumption
in a building in the Kanpur climate.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from Obama-Singh
Initiative for this project. Also authors would like to acknowledge the help from
Institute Works Department (IWD) of IIT Kanpur for providing relevant for this
study. Assistance from Ranjan Bhatta is also acknowledged during his brief stay at
IIT Kanpur.
REFERENCES
McDonald E.G. (1960), Effect of school environment on teacher and student
performance, Air conditioning, Heating, and Ventilation, 57, 78 - 79.
Iwashita G., Akasaka, H.(1997), The effects of human behavior on natural
ventilation rate and indoor air environment in summer a field study in southern
Japan; Energy and Buildings 25, 195-205
Schneider M. (2002), Do School Facilities Affect Academic Outcomes?,published
by National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
Teli D., Jentsch M, James P.A.B, Bahaj A. S.(2012), Field study on thermal
comfort in a UK primary school, Proceedings of 7th Windsor Conference: The
changing context of comfort in an unpredictable world, Windsor, UK, 12-15.
Gates, J.G, Ip, K, & Miller, A. (2003) A Review of the Use of Phase Change
Materials for Energy Storage in Buildings. 2003 CIB Student Chapter Conference
Hong Kong
98

Performance Improvement of Photovoltaic Systems by

Extracting Thermal Energy-An Experimental Study
Sajith.K.G1, C. Muraleedharan2
1
Reserch Scholar,2Professor
National Institute of Technology Calicut
Kozhikode- 673601, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
The efficiency of photovoltaic system is very much limited as major part of solar
energy is converted to thermal energy. This increases the temperature of the panel,
and adversely effects on the efficiency. Hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) systems
simultaneously produce electrical and thermal energy by effectively utilizing the
cogenerated heat. A comprehensive study on PV/T systems has been conducted in
Solar Laboratory of NIT Calicut aiming at improving the overall performance. The
experimental results of different configurations-mesh, fins and slats in PV/T systemto achieve higher electrical and thermal efficiencies are presented here.
In the installed double pass PV/T solar collector a photovoltaic panel itself acts as a
heat extraction device. A blower was provided for forced circulation of air. A glass
cover was fixed at the top of the collector and all other surfaces of the collector are
insulated. The experiments were carried out many days from 08.00 hours to 17.00
hours. The study on electrical and thermal performances with different
configurations showed that by extracting heat from the PV panel, its efficiency is
increased. The results show that the use of fins attached with the cell plate improved
the overall efficiency about 14% and the thermal energy dissipated to air circulated
has enough heat content (temperature up to 63.5oC) which can be utilized for
industrial and domestic heating purposes. The simple cost effective methods as
demonstrated in the study are expected to further popularize the concept of hybrid
PV/T systems due to the increased overall performance.
Corresponding author. E-mail: sajithgopi@rediff.com
Performance improvements of photovoltaic systems
INTRODUCTION
Energy utilization has become a key parameter for the rapid advancement of human
societies. Solar energy conversion by photovoltaic panels is one of the important
solutions for the increasing energy demands emanating from the population growth
in future. The conversion efficiency of photovoltaic cells depending on type is only
5-15 % with greater percentage converted into heat. A pragmatic alternative to the
simple PV module has been emerged in the form of hybrid photovoltaic thermal
(PV/T) systems, which provide both electricity and heat simultaneously. It has been
shown that PV/T systems offer several advantages like more energy output per unit
area, improved electrical efficiency due to cell cooling, cost reduction due to the
hybridization etc. over the conventional PV systems.
Significant amount of empirical and theoretical studies have been reported on the
PV/T systems in the last four decades. Kern and Russel (1978) provided the basic
ideas of PV/T collector using water or air as the heat dissipation fluid. Florschuetz
(1979) proposed an extension of the Hottel- Whillier model for studying the PV/T
system. Numerical analysis for predicting the performance of PV/T flat plate
collectors was done by Raghuraman (1982). Cox and Raghuraman (1985) presented
the computer simulation studies. Garg and Adhikari (1997) presented many results
regarding the effect of design parameters on the performance of a hybrid PV/T
system with air as working fluid. A steady state model for the comparison of the
performance of single and double pass collectors was presented by Sopian et al.
(1996). A physical model of a flat-plate PV/T collector was presented by Bergene
and Lovvik (1995).
A comprehensive review on PV/T hybrid solar technology was presented by Chow
(2009). The thermal performance of a hybrid PV/T air heater was evaluated by Joshi
et al. (2009). Exergy analysis of a PV/T collector was done by Joshi and Tiwari
(2007) for cold climatic conditions of India (Srinagar)
Present work is mainly carried out to improve the performance of the PV panel.
Three modifications were suggested: (i) placing GI mesh below the PV panel (ii)
attaching slats in air channel between PV panel and bottom plate and
(iii) attaching fins with absorber plate extending to the air passage.
.
100
MATERIALS
The design of PV/T collector has some resemblance with solar air heater. In a solar
air heater, a black absorber plate is used for heat extraction. But in a PV/T solar
system, instead of absorber plate, a PV panel is used. Simple modifications of the
system by using mesh, fins and slats were also tested for improving the heat
extraction from the panel. The experimental set up is shown in Fig.1.
Fig.1 Experimental set up
Fig.2(a) Cross nsectional view of air passagewith mesh
Fig.2(b) Cross nsectional view of air passage with slats

101
Fig.2(c) Cross nsectional view of air passage with fins

A double pass solar air heater frame was fabricated by using MS angles. In the
middle of the frame, a PV panel of rating 100 W (dimensions 1.24 m x 0.65 m) was
fixed. In between the two covers made of MS sheet, polystyrene sheets of thickness
0.05 m were packed as an insulator. A glass cover was fixed on the top of the
module to reduce the reflection from the panel. A blower was used to provide the
forced circulation of air.
Experiments were conducted to study the performance of this PV/T system. Four
configurations of PV/T were tested for the performance analysis. The reference
system is a simple PV/T collector with PV module as heat absorber plate. Other
configurations are improvements of this reference model. First improvement is
obtained by placing a GI mesh at the bottom side of the PV module. Second
improvement is by fabricating slats in the air channel below PV Panel. The third
modification is attaching the GI plate with fins on the back side extending to the air
passage. All these modifications are simple, cost effective and easy to fabricate.
METHODS
The experiments were conducted in Solar Laboratory of National Institute of
Technology Calicut during December, 2013. The readings were taken from 8.00 am
to 5.00 pm. Photovoltaic panel was loaded using a Rheostat for maximum power
point. The ambient temperature, glass cover temperature, top and bottom
temperature of the panel, temperature of the bottom plate, and inlet and outlet
temperatures of air were measured using a J-type thermocouple. Voltage and current
of photovoltaic cell were measured by Voltmeter and Ammeter (make-MECO),
respectively. Air velocity was measured by an anemometer (make-Lutron AM4201).The solar radiation intensity was measured using a pyranometer (makeEMCON). Relative humidity was measured by humidity meter (make-Huger).

A PV/T collector is essentially combines the functions of a flat plate thermal
collector and that of a photovoltaic panel.
102
The steady state thermal efficiency of a conventional flat plate solar collector is
given by,
(1)
where G and A are the incident solar irradiance normal to the surface and the
collector area, respectively.
The useful heat collected is given by,
(2)
where and
are the mass flow rate and specific heat of the coolant
air,respectively.
are the temperatures at inlet and outlet of the collector.
The thermal efficiency is given by,
(3)
The electrical efficiency of a PV module is given by,

(4)
, : current and voltage for maximum power
Equivalent thermal efficiency,
(5)
where
: conversion factor of the thermal power plant and its value may be 0.38
for India.
So overall energy efficiency or the first law efficiency,
(6)
Total energy output obtained from PV/T collector,
(7)
Electrical and thermal performances of four different configurations of PV/T

systems have been analyzed using the observed data.
The total energy is the sum of electrical and thermal energy. The variation of total
energy of four configurations during the experimental period is shown in Fig. 3. It is
observed that the total energy increases during the noon time due to the increased
solar irradiation. PV/T with fins is capable of tapping maximum energy.
103
350
300
Total energy (W)
250
200
150
PV/T
PV/T with mesh
PV/T with slats
PV/T with fins
100
50
10
11
12
13
Time of the day (h)
14
15
16
17
Fig.3 Variation of total energy of different configurations

8.5
PV/T
PV/T with mesh
PV/T slats
PV/T with fins
Electrical efficiency (%)
7.5
6.5
5.5
5
8
10
11
12
13
Time of the day (h)
14
15
16
17
Fig. 4 Variation of electrical efficiency of different configurations

Figure 4 clearly shows that electrical efficiency decreases with increase in
temperature which occurs during the noon time. This behavior of solar cell evidently
104
warrants efficient cooling. Attaching fins at the bottom of the PV panel enhances the
cooling process and increases the electrical efficiency.
50
45
Thermal efficiency (%)
40
35
30
PV/T
PV/T with mesh
PV/T with slats
PV/T with fins
25
20
15
10
10
11
12
13
Time of the day (h)
14
15
16
17
Fig.5 Variation of thermal efficiency of different configurations

The behavior of thermal efficiency is shown in Fig. 5. It is an expected result. Better
heat dissipation method by fins naturally increases the thermal efficiency of the
PV/T collector.
70
65
Energy efficiency (%)
60
55
50
45
PV/T
PV/T with mesh
PV/T with slats
PV/T with fins
40
35
30
25
10
11
12
13
Time of the day (h)
14
15
16
17
Fig.6 Variations of total energy efficiency of different configurations

105
Energy efficiency is the sum of electrical and thermal efficiency as per Eq.(6).
Figure 6 clearly establishes that the configuration of PV/T with fins provides better
overall performance.
CONCLUSIONS
Electrical and thermal performance of four different configurations of hybrid PV/T
solar collector was analyzed in the present study.
The hybrid PV/T solar system is a promising alternative to a PV system as the
former offers more energy per unit area. The performance of the hybrid PV/T
system can be further enhanced using similar simple cost effective techniques as
demonstrated in this study. Major conclusions are,
1. The PV panel with fins attached offers better electrical and thermal performance.
2. When fins attached the overall efficiency of the module is increased up to 14%.
REFERENCES
Bergene, T. and Lovvik, O.M. (1995), Model calculation on a flat- plate solar heat
collector with integrated solar cells, Solar Energy, 55, 453-462.
Chow, T. T. (2009), A review on photovoltaic/thermal hybrid solar technology,
Applied Energy, 87, 365-379.
Cox, C. H and Raghuraman, P.(1985), Design considerations for flat-plate
photovoltaic/thermal collectors, Solar Energy, 35, 227-245.
Florschuetz, L. W. (1979), Extension of the Hottel- Whillier model to the analysis
of combined photovoltaic thermal flat plate collector, Solar Energy, 22, 361-366.
Garg, H.P. and Adhikari, R. S. (1997), Conventional hybrid photovoltaic/thermal
(PV/T) air heating collectors: Steady state simulation., Renewable Energy, 11, 363385.
Joshi, A. S. and Tiwari, A. (2007), Energy and energy efficiencies of a hybrid
photovoltaic- thermal (PV/T) air collector, Renewable Energy, 32, 2223-2241.
Kern Jr, E. C and Russel, M. C. (1978), Combined photovoltaic and thermal hybrid
collector system, Proceedings of the 13th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists, 11531157.
Raghuraman, P. (1982), Analytical prediction of liquid and air photovoltaic/thermal
flat plate collector performance, Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, 103, 291298.
Sopain, K.., Yigit, K.S., Liu, H. Y. and Veziroglu, T. N.(1996), Performance
analysis of photovoltaic thermal air heaters,EnergyConservation and Management,
37(11), 1657-1670.
106

Risk Analysis of Methane and Ethane Gas

Release at Different Conditions using Arial Location of
Hazardous Atmospheres
Shashank Tiwari 1, TejeswiRamprasad2, Diptendu Das3
1
M.Tech Scholar, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal.

M.E. Student, MGMs Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College, Aurangabad.
3
Scientific Officer (E), Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, Mumbai.
ABSTRACT
Sudden and accidental release of hazardous chemicals can have severe financial
losses in a chemical industry. It can also cause grievous injuries to the people in the
nearby densely populated areas. Unexpected release of a hazardous chemical
present in a tank or a reactor will cause its vaporization and dispersion in the
atmosphere. The extent of damage it can cause can be predicted using dispersion
models based on the concepts of fluid dynamics. But these models fail in predicting
the behavior of gas dispersion. Therefore, effort is made to predict behavior of
release concentration of toxic and flammable gas based on the simulating technique
ALOHA. It is used to calculate probable concentration of hazardous release and
after effects, if there is presence of ignition source in the vicinity. This paper
discusses the comparison of release concentrations of methane and ethane under
various conditions using ALOHA. Since both methane and ethane are toxic and
flammable therefore it becomes necessary to determine the effect of their releases.
ALOHA heavy gas and Gaussian dispersion models are used to determine various
threat zones that would occur for different types of release. Software modelling is
done to check whether climatic conditions, elevation, speed of wind and humidity in
atmosphere play an important role for deciding the area that will be more prone to
threat due to the release of these chemicals.
INTRODUCTION
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: shashanktiwari619@gmail.com
Risk Analysis Of Methane And Ethane Gas Release.
Transportation of liquid and gaseous fuels in chemical industries is done through

pipelines. The pipelines should be strong, corrosion and fire resistant so as to
prevent them from getting ruptured. However, there even if proper construction and
maintenance of pipelines is done there may exist a conservative situation under
which there will be a possibility of failure of transportation pipelines. Thus, it
becomes necessary to evaluate the effects of chemical release that would occur due
to such pipeline failure.
Ethane and methane are two of the most important hydrocarbon gases that are used
widely in various chemical and petroleum industries. Ethane is used mainly in
production of ethylene, it may also be used as a refrigerant in cryogenic refrigeration
systems (Vu et al., 2014). Methane is used mainly used as a source for producing
syngas which is used as a fuel gas. Due to this, it is important to study leakage of
these gases due to rupture, sabotage or catastrophic failure of the pipelines through
which they are being transported will result in release of these gases.
Dispersion Modelling
One of the important ways by which the released gases enter the atmosphere is by
dispersion. An accurate prediction of the release through dispersion is central to
consequence estimation. The dispersion calculations provide an estimate of the area
that will be affected and the average concentrations at these locations. (USEPA,
2005).
Depending on whether the releasing gas is dense or light in comparison with air,
dispersion models are chosen. Here in the case considered methane is a light gas and
ethane is a dense gas compared to air. Hence the model for calculation is chosen
accordingly. Gaussian dispersion is the most common method used for estimating
dispersion due to release of vapors of neutral and positive buoyant clouds. The
plume model describes the continuous release of a chemical. (Hanna et.al., 1982)
When a gas that is heavier than air is released, it will at first sink because it is
heavier than the surrounding air. As the gas cloud moves downward, gravity makes
it spread. Further downwind, as the cloud becomes more diluted and its density
approaches that of air, it begins to behave like a neutrally buoyant gas (ALOHA
manual, 2007).
The main hazards from dispersion are mainly due to the toxicity of the dispersed
chemical or the flammable nature of them. There may be instances wherein the
dispersed gas is both toxic as well as flammable. If a flammable chemical is stored
in a pressurized tank is released accidentally from small hole or crack and this
released gas comes in contact with a potential ignition source than a possible jet fire
may occur.
A jet or spray fire is a turbulent diffusion flame resulting from the combustion of a
fuel continuously released with some significant momentum in a particular direction
or directions. The high heat fluxes developed due to the jet fires can lead to
structural failure or vessel/ pipe work failure and possible further escalation. (Xu
Yabo et al., 2008). The jet fires occur in areas where pipelines carrying flammable
108
gases are present. This amplifies the effect of the accident it is called domino effect,
which can have severe consequences in the accidents that involve jet fires.
SIMULATION OF TOXIC/ FLAMMABLE DISPERSION

ALOHA is used to estimate the release of toxic and flammable chemicals at various
atmospheric conditions using Gaussian & Degadis dispersion models. The following
is the equation for Degadis model (USEPA, 1988).
y b( x) 2 z 1
C ( x, y, z ) C a ( x) exp

When, y b (1)
S y x S z ( x)
z 1
C ( x, y, z ) C a x exp
When, y b (2)
S z ( x)
Where, Ca= peak concentration (kg/m3)
x, y,z = downwind, crosswind and vertical wind distances (m)
Sy, Sz= Coefficients in the crosswind and vertical wind directions (m)
b = half width along the crosswind distance (m)
= Constant in power law wind profile.
INPUT ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS

The calculations performed in ALOHA are based on the atmospheric conditions
obtained from AccuWeather, Inc., the global leader in digital weather information.
The atmospheric conditions that are used are tabulated in Table 1.
Table 1: Input Weather Conditions for ALOHA Simulation
Time
Scale
12 AM
3 AM
6 AM
9 AM
12 Noon
3 PM
6 PM
9 PM
Temperature
Wind Speed
Humidity
25C
24C
24C
26C
28C
29C
26C
25C
1.667 m/s SSW

1.389 m/s WSW
1.389 m/s WSW
1.389 m/s WSW
1.389 m/s W
1.389 m/s W
1.667 m/s SW
1.667 m/s WSW
90%
93%
93%
89%
77%
72%
87%
92%
Cloud
Cover
97%
99%
99%
97%
87%
94%
99%
100%
109
RESULTS
The equations (1) or (2) are selected by ALOHA for determining threat zones for a
given release scenario. If the gas released is lighter than air then the above equation
is modified in Gaussian form. The gases considered in this problem are ethane and
methane. The difference in these two gases is that ethane is denser than air and
methane is lighter, thus ALOHA uses Degadis model for threat zone modelling of
ethane and Gaussian model for modelling of methane.Ethane and Methane gases
being asphyxiate gases are somewhat toxic because of which modelling toxicity
zone for them becomes necessary. Also, ethane and methane both being highly
flammable may ignite when contacted by a possible ignition source. Thus modelling
threat zones for flammable area vapor clouds and thermal radiations for jet fires is
significant to prescribe emergency response guidelines in case of release. Fig.1
shows the threat zone of toxic area of vapor clouds for ethane and methane based on
the threshold limits in terms of concentrations.
Fig.1.Comparison of Threat Zones for Toxic Area of Vapor Cloud of Methane

and Ethane
As seen in above figure the threat zones for ethane are shorter than that of methane.
This is because methane is toxic at concentrations greater than 17000 ppm while the
toxicity of ethane is at concentrations greater than 200000 ppm thus making ethane
less toxic than methane. The fluctuations in threat zones are mainly due to the
unstable atmospheric conditions. The atmospheric temperature, wind speed,
humidity and cloud cover are the atmospheric conditions which are taken into
consideration for predicting gas releases by ALOHA.
Fig.2 illustrates the flammable area of vapor cloud for both ethane and methane and
Fig.3 depicts the scenario if the pressurized release of ethane and methane comes in
contact with a potential ignition source leading to a jet fire. It is observed that the
flammable area of vapor cloud for ethane is greater than that of methane.
110
Fig.2. Comparison of Threat Zones for Flammable Area of Vapor Cloud of

Methane and Ethane
As the threat zone for flammable area of vapor cloud for ethane is greater than that
of methane the thermal radiation for a potential jet fire of ethane will also be greater
than that of methane. The figure below represents threat zones for thermal radiation
ifa potential jet fires erupt.
Figure 3: Comparison of Threat Zones for Thermal Radiation in Case

of Jet Fire of Methane and Ethane
111
CONCLUSIONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The highest toxicity zone of methane occurs at lesser concentrations (>17000

ppm)as compared to that of ethane (>200000 ppm), also ethane is denser then
air because of which it settles down near the source of release while methane
being lighter travels greater distances due to buoyancy resulting in larger threat
zones as compared to that of ethane.
The lower flammability limit of ethane (3 % v/v of air) is less than that of
methane (4.4 % v/v of air). Thus threat zones of flammable area of vapor cloud
and thermal radiation (in case of jet fires) is higher for ethane.
Smaller toxic threat zones of both ethane and methane occur at high
atmospheric temperatures and lower wind speeds.
Low wind speeds combined with high atmospheric temperatures cause the
threat zones for both ethane and methane to decrease.
Prediction of toxicity and flammability threat zones for gas release is a complex
job as it relies on a large number of factors. As of from this study, it is
concluded that atmospheric temperatures and wind speeds are the two most
important parameters for determining flammability and toxic area threat zones.
The results predicted here are approximate as some of the parameters of atmosphere
are not included by the ALOHA models. To ensure more accurate results
verification of the results using newer techniques like CFD models is necessary.
REFERENCES
Vu, T.H., Cable, M.L., Choukroun, M., Hodyss, R., Beauchamp, P., (2014),
Formation of New Benzene-Ethane Co-Crystalline Structure under Cryogenic
Conditions, The Journal of Physical Chemistry, 118, 23, 4087-4094.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Manual., (2005), Basic Air pollution
Meteorology, 122-124.
Hanna, S.R., Briggs, G.A., Hosker, R.P.J., (1982), Handbook on atmospheric
diffusion, pp 25-27.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, (2007), ALOHA User Manual, pp17-18.
Yabo, X., Xinming, Q., Zhenyi, L., (2008), Quantitative Risk Analysis on the
Leakage of compressed Natural Gas Pipeline, China Safety Science Journal, 18,
146-149.
Mares, M.G., Zarate, L., Casal, J., Jet fires and the domino effect, (2008), Fire
Safety Journal, Volume 43, Issue 8, pp 583-588.
A dispersion model for elevated dense gas jet chemical release, (1988) USEPA450/4-88/006a
112

Analysis of work factors influencing High Frequency

Low Severity Work injuries among welders for Safety
Interventions
R Mahesa Rengaraj1, M N Vinodkumar2
1
Research Scholar, 2Professor

Division of Safety and Fire Engineering, School of Engineering
ABSTRACT
This study explores the relation between non reportable high frequency low severity
work injuries and demographic characteristic, precarious employment, job related
variables and work factors among welders. Work injury experiences are measured
by self reported responses through a questionnaire survey designed for the purpose.
Random sampling was administered to the welders working in organized and
unorganized sector firms located in the engineering fabrication cluster evoking
response from 1075 welders. The data is subjected to ANOVA, and Independent -t
test to identify significant relation between work injury exposures and demographic,
precarious employment, job related work factors. Multiple linear regression is
modeled, to identify the dominant factors causing work injury exposures. Magnitude
of difference-size effect is computed in identified dominant factors between
organized and unorganized sector firms for safety interventions. The results show
physical work load, working hours and social environment factors are dominant in
causing work injury exposures among welders.
1. INTRODUCTION
In injury research, high frequency and low severity injury incidents are of
prime importance. Approaches that analyze low frequency and high severity injury
incidents are not helpful in identifying injury patterns. Methodologies in safety
literature analyzes low frequency and high severity occupational injury incidents
based on fatal or non fatal injury episodes that requires hospitalization or medical
interventions, majority of the research articles set to analyze accidents in fact
analyze injuries. This approach is not suitable for high frequency and low severity
occupational injury incidents. In this study work injury exposure means: non
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: mah465@gmail.com
Analysis of work factors influencing high frequency
reportable High frequency and Low Severity work injury exposures defined as an
injury exposure based on frequent bearable painful exposures that causes discomfort
and interferes employment contributing to reduced productive human effort and
hence reducing the work effectiveness of the worker in which he/she is employed.
The ineffectiveness of the methodologies is reflected in higher numerical indicators
in occupational injury databases. This necessitates ways to develop methodologies to
addresses injuries more specifically to an occupational setting and in local context
(Khanzode et al., 2012).
Inconclusiveness prevails in accident and prevention strategies due to lack of
comprehensive data on injury surveillance from organized and unorganized sector
that imposes constraints on injury research. The injury reports in many sectors are
under reported particularly in non fatal injuries. This forces researchers to rely on
self reports. Besides, given the wide range of non fatal injuries and its variation in
severity, no single source of data can provide needed information (Anne-Marie
Feyer and Ann Williamson, 1998. p.9). Manual metal arc welding is a versatile and
a labour intensive process used globally for fabrication process.
Besides welders are exposed to musculoskeletal disorders and physical work injuries
of varying severity in their daily work life which goes unreported and moreover
welders carry out work with theses temporary deformities, that occur with high
frequency and low severity below the injury threshold promoting presenteeism: a
state of morbidity while being present for work. The welders effective productivity
is deprived during the state of presenteeism during the work due to temporary
deformities. The most common prevalent injuries being cuts or lacerations in hand
and fingers, back pain, arc eye injuries due to foreign bodies, burns, hearing
impairment, fractures and amputation.
Work Factor Analysis (WFA) concepts developed to measure work factor
compatibility of a work system proposes human productivity (effort) is function of
energy expended (energy expenditure) by worker and the energy from the work
system the employees requires in return (energy replenishment) (Genaidy et al.,
2000, 2002). He classifies the work factors in terms of all physical factors and non
physical factors that impacts worker performance in a work environment based on
energy forces and is essentially a macro ergonomics approach based on socio
technical theory. The WFA can be extended universally to any industrial setting that
involves human effort, in job specificity and can be adopted for local condition.
2. METHODOLOGY
The study is carried out among welders performing manual metal arc
welding employed in BHEL ancillary units for the supply of fabricated components
to BHEL, Tiruchirappalli. Fundamental welding processes have not changed.
Present day technology have made more energy efficient and lighter welding
114
equipments based on ergonomic principles, which has made safer, lighter and
efficient tools in form of improved consumables e.g., welding wire, gases etc,
enhancing productivity and quality of end product. But this is not available to the
average welder in an industrially developing country.
A questionnaire is designed, in a manner that includes demographic characteristics:
age, welder experience, job related charteristics: physical work load, working hours,
precarious employment: regular or contract, mode of trade knowledge acquired
certification or on the job training and work factors excerpts based on WFA and a
question on the small scale industry registration (SSI) status. A firm with SSI
registration is considered as organized sector, otherwise as unorganized sector. A
check list based on WFA classification principles. Characteristics numbering around
50 were taken from 180 work characteristic. These variables were categorized under
the dimensions proposed by Genaidy et al., (2000), 4 characteristic on health
perception dimension by Karwowski (2006, p.856) and 20 safety climate
characteristic under safety culture dimension proposed by Vinodkumar and Bhasi
(2009) was included in consultation with the field experts.
This step covered broad range of work requirements, conditions in specific to
welder: under 8 dimensions of health, safety culture, physical task content, mental
task content, physical environment content, social environment, technical
environment and perceived benefit. In consultation with the welders and supervisors
employed in the fabrication industry, the survey instrument tailored to local context
was prepared ensuring specificity of the local practice. A pilot study was
administered to the welders in Engineering Fabrication Cluster (EFC) in two phases
separated by a 10 day period among 50 participants that ensured the clarity and
reliability of work factors/characteristic. Around 26 work factor characteristics had
to be discarded due to not applicable response, which resulted in 48 work
characteristic variables. The overall and individual reliability coefficients were
calculated for two phases resulted in removal of 4 variables due to low inter item
correlation (below 0.30) for internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis is
performed to check for the construct validity. Factor loadings of all the items were
above 0.30, ensures the construct validity of the final dimensions. The final
instrument comprised of 44 work factor variables under 8 dimensions. The analysis
was carried out using statistical package SPSS version 20 and AMOS 20.
In tune with aims of the study, the variables considered are of two types (i) criterion
variable (ii) explanatory variable. Criterion variable is used to measure the effect
whereas the explanatory variables are used to describe the path to effect. In this
study, work injury exposure frequency is considered as the criterion variable,
categorized into two i.e., less than 6 exposures and more 6 exposures. The
explanatory variable for this study are demographic factors: age, total welder
experience, job related factors: physical work load, working hours, precarious
employment: contract or on job apprenticeship, mode of trade knowledge acquired:
115
institutional certification or on job apprenticeship and work factor dimensions and

its characteristic.
Random sampling was followed to collect the response from welders employed in
cluster. As all the firms in the cluster are of private nature, initially negative
apprehension about the survey was felt. With help of SSIA and persuading that the
information will be used for only academic purpose, OS firms allowed their workers
to participate in survey during rest phases in regular working hours after ensuring
anonymity. In US survey was relied on vendor and trade associations, on condition
of anonymity, the survey was administered only to subjects who performed manual
metal arc welding in their firms. The survey was administered only to subjects who
performed manual metal arc welding in their firms. The time span to collect spanned
over one year. Out of 2225 administered in the engineering fabrication cluster, 1513
filled in response was personally collected from the welders with response rate of
68%, out of which 1075 survey response were useful for analysis.
3. RESULTS
The respondents comprised of 64.4 % welders from OS firms and 34.6 %
of welders from US firms. (18 - 27 yrs) age group comprises of 35.8 % from OS
firms, whereas (38-47 yrs) age group is of 27.2% in US firms. In total welders
experience category, (1- 10 yrs) experience group is of 45.7 % in OS firms, while it
is of 51.2 % in US firms. For physical working load, OS firm welders 76.4 %
performed heavy weldment above 4 Kgs, where in US firms 98.7% welders
performed weldment below 2 Kgs. In terms of working hours, 65.5 % of the welder
employed in OS firms had extended working hours, while 94 % of the welders in US
firms had regular working hours. For work injury exposures, 99.1 % welders
employed in OS firms experienced less than 6 frequency work injury exposures,
while 66.1 % welders in US firms experienced more than 6 frequency work injury
exposures. For mode of employment, 97.7 % welders were employed through
contract in US firms, while it is 37.3 % in OS firms. For mode of acquired trade
knowledge, on the job apprenticeship trained welders comprised of 98.7 % in US
firms, while it is 51.2 % in OS firms.
ANOVA results show that age is statistically significant F (3, 1071) = 4.80, p < .05
in causing work injury exposures, Post hoc Games Howell test indicate age group
(18 27 yrs) and (48 60 yrs) differs significantly in causing work injury exposures
p < .05, size effect d = .41, a medium effect. It is found that experience is not
significant in causing work injury exposures F (2, 1072) = 1.67, p > .05. Physical
work load is statistical significant in causing work injury exposures F (3, 1071) =
325.70, p < .01. Post hoc Games Howell test reveals physical work load between
(.200 2 Kg) and (< 4 Kg) are statistically significant in causing work injury
exposures p < .05, size effect d =.99, a large effect.
116
Independent sample t test result - for working hours: welders working 8 hours: (M
= 3.99, SD = 1.31) are less exposed to work injury exposures, than welders working
in extended working hours (M = 5.62, SD = 2.14), t (1013) = -15.29, p = .000, size
effect d = .19 a small effect; by nature of employment: for welders working on
contract (M = 5.19, SD = 2.10) have higher work injury exposure, than a welders
who have regular employment (M = 4.03, SD = 1.25), t (768) = 10.81, size effect d
= .77 a large effect; for mode of trade apprenticeship - institutional certified welders
are more prone to work injury exposures (M = 5.35, SD = 2.10) than on the job
trained welders (M = 3.94, SD = 1.27), t (1006) = 13.52, p = .000, size effect d =
0.86, a large effect.
Stepwise multiple regression result shows 7 significant models, model-1 shows
physical work load, this model explains 35.6 % of the variance in work injury
exposures. With entry of working hours in model 2, explains 38.0 % of the variance
in work injury exposures; with entry of social environment in model 3, explains 39.5
% of the variance in work injury exposures; with entry of health perception in model
4, explains 40.6 % variance in work injury exposures; with entry of physical
environment in model 5, explains 41.8 % variance in work injury exposures; with
entry of trade knowledge in model 6, explains 42.3 % variance in work injury
exposures; with entry of safety culture in model 7, explains 42.5 % variance in work
injury exposures. Comparing the models, loss of predictive power is less than 10 %
with entry of different explanatory variables. Model 3, satisfies the condition for
multi-collinearity as the tolerance statistic of the explanatory variables were above
(1- R2), i.e., 0.605 a condition that is within tolerable influence in linear
relationship among predictors. The beta coefficients in model 3: physical work load
(-.45), working hours (.14) and social environment (-.15).
4. CONCLUSION
Age, physical work load, working hours, mode of employment nature, and mode of
trade knowledge acquired have significance in causing work injury exposures: Age
as a influencing factor for work injury exposures, work injury experience is high in
the initial years of employment, remains low as welder gains experience and again
raises with aging, a medium effect can be considered for safety intervention efforts;
physical work load at low and high extremes is significant in causing work injury
exposures a large effect to considered for safety intervention efforts; welders
working for extended working hours are likely to experience work injury exposures,
though a small effect can be considered for safety intervention efforts; in mode of
employment contract welders experience more work injury exposures than welders
who have regular employment a large effect to be considered for safety intervention
efforts; mode of acquired trade apprenticeship, where institutional certified welders
are more prone for work injury exposures has a large effect to be considered for
safety interventions. Experience is not significant with work injury exposures.
117
The factors influencing work injury exposures in this fabrication cluster are physical
work load, social environment, and working hours. The standardized regression
score shows physical work load has highest influence and is negative in relation to
work injury exposure which means higher the load lesser the work injury exposure,
when the weldment is intricate the welder is likely to stoop over the weldment area
to look for finer details of the weldment to be made, hence higher work injury
exposures. Though social environment has lower coefficients and have negative
influence in work injury exposure it is true of welder population in this engineering
fabrication cluster as substantial percentage the welders are on contract basis, a
typicality of precarious employment in an industrially developing country where
safety intervention can be initiated in this perspective. Working hours has positive
influence in work injury exposures, a condition due to fatigue, monotony of the
weldment being made.
REFERENCES
Anne-Marie Feyer and Ann Williamson, Eds (2004),Occupational Injury: Risk
Prevention and Intervention. Taylor and Francis.
Genaidy, Waldhemar Karwowski, Paul Succop, Young-Guk Kwon, Ahmed
Alhemoud, Dev Goyal., (2000).A classification system for characterization of
physical and non physical work factors, Scandinavian Journal of Work,
Environment & Health, (6)4,535-555.
Genaidy.A.M., Karwowski, W., and Shoaf, C., (2002), The fundamentals of work
system compatibility theory: An integrated approach to optimization of human
performance at work, Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Sciences, (3) 346-368.
Karwowski. W., (2006),International encyclopedia of ergonomics and human
factors, Second edition, CRC , Taylor and Francis.
Khanzode, V.V., Maiti, J., Ray, P.K., (2012),Occupational injury and accident
research :a comprehensive review, Safety Science (50), 13551367.
Vinodkumar.M.N., M. Bhasi.,(2009),Safety climate factors and its relationship
with accidents and personal attributes in the chemical industry, Safety Science (47),
659667.
118

Study of Role of Critical Safety Management Practices

in Construction Safety
Neethu Vinod1, Alice Mathai2, M. N. Vinodkumar3
1
Graduate Student, 2Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engg., M.A. College of

Engg.,, Kothamangalam - 686 691, Kerala, India.
3
Professor, School of Engg., CUSAT, Kochi - 682 022, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the relationship between the antecedents, determinants and
components of safety performance in construction industry based on the theory of
job performance. A questionnaire survey was conducted among workers in a
construction company engaged in the construction of large multistoried residential
and commercial buildings in different parts of the state of Kerala. 423 completed
questionnaires were received from nine work sites with a response rate of 72%.
ANOVA tests revealed that qualification influence the perception of workers on the
safety management practices (SMPs) adopted by the management. Linear
Regression analysis showed that SMPs predict safety knowledge and safety
motivation of workers. Both safety knowledge and safety motivation were found to
predict safety compliance and safety participation of workers. The findings of this
research can be used to design proper interventions for improving safety
performance of construction companies.
Keywords: Construction Safety, Safety management, Safety performance
INTRODUCTION
Construction safety is a global issue and is a concern wherever construction
activities take place. The reality is that the construction industry continually has
injury and fatality statistics that make it one of the most dangerous industries in
which to work. Even though tremendous improvements have been made in safety
performance in some countries, the construction industry continues to lag behind
most other industries.
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: neethuvinodm@gmail.com
Study of role of critical safety management practices
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) reports estimates, nearly 20 million

workers die annually and about 120 million are injured. And 50% of these deaths
and injuries occur in developing countries (ILO, 1994). Construction sites in
developing countries are ten times more dangerous than in industrialized nations and
the fatality rate in developing countries is almost half of that in India. About 20
million construction workers are estimated to be working in the industry in India and
an estimated 1580 workers per hundred thousand in this sector are killed in accidents
every year at workplace (Sinha, 2002).
Construction is a complex activity where various stake-holders are present and
working under constant challenge by demands of the job. Each job will have several
of its safety and risk factors, requiring quality and safety management system to be
established as indicated by Mehta and Agnew (2010). Several risk factors including
organizational structure, communication, clear instruction, safety culture, codes and
standards, training, leadership and responsibility has been suggested to have
influence on the general safety at the workplace.
Countries like Australia, China, Finland, Jordan, Malaysia, Netherland, Singapore,
Spain, Thailand and USA have well defined factors in their safety management
system designed for construction industry (Ismail et al., 2012). As on today,
Building and Other Construction Workers Act, 1996, Central Rules, 1998 and
Kerala State Rules 1998 lay down the statutory requirements to look after worker
safety at construction sites in Kerala. It gives safety provisions for the various
activities at site but does not mention about the components of a safety management
system. However, with globalization and exposure of Indian construction industry to
international players and vice versa, necessity and importance of safety management
has been accepted by the top management of most of the construction contractors
and builders.
PRESENT STUDY
Review of literature reveals that there is no enough research evidence from India in
the area of construction safety. This study envisage to explore the effect of age,
qualification, experience, accident history and job category on perception of
employees on antecedents, determinants and components of safety performance. It
also test the general theory of job performance proposed by Neal et al. (2000) by
investigating the relationship between antecedents, determinants and components of
safety performance. The six critical safety management practices (SMPs Management commitment, Safety training, Workers involvement in safety, Safety
communication and feedback, Safety rules and procedures and Safety promotion
policies), two determinants of safety performance (Safety knowledge and Safety
motivation) and two components of safety performance (Safety compliance and
Safety participation) proposed by Vinodkumar and Bhasi (2010) in their model are
used in this study.
120
Based on the above, two sets of hypotheses are advanced. The first set is to test the
impact of qualification, age, tenure, accident history and job category on the
perception of employees on the SMPs, determinants and components of safety
performance. The second set is to test the predictive capacity of determinants of
safety performance on the components of safety performance.
METHODOLOGY
A modified version of the questionnaire used by Vinodkumar and Bhasi (2010) was
used in this study. Few items were dropped and some questions were reworded the
construction industry. The final instrument contained ten demographic questions and
fifty nine questions to measure ten variables. Items in the questionnaire were stated
in English as well as Malayalam. The questionnaire survey was conducted during
the months of April-June 2014 among workers in a construction company engaged
in the construction of large multistoried residential and commercial buildings in
different parts of the state of Kerala. All the workers in nine construction sites (3
each from southern, central and northern parts of Kerala) who were willing to
participate in the study were given the questionnaire after explaining about the
purpose and procedure of the survey. 423 completed questionnaires were received
with a response rate of 72%. The responses were solicited on five point Likert scale
from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. Most of the items were phrased
positively and a few items negatively so that strong agreement in the former and
strong disagreement in the latter resulted in a higher score in favour of safety for the
concerned item. SPSS 20 software was used for data analysis. The details of the
variables and the number of items in each are presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Variables and number of items
No
Name of variable
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Management commitment -MC

Safety Training- TR
Workers Involvement- WI
Communication and feedback- CO
Safety rules and practices- SR
Safety promotion policies- SP
Safety knowledge- KNO
Safety motivation- MOT
Safety compliance- COM
Safety participation- PAR
Initial no
of items
9
6
5
5
5
5
6
6
7
5
Final no
of items
9
5
4
4
5
5
5
5
4
4
Cronbachs
alpha ()
0.84
0.76
0.67
0.70
0.78
0.65
0.74
0.71
0.78
0.67
121
RESULTS
All the participants were males and 36 % of them belong to medium age group (3039). About 23 % of the respondents have experienced accidents while working in
this company and 38 workers (9%) have met with accidents in the previous year
2013. 62% have educational qualification between 10th and degree. About 20% of
respondents were skilled workers. The internal consistency method is used to assess
the reliability of the measures. Items with inter-item-correlations less than 0.3 were
dropped from the list and this resulted in dropping of 9 items. The final number of
items in each variable and their reliability coefficients are presented in Table 1. It is
found that all the ten variables have acceptable level of reliability.
Correlation analysis was performed to find the association between SMPs,
demographic variables and accident rates. Results show that there is significant
negative correlation between self reported accident rate and age (-0.11, p<0.5) as
well as years of experience (-0.1, p<0.05). This contradicts Siu et al. (2003) who
reported that age has no influence on accident rates. The significant negative
correlations of accident rates and SMPs (-0.1 to -0.18) indicate that as the level of
SMPs increase, accidents come down.
ANOVA tests were performed to check the hypothesis related to the perception of
SMPs. MC (F=2.56, p<0.05), TR (F=4.4, p<0.010), CO (F=2.75, p<0.05) and SR
(F=3.49, p<0.05) are found to differ significantly between the four age groups. The
workers in the age group of 30-39 are found to have lower perception scores on all
these SMPs. All SMPs except safety communication and feedback are found to
differ significantly between the three qualification groups ((MC-F=7, p<0.01), (TRF=8.9, p<0.01), (WI-F=6, p<0.01), (SP-F=4.7, p<0.01), SR-F=5.7, p<0.01)). Only
TR (F=5.4, p<0.01) was found to vary significantly between the experience groups.
Independent sample t test revealed that all the SMPs differ significantly between
the skilled and unskilled groups (t>2.7, p<0.01) with the former giving higher
perceptions. Similarly, the perceptions of employees on SMPs who experienced
accidents are found to be significantly less than that of the other group (t>2.9,
p<0.01).
Safety Knowledge is found to differ significantly with qualification (F=2.8, p<0.05)
where as Safety motivation seems to be independent of qualification. Age and tenure
are found to have no influence on the determinants of safety performance. Safety
Knowledge is found to be significantly higher amongst skilled workers (t=3.5,
p<0.01) compared to unskilled workers, whereas motivation is found to be
independent of job category. Accident history seems to have no impact on Safety
knowledge and Safety motivation.
Examining the effect of demographic variables on the components on safety
performance, it is found that qualifications do not have any impact on both the
122
components of safety performance.

Safety participation is found to vary
significantly with age (F=3 p<0.05). Elder workers are found to possess more
inclination towards Safety participation. Age has no impact on Safety compliance.
Experience also does not influence the components of safety performance. Safety
compliance is found to be significantly higher among skilled workers (t=2.6,
p<0.01) and significantly lower amongst those who experienced accidents (t=2.7,
p<0.01), compared to the other groups respectively.
Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the predictive capacity of SMPs
on both Safety knowledge and Safety motivation. Table 2 indicates that the model of
Safety knowledge is significant (F=41, p<0.01) and the SMPs predict 37% of the
variance. TR, SR and CO emerged as the significant predictors of Safety knowledge
in that order. In the model for Safety motivation, 17% of the variance is explained
by SMPs (F=14, p<0.01). TR along with MC are the significant predictors in that
order.
Results of multiple regression analysis presented in Table 3 reveals that 51% of
variance in Safety compliance is explained by KNO and MOT (F=221, p<0.01). In
the case of Safety participation, 42% of the variance is explained by KNO and MOT
(F=150, p<0.01). In both models, KNO emerges as a better predictor than MOT.
Table 2. Relation between SMPs and Determinants (Regression analysis)
DV-safety R = 0.61,
F = 40.96,
DV-safety
knowledge R2 = 0.37
p < 0.01
motivation
Factor
t value
Factor
Constant
2.16
16.3**
Constant
MC
0.07
0.95
MC
TR
0.32
5.23**
TR
WI
-0.05
-0.8
WI
CO
0.15
2.17*
CO
SP
0.02
-0.36
SP
SR
0.2
2.82**
SR
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, DV- dependent variable
R = 0.414,
R2 = 0.171
3.384
0.22
0.24
-0.03
0.14
-0.04
-0.11
F = 14.3,
p < 0.01
t value
25.07**
2.43*
3.42*
-0.035
1.76
-0.54
-1.32
Table 3. Relation between Components and Determinants (Regression analysis)

DV-Safety R = 0.72,
F = 221
compliance R2 = 0.51
p < 0.01
Factor
t value
Constant
-0.01
-0.03
KNO
0.62
16.2**
MOT
0.17
4.4**
**p < 0.01, DV- dependent variable
DV-Safety
participation
Factor
Constant
KNO
MOT
R = 0.65,
R2 = 0.42
0.07
0.47
0.28
F = 150,
p < 0.01
t value
0.31
11.09**
6.56**
123
CONCLUSIONS
The main conclusions drawn from this study are listed below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Self reported accident rate and age of workers are negatively correlated
indicating that younger workers are more susceptible to accidents.
Scores on all Safety Management Practices (SMPs) are negatively correlated
with self reported accident rate indicating that when level of Safety
Management Practices (SMPs) improve, accident rate comes down.
Perception about Safety Management Practices (SMPs) differ with age and
qualification of workers.
Skilled workers have better Safety knowledge and Safety compliance.
Elder workers show more inclination towards safety participation.
Safety training predict Safety knowledge as well as Safety motivation.
Both Safety knowledge and Safety motivation predict Safety compliance and
Safety Participation.
REFERENCES
International Labour Organization, 1994. Protecting and saving lives at work: The
emerging challenge in Asia. Available at: www.ilo.org/asia/whatwedo/publications.
Downloaded on 25.08.2014.
Ismail, Z., Doostdar, S., Harun, Z., 2012. Factors influencing the implementation of
a safety management system for construction sites. Safety Science 50, 418-423.
Mehta, R.K., Agnew, M.J., 2010. Analysis of individual and occupational risk
factors on task performance and biomechanical demands for a simulated drilling
task. IJIE 40 (5), 584-591.
Neal, A., Griffin, M.A., Hart, P.M., 2000. The impact of organizational climate on
safety climate and individual behavior. Safety Science 34, 99-109.
Sinha, M., 2002. Incorporating HSE norms in contract documents - clients
initiatives. Industrial Safety Chronicle 3, 39-42.
Siu, O.L., Phillips, D.R., Leung, T.W., 2003. Age differences in safety attitudes and
safety performance in Hong Kong construction workers. Journal of Safety Research
34, 199-205.
Vinodkumar.M.N., Bhasi, M., (2009),Safety climate factors and its relationship
with accidents and personal attributes in the chemical industry, Safety Science (47),
659667.
124

Assessment and Development of Control Strategy to

Prevent Exposure from Radioactive Waste in Health
Care Sectors in India
Sreejesh.K1, Bikram Singh2, Shyam Prakash3
1
Scientist
Defence Research & Development Organisation
Delhi Cantt, Delhi- 110010, India
ABSTRACT
The radioactive isotopes play a key role in medical and health care sectors.
The waste generated from those isotopes should be managed with intensive care in
order to protect the public and the environment from the adverse effects of
radiation. The objective of this study is to develop control strategy incorporating
protocols on radiation protection, industrial hygiene and biomedical waste
management techniques. The study was conducted by assessing the quantity and
proportions of radioactive waste generated and its handling & disposal methods
followed. Various hospitals and waste disposal sites in North India were surveyed as
per IAEA guidelines. This study is completed adhering IAEA procedure
Management of radioactive waste from the use of radionuclide in medicine.
Study result demonstrates requirement of a dedicated radioactive waste
management system in the health care sector. The proposed system follows a graded
method evolved from national and international protocols on radiation protection
and industrial hygiene viz; Identification of radioactive sources and wastes,
Segregation of waste, Monitoring Strategy and Disposal Methods. The study
emphasizes the need for enhancing the capabilities of the present system through
clinical and administrative approach of monitoring and implementing the strategy
thus evolved. It proposes a radioactive waste management system for the sector with
stringent monitoring procedures and control strategies and proper hazard
communication training to hospital staff and waste disposal agencies.
Key Words: Radionuclide, In-Vitro & In-vivo, Radioactive Waste, Segregation,
Monitoring, Disposal.
1
Sreejesh.K, E-mail: safesree@gmail.com
Assessment and Development of Control Strategy to Prevent Exposure from
INTRODUCTION
A wide variety of radioisotopes are extensively used in hospitals with radiotherapy
facility and/or nuclear medical centers. The radioactive waste generated from such
institutions, regardless of its source must be managed and disposed of carefully in
order to protect the health care workers, public and the environment from the
detrimental effects of ionizing radiation. The disposals of contaminated wastes are
governed by the rules and guidelines promulgated by Department of Atomic Energy
under Government on India. Though proper precautions are taken at infrastructure
level and during treatment; the awareness among the hospital staffs and
implementation of control guidelines for the handling and disposal the radioactive
wastes generated from health care sector remains at large. In this study, an attempt
has been made to assess the current status of managing of radioactive waste
generated from the health care sectors. The main objective of this study is to develop
a strategy for the safe management and disposal of radioactive waste produced and
thus minimizing the exposure.
RADIOACTIVE SOURCES IN HEALTH CARE SECTOR
The numerous radionuclide are used in both unsealed and sealed forms in health care
sector for various applications. Their uses can be broadly categorized into
Diagnostic and Therapeutic applications. One of the important application of
radioisotope in health care sectors are Radiopharmaceuticals. These are drug
formulations containing radioisotopes for administration in humans for diagnosis
and therapy of various diseased states.
The most commonly used radionuclide in nuclear medicine are 99mTc (80%) and
131
I(15%)1. Their applications have been continuously increasing for diagnostic and
therapeutic procedures in most of the nuclear medicine facilities in India.
Radioactive gases and aerosols are used for diagnostic purposes during lung
ventilation imaging viz, 81mKr (up to 6 GBq administrations/patient), 133Xe (up to
400 MBq) and 99mTc- DTPA aerosol inhalation (up to 80 MBq activities)2.
Diagnostic
The radionuclides used for diagnostic purpose are dominated by 99mTc, normally
eluted in a sterile environment from a Tc-Mo generator. The usual range of
administered doses for 99Tc is 40-800 MBq. Other columns commercially available
for radiopharmaceutical preparations are 113Sn/113mIn, 132Te/132I 2.
The different steps involved in diagnostic application are,
a) In vitro application using commercially prepared radio immunoassay (RIA)
kits. The kits used for diagnostic applications are usually available in
packages for 10-100 assays. Normally the preparations of kit for diagnostic
applications are carried out in a designated preparatory room of a Nuclear
Medicine center.
126
b) Preparation and dispensing of radiopharmaceuticals for In vivo

applications. Mostly used for administration in humans for diagnosis and
therapy of various diseased states, commonly used for diagnosis and
scanning1. The diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals are prepared in areas
designated in the laboratory and administered in vivo to the patients. These
radiopharmaceuticals accumulated in an organ of interest emit gamma
radiations which are used for imaging of the organs with the help of an
external imaging device called gamma camera.
Therapeutic Applications
The therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals are radio-labeled molecules designed to
deliver therapeutic doses of ionizing radiation to specific diseased sites. Therapeutic
applications of radiopharmaceuticals have emerged from the concept that certain
radionuclides possessing particulate emission such as alpha and beta radiations or
Auger electrons possess the ability to destroy diseased tissues1.
METHODOLOGY
A detailed survey has been conducted in ten hospitals were radiation therapy is
practiced, two waste disposal agencies associated with these hospitals, along with a
sampling at five waste dumping yards. The surveys have been performed to identify
the point of radioactive waste generation and the procedures followed in handling
and disposal and awareness among the employees. The hospitals studied were
considered as major hospitals which work on the O/P dose and/or I/P dose and with
different radioisotope applications. The results have been analyzed for compliance 3.
The study data on radioactive waste generation are consolidated as follows,
Table 1 Survey Report
Outpatient Dose Units
Inpatient Dose Units
(Dose Varies from 300 500 MBq)
(Dose more than 750MBq)
Wastes Generation
Wastes Generation
For all diagnostic applications
For all diagnostic applications
At Glove Box level Low level At Glove box level High level
gaseous waste (in MBq)
gaseous waste (in GBq range)
Workbench in the Preparation Workbench in the Preparation
Room. Solid WasteRoom
a) Blotting
papers,
Cotton
a) Blotting papers, Cotton swabs,
swabs,
Surgical
Surgical Gloves/Aprons used at
Gloves/Aprons used at during
during
preparation
&
preparation & administration.
administration.
b) Syringe, Tongs and syringe
b) Syringe, Tongs and syringe shields
shields used for injections.
used for injections.
c) Used/unused
Medicine
c) Pipettes and glass bottles used for
Bottles and Vials
oral application of medicine.
Liquid Waste Left out medicine
d) Used/unused Medicine Bottles and
127
in the vials and bottles. Unused

Vials
Medicines
Biomedical Wastea) Sweat & other Body fluids of the
Cardio-Diagnosisa) Syringes used for injection.
patient.
b) Cotton swabs and blotting
b) Urine and Excreta of the patient.
papers used in case of spills.
c) Exhaled air of the patient
Biomedical Wastes - Urine and Other Types
a) Food& liquid items left out and
Excreta of the patient. (both solid
utensils used by the patient.
and liquid waste)
b)
Beddings and dressing used for the
SPECIAL CASE - The Iodine tablets
patient.
used for ablation unused medicine.
Room
Surfaces
(contamination
level > 2kBq/cm2). The house
keeping materials will also be treated
as radioactive waste).
SPECIAL CASE - The Iodine tablets
used for ablation unused medicine.
Inference: Quantity and Chances of Inference: Quantity and chances of
waste production is less. Here the waste production is high. Here normally
medicines are prepared and applied by the medicines are prepared and applied
the staffs. Also sources used are of low by the patient itself. In case of death of
strength.
the patient the carcass must be treated as
a radioactive biomedical waste during
disposal.
EXISTING SYSTEM
The survey revealed that the radioactive wastes generated from the hospitals are
being disposed off through the waste disposal agencies/sewerage system after the
completion of recommended storage to decay period. However no color coding
procedures have been found followed in any of the hospitals for radioactive waste.
Also it is observed that the syringes used for in vitro application are destroyed in the
common needle destroyers. Though these hospitals are working based on the Basic
Radiation Safety Guidelines issued by AERB3, but the specific guidelines were not
followed for radioactive waste management. The survey findings are described
below,
The hospital staffs especially those working under community health
division and/or waste management division were unaware about the
radioactive wastes generated from the units.
Waste segregation systems in the most of the hospitals are merely
existing/non-existing.
Though hospitals follow storage to decay principles for radioactive wastes,
proper monitoring of the radiation levels are not done before final disposal.
128
Most of the hospitals found storing the contaminated item in the

preparatory laboratories itself rather than storing it in an isolated identified
place.
Most of the hospitals are depending on the third party agency to dispose of
wastes, whose awareness about the risk is nil.
The establishments were found to be not maintaining records of the volume
of the radioactive waste produced, stored and disposed off.
Premises for radioactive waste storage are not always originally designed for
that, and are not always ideal for radioactive waste storage.
CONTROL STRATEGY
The control strategy for radioactive waste management is developed on the
concept of minimizing the volume of the waste and its spread. The principles
followed for design of control strategy are;
1. Keep the generation of radioactive waste to the minimum
practicable, in terms of both its activity and volume.
2. Minimize the spread of radioactive contamination, thus by reducing
production of radioactive waste.
3. Separation and segregation of the waste at the point of generation
itself.
4. Isolated and dedicated HVAC system and access control procedures.
5. Legal framework & Control procedures for the management and
disposal of radioactive waste.
6. Routine radiation monitoring of the premises and waste
disposal/collection facilities.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
A stringent legal framework should be formed in concurrences with the
existing laws and regulations on radiological waste disposal in India. Such
framework must include the provision for,
1. Licensing for the employer/Head of the institution of Hospitals and
hospital waste disposal agencies, from the Competent Authority.
2. Radiation Monitoring Program and Reporting procedures
contamination.
3. Reporting of Abandoned Sources to regulatory authority.
4. Recording procedures for the volume of the wastes generated.
MONITORING SYSTEM
The hospitals with nuclear medicine and radiotherapy applications must device and
implement a Radiation Monitoring program. The system must include a background
radiation database, routine radiation survey of the area and recording of monitoring
data with a reporting provision in-case a twofold increase from the background
radiation level.
129

PHYSICAL FORM
CHEMICAL/NUCLEAR
PROPERTIES
Low Level
(10 100 Bq/g)
ACTIVITY
Intermediate Level
(400 4000Bq/g)
High Level
(more than 4000Bq/g)
Half life
Type I very short half-life

(< 6 days)
Type II short half-life
(6-71 days)
Type III long half-life
(> 71 days)
Solid
Compactable
cover papers, gloves, empty

vials and syringes, cotton
swabs
Utensils and materials used
in isolation wards of
radiotherapy units.
Radionuclide generators.
Radionuclide
generators,
radiopharmaceuticals
Sources completed their

10 half life.
Old sources, Catheters,
metals
Sealed sources (gamma

camera,
irradiators,
catheters)
99m
Tc, 123I, 42K., 68Ga, 67Cu,76Br, 77Br, 82mRb, 90Y, 111In,
127
Xe, 133Xe, 153Sm, 186Re, 188Re, 198Au, 201Tl
131
I, 32P, 32P, 59Fe, 85Sr, 89Sr, 124I, 125I, 159Er
14
Liquid
Gaseous
Washing from active labs,

body fluids, urine & excreta
of patients.
Residues
from
Vials
containing,
radionuclide
solutions, Body fluids,
urine & excreta.
Body fluids, urine &
excreta of patients in
radiation therapy
18
F, 13N, 11C, 15O, 38K.,42K.,
45
67
Ca, 67Ga,
Cu, 76Br,
111
153
In, Sm
3
H, 32P,51Cr, 85Sr, 89Sr, 124I,
125 131 159
I, I, Er
3
H, 22Na, 14C, 57Co, 60Co,
75
Se
Gases/aerosoles released
from glove box /fume
hoods
Emissions from glove
boxes, Exhaled gases
from patients.
Non-Compactable
C, 3H, 14C, 22Na,57Co, 60Co,75Se
Emissions from glove

boxes.
133
Xe, 81m Kr,

Xe, 133Xe
127
124
I, 125I, 131I
36
Cl, 14C
Table 3 Segregation of Radioactive Waste1, 2, 5

130
11
C,
123
I,

Type of the equipment

Personal Dosimeters
Wide area gamma monitors
Survey Meter
Table 2 Monitoring System

Use
To assess the occupational exposure.
Environmental
radiation
monitoring.
For
laboratories, treatment rooms, isolation wards in
radiation therapy units and waste collection/disposal
units.
For measurement of background radiation levels.
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL SYSTEM

Radio-Active Waste
Collection &
Segregation
Solid
Concentrate
Contai
nment
Dilute
Storage for
Decay
Containment
for Solid
Disposal by
Agency/OE
M
Deep
Burial
Liquid
Delay Tanks
for Liquid
Gaseous
Negative
Pressure
Filtration
Disposal by
Agency/Direct
Near
Surface
Incineration
Treatment &
Monitoring
Conditioning
& Monitoring
Transportation
Sewage
Lines
Dispersion to
atmosphere
Disposal
Figure 1: Radioactive Waste Disposal System4-6

131
The radioactive waste disposal method should be based on the principles of Dilute &
Disperse, Storage to Decay and Concentrate & Contain.
CONCLUSIONS
The radioactive waste management in health care sector was found to be lacking in
adapting a structured and safe methods for handling, storage and disposal of the
waste. This is because of the lack of stringent legislative framework for disposal of
radioactive waste from hospitals, lack of awareness among the hospital staffs
involved, inadequate infrastructure at hospitals for handling and storage of the
waste. The results of the study demonstrate the immediate need for developing a
legal framework for management of radioactive waste from health care sectors
followed by a strict enforcement and a control strategy for disposal. It should be
supplemented with an inline radiation monitoring and reporting system for
radiological events and training of staffs associated.
REFERENCE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
132
International Atomic Energy Agency (2000), Management of radioactive

waste from the use of radionuclides in medicine, IAEA-TECDOC-1183,
IAEA, Vienna.
International Atomic Energy Agency (2001), Handling and processing of
radioactive waste from Nuclear applications, Technical Reports Series No.
402, IAEA, Vienna.
Department of atomic Energy (1987), Atomic Energy (Safe disposal of
radioactive wastes) Rules, DAE, India.
International Atomic Energy Agency (2006), Storage of radioactive
waste, IAEA Safety Standards Series No. WS-G-6.1, IAEA, Vienna.
International Atomic Energy Agency (2011), Disposal of radioactive
waste, IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SSR-5, IAEA, Vienna.
Siman, R. (2009), Radioactive waste management and disposal 1985,
Cambridge University Press, ISBN 05211115209.

Analysis of Causes and Modes of Failures Of LPG

Refueling Station using Fuzzy Based FMEA
Rajakarunakaran.S1, Maniram Kumar.A2, Arumuga Prabhu.V3
1
Professor, Ramco Institute of Technology, Rajapalayam, Tamilnadu

Assistant.Professor, Dr.Sivanthi Aditanar College of Engineering, Tiruchendur
3
Associate Professor, Kalasalingam University, Anand nager, Tamilnadu, India.
ABSTRACT
Failure mode effect Analysis (FMEA) is a widely industry recognized method used
to recognize the failure modes of a system and their effects or consequences upon it.
The failure modes are categorized according to how serious their consequences are,
how frequently they occur, and how easily they can be detected. Based on detailed
review of the structure and operation modes of the observed LPG refueling system,
FMEA identifies the high priority failure modes. Conventionally each risk factor
(severity, occurrence and detection) evaluated by experts for failure modes is
assumed to have equal importance. However, that may not be the case in reality.
Further in this study the fuzzy based FMEA approach revealed a difference in
prioritizing failure modes from the conventional method. The advantages of the
Fuzzy based FMEA are demonstrated and it eliminates some of the shortcomings of
the traditional approach and sharpens the FMEA tool in identifying the high priority
failure modes that should be handled primarily.
INTRODUCTION:
Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is anticipated to provide
information for risk management decision making. There are significant efforts have
been made to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional RPN (Wang et al., 2009).
The studies about FMEA considering fuzzy approach use the experts who describe
the risk factors O, S, and D by using the fuzzy linguistic terms. After the
assignments of the linguistic terms to the factors, if-then rules were generated taking
Rajakarunakaran.S. E-mail: srajakarunakaran@yahoo.com
Analysis of causes and modes of failures of LPG refueling station

the linguistic variables as inputs to evaluate the risks. The outputs of the fuzzy
inference system were variously named as risk (Chin et al., 2008; Guimaraes &
Lapa, 2004), the critically failure mode (Xu et al., 2002), priority for attention
(Pillay & Wang, 2003), and fuzzy RPN ( Xu et al., 2002) in the fuzzy FMEA studies
which consider the fuzzy rule-base approach.
In our paper we proposed a Fuzzy FMEA applied to an auto LPG refueling
station. As far as published literatures are concerned, the application of Fuzzy
FMEA to an auto LPG refueling station is a fresh task explored in our work .The
section 1 gives an introduction of the developments in FMEA. Section 2 proposes
the fuzzy FMEA methodology. Section 3 the proposed methodology is applied to an
auto LPG refueling station with section 6 presents the conclusion.
FUZZY FMEA:
An overall view of the fuzzy logic process is shown in Figure 1, in which
there are three major steps to carry out the assessment (i) Fuzzification process uses
linguistic variables to convert the three risk factors S, O and D into the fuzzy
representations. Using the linguistic variables and their definitions, ranking three
risk factors can be made in a scale basis. These inputs are then fuzzified to
determine the degree of membership in each input class. (ii) Rule evaluation consists
of the expert knowledge about the interactions between various failure modes and
effect that is represented in the form of fuzzy ifthen rules. (iii) Defuzzification
process creates a crisp ranking from the fuzzy RPN to give the prioritization level
for the failure modes.
Fig. 1. Fuzzy logic process.

Table 1 list the scales used to measure the three factors. The table shows
the five scales and scores of 110, to measure the probability of occurrence, severity
and the probability of detection. A fuzzy inference approach is considered to
represent the assessment information using linguistic terms. To our knowledge, this
paper is the first attempt to make the traditional FMEA methodology more
applicable for auto LPG refueling station.
Table 1: FMEA scale for occurrence (O), severity (S), not detection (D)
Description
Occurrence
Very High
Persistent failures
134
Severity
Hazardous without
warning
Non detection
Absolute certainty
Sc
ore
10
High
Medium
Low
Almost none
Persistent failures
Hazardous with warning
Probably not detect
Frequent failures
Very high
Poor chance of detection
Frequent failures
High
Poor chance of detection
Occasional failures
Occasional failures
Occasional failures
Moderate
Low
Very low
May detect
May detect
Good chance to detect
6
5
4
Relatively few failures
Minor
Good chance to detect
Relatively few failures
Very minor
Almost certain to detect
Failure is unlikely
None
Certain to detect
CASE STUDY:
The case study of the proposed Fuzzy FMEA is a auto LPG refueling
station. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a mixture of light hydrocarbons primarily
Butane and propane derived from petroleum, which is gaseous at ambient
temperature and atmospheric pressure, is liquefied at ambient temperature with
application of moderate pressure. LPG due to its inherent properties is susceptible to
fire, explosion and other hazards. Such hazards can have an impact on the property,
equipment, plant personnel and public. The Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
refueling station for which an FMEA was performed has the following key
components identified by the experts: Filling Pump, Remote operated valves, Highpressure storage, Dispensing pump, Dispenser, Control system. In order to
accommodate within the extent of the paper, the failure modes analysed are
restricted to LPG Storage tank, LPG Dispenser and LPG filling process.
The FMEA for LPG refueling station given in the table.2
Table 2 FMEA of LPG refuelling station
N
o
Failure Mode
Cause
Effects
Pressure
relief
malfunction
Mechanical
failure
Release of
LPG and
potential fire
explosion
Over
pressure and
failure of
storage tank
Fill storage
on cold
day/High
temperature
environment
Release of
LPG and
potential fire
explosion
Pressure
relief device
failure
Mechanical
failure
Over pressure
of the tank
Frequency
Controls
RP
N
Sensitive
verification
and Gas
detectors
Relatively
few
failures
Relief valves
are vented to a
stock
No safety
hazard
24
Visual
gauge
inspection
Relatively
few
failures
Pressure relief
valve releases
the excess
pressure
36
Visual
gauge
inspection
Sensitive
verification
and Gas
detectors
Relatively
few
failures
36
64
36
Detection
LPG Storage tank
Piping leak
Mechanical
failure
/corrosion
Release of
LPG and
potential fire
explosion
Storage tank
failure
External fire
due to large
spill of
gasoline near
the storage
tank
Potential
failure of tank
due to
overheating of
metal
Sensitive
verification
and Gas
detectors
Occasional
failures
Relatively
few
failures
Two relief
fixed in the
tank
Gas is
odorized,
Combustible
gas detectors
Gas is
odorized
Combustible
gas detectors
135
Piping failure
Vehicle
impact to
dispenser
Potential fire
or explosion
Human error
Rupture of
hose and
potential of
fire
Visual
inspection
and Gas
detectors
Relatively
few
failures
Bollards
around
dispenser
48
LPG Dispenser
7
Drive away
while
connected to
dispenser
Hose failure
Leak in
connection
10
11
Vehicle
pressure
relief device
leaks
Nozzles
leaks after
disconnect
Mechanical
failure
O-ring
damaged or
nozzle
damaged
Potential fire
Potential fire
Mechanical
failure
Potential fire
or explosion
Mechanical
failure
Potential fire
Visual
indication
Occasional
failures
Break away
coupling
48
Visual
indication
Sensitive
verification
and Gas
detectors
Sensitive
verification
and visual
inspection
Occasional
failures
Hose rated for

LPG service
Dispenser
conducts leak
check before
fill
50
50
Relatively
few
failures
Relief valve
on vehicle
tank vents
24
Visual
indication
Occasional
failures
Dispenser
valve closes
40
Occasional
failures
LPG filling process

12
Vehicle
tank
isolation
valve leaks
Mechanical
failure
Potential fire
Sensitive
verification
and visual
inspection
Occasional
failures
Checking
before loading
32
13
Overfill
storage
tank
Human error
or instrument
Failure
LPG release
from
pressure relief
valve with
potential fire
Visual
indication
Occasional
failures
Driver training
and
established
procedures for
unloading
80
14
LPG
transferring
trailer
bullet leak
Potential
fire/explosion
Sensitive
verification
and Gas
detectors
Occasional
failures
Place
barricades
before
unloading
32
Occasional
failures
Check hoses
before
connecting
64
Occasional
failures
Release vapor
via vents
before
disconnecting
40
15
16
Unloading
hose
connection
leaks
Release
from
connecting
hose
Vehicle
impact to
truck while
unloading
damages
LPG piping
Mechanical
failure or
improper
connection
Hose not
vented prior
to Disconnect
human error
Potential fire
Potential fire
Sensitive
verification
and Gas
detectors
Sensitive
verification
and Gas
detectors
Fig 2:a) Input membership functions

(Occurrence, not detection and severity)
b) Output membership functions (FRPN)
FUZZIFICATION PROCESS
From the fig 2 a & b, while creating membership functions for input values
the 10-level scale is divided into 5 different regions. Being represented by triangular
membership functions, these sub-regions respectively are almost none, low,
medium, high and very high. For the output variable RPN, the10-level scale is
136
divided into 10 different parts. These are, respectively, none, very-low, low, highlow, low-medium, medium, high-medium, low-high, high and very high.
RULE EVALUATION
The occurrence, severity and not detection values of the failures were identified with
the help of expert opinions and by using a database of 125 decision rules determined
by them specifically. The rules were designed to take into account all possible
situations. Examples are given here: IF occurrence IS almost none AND severity IS
almost none AND not detection IS almost none (found) then RPN IS none (no
risk), & IF occurrence IS almost none AND severity IS medium AND not
detection IS very high then RPN IS low medium.
DEFUZZIFICATION
Mamdani min/max method of inference mechanism (input method: min;
aggregate method: max) was used and the results were defuzzified by center of
gravity method. As to the types of failure, the fuzzy RPN values provided in the
model are given in a descending order in Table 3 in comparison with the RPN values
of classical FMEA. The failure types containing the same RPN values were arranged
according to the values of occurrence, severity and not detection (priority queues).
The average number of RPN was found to be 4.733 (high lowlow medium).
Table 3 Results of traditional& fuzzy FMEA
No
s
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Freuenc
y
2
2
2
4
2
2
4
5
5
2
5
2
5
2
4
5
Consequ
ence
6
9
9
8
9
8
6
5
5
6
4
8
8
8
8
4
Detection
(not)
2
2
2
2
2
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
RPN
24
36
36
64
36
48
48
50
50
24
40
32
80
32
64
40
Rank
15
10
9
2
10
5
5
4
4
15
7
12
1
13
2
7
Fuzzy RPN
Fuzzy Rank
5
7
7
5
7
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
2
1
1
2
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
137
CONCLUSION:
The top ranking by traditional FMEA results are totally revised by fuzzy
FMEA method. The top ranked failures of overfill storage tank, unloading hose
connection leaks are reallocated in second priority level. The fuzzy method conveys
the top priority failure to be considered as over pressure and failure of storage tank,
pressure relief device failure and storage tank failure. The use of linguistic terms in
the proposed approach allows for the experts to assign a more meaningful value for
the factors considered. This ensures that identified events do not get overlooked (due
to low a RPN) when considering the priority for attention. The proposed approach
using fuzzy rule base could be suitable for use in formal safety assessment (FSA)
process (at the hazard-screening phase). During the hazard-screening phase, only a
relative ranking order is needed. This will distinguish the hazards with a high-risk
level from those with a low-risk level. As the proposed method provides the analyst
with the flexibility to decide which factor is more important to the analysis, the
outcome of the analysis will provide valuable information for the decision making
process.
The advantages of the proposed fuzzy rule base approach for application to
FMEA of LPG refueling station can be summarized as follows:
It provides an organized method to combine expert knowledge and
experience for use in an FMEA study.
The use of linguistic terms in the analysis enables the experts to express
their judgments more realistically and hence improving the applicability of
the FMEA.
REFERENCES:
Chin, K. S., Chan, A., & Yang, J. B. (2008), Development of a fuzzy FMEA based
product design system, International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing
Technology, 36, 633649.
Guimaraes & Lapa, 2004, Fuzzy FMEA applied to PWR chemical and volume
control system, Progress in Nuclear Energy, 44(3), 191213
Pillay, A., & Wang, J. (2003), Modified failure mode and effects analysis using
approximate reasoning, Reliability Engineering and System Safety, 79, 69
85.Sharma et al., 2005
Wang, Y.-M., Chin, K.-S., Poon, G. K. K., & Yang, J.-B. (2009), Risk evaluation
in failure mode and effects analysis using fuzzy weighted geometric mean, Expert
Systems with Applications, 36, 11951207.
Xu, K., Tang, L. C., Xie, M., Ho, S. L., & Zhu, M. L. (2002), Fuzzy assessment of
FMEA for engine systems, Reliability Engineering and System Safety, 75, 1729.
138

Lightning Risk Assessment and Protection of Structures

Housing Explosive Materials
Shyam Prakash1 , Sreejesh.K2, Bikram Singh3
Scientist
Defence Research & Development Organisation
Delhi Cantt, Delhi- 110010, India.
ABSTRACT
Lightning is a natural, unpredictable phenomenon which carries destructive
physical properties. The energy, which it carries in terms of current, voltage and
heat, is enormous. This study focuses on the assessment of lightning risk for
buildings handling explosive materials and recommends suitable Lightning
Protection System (LPS) for such buildings. Surveys have been carried out for
identifying the topographical characteristic of the area, structural features of the
building and lightning flash density of the area. Different test cases of lightning
surge and interceptions have been considered through the analysis of previous
lighting strike data and loss reports. Lighting risk associated with the buildings
under study is calculated considering inherent hazard involved, the geometry of
structure, consequential effects of explosives, vulnerability of explosives in its
presumed operating conditions and environmental factors. The study evaluates the
protection levels achieved through both the conventional and non-conventional
methods available for LPS. The principle components of LPS such as air termination
network, down conductors, earth termination network and bonding according to the
IEC 62305, NFPA 780 and IS 2309 has been considered in the proposed LPS
design.
KEYWORDS- Lightning, Explosives, Surge Protection, Risk Assessment,
Conventional and Non-Conventional Protection Methods, Air Termination, Down
Conductors, Earth Termination, Ground Enhancement Material.
INTRODUCTION
Lightning is defined as an unpredictable phenomenon which cause severe
structural damage, fatality and even lead to malfunction of the electrical and
communication networks. A typical lightning strike reaching the earth has a peak
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: shyamprakash@ymail.com
Lightning risk assessment and protection
current of greater than 30 kA, which is many times the required current for explosive
detonation. The intensity and the severity of a lightning strike vary according to the
demographical characteristics of the area. Due to the immature understanding of
physics of the lightning, the lighting protection system design followed normally
ends up with providing an air terminal with grounding provision. Thus leaving a
facility and its occupants susceptible to grave risks from the surge propagation
through the power distribution and telecommunication network. Moreover, danger
emanates from the time varying nature of this strike as capacitive and inductive
coupling of the conductors may do indirect damage to the facility. In the present
study efforts has been made to develop a lightning protection design through a
quantitative lightning risk assessment process. The study has been conducted based
on the actual of an explosive storage building located in area with high lightning
flash density. The selection of building under study is based on the highest risk
criteria with a coupling effect of explosive material.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION
The phenomenon of lighting varies considerably with respect to topography
of the area, which leads to change in design parameters. Therefore, considering the
unpredictability of the phenomenon, no model has so far been developed to explain
the phenomenon or the protection method. So, lightning protection design of any
building essentially involve, development of probabilistic model of protection based
on features of the building, topography and thunderstorm map of the region. The
components of LPS includes, Air Terminals, Down Conductors and Earth
Electrodes.
Methods of lightning Protection:
The available lightening protection methods can be classified under two broad
categories, viz conventional methods and non-conventional methods.
Conventional Methods: The conventional methods of interception is based on the
principle that the air termination device placed on the LPS should form a preferred
conductive path of lowest resistance for flow of electric charge before any other
point on the structure or its surrounding could. Three main popular methods of
protection based on this thought are:
Faraday Cage or Faraday Shield: If lightning were to strike a metal-enclosed
building, the current would be constrained to the exterior of the metal enclosure, and
it would not even be necessary to ground this enclosure. In the later case the
lightning would merely produce an arc from the enclosure to earth.
Protection angle method (Empirical design method or geometric design):The
method assumes that the intercepting devices will provide a 100% protection from
all lightning strikes if the shielding device maintains a conical relationship with the
protected object. This implies even one air terminal will be sufficient for a very tall
building with lower lateral dimensions.
Rolling sphere method (Electro-geometric design method): This is more
generalist method , which assumes that lightening attachment property of the air
140
terminal is a function of strike current and strike distance (which is assumed to be

more than the rolling sphere distance for interception).
i.e. Probability of interception P=f(Ipeak, Rs) where Ipeak=Peak strike current and
Rs = Radius of the rolling sphere assumed.
Non-conventional Methods: These are relatively new methods and the
manufacturers of the devices used in these methods claim to give a better protection
against lightning. The main techniques currently available are listed below:
1. Early Streamer Emission Devices.
2. Lightning Elimination Devices.
RISK ASSESSMENT & RESULTS

Study case: Explosive Storage building of Rectangular Shape with communication
facility constructed in RCC, surrounded by large area of structures/trees of same
height or smaller. The Risk Rating parameters used in the study are referred from
IEC 62305 2
Table 1 General Characteristics
Structure characteristics
Features
Symbol
Value
Rectangular
Le xWe x He 52 x 34 x 07
Surrounded by
Cd
0.5
buildings
Environmental factor
Rural
Ce
1
LPS
None
PB
1
Shield at boundary
None
KS1
1
Internal Shielding
None
KS2
1
Lightning flash density
Balasore/India
Ng
8.1
Occupancy
Inside and outside
nt
50
Internal power system and connected power line characteristics
Soil resistivity (m)
250
Length (m)
Lc
1000
Height (m)
Buried
Hc
0
HV/LV transformer
No
Ct
1
Line location factor
Surrounded by
Cd
0.5
buildings
Line Env. factor
Rural
Ce
1
PLD
1
Line shielding
None
PLI
0.4
Internal
wiring
Unshielded cable
KS3
1
precaution
Withstand of internal
Uw = 2.5 kV
KS4
0.6
system
SPD protection
None
PSPD
1
Parameters
Dimensions (m)
Location factor
141
Internal telecom system and connected telecom line characteristics

Soil resistivity (m)
250
Length (m)
Unknown
Lc
1000
Line location factor
Surrounded by
Cd
0.5
buildings
Line Env. factor
Rural
Ce
1
PLD
1
Line shielding
None
PLI
0.4
Internal
wiring
Unshielded cable
KS3
1
precaution
Withstand of internal
Uw = 1.5 kV
KS4
1
system
SPD protection
None
PSPD
1
IDENTIFICATION & CHARACTERISTICS OF ZONES IN EXPLOSIVE
BUILDING
Considering the following:
a) Type of soil surface is different in entrance area and inside the building.
b) Losses in communication room are less than the main building.
c) Expected Total No. of persons in building nt = 50
The identified zones and parameters are given below:
Table 2 Zoning of Building for Risk Assessment
Zone Z1 (entrance area to the building) characteristics

Parameter
Features
Symbol
Value
Soil Surface type
Concrete
ra
10-2
Shock Protection
None
PA
1
Loss by touch and step Voltages
Yes
Lt
4.8 x 10-3
Occupancy
24
Zone Z2 (Explosive Storage Area) characteristics
Floor surface type
Concrete
ru
10-2
Risk of fire
Explosion
rf
1
Special hazard
Contamination
hz
50
Fire protection
None
rp
1
Spatial shield
None
KS2
1
Loss by touch and step Voltages
Yes
Lt
1.2 x 10-5
Loss by physical damage
Yes
Lf
1.2 x 10-2
Loss by failure of internal
Yes
Lo
0.1
system
Occupancy
6
142
Zone Z3(Computer Centre) characteristics

Floor surface type
Concrete
ru
Risk of fire
Low
rf
Special hazard
Low panic
hz
Fire protection
None
rp
Spatial shield
None
KS2
Loss by touch and step Volt
Yes
Lt
Loss by physical damage
Yes
Lf
Occupancy
10-2
10-3
2
1
1
4 x 10-5
4 x 10-2
20
Risk Calculation
Table 3 Collection areas & Expected Annual number of dangerous events
Collection Area
Symbol
Structure
Power Line
Near the Power Line
Telecom Line
Near the Telecom Line
Ad
Al(Power)
Ai(Power)
Al(Telecom)
Ai(Telecom)
Value
(m2)
6,765
15,479
39,52,845
15479
39,52,845
Dangerous
Events
ND
NL(Power)
Ni(Power)
NL(Telecom)
Ni(Telecom)
Value
(1/year)
0.0274
0.0627
32.018
0.0627
32.018
Table 4- Risk R1- Values of risk components according to zones (values x 10-5)
Symbol
RA
RB
RC
RM
RU(Power Line)
RV(Power Line)
RU(Telecom Line)
RV(Telecom Line)
Total
Z1
0.132
N/A
0
0.132
Z2
N/A
1644
274
0
0
3762
0
3762
9442
Z3
N/A
0.219
274
0
0
0
0
0
274.219
Structure
0.132
1644.219
548
0
0
3762
0
3762
9716.351
Conclusion from R1 evaluation

Because R1= 9,716 x 10-5 is higher than the tolerable value RT=10-5, lightning
protection for the structure is required.
Selection of Protection Measures
According to table 4, the main contributions to the value of risk are given by:
RB (physical damage due to flashes to the structure)
= 17%
RC (failure of internal systems due to flashes to the structure)
= 6%
RV(Power Line) (failure of internal systems due to flashes near a structure)
= 39%
RV(Telecom
Line)
(failure of internal systems due to flashes near a structure)
= 39%
143
To reduce the risk R1 to a tolerable value, the protective measures influencing the
component RB, RC and RV should be considered. These measures include, Class I
Lightning Protection System(LPS), Automatic Total Flooding system, Enhanced
SPD protection with PSPD= 0.001 on internal power and telecom systems, Internal
wiring with shield resistance (5< RS 20 /km), Special precautions to avoid
contamination i.e. RCC structure, monitoring of contamination level, HEPA filters,
safe separation distance between explosive of 2.13 m etc. Using this solution the
parameters in Table 4 will change leading to the probabilities reported in Table 5.
Table 5- Risk R1- Values of risk components according to zones (values x 10-5)
Symbol
Z1
Z2
RA
0.132
N/A
RB
N/A
0.262
RC
0.0274
RM
0
RU(Power Line)
0
RV(Power Line)
0.030
RU(Telecom Line)
0
0
RV(Telecom Line)
0.030
Total
0.132
0.3494
R1= 0.5099 x 10-5< RT = 10-5
Z3
N/A
0.0009
0.0274
0
0
0.0001
0
0.0001
0.0285
Structure
0.132
0.2629
0.0548
0
0
0.0301
0
0.0301
0.5099
LIGHTNING PROTECTION SYSTEM DESIGN

Design of an Air Termination Network
a) For Class I LPS radius of Rolling Sphere
= 20 m
Taking Height of air terminal rod, h
=5m
Distance between two rods, d
= 2(2rh-h2)= 13.2 m
b) Rolling sphere penetration distance, p
= r - {r2- (d/2)2}= 1.12 m
Hence at roof top no system should have a height more than 3.88 m
In general, air terminals need to be installed so that the sphere only touches their
interception surfaces. Ref. figure no.1, a Rolling Sphere of 20 m radius is being
rolled all over the building so that no place at the building is unprotected. By this
method number of Air Terminal required are 10. These air terminals are placed 0.25
m away from the edges of the building as shown in figure no. 1.
Design of Down-conductors
These down-conductors must carry full lightning currents and should be separated
by a distance of 0.5 m -1.0 m between the down-conductors and metal parts in order
to prevent dangerous flashovers. These must be connected to the air termination
network on one side and to the earth termination network on the other side.
144
Design of Earth Termination Network

The most adequate type for explosive building is a ring earth which surrounds the
system. The vertical lightning interception rods are bonded to the electrode. The
following figure illustrates this solution for a rectangular explosive building:
Considering uniform soil resistivity (250 m) and using Ground enhancement
material to improve earth conductivity:
Earth Resistance for Single Rod ()
Minimum Length of Earth Electrode, L
= 3.048 m,
Diameter of Earth Electrode, D
= 1.5875 cm,
With Ground Enhancement Material (GEM)
Resistivity
= 0.15 .m,
Diameter
= 6.0325 cm,
Earth Resistance for single Rod
= 5.18 .
Taking 10 Rods in a grid, Earth Resistance
= 1.684
Inference: Recommended value for earth resistance as per IEC 62305 2 should be
less than 10 .
TOP VIEW
FRONT VIEW
SIDE VIEW
PLACEMENT OF AIR TERMINALS

Fig. 1
145
CONCLUSION
Based on the risk assessment for current scenario for explosive storage
building Level I lightning protection system (LPS) with 3X coordinated SPDs was
able to reduce the risk level from 9,716 x 10-5to 3.294x10-5 which is still above
acceptable limit of 1x10-5 for human life (R1). So, we incorporated contamination
monitoring and control measures, automatic total flooding system in case of fire
and HEPA filters which resulted in reduced risk level of 0.5099 x 10-5(within the
acceptable limit).
REFERENCES:
Martin A. Uman, The Art and Science of Lightning Protection, University of
Florida, Cambridge University Press 2008.
NFPA 780 Standard for the Installation of Lightning Protection Systems. Quincy,
MA: National Fire Protection Association2004
IS 3043 Code of practice for earthing, (first revision), 1987.
IS 2309, Indian Standard: Protection of buildings and allied structures against
lightning-Code of Practice, 1989 (Reaffirmed 2005).
IEC 62305-Part 1 to 4, Protection Against Lightning. Geneva, International
Electrotechnical Commission, 2006.
Lightning Protection, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, London,
United Kingdom, 2010.
IEEE 80, IEEE Guide for Safety in AC Substation Grounding, 2000.
British Standard Code of practice for earthing BS 7430:1998.
Protection of explosive buildings against lightning, Storage & Transportation of
Explosives Committee, STEC Pamphlet No. 17, DRDO, Ministry of Defence, India,
2005.
146

Investigations on the Influence of Age, Gender and

Driving Experience on Risky Driving Behaviors of two
Wheeler Riders in Kerala
Thajudeen Hassan, M.N. Vinodkumar
1
Research scholar,2Professor
ABSTRACT
The major objective of this ongoing research is to investigate the relationship
between age, gender, and personality traits on risky behaviors of motorcyclists in
Kerala. The data collected through instrumenting a questionnaire on two wheeler
riders were analyzed to study their attitude towards road safety and risky driving
behaviors. The respondents in this survey consisted of 1353 Powered Two Wheeler
(PTW) users from all districts of the Kerala State, India. The results revealed that
two wheeler riders age, gender, and personality traits are directly associated with
risky driving behavior. The results also illustrated that educational qualification and
driving experience correlates directly with risky driving behavior. Attitudes towards
road safety among two wheeler riders are directly related to risky driving behavior.
Keywords: Two Wheeler Riders, Attitude, Risky Driving, Age, Gender.
INTRODUCTION
Road Accidents are among the leading causes of mortalities of youth worldwide
(World Health Organization 2007). They impose a huge socio-economic loss in
terms of untimely death, injuries and loss of potential income. Between 1970 and
2012 numbers of accidents increased by 4.3 times accompanied with 9.5 times
increase in road accident fatalities and 7.3 times increase in the number of persons
injured in India (Road Accidents in India 2012). In Kerala, it was found that around
one third of the Road accidents and 26%-37% of fatal accidents are caused by two
wheeler riders from 2007 to 2012 (Kerala Police, official website2013). A detailed
study of different factors contributing motorcycle accidents in Kerala is therefore
essential.
1
Corresponding Author: Email: profhthajudeen@gmail.com
Investigations on the influence of age..
To understand motorcycle accidents, it is useful to consider motorcycling as a

system comprising three factors: (a) the machine (i.e. the motorcycle), (b) the
environment (e.g., the road type, weather traffic conditions and so forth) and (c) the
human (i.e. the rider)(Elliott et al., 2007). Although we know a lot about the first
two elements, relatively little is known about how the human elements can be
tackled to reduce the accident risk of motorcyclists (Elliott et al., 2007).The
association between drivers age, gender, and driving behavior are important factors
in developing traffic safety strategies. Two Wheeler riders have an increased
likelihood of being involved in an accident compared to other motor vehicle drivers
(Chang & Yeh 2007). Previous studies has shown that majority of motorcyclists
involved in traffic accidents are young males who generally tend to adopt unsafe
attitudes and risky behaviors that lead to an increased risk of injury compared to that
of older drivers (Chen 2009). The results of Lin et al.,(2003); Keall and Newstead,
(2012) show that young people are more involved in grievous accidents than older
drivers. Attitude towards traffic safety have been found to correlate to aggressive
driving behavior, fast riding and self reported accident involvement(Ulleberg and
Rundmo 2003).According to Chen (2009), personality traits including anxiety,
anger, sensation seeking, and normlessness have direct effects on safety attitudes.
Fernandes et al (2007) tested the practical assumption that demographic, personality
and attitudinal factors contributes to risky driving behaviors in the same way,
regardless of behavior. Chen (2009) explored relationship between personality
factors, attitudes towards traffic safety and risky driving behaviors. He found that
there is direct relationship between attitudes towards traffic safety and risky driving.
He also found that the effect of personality traits on safety attitudes is more
predominant, rather than risky driving behaviors. According to Falco et al (2013)
personality, social norms, and risk perception are the important factors that influence
on risky behavior by young people. Young and male motorcycle riders have a
stronger propensity for risky behaviors and these behaviors have been shown to be
associated with increased risks of accidents (Lin et al 2003) and they found that in
Taiwan, unlicensed drivers of age below 17 had the highest risk of being involved in
a crash.
METHOD
Survey includes questions on the variables to be measured, the respondents gender,
age and driving experience. Two attitude scales were considered to measure the
respondents risk taking attitude of driving. These scales had previously been
developed in a study by Ulleberg and Rundmo (2003)., viz.,traffic flow vs rule
obedience(5 items), and attitude- speeding (4 items). A mean score on each scale
was computed and considered as the basis of the items within each scale. A high
score on a scale indicate a positive attitude towards traffic safety, meaning low
preferences for risk taking in traffic. Three risk behavioral scales were included to
measure self reported acts of risk taking in traffic. The scales named Risk- self
assertiveness (5items), speeding (5items) and rule violations (6 items) were used by
148
Ulleberg and Rundmo (2003) in their previous study. A mean score on each scale
was computed on the basis of the items within each scale. A high score on a scale
indicated a high degree of risky driving.
Personality variables considered are Altruism (characterized by active concern for
others: 4 items), Sensation Seeking (i.e. the need for excitement and
stimulation:4items), Normlessness (the belief that socially unapproved behaviors are
required to achieve certain goals), and Anger(5items), which lead a person to ignore
or underestimate road dangers and to engage in irresponsible and unsafe actions.
These are a set of variables that define a personality at risk in terms of greater
likelihood of adopting unsafe driving behaviors (Falco et al., 2013). These variables
have a significant relationship with risk taking behavior in traffic or involvement in
road accidents (Ulleberg and Rundmo 2003, Chen 2009). The items pertaining
Altruism, Sensation Seeking, and Anger were used by Chen (2009). 4 items of
Normlessness were used by Ulleberg and Rundmo (2003). All items were answered
on five-point Likert scales ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. A
mean score on each of the traits was constructed on the basis of the items measuring
the trait.
A total of 2250 questionnaires were distributed among the two wheeler riders of age
group 17-74 in Kerala and 1253 completed questionnaires were returned; 28
partially answered questionnaires were returned because of the time pressure of the
respondents and so forth. The overall response rate was 56%. Cronbachs alpha
coefficient was found to evaluate the internal consistency of the personality
measures, the attitude scales and the risk behavior measure. The relationship
between personality traits, attitudes, and risky driving behavior were estimated using
regression analysis. Bi-variate Correlation was used to establish the correlations
among variables.
RESULT
The number of items, mean scores, standard deviation and Cronbach`s alpha
coefficients were calculated for all variables in the study prior to analysis. The
reliability coefficient for sensation seeking was 0.67, which was due to the fact that
four items in sensation seeking were not properly understood by the participants. In
this study, dependent variable is the mean of Risk (self assertiveness), Risk
(speeding) and Risk (rule violation). Independent variables are Attitude (mean of
traffic flow vs rule obedience and speeding), personal variables, age, gender, and
educational qualification and personality traits, Altruism, Sensation Seeking,
Normlessness and Anger. The multiple regression was conducted with (1) Model1
(Whole sample) (2) Model 2 (Male sample) and (3) Model 3 (Female sample). A
comparison between Models 2 and 3 is made to explore the gender effect.
Model 1(Whole sample): The result reveals that the regression model was
significant. R =.654, p<.001 and explained 65.4% of variance. Education level and
149
experience explained no variance. It was found that risky driving was directly
related to traffic safety attitude, age, sex and personality traits, as shown Table1.
Table 1. Coefficients of Regression.
Whole Model
Male Model
Female Model
B
Sig. B
Sig B
Sig.
Constant
3.89
.0*
3.93
.0* 2.90
.0*
Age
-.06 -.08 .0*
-.06 -.09 .0* NS
NS
NS
Sex
-.11 -.05 .0*
Altruism
-.36 -.39 .0*
-.36 -.40 .0* -.33 -.38 .0*
Sensation Seeking 0.14 0.15 .0*
0.14 0.15 .0* 0.16 0.18 .0*
Normlessness
0.18 0.21 .0*
0.17 0.21 .0* 0.21 0.24 .0*
Anger
-.05 -.05 .0'
-.06 -.06 .0'
NS
NS
NS
Attitude
-.24 -.25 .0*
-.26 -.26 .0* -.15 -.16 .0*
*p < .001, 'p< .05, NS= NO Significance. Dependent Variable: Risky Driving.
Table2 Correlations of Personality Traits, Attitudes &Risky Driving (below
diagonal-whole sample, above diagonal blue- female sample)
1
2
3
4
5
6
1 Altruism
-.53*
-.52*
-.49*
0.41*
-.67*
2 Sensation Seeking -.54*
0.62*
0.57*
-.54*
0.62*
3Normlessness
-.51*
0.63*
0.51*
-.51*
0.63*
4 Anger
-.55*
0.61*
0.52*
-.50*
0.49*
5 Attitude
0.46*
-.60*
-.61*
6 Risky Driving
-.68*
0.63*
0.65*
* Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level
-.57*
0.52*
-.64*
-.54*
-
Table3.Correlations of Personal variables with Risky Driving and Attitude.

Whole Sample
Male Sample
Risk
Attitude Risk
Attitude
Age
-.12*
0.10*
0.14*
0.11*
Education
-.23*
0.22*
0.22*
0.21*
Experience
-.07*
NS
-.10*
0.06'
*Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
'Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
Female Sample
Risk
Attitude
-.13'
NS
-.20*
0.23*
NS
NS
Model 2 (Male sample): The results show that the male model was significant, with
R=.658,p<.001 explained 65.8% variance. Table 1 revealed that age, traits with
risky driving and safety attitude was found almost same as that of whole model.
Also the correlations between personality traits, attitude and risky driving were
found very close to that of whole model.
150
Model 3(Female sample): The results show that the female model was significant,
with R=0.602, p<0.001 explained 60.2% variance. It was revealed that altruism,
sensation seeking, and normlessness had direct relation with risky driving (Table1).
Strong correlation was found between attitudes towards traffic safety, altruism,
sensation seeking, normlessness, anger and risky driving (Table 2).Correlation were
found between age, education level and risky driving (Table3).
DISCUSSION
The major theme of this research was to investigate the influence of age, gender,
personality traits, and attitude towards road safety of the two wheeler driver in
relation to risky driving behavior in traffic.
Model 1(whole sample): A significant relationship has been identified between
attitudes toward traffic safety and risky driving behavior. It is evident that attitudes
towards traffic safety and personality traits such as altruism, sensation seeking,
normlessness and anger can considered as predictors of future unsafe behavior of
young two wheeler riders, in line with the findings of Ulleberg and Rundmo (2003)
and Chen (2009). Risky driving was found among young riders with negative
altruism, positive sensation seeking and normlessness (Table1). Gender, age,
education and experience were found to influence risky driving (Table3) as found by
Lin et.al (2003). Strong correlation of risky driving with, personality traits and
unsafe attitude explained their influence on risky driving as shown in Table 2. A
reasonable explanation for this is that sensation seekers with negative altruism are
expected to seek excitement and stimulation in traffic, which is reflected in risky
driving behavior. Riders with high normlessness, are assumed to have high barriers
on socially approved behavior, this may reflect in road safety. Two wheeler riders
scoring high on anger are thought to be short tempered and frustrated, which may
result in fast riding, and traffic rule violations (Ulleberg and Rundno 2003).
Model 2(male sample): It was found that young male two wheeler riders, with low
level of attitudes coupled with low level of education, were prone to risky driving
(Table3). It was also found that positive acts towards sensation seeking, anger and
normlessness among young riders brought them towards risky driving behavior
(Table1). Attitude towards traffic safety was negatively correlated with risky
driving. Correlation scores between personality traits, safety attitude and risky
driving were close to that of main sample.
Model 3(female sample): Among female riders, negative altruism, positive
sensation seeking and normlessness were found to influence risky driving Table1.
High scores on altruism were correlated to safe attitudes, which show their active
concern for others and thus reflected itself in less risky driving behavior. Negative
sensation seeking, normlessness and anger were correlated to safe attitude towards
151
driving as shown in Table 2.It was noted that, female drivers age and educationlevel
are correlated to positive attitude and negative risky driving as shown in Table3.
CONCLUSION
(1) Personality traits, age and gender influence risky driving behavior among two
wheeler riders
(2) Young male two wheeler riders were found to engage in more risky driving
compare to their female counterparts.
REFERENCES
Chang and Yeh (2007): Motorcyclist accident by age, gender, and risky behaviours
in Taipei, Taiwan. Transportation Research Part F 10(2), 109-122
Chen (2009): Personality, safety attitudes and risky driving behaviours Evidence
from young Taiwanese motorcyclists. Accident Analysis and Prevention 41(5),
963-968
Elliott, Baughan, and Sexton,(2007). Errors and violations in relation to
motorcyclists crash risk. Accident Analysis and Prevention 39(3), 491-499
Falco, Piccirelli, Girardi, Corso and De Carlo (2013): Risky Driving behaviour on
two wheels: The role of cognitive, social, and personality variables among young
adolescents. Journal of Safety Research 46, 47-57
Fernandes, Job and Hatfield (2007): A Challenge to the assumed generalizability
of prediction and countermeasures for risky driving: Different factor predict
different risky driving behaviour. Journal of Safety Research 38 (1), 59-70
Keall and Newstead (2012): Analysis of factors that increase motorcycle rider risk
compared to car driver risk. Accident Analysis and Prevention 49, 23-29.
Lin, Chang and Pai(2003): A longitudinal study of risk factors for motorcycle
crashes among junior college students in Taiwan. Accident Analysis and Prevention
35(2), 243-252
Road Accidents in India 2012: Transport Research Wing, Ministry of Road
Transport and Highways, New Delhi: Ministry of Road transport and Highways,
Government of India. 2013.
Ullberg and Rundmo (2003): Personality, attitudes and risk perception as predictors
of risky driving behaviour among young drivers. Safety Science 41(5), 427-443
152

Comparison in Strength of Laterally Unsupported

Beams by Limit State Method and Working Stress
Method
Dileep Kumar P.G1., Ammad .K.K2.
1
Assistant Professor 2Assistant Professor

Department of Civil Engineering,
Government Engineering College,
Kozhikode 673 005, Kerala, India
ABSTRACT
The latest version of the Code of Practice for general construction in steel IS
800:2007 is based on Limit State Method of Design. The design concept is changed
in comparison to earlier Code of Practice IS 800:1984 which is based on elastic
theory. In the present work, the detailed study in strength of structural component
such as laterally unsupported beams, by designing using Limit State Method and
Working Stress Method has been carried out and submitted the comparative study of
the same in the form of tables and graph, which gives the actual economy achieved
by Limit State Method over Working Stress Method for different structural laterally
unsupported beams. The observations made based on this study are very much
useful to the practicing structural engineers as well as research fellows.
INTRODUCTION
A beam is a structural element that is capable of withstanding load primarily by
resisting bending. The bending force induced into the material of the beam as a
result of the external loads; own weight and external reactions to these loads is
called a bending moment .Lam.D et.al(2004) The beam is also subjected to shear
force. Internally, beams experience compressive, tensile and shear stresses as a result
Dileep Kumar P.G. dileepkumar61@yahoo.com
Comparison in Strength of laterally unsupported beams
of the load applied to them. Typically under gravity loads, the original length of the
beam is slightly reduced to enclose a smaller radius arc at the top of the beam,
resulting in Compression Lopez et.al(2006) while the same original beam length at
bottom of the beam is slightly stretched to enclose a larger radius arc, and so is
under tension. The same original length of the middle of the beam, generally
halfway between the top and bottom is same as the radial arc of bending, and so it is
under neither compression nor tension, and defines the neutral axis. Above the
supports, the beam is exposed to shear stress.
One of the most common types of steel beam is the I beam (ISMB, ISLB) or
wide-flange beam (ISWB also known as a universal beam or for stouter sections, a
universal column). This is commonly used in steel-frame buildings and bridges.
LATERALLY UNSUPPORTED BEAM
Generally, a beam resists a transverse loads by bending action. In a typical

building frame, main beams are employed to span between adjacent columns;
secondary beams when used transmit the flow loading on to the main beams. If the
laterally unrestrained length of the compression flange of the beam is relatively long,
then a phenomenon, known as lateral buckling or lateral torsional buckling of the
beam may be taken place. The beam would fail well before it could attain its full
moment capacity. Johan Jan et.al (2006). This phenomenon has a close similarity to
the Euler buckling of columns, triggering collapse before attaining its squash load
(full compressive yield load).
Lateral buckling of beams has to be accounted for at all stages of construction to
eliminate the possibility of premature collapse of the structure or the component. For
example, in the construction of steel concrete composite buildings, steel beams are
designed to attain their full moment capacity based on the assumption that the
flooring would provide the necessary lateral restrained to the beams. Beams which
fail by local buckling should be prevented by adequate design measures, in order to
achieve their capacities. The method of accounting for the effects of local buckling
on bending strength is available in IS: 800.
154
DESIGN STRENGTH OF LATERALLY UNSUPPORTED BEAMS

USING WORKING STRESS METHOD AND LIMIT STATE
METHOD
Calculate the factored load and the maximum bending moment and shear
force.
Design is by trial and error method. The design bending stress is
significantly less which is to be assumed to start with. Assume slenderness
ratio and
and get the corresponding critical bending stress and hence
corresponding design bending stress.

Determine the required plastic section modulus and select the section.
Determine the actual design bending stress of this selected section knowing
its slenderness ratio which should be greater than that assumed previously
otherwise revise the section.
Check for shear, buckling, crippling and deflection should be done. Design
bending strength can be calculated as per IS:800 Eq (1)
(1)
Md =
Design bending compressive stress Eq (2), with this Md can be found.

(2)
LIMIT STATE METHOD
Consider ISMB 350 at 52.4kg/m

Effective length, LLT = KL = 3.0m
Shear modulus, G =
= 76.92
Torsional constant,
14.23
= 32.67 x 104mm4
Warping constant,
Iw= (1Mcr= [(
f
2
h2
f y f
= 1-0.5)x0.5x537.7x 104 x 335.82=1.51 x 1011 mm2
105
3000 2
105
) (76.92 x103 x 32.67 x 104
105
3000 2
1011
)]
=262.17kNm
155
Alternatively, Mcr can also be calculated using the simplified equation given below
2
M cr=
ry
hf
t
y hf
2
T
105
3000
28.4
335.8
14.2
104
2
=279.86 kNm
The design bending capacity has been determined using the more accurate value,
Non-dimensional slenderness ratio,
LT=
103
=0.9202> 0.4
106
Since LT >0.4, the effect of lateral torsional buckling has to be considered.

LT= 1/[ LT + (LT2 - LT2)0.5] = 1/ [0.999 + (0.9992-0.92022)0.5] = 0.7204
Design bending compressive stress,
fbd=
fy
=163.74 N/mm2
m0
Design bending capacity,

Md=b Zpzfbd =1.0 x 889.57 x 103x 163.74 x 10-6=145.66 kNm
Hence, the safe design bending capacity = 145.66/1.5 = 97.11 kNm
WORKING STRESS METHOD

From clause 6.2.2 of IS800:1984
Effective Span, Ieff= 3.0m
Maximum permissible bending compressive stress in beams,
bc=
fcb fy
fcb
fy
N/mm2=
=121.91N/mm2
Moment of resistance, Mr= 121.91 x 778.9 = 94.97kNm

The flexural strength of laterally unsupported beams is tabulated from the program
generated and graphs are plotted between strength and sectional area . Fig 1 indicates
156
the moment of resistance of laterally unsupported beams having different areas with
span 3m by using LSM and WSM. Strength is higher in LSM than that of WSM.
Table1 shows the strength of various ISMB section calculated using LSM and
WSM. LSM gives a higher value for this span of 3m. Table 2 shows the moment of
resistance of various ISMB sections with spans 5m, 8m, 10m, 16m. From this Table
and Fig-2 it is clear that strength of sections calculated by WSM is higher than that
of LSM. For higher span the percentage of increase is more. For laterally
unsupported beam it is found that for a given area an increase in strength in LSM
when compared to WSM is ranging from 2.3% to 5.7% for smaller spans. For
higher span failure of beams is due to buckling. LSM has considered inelastic
buckling; WSM has not considered inelastic buckling and hence the load taken by
WSM is significant. Failure is due to yielding in both cases when the span is less.
The variation in strength is marginal in both methods.
.
Table 1 Strength in Laterally Unsupported Beams
Section
ISMB
350
400
Area(mm2)
6671
7846
Moment of Resistance (kNm)

WSM
LSM
94.96
97.11
123.59
128.44
450
500
550
600
9227
11074
13211
15621
168.47
240.18
321.61
432.54
Moment of Resistance (kNm)
500
173.54
253.05
339.95
455.62
Moment of Resistance Vs Sectional Area
450
400
350
300
250
WSM
200
LSM
150
100
50
6671
7671
8671
9671 10671 11671 12671 13671 14671
Sectional Area (mm2)
Fig 1 Moment of Resistance Vs Area for laterally unsupported beams.
157
Table 2 Strength in Laterally Unsupported Beams of various spans

Moment of Resistance Vs Sectional Area
Moment of Resistance ( kNm)
400
3m
350
5m
300
LSM
WSM
250
8m
200
10m
150
100
16m
50
0
6671 7671 8671 9671 10671 11671 12671 13671 14671
Sectional Area (mm2)
Fig 2 Moment of Resistance Vs Area for laterally unsupported beams for

different span.
CONCLUSION
The strength of laterally unsupported beams by LSM is higher than WSM for ISMB
section about 5% for spans up to 3m. For spans greater than 3m in laterally
unsupported beam of ISMB sections it is found that strength is higher in WSM than
LSM of about 15 to 30%. WSM has not considered inelastic buckling and hence the
Strength obtained by WSM is significant for higher span.LSM has considered in
elastic buckling Failure is due to yielding in both methods when the span is less,
So the variation in strength is marginal in both methods.
MOMENT OF RESISTANCE (kNm)

AREA
(mm2)
5m
8m
10m
16m
LSM
WSM
LSM
WSM
LSM
WSM
LSM
WSM
6671
61.4
68.1
37.26
46.45
29.59
38.21
18.44
24.88
7846
80.53
88.17
48.89
59.89
38.78
49.19
24.12
31.96
9227
110.15
121.03
66.18
82.12
52.25
67.36
32.30
43.69
11074
168.8
175.63
99.12
117.92
77.16
96.00
46.72
61.50
13211
236.22
240.52
140.19
163.78
109.11
133.87
65.95
86.19
15621
334.99
335.68
201.33
230.43
156.04
188.7
93.45
121.67
158
REFERENCES
Johan Maljaars,Jan W B. Stark and Henri M.G.M. Steenbergen.(2006) Buckling
of Coped Steel Beams and Steel Beams with artial ndplates Heron Vol. 49 No3
Lam D, Ang T.C. and Chiew S.P.(2004), Structural Steel Work Design to Limit
State Theory, Elsevier, 3rd Ed
Lopez , Danny, Serena. (2006) Practical Advanced Analysis of steel frames
considering lateral-torsional buckling Int Journal of computational research, vol2.
R. Kindmann1, Vette1 (2009) Stresses in bracings due to lateral torsional buckling
of beams, Institute of steel and composite structures, University of Bochum,
Germany .
IS 800-1984. Code of Practice for General Construction in Steel.
IS 800-2007. General Construction in Steel Code of Practice
159
160

A Study on the Compression Dispersion Behaviour of

Isolated Struts
Biju P. Varghese1, D. K. Sahoo2
1
Research Scholar, 2Professor

ABSTRACT
This paper discusses the behaviour of struts in the disturbed regions of concrete
structures. When axial compressive force is applied through a relatively small area
of a concrete member, the force flows in the disturbed region through compressive
stress trajectories which tend to bulge outward giving rise to tension in the
transverse direction. Thin plane concrete panels, all of 600 mm height and 100 mm
thickness, were cast with varying widths of 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 & 600 mm. The
panels were tested in a universal testing machine (UTM) till failure to investigate
the behaviour of isolated struts. It was found that the strength of the isolated strut
increased with increase in the panel width and reached highest value when the panel
width was equal to one half of the panel height. The experimental results were
verified using ATENA 3D software which revealed similar trends.
INTRODUCTION
This paper focuses on one of the structural aspects of concrete, i.e., strut behaviour.
Although compressive strength is held to be the most important structural property
of concrete, its ability to resist compression is inter alia a function of its
compressive and splitting tensile strength. When compressive load is applied
through a relatively small area on a concrete member the force flow in the region
under compression is complex in the sense that the compressive stress trajectories
tend to gradually bulge outward. Viewed from the loaded side, there is a gradual
divergence and towards the supported end there is a convergence of these
trajectories. The outward inclination of the stress trajectories gives rise in tension in
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: bijupvarghese22@gmail.com
A study on the compression dispersion behaviour
the transverse direction. This region of concrete that encompasses all the
compressive stress trajectories is known as the bottle-shaped strut, a term used often
in the strut-and-tie modeling of non-flexural regions of structural concrete.
Fig.1 Illustration of terms used in the panel specimens containing isolated

bottle-shaped struts [Sahoo (2009)]
A total of 18 panels, 100 mm thick and 600mm heigh were cast with six different
widths of 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 & 600mm using M20 concrete. Panels were cast
162
with height-to-width ratio or aspect ratios (AR) of 6, 3, 2, 1.5, 1.2 and 1

respectively. The panel and loading arrangements are as in Fig.1. The size of the
loading and supporting plates was 100100 mm, representing load concentration
ratios (CR) of 1, 0.5, 0.33, 0.25, 0.2 and 0.17 respectively. There were three
nominally identical specimens for each type. The panels were cured by immersion in
water for a nominal period of 28 days.
Fig.2 Testing of panel specimens

The panels were tested under in-plane compressive loading applied in a UTM
through symmetrically placed steel bearing plates of size 10010010mm covering
the full thickness of the panel specimen and placed at the loaded and supported ends
of the panels. The load was applied in small increment till failure of the panel and
the loads at failure were recorded. Fig.2 shows the testing arrangements of panels.

According to the Appendix-A of ACI 318 (2008), the efficiency of compression
dispersion has been evaluated in terms of strut efficiency factor, s which is a
function of the ultimate load resisted by a strut, Fns the cylinder compressive
strength of concrete, f c' which is taken as 80% of the cube compressive strength and
the loaded area, Acs .
Fns 0.85 s f c' Acs
. (1)
163
By replacing Fns with the ultimate load resisted by the strut, Pu conservatively
ignoring the codal safety factor 0.85, the factor which is supposed to account for the
long-term effect of the loading (Sahoo et al. 2008), and then rearranging the terms in
Eq. (1), s can be expressed as in Eq. (2).
Pu
f c' Acs
. (2)
Tables 1 show the failure loads and the corresponding values of the strut efficiency
factors, calculated using Eq. (2), of the panels. The cube compressive strength used
is 29.85N/mm2.
Table 1 Lab Test results of 100mm thick panel
Designation
N 100-100
N 200-100
N 300-100
N 400-100
N 500-100
N 600-100
Ultimate
load, Pu (kN)
Loaded area,
Acs (mm2)
240
250
230
244
282
266
297
296
295
266
275
257
250
266
255
245
250
255
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
Pu
f c' Acs
1.005
1.047
0.963
1.022
1.181
1.114
1.244
1.239
1.235
1.114
1.152
1.076
1.047
1.113
1.067
1.026
1.047
1.068
Average
1.005
1.105
1.239
1.114
1.076
1.047
The experimental results obtained were verified using ATENA 3D software. The
ATENA program, which is using for nonlinear finite element analysis of structures,
offers tools specially designed for computer simulation of concrete and reinforced
164
concrete structural behavior. For the present analysis finite element mesh of Brick
type having a size of 25mm is used. Table 2 shows the failure loads obtained by
analysing the panel using ATENA 3D software and the corresponding values of the
strut efficiency factors.
Table 2 Analysis results using ATENA 3D software
Designation
A 100-100
A 200-100
A 300-100
A 400-100
A 500-100
A 600-100
Ultimate load, Pu (kN) Loaded area, Acs (mm2)

178.40
246.00
258.80
244.30
199.40
201.50
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
10000
Pu
f c' Acs
1.115
1.538
1.618
1.527
1.246
1.259
A prismatic strut would form in the 100 mm wide panels as the top and bottom
loaded areas of the panel and the areas of the bearing plates are equal. A bottleshaped strut would form in each of the other five types of panels as the crosssectional area of all the panels were larger than the area of bearing plate, i.e., the
loaded area, Santiago et al. (2011). In Fig.3, the efficiency factors of the struts tested
in lab and analysed using ATENA 3D have been plotted together for comparison.
Fig.3 Comparison of strut efficiency factors of struts

165
Following important observations can be made from Fig.3. The efficiency factor is
go on increasing till the width become half the height and further increase in width
decrease the efficiency factor. This trend is also obtained in analysis using the
ATENA 3D software. The efficiency factor is highest for a panel width of 300 mm
which corresponds to an aspect ratio of 2, Table 3. This suggests that a bottleshaped strut will not develop fully when the panel width is less than one half of the
strut length. Secondly, the concentration ratio of these panels corresponding to
highest strut efficiency is 0.33. It is notable from Table 3 that when the nodes are
similar, a bottle-shaped strut is more efficient in resisting compression than a
prismatic strut.
Table 3 Comparison of strut efficiency factors
Panel width
Aspect Ratio
Concentration Ratio
100
200
300
400
500
600
6.000
3.000
2.000
1.500
1.200
1.000
1.000
0.500
0.333
0.250
0.200
0.167
1.005
1.105
1.239
1.114
1.076
1.047
ATENA
software
1.115
1.538
1.618
1.527
1.246
1.259
CONCLUSIONS
On the basis of the test results and ATENA 3D results, the following conclusions
were drawn:
1. When the end nodes are similar, a bottle-shaped strut is more efficient than a
prismatic strut.
2. Aspect ratio is an important determinant of the efficiency of a bottle-shaped strut.
The strut efficiency factor reached its peak value as the panel width increased to
one half the panel height (aspect ratio=2), and, thereafter, as the panel width
increased further the strut efficiency began to decline.
3. Highest strut efficiency was obtained for a concentration ratio of 0.33.
REFERENCES
ACI Committee 318 (2008), Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete
(ACI 318-08) and Commentary (318R-08), American Concrete Institute,
Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Sahoo, D. K. (2009), An investigation of the strength of bottle-shaped struts,
Ph.D. thesis, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.
Sahoo, D. K., B. Singh and P. Bhargava (2008), Strength and deformation
characteristics of bottle-shaped struts, Magazine of Concrete Research, 60(2), 137
Santiago, P., J. M. Rautenberg and M. A. Sozen (2011), Compressive Strength of
Concrete in Non Prismatic Elements, Concrete International, September, 42-49.
166

Investigation on the Influence of Replacement Percentage

of GGBS on the Seismic Performance of RC BeamColumns
Susan Abraham1, Joanna P.S2
1
Research Scholar,2Professor
Department of Civil Engineering ,Hindustan Institute of Technology and Sciences
Chennai- 603103, Tamil Nadu, India.
ABSTRACT
The infrastructural development of a country is directly related to its cement
consumption. Cement is a very energy intensive material and is a major contributor of
green house gases. It also consumes a large amount of natural resources. Sustainable
development focuses on reducing consumption of energy, natural resources, carbon
emissions and increasing utilization of waste materials. Ground Granulated Blast
Furnace Slag (GGBS) a waste product of iron industry has several advantages. In the
present
study experimental work was conducted to investigate the seismic
performance of concrete mixes using 40% and 50% of GGBS as partial replacement
to cement. Tests were conducted on six RC beam-columns out of which two were
control specimens and four were RC beam-columns with40% and 50% GGBS
subjected to constant axial load and reversed lateral loads. Hysteresis curves have
been plotted and seismic characteristics like energy absorption, ductility, peak load
displacement etc have been compared.
INTRODUCTION
Concrete is a widely used construction material due its versatility and Ordinary
Portland Cement (OPC) is its most vital ingredient. Concrete is very essential for the
infrastructural development of a country. The embodied energy in concrete is very
high. Goggins et al (2010) suggest that designing buildings with lower embodied
energy can reduce consumption of natural resources and can also reduce the carbon
emissions. Research shows that one tonne of OPC produced requires 60130 kg of
1
Susan Abraham. E-mail: susanvinodh@gmail.com
Investigation on the influence of replacement percentage of GGBS
fuel oil or equivalent and about 110 KWh of electricity. This huge energy demand
leads to the release of 0.9 tonne of CO2 for every tonne of cement produced.
Sustainable development in the concrete industry is possible only when there is
reduction in the carbon emissions and energy consumption.
Substantial saving of energy, natural resources and cut down in carbon emissions can
result when industrial by-products which are usually dumped as wastes are used as
partial replacements for the energy- intensive OPC. Granulated Blast Furnace Slag is a
waste product in the iron industry obtained by quenching of the molten slag, which is
finely ground to obtain Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS). It is closest to
Portland cement in chemical composition. GGBS improves the durability and
workability of concrete. Osborne (1999) concluded that upto 50% replacement of
cement with GGBS is suitable structural concrete. Oner and Akyuz (2007) found that
GGBS content around 55% is optimum in compressive strength of concrete.
Extensive research is needed when new materials are to be used as replacements to
cement; especially the structural behavior has to be studied in detail. For this purpose
a comparative study was conducted on the seismic behavior of six reinforced concrete
beam-columns with 0%,40% and 50% GGBS as a replacement to OPC. The effect of
replacement percentage of GGBS on the seismic performance of reinforced concrete
has been discussed.
MATERIALS
In the present study, Ordinary Portland Cement (53Grade) was used. The
specimens were cast using M40 grade of concrete, designed as per the Indian Standard
Code 10262-2009. Locally available river sand and crushed stone aggregates were
used. The superplasticiser used was Glenium B1-233 which is a commercial high
range water reducing agent with low alkali content. Three mixes were used in casting
the specimens. Mix I with 0% GGBS, Mix II with 40% GGBS and Mix III with 50%
GGBS as a partial replacement to cement, the quantities of other materials were kept
unchanged . The mix ratios are provided in Table 1. The Longitudinal reinforcements
and stirrups used were of grade Fe 415.
Table 1 Plain Concrete Mix Ratios

Mix ( Grade -M40 )
Replacement %
Water-cement ratio
Cement (kg/m3)
GGBS(kg/m3)
Fine Aggregate(kg/m3)
Coarse Aggregate(kg/m3)
Water(kg/m3)
Superplasticiser (Glenium) %
168
Mix I
0
0.4
416.64
0
677.066
1221.44
166.656
0.7
Mix II
40
0.4
249.984
166.656
677.066
1221.44
166.656
0.7
Mix III
50
0.4
208.32
208.32
677.066
1221.44
166.656
0.7
METHODS
Six numbers of Reinforced concrete beam-columns with and without GGBS were
tested in the reversed lateral cyclic load testing frame. Details of the beam-column are
shown in Fig. 1. Design and detailing of the specimens have been done as per
provisions in Indian Standard Code IS 13920(1993). A five termed designation is
given to the specimens. First 2 letters represents the beam-column, 3rd one represents
% of GGBS added and 4th one represents the identity of specimen in a particular series
as two specimens were tested in each series and the last one indicates on which day
the specimen is being tested.
Fig. 1. Reinforcement Details for the beam-column

The test set-up consists of a reaction frame, a hydraulic actuator of capacity 200 kN
with a stroke length of 100mm to apply the reversed lateral loads. A loading frame
with hydraulic jack of 200 kN to apply axial compressive loads to the test specimens.
Linear voltage displacement transducer (LVDT) was used for lateral displacement
measurement at the top of the column. A load cell attached to actuator was used to
measure the reversed cyclic loads. LVDT was connected to a data logger from which
the readings were captured by a computer at every load intervals until failure of the
specimen. The experimental set-up is shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2. Test Set- Up

169

HYSTERESIS CURVES
The lateral load versus top displacement was plotted for each cycle and the hysteretic
curves were obtained. The hysteresis curves plotted for the control, 40% and 50%
GGBS beam-column specimens tested on the 28th day are shown in Fig. 3, 4 and 5
respectively. It is observed that the hysteresis curves are similar for all the six beamcolumns.
20
10
-50
-30
0
-10
-10
10
30
50
Lateral Load (kN)
Lateral Load (kN)
20
-50
10
0
-10
-10
-30
10
30
50
-20
Displacement (mm)
-20
Displacement
(mm)
a. BC0%-1-28
b. BC0%-2-28
Fig. 3 Hysteresis curves for the control beam-columns tested on the 28th day
-50
20
10
-30
0
-10
-10
10
30
50
-20
Displacement (mm)
Laterral Load (kN)
Lateral Load (kN)
20
-50
10
0
-10
-10
-30
10
30
50
-20
Displacement (mm)
a. BC40%-1-28
b. BC40%-2-28
Fig. 4 Hysteresis curves for the 40% GGBS beam-columns tested on the 28th day
20
-50
10
-30
0
-10
-10
10
-20
Displacement (mm)
30
50
Lateral Load (kN)
Lateral Load (kN)
20
-60
10
0
-40
-20
20
40
60
-10
-20
Displacement (mm)
a. BC50%-1-28
b. BC50%-2-28
Fig. 5 Hysteresis curves for the 50% GGBS beam-columns tested on the 28th day
170
PEAK LOAD DISPLACEMENT

The peak load and displacement values of each cycle were obtained from the
hysteresis curves and the peak load displacement graph was plotted. Fig. 6 compares
the peak load displacements of the six beam-column specimens. It is seen that the
beam-columns with 40% GGBS have the best performance comparable to control
specimens.
Peak Load (kN)
BC-40%-2-28
BC-0%-1-28
BC-0%2-28
BC-50%-1-28
BC-50%-2-28
BC-40% -1-28
-45
-30
-15
12.5
7.5
2.5
-2.5 0
15
30
45
-7.5
-12.5
-17.5
Displacement (mm)
Fig. 6 Peak load displacement curves for beam-columns tested on the 28th day
ENERGY ABSORPTION
A ductile structure can absorb the energy released during an earthquake. The energy
absorbed by the structure is estimated by the area enclosed by the hysteresis loop
when the structure is subjected to lateral loads. Fig. 7 shows the extent of the energy
absorbed by the beam-column specimens at different displacement levels.
BC-0%-2-28
1400
BC- 0%-1-28
BC-50%-1-28
1000
BC-50%-2-28
Energy Absorption
(kN-mm)
1200
BC-40%-1-28
800
BC-40%-2-28
600
400
200
0
0
15
Displacement
(mm)
30
45
Fig. 6 Energy Absorption curves for beam-columns tested on the 28th day
171
It is observed that the 40% GGBS beam -column specimen absorbs the highest
amount of energy.
DISPLACEMENT DUCTILITY
Ductility is a very important parameter in seismic resistance of a structure.
Ductility is the ability of a structure to undergo large deformations without losing its
strength. It is expressed in terms of
ductility ratio. Displacement ductility is
considered as the ratio of ultimate displacement to that of the yield displacement
which can be obtained from the peak load-displacement curve. The average ductility
ratio obtained for the various beam-column specimens are given in Table 2. It is
between 3 to 6 which is adequate for structural members. The ductility ratio of 40%
GGBS beam-column specimen is found to be the highest.
Table 2. Displacement Ductility of Test Specimens
Specimen
Lateral Displacement (mm)
Displacement
Average
Ductility Ratio
Ductility
Yield
Ultimate
Top Bottom Top Bottom
Top
Bottom Ratio
BC0%-1-28
8
6.5
24.2 29.8
3.03
4.95
3.8
BC0%-2-28
6.25 6.25
29.4 28.3
4.70
4.58
4.6
BC40%-1-28 5.25 5
30.2 29.9
5.75
5.98
5.9
BC40%-2-28 7
7.5
28.6 35.1
4.09
4.68
4.4
BC50%-1-28 9
8
27.9 30
3.1
3.75
3.4
BC50%- 2-28 8
8
27.5 35.1
3.44
4.39
3.9
CONCLUSIONS
The hysteretic characteristics, energy absorption, ductility of 40% and 50% GGBS
reinforced beam- column joints subjected to reverse lateral loading were investigated.
The experimental results lead to the following conclusions:
1. GGBS is an ideal replacement of cement and can reduce the embodied energy of
concrete structures.
2. The seismic performance of the 40% and 50% GGBS beam-columns is
comparable with that of the control specimens.
3. The 40% GGBS specimens were found to exhibit better seismic characteristics
than 50% GGBS specimens. Thus 40% replacement of GGBS to cement can be
recommended in seismic regions.
172
REFERENCES
Goggins, J., Keane, T. and Kelly, A., (2010), The assessment of embodied energy in
typical reinforced concrete building structures in Ireland, Energy and Buildings,
Vol.42, pp.735-744.
Osborne, G.,(1999), Durability of Portland blast-furnace slag cement concrete,
Cement and Concrete Composites, Vol.21, pp.11-21.
Oner, A. and Akyuz, S., (2004), An experimental study on the optimum usage of
GGBS for the compressive strength of concrete, Cement and Concrete Research,
Vol.29, pp.505-514.
173
174

Partial Replacement of Steel Reinforcement with

Bamboo and Arecanut Wood in RC Beams
Rinu Tenison1, Rani Tenison2, Aryamol Ravindran3, Rajesh R4,
Sruthi Krishnan V5
1
Lecturer on contract, 2Research Scholar

Division of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, Cochin University of Science
and Technology
3
MTech Student, College of Engineering, Trivadrum.
4
Overseer, NREGS Idukki.
5
M Tech Student, Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai.
ABSTRACT
Concrete is a widely used construction material. Due to its low tensile strength and
high cost of steel reinforcement, possibility of partial or complete replacement of
steel with some other suitable materials is under consideration. To evaluate the
feasibility of locally available arecanut wood and bamboo as replacement for steel
reinforcement, various tests were conducted on untreated and treated woods. The
test specimen were prepared and tests like static bending test, tensile strength and
compression parallel to grain test, moisture content and specific gravity tests were
carried out as per IS codes. From tests, it was revealed that steel can be partially
replaced and the percentage of bamboo/arecanut wood that will replace steel
reinforcement area and give the maximum strength to concrete beam was
considered as the optimum percentage of bamboo/arecanut reinforcement. For
optimum value of bamboo reinforcement, strength to weight ratio of bamboo
reinforcement was better than steel reinforcement.
Keywords: Bamboo, Arecanut, partial reinforcement, optimum percentage.
2
Rani Tenison. E-mail: ranitenison@gmail.com
Partial Replacement of Steel
INTRODUCTION
Concrete is a widely used construction material for its various advantages such as
low cost, availability, fire resistance etc. But it cannot be used alone because of its
low tensile strength. Traditionally, steel is used as reinforcement in concrete. But
because of high cost, replacement of steel with some other suitable materials as
reinforcement is now a major concern. Since bamboo is natural, cheap, widely
available, lightweight and most importantly strong in tension, it can be a substitute
of steel in reinforcing of concrete. Arecanut wood is another substitute for steel
reinforcement in reinforced concrete beams as the wood is very tough, strong and
long lasting material, has notable resistance under tensile loads, easy to work with
and cheap material when compared to steel.
Macclure (1953) conducted a study to determine the feasibility of bamboo as a
building material and revealed that the load capacity of bamboo reinforced concrete
beams increases with increasing percentages of the bamboo reinforcement up to an
optimum value. The study of the properties of bamboo used as reinforcing material
(Ghavami, K, 1995&2005) showed that ratio of tensile strength to specific weight of
bamboo is 6 times more than that of steel and durability of bamboo varies with the
type of species, age, conservation condition, treatment and curing. Also physical and
mechanical properties of bamboo increased with decrease in its humidity.
Performance evaluation of bamboo reinforced concrete beams (Rashid et.al, 2011)
confirmed that bamboo is a potential reinforcement material and the strength of
bamboo increases with its age and reaches to the maximum strength at 3-4 years and
then starts to decline in strength. Studies were conducted to determine various
properties of arecanut wood (Venkateshappa et.al. 2010 & Srinivasa et.al.2011)
also.
In this paper, the physical and mechanical properties of bamboo and arecanut wood
available in Kerala region and the feasibility of these wood as partial reinforcement
in concrete is discussed.
Systematic testing of raw materials, fresh concrete and hardened concrete are
inseparable part of any quality control programme for concrete to achieve higher
efficiency of the material used and greater assurance of the performance of the
concrete with regard to both strength and durability. Based on the study of the
properties of cement, fine aggregate and coarse aggregate, a mix ratio of 1:1.5:3 and
water-cement ratio 0.5 was chosen for the preparation of concrete for experimental
set up.
176
BAMBOO AND ARECANUT WOOD

Bamboo and arecanut wood selected for the preparation of specimen were free from
defects. Test specimen were prepared as per IS specification and various tests
mentioned in IS codes were conducted to determine the mechanical and physical
properties of bamboo and arecanut wood. The various physical and mechanical
properties of bamboo and arecanut wood were tabulated as Table 1.
Table 1 Properties of Bamboo and Arecanut Wood
Value
Bamboo
Arecanut
Untreated
Treated
Untreated
Treated
Test
Fiber Stress
(N/mm2)
Static
Modulus of
Bending Rupture (N/mm2)
Modulus of
Elasticity(N/mm2)
Compression Parallel to
Grain (N/mm2)
Tensile Strength Parallel to
Grain (N/mm2)
Moisture Content(%)
Specific Gravity
164.92
444.15
131.53
136.54
235.22
605.54
191.05
189.4
0.14x105
0.27x105
0.05 x105
0.09x105
44.72
52.63
43.62
46.25
142.85
188.20
72.32
81.6
11.04
0.369
11.04
0.36
STRENGTH TEST OF REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS

Reinforced concrete beams were prepared by partially replacing the total area of
steel reinforcement with bamboo/ arecanut wood to determine the optimum
percentage of wood that will substitute steel and give maximum strength. Based on
the test the optimum percentage of wood that replace steel was found to be 37.7%
for both bamboo and arecanut wood.

Five different specimens with 37.7% replacement of the steel reinforcement with
either bamboo or arecanut wood (Fig 1) were cast and tested. The strength of such
beams was compared with fully steel reinforced concrete beams. Fig 2 shows the
failure of partially reinforced concrete beams in which the 37.7% of total
reinforcement area was replaced by (a) Bamboo and (b) Arecanut wood.
177
BAMBOO/ ARECANUT-STEEL REINFORCEMENT

The beams showed pure flexural failure. Cracks that propagate along the tension
reinforcement destroying the bond between the reinforcement and the surrounding
concrete were not observed. Hence, there was no shear bond failure, which confirms
sufficient bond between the bamboo and concrete.
(a)
(b)
Fig.1 (a) Bamboo and (b) Arecanut wood reinforcement cages with 37.7% steel
replacement
(a)
(b)
Fig.2 Failure of (a) Bamboo and (b) Arecanut wood reinforced concrete beam
with 37.7% steel replacement
Load deflection curve of bamboo reinforced concrete beams with 37.7%
replacement of steel (Fig.3(a)), showed non-linear behaviour. The ultimate load
capacity, of five beams tested, varied between 45 and 47 kN, in which the highest
value was obtained for beam BAMBOO3.
The form of cracking was shear- flexural cracking. The diagonal cracks with an
inclination of between 450 and 900 were developed.
(a)
178
(b)
Fig.3 Load-deflection curve of (a) Bamboo and (b) Arecanut wood reinforced
beams with 37.7% steel replacement
Load deflection curve of arecanut wood reinforced concrete beams with 37.7%
replacement of steel, as depicted in Fig.3(b), showed non-linear behaviour. The
ultimate load capacity of beams varied between 44 and 49 kN, the highest for the
beam ANW5.
The comparison of the test results conducted on reinforced concrete beams are
tabulated in Table 2. The ultimate load was maximum for steel reinforcement but
the strength to weight ratio of bamboo (37.7%) reinforcement was better than that of
100% steel reinforcement.
Table 2 COMPARISON OF REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS
Sl. No
1
2
3
Reinforcement
Steel(100%)
Bamboo (37.7%)
Arecanut (37.7%)
Ultimate Load (kN)

48.56
46.12
45.16
Strength-Weight Ratio
18723
30477
14562.4
CONCLUSIONS
SUMMARY
The study evaluated the feasibility of locally available arecanut wood and bamboo
as reinforcement in reinforced concrete beams. Various tests were conducted to
determine the mechanical and physical properties of arecanut wood and bamboo.
Flexural strength of singly reinforced concrete beams (150 x 150 x 1000 mm) with
steel reinforcements partially replaced with bamboo and arecanut wood was
compared with that of fully steel reinforced concrete beams.
CONCLUSION
1. Load carrying capacity of the beams increased up to an optimum percentage of
replacement of steel reinforcement with bamboo/arecanut wood. The load
carrying capacity of the beams decreases after reaching the optimum percentage.
2. Modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture of treated specimens of bamboo and
arecanut wood are higher than that of untreated specimens.
3. Bamboo and arecanut wood showed bilinear behavior under bending test.
4. Tensile strength of bamboo and arecanut wood was found to be greater than the
compressive strength.
5. It was observed that strength to weight ratio of bamboo is greater than that of
steel and arecanut wood.
6. From the study, it can be concluded that bamboo can be used as a suitable
substitute in partial replacement of steel reinforcement in reinforced concrete
beams.
179
RECOMMENDATION
1. To reduce swelling, use of water proofing coatings like asphalt emulsion can be
recommended for further studies.
2. For further studies, pull out test can be done to determine the bond between
reinforcement and the surrounding concrete.
3. Further studies can also be conducted using different species of bamboo.
4. The effect of steel replacement by weight can be considered for further studies.
5. The effect of thermal expansion can be considered in further studies.
REFERENCES
Ghavami K. Ultimate load behaviour of bamboo reinforced light weight
concrete beams (1995). Cement & Concrete Composites 17(4), 281288.
Ghavami K Bamboo as reinforcement in structural concrete elements, (2005).
Cement & Concrete Composites 27, 637-649.
Huda, S.,Reddy, N., Yang, Y., Ultra-light-weight composites from bamboo
strips and polypropylene web with exceptional flexural properties, (2012).
Cement & Composites: Part B 43, 16581664.
MCCLURE F A. Bamboo as building material, (1953). Department of
Housing and Urban Development, Washington, - DC, USA, 1-25.
Srinivasa, C.V, Arifulla, A., Goutham, N., Santhosh, T., Jaeethendra, H.J.,
Ravikumar, R.B., Anil, S.G., Santhoshkumar, D.G., Ashish, J. Static bending
and impact behaviour of areca fibers composites, (2011). Materials and Design
32, 2469-2475.
Venkateshappa, S.C., Bennehalli, B., Kenchappa, M.G., and Ranganagowda,
R.P.G. Flexural Behaviour of Areca Fibres Composites, (2010).
BioResources 5(3), 1846-1858.
IS 456:2000- Code of practice for plain and reinforced concrete
IS 516:1959- Method of test for strength of concrete
IS 8112:1989- Normal consistency of cement
IS 812:1989- Initial setting time of cement
IS 1708(Part1 to 18): 1986- Methods of testing of small specimens of timber
180

Strut Efficiency in Deep Beams under the Effect of

Vertical and Horizontal Stirrups at Various Strut Angles
- A Numerical Study
Praveen Mathew1, Dipak Kumar Sahoo2, Glory Joseph3
1
Research Scholar, Cochin University of Science and Technology

2
Professor, Cochin University of Science and Technology
3
Associate professor, Cochin University of Science and Technology
ABSTRACT
The strut-and-tie model is a hypothetical truss in which the loads are presumed to be
transmitted to the support as vectors. Thus the analysis of deep beam has become
more convenient and economic. Here a structural analysis tool is used to find out
the strut efficiency at two different strut angles. For the analysis, hardened
properties of conventional concrete were found experimentally which serves as data
for the intrinsic behaviour of beam model. The beams analyzed discretely with
vertical and horizontal stirrups were found to be more stiff with horizontal stirrups
at a steeper strut angle. The effect of nodal reinforcement was also studied in which
a better transmission of load was achieved.
INTRODUCTION
Deep beam often find its application in pile caps, girders, corbels, brackets etc.
Members with shear span-to-depth ratio av/d less than 2 will be considered as deep
beam. Deep beams can be designed as strut-and-Tie model regardless of how they
are loaded and supported, ACI-318-08 (2008). The strut-and-tie method is gaining
recognition as a consistent methodology for the design of D- (discontinuity) regions
1
Praveen Mathew. E-mail: praveenmathewk1@gmail.com
Strut efficiency in deep beams
in structural concrete. Unfortunately, the development of code provisions for it has

been troubled by uncertainties in defining the strength and dimensions of the
idealized load-resisting truss (or strut-and-tie model), Tjhin and Kuchma (2002). In
beam design, the shear capacity is of great interest because shear failure is
associated with an abrupt failure mode that undermines the flexural performance,
Choi et al. (2009). Here a numerical analysis tool, ATENA is used to analyze deep
beam under the effect of horizontal and vertical stirrups at two different strut angle,
in which the laborious work that involve many geometrical detail as specified in
codes have been simplified. In the model predicted by Sahoo (2009, 2010, and 2013)
which accounts for the inclination of strut gives a more conservative efficiency
factor for bottle-shaped struts in beam.
STRUT BEHAVIOUR
For studying the strut behaviour, deep beams of size 750 mm length x 600 mm deep
x 100 mm thick with an effective span of 600 mm (strut angle of 640) and 850 mm
length x 600 mm deep x 100 mm thick with an effective span of 700 mm (strut angle
of 600) was modeled in ATENA with a single point loading through a steel plate of
100 mm length x 50 mm deep, Brown and Bayrak (2007). The type of reinforcement
provided for the beam model were 2-16 mm dia. bars at bottom and 2-8 mm dia.
bars at top as holder for stirrups which was kept common for all models whereas for
stirrups 5 mm dia. bars were provided. The support plates provided were 50 mm
long and 50 mm deep. The loading was carried out with a prescribed deformation of
0.0001 m and continued up to failure of the strut accompanied by a drop in stress
value. Various categories of deep beam were modeled to study the influence of
diverse quantity of vertical and horizontal stirrups on strut behaviour. The property
and stress-strain values of concrete which were given for the analysis of deep beam
are given in Table 1 and Fig. 1.
Table 1 Input for ATENA analysis of shear beam
Sl
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Particulars
Concrete cube comp. strength(N/mm2)
Stress strain relationship for concrete
Flexural strength of concrete(N/mm2)
Youngs Modulus (N/mm2)
Localized plastic strain in concrete
Unit weight of concrete (kg/m3)
Size of shear beam specimen (mm)
8.
Type of concrete element for FEM analysis
9.
10.
Finite Element Mesh size (mm)

Reinforcement
182
NCA
34.6
From figure 1
5.2
1.85104
1. 710-3
2481
600600100
Brick, 3D Nonlinear
cementitious-2 user
505050
Bilinear, perfect bonding
Fig. 1 Stress-strain curve
Fig. 2 Finite element meshing
Fig. 2 shows the finite element meshing of size 50 mm x 50 mm x 50 mm for beam

model.
ATENA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
The beams were modeled in ATENA for various quantities of vertical and horizontal
stirrups with and without nodal reinforcement below the loading point. The load and
deflection were noted with respect to the development of cracks measured from
bottom of the beam. The monitoring point for deflection was provided at bottom
centre of the beam.
Table 2 shows the strut behaviour of deep beams at various reinforcement types. It
is found that the horizontal stirrups have got more effect on strut action than the
vertical stirrups by 2 to 3% to resist the shear which is also related to the strut angle,
here being a steep angle of 640. It is also seen that the Nodal Reinforcement (NR)
provided below the loading point has improved transferring the load to supports
through struts. It is more prominent in Fig. 2 (a &b) showing the failure of beam at
node, well before the strut fails in case of 4 horizontal stirrups for strut without a
nodal reinforcement at loading point.
183
Table 2 Performance under various reinforcement types for strut
Details
Cracks
50 100
mm
No
reinft.
2 vert.
stirrups
4 vert.
stirrups
2 horz.
stirrups
3 horz.
stirrups
4 horz.
stirrups
369.0
369.0
369.0
369.0
370.0
369.0
2 horz.
stirrups
with
NR
3 horz.
stirrups
with
NR
4 horz.
stirrups
with
NR
380.0
381.0
397.0
404.0
Load, KN
380.0
Cracks
100 150
mm
372.0
375.0
378.0
376.0
382.0
386.0
Cracks
150 200
mm
380.0
381.0
382.0
381.0
387.0
393.0
399.0
409.0
Strut
failure
380.0
381.0
382.0
388.0
387.0
395.0
399.0
411.0
Cracks
50 100
mm
0.32
0.32
0.32
0.32
0.32
0.32
0.35
0.36
0.40
0.44
Deflection, MM
0.36
Max.
crack
width,
MM
184
Cracks
100 150
mm
0.35
0.35
0.36
0.35
0.38
0.38
Cracks
150 200
mm
0.38
0.38
0.39
0.38
0.42
0.40
0.44
0.51
Strut
failure
0.42
0.41
0.43
0.45
0.42
0.50
0.44
0.56
Strut
failure
0.27
0.37
0.44
0.15
0.12
0.33
0.12
0.24
(a) Without nodal reinforcement
(b) With nodal reinforcement
Fig. 3 The effect of nodal reinforcement at loading point

With an aim to study the effect of strut angle on strut action with vertical and
horizontal reinforcement type, an another beam 850 mm length x 600 mm depth x
100 mm thick with an effective span of 700 mm and strut angle of 60 0 was modeled
for selected types with nodal reinforcement at loading point and the results were
tabulated, Table 3.
Table 3 Performance under various reinft. types at a lower strut angle
2 vert.
stirrups
2 horz.
stirrups
3 horz.
stirrups
4 horz.
stirrups
Cracks 50
-100 mm
368.0
365.0
369.0
Cracks
100 -150
mm
368.0
Cracks 50
-200 mm
371.0
372.0
371.0
369.0
371.0
376.0
Cracks 50
-100 mm
0.35
0.35
0.35
Cracks
100 -150
mm
0.40
Cracks 50
-200 mm
0.41
0.40
Load, KN
Details
Deflection, MM
Strut
failure
185
Strut
failure
Max.
crack
width,
MM
Strut
failure
0.41
0.46
0.41
0.47
0.14
0.17
0.14
0.23
From Table 3 it can be interpreted that with a more flat strut angle the effect of
vertical stirrups will precede over the horizontal stirrups in strut efficiency. It is
found that the effect of horizontal stirrups on strut efficiency has been reduced to
about 7 to 8 % in comparison with that of higher strut angle at 640. However this can
be further justified with more studies at different strut angles and with experimental
works.
CONCLUSIONS
The efficiency of struts in deep beam is controlled by the orientation of stirrups in
respective direction which is depended on the steepness of strut.
The following conclusions were derived on the basis of ATENA analysis.
1.
2.
At a steeper strut angle the horizontal reinforcements will be effected more on

strut action than the vertical reinforcement and vice versa with a flat angle.
Nodal reinforcement in the form of a cage is found more effective in
transferring the load to supports.
However a detailed study at various strut angles and experimental works are
required to validate the results obtained here.
REFERENCES
ACI Committee 318 (2008), Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete
(ACI 318-08) and Commentary, American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills,
Michigan, 379p.
Brown, M. D., and Bayrak, O. (2007), Investigation of Deep Beams with various
Load Configurations, ACI Structural Journal, 104(5), 611-620.
Choi, H.B., Yi, C.K., Cho, H.H. and Kang, K.I. (2010). Experimental study on the
shear strength of recycled aggregate concrete beams. Mag. Concrete Res., 62(2),
103-114.
186
Daniel, A. K., and Tjen, N. T. (2002), Computer-Based Tool for Design by Strutand-Tie Method: Advances and Challenges, ACI Structural Journal, 99(5), 586594.
Sahoo, D. K., (2009), An investigation of the strength of bottle-shaped struts,
Ph.D. thesis, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, 324p.
Sahoo, D. K., Singh, B., and Bhargava, P. (2010), Strut efficiency factors for
structural concrete made from recycled concrete aggregates, Journal of structural
Engg., 37(1), 49-54.
Sahoo, D. K., Singh, B., Praveen M., and Bhargava, P. (2013), Efficiency factors of
recycled concrete bottle-shaped struts , Proceedings of the ICE-Structures and
Buildings, 167(4), 230-242.
187
188

Low Temperature Electrochemical Fabrication of Zn-O

Nano Rod Array Electrodes for Flexible Solar Cells
Selvarani.K and R. Prasanth*
1
Research scholar, 2Asst Professor.,

Center for Green Energy Technology, Madanjeet School, Pondicherry University,
Pondicherry, 605014
E - mail: prasanth.get@pondiuni.edu.in
ABSTRACT
Self seeded ZnO nanostructure is fabricated by electrochemical deposition.
Vertically aligned high aspect ratio with 150 to 230nm diameter nano rod anode is
optimized for pulsed electro chemical method of seeding. Also the thickness of seed
cum compact layer is optimized for low electron back scattering by the dark current
measurement. The reduction of interfacial resistance due to the compact cum seed
layer is studied with impedance spectroscopy and dark current measurements. The
interfacial resistance reduction shows a 20 fold reduction and the efficiency
increase is studied.
INTRODUCTION
After the invention of Dye sensitised solar cell (DSC) by Gratzel [1] many
materials are studied for the charge transporting layer. Most important Metal oxide
semiconductor is TiO2. A direct band gap material ZnO with more or less equal
band gap of 3.32 eV and large exciton binding energy of 60 meV can be a good
competitor for TiO2. Fast charge carrier transport and large exciton binding energy
Corresponding author. E-mail: prasanth.get@pondiuni.edu.in
Low temperature electro nano fabrication
of ZnO made this nano rod electrode a prosperous candidate for dye sensitized
solar cells (DSSC) and quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSC).
Juan A. Anta et al.[ref 5], reports that hierarchical aggregates of ZnO and QD
sensitised ZnO tetra pods show high efficiency of 7.5% and 6.6% with J sc values
19.8 and 18.1mA/cm2 and Voc values as 0.64 and 0.62 V respectively. The ZnO nano
rods with linear charge transport without the hopping of charges and the grain
boundary resistance element as in nano particle DSC got only low efficiency of
2.3%.With expected large mean free path and fast charge transport ZnO nano rods
should have higher efficiency. This unexplained low efficiency instigated wider
research activity in ZnO nano rod photoanode.
The interfacial resistance and recombination of the charges before being extracted to
the outer circuit are few reasons for the lowering of efficiency. The reduction of loss
mechanism and optimisation of the morphology for the higher efficiency is the much
needed research in this material.
The higher degree of exciton formation and the IPCE is possible only with the
higher light harvest and conversion. The light harvest can be increased with the
larger dye loading and can be achieved with high aspect ratio rods and tubes.
This will increase the surface area for dye loading and hence substantial increase in
photon absorption and large charge extraction by exciton formation as well as
charge separation can takes place.
This work focuses on optimising the number of rods per unit area and its diameter.
Rod diameter is reduced by seeding ZnO with pulsed electrochemical deposition
with short duration pulses (ref 2, 3). A compact layer has been introduced between
the ITO and the nanostructure which reduces the electron back scattering at the
interface (ref 7, 8). The introduction of the compact layer reduces the interfacial
resistance which is confirmed with the Impedance spectroscopy measurements (ref
4,6).The fabrication process is made by electro nano fabrication as this is a cost
effective method with scalable parameters[ref 9,10].
EXPERIMENTAL
The substrate is the FTO glass plate of resistance 30 to 60 . It is prepared with ultra
sonication in ethanol and de ionized water each about 20 minutes at 50 o C and is
dried in N2 flow. Seed cum compact layer is made by pulsed electro chemical
deposition and the charge transporting layer is prepared by electrochemical
deposition with Auto lab potentiostat /galvanostat. The Amperometry procedure was
done with the potential of -0.1v with the synthesis temperature of 750 C. A 5 mM of
ZnCl2 and 0.1 M of KCl solution of 20 ml and 80 ml precursor are used for seed and
rods growth on FTO glass plate. The annealed seed is used for ZnO nano rod
growth. The Pt mesh as counter electrode and the Ag/AgCl reference electrode is
used to stabilize the potential during the growth process with the bubbling of O2.
190
As FTO has a better lattice matching with ZnO, this substrate preferred over the
other TCO glass plates.
All chemicals and the TCO plates used are purchased from Sigma Aldrich. The
characterization was done with Newport oriel solar simulator and
quantum
efficiency measurement unit. Metrohm auto lab AUT84844 for impedance analysis
and Scanning electron microscope Hitachi s-3400N are used for imaging.
ANALYSIS
Self seed reduces the interfacial resistance and better crystal formation. The
annealed compact layer reduces the back electron scattering and is confirmed with
dark current measurement. The annealed compact layer reduces the interfacial
resistance and the resistance between the Compact Layer and the charge transporting
layer. This is studied with the Impedance spectroscopy.
Spin coating of ZnO nano particles, electrochemical deposition, Pulsed
electrochemical deposition method are tried for seeding and the nano rods are grown
over the seed layers. The SEM images (fig 1.) revealed the alignment is optimal
only with the pulsed electro deposition and better nanostructure for the anode. So
ZnO seed layer by pulsed electrochemical deposition is made.
The Compact layering is optimised with the dark current measurements (fig 5).The
air annealing of the CL is done for 30 minutes at 400oc. The reduction in the
interfacial resistance is analysed with the reduction in impedance.
Fig 1 (a)
Fig 1 (b)
Fig 1 (c)
Fig 1 (d)
Fig 1 (e)
Fig 1 (f)
191
Fig.1.
(a, b, c seeds by Electro deposition, spin coating,
and pulsed electrochemical deposition),(d, e rod
diameter optimization by oxygen flow
Fig 1 (g)
The rod diameter and there by the rod density per unit area is increased by altering
the electrochemical parameters such as concentration of the precursor solution and
most importantly the oxygen flow control. Here the rod diameter is optimised only
with the O2 flow (fig 1.).The 150 to 230 nm diameter is grown with one bubble in 4
to 5 sec. A three stage homemade gas flow controller is used to achieve this control.
The higher aspect ratio is got with the low rod diameter.
The growth in the vertical c axis is explained by fig 2.The rod growth in vertical
and horizontal directions are if more zinc and hydroxyl ions are available then there
is more lateral growth as it balances the surface energy of the polar and non polar
surfaces and so the growth is optimized and rod diameter is modified with the
availability of these ions at the polar surfaces.
Zn+
OHFigure 2.Oxygen flow control and rod diameter variation mechanism
As Zn+ ion is available throughout the solution and so the oxygen flow at the
electrode surface and at the c axis polar surface of the crystal controls the vertical
growth of the nano rods. So Oxygen flow is optimised for the diameter of the nano
rod.
The back electron scattering by the interface at the TCO and the charge transporting
layer is mitigated by analyzing the dark current measurement of the DSSCs with and
without the CL also with different CL thicknesses. The CL cum seed layer for 3
192
pulses and 4 pulses of 100 sec give the higher back scattering along with plain anode
without a CL .The compact layer of 5 layers for 100sec yields a good reduction in
the dark current flow which is shown in the figures 3 and 4. The thickness of the 5
pulses is about 500nm.If the layer thickness is further increased to 6 and 7 layers the
dark current is very high and so the optimum thickness for the compact layer is
5layers of thickness 500nm.
noseed
seed6L
seed7L
Dark current - ZnO NR DSSC
-2
2.5x10
-2
2.0x10
-2
current(A)
1.5x10
-2
1.0x10
-3
5.0x10
Fig 3
0.0
-0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
voltage(V)
noseed
seed3L
Seed4L
seed5L
-6
2.0x10
Dark current - ZnO NR DSSC
-6
1.5x10
-6
current(A)
1.0x10
-7
5.0x10
0.0
Fig 4
-7
-5.0x10
-0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
voltage(V)
Fig3, 4 Dark current measurements of 6 and 7 layer seed (CL) anodes and
3, 4, 5 layers seed (CL) anodes -DSSCs
193
Fig 5
Fig 6
Fig 5,6 Impedance plot showing the impedance of four DSSCs with and without
the CL
194
The impedance plot in the figs 5 and 6 shows the impedance of four DSSCs with
and without the CL and the optimized 5 pulse heat treated CL shows the lowest
impedance. There is a 20fold reduction in the impedance and the reduction in the
interfacial resistances is achieved. The introduction of the buffer layer and the heat
treatment reduced the interfacial resistance substantially. The Isc values for the
optimized (with CL) and the anode without CL are 64.82A and 14.34 A the Voc
values are 4.68mV and 1.84mV respectively.
CONCLUSION
The thickness of compact cum seed layer in ZnO nano rod electrodes is optimized
with electrochemical nanofabrication. Heat treatment gives reduced interfacial
resistance and a 20 fold reduction in the impedance value. The reduced dark current
show the reduction in the back electron scattering at the TCO nanostructure interface
.The self seeding reduces the lattice mismatch and improves the better crystallinity
for ZnO. Further study in the rod density optimization for higher aspect ratio may
yield better efficient anodes with good charge transport. Most importantly the low
temperature below 100 degree (the synthesis temperature is 75degrees) attunes this
fabrication process for the flexible substrate and for easy commercialization of this
method of fabrication.
REFERENCES
Brien ORegan*,Michael Grtzel+ A low-cost,high efficiency solar cell based on
dye-sensitised colloidalTiO2 film, Nature. Vol 353,731-740.
Christian Dunkel a,b, Franziska Lttichc, Harald Graafc,1, Torsten,Oekermanna,2,
Michael Warkb Electrochimica Acta 80 (2012) 60 67
Hee Kwan Lee, Myung Sub Kim and Jae Su YuNanotechnology 22 (2011) 445602
(8pp)
Juan Bisquert a,*, Germa` Garcia-Belmonte a, Francisco Fabregat-Santiago a,Paulo
Roberto BuenoJournal of Electroanalytical Chemistry 475 (1999) 152163
ZnO-Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
uan
.
nta,*,
lena
Guill n,
and
Ra n
Tena-Zaera*,
dx.doi.org/10.1021/jp3010025 | J. Phys. Chem. C 2012, 116, 1141311425
Juan Bisquert *Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry 646 (2010) 4351
195
Lupana,b,c,d,, T. Pauportea,, B. Vianab, P. Aschehougb, M. Ahmadic, B. Roldan

Cuenyac, Y. Rudzevichc, Y. Linc, L. Chowc Applied Surface Science 282 (2013)
782 788.
M. D. Reyes Tolosa,a,*,z J. Orozco-Messana,a L. C. Damonte,b and
M. A. Hernandez-Fenollosaa Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 158 (7)
D452-D455 (2011
Nayak, J Kasuya, A Watanabe and S Nozaki J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 20 (2008)
195222
Seigo Ito,* Paul Liska, Pascal Comte, Raphael Charvet, Peter Pechy, Udo Bach,
Lukas Schmidt-Mende ,Shaik Mohammed Zakeeruddin, Andreas Kay, Mohammad
K. Nazeeruddin and Michael Gratzel Chem. Commun., 2005, 43514353.
196

Experimental Investigation of Heat Transfer and

Pressure Drop Characteristics of Alumina Nanofluid in
Tubular Flow with Ring Sector Inserts
Venkitaraj.K.P1, Praveen.B2
1
Assistant Professor ,2Assistant Professor

College of Engineering Adoor
Pathanamthitta- 681551, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
Conventional fluids such as water, ethylene glycol are unable to meet the increasing
demand for cooling in high energy application such as automobile engine, laser and
electronic chips due to their low thermal conductivity. Nanofluids, which are fluids
containing suspension of nanometer sized particle, have been reported to possess
substantially higher thermal conductivity than their respective base fluids. In this
paper influence of ring sector insert on heat transfer, friction factor and thermal
performance in tube flow with Al2O3/water nanofluid with 0.1% by volume as
working fluid was investigated. The experiments were conducted in constant heat
flux condition and the flow ranging in both laminar and turbulent region. Measure
of heat transfer was based on Nusselt number and the pressure drop study was
based on friction factor calculation. Effect of variation of pitch of insert was also
investigated. The result shows that the average Nusselt number has an increase of
10% while using Al2O3/water nanofluid instead of water in plain tube, 15% to 45%
with using insert & water, 21% to 51% with using nanofluid and inserts. There also
an increase in pressure drop compared to plain tube. In all with combination of
insert- nanofluid shows a better thermal performance factor.
INTRODUCTION
Efficient transfer of energy in the form of heat, from one body to another is often
required in almost all industries. The recent trend follows device miniaturization
which would increase the heat generation rate in all thermal engineering systems.
Conventional fluids are not able to meet the present requirements, which necessitate
developing novel heat transfer fluids. Recent advances in nanotechnology have
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: kpvraj@gmail.com
Experimental Investigation of Heat Transfer

solved the problem of preparing nanometer sized particles called nanoparticles.
When nanoparticles are suspended in conventional fluids properly, they can be
called as nanofluids.
Numerous heat transfer studies were reported using nanofluids.Xuan and Li (2003)
experimentally investigated flow and convective heat transfer characteristics for
Cu/water nanofluids. Their result showed that the nanofluids give substantial
enhancement of heat transfer rate compared to pure water. They also claimed that
the friction factor for the nanofluids at low volume fraction did not produce an extra
penalty in the pumping power. Ding et al done investigation with CNT nanofluids in
tube and results shows enhancement in heat transfer coefficient. Heris et al had done
experiment with CuO and Al2O3/water-based nanofluids and reported enhancement
in heat transfer with particle volume fraction as well as Peclet number.
Augmentation heat transfer, in connection with fluid passive techniques is found
effective. Insertion of vortex generators in a tube provides a simple passive
technique for enhancing the convective heat transfer. There are reported a number of
inserts (vortex generators) like twisted tapes, wire coils and the results shows
increase in heat transfer rate also pressure drop.
In the present investigation, effect of Al2O3/water nanofluids in tube flows under
constant heat flux condition with ring sector insert is studied. In the experiment ring
sector insert with three different pitches (5, 10,15cm) are used.Al2O3 nanofluid have
a volume concentration of 0.1%.
EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS
The experimental setup for measuring the convective heat transfer and pressure
drop characteristics is shown schematically in Fig. 1. The test loop consists of a
pump, calming section, heated test section, cooling section, a collecting station and a
reservoir. Nanofluids were driven by the pump from the reservoir to flow through
the test loop. Calming section of straight copper tube 1000 mm long, 10 mm inner
diameter, is used to eliminate the entrance effect and to ensure fully developed
laminar flow in the test section. A straight copper tube with 1000 mm length, 10 mm
inner diameter, and 12 mm outer diameter was used as the test section. The test
section is wound with sun mica to isolate it electrically. Then, ceramic beads coated
electrical SWG Nichrome heating wire giving a maximum power of 300W is
wounded over it. Over the electrical winding, thick insulation consisting of layers of
ceramic fiber, asbestos rope, glass wool and another layer of asbestos rope at the
outer surface is provided to prevent the radial heat loss. The terminals of the
Nichrome wire are attached to the auto-transformer, by which the heat flux can be
varied by varying the voltage. Five calibrated RTD PT 100 type temperature sensors
are placed in thermo wells mounted on the test section at axial positions in mm of
170, 340, 510, 680 and 850from the inlet of the test section to measure the wall
temperature distribution. The inlet and outlet temperatures were measured by two
RTD PT 100 type temperature sensors immersed at inlet and exit. A U-tube
manometer is connected to measure the pressure drop.
198
Fig.1.Schematic diagram of experimental setup
DETAILS OF INSERT
The insert using for this work is a ring sector insert for heat transfer
enhancement in pipe flow. The projections of ring sectors were attached to the
central rod while the ring sectors were just touching the circular wall. The ring
sector has been designed to confirm to the circular geometry of test section. They are
made up of 1 mm thick MS sheets. They are attached on 3 mm stainless steel rod at
a specified axial location. Different inserts were prepares by varying the axial
distance between two adjacent projections. Photograph of insert is shown in fig 2.
Three inserts are used with pitch of 5cm, 10cm, 15cm. (Distance between the
adjacent ring sectors)
Fig.2 Photograph & Drawing of three inserts.
DATA REDUCTION
HEAT TRANSFER CALCULATION
The local heat transfer performance was defined in terms of the Nusselt number
(Nu) and heat transfer coefficient (h) as given below.
Nu
=
.. (1)
h
............................ (2)
PRESSURE DROP CALCULATION

199

The pressure drop (p) measured across the test section under isothermal condition
is used to determine the friction factor (f) using the following relation
f
=
.. (3)
THERMAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
Usui and Sano (1996) proposed a performance evaluation analysis for the same
pumping power and this method is used for present study. The performance ratio is
defined as the ratio of Nusselt number for tube with insert to that of the plain tube at
the same level of pumping power.
=
................... (4)
2
where Nur- Nusselt number with insert, Nupt-Nusselt number without insert,
fr-friction factor with insert, fpt-friction factor without insert.
Nusselt number,Nu
The result shows that the average Nusselt number has an increase of 10% while
using Al2O3/water nanofluid of 0.1% volume concentration instead of water in plain
tube. Experimental result reveals the enhancement of convective heat transfer
coefficient in laminar as well as turbulent flows for using nanofluid. This is due to
the enhanced thermal conductivity of nanofluid with the presence of Al2O3
nanoparticle and hence the fluid will carry more heat from the wall. The variation of
Nusselt number with Reynolds number is plotted in Fig.3.
80
Water
60
Al2O3/water
nanofluid 0.1% vol
40
20
0
0
5000
10000
Reynolds number,Re
Fig.3.Nusselt number variation using Water& Al2O3/water nanofluid of 0.1% volume
Experiment were conducted with different pitched inserts 5, 10, 15 cm and got
result as 45% for pitch 5cm, 26% for pitch 10cm and for pitch 15cm is 15% increase
in average Nu than in plain tube with water and the results are shown in fig.4. From
result it is evident that the insert which the projections are closely arranged insert
have more increase in Nusselt number than the other two. And the insert of p=10cm
has better increase in Nusselt number than the insert of p=15cm. This is due the
effect of more vortexes creation for inserts. Result reveals an enhancement of
convective heat transfer coefficient about 21%, 35% and 51% for p=15cm, 10cm
200
Nusselt number,Nu
Nusselt number,Nu
and 5cm respectively by using nanofluid and inserts. Results were plotted in
fig.5.This is due to the combined effect of increased thermal conductivity and vortex
creation due to the presence of Al2O3/water nanofluid and inserts.
90
90
80
Plain tube with
80
Plain tube with
water
70
water
70
Insert of
60
p=5cm&nanofliud
60
With insert of
50
pitch 5 cm
Insert of
50
40
p=10cm&nanoflui
40
d
With insert of
30
Insert of
p=10cm
30
p=15cm&nanoflui
20
d
20
With insert of
10
p=15cm
10
0
0
5000
10000
0
Reynolds number,Re
0
5000
10000
Reynolds number.Re
Fig.4.Nusselt number variation

using three inserts & water
Fig.5.Nu variation using three insert &

Al2O3/water nanofluid.
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
plain tube
Thermal performance factor,
Friction factor,f
The friction factor variation for three inserts are shown in Fig.6.It shows that friction
factor is increasing in the order of 1.85,1.55and1.34 and times for pitch 5,10,15cm
respectively compared with plain tube. The effect of ring sector insert is studied
using the evaluation of thermal performance factor. The fig.7 shows the variation of
thermal performance factor of three inserts.
Insert of
p=15cm
Insert of
p=10cm
Insert of
p=5cm
5000
10000
1.5
Insert of
p=5cm
Insert of
p=10cm
0.5
Insert of
p=15cm
0
0
10000
Reynolds number,Re
Reynolds number,Re
6
Fig.6.Friction factor variation using insert Fig.7.Thermal performance factor of inserts
201

It can be under stood that the values are greater than unity .This indicate that the
proposed insert are feasible in terms of energy saving in both laminar and turbulent
flows.
CONCLUSIONS
The following conclusion are derived from the detailed analysis presented in the
result and Discussions
1. Experimental study on convective heat transfer in straight circular plain tube
shows that the Nusselt number increases with increase in Reynolds number and
hence more heat removing from the tube wall.
2. The experimental result shows that by using 0.1% Al2O3 nanofluid with ring
sector inserts gives better heat transfer enhancement.
3. Nusselt number is decreasing with increase in pitch. (from p=15cm to p=5cm).
4. From the comparison of thermal performance factor, insert with pitch 5cm
shows better performance.
5. The presence of inserts increases the friction factor inside the tube and more for
p=5cm and comparatively less for p=15cm.
7
SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTHER STUDIES
Experimental study can be conducted in other heat exchanger such as tube

in tube, shell and tube etc. can be done.
The same experiments can be done with other shaped vortex generator.
Investigation using other nanofluids.
8
REFERENCES
Ding and Wen (2004), Experimental investigation into convective heat transfer of
nanofluids at the entrance region under laminar flow conditions. International
journal of Heat and Mass Transfer,47(.24),51-81.
Heris, S.Z. Etemad, S.G and Esfahany, M.S.(2006), Experimental investigation of
oxide nanofluids laminar flow convective heat transfer, International
Communication in Heat and Mass Trasfer,33,529-535.
Suresh, S. Venkitaraj, K.P and Selvakumar, P. (2011). Comparative study on
thermal performance of helical screw tape inserts in laminar flow using Al2O3/water
and CuO/water nanofluids, Elsevier Superlattices and Microstructures 49 608622.
Eiamsa-ard, S. Thianpong, C. Eiamsa-ard, P and Promvonge, P.(2009), Convective
heat transfer in a circular tube with short-length twisted tape insert, International
Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 36 .365371
Xuan, Y.and Li, Q (2003), Investigation on convective heat transfer and flow
features of nanofluids,Journal of Heat Transfer, 125,151-155.
202

Viscosity of Vegetable Oil Biodiesel: Regression Analysis

Narayan Gaonkar1 and R.G. Vaidya2
1
Department of Physics, University College of Science,

Department of Studies and Research in Physics and C.E.I.E.
Tumkur University, Tumkur- 572 103, Karnataka, India.
ABSTRACT
The temperature dependence of viscosity of sunflower oil biodiesel is investigated
theoretically. By employing linear, non-linear and polynomial regressions the
correlation coefficients for Arrhenius, Noureddinni, Tat and Gerpen, Power law,
Stanciu and Cubic polynomial models are determined and used to estimate the
viscosity of sunflower oil biodiesel. We notice, the viscosity of biodiesel is sensitive
to temperature and decreases non-linearly with increase in temperature. The
regression coefficients (R) and Standard Estimate of Error (SEE) values of all
models reflect their temperature dependence predictive capability. The higher
regression coefficient (R=0.99988) and smaller SEE value (SEE=0.025799)
indicate, Tat and Gerpen model is suitable to predict temperature dependence of
viscosity of sunflower oil biodiesel. The numerical results obtain good fit with recent
available experimental viscosity data.
INTRODUCTION
The key advantages of biodiesel; higher density, lower toxic exhaust emissions,
lower sulfur content, better ignition quality, higher flash point, greater safety and
clean burning nature have made it considerable in replacing the conventional
petroleum diesel (Ramadhas and Jayaraj, 2004; Anand et al., 2009). The higher
viscosity, lower volatility, poor oxidative stability and poor cold flow are
disadvantages of biodiesel to use it in the compression ignition engines. To
minimize these difficulties and disadvantages the oil is chemically altered by the
process of trans-esterification (Meher et al., 2006). The trans-esterified biodiesel is
2
Corresponding author. E-mail: ratnakarvaidya@gmail.com
similar to the conventional petroleum diesel in its main characteristics. (Ramadhas

and Jayaraj, 2004).
Viscosity is very important and interesting physical property for the study of
biodiesel. The viscosity originates from the intermolecular force of attraction
between the molecular layers of fluid and is known to change with temperature of
the fluid. The quality of atomization depends on the viscosity of the biodiesel and it
affects the performance of the engine (Tesfa B. et al., 2010). Therefore method of
estimation of viscosity over a wide temperature range is of great significance.
The temperature dependence studies of viscosity of biodiesel have been performed
by several researchers (Aworanti et al., 2012; Tate et al. 2006; Anand et al., 2009)
and efforts are made to analyze viscosity data by proposing different models.
Noureddini et al. (1992) proposed a model and analyzed the viscosity of vegetable
oils with an absolute error less than 1%. Tat and Van Gerpen (1999) presented a
model consisting of adjustable correlation coefficients and second order polynomial
in 1/T. Tate et.al. (2006) used a modified form of Andrade equation as proposed by
Tat and Van Gerpen and obtained the good agreement with experimental results
with regression coefficient R2~0.999. Fasina et al. (2006) have determined
viscosities of 12 different vegetable oils experimentally and employed Arrhenius,
WLF and Power law models to describe the effect of temperature. Ioana Stanciu
(2012) proposed four new relations between viscosity of vegetable oil and
temperature.
The need for reliable models that can incorporate the biodiesel temperature
dependence is of great importance because, they could lead to better biodiesel
processes and development of better combustion models. The present work focusses
on predicting the reliable model which can explain temperature dependence of
viscosity of biodiesel. We employ regression analysis method for the investigation
of viscosity of biodiesel.
THEORY
The experimental observations have revealed that, viscosity of biodiesel decreases
non-linearly with increase in temperature. The source of expressions for viscosity of
biodiesel and its temperature dependence described by Arrhenius, Noureddini, Tat
and Van Gerpen, Power law, Stanciu and Cubic polynoimial models are
respectively, given by (Rao M.A., 1999; Noureddini et al., 1992; Tat and Van
Gerpen, 1999; Fasina et al., 2006; Ioana Stanciu, 2012; Aworanti et al., 2012)
Ea
RT
= A exp
204
(1)
ln A
B
CT
T
(2)
ln A
B C
T T2
(3)
k T Tref
(4)
A BT CT 2
(5)
A BT CT 2 DT 3
(6)
where, (mPa.S) is dynamic viscosity of biodiesel at temperature T (K), A, B, C, D,

k and n (a negative fraction) are correlation coefficients, Ea is activation energy
(kJ/kg), R is Universal gas constant (8.314 kJ/kg mol K) and Tref is reference
temperature (273.15 K).
By linear, non-linear and polynomial regression analysis correlation constants in the
Eq. (1) to Eq. (6) can be determined. The Standard Estimate of Error (SEE) and
Regression co-efficient (R) values indicate the validity of the viscosity models for
experimental data. Higher value of R and lower value of SEE for a model reflects the
better fit to the experimental data. The expressions for SEE and Regression coefficient can be given by
SEE
R2 1
( X i Yi )2
n p
i 1
n
X
i
Yi
(7)
Xi
(8)
where Xi is the viscosity of sunflower oil biodiesel at a temperature T, Yi is the

predicted viscosity from Eq. (1) to Eq. (6) at same temperature, X i is the mean
value of viscosity of sunflower oil biodiesel, , n is number of data points used in the
study and p is the number of parameters in the equation.
205

We have investigated the dynamic viscosity of sunflower oil biodiesel in the
temperature range 278 K - 368 K using different models. Fig. 1 shows variation of
dynamic viscosity of sunflower oil biodiesel calculated using Eq. (1) to Eq. (6).
Dots indicate experimental viscosity data of Freitas et al. (2011) and the same data is
used as a source to obtain the correlation coefficients for different models used (Eq.
(1) to Eq. (6)). We notice for all the models considered here, the dynamic viscosity
decreases non-linearly with increase in temperature. The sensitivity of dynamic
viscosity is more influenced at lower temperatures.
6
Noureddini Model
4
2
Arrhenius Model
(mPa.s)
Tat and Gerpen Model
Stanciu Equation
Power Law Model
Cubic Polynomial
4
2
290
300
310
320
330
340
350
360
T (K)
Fig. 1: Variation of Dynamic viscosity of sunflower oil biodiesel with
206
temperature.
Table 1: Regression coefficients and SEE values for different models
Model
Arrhenius
Noureddini
Tat and Gerpen
Stanciu
Cubic polynomial
Power Law
Regression Co-efficient (R)

0.99872
0.99986
0.99988
0.99592
0.99975
0.98441
SEE
0.127159
0.029902
0.025799
0.280288
0.438296
0.529043
Table 1 shows the values of regression coefficients and SEE for six models
calculated using Eq. (7) and Eq. (8). The linear, polynomial and non- linear
regression methods are considered to predict the dynamic viscosity of sunflower oil
biodiesel at different temperatures.
From fig. 1 and regression coefficients and SEE values in table 1, it is clear that, Tat
and Gerpen model, Noureddini model and Arrhenius model show comparatively
better fit to the experimental data. For lower (higher) temperature region, the
viscosity values obtained from Stanciu equation and Power law model (Cubic
polynomial model) show(s) deviations from experimental values. This may be
attributed to the smaller regression coefficient and larger SEE values. Of all the
models considered, Tat and Gerpen model and Noureddini model predict
temperature dependence of viscosity with least average error of 1.7% and 2.0%
respectively. The lower SEE value (0.025799) and higher regression coefficient
(0.99988) suggest that, Tat and Gerpen model is better suitable to predict the
dynamic viscosity of sunflower oil biodiesel. Our predictions are consistent with the
reports of Tate et al. (2006). The other Arrhenius, Power law, Stanciu and Cubic
polynomial models predict temperature dependence of viscosity with average error
of 7.8%, 30.3%, 21.7% and 37.7% respectively.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we have made systematic investigation of temperature dependence of
viscosity of sunflower oil biodiesel using regression analysis. We have noticed that,
the dynamic viscosity of sunflower oil biodiesel is sensitive and varies non-linearly
with temperature. The comparison of regression coefficients and SEE values of
different models indicates Tat and Gerpen model is suitable to predict temperature
dependence and to estimate the dynamic viscosity of sunflower oil biodiesel.
Acknowledgement: This work is financially supported by University Grants
Commission (UGC), New Delhi under Minor Research Project.
207
REFERENCES
Anand K., Rajan A. and Mehta P.S. (2009), Estimating the viscosity of vegetable
oil and biodiesel fuels, Energy Fuels, 24, 664-672.
Aworanti O.A., Agarry S.E. and Ajani A.O. (2012), A laboratory study of the effect
of temperature on densities and viscosities of binary and ternary blends of soybean
oil, soy biodiesel and petroleum diesel oil, Advances in Chemical Engineering and
Science, 2, 444-452.
Fasina O.O., Hallman H., Craig-Schmidt M. and Clements C. (2006), Predicting
temperature- dependence viscosity of vegetable oils from fatty acid composition,
Jouranl of American Oil Chemical Society, 83(10), 899-903.
Freitas S.V.D., Pratas M.J., Roberta Ceriani, Alvaro S. Lima and Joo A. P.
Coutinho (2011), Evaluation of predictive models for the viscosity of biodiesel,
Energy Fuels, 25, 352-258.
Ioana Stanciu (2012), A new viscosity temperature relationship for vegetable oil,
Journal of Petroleum Technology and Alternative Fuels, 3(2), 19-23.
Meher L., Vidya S. and Naik S. (2006), Technical aspects of biodiesel production
by transesterification-A review, Renewable and Sustainable energy Reviews, 10(3),
248-268.
Noureddini H., Teoh B.C. and Clements L.D. (1992), Viscosities of vegetable oils
and fatty acids, Journal of American Oil Chemical Society, 69, 1189-1191.
Ramadhas A.S. and Jayaraj S. (2004), Use of vegetable oils as I.C. engine fuels- A
review, Renewable Energy, 29, 727-742.
Tat M.E. and Van Gerpen J.H. (1999), The kinematic viscosity of biodiesel and its
blends with diesel fuel, Journal of American Oil Chemical Society, 76, 1511-1513.
Tate R.E., Watts K.C., Allen C.A.W. and Wilkie K.I. (2006), The viscosities of
three biodiesel fuels at temperatures upto 300 0C , Fuel, 85, 1010-1015.
Tesfa B., Mishra R., Gua F. and Powles N (2010), Prediction models for density
and viscosity of biodiesel and their effects on fuel supply system in CI engines,
Renewable Energy, 35, 2752-2760.
208


Parameters of some Abundantly Available Biomass
Species in Kashmir Region and Development of a
Correlation for Higher Heating Value (HHV) in terms
of Proximate Analysis
Mushtaq Ahmad Rather1*, Parveena Bano2 , Sohail Rasool Lone3,
Qaiser Hajam4 and Pankaj Pradhan5
1
* Assistant Professor Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of

Technology (NIT) Hazratbal Srinagar Kashmir-190006 (INDIA)
2
Assistant Professor FOA Wadura , SKUAST (K) Shalimar Srinagar.
ABSTRACT
Calorific value and Proximate analysis of some selective native wood species in
Kashmir region of India, viz Walnut (Juglans regia ), Horse chestnut (Aesculus
indica ), False acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia ), Willow (Salix alba ), Almond
(Prunus amygdalus ), Apple (Malus domestica ), Mulberry (Morus alba ), Chinar
(Plantanus orientalis ) and Poplar (Populus ciliate) was carried out. This analysis is
of tremendous importance locally for proper selection of such wood fuels owing to
their huge demand in bakers hearth (local Tandoor) ,juice concentrate plants and
marriage feast cooking. The best possible correlation for higher heating value
(HHV) amongst some initial assumed correlations for above biomass species as
function of proximate analysis parameters was developed using MATLAB
regression.. The correlation for HHV found was then used to predict HHV of some
other biomass species.HHV value obtained thus was compared with their
experimental value available in literature. The analysis will pave a way to find HHV
of woody fuels (whose proximate analysis is known) eliminating need to depend
upon ultimate analysis, finding of which often requires sophisticated and costly
equipment. The HHV predicted by the correlation developed was also compared
with values of some other correlations already available in the literature.
Key words: Biomass, Higher heating value (HHV), Proximate analysis.
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: marather_nit@yahoo.co.in
INTRODUCTION
There is an increasing importance of biomass in heat and power generation. In
European Union amongst renewable energy sources the largest contribution (63 %)
comes from biomass .Energy from biomass in EU already provides approximately
4% of total EU energy supply [Mata-Sanchez et.al (2013)] .Biomass fuels are
renewable and eco friendly. While using in heating appliances important role is
played by calorific value of biomass fuel in form of higher heating value (HHV) ,its
ash softening temperature , moisture content ,volatile matter and elemental
composition.HHV is enthalpy of complete combustion of a fuel including the
condensation enthalpy of formed water. There are numerous empirical equations of
HHV as function of ultimate analysis parameters available in literature. However
ultimate analysis of biomass needs sophisticated and costly equipment, so it is not
readily available. Many such equations are available for coal [King and Attwood
(1980), Mason and Gandhi (1983) ,Lloyd and Davenport (1980) ,Mott and Spooner
(1940) and Ringen et al. (1979)], municipal solid waste [ Kathiravale et al. ,Khan,
Abu-Ghararah,,Meraz et al. (2002) ,Klee (1993), Wilson (1972) ] and biomass fuel
[Biermann and Voogt (2001), Paulrud , Nilsson and Ohman (2001)]. Proximate
analysis of biomass requires simpler laboratory equipment and can be done
relatively easily. Although to lesser number but various formulas for calculating
HHV in terms of proximate analysis parameters for coals [ Kuckbayark et al.
(1991) ,Eliot and Wohe (1987) ,Selvig and Gibson (1945)] and biomass
[Channiwala and Parikh (2002), Erol et al. (2010), Parikh et al. (2005), Daya Ram
Nhuchhen and Abdul Salam (2012), Kucukbayrak et al. (1991),Cordero et
al.( 2001) , Demirbas (1997) Jimenez and Gonzalez ( 1991)] are available in
literature. The objective of this analysis is to find HHV of some available plants
species by proximate analysis .By this end user can decide about the best possible
fuel for his specific use in his heating appliance. Correlation for HHV as function of
proximate parameters is derived and its possibility of extension to further some other
plant species is analyzed.
METHODOLOGY
After removing bark thoroughly, samples were dried under sun and kept in the air
tight plastic containers for storage purposes. Samples were finely ground and passed
through 60 mesh ASTM standard screen following the ASTM E-1757 standard. The
proximate analysis for parameters moisture ash content and volatile content was
carried out following the relevant ASTM standard codes. Digital Bomb Calorimeter
(Model RSB3) was employed to determine the calorific value (CV) for each of the
sample species burning 1 gram of finely ground sample (60 mesh). The apparatus
works under adiabatic conditions as per the recommendations of the Indian Standard
Institutions -IS: 1359-1959.
210
DEVELOPMENT OF CORRELATION FOR HHV

Five new correlations for HHV are proposed, based on the criterion as given against
each in Table 1;
Table 1: Proposed Correlations for HHV as function of proximate analysis
parameters.
S.No.
Proposed Equation
Criteria for Selection
1
HHV= aFC + bVM + cAsh
HHV = a1FC + b1VMc1
HHV = a2FCc2 + b2VMd2
HHV = a3FCc3 + b3VM
HHV = a4FC + b4VM
Assuming fuel HHV to be a linear function

of its volatile, non-volatile and inorganic
constituents
Assuming nonlinear effect of a volatile
matter on HHV (Based on Kucukbayraks
Criteria
Assuming nonlinear effect of
volatile
matter and fixed carbon on HHV
Assuming nonlinear effect of a non-volatile
matter on HHV
Assuming linear effect of volatile, nonvolatile and independent of inorganic
matter.
The constants of proposed correlations were determined by using the MATLAB

Curve fitting Tool program involving proximate analysis and higher heating values
of biomass species (dry weight basis) .The main principle behind the determination
of constant terms in above proposed correlations is the minimization of the sum of
square of errors between estimated and actual values of higher heating values. The
best correlation is the one with the least error values. To facilitate the selection of
best correlation, the average absolute errors for each of these correlations developed
is computed as follows:
Average Absolute Error
....(1)
Where HHVc is the calorific value found experimentally and HHV is the calorific
value found from correlation and n is number of biomass species. The correlation
giving minimum error was selected as the best one.

PROXIMATE ANALYSIS AND CALORIFIC VALUE (CV)
Moisture content of selected plant species in presented in Table 2 at below;
211
Table 2: Moisture Content of the selected plants

S.No.
Plant name
Moisture Content (%)
01
Poplar
55.55
02
Chinar
48.78
03
Apple
47.03
04
Mulberry
37.76
05
Walnut
35.78
06
Horse chestnut (HCN)
35.58
07
Willow
30.65
08
Almond
30.23
09
False acacia
26.03
Fixed carbon (FC) was calculated by difference on percentage basis by formula

FC = 100 (VM+ASH)
.(2)
The volatile matter (VM), fixed carbon (FC) and ash content (found on dry basis)
are given in Table 3 at below. Table also shows the gross calorific value (GCV).
Table 3: FC, VM, Ash Content and Calorific value (Gross) of the selected
plants
S.No.
Plant Name
% VM
% FC
% Ash
01
02
Apple
Horse
chestnut
(HCN)
Poplar
Willow
False acacia
Chinar
Walnut
Almond
Mulberry
83.06
83.10
15.72
15.60
1.22
1.30
Calorific
value
(MJ/Kg)
17.83
18.2
82.32
82.22
82.06
80.03
78.50
76.83
75.10
16.35
16.07
16.84
18.22
20.80
21.54
22.80
1.33
1.71
1.10
1.75
0.70
1.63
2.10
18.01
18.02
15.34
18.19
19.60
19.71
18.35
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
212
CORRELATION FOR HHV

By using MATLAB curve fitting tool program unknown coefficients were found and
following correlations were obtained;
HHV = 0.8488
HHV= 1.006
HHV =
.(3)
.(4)
.(5)
.(6)
.(7)
+
VM
The correlation giving minimum absolute error was selected as the best one amongst
the above.The correlation in Eq. 6 viz HHV= 1.006
, turned
out to be the best one in this manner with an average absolute error of 3.92% with
respect to experimental measured value of HHV. Some of the correlations already
available in literature for HHV as function of Proximate analysis parameters are
compared with that/those obtained from analysis/study .These correlations had been
proposed by Kucukbayrak et al.( 1991), Cordero. T et al (2001)., Demirbas et al
( 1997), Jimenez et al. (1991) and J.Parikh et al. (2005) and are given at
respectively at below ;
HHV 76.56 1.3 VM ASH 7.03x103 VM ASH
(8)
HHV 354.3 FC 170.8VM Considering VM+FC+ASH=100 (9)

HHV 0.196FC 14.119
. (10)
HHV 10814.08 313.3T
(11)
HHV 0.3536FC 0.1559VM 0.0078ASH
. (12)
HHV AND ERROR CALCULATION (FROM EXPERIMENTAL
VALUE) FOR DIFFERENT CORRELATIONS
Table 4 at below compares the HHV obtained from different correlations and also
shows its error with experimental value. The absolute error for each correlation is
also calculated.
213
Table 4: HHV(MJ/Kg) obtained from different correlations and its error in

comparison to experimental value.
Name of
Plant
HHV
Experi
mental
17.83
Apple
18.2
Horse
chestnut
18.01
Poplar
18.02
Willow
15.34
False
acacia
18.19
Chinar
19.6
Walnut
19.71
Almond
18.35
Mulberry
Absolute Error
Eq. 8 Kucukbayrk
HHV
Eq. 9
Cordero. T
Eq. 10
Demirbas
Eq. 11
Jimenez
Error %
16.97
16.91
-5.04
-7.08
HHV Error%
19.75
11.07
19.72
10.82
HHV Error%
17.20
-3.53
17.17
-5.62
HHV Error%
20.13
11.28
20.10
11.03
17.00
16.97
17.06
-5.57
-5.82
11.27
19.85
19.13
19.98
11.01
10.94
13.01
17.32
17.26
17.41
-3.81
-4.16
13.56
20.09
19.98
20.17
16.91
17.69
17.83
18.09
-7.03
-9.71
-9.5
-1.37
6.9 %
20.12
11.05
20.77
10.59
20.75
10.51
20.90
11.38
11.15 %
17.69
18.19
18.34
18.58
-2.75
-7.16
-6.95
1.30
5.43 %
11.15
11.07
13.13
19.96
10.96
20.29
10.34
20.05
10.13
19.85
10.81
11.10 %
Figure 1 shows the variation of absolute error (%) for HHV of the existing
correlations in literature and the proposed one.
Plot of Absolute Error (%) for different Correlations
12
Absolute Error, %
10
Present Study
Correlation
J.Parikh
Jimenez
Demirbas
Cordero T
Kucukbayrak
Figure 1: Variation of absolute error (%) for the existing correlations of HHV in
literature and the proposed one.
214
Proposed correlation given by Eq. 6 having lowest absolute error with respect to the
selected plant species is further applied to twelve number of other woody/ energy
crops [Parikh. J et al. (2005)] to find their HHV which is then compared with
experimental HHV. HHV obtained from Correlation developed by J.Parikh et al. viz
HHV=0.3536FC+0.1559VM-0.0078ASH (Mj/kg) is also compared in Figure 2 and
Table 5.
HHV (J.Parikh et al.)
HHV (Experimental)
HHV (Proposed Equation)
21
HHV (Mj/kg)
20
19
18
17
Subabul
Sudan Grass
Eucalyptus -Grandis
Eucalyptus
Subabul wood
Pine wood
Es
Spruce wood
Soft wood
Rest Wood
Wood Chips
Canyon Live Oak
16
Biomass-Wood/Energy crops
Figure 2: Comparison of HHV for some biomass/Energy crops.

Table 5: Calculation and comparison of HHV(MJ/Kg) for some
biomass/Energy crops[ Parikh. J et al. (2005) ]
Wood/Energy crop
FC
VM
ASH
Experime
ntal
HHV
Wood Chips
23.5
76.4
0.1
19.91
18.54
6.90
Canyon Live Oak
11.3
88.2
0.5
18.98
17.83
6.06
Rest Wood
19.92
79.72
0.36
20.72
18.38
11.29
Soft wood
28.1
70
1.7
20.0
18.36
8.20
Spruce wood
28.3
70.2
1.5
20.1
18.43
8.30
Es
17.9
82
0.1
20.08
18.33
8.71
Pine wood
15.7
73.6
11.3
16.64
16.6
0.26
Subabul wood
18.52
81.02
1.2
19.77
18.3
7.46
HHV by proposed
Correlation Error %
215
Eucalyptus
21.3
75.35
3.35
18.64
17.97
3.59
Eucalyptus -Grandis
16.93
82.55
0.52
19.35
18.21
5.89
Sudan Grass
18.6
72.75
8.65
17.39
17.06
1.89
Subabul
13.8
85.2
16.66
17.95
-7.74
CONCLUSION
There are abundant correlations available in literature which link the Calorific value
of biomass fuel with its ultimate analysis. However very recently many correlations
also have come up for caloric value as function of the proximate analysis
parameters. This is help full since determination of proximate analysis parameters
requires cheaper and less sophisticated equipment. In the present study, correlation
for calorific value in terms of proximate analysis parameters for nine locally
available plant species is developed to facilitate their selection as fuel in heating
appliances. The correlation compares very well with the others already available in
literature.
REFERENCES
J. Mata-Sanchez a, J.A. Perez-Jimenez , M.J. Diaz-Villanueva

N.Nunez-Sanchez ,F.J. Lopez-Gimenez ,Fuel 113 (2013) 750756
A. Serrano ,
T.N. King, D.H. Attwood, Fuel 59 (1980) 602603. .

D.M. Mason, K.N. Gandhi, Fuel Process. Technol. 7 (1983) 1122.
W.G. Lloyd, D.A. Davenport, J. Chem. Educ. 57 (1980) 5660
R.A. Mott, C.E. Spooner, Fuel Sci. 19 (1940) 242251
S. Ringen, J. Lanum, F.P. Miknis, Fuel 58 (1979) 6971.
S. Kathiravale, M.N.M. Yunus, K. Sopian, A.H. Samsuddin, R.A. Rahman, Fuel 82
(2003) 11191125.
M.Z.A. Khan, Z.H. Abu-Ghararah, J. Environ. Eng. 117 (1991) 376380.
L. Meraz, M. Oropeza, A. Dominguez, Chem. Educator 7 (2002) 6670.
A.J. Klee, J. Environ. Eng. 119 (1993) 248261.
216
D.L. Wilson, Environ. Sci. Technol. 6 (1972) 11191121.

J.J.P. Biermann, N. Voogt, Proceedings of the International Conference on Fluidized
Bed Combustion, vol. 16, 2001, pp. 280292.
S. Paulrud, C. Nilsson, M. Ohman, Fuel 80 (2001) 13911398
Kuckbayark,s., Durus,B.,Mericboyu A.,and kadiogulu E., Fuel 1991,87,979.
Eliot M.A., and Wohe J.R., Chemistry of coal utilization
Newyork 1987.
wiley Intersience
Selvig W.A and Gibson, Chemistry of Coal utilization Wiley Newyork 1945.
Channiwala s.A., ,Parikh.P.P., Fuel 81(2002) 1051-1063
M. Erol, H. Haykiri-Acma, S. Ku cu kbayrak Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 170
173.
Parikh. J,Channiwala S.A, Ghosal G.K Fuel 84 (2005) 487-494
Daya Ram Nhuchhen, P. Abdul Salam Fuel 99 (2012) 5563.
Kucukbayrak S, Durus B, Mericboyu AE, Kadioglu E., Fuel 1991;70:97981.
Cordero T, Marquez F, Rodriquez-Mirasol J, Rodriguez JJ. Fuel 2001;80:156771.
Demirbas A., Fuel 1997;76(5):4314.
Jimenez L, Gonzalez F., Fuel 1991;70:94750.
217
218

Thermophysical Property Analysis of TiO2 PVA

Nanofluid
Remya K.1, Renjanadevi B.2
PG Scholar, 2Associate Professor
Government Engineering College, Thrissur-690005
Kerala, India
1
ABSTRACT
Nanofluids, a new class of fluids in which continuous medium is liquid called base
fluid and the dispersed medium is nano-sized particles. They exhibit enhancement in
several physical properties especially in thermal conductivity. In this work
nanofluids with varying particle concentration of titania nanoparticles dispersed in
PVA solution are prepared. Their rheological study has been done using Anton paar
MCR102 rheometer. The effect of particle concentration of titania nanofluids on the
thermal conductivity is measured using KD2 Pro thermal property analyzer and
percentage increase in thermal conductivity of each sample is also calculated. The
rheological study has shown that the viscosity of nanofluids is higher than that of its
base fluid due to the addition of nanoparticles. TiO2 PVA nanofluids shows an
increase in thermal conductivity compared to the PVA solution. But as the particle
concentration increases the thermal conductivity enhancement decreases.
INTRODUCTION
Heat transfer fluids found several applications in industrial area, in automobiles, in
electronics field, in geothermal stations, in nuclear reactors etc. Research and
development are being carried out to improve the heat transfer performance of heat
transfer fluids by increasing its thermal conductivity. An innovative idea trying to
enhance the thermal conductivity by adding nanoparticles into heat transfer fluid
give rise to new class of fluid named as Nanofluids. Nanofluids are prepared by
dispersing nano-sized materials in a liquid medium called base fluid. Nanoparticles
shows a change in its physical properties like thermal properties, optical properties,
electromagnetic properties, mechanical properties etc. compared to its bulky counter
parts. The reasons behind these exceptional behaviors are its increase in surface to
volume ratio and quantum effects. These changes in physical properties shown by
nanoparticles are utilized to do the better functioning of the base fluid. Eastman et
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: remyakommadath@gmail.com,
Title of the paper (only first few words)
al. found that when 0.3% (volume) of copper nanoparticles was suspended in
ethylene glycol, it increased the thermal conductivity of the fluid by 40%.
The experimental results of nanofluids shows their enhancement in the thermal
conductivity compared to the base fluid attracted the industrial and science
researchers to explore the heat transfer and rheological properties of nanofluids. In
this study we synthesized titanium dioxide nanoparticles using sol-gel method and
the base fluid used is polyvinyl alcohol solution. Nanofluids samples with varying
TiO2 nanoparticle concentration are prepared and their rheological study has been
conducted using Rheometer. The variation of viscosity with respect temperature has
been examined and how the viscosity temperature relation is varying according to
the variation in titania nanoparticles concentration. The thermal conductivity of each
sample is also found using KD2 pro thermal property analyzer.
MATERIALS
The base fluid used in this study is polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), which is a water
soluble polymer and has excellent film forming, emulsifying, and adhesive
properties. Polyvinyl alcohol is a polymer which has a simple chemical structure
with pendant hydroxyl group. The monomer is vinyl alcohol, which is unstable and
rearrange to its tautomer acetaldehyde. Polymerization of vinyl acetate form
polyvinyl acetate. Hydrolysis (85 to 89%) of polyvinyl acetate form polyvinyl
alcohol.
The nanoparticle used in this study is titanium dioxide (TiO 2). Within the scope of
green materials, TiO2 is the most stable, least toxic, least expensive and durable
substance, which justifies its extensive use and study.
METHODS
The preparation of TiO2-PVA nanofluid includes mainly three steps as follows
Synthesis of Titanium dioxide nanoparticles
The method followed for the synthesis of Titania nanoparticles is Sol-Gel method
which is a combination of bottom up and top down approach of nanoparticles
synthesis. The precursor for the synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticle is Titanium tetra isopropoxide (TTIP) which is supplied by Sigma Aldrich. 5ml of Titanium tetra isopropoxide is dissolved in 15ml iso-proponol. Stir the solution and at the same time
add concentrated nitric acid drop by drop to get the required pH. After that 1ml of
water is added drop by drop. The mixture was vigorously stirred at room
temperature until a transparent gel is formed and kept it idle for 24hrs. The gel is
dried by keeping it on water bath around 6hrs and calcinating it in air. The
calcinating temperatures are 200 C and 400 C for around 5 hrs. Chemistry of sol
gel methods are mainly based on the hydrolysis reaction and poly-condensations of
alkoxides (TTIP).
Ti (C3H7O)4 + 4H2O Ti (OH)4 + 4C3H7OH
220
Ti (OH)4
TiO2. XH2O + (2-X) H2O
Preparation of the base fluid solution (PVA solution)
PVA is a water soluble polymer. At first the required amount of PVA crystals are
weighed and dissolved in double distilled water. PVA has remarkably slow rate of
dissolution in water at room temperature or slightly above it. So the temperature of
double distilled water is raised to 85C to 90C, then the PVA crystals are added to
it and do mechanical stirring until PVA crystals get dissolved in water completely.
Dispersion of nanoparticles in base fluid
The various concentrations of synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles are dispersed into 4%
PVA solution. The required amount of TiO2 nanoparticles are added to the PVA
solution and then stir it for half an hour mechanically. Then the solution is kept in
ultrasonicator at 300 K for 2 hours. Particle concentration of 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.15%
and 0.2% of total volume of nanofluid is prepared in 4% PVA solution with proper
mechanical stiring for 1 hour and kept the solution in sonicator bath for 2 hours.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
The pumping power of heat transfer fluid is related with the viscosity of a fluid.
Hence, viscosity is as important as thermal conductivity in engineering systems
involving fluid flow. Rheometer is a very good tool to analyze the viscosity property
of nanofluids. The rheometer used in this study is Modular Compact Rheometer
series (MCR 102) supplied by Anton Paar. Viscosity versus time and viscosity
versus temperature of the PVA solution as well as TiO2 PVA nanofluids with
various concentrations of TiO2 nanoparticles are done. Then the variation of
viscosity versus temperature after the addition of nanoparticles also studied with the
help of same instrument. The particle concentration of nanoparticles is a major
factor that affects the viscosity of nanofluids. The graph showing variation of
viscosity of nanofluids with respect to time with varying particle concentration is
shown in Fig 1. The temperature versus viscosity study revealed that the viscosity of
the nanofluids decreases with increase in temperature up to a certain temperature
value and after that viscosity shows a non linear relation with respect to temperature.
Fig 2. Shows the temperature versus viscosity relation of nanofluids samples with
various particle concentration. The highest viscosity rise is shown by 0.1% TiO2
particle concentration nanofluids sample and the same sample has shown a decrease
in viscosity with increase in temp up to 90C.
Nanofluids have found major applications in the heat transfer area mainly
because of its thermal conductivity enhancing property. Due to this reason the
analysis of thermal conductivity of nanofluid is very important. In the current work
the thermal conductivity analysis is done with the help of KD2 Pro Thermal
Property Analyzer. Fig 3 shows the Thermal Conductivity versus Particle Volume
Fraction graph of various nanofluid samples. The addition of nanoparticles
221
nanoparticles shows an enhancement in the thermal conductivity and it is decreasing

with the increase in particle volume concentration. The 0.05%, 0.15, 0.15% and
0.2% of TiO2 nanoparticle volume concentration shows enhancement in thermal
conductivity of 7%, 5.78%, 4.12% and 2% respectively
Fig. 1: Viscosity versus time relationship of nanofluid with various TiO2 particle
concentration
Fig 2: Temperature versus viscosity relation of a) 0.05% b) 0.1% c) 0.15% d) 0.2%

of TiO2 particle concentration of nanofluid
222
Fig 3: Thermal Conductivity versus Particle Volume Fraction graph

CONCLUSION
In the recent years wide range of research works are done in nanofluids due to the
enhancement in their properties compared to the same properties of its base fluids.
Due to these reason nanofluids found wide range of applications in almost all fields
like industrial areas, automobiles, biomedical field etc. In this study TiO 2
nanoparticles are synthesized using sol gel method and dispersed in PVA base fluid.
The viscosity of nanofluids is higher than that of its base fluid due to the addition of
nanoparticles. The viscosity decreases with increase in temperature till a particular
range then the water content in the nanofluids starts vaporizing and due to this
reason the viscosity starts increasing. The sample with 0.1% particle concentration
shows highest viscosity and its viscosity decreases with increase in temperature up
to 90 deg C. TiO2 PVA nanofluids shows an increase in thermal conductivity
compared to the PVA solution which is the base fluid. But as the particle
concentration increases the thermal conductivity enhancement decreases. As the
TiO2 particle concentration in the nanofluids increases from 0% to 0.05%, the
thermal conductivity enhancement increases and afterwards it decreases with the
increase in nanoparticles concentration.
REFERENCES
Eastman, J.A., Choi, S.U.S., Li, S., Yu, W., and Thompson, L.J. Anomalously
increased effective thermal conductivities of ethylene glycol-based nano-fluids
containing copper nanoparticles, Appl. Phys. Lett., 2001, 78, (6), pp. 718720
Kavitha T., Rajendran A. and Durairajan A. Synthesis, characterization of TiO2
nano powder and water based nanofluids using two step method, European Journal
of Applied Engineering and Scientific Research, 2012, 1 (4):235-240
Azadeh Ghadimi, Ibrahim Henk Metselaar The influence of surfactant and
ultrasonic processing on improvement of stability, thermal conductivity and
223
viscosity of titania nanofluids SciVerse ScienceDirect, Experimental Thermal and

Fluid Science 51 (2013) 19
WANG Xian-Ju, LI Hai, LI Xin-Fang, WANG Zhou-Fei, LIN Fang Stability of
TiO2 and Al2O3 Nanofluids CHIN. PHYS. LETT. Vol. 28, No. 8 (2011) 086601
M. Kostic and Kalyan C. Simham Computerized, Transient Hot-Wire Thermal
Conductivity (HWTC) Apparatus for Nanofluids Proceedings of the 6th WSEAS
International Conference on HEAT and MASS TRANSFER (HMT'09)
Murshed S. M. S., K. C. Leong, and C. Yang (2005). Enhanced thermal conductivity
of TiO2 water-based nanofluids, Int. J. Therm. Sci., 44: 367373.
I.M. Mahbubul, R. Saidur, M.A. Amalina Latest developments on the viscosity of
nanofluids International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 55 (2012) 874885
SciVerse ScienceDirect
224

Application of Different Isotherm Models for

Equilibrium Sorption Studies of Crystal Violet onto
Functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes
Sabna V1, Santosh G Thampi2, S Chandrakaran3
1
Research Scholar, 2,3Professor

Dept. of Civil Engineering
Kozhikode 673 601, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
Adsorption isotherms are empirical models used to describe equilibrium of sorption
of a material onto a surface at constant temperature. In this study, different isotherm
models such as Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, DubininRadushkevich (D-R) and
Redlich-Peterson(R-P) are applied to describe equilibrium sorption of crystal violet
from aqueous solutions onto functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes.
Langmuir, Temkin and Redlich-Peterson isotherm models fit the experimental data
well with a correlation coefficient R2=0.999. The theoretical maximum sorption
capacity of crystal violet onto functionalized multi walled carbon nanotubes,
obtained from the Langmuir isotherm, was 96.9mg/g. The heat of the sorption
process was estimated to be 9.89 J/mol. The separation factor and the sorption
intensity (1/n), obtained from this model, are 0.00076 and 0.169 respectively,
indicating favourable sorption. The mean free energy estimated from the D-R
isotherm model was 8kJ/mol indicating that adsorption followed a chemical
process; this may probably be due to the chemical bond formed between the
positively charged dye molecule and the negatively charged adsorbent.
Keywords: Crystal violet, functionalised multi walled carbon nanotubes, sorption,
adsorbent, isotherm
Sabna V. E-mail: Sabnavv@gmail.com
Application of different isotherm models
INTRODUCTION
Carbon nanotubes have attracted considerable interest in various applications due to
their outstanding structural characteristics, such as unique electronic and
physicochemical properties, excellent thermal conductivity and mechanical strength
[Fam et al (2011); Cheung et al (2010)]. One of the promising applications of carbon
nanotubes is its use as an adsorbent for the removal of different environmental
contaminants from polluted water such as synthetic dyes [Mohammad Shirmardi et
al (2013)], heavy metals etc [Yanhui Li et al (2003), Li J et al (2014)].
Discharge of effluent containing synthetic dyes from textile, paper and paint
industries cause environmental contamination due to the presence of dyes like
crystal violet. Crystal violet (CV), also known as gentian violet, is a cationic dye
used extensively in textiles, paper and printing ink industries and also used as a
biological stain, bacteriostatic agent in veterinary medicine, skin disinfectant in
humans etc. It is a carcinogenic agent and cause skin and digestive tract irritation;
further, it can persist in the environment since it is poorly metabolized by microbes
[Mittal et al (2010), Kumar et al (2011)]. Among the various techniques available
for the removal of dyes such as coagulation, adsorption, chemical precipitation,
membrane ltration, solvent extraction, reverse osmosis, photocatalytic degradation
etc, adsorption is considered the most effective because it offers flexibility in
operation and design; it also has a reversible nature as adsorbents can be regenerated
by suitable desorption processes for multiple use.
The applicability of an adsorbent in an ideal adsorption system can be explored by
assessing the most appropriate equilibrium adsorption correlation [Srivastava et al
(2006)]. This is essential for reliable prediction of adsorption parameters and
quantitative comparison of the behaviour of an adsorbent in different adsorbent
systems under different experimental conditions. An adsorption isotherm is an
invaluable curve describing the phenomenon governing the retention (or release) or
mobility of a substance from the aqueous porous media or aquatic environments to a
solid-phase at a constant temperature and pH. It describes how pollutants interact
with the adsorbent material and facilitates elucidation of the adsorption mechanism
pathways, estimation of the surface properties and capacities of adsorbents and
effective design of systems employed for the removal of specific constituents by
adsorption. The objective of the present study is to evaluate of the ability to model
equilibrium sorption data using some two parameter adsorption isotherm models
such as Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, Dubibin-Raduskevich and a three parameter
adsorption isotherm model, viz. the Redlich-Peterson isotherm model.
226
MATERIALS
Functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (fMWNTs), used as the adsorbent
were prepared by refluxing 200mg MWNTs (93%, Redex Nano Lab) in 50mL nitric
acid HNO3 (70%, Merck) for 12 hours at 1000C followed by washing and
centrifugation until the pH of the washing became neutral. Centrifuged fMWNTs
were dried overnight in a hot air oven at 100 0C and stored. Crystal violet (CV),
C25H30N3Cl (SRL) was used as the adsorbate in the experiments. Stock solution was
prepared by dissolving appropriate quantity of CV in distilled water. Working
solutions of concentrations, 50, 100 and 150mg/L were prepared from the stock.
METHODS
Adsorption studies
Batch adsorption studies were performed with a working volume of 20mL of CV
solution of concentration 50, 100 and 150mg/L, adsorbent dosage 1.5g/L. Samples
were analyzed for the residual concentration of CV every 5min until equilibrium is
reached using a UV/VIS spectrophotometer (Model Hitachi 2800) at a wavelength
of 580nm. Percentage removal of the dye and adsorption capacity (mg/g) of the
adsorbent are estimated by Eq. (1) and Eq. (2).
Percentage removal
Ci Ct
100
Ci
(1)
Adsorption capacity
Ci Ce
v
m
(2)
where Ci , C t and Ce are the concentrations of the dye (mg/L) initially, at time
and at equilibrium, m (g/L) is the mass of the adsorbent and v (L) is the volume of
the dye solution.

Equilibrium sorption data of crystal violet on the functionalized multi walled carbon
nanotubes are presented in Fig.1. The initial concentration of the dye ranges from 50
150mg/L, and the dosage of the adsorbent is 1.5mg/L. These data are obtained at a
constant temperature of 300C and a pH of 6.
The aim of the analysis is to identify the relationship between the equilibrium
concentration of dye molecules in the bulk and that at the surface of the adsorbent.
The adsorption data of crystal violet on fMWNTs were analyzed using important
isotherms including the Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, DubininRedushkevich (D
R) and Reidlich-Peterson (R-P) isotherm models.
227
Figure 1: Effect of initial concentration of the dye on percentage removal of the

dye and adsorption capacity of fMWNT at pH 6 and temperature 30 0C
Langmuir adsorption isotherm
The Langmuir isotherm model assumes monolayer adsorption on a structurally
homogeneous adsorbent surface containing a finite number of energetically
equivalent sites. Once an adsorbent molecule occupies a site, neither does further
adsorption take place at that site nor does transmigration of the adsorbate occur in
the plane of the surface [Langmuir (1916)]. The non linear form of the Langmuir
isotherm is given by Eq. (3).
q K C
(3)
qe m L e
1 K LCe
where qe (mg/g) and Ce (mg/L) are the uptake and the concentration of the dye at
equilibrium, qm is the maximum adsorption capacity (mg/g), K L is the Langmuir
constant related to the free energy of adsorption (L/mg). The essential characteristics
of the Langmuir isotherm is expressed by a dimensionless constant, separation
factor, RL which indicates whether the adsorption process is favourable (0< RL <1),
linear ( RL 1 ), unfavourable ( RL >1) or irreversible ( RL 0 )
RL
1
1 K LC0
(4)
where C0 (mg/L) is the highest initial concentration of the dye.

Freundlich adsorption isotherm
The Freundlich isotherm model is an empirical model that assumes a heterogeneous
adsorption surface and exponential distribution of active sites. It can be applied for
non-ideal sorption on heterogeneous surfaces and multilayer sorption [Freundlich
(1907)]. The non linear form of the Freundlich adsorption isotherm is given by Eq.
(5).
1
qe K F Ce n
228
(5)
where qe (mg/g) and Ce (mg/L) are the uptake and the concentration of dye at
equilibrium, K F (mg/g)(L/mg)1/n is the Freundlich isotherm constant, indicative of
the adsorption capacity, 1 is the adsorption intensity which should have a value in
n
between 0.1 and 1 for favourable adsorption.
Temkin adsorption isotherm
The Temkin isotherm model considers the effects of some indirect adsorbateadsorbate interaction that cause decrease in the heat of adsorption of all the
molecules in the layer linearly rather than logarithmic with coverage by ignoring the
extremely low and high concentrations [M.J.Temkin, V.Pyzhev (1940)]. The non
linear form of Temkin isotherm is given by Eq. (6).
(6)
qe BlnK T Ce
equilibrium, B RT , b (J/mol) is the Temkin constant related to the heat of
b
sorption, K T (L/g) is the Temkin equilibrium binding constant, R (8.314 J/mol K) is
the gas constant and T (K) is the absolute temperature.
Dubinin-Radushkevich adsorption isotherm
The DR isotherm model gives the mean energy of adsorption and this, in turn,
yields information on the type of adsorption process - physisorption or
chemisorption [Dubinin, M. M., & Radushkevich (1947)]. The non linear form of
DR isotherm is given by Eq. (7)
qe qme
(7)
equilibrium, q m (mg/g) is the theoretical monolayer adsorption capacity, (mol2/J2)
is the constant of adsorption energy per mole of the adsorbate as it is transferred to
the surface of the adsorbent from infinite distance in the solution and is Polanyi
potential given by Eq. (8)
2
1
)
(8)
Ce
where T (K) is the temperature of the solution and R (8.314 J/mol K) is the gas
constant. Mean adsorption energy, E (kJ/mol) is given by
1
(9)
E
2
RTln(1
Values of E ranging from 1-8 kJ/mol indicate physical sorption and 8-16 kJ/mol
indicate chemical sorption.
229
Redlich-Peterson adsorption isotherm

The Redlich-Peterson isotherm model is a three parameter model that combines
some features of both Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms. The adsorption
mechanism does not follow ideal monolayer adsorption and approaches the
Langmuir equation at low concentrations and Freundlich model at high
concentrations. The non linear form of the model can be described by Eq. (10)
[Redlich and Peterson (1959)].
qe
q'mon bRP Ce
1 bRP Ce
(10)
where q'mon , bRP and are the Redlich-Peterson constants and g is an exponent
lying between 0 and 1. For g 1 , the above equation reduces to the Langmuir form.
The exponential linear form of the model is obtained by plotting C e vs. C e
qe
(adopting a value for the optimum line by trial and error). This model can describe
the adsorption process over a wide range of concentrations.
Figure 2 presents linear plots of all the isotherms models. The experimental and
computed values of adsorption capacity (obtained from the linear form of the models
as presented in Table 1) are compared.
Table 1. Linear form of the various isotherm models
Isotherm model
Linear form
Langmuir
Ce
C
1
e
qe q m K L q m
Freundlich
230
logqe logK F
1
logCe
n
Plot
X
Ce
Ce
qe
log Ce
log qe
Temkin
qe BlnKT BlnCe
ln Ce
qe
D-R
ln qe ln qm 2
ln qe
R-P
1
Ce
1
Ce

qe bRP q' mon q' mon
Ce
Ce
qe
8
(a) y = 1.0315x + 0.1192

R = 0.9995
80
qe, mg/g
6
Ce/qe x 10-2
100
(f)
60
40
20
0
0
0
5
Ce, mg/g
(b)
10
(g)
2.5
qe, mg/g
log qe
1.5y = 0.1686x + 1.8513

R = 0.9886
1.0
150
20
0
0
log ce
80
qe, mg/g
y = 9.8556x + 75.344 100

R = 0.999
80
qe, mg/g
60
40
ln Ce
60
40
20
20
0
-0.5
100
Ci, mg/L
(h) 100
-2.5
50
40
120
-4.5
60
0.0
(c)
150
80
0.5
-1
50
100
Ci, mg/L
100
2.0
-2
0
1.5
50
100
150
Ci, mg/L
231

5.0
100
(d)
(i)
80
ln qe
qe, mg/g
4.5
4.0
3.5
y = -8E-09x + 4.4173
R = 0.9237
3.0
0.E+00
0
5.E+07
1.E+08
(j)
50
100
150
Ci, mg/L
100
y = 0.0127x + 0.0004
R =0.999
80
qe, mg/g
Ce/qe x 10-2
8
6
40
20
2
(e)
60
4
2
60
40
20
0
0
Ce
50
100
150
Ci, mg/L
Figure 2: Linear plot of a) Langmuir, b) Freundlich, c)Temkin, d) D-R,

e) R-P adsorption isotherm models, experimental (
)and computed
(
) adsorption capacity by f) Langmuir, g) Freundlich, h)Temkin, i)
D-R, j) R-P adsorption isotherm models
Isotherm constants, parameters and correlation coefficients for all the isotherm
models, obtained from the respective linear plots, are listed in Table 2.
Table 2 Regression coefficients and constants of isotherm models of adsorption
Isotherm model
Parameter and value
Langmuir
qm , mg/g
KL, L/mg
R2
RL
96.9
8.7
0.999
0.0008
Freundlich
KF , mg/g (L/mg)1/n
R2
1/n
71
0.988
0.169
Temkin
KT, L/g
B, J/mol
R2
1998.2
9.89
0.999
Dubininqm, mg/g
, mol2/J2
E (kJ/ mol)
R2
-9
Radushkevich
82.3
8.01 x 10
8
0.923
Redlich-Peterson
qmon
bRP, L/g
R2
78.74
35.37
0.9
0.999
232
The Langmuir isotherm, Temkin isotherm and Redlich-Peterson isotherm models fit
well with the experimental data, the correlation coefficient being very high ( R 2
=0.999). The theoretical maximum sorption capacity of crystal violet onto
functionalized multi walled carbon nanotubes obtained from the Langmuir isotherm
was 96.9mg/g. Values of the separation factor RL and Freundlich constant 1 points
n
to favourable sorption. In terms of value of the correlation coefficient for the
different isotherms, the DR model was found least satisfactory (value of R 2 is
0.923). The value of E from the D-R model was found to be in the range of 816
kJ/mol, indicating that the type of sorption is chemisorption. This may probably be
due to the chemical bond formed between the positively charged dye molecule and
the negatively charged adsorbent.
CONCLUSIONS
1.
2.
3.
Adsorption of crystal violet onto functionalized multi walled carbon nanotubes

was found to be strongly dependent on the initial concentration of crystal violet.
Langmuir isotherm, Temkin isotherm and Redlich-Peterson isotherm models fit
well with the experimental data.
Constants and parameters derived from the model indicate that the adsorption
process is favourable and the type of adsorption is chemisorption.
REFERENCES
Dubinin M. M and Radushkevich L. V (1947), The equation of the characteristic
curve of the activated charcoal, Proceedings of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 55,
331337.
Freundlich H (1907), Uber die Adsorption in Losungen, Journal of Physical
Chemistry, 57, 385470.
I. Langmuir (1916), The constitution and fundamental properties of solids and
liquids, Journal of American Chemical Society, 38 (11), 22212295.
Kumar R and Ahmad R (2011), Biosorption of hazardous crystal violet dye from
aqueous solution onto treated ginger waste (TGW), Desalination, 265, 112118.
Li J, Chen C, Zhang S, Ren X, Tan X, Wang X (2014), Critical evaluation of
adsorption-desorption hysteresis of heavy metal ions from carbon nanotubes:
influence of wall number and surface functionalization, Chemical Asian Journal,
9(4), 1144-51.
233
M.J. Temkin,V. Pyzhev (1940), Recent modifications to Langmuir isotherms,

ACTA Physiochimica, 12, 217222.
Mittal A, Mittal J, Malviya A, Kaur D and Gupta V K (2010), Adsorption of
hazardous crystal violet from wastewater by waste materials, Journal of Colloid
and Interface Science, 343, 463473.
Mohammad Shirmardi, Amir Hossein Mahvi, Bayram Hashemzadeh, Abolfazl
Naeimabadi, Ghasem Hassani and Mehdi Vosoughi Niri (2013), The adsorption of
malachite green (MG) as a cationic dye onto functionalized multi walled carbon
nanotubes, Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, 30(8), 1603-1608.
Redlich, O.J and Peterson D.L (1959) A useful adsorption isotherm Journal of
Physical Chemistry, 63, 10241026.
V.V. Srivastava, M.M. Swamy, I.D. Mall, B. Prasad, I.M. Mishra (2006),
Adsorptive removal of phenol by bagasse fly ash and activated carbon: equilibrium,
kinetics and thermodynamics, Colloids and Surfaces A, 272, 89104.
Yan-Hui Li, Jun Ding, Zhaokun Luan, Zechao Di, Yuefeng hu, Cailu Xu,
Dehai Wu, Bingqing Wei (2003), Competitive adsorption of Pb 2+, Cu2+ and Cd2+
ions from aqueous solutions by multiwalled carbon nanotubes, Carbon, 41(14),
27872792.
234

Impact of the TIO2 Nanotube Geometry on

Electrochemical Energy Storage
C.Clement Raj1, R.Prasanth2
1
Research Scholar ,2 Assistant Professor

Centre for Green Energy Technology, Pondicherry University
Pondicherry- 605 014, India.
ABSTRACT
Titanium dioxide nanotubes have unique properties which makes it suitable for a
wide range of energy related applications. TiO2 nanotubes hold a great promise as
supercapacitor electrodes. Herein we have reported the electrochemical fabrication
of morphologically tuned TiO2 nanotubes i.e with respect to the pore diameter, wall
thickness and length. The nanotube diameter has been varied from 35 nm to 160 nm,
wall thickness from 8 nm to 50 nm and the nanotube length from 1m to 20 m.
Electrochemical Impedance spectroscopy studies were done to find resistance and
capacitance of the nanotube electrodes. Cyclic voltammetry was carried out on the
various nanotube electrodes. The effect of the geometrical parameters of nanotubes
on the electrochemical capacitance has been studied.
INTRODUCTION
TiO2 nanotubes have been extensively used in Supercapacitors, Dye sensitized solar
cell, Batteries, Hydrogen storage, Biosensing, etc. TiO2 is a chemically stable wide
band gap semiconductor. Nanotube electrodes act as a perpendicular and
unidirectional current collector as well as provide a highly ordered porous network
with high surface area for adsorption of solvated ions. The adsorption of ions on the
electrode surface is responsible for charge storage in a double layer capacitor.
Surface area, conductivity, interconnectivity and porosity are significant parameters
that affect the capacitance properties of a material. Metal oxides such as RuO2
exhibit very good capacitance properties (Hu et al., 2006).TiO2 provides a cheaper
alternative, however specific capacitance values reported so far for nanotubes are
100-911F (Salari et al., 2011) cm-2 which is very low when compared to other
metal oxides. TiO2 contributes only a very low non faradic capacitance and no
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: prasanth.ravindran@gmail.com
Impact of the TiO2 nanotube geometry
faradic capacitance. The electrochemical fabrication of nanotube has been done in

Ethylene Glycol based electrolytes due to its excellent control over the
morphological parameters. The anodization voltage has been varied and the
nanotube electrodes with varying diameter, length, porosity and surface area have
been achieved. The influence of nanotube geometry on the areal capacitance has
been investigated.
EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS
The anodization was carried out using a 2 mm thick Ti foil as anode and platinum
foil as cathode. The Ti foils were polished using grade sheets and cleaned with
acetone before the experiment. The electrolyte consists of 0.4 wt % ammonium
fluoride and 5 vol % water in ethylene glycol. The anodization was done for a period
of 16 hours and the voltage was varied from 10 V to 50 V. The nanotube samples
were cleaned using ultrasonication and dried in air. The nanotubes were further
subjected to annealing treatment for duration of 2 hours. The annealing temperature
was varied from 250 C to 450 C. The morphological analysis of the surface was
done using a JEOL SEM. A conventional three electrode electrochemical cell was
used for electrochemical characterization. The nanotube array was used as the
working electrode, Pt wire as counter electrode and Ag/AgCl as counter electrode.
The electrochemical measurements were carried out in a 1M HCl solution at room
temperature. Cyclic Voltammetry tests were conducted at in a voltage range from 0.4 V to +0.4 V at different scan rates. The Galvanostatic charge discharge was done
for different current discharge rates. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy was
performed at open circuit potential at a frequency range of 0.1 Hz to 100 KHz.
Fig 1) SEM image of S4 with a pore diameter of 110 nm and wall thickness of
40 nm
236
The fabrication of TiO2 nanotubes was done using an ethylene glycol based
electrolyte containing ammonium fluoride. The anodization voltage was varied from
10 V to 50 V (S1, S2, S3, S4 and S5) to obtain nanotubes of different morphologies
(Table 1). The duration of anodization was kept constant at 16 hours. The pore
diameter of the nanotubes varied from 35 nm to 150 nm, the wall thickness varied
from 8 nm to 60 nm and the length from 1m to 5 m. Figure 1 shows the SEM
micrograph of well ordered nanotube electrode anodized at 40 V (S4). The average
pore diameter and wall thickness of S4 was calculated as 110 nm and 40 nm
respectively.
Table 1: Morphology of nanotubes anodized at different voltages
S.No
1
2
3
4
5
Voltage
10
20
30
40
50
Pore diameter
35
65
90
110
160
Wall thickness
8
13
18
40
50
The electrochemical measurement was carried out with a potential range of -0.4 V to
+ 0.4 V at different scan rates. Rectangle like CV curves where obtained for all the
samples indicating the capacitor like behavior of the nanotube electrodes. The
current increased linearly as the scan rate was increased corresponding to EDLC
type energy storage (Kim et al., 2009).
Figure 2) Cyclic Voltammetry graph of nanotube electrode with pore diameter

110 nm and wall thickness 40 nm annealed at 250 C
237
The areal capacitance Ca was measured for all the samples from CV curves at
different scan rates using the formula (Lu et al., 2012),
The areal capacitance value was found to be the highest (750 F/cm2) for the
nanotube electrode (S IV) with pore diameter 110 nm and wall thickness 40 nm. The
capacitance increased linearly with increase in pore diameter from S1 to S4 after
which the capacitance values started to drop. The samples annealed at lower
temperature exhibited higher capacitance values when compared to higher
temperature annealed samples. This is due to the change in surface properties and
crystallinity with the change in annealing temperature (Kim et al., 2010).
Fig 3) Areal capacitance with respect to the pore diameter calculated from
Cyclic Voltammetry
238
Fig 4) Areal capacitance with respect to the pore diameter calculated from
Charge Discharge at 0.1mA
The areal capacitance values were calculated from the charge discharge curve using
the formula (Lu et al., 2012),
Charge Discharge experiments were conducted on the different nanotube electrodes

at different discharge rates. The areal capacitance value was calculated from the
charge discharge for S4 samples is 1394 F/cm2. For the same sample annealed at
450C a capacitance value of 930F/cm2 was observed. By increasing the annealing
temperature from 250C to 450C a 33% loss in areal capacitance is observed.
239
Bode plot of the different nanotube electrodes measured in 1M HCl

The impedance measurement was carried out to find the resistive and capacitive
components of the different morphology nanotube electrodes (Salari et al, 2011).
Bode plot shows change in the impedance with respect to the different tube
morphologies. The sample S4 which exhibited highest capacitance values had the
lowest impedance among all the samples. The areal capacitance can be correlated to
the impedance values obtained, where the lowest impedance sample exhibits highest
capacitance and highest impedance sample exhibits lowest capacitance.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we have fabricated TiO2 nanotubes with different morphologies by
varying the anodization voltage. The electrochemical performance of the different
morphology nanotube electrodes has been studied. The samples annealed at a lower
temperature exhibit higher capacitance values. The sample S4 with pore diameter
110 nm and wall thickness 40 nm yielded an areal capacitance of 1394 F/cm2. The
enhanced capacitance can be attributed to the optimum geometry and crystallinity of
the nanotube electrode.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Pondicherry University for the financial support to
carry out the work and Central Instrumentation facility, Pondicherry University for
providing necessary instrumentation facilities.
240
REFERENCES
Maryam Salari, Seyed Hamed Aboutalebi, Konstantin Konstantinov and Hua Kun Liu (2011),
Highly Ordered TiO2 nanotubes as Supercapacitor electrodes, Phys.Chem.Chem,Phys, 13,
5038 5041
Chi Chang Hu, Kuo Hsin Chang, Ming Champ Lin, Yung Tai Wu (2006), Design and
Tailoring of Nanotubular arrayed architecture of Hydrous RuO2 for next generation
Supercapacitors, Nano Letters,6, 2690 - 2695
Min Seok Kim, Tae-Woo Lee and Jong Hyeok Park (2009), Controlled TiO 2 nanotube arrays
as an active material for High Power Energy Storage Devices, Journal of Electrochemical
Society, 156 (7), A584 A588
Maryam Salari, Konstantin Konstantinov and Hua Kun Liu (2011), Enhancement of the
capacitance in TiO2 nanotubes through controlled introduction of oxygen vacancies,
J.Mater.Chem., 21, 5128
Jae Hun Kim, Kai Zhu, Yanfa Yan, CraigL.Perkins and Arthur Frank (2010), Microstructure
and Psuedocapacitive Properties of Electrodes constructed of Oriented NiO-TiO2 nanotube
arrays, Nano Lett, 10, 4099 4104
Xihong Lu, Gongming Wang, Teng Zhai, Minghao Yu, Jiayong Gan, Yexiang Tong and Yat
Li (2012), Hydrogenated TiO2 nanotube arrays for Supercapacitors, 12, 1690 1696
Qing Liu Wu, Juchuan Li, Rutooj D.Deshpande, Navaladian Subramanian, Stephen E.
Rankin, Fuqian Yang and Yang Tse Cheng (2012), Aligned TiO2 nanotube arrays as
Durable Lithium ion battery negative electrodes
241
242

Synthesis of C Doped TiO2/CdS Core-Shell

Nanoparticles Using Microemulsion Method for Visible
Light Photocatalytic Degradation of Dye
Atul B Lavanda, Yuvraj S Malghea, Suraj H Singhb
a
Department of Chemistry, The Institute of Science, 15, Madam Cama Road,

Mumbai 400032, India
b
Department of Energy Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology,
Powai, Mumbai-400076, India
ABSTRACT
Carbon (C) doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanocomposite was synthesized by
microemulsion method. As synthesized powder was characterized by X-ray
diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive
spectroscopy (EDX), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-visible
spectroscopy. XRD and TEM images reveal that C doped TiO 2/CdS core-shell
heterostructure is successfully prepared with CdS as a core and C doped TiO 2 as a
shell. UV-visible absorption spectra show that CdS nanoparticles could act as a
sensitizer and effectively enhanced the photoabsorption capacity of C doped
TiO2/CdS in the visible region. Photoactivity of synthesized nanocomposites was
evaluated for the degradation of methylene blue under visible light irradiation. C
doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanocomposite exhibits greater photocatalytic activity as
compared to bare TiO2, CdS, CdS-TiO2 and C doped TiO2 under visible light
irradiation. Stability of synthesized photocatalyst was also investigated.
INTRODUCTION
Phototocatalysis can be used as an abundant and clean energy source for various
purposes like environmental remediation and clean energy production, Tong et al.
(2008), Shinde et al. (2013), and Tian et al. (2008). Much of research is going on to
develop novel photocatalyst to improve its efficiency under visible/ solar light
illumination. In photolysis, light of energy greater than the semiconductor band gap
which excites electron from valence band to conduction band is required. Among
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: atullavand1986@gmail.com
Synthesis of C doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanoparticles using microemulsion method .
various photocatalysts reported TiO2 has attracted special interest due to its unique
chemical and physical properties like strong oxidizing and reducing ability, good
permeability, special optical properties, chemical stability, low cost and corrosion
resistance, Diebold (2003). In the case of anatase TiO2, the band gap is 3.2 eV,
therefore it requires UV light ( 387nm) to activate. UV light accounts only 5% of
sunlight. To utilize visible light, many studies are reported to couple TiO 2 with
semiconductor with narrow band gap. Typically CdS with band gap of 2.4 eV is
considered as one of the ideal sensitizer for large gap semiconductors because of its
ideal position of its conduction and valence band edges, Peng et al. (2001) and
Wang et al. (2002).
Unfortunately, it still suffers from a disadvantage of quick recombination of
photogenerated charge carriers which decrease the photocatalytic performance of
CdS-TiO2 composite. To compensate this problem many researcher have used
incorporation of Pt or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to form hybrid materials, Huang et
al. (2010), Lee et al. (2008), Park et al. (2008), and Kang et al. (2010). These
materials can act as an excellent electron acceptor/transporter to effectively facilitate
the migration of photo induced electrons and suppress the charge combination in
electron-transfer process due to electronic interaction between them and CdS-TiO2
composite. This effectively increases the photocatalytic rates. Also carbonaceous
materials are very popular due to their wide visible light absorption and high
adsorption of organic pollutants, facilitating interface reaction of photocatalysis,
Zhuang et al. (2010). In such a hybrid materials strong synergetic effect can be
achieved. As expected prepared ternary photocatalyst (C doped TiO 2/CdS) exhibits
higher degradation rates as compared to pure TiO 2, pure CdS, carbon doped TiO2
due to excellent synergetic effect.
EXPERIMENTAL
MATERIALS
Methylene Blue (MB) Practical grade was obtained from Hi Media laboratories,
Mumbai and used without any further purification. Titanium isopropoxide Ti(iOPr) 4
was purchased from Sigma Aldrich, Mumbai and used as titanium precursor.
Cyclohexane, n-butanol, N,N,N-cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB),
acetone, Cadmium nitrate ( Cd(NO3)2.4H2O), Sodium Sulphide flakes (Na2S) Iron
free, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and ethanol (99.7%) all with AR grade were
produced by SD Fine chemicals, Mumbai and used without further purification.
244
METHODS
Synthesis of CdS nanoparticles
50 ml 1M Cadmium nitrate, 25 ml double distilled water, 25 ml ethanol and 0.01 M
CTAB were taken in a beaker and stirred for 30 minutes continuously. 50 ml 1M
Na2S, 25 ml ethanol and 25 ml double distilled water was added to the above
solution and stirred for 30 minutes. 20 ml of 2M NaOH was added drop wise to
above mixture with continuous stirring to get light yellow precipitate. This mixture
was transferred to autoclave (with teflon-inner-liner) and kept in an oven at 100 C
for 2h. Later it was cooled to the room temperature and the residue obtained was
separated using centrifugation, washed several times with distilled water followed
by ethanol and finally with acetone and dried at 40 C to get pure CdS.
Synthesis of pure and C doped TiO2 nanoparticles
Pure and C doped TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared using microemulsion method.
60mL cylclohexane, 15mL n-butanol and 6g of CTAB were mixed and mixture was
stirred for 15min. To this microemulsion, solution containing 3mL water and 9mL
1M titanium isopropoxide was added dropwise with constant stirring. This mixture
was transferred to autoclave (with teflon-inner-liner) and kept in an oven at 150 C
for 2h. Later it was cooled to the room temperature and the residue obtained was
separated by centrifugation, washed several times with distilled water followed by
ethanol and finally with acetone and dried at 40 C. The product obtained was used
as a precursor. This precursor was calcined in the furnace at 300 C and 500 C to
obtained C doped TiO2 and pure TiO2 respectively.
Synthesis of C doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanoparticles
A mixture of 80 ml cyclohexane, 20 ml butanol, 4.0 g CTAB, 6 ml 1M cadmium
nitrate was taken in a beaker and stirred for 30 min with magnetic stirrer. To above
microemulsion 6 ml 1M Na2S was added to obtained yellow precipitate and stirred
for 30 min. Now, 6 ml of 1M TTIP was added dropwise with constant stirring. This
mixture was transferred to autoclave (with teflon-inner-liner) and kept in an oven at
150 C for 2h. Later it was cooled to the room temperature and the residue obtained
was separated using centrifugation, washed several times with distilled water
followed by ethanol and finally with acetone and dried at 40 C. Dried powder was
calcined at 300 oC and 500 oC for 2 h in conventional furnace to get C doped
TiO2/CdS core-shell nanoparticles and TiO2/CdS nanoparticles respectively.
245
CHARACHTERIZATION OF COMPOUNDS
The X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD) of all the calcined powders were recorded
using XRD (Rigaku, Model-Miniflex II) using Cu K radiation (=0.15405nm) at a
scan rate 22 min-1. The average particle sizes were obtained by means of DebyeScherrer equation t = n/cos, where t is average particle size, n= 0.9, is full
width of line at half of the maximum intensity (FWHM). The surface morphologies
and qualitative elemental analysis of the calcined sample were characterized by
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
(EDX) using FESEM Model - (JEOL-JSM) and (ZEISS-ULTRA 55). Particle size
of products prepared in this work was examined using transmission electron
microscopy (TEM) (FEI, USA, Model-Technai-G2). To record TEM images, powder
was dispersed in isopropyl alcohol and dispersion was sonicated for 15 min. The
TEM sample was prepared by drying the solvent dispersion of the nanoparticles onto
a carbon coated Cu grid. UV-Visible spectroscopy (Shimadzu, Model-1800) used to
calculate band gap energy of synthesize nanopowder.
PHOTOCATALYTIC ACTIVITY STUDY

Photocatalytic activity of as synthesized catalyst were evaluated for the degradation
of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation using 65 W compact
fluorescent lamp ( >420nm, Philips, Mumbai). The photodegradation was carried
out using a homemade photoreactor with water jacket to maintain temperature
through experiment. The distance between the light and the reaction vessel was fixed
at 10 cm. The photocatalyst powder (0.05 g) was dispersed in a 250 ml photoreactor
containing 50 ml of a 10 ppm methylene blue (MB) solution. Prior to photocatalytic
measurements, the aqueous suspension was stirred using magnetic stirrer in the dark
for 30 min. to attain adsorption-desorption equilibrium. The reactant solution was
irradiated for 120 min under visible light. At the given time intervals, the 5 ml of
aliquot were taken from the mixture, immediately centrifuged and photocatalyst was
removed. The concentration of the MB in the supernant solution was analyzed by
checking the absorbance for wavelength range (200-800 nm) with a UV-visible
spectrophotometer (Schimadzu, Model-1800). The photocatalytic efficiency is
calculated from the expression C/Co, where Co is the initial concentration and C is
the concentration of MB after certain irradiation time.

STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION
Fig. 1 (a-c) represents the X-ray diffraction patterns of pure CdS nanoparticles, C
doped TiO2/CdS core-shell composite and C doped TiO2 nanoparticles respectively.
It is observed that TiO2 precursor calcined at 300 C gives anatase TiO2. Peaks at 2
equal to 25.26, 38.16, 48.17, 54.03, 64.69, 68.16, 71.10 and 76.4 are assigned for
(101), (004), (200), (105), (211), (204), (110), (220), (215) hkl planes and are in
246
good agreement with JCPD data file number 841285 ( lattice planes of anatase TiO2
phase). The XRD pattern of CdS nanoparticles is in good agreement with that of
pure cubic phase CdS (JCPDS card no: 65-2887). The three peaks corresponds to the
three crystal planes of (111), (220) and (311) of cubic phase of CdS respectively.
The broadness of the peaks suggests that the CdS nanoparticles are very small. XRD
pattern of C doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanocomposite is consisting of mixture of
Cubic CdS and TiO2 anatase phase. Average crystallite sizes of product were
calculated using Debye-Scherer equation and presented in Table 1.
Fig.1 XRD patterns of (a) CdS, (b) C doped TiO 2 and (c) C doped TiO2/CdS
core-shell powder samples.
Fig. 2 represents EDX analysis of (a) CdS nanoparticles, (b) C doped TiO 2, (c) C
doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanocomposite samples respectively. EDX analysis
shows that CdS nanoparticles contain only Cd and S elements. TiO 2 precursor
calcined at 300 C contains C, Ti and O elements. EDX analysis clearly showed the
presence of Cd, S, C, Ti and O elements in the composite sample.
Fig.2 EDX spectra of samples (a) CdS, (b) C doped TiO 2, (c) C doped TiO2/CdS
core-shell powder samples
Fig. 3 (a), (b) and (c) typical shows SEM images of the pure CdS nanoparticles. C
doped TiO2, and C doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanocomposite respectively. This
images shows that particles are spherical in shape.
Fig.3 FE-SEM micrograph of samples (a) CdS, (b) C doped TiO 2, (c) C doped
TiO2/CdS core-shell powder samples.
247
Fig. 4(a) showed TEM image for CdS nanopaparticles. TEM image shows that CdS
nanoparticles are spherical in shape and well dispersed. Average particle size was
found to be 6 to 7 nm. TEM image of C doped TiO 2 is presented in Fig. 4(b). This
image show that C doped TiO2 particles are spherical in shape and average particle
size was found to be 10 to 12 nm. Fig. 4(c) is typical TEM micrographs of C doped
TiO2/CdS core-shell nanoparticles. We can clearly see that CdS nanoparticles as a
core and C doped TiO2 as shell. A selected area electron diffraction pattern (SAED)
of all the samples (inset) shows distinct rings indicating crystalline nature.
Fig.4 TEM micrograps of (a) CdS, (b) C doped TiO2, (c) C doped TiO2-CdS
core-shell powder samples.
The photoresponse of pure TiO2, C doped TiO2 and C doped TiO2 after CdS loading
has been measured by UV-visible absorption spectrum. Fig. 5 shows the UV-visible
absorption spectra of (a) Pure TiO2, (b) pure CdS, (c) C doped TiO2, and (d) C
doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanoparticles respectively. Pure TiO2 sample obtained at
500C is white color and (Fig. 5a) exhibit fundamental absorption edge at 387 nm. C
doped TiO2 prepared at 300C is blackish color powder and shows shift in the visible
region with absorption edge 433 nm.
Fig.5 The UV-visible absorption spectra of (a) pure TiO2, (b) pure CdS, (c) C
doped TiO2, (d) C doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanoparticles.
Which indicates C doping successfully enhances the visible light absorption strength
and results in red shift. As synthesized CdS nanoparticles (yellow color) show
absorption edge around 540 nm. C doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanoparticles
obtained at 300C are light grayish yellow color and shows absorption edge upto 600
nm, indicating the effective increase in photoabsorption in the visible region. Thus
CdS nanoparticles were worked as sensitizer which effectively increase the visible
248
light absorption strength of C doped TiO2. Thus CdS loading can effectively shift
the absorption band edge of TiO2 to the longer wavelength.
Table 1 Some characteristic properties of photocatalyst
No.
Sample
Particle size/
nm
C / Wt
Band gap (Eg) /

eV c
Pure-TiO2
16.2
3.14
C doped TiO2
13.4
7.59
2.86
CdS
6.8
2.29
C doped TiO2/CdS core-shell
10.1
5.50
2.38
a: Particle size were calculated from XRD results using Debye-Scherrer formula.
b: C content obtained from EDX measurement
c: values were obtained from onset of light absorption edges and Eg values were calculated using
formula Eg = 1240/
PHOTOCATALYTIC ACTIVITY STUDY

UV-visible spectra of MB irradiated with visible light at different time intervals in
presence of C doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanocomposite photocatalyst was recorded
and presented in Fig. 6. These spectra show that absorption peak intensity at 688 nm
decreases as the irradiation time increases. Decrease in the concentration of MB is
monitored by examining the variation in maximal absorption in UV-visible spectra
at 660 nm.
Fig.6 UV-visible absorption spectrum change of MB (10 ppm) aqueous solution

degraded by C doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanoparticles under visible
light with different irradiation time.
Degradation of MB as a function of irradiation time in presence of different catalysts
is presented in Fig. 7. It shows that after irradiation with visible light almost 97%
degradation of MB was observed within 90 min for C doped TiO2/CdS core-shell
nanoparticles. As compared to pure, C doped TiO2, and CdS/TiO2 nanoparticles the
C doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanoparticles shows higher photocatalytic activity for
MB degradation. It may be attributed to small size of catalyst and increase in
photoabsorption strength, i.e. lower in band gap energy. In absence of catalyst (i.e.
photolysis process) MB dye is quite stable.
249
Fig. 7 Visible light photocatalytic degradation of MB over different samples (a)

Pure TiO2, (b) C doped TiO2, (c) CdS, (d) C doped TiO2/CdS, and (e)
CdS-TiO2.
The reusability of C doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanocomposite is investigated by
collecting and reusing the same photocatalyst for multiple cycles and results are
presented in Fig. 8. This figure shows that photocatalytic activity of catalyst does
not changes significantly up to third cycle indicates that the catalyst is quiet stable
up to third cycle and can be reused.
Fig.8 Reuse of photocatalyst up to third cycle

Degradation mechanism
The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye can be attributed to the
chemical reactions of active species like OH and O2 with dye molecules on the
photocatalyst surface. The enhancement of photocatalytic activities of C doped
TiO2/CdS core-shell nanocomposite heterostructure is due to effective coupling of
CdS and C doped TiO2 as shown in the Scheme 1. Interstitial C doping can create
intra band gap state close to the valence band edge of TiO2. Thus C doping leads to
narrowing band gap than TiO2 which increase the photoabsorption capacity in the
visible region. When C doped TiO2/CdS is exposed to visible light, photogenerated
electrons are injected from conduction band of CdS to the conduction band of TiO 2,
producing high concentration of electrons in the conduction band of TiO 2. On the
other hand, holes generated on CdS remain on the valence band of CdS which gives
effective charge separation of electron and holes.
250
Scheme 1 Photoinduced formation mechanism of electron-hole pair in C doped
TiO2/CdS core-shell nanocomposite under visible light irradiation.

Meanwhile, the carbon species could trap the part of photogenerated holes, which
potentially reacts with the water adsorbed on the surface of photocatalyst to form
reactive hydroxyl radicals (OH). The conduction band electrons accumulated on the
surface of TiO2 reacts with dissolved oxygen in water to produce highly oxidative
species such as superoxide radical (O2). These highly reactive groups OH and O2
subsequently decompose organic substrate (MB) into CO2 and H2O.
CONCLUSIONS
1. C doped TiO2/CdS core-shell nanocomposites have been successfully synthesized
by microemulsion method.
2. C doped TiO2/CdS shows red shift in the absorption spectra attributed to
enhancement in the photoabsorption capacity.
3. The photocatalytic activity of as synthesized C doped TiO 2/CdS is higher as
compared to other photocatalyst for degradation of MB under visible light
irradiation.
4. Photocatalytic efficiency does not change up to third cycle indicating stability of
catalyst.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Authers are thankful to Prof. Sagar Mitra, Department of Energy science and
Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology and NCPRE - FEG SEM Laboratory,
Mumbai for kindly permitting use of FE-SEM and EDX analysis. Authers also
thankful to SAIF, IIT, Mumbai for recording the TEM images of sample.
251
REFERENCES
Diebold, U. (2003), The surface science of titanium dioxide, Surf. Sci. Rep. 48,
53-229.
Huang, B., Yang, Y., Chen, X., and Ye, D. (2010), Preparation and characterization
of CdS- TiO2 nanoparticles supported on multi-walled carbon nanotubes,
Catal. Commun. 11, 844-47.
Kang, Q., Lu, Q.Z., Liu, S.H., Yang, L.X., Wen, L.F., Luo, S.L., and Cai, Q.Y.
(2010), A ternary hybrid CdS/PtTiO2 nanotube structure for
photoelectrocatalytic bactericidal effects on Escherichia Coli, Biomaterials
31, 3317-26.
Lee, W., Lee, J., Lee, S., Yi, W., Han, S.H., and Cho, B.W. (2008), Enhanced
charge collection and reduced recombination of CdS/TiO2 quantum-dots
sensitized solar cells in the presence of single-walled carbon nanotubes, Appl,
Phys. Lett. 92, 153510-3.
Park, H., Choi,W., and Hoffmann, M.R. (2008), Effects of the preparation
method of the ternary CdS/TiO2/Pt hybrid photocatalysts on visible lightinduced hydrogen production, J. Mater. Chem. 18, 2379-85.
Peng, Z.A., and Peng, X.G. (2001), Formation of High-Quality CdTe, CdSe, and
CdS Nanocrystals Using CdO as Precursor, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 123, 183-4.
Shinde, S.S., Bhosale, C.H., and Rajpure, K.Y. (2013), Kinetic Analysis of
Heterogeneous Photocatalysis: Role of Hydroxyl Radicals, Catal. Rev.: Sci.
Eng. 55, 79133.
Tian, C.G., Zhang, Q., Wu, A.P., Jiang, M.J., Liang, Z.L., Jiang, B.J., and Fu, H.G.
(2012), Cost-effective large-scale synthesis of ZnO photocatalyst with
excellent performance for dye photodegradation, Chem. Commun. 48 (23),
2858-2860.
Tong, H., Ouyang, S.X., Bi, Y.P., Umezawa, N., Oshikiri M. and Ye, J.H. (2012),
Nano-photocatalytic Materials: Possibilities and Challenges, Adv. Mater. 24,
229251.
Wang, L., Wang, L.Y., Zhu, C.Q., Wei, X.W., and Kan, X.W. (2002), Preparation
and application of functionalized nanoparticles of CdS as a fluorescence
probe, Anal. Chim. Acta. 468, 35-41.
252

The Inhibitive Effect of Caesalpinia Sappan Extract on

Mild Steel Corrosion in Aqueous Media
S.M.A. Shibli*, L. Suji, M.S. Suma, K.S. Chinchu, P. Jineesh,
Rubina Basheer,
1
Department of Chemistry, University of Kerala, Trivandrum-695 581.

smashibli@yahoo.com.
ABSTRACT
Mild steel corrosion is a subject of fundamental, academic and industrial concern
and has received a considerable attention during the last few decades. One of the
important method for protecting metals and alloys from corrosion is the use of
inhibitors. Generally organic compounds containing Nitrogen, Oxygen and Sulphur
have been proved as good corrosion inhibitors for mild steel. Caesalpinia sappan
which belongs to leguminasae family was selected as a green inhibitor for
protecting mild steel in aqueous solution due to its sound antibacterial, lipase
inhibitory and antioxidant activities. Recent studies revealed that the inhibiting
action of green inhibitors was enhanced by incorporating chemical inhibitors such
as tungstate. The inhibition effect of Caesalpinia sappan plant extract (CSPE) and
tungstate as a co-inhibitor on the corrosion of mild steel has been studied. The
physico-chemical methods including weight loss measurements and electrochemical
techniques such as potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedence
spectroscopy and open circuit potential were employed for analyzing the inhibition
efficiency. The passive layer formed on the mild steel surface was analysed by using
SEM and AFM images. The adsorption of inhibitors on mild steel surface obeys the
Langmuir adsorption isotherm. It has been found that combination of CSPE and
tungstate acts as an excellent inhibitor for the corrosion of mild steel in aqueous
media and found that it was very high in the case of 2000 ppm CSPE+1000 ppm
tungstate. Inhibition efficiency was determined by comparing the corrosion rates in
the absence and presence of additive. The synergistic action of CSPE and tungstate,
an effective passive film formed on the surface of mild steel prevents corrosion
effectively.
Keywords: Corrosion, Surfaces, Thin films.
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: smashibli@yahoo.com
The inhibitive effect of caesalpinia sappan
INTRODUCTION
Corrosion attack observed on the inner walls of the cooling water systems due to the
presence of foreign particles is a serious problem Basak Dogru Mert et al (2014).
The containers of the cooling water systems are normally made up of mild steel. Use
of inhibitors is one of the most practical methods for the protection of mild steel
against corrosion Gece, G.(2011). The synergistic inhibition of mild steel corrosion
by sodium phosphate and sodium tungstate has also been reported Shibli, S.M.A.
and Saji, V.S, (2002). Considering the mechanism of inhibition action by tungstate,
it was proposed to utilise as anti-oxidant to eliminate stray oxygen in the solution
left out by tungstate. Its inhibition efficiency has also been found to increase with
increase in concentration of tungstate and the extend of aeration. While increase in
concentration beyond certain level does not bring any substantial effect, maximum
efficiency is achieved only in air saturated medium Da-Quan Zhang , Huan Wu, LiXin Gao.(2012). Extracts of plant materials contain wide variety of organic
compounds having hetero atoms such as Phosphorous, Nitrogen, Sulphur and
Oxygen Fedel, M. (2014). These hetero atoms co-ordinates with the corroding metal
atom (their ions) through their electrons. The inhibition efficiency has been
described as primarly due to their adsorption at corroding metal surfaces. A
protective film forms due to adsorption of the corroding surface or the consumption
of electrons; however in most cases, they act as both anodic and cathodic inhibitors.
Caesalpinia sappan contains the heterocyclic rings, electrons and polar sites which
are characteristic properties of an inhibitor. Badami, S. Moorkath (2003), Orapaun
Yodsaoue et al (2008). Due to inability to shift the potential to more noble values
and its low oxidising character, it was proposed to use tungstate along with a
suitable plant extract, say Caesalpinia sappan. The present study is about the
corrosion inhibition of Caesalpinia sappan along with tungstate.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Mild steel specimen of 98.8 % purity was used for this study. The heartwood of
Caesalpinia sappan was dried and powdered. Stock solution of Sappan was
extracted by reflux of 100 g of the dry materials in 500 ml bidistilled water for 5
hour. The concentration of Caesalpinia sappan plant extract (CSPE) employed was
varied from 500 ppm to 10000 ppm. Then 1000 ppm and 10000 ppm tungstate were
prepared and used in combination with CSPE. The percentage inhibition efficiency
was calculated from weight loss study using the equation,
IE (%)
=
(W1 W2) x 100/W1
254
Where W1 and W2 weight loss of mild steel in uninhibited and inhibited solution.
The variation of OCP wa s then measured as a function of time until a steady value
was attained. Galvanostatic polarization studies were also carried out using systronix
digital multimeters. The inhibition efficiency E% was calculated from the values of
current density icorr and the corrosion potential Ecorr using the equation,
E%
= ( i0corr icorr )x100/( i0corr)
0
Where i corr - current density in blank solution and icorr - current density in inhibitor
solution. AC impedance measurements were carried out inorder to detect the
passive layer formed on the metal surface. Structural and topographical features was
examined by SEM and AFM. Langmuir adsorption isotherm was also performed

Evaluation by weight loss measurements: the values of corrosion rate and inhibition
efficiency of mild steel specimens exposed to different concentrations CSPE and
tungstate is shown in Table.1. It was observed that the inhibition efficiency vary
with concentration and maximum inhibition efficiency was observed at combination
of 2000 ppm CSPE and 1000 ppm tungstate (95.23%). This excellent inhibition
efficiency may be attributed to the formation of a barrier film due to adsorption of
inhibitor molecules on metal surface involving interactions between pi electrons of
inhibitor molecules and vacant d-orbitals of Fe surface atoms.
Table 1. Kinetic parameters for mild steel in absence and presence of

different combination inhibitiors from weights loss measurements.
Concentration
of CSPE(ppm)
0
500
500
1000
1000
2000
2000
5000
5000
10000
10000
Concentratio
n
of Weight loss
tungstate
(g)
(ppm)
0
0.105
10000
0.027
1000
0.026
10000
0.032
1000
0.028
10000
0.015
1000
0.005
10000
0.019
1000
0.010
10000
0.021
1000
0.028
Inhibition
Efficiency
(%)
74.28
75.24
70.48
73.33
85.71
95.23
81.90
90.48
80.48
73.33
255
Potential, mV vs SCE
Electrochemical evaluation of corrosion inhibition: The trend of OCP decays with

different combinations of CSPE and tungstate are shown in Fig.1. The combination
of CSPE and tungstate was able to bring the potential values towards positive
region. This was due to the ability of inhibitor to form a passive film on the surface
of mild steel strips. The initial change in potential indicated the dissolution of air
formed oxide film on the metal surface. But after some time potential become steady
indicating the repair of film on the surface. In the case of solution containing 2000
ppm CSPE+1000 ppm tungstate, OCP value bring down to +65.5 mV. This was due
to the formation of a strongly adsorbed stable film on the surface of the mild steel
specimens.
Time, hours
Fig. 1. The variation of OCP decay for mild steel at temperature 30 oC [blank solution, -500 ppm CSPE+ 1000 ppm tungstate, -1000 ppm
CSPE+1000 ppm tungstate, -2000 ppm CSPE+1000 ppm tungstate
Tafel plots are shown in the Fig. 2. The less polarization indicating the high stability
of passive films. The curve showed 2000 ppm CSPE+1000 ppm tungstate
combination get least polarized and minimum corrosion current. The polarization
curves shifted more towards both anodic and cathodic region.
256
Fig.2. Tafel plots of mild steel at room temperature [-blank solution, -500
ppm CSPE+1000 ppm tungstate, -1000 ppm CSPE+1000 ppm tungstate, 2000 ppm CSPE+1000 ppm tungstate].
Analysis of AC impedence spectra: EIS shown in Fig. 3. EIS shows that charge
transfer resistence is high and the double layer capacitance is low for mild steel
immersed in inhibitor solution
Fig.3. The electrochemical impedance in (a) absence and (b) presence of

inhibitor solution.
257
Surface Analysis: The scanning electron micrographs (SEM) are represented

in Fig .4. The surface of the polished mild steel surface was very clear and is
free of any irregularities. The surface of mild steel immersed in blank
solution becomes non-homogeneous. Some cracks and fissures were also
observed on this surface. While the effective passive film formed by
inhibitor solution of 2000 ppm CSPE+1000 ppm tungstate protects the mild
steel from corrosion.
Fig. 4. SEM images of (a) Polished mild steel surface, (b) mild steel
surface after immersion in blank solution and (c) in the inhibitor
solution (2000 ppm CSPE+ 1000 ppm tungstate) for a period of 3 hours.
258
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images are represented in Fig. 5. AFM conforms
that the inhibitor mitigated corrosion of mild steel through formation of
passive layer on the surface.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 5. AFM images of Mild steel in (a) absence and (b) presence of inhibitor
solution.
Adsorption isotherm: The Langmuir adsorption isotherm was shown in Fig .6. The
adsorption of inhibitors on mild steel surface obeys the Langmuir adsorption
isotherm. Langmuir adsorption isotherm assumed that adsorbed molecules occupied
only on one site and there was no interaction with other molecules adsorbed. The
values of Gibbs Free energy of adsorption shown in Table.2.
Fig. 6. Langmuir Adsorption isotherm for inhibitors on mild steel

Table.2. The values of free Gibbs energy of adsorption calculated using different
studies
Methods
slope
R2
K(g/L)
Gads(KJ/mol)
Weight loss
1.09
0.9975
17.21
-24.33
Potentiodynamic 1.02
0.9948
15.43
-24.05
EIS
1.12
0.9986
21.46
-24.88
259
Potential,mV vs SCE
Evaluation under extreme experimental conditions and interference:

Evaluation under extreme conditions are shown in Fig. 7.
-0.66
(b)
-10
(a)
-0.69
30
-50
-0.72
-90
-130
-0.75
1
21
41
11
Time, hours
Time, hours
100
-100
(c)
-300
-500
1
Time, hours
Fig. 7. The variation of OCP on the surface of the coupons with optimum inhibitor
combination (a) at a temperature of 80 oC, (b) at room temperature under stagnant
condition [-50 % dilution, - 75 % dilution] and (c) with different concentration of
chloride ion concentrations at room temperature. [-60 ppm Cl-, -600 ppm Cl-, 6000 ppm Cl-, -10000 ppm Cl- , -2000 ppm Cl- ]
CONCLUSION
1) Weight loss method, Open circuit potential, potentiodynamic polarization studies
and surface analysis proved that combination of 2000 ppm CSPE + 1000 ppm
tungstate showed higher inhibition efficiency.
2) AC impedance of mild steel showed that charge transfer transition is high where
as the double layer capacitance value is low for optimum concentration of
inhibitor combination.
3) Polarization studies clearly revealed that the inhibitor acts as mixed-type
inhibitor.
4) SEM and AFM analysis showed that corrosion inhibition of mild steel is due to
the formation of passive layer on the surface.
5) The adsorption of inhibitors on mild steel occurs through Langmuir adsorption
isotherm.
6) The synergistic effect of CSPE with tungstate is a good inhibitor for protection of
260
mild steel in cooling water systems.
CSPE is ecofriendly and can be prepared with low cost optimization

and its efficiency in inhibiting MS corrosion can extent apart from cooling
water systems, for other systems containing acidic and alkaline solutions.
REFERENCES
Badami, S. Moorkath, S. Rai, S.R. Kannan, E. Bhojraj, S. (2003), Antioxidant
activity of Caesalpinia Sappan heart-wood, Biol. Pharm.Bull. 26, 1534-1537.
Basak Dogru Mert, Ayse Ongun Yuce, Gulfeza Kardas, Birgul Yazici, (2014),
Inhibition effect of 2- amino-4-methylpyridineon mild steel corrosion, Corrosion
science, 85, 287-295.
Da-Quan Zhang , Huan Wu, Li-Xin Gao.(2012), Synergistic inhibition effect of Lphenylalanine and rare earth Ce (IV) ion on the corrosion of copper in hydrochloric
acid solution, Materials Chemistry and physics 133, 981-986.
Fedel, M. Ahniyaz ,A. Ecco, L.G. and Deflorian, F. (2014) Electrochemical
investigation of the inhibition effect of CeO2 nanoparticles on the corrosion of mild
steel, Electrochimica Acta, 131 , 71-78.
Gece , G.(2011) Drugs: a review of promising novel corrosin inhibitors,
Corrosion Science, 53, 3873- 3898.
Orapun Yodsaoue, Sarot Cheenpracha et al, (2008) Phanginin A-K, diterpenoids
from the Caesalpinia Sappan Linn, Phytochemistry, 69, 1242-1249.
Shibli, S.M.A. and Saji, V.S, (2002) Corrosion inhibitors in cooling towers, chem
ind Digest, 74-80.
261
262

Selection of the Material for Welded Disc Bellows for

FBR Applications in Low and High Fluence
Environment
S. C. S. P. Kumar Krovvidi1,E.Ramesh2, R.Vijayashree3,
B.Anandapadmanaban4, G.Srinivasan5
1
2, 4, 5
Fast Reactor Technology Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research,
Reactor operation and Maintenance Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic,
3
Reactor Design Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research,
Kalpakkam, 603102
ABSTRACT
Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) is a sodium cooled type experimental reactor. Six
numbers of Control Rod Drive Mechanisms (CRDM) along with their B 4C control
rods perform reactor start up, controlled shutdown, reactivity control for power
changing & burn-up compensation and to shut down the reactor by SCRAM action
during abnormal conditions. Lower part of the CRDM which consists of translation
tube, outer sheath and gripper is partially immersed in sodium. Nested ripple type
welded disc bellows called translation bellows prevents entry of sodium in the space
between the translation tube and outer sheath. Indigenous development of the
bellows was taken up. Literature survey on operating experience on bellows for FBR
applications revealed that SS 316Ti & SS 316 LN, Inconel-718 and AM 350 are the
most commonly used material for welded disc bellows. Mechanical properties,
weldability and heat treatment requirements of these materials are compared. Based
on the operating stresses, SS 316LN is not suitable and based on irradiation induced
embrittlement, Inconel-718 is not suitable for this application. AM 350 is a doubly
heat treated duplex stainless steel. AM 350 has good mechanical strength (far
superior compared to austenitic stainless steels) at room temperature as well as at
elevated temperatures up to 530oC. Though AM350 calls for stringent heat treatment
requirement, due to its better mechanical properties at high neutron fluence
ambience, this material is selected for translation bellows in CRDMs of FBTR.
Corresponding author. E-mail: Krovvidi@igcar.gov.in
Selection of the material for welded disc bellows for FBR applications
INTRODUCTION
Fast breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) is a fast reactor using liquid sodium as coolant,
which is currently under operation at Kalpakkam. Reactor startup, power control and
safe shutdown by SCRAM action during abnormal conditions will be done by 6
numbers B4C Control Rods (CR) with their drive mechanisms (CRDM). The lower
part of the CRDM consists of three concentric tubes called stationary tube sheath,
Translation tube and gripper control tube. Two metallic bellows are used for
preventing the entry of the sodium in the annular spaces between the tubes. The
bellows used to prevent the entry of sodium between the tube sheath and translation
tune is called translation bellows and Gripper bellows prevent the entry of the
sodium between translation tube to gripper control tube. One end of the translation
bellows is welded to the translation tube and the other end is welded to the tube
sheath of the CRDM. Fig. 1 gives the schematic of the FBTR CRDM with metallic
bellows in position. In case of failure of the bellows, entire lower part of the CRDM
shall be replaced as bellows alone cannot be replaced due to radio activity. Hence
the material selection, design and development of the bellows are very crucial in
ensuring reactor availability. As a part of indigenous development of bellows for
CRDMs of FBTR, a study was made for proper material selection of the bellows.
Based on literature survey1, the suitable materials for bellows in FBR applications
are austenitic stainless steels, AM350 and Alloy 718. A comparative study of the
properties of materials SS316LN, AM 350 and Alloy 718 is made to select the
materials for the translation bellows used in FBTR CRDMs. For each material, the
high temperature strength, weldability and post weld heat treatments requirements
are given below.
2. SPECIFICATIONS OF TRANSLATION BELLOWS OF FBTR CRDMs
The specifications of FBTR CRDM translation bellows are given in the table 1.
Table 1 Specifications of the translation bellows
Type of bellows
Nested ripple type welded disc bellows
Inside diameter
76 mm
Outside diameter
102 mm
Free length
823 mm
Compressed length
323 mm
External pressure
1075 mbar (abs)
Internal pressure
1020 mbar (abs)
Accidental case
3 bar (once during service)
Stroke
500 mm
Order of stiffness
0.025 kg/mm
264
Application of the U shape convoluted, formed bellows is limited up to the ratio of

the stroke to the free length of the bellows (/l) less 0.33. In the present case the
ratio /l is 500/823 =0.61 and hence, nested ripple type welded disc bellows were
selected. The geometry of the translation bellows was modelled, linear elastic FE
analysis was done by considering Youngs modulus E = 200 GPa and = 0.3 and
the results are given in Ref.3. Based on the FE analysis of translation bellows, the
approximate stress developed due to translation (excluding the load due to
deceleration of the translation tube during breaking travel) is around 379 MPa.
Figure 1 FBTR CRDM with leak-tight barriers

265
SELECTION OF THE MATERIAL

Mechanical properties, irradiation behavior, weldability and heat treatment
requirement of the three materials of consideration were discussed below.
AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEELS
Steels from 304 & 316 family are widely used for bellows. For high temperature
applications such as in Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactors, SS316 is widely used
for its better high temperature strength. In order to address the issue of the
sensitization during welding, Ti stabilized, SS316Ti (comparable with SS321) is
widely used by bellows manufacturing industry. The Ti stabilized steels show knifeline attack during high temperature application and hence for Fast Breeder Reactor
applications, nitrogen added low carbon grade viz. SS316LN is preferred over other
grades. The chemical composition of SS316LN is given in the following table 2.
Table 2 Chemical composition of SS 316LN
Element
% composition
Carbon
0.03
Manganese
1.6 2.0
Chromium
17.0 18.0
Nickel
12.0 12.5
Molybdenum
2.3 2.7
Cobalt
0.25
Nitrogen
0.06 0.08
Copper
1.0
Iron
Balance
The mechanical properties of SS316LN are given in the following table 3[3].
Table 3 Mechanical properties of SS316LN
Temperature (oC)
20
200
427
550
Yield stress at 0.2% offset

(MPa)
220
152
120
113
Tensile strength
(MPa)
525
433
428
395
SS 316LN is ductile with ~35 % elongation. It is having good weldability and due to
low carbon content, the problems associated with the sensitization and SCC are less.
The welding consumables (16 8 2 filler wires and E316) are well established. SS
266
316LN does not require preheating or post weld heat treatment. The change in
ductility of SS316LN with exposures up to 10dpa is not significant.
PROPERTIES OF AM 350
AM 350 (UNS No. SS 350000) is a doubly heat treated (Phase transformation and
precipitation hardening) duplex stainless steel consisting of austenitic & martensitic
phases at room temperature. The mechanical strength of the AM 350 is superior to
conventional austenitic stainless steels[2]. The chemical composition of AM 350 is
given in the following table 4.
Table 4 Chemical composition of AM350
Element
Carbon
Manganese
Phosphorous
Sulfur
Silicon
Chromium
Nickel
Molybdenum
Nitrogen
Iron
% composition
0.070.11
0.51.25
0.04 max
0.03 max
0.5 max
1617
45
2.53.25
0.070.13
Balance
In solution annealed condition (H), the material possesses an austenitic structure,

although it has several percent delta ferrite. As an austenitic material, the AM 350
precipitation hardening alloy possesses a relatively low strength. This is the
condition in which formability is easiest.
To develop the high precipitation hardened strength, from condition H, heat
treatments are done to accomplish two necessary steps. The first is a heat treatment
which allows the relatively stable austenite of Condition H to transform to
martensite (Austenite Conditioning and Transformation). The second is a
precipitation hardening heat treatment to further strengthen the material.
Conventional practice of the heat treatment of AM350 is given in figure 2.
Based on the heat treatment process, AM 350 is designated as DA or SCT condition.
The other method to produce martensitic structure in AM350 is by cold working and
designated as CRT condition. Based on relatively higher ductility, AM350 in SCT
condition is widely used.
267
Typical room temperature properties of AM 350 for different grades are given in
table 5 and high temperature properties of SCT (850) are given in table 6.
Table 5 Room temperature properties of various grades of AM350

Condition H
Condition
DA
1100
0.2% Yield Strength 480

(MPa)
UTS (MPa)
1035
1310
% Elongation
30 to 35
13.5
HRC
20
42
(Courtesy: Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corporation)
Condition
SCT (850oF)
1380
Condition
SCT (1000oF)
1020
1520
13.5
45
1165
15
38
Table 6 Mechanical properties of AM 350 at different temperatures

Temperature
(oC)
20
200
427
537
268
Yield stress at 0.2% offset (MPa)

1172
972
861
586
Tensile strength
(MPa)
1400
1296
1290
730
Figure 2 Heat treatment of AM 350 (Courtesy: ATI properties, Inc.)

Comparison of the rupture strength of the AM 350 material and SS 316LN is given
in the following table 7 [4].
Table 7 Comparison of Rupture strength of AM350 and SS316LN
Temperature (oC)
425
480
Material
SS 316LN
AM350
SS 316LN
AM350
10 h
427
1280
419
1015
Stress to rupture
100 h
1000 h
427
427
1270
1255
419
419
835
655
AM 350 has good mechanical strengths at room temperature as well as at elevated

temperatures around 500oC. Above 500oC, sudden decrease in the mechanical
properties of AM 350 is noticed. The same is shown in graphically in Fig. 3 & 4.
269
Figure 3 AM350 mechanical strength at

different temperatures
Figure 4 Reduction of AM350

mechanical strength with increase in
temperatures
(Courtesy: Military Handbook - MIL-HDBK-5H: Metallic Materials and Elements
for Aerospace Vehicle Structures (Knovel Interactive Edition)
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE OF AM350
Use of AM350 at 550oC and above is limited to very short time. As reported in
IWGFR-32 (specialist meeting on sodium bellows)[1], The of AM 350 in the French
reactor Rapsodie was considered as the actual operating temperatures are closely
within 520oC. As the operating temperatures of FBTR also of the same range, use of
AM 350 can be considered strongly. It was also reported that use of the material for
power reactors like Phenix is restricted as the sodium temperatures are considerably
high.
FORMING AND WELDING OF AM350

Forming of AM350 shall be done in condition H or annealed condition. In that
condition, the material possesses good ductility which is comparable with austenitic
stainless steels. It is worth noting that the 2% YS of AM 350 (420 MPa) in condition
H itself is almost twice of that of SS 316. Hence, for stress ranges just above the
allowable for SS 316 (or 316LN) and within the condition H of the material, it is
worth using the material in condition H itself.
Literature survey gives that[2] during welding of the AM 350,
The weld metal consist of a small amount of ferrite in matrix that is
essentially austenite (with HRB-90)
The base metal immediately adjacent to the weld displays a high
temperature annealed (austenitic structure) with HRB 90
The base metal in a narrow zone just beyond the annealed zone (2) is
slightly hardened slightly HRC155
Hence after fusion welding, if the assembly is given the customary double heat
treatment, uniform characteristics in the all the above mentioned zones can be
270
achieved. Sometimes, it is recommended to go for SCT(1000oF) though little

strength reduction is there. Condition H itself is used in service, it does not result in
much change in the weldment and heat effected zones properties compared to the
SCT or DA grades. AM 350 is weldable in H grade with the conventional 18-8-2
filler wires. This material also does not show any irradiation embrittlement.
PROPERTIES INCONEL 718
This material is also a potential material for manufacturing bellows and its chemical
composition is given in the following table 8.
Table 8 Chemical composition of inconel-718
Element
Nickel + Cobalt
Chromium
Aluminum
Niobium +Tantalum
Molybdenum
Titanium
Iron
Content
50 - 55 %
17 - 21 %
0.2 - 0.8 %
4.75 - 5.5 %
2.8 - 3.3 %
0.65 - 1.15 %
Balance
Mechanical strength of Inconel 718 is given in the following figure 5. Inconel 718
has good high temperature strength, with a rupture life of 3105 hrs is reported at
537 MPa and 5600C[5].
Figure 5 High temperature strength of inconel 718

High temperature strength of alloy 718 is much higher than the operating stress
levels of the bellows which gives alloy 718 is a good option for translation bellows.
The welding and heat treatment of the material also standardized. Limitations of
Inconel 718 in the present application are given in literature [1 & 6] that the irradiation
on Inconel 718 results in drastic reduction of its toughness and other mechanical
properties. Fig. 6 gives the reduction in the mechanical properties of Inconel 718
with irradiation. For non nuclear applications both at room temperature and at
elevated temperature applications, this material can be used. For reactor applications
271
where there is an axial shielding, which limits the dose on the components within
0.12 displacements per atom, this material can be readily used.
Fig. 6A: Stress-strain curve of

Inconel 718 (hardened) at various
doses
Fig. 6B: Stress-strain curve of Inconel 718

(Solution Annealed) at various doses
Fig. 6: Irradiation strength of Inconel 718
CONCLUSION
If the operating stress range is less, SS316LN is a good choice of material in high as
well as in low neutron fluence conditions. There is no problem associated with
embrittlement of SS 316LN due to irradiation. However for FBTR translation
bellows, the operating stress range is 379 MPa, which is more than 2y (226 MPa) of
SS316LN. Based on operating stress range, SS 316LN is not recommended. It was
found that inconel-718 posses adequate high temperature strength with better creep
properties and the process & process parameters for welding of thin plies of inconel718 are also available in literature. The application of inconel-718 is limited by its
embrittlement due to irradiation even at lower dpa. Inconel 718 for welded disc
bellows is recommended for application where there is no fluence or non nuclear
applications. In FBTR, there is no axial shielding and hence the neutron irradiation
on the bellows is considerable. Though there is considerable reduction in strength by
around 45% at 537oC, the yield strength of AM 350 materials is reasonably high at
temperatures corresponding to operating temperatures of FBTR. AM350 does not
exhibits the irradiation induced embrittlement. International operating experience of
AM350 as a material for welded disc bellows shown a satisfactory performance of
the material up to 530oC, close to operating temperatures of FBTR. Hence, AM350
is recommended as material for translation bellows in CRDMs in FBTR. The
272
stringent requirements of AM 350 with respect to heat treatment shall be met, unless
it is used in condition H (solution annealed condition) itself.
REFERENCES
IAEA-IWGFR-32 (1979), Specialist meeting on sodium bellows, Tokyo, Japan.
ASM Specialty Handbook (1994) Stainless Steels, ASM international.
ASME unfired boiler & pressure vessel code section-II, Part D, 2013 edition.
K.Balachander et.al (1996), Creep Fatigue testing of bellows in sodium, Trans.
Indian Inst. of metals, Volume 49.
ASTM B670, Standard Specification for Precipitation-Hardening Nickel Alloy
(UNS N07718) for High-Temperature Service, 2013.
T.S. Byun, K. Farrell (2003), Tensile properties of Inconel 718 after low
temperature neutron irradiation, Journal of Nuclear Materials 31, 292299.
273
274

Effective and Robust Impregnated and Strewn

Polystyrene-Supported Floating Titanium Dioxide
Photocatalysts: Preparation, Characterization and
Comparison
Seema Singh1, Pramod Kumar Singh1, Hari Mahalingam1*
1
Department of Chemical Engineering, Jaypee University of Engineering and

Technology, Guna 473226, Madhya Pradesh, India
ABSTRACT
Highly effective floating polystyrene-supported photocatalysts based on titanium
dioxide particles immobilized into and onto the polystyrene matrix were developed
using two different solvent cast techniques, namely impregnation and strewing. The
developed photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron
microscopy and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The photocatalytic
activities of the developed photocatalysts was investigated by studying the
photodiscoloration of methylene blue dye in aqueous solution at its natural pH
under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation employing non-anchored and non-stirred
conditions. The maximum color removal efficiencies achieved by the developed and
optimized impregnated and strewn photocatalysts were around 93 % after 7.5 h and
96 % after 6.5 h of UV irradiation (254 nm). On comparison, it was found that the
color removal efficiency of strewn photocatalyst was greater than that of
impregnated sheet with optimized strewn photocatalyst achieving around 93 % of
photo discoloration of the dye in 6 h of UV irradiation as compared to around 85 %
achieved by the optimized impregnated sheet. The photocatalytic activities of the
optimized impregnated and strewn sheets were found to be sustained upon reuse for
three consecutive reaction runs and were in the range of 93-100 % and 96-100 %
respectively.
INTRODUCTION
TiO2, which is commonly known as titania, is one of the most popular and efficient
photocatalysts used in a wide range of applications [Singh et al. (2013)]. In spite of
the significant progress made in the development of TiO 2 photocatalysts, their
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: hari.mahalingam@juet.ac.in
Effective and robust impregnated and strewn polystyrene-supported floating .
commercialization in environmental remediation is still hindered due to the costly

and time consuming post-treatment recovery of the very fine titanium dioxide
particles [Yang et al. (2006), Zeng (2011), Pelaez et al. (2012)]. To overcome this
limitation, extensive research is being carried out to immobilize TiO 2 on various
substrates such as glass mats, inorganic carbon fabrics , natural and synthetic fabrics,
plastics, polymers, fly ash, vycor glass, hollow glass spheres and reactor walls
[Singh et al. (2013)]. Of the various supports reported in the literature, polymeric
substrates have been drawing a lot of recent research interest due to their properties
such as chemical inertness, mechanical stability, high durability, ease of availability,
thermo softening and hydrophobic nature. Most of them also possess low density
[Fabiyi and Skelton (2000), Shan and Ghazi (2010), Magalhaes et al. (2011), Singh
et al. (2013)].
In the present work, TiO2 particles have been anchored on polystyrene (PS) matrix
by using two different solvent cast techniques, namely, impregnation and strewing.
These simple and inexpensive methodologies have been explored in this work to
fabricate buoyant doped titania photocatalysts. PS has been chosen for anchoring
titania particles as it thermo-softens, is readily available, inert, inexpensive, has low
density, and is non-toxic [Fa et al. (2013)]. Additionally, PS was selected with the
vision of adopting a similar method for utilization of abundantly available PS waste
in future. The photocatalytic activity (PCA) of the prepared photocatalysts was
investigated by studying the photocatalytic discoloration of methylene blue (MB)
dye under UV irradiation. The reusability of the developed photocatalysts was also
investigated.
EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS
CHEMICALS
TiO2 (Degussa P25) from Evonik Degussa AG, Germany; PS beads from SigmaAldrich; Xylene (GR) from Merck India Limited; MB obtained from Merck India
Limited and used without further purification; HCl and NaOH from Merck India
Limited. Double distilled water was used throughout the study.
INSTRUMENTS
ELICO SL159 UV-Vis spectrophotometer, PANalytical Xpert PRO X-ray
diffractometer, Mirero Inc. AIS-2100 scanning electron microscope (SEM), Thermo
Nicolet-Avatar 370 Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, Philips UV-C
lamp (5 x 20 W), Remi magnetic stirrer, Remi R-8C laboratory centrifuge,
Systronics digital pH meter and Sartorius BSA423S-CW electronic precision
balance
PREPARATION OF BUOYANT IMPREGNATED TIO2/PS PHOTOCATALYST
The buoyant TiO2/PS photocatalyst was prepared at ambient temperature (25 C 2
C) using the solvent cast method. PS beads (5.0 g) were completely dissolved in 20
mL of xylene. To the required amount of TiO2 Degussa P25 (as calculated with
276
respect to a particular wt% based on the amount of the polymer used), another 20
mL of xylene was added and stirred vigorously. Thereafter, the PS solution was
carefully and slowly added to TiO2 suspension and further stirred at a high speed.
Aliquots (10 mL) of TiO2-PS-xylene suspension were casted in glass petri dishes (85
mm diameter) and these dishes were placed in a fume hood at room temperature in
the dark. The dried polymer films were carefully removed from the petri dishes,
flipped and further dried. Thereafter, the polymer sheets were washed with doubledistilled water, dried and stored in the dark until use. The obtained sheet was
designated as PSPC (I-10). It may be noted that the 10 wt% was the optimized
quantity based on experiments conducted (details not shown) and thus has been
chosen as the representative sample.
PREPARATION OF BUOYANT STREWN TIO2/PS PHOTOCATALYST
PS beads (5.0 g) were dissolved in 20 mL of xylene. Aliquots (10 mL) of PS-xylene
solution were casted in glass petri dishes (85 mm diameter) and were placed in a
fume hood at room temperature (25 2 C) in the dark until gel formation.
Thereafter, the required amount of TiO2 was randomly strewed onto the surface of
the polymer by using a conventional tea strainer fitted with a nylon 32-mesh sieve
(mesh opening size = 0.5 mm). Subsequently, the dishes containing TiO 2 strewn PS
sheets were placed in a fume hood at room temperature. After about 36 h, the dried
strewn polymer films were carefully removed from the petri dishes, and further dried
in an oven maintained at (100 5 C) for 1 h. Thereafter, the polymer sheets were
gently washed with double-distilled water, dried and stored in the dark until use. The
obtained PS sheets corresponding to 10 wt% (optimized) were designated as PSPC
(S-10).
PHOTOCATALYST CHARACTERIZATION
To identify and confirm the crystalline phases of TiO2 Degussa P25 and PSPC (I-10)
and PSPC (S-10) sheets, XRD analyses were performed. Density measurements for
all the prepared sheets were also done so as to establish their buoyancy. The surface
morphologies of the TiO2 Degussa P25 powder and the prepared photocatalysts were
observed by using SEM. Further, to establish the stability of the prepared
photocatalysts in UV light, FTIR analyses of the PSPC (I-10) sheet before UV
exposure and after 8 h of UV exposure (sheets placed in MB solution) were also
carried out.
PHOTOCATALYTIC ACTIVITY
The PCA of the prepared sheets was investigated by the discoloration of MB dye in
its aqueous solution under UV light (254 nm) at the dyes natural pH of 7.68
(concentration = 1.56 x 10-5 M). For this, complete PSPC (I-10) and PSPC (S-10)
sheets were placed in separate petri dishes (100 mm diameter) and 50 mL of MB dye
277
solution (concentration = 5 mg L-1) was poured into each of them. The solutions
were neither stirred nor were the photocatalysts anchored. Prior to irradiation, the
solutions were kept in the dark for 2 h to reach adsorption-desorption equilibrium.
Thereafter, the solutions were irradiated with UV light for 7.5 h and 6.5 h
respectively using a laboratory constructed irradiation system consisting of a
wooden box with five UVC tube lights (20 W each) fitted on top so as to provide
only surface illumination. During the experimental runs, aliquots of dye solutions
were collected at regular time intervals and analyzed with the help of UV-Vis
spectrophotometer at max = 664 nm. Two controlled experiments were also
conducted: one with only MB solution and the other with pristine PS sheet dipped in
MB solution. The absorbance values obtained were used to determine the
concentration of MB solution quantitatively with the help of calibration graph (R2 =
0.9966) constructed for MB from its standard solutions prepared at various
concentrations.

PHOTOCATALYST CHARACTERIZATION
The XRD analyses (Figure 1) of pure TiO2 Degussa P25, PSPC (I-10) and PSPC (S10) sheets show very similar diffraction patterns. These results clearly suggest that
no change in the crystal structure of TiO2 was produced during the preparation of the
photocatalyst. A large broad peak near 2 = 20 is observed in the diffraction
patterns of impregnated and strewn sheets which can be attributed to the scattering
of the X-ray by the polymer. From the FTIR analyses [Figure 2], it is observed that
broadly similar spectra have been obtained for the impregnated photocatalyst before
and after exposure to 8 h of UV light. The mild differences in the spectra may
indicate the possibility of structural changes in the polymer after prolonged exposure
to very intense UV light (100 W). The density of all the prepared TiO2/PS
photocatalysts was found to be in the range of 0.8-1 g cm-3.
Fig.1 XRD pattern of TiO2 P25 and

impregnated and strewn photocatalysts
278
Fig.2 FTIR spectrum of PSPC (I-10)

before and after 8 h of UV irradiation
The SEM analysis of TiO2 P25 [Figure 3(a)] shows an aggregated material
consisting of spherical particles. The SEM image of PSPC (I-10) [Figure 3(b)]
suggests dispersion of titania particles into the polymer matrix whereas that of
strewn sheet [Figure 3(c)] show aggregates of TiO2 particles that cover most of the
surface of the PS matrix and impart roughness to the surface. Small pores are also
observed that could possibly be attributed to the evaporation of the solvent from the
polymer surface.
Fig.3 SEM images of (a) TiO2 P25, (b) PSPC (I-10) and (c) PSPC (S-10) Photocatalysts
STUDIES ON THE PCA
The percentage color removal of MB dye by the PSPC (I-10) and PSPC (S-10)
samples after UV irradiation is illustrated in Figure 4. It was observed that the
impregnated and strewn sheet could remove around 93 % and 96 % of MB from its
aqueous solution after 7.5 and 6.5 h of UV exposure. On comparison, it was
observed that whereas the strewn photocatalyst achieved around 93 % of MB
decolorization within 6 h of UV illumination, the impregnated sheet could only
achieve 85 %. The difference in PCA of the impregnated and strewn sheets could be
ascribed to the location of titania particles into and onto the polymer matrix
respectively. The particles being adhered externally onto the surface of PS in case of
strewn sample have greater probability of interacting with the dye molecules and
thus possess a higher rate of adsorption and subsequently higher rate of
photocatalytic discoloration. For comparison, the degradation by 0.05 g (loading
amount = 1g L-1) of TiO2 P25 in slurry form was also investigated and it was
observed that it completely decolorized the MB solution within 1 h of UVC
illumination.
Fig.4 The efficiency of MB discoloration by PSPC (I-10) and PSPC (S-10) during three
consecutive reaction runs after 7.5 h and 6.5 h of UV irradiation
279
A slight discoloration of MB dye was also observed in blank experiments conducted

which could be attributed to the high intensity of light irradiation employed. For
investigating the reusability of the developed photocatalysts, the impregnated and
strewn sheets were recovered by sieving and then without any intermittent cleaning,
were used for discoloration of fresh MB dye solutions in two more consecutive
reaction runs. The efficiency of color removal achieved by the PSPC (I-10) and
PSPC (S-10) on reuse was in the range of 93-100 and 96-100 % respectively as
illustrated in Figure 4.
CONCLUSIONS
Two routes, namely, impregnation and strewing based on a simple and economical
solvent cast method has been used to develop buoyant, effective and robust PSsupported titania photocatalysts. The successful photodiscoloration of MB from its
aqueous solution under UV light without the need of any additional pH
arrangements and the ease of recovery further adds to the usefulness of the
developed photocatalysts. The maximum discoloration of the MB dye achieved by
the optimized impregnated and strewn sheet was around 96 and 93 % under UV
irradiation. The strewn photocatalyst exhibited a higher PCA as compared to the
impregnated sheet. Overall, both strewn and impregnated titania photocatalysts seem
to be promising candidates that need further investigation for large scale commercial
applications, such as, complete mineralization of persistent and toxic contaminants
from wastewater.
REFERENCES
Fa, W., Guo, L., Wang, J., Guo, R., Zheng, Z. and Yang, F. (2013), Solid-phase
Photocatalytic degradation of polystyrene with TiO2/Fe(St)3 as catalyst, J.Appl.
Polym. Sci., 128, 2618-2622.
Fabiyi, M.E. and Skelton, R.L. (2000), Photocatalytic mineralisation of methylene
blue using buoyant TiO2- coated polystyrene beads, J. Photochem. Photobiol. A,
132, 121128.
Magalhaes, F., Moura, F.C.C. and Lago, R.M. (2011), TiO2/LDPE composites: A
new floating photocatalyst for solar degradation of organic contaminants,
Desalination, 276, 266271.
Pelaez, M., Nolan, N.T., Pillai, S.C., Seery, M.K., Falaras, P., Kontos, A.G., Dunlop,
P.S.M., Hamilton, J.W.J., Byrne, J.A., OShea, K., Entezari, M.H. and Dionysiou,
.D. (2012), A review on the visible light active titanium dioxide photocatalysts for
environmental applications, Appl. Catal. B, 125, 331349.
Shan, A. Y., Ghazi, T. I. M. and Rashid, S. A. (2010), Immobilisation of titanium
dioxide onto supporting materials in heterogeneous photocatalysis: A review, Appl.
Catal. A, 389, 1-8.
280

Synthesis and Characterization of Bioactive Silver Nano Particles

using Uneconomic Weeds
Surega. R1, Anita. B2, Gunasekaran. K2 & Ramakrishnan.S3
1
Ph.D Scholar,
Professor &Head, 3Professor
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India.
2
ABSTRACT
Eco-friendly green synthesis with plant extracts plays a very important role in
nanotechnology, without any harmful chemicals. In this, Silver nanoparticles
(AgNPs) were synthesized from 1mM AgNo3 solution through the leaf extract of
Tridax procumbans as reducing and stabilizing agent. The observation was made
colour change from pale yellow to dark brown indicates the formation of silver
nanoparticles and they were characterized by UV-Vis, SEM, TEM with EDAX,
FT-IR and XRD analysis confirmed the presence of silver nanoparticles. This
reveals the reduction of silver ions (Ag+) to silver (Ago) which indicates the
formation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The silver nanoparticles were with an
average size of 2025 nm and mostly spherical. This type of plant mediated
synthesis appears to be cost effective, eco-friendly and easy alternative green
synthesis to conventional, physical and chemical methods to the synthesis of silver
nanoparticles.
INTRODUCTION
Biosynthesis of nanoparticles as an emerging highlight of the intersection of
nanotechnology and biotechnology has received increased attention due to growing
need to develop environmentally being technologies in material synthesis
(Bhattacharya and Gupt, 2005). A great deal of effort has been put into the
biosynthesis of inorganic material, especially metal nanoparticle using
microorganisms and plants (Mohanpuria Rana et al., 2007; Farooqui et al., 2010).
Corresponding author. E-mail: sureka.supa@gmail.com
Bioactive Silver Nano Particles

Nano silver has many important applications. It is used as an antimicrobial agent; it
is applied in textiles, home water purication systems, medical devices, cosmetics,
electronics, and household appliances (Wijnhoven et al., 2009). Besides their
antimicrobial features, silver nanoparticles exhibit strong optical features making the
nanoparticles suitable for biological sensing and imaging (Jain et al., 2008). Due to
their high conductivity, silver nanoparticles are applied in conductive inks,
adhesives and pastes for a range of electronic devices. Silver nanoparticles are also
used as catalysts in several chemical reactions such as the oxidation of styrene (Jiang
et al., 2005 and Xu et al., 2006).
In the present scenario, there is an urgent and continuous need of exploration and
development of cheaper, effective new plant based nanoparticles with better
bioactive potential and least side effects. The entire plant of T. procumbens is used
by indigenous people in Guatemala for the treatment of protozoal infections
(malaria, leishmaniasis, vaginitis, dysentery) and gastrointestinal disorders
(colic/stomach pains, gastritis/enterocolitis) by Park et al., 2008. Synthesis of silver
nanoparticles, reducing the silver ions present in the solution of silver nitrate by the
extract of Tridax procumbens leaf. Further these biologically synthesized silver
nanoparticles have high efficacy of antimicrobial activity.
Tridax procumbens was used for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. Plant extracts
were obtained by boiling 50 g of fresh chopped leaves in 500 ml of distilled water at
100 for 30 minutes and filtered through Whatman No. 1 filter paper and the total
volume was 400 ml. Filtered plant extract was finally used for the synthesis of silver
nanoparticles. Twenty five ml of leaf extract was added to 100ml of 1mM of AgNo 3
in a 250 ml conical flask and heated at 90oC for 10min. The content of the flasks
were stirred at 150 rpm at 30oC using the magnetic stirrer. The process was
continued till the change of color from green to dark brown indicating the synthesis
of silver nanoparticles. The extract was centrifuged at 6000 rpm for 20min and the
pellet was kept in hot air oven overnight at 70 oC to make a fine powder of
nanoparticles

CHARACTERIZATION OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES
The silver nanoparticles synthesized using plant extracts were characterized using
UV- Vis, SEM, TEM with EDAX and XRD, FTIR analysis.
UV-Vis
The reduction of pure Ag+ was monitored by measuring the UV-Vis
spectrum of the sample sonicated for 30 min at 8 min interval after suspended with
282
20 ml distilled water. The surface Plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles was

430 nm for Tridax procumbans.
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE (SEM) WITH (EDAX)
The particles were spherical in shape and agglomerated. The result of
Energy Dispersive Absorption Spectroscopy (EDAX) gives a clear idea about the
elemental composition in the biosynthesized Ag NPs. The strong signal of the Ag
atoms indicates the crystalline property. The presence of O peaks along with the Ag
signals, suggest that the Ag NPs are protected with phenolate ion. The optical
absorption peak is observed approximately at 3 keV. (Fig. 1)
Fig 1. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X ray
analysis (EDAX)
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE (TEM) WITH (EDAX)

TEM image for the biosynthesized silver NPs showed that the particles are
spherical in shape with size ranging from 20 to 50 nm. The silver nanoparticles
synthesized using Tridax procumbans, leaf extracts were scanned under TEM with
EDAX. The average mean size of Ag nanoparticles was 48.5 to 27.9 nm with the
EDAX spectrum, confirmed the elemental composition profile of the green
synthesized Ag NPs. The Cu peak was found to be appearing from the TEM copper
grid. (Fig. 2)
283

Fig 2. Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) with Energy Dispersive
X ray analysis (EDAX
XRD
To indexing X-ray diffraction analysis and the strong diffraction peaks
at 2 values of 28.60, 32.50, 38.380, 44.560, 46.420, 55.570, 64.780 and 77.020
corresponded to the crystal planes (101), (004) (111), (200), (200) (211), (220) and
(311) crystallographic planes, respectively indicates formation of silver nano particles
of the face centred cubic (fcc) structure of silver nano crystals (JCPDS Card No.
040783). the high intense peak for FCC materials is generally (111) reflection, which
is observed in the sample. The intensity of peaks reflected the high degree of
crystallinity of the silver nanoparticles. However, the diffraction peaks are broad
which indicating that the crystallite size is very small. The XRD shows that silver
nanoparticles formed are crystalline. The size of the Ag nanoparticles estimated
from the DebyeScherrer formula (Instrumental broadening) is 23 nm. (Fig. 3)
Fig. 3 XRD pattern for silver nano particles
284
FT-IR
FTIR measurements of the dried powder samples of silver to identify the
possible interactions between silver and bioactive molecules, which may be
responsible for synthesis and stabilization (capping material) of silver nanoparticles.
The absorbance bands analysis in bioreduction are observed in the region of 5004000cm are 867, 1639, 3357 cm. These absorbance bands are known to be
associated with the stretching vibrations forC C-C O, -C C- [(in ring) aromatic], C-C [(in ring) aromatic], C-O (esters, ethers) and C-O (polyols), respectively. In
particular region bands 1639 cm arises most probably from the C-O group of polyols
such as hydroxyl flavones and catechins. The total disappearance of band after the
bioreduction may be due to the fact that the polyols are mainly responsible for the
reduction of silver ions whereby they themselves get oxidized to unsaturated
carbonyl groups leading to a broad peak at 3357 cm for reduction of silver ions.
(Fig. 4)
Fig. 3 FTIR
CONCLUSIONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were successfully obtained from bioreduction

of silver nitrate using leaf extracts Tridax procumbens.
X-ray diffraction results clearly showed that the silver nanoparticles formed
by the reduction of Ag+ ions by the leaf extracts are crystalline in nature.
FTIR analysis revealed the efficient capping and stabilization properties of
these AgNPs.
The average mean size of Ag nanoparticles was 20 to 50 nm and were
spherical in morphology
285
REFERENCES
Bhattacharya, D. and Gupt, R.K. 2005, Nanotechnology and potential of
microorganisms, Critical Reviews in Biotechnology, 25, 199204.
Farooqui, M.A. Chauhan, P.S. Krishnamoorthy, P. Shaik, J. 2010, Extraction of
silver nanoparticles from
the leaf extracts of Clerodendrum inerme, Digest
Journal of Nanomaterials and Biostructures, 5, 4349.
Jain, P.K. Huang, X.H. El-Sayed, I.H. El-Sayed, M.A. 2008, Noble metals on the
nanoscale: optical and photothermal properties and some applications in imaging,
sensing, biology, and medicine, Accounts of Chemical Research, 41, 15781586.
Jiang, Z.J. Liu, C.Y. Sun, L.W. 2005, Catalytic properties of silver nanoparticles
supported on silica spheres, Journal of Physical Chemistry, B 109, 17301735.
Mohanpuria Rana, P.N.K. and Yadav, S.K. 2007, Biosynthesis of nanoparticle,
technological concepts and future applications, Journal of Nanoparticle Research,
7, 9275.
Park, K. Seo, D. Lee, J. 2008, Conductivity of silver paste prepared from
nanoparticles, Colloids and Surfaces, A 313, 351.
Wijnhoven, S.W.P. Peijnenburg, W.J.G.M. Herberts, C.A. Hagens, W.I. Zijverden,
M. Sips, A.J.A.M., Geertsma, R.E. 2009, Nano-silver: a review of available data
and knowledge gaps in human and environmental risk assessment, Nanotoxicology
3, 109.
Xu, R. Wang, D.S., Zhang, J.T. Li, Y.D. 2006, Shape-dependent catalytic activity
of silver nanoparticles for the oxidation of styrene, Chemistry, an Asian Journal,
1, 888893.
286

Study on the Treatment and Reuse of Agricultural

Waste Fibres
Beena, K.S1, Meril George2
1
Professor, School of Engineering, Cochin University of Science and TYechnology,

Cochin,Kerala, India.
2
Associate Professor, SCMS School of Engineering & Technology, Cochin, Kerala,
India.
ABSTRACT
The solid wastes contribute a major portion of soil contaminants. Large quantities of
wastes are being disposed of on land, land being an effective media of disposal of
waste. In spite of many advantages, generation of heavily polluted leachate,
presenting significant variations in both volumetric flow and chemical composition,
constitutes a major drawback. The leachate from the solid waste, get transported
through the soils to the surrounding area and pollute them by altering their
chemical and biological properties. The change in chemical and physical behaviour
of soils and the contamination of ground water is a cause of concern for geoenvironmental engineers. In an unlined landfill or a landfill with damaged liner
causing leakage of leachate, introduction of a permeable reactive barrier in the path
of leachate is an effective solution to prevent the uncontrolled release of leachate
into the environment. In this paper, studies have been conducted on some locally
available agricultural wastes to assess its feasibility as a reactive media in
permeable reactive barriers.
INTRODUCTION
With the exponential rise in population, generation of waste has become a great
trouble in modern world. Open dumping or land filling is quite a common practice
for disposal of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in India. Various studies in pollution
control and geo-techniques have revealed that as variety of solid wastes disposed
increases, large amounts of leachate will be generated and may create environmental
problems such as leaching of nutrients, carcinogens and heavy metals into the soil
which leads to contamination of soil and ground water systems. With the detection
2
Meril George. E-mail: merilgm@yahoo.com
Study on the Treatment and Reuse of Agricultural waste fibres
of environmental problems, stemming from ineffective waste containment,

considerable research and development has been devoted to the environment. The
main focus of this study is to suggest suitable cost-effective and locally available
agricultural wastes materials are to be developed as a reactive media of permeable
reactive barrier. The change in concentration of a synthetic leachate when passed
through these materials is studied by certain chemical analysis.
MATERIALS USED
Coir pith: India is the third largest country in terms of area and production of
coconut. Within India, Kerala has the highest concentration of coconut cultivation
(Kerala development report, 2008). Coir pith is a soft biomass separated from
coconut husk during the extraction of coir fibre (ash et.al, 2006). During the process
of production of one ton of coir approximately two tons of coir pith is produced
(Abesh and Anitha, 2013). Coir pith is of porous structure and organic nature. As it
is available in large scale in India, it would be an ideal choice as a study material.
Rice husk: India is the second largest producer and consumer of rice in the world.
Rice husk is a major by-product of the rice milling industry. It is highly porous and
lightweight, with a very high external surface area.
Sugar cane bagasse: Sugarcane is the world's largest crop. Bagasse is a by-product
of the sugar industry. For each 10 tonnes of sugarcane crushed, a sugar factory
produces nearly 3 tonnes of wet bagasse.
PREPARATION OF MATERIALS
Coir pith, rice husk and sugar cane bagasse were collected and air dried. The dried
material was chopped into pieces and acid treatment was carried out by mixing with
0.5M citric acid in a ratio of 1g material to 7mL citric acid for 30min in order to
ensure that materials had completely imbedded the liquid as described by Marshall
et al. in Enhanced metal adsorption by soybean hulls modified with citric acid.
These samples were dried was kept in a hot air oven at 110 +5 0C for 12 hours. This
material was washed with distilled water and was soaked in 2% sodium bicarbonate
(NaHCO3) solution and was allowed to stand overnight to remove the residual acid.
Then the material was washed with distilled water. Finally, it was dried in a hot air
oven at 110+5oC for 12 hours. The dried material was ground and sieved to get the
particle size of 2mm to 450m for this study.
PREPARATION OF EXPERIMENTAL LEACHATE

For the experimental purpose, the synthetic leachate prepared with the same
concentration as obtained from previous studies in an open dumping place of
288
municipal solid waste of 15 years of age in Kerala, Beena and Meril (2010). The
chemical contents of the synthetic leachate are shown in table 1.
Table 1 Chemical Contents of Synthetic leachate
Parameters
Concentration( mg/l)
Chloride
6500
Ammonia (as N)
300
Nitrate (as N)
57
Fe
11300
Mn
119
Zn
38
Chromium
30
Cadmium
4.8
Copper
11
Nickel
28
Total Organic carbon (TOC)
11160
CHARACTERIZATION OF MATERIALS
The pH ,water soluble matter in these materials, and bulk density were found by
following the procedures.
pH: 1g of material in 50 ml of distilled water was agitated for 1 hour .The
supernatant was tested for pH using pH meter.
Matter soluble in water: 10 g of the material of known moisture content was
weighed accurately and transferred into a one litre beaker. About 300 ml of distilled
water was added and heated to boiling with continuous stirring. Stirring was
continued for 5 minutes. The material was then allowed to settle and the supernatant
liquid was filtered. Exactly 50 ml of the concentrate was transferred to a china dish,
evaporated to almost dryness in a boiling water bath and finally dried in an electric
oven, maintained at 110 + 50C, cooled in a desiccator and weighed.
Water soluble matter (%) =
. (2)
Where,
M1=Mass of the residue in gram.
M= Mass of the material taken for test in gram.
X=Percentage of moisture content present in the material.
Bulk Density: Bulk density of coir pith was determined by gently filling in a
cylindrical jar of known volume with the material and weighed.
289
The experimental results showing characteristics of materials are given in Table 2

Table 2 Characteristics of Materials
Parameter
Coir pith
Rice husk
Sugar cane bagasse
pH
Moisture content (%)
Matter soluble in water (%)
Bulk density (g/cc)
4.7
7.12
2.08
0.6034
4.6
6.21
2.45
0.5626
4.9
5.85
2.11
0.6278
TEST MOULD AND EXPERIMENTAL SET UP

Test Cylinder was made of PVC of 40 cm height and 15 cm diameter. A strainer
(made of perforated steel plate) overlaid by a geotextile is placed at bottom. The
study material is filled to a depth of 30 cm at bulk density. Height of the test
cylinder can be increased by connecting with another PVC pipe of same dimensions.
A reducer is provided at the bottom, through which leachate can be collected after
passing through the material, by keeping a beaker at the bottom.
The synthetic leachate was collected in an overhead tank. A floating valve
arrangement is provided to maintain a constant head of 40cm throughout the
experiment. The flow of leachate is controlled by a control valve. Leachate is passed
through the test cylinder filled with study materials at a constant rate of 0.05 ml/s for
48 days. Leachate was collected after passing through the materials in every seven
days and tested the chemical concentration.
The figure of test cylinder is shown in Fig1.
Fig. 1 Cross Section of Test Mould

290

Fig 2 (a to h) shows the variation of chemical content of the leachate passing
through the study materials of 30cm and 60cm thick in each 7 days upto 48 days.
Fig 2 Reduction of iron content of the

leachate
Fig 4 Reduction of Manganese content

of the leachate
Fig 3 Reduction of Nitrate content of

the leachate
Fig 5 Reduction of Zinc content of the

leachate
From the fig 2 to fig 5, it is observed that, among the three materials used for studies
with 30cm layer depth, coir pith can reduce 65%to 83% and rice husk can reduce
47.2% to 63.5% of chemical concentration leachate, whereas sugarcane bagasse can
reduce 18.9 to 41.4% only. Also it can be observed that maximum reduction occurs
by 28 days. When the layer thickness is increased to 60cm, reduction of chemical
concentration increases to 77.9% to 98 % and in coir pith and in sugarcane bagasse it
is 62% to 81% and 40% to 66%.
291
CONCLUSION
Permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) consist of a water permeable material with
specific chemical reactivity towards one or more chemical constituents via
mechanisms such as adsorption, exchange, oxidation-reduction, or precipitation. The
preliminary studies on coir pith, rice husk and sugar cane bagasse shows that these
agricultural wastes can be utilized in PRB to reduce the extent of soil pollution.
Further studies with special concern to the durability and efficiency of the materials
are recommended on the adsorption and reactive properties of these modified
materials.
REFERENCES
C. J Miller and N Yesiller ( 2006), Dessication and Cracking behaviour of
compacted landfill liners Wayne State University Journal, Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, pp 15-35
J Glynn Henry and Gray W Henkie (2004), Environmental Sciences and
Engineering, 2nd edition, Tata Mc Graw Hill publications.
S Weisler ( 1999), Study of physical properties of coir pith, International Journal
of Green energy, Vol 3, Issue 4
Beena, K.S and Meril George (2010), Contaminant Transport from a Municipal
Solid Waste Landfill, Proceedings of Indian Geotechnical conference.
Dominique and Eric Gacher (2005), Geosynthetic clay liner interaction with
leachate correlation between permeability, microstructure and surface chemistry,
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Vol 13, Issue 6.
R. C. Mc Darthy and P Simons (2005), Landfill lining for leachate containment,
Water and Environmental Journal, Vol 6, Issue 5.
292

Geoenvironmental Characteristics of Jarofix Mixed Soil

Anu Raj1, Beena K.S.2,Santhosh G.3,Santhosh K.N.4
1
M Tech student,2Professor,3Research Scholar,

School of Engineering,
4
Deputy Manager, R&D Dept.,Binanizinc
ABSTRACT
Expansive soils are a worldwide problem, and they undergo considerable amounts
of volume changes due to moisture content fluctuations. Typically, these volume
changes of expansive soils cause considerable distress to civil infrastructures built
on them. The expansive clays, which are rich in mineral montmorillonite, absorb
water and undergo swelling as a consequence. Evaporation of water from an
exposed soil surface usually results in soil volumetric shrinkage. Various researches
are going on to control this phenomena. Jarosite is a waste material produced
during extraction of zinc ore concentrate by hydrometallurgy operation. The
Jarosite is converted to stabilized and inert Jarofix. In Kerala, the production of
Jarofix is approximately about 100 tons per day. The material is occupying costly
agricultural land and has become environmental hazard. The present study deals
with the compressibility and swelling characteristics of Jarofix mixed soil. The
variation of Atterberg Limits, Free Swell Index, Swell Potential and Swelling
Pressure are studied here. Results indicate the potential of Jarofix in reducing the
swelling characteristics of expansive soil.
INTRODUCTION
Expansive soils undergo large volume changes due to moisture content fluctuations
which cause considerable distress to civil infrastructures built on them. The
expansive clays, which are rich in mineral montmorillonite, absorb water and
undergo swelling. The materials like Jarofix are occupying costly agricultural land
and hence its utilization needs more attention. Jarosite (NaFe3(SO4)2(OH)6) is a
1
Anu Raj. E-mail: anuraj999@gmail.com
Geoenvironmental Characteristics
waste material produced during extraction of zinc ore concentrate by

hydrometallurgy operation. The Jarosite is converted to stabilized and inert Jarofix.
In Kerala, the production of Jarofix is approximately about 100 tons per day.
Previous studies have shown that industrial wastes have the potential to
improve the properties of expansive soils. Baser (2009) investigated the potential of
limestone dust and waste dolomitic marble dust in improving the properties of
expansive soil. Yilmaz and Berrin (2009) found that gypsum can be used as a
stabilizing agent for expansive clay soils effectively. Barazesh et al.(2012)
investigated the effect of adding iron powder on Atterberg limits and found that
there was a decrease in the Atterberg limits. Malhotra and Naval (2013) found that
when lime and fly ash are mixed with the expansive soil, the plastic limit increases
by mixing lime and liquid limit decreases by mixing fly ash, which decreases
plasticity index. Sinha et al.(2011) studied the feasibility of Jarofix waste material
for road construction. In this paper, the effect of Jarofix on Atterberg Limits, Free
Swell Index, Swell Potential and Swelling Pressure of bentonite are studied.
MATERIALS
1.Bentonite
Commercially available bentonite is used for the study. Table 1 shows the properties
of bentonite.
Table 1 Properties of Bentonite
Properties
Specific gravity
Liquid limit(%)
Plastic limit(%)
Shrinkage limit(%)
Plasticity index(%)
Values
2.7
442
77
6
365
2.Jarofix
Jarofix is collected from Binani Zinc Ltd, Binanipuram. Jarofix is 80 % Jarosite
(NaFe3(SO4)2(OH)6 ), 15% Portland Cement and 5% hydrated lime (Ca(OH) 2 )
respectively. The properties of Jarofix are also given in Table 2.
294
Table 2 Properties of Jarofix

Properties
Values
Specific gravity
2.4
Liquid limit(%)
53
Plastic limit(%)
42
Shrinkage limit(%)
33
Plasticity index(%)
11
IS Classification (as per plasticity chart)
MH
Optimum Moisture Content(%)
42.2
Maximum Dry Density(kN/ m )
12.3
Cohesion (kN/m)
14
Angle of Internal Friction ()
34
METHODS
The Jarofix and bentonite are mixed fully on dry weight basis in the proportions of
5,10,20,30 and 40% respectively. The different tests such as Atterberg limit tests and
Free swell index test were performed in laboratory as per IS code standards. Also
using different Jarofix contents, free swell tests (Phanikumar et.al, 2007) were
conducted to determine the swell potential (S%) and swelling pressure (ps). Swell
potential (S%) is defined as the ratio of the increase in thickness (H) of the soil
specimen compacted in an oedometer and allowed to freely swell under a token
surcharge of about 5 kPa, to the original thickness (H) and is expressed as a
percentage. The swelling pressure can be taken as the pressure required to
recompress the swollen sample to its original thickness.

Effect on Atterberg limits
The water contents at which the soil changes from one state to the other are known
as Atterberg limits. Table 3 shows the variation of Atterberg Limits with addition of
Jarofix. On addition of 40% Jarofix to bentonite, liquid limit decreases from 442%
to 140% and plastic limit decreases from 77% to 48% respectively. The plasticity
295
index is also decreasing from 365 to 92% on addition of 40% Jarofix. The reduction
in plasticity index leads to the reduction in compressibility of the soil. The shrinkage
limit is found to increase from 6 to 15%. The addition of Jarofix can reduce the
shrinkage tendency of bentonite.
Table 3 Variation of Atterberg limits of bentonite
Shrink-
Shrink-
Volumetric
age
Shrink-
Index
age
(%)
(%)
2.17
71
201
2.09
57
151
146
10
2.04
51
97
55
110
13
2.06
42
74
149
51
98
14
1.97
37
69
140
48
92
15
1.94
33
64
Liquid
Plastic
Plasticity
Limit
Limit
Index
(%)
(%)
(%)
442
77
365
325
66
259
10
207
61
20
165
30
40
Jarofix
(%)
age
Limit
(%)
Shrinkage
Ratio
The shrinkage ratio shows a general decreasing trend on addition of Jarofix

but at 20% addition it showed a slight variation. The shrinkage index decreases from
71 to 33% on Jarofix addition of 40%. Volumetric shrinkage also decreases with
increasing Jarofix content. It is decreasing from 201 to 64% on addition of 40 %
Jarofix.
Effect on Free Swell Index(FSI)
FSI (%)
The Free Swell Index is found to decrease on addition of Jarofix. Fig. 1 shows the
variation of FSI of bentonite with different Jarofix content.
600.00
100.00
0
10
20
Jarofix (%)
30
Fig. 1 Variation of FSI with Jarofix content

296
40
Effect on Swell Potential and Swelling Pressure
Swell Potential (%)
The swell potential and swelling pressure of bentonite decreased from 36.7 to 30.5%
and 635 to 495 kN/m respectively on addition of 40% Jarofix. The variation of
swell potential and swelling pressureof bentonite on addition of Jarofix are shown
in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 respectively.
40
30
20
10
0
0
10
20 (%)
Jarofix
30
40
Swelling
Pressure(kN/m)
Fig. 2 Variation of swell potential with Jarofix content

1000
500
0
0
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Jarofix(%)
Fig. 3 Variation of swelling pressure with Jarofix content
CONCLUSIONS
1.
The Free Swell Index of bentonite-Jarofix mixtures showed a decreasing

trend on addition of more percentages of Jarofix. It decreases by 86% on
addition of 40% Jarofix.
297
2.
The Atterberg limits of bentonite-Jarofix mixtures show a decreasing trend.

Only shrinkage limit shows an increasing trend. The decrease is more
noticeable upto 20% addition of Jarofix. The reduction in Atterberg limits
may be due to the cation exchange which could have taken place to reduce
the thickness of diffused double layer.
3.
The swell potential and swell pressure of bentonite-Jarofix mixture also

showed a decreasing trend with increasing Jarofix content. The decrease
may be due to the volume occupied by swelling clay minerals is replaced
by the Jarofix particles on its addition.
From the study, it can be concluded that the addition of 20% and more
Jarofix can significantly reduce the swelling and shrinkage characteristics of
bentonite.
REFERENCES
Barazesh, A., Saba, H. and Gharib, M. (2012), The Effect of Adding Iron Powder
on Atterberg Limits of Clay Soils, International Research Journal of Applied and
Basic Sciences, 3(11 ), 2349-2354.
Baser, O., Stabilization of Expansive Soils using Waste Marble Dust, M.S Thesis,
METU, Turkey, 102 pages, 2009.
Malhotra, M. and Naval, S. (2013), Stabilization of Expansive Soils Using Low
Cost Materials, International Journal of Engineering and Innovative Technology,
2(11)181-184.
Phanikumar, B. R. and Sharma, R. S. (2007), Volume Change Behavior of Fly
Ash-Stabilized Clays, Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 19, 67-74.
Sinha, A.K., Havanagi, V.G., Arora, V.K., Ranjan, A and Mathur, S. (2011),
Feasibility Study Of Jarofix Waste Material For Road Construction, Proceedings
of Indian Geotechnical Conference, Kochi, December 15-17.
Yilmaz, I. and Berrin, C. (2009), Gypsum: An additive for stabilization of swelling
clay soils, Applied Clay Science, 44, 166172.
298

Biodegradation of Phenols and Sulphides from Refinery

Effluent Using Photobioreactor
Jitha.G 1, and Madhu.G2
Guest faculty, School of Engineering,
2
Professor, School of Engineering,
Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, India
E-mail: jithasudhi@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Phenol and sulphides are major pollutants derived from many industrial processes.
Biofilms formed by cyanobacteria in the industrial effluent is an effective tool for
the removal of chemicals from effluent. The present study investigated aerobic
degradation of phenol and sulphides from refinery effluent using tolerant strains of
cyanobacteria, Phormidium tenue collected from BPCL/KRL, Kochi.
Cyanobacterial strains were immobilized on polyurethane foam and fixed inside the
reactor. Three different concentrations of synthetic effluent were prepared and
added continuously to the reactor at a flow rate of 10 ml /min. The effluent were
analyzed for phenol, sulphide, TDS and COD at 12 hrs intervals for 3 -4 days.
Phenol was reduced to 0.2 mg/l within 36 hrs from low strength effluent whereas 48
hrs were required to reduce phenol level to 0.46 mg/l from high strength effluent
having 300 mg/l phenol. 100% removal of sulphides were observed within 24hrs
from the three different concentrations of effluent. Total dissolved solids were
reduced to 15mg/L in high strength effluent after 36 hrs of treatment within the
laboratory scale photobioreactor. COD was reduced from 2100 mg/l to 250 mg/L
within 48 hrs from high strength effluent.
1
Key words: Photobioreactor, cyanobacteria, phenol and sulphide removal, waste

water treatment
INTRODUCTION
Phenol and sulphides are major pollutants in chemical and petrochemical industries.
Phenolic compounds are toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic at high
concentrations. Reduced sulfur compounds, such as sulfides cause environmental
problems because of their toxicity, odor and corrosive properties; Sarti A et al (2010).
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: jithasudhi@gmail.com
Biodegradation of Phenols and Sulphides .

The physicochemical methods are expensive because of the addition of chemical
substances, energy consumption and also generating undesirable toxic residual
products that need further treatment. Microorganisms play a major role in degrading
and detoxifying the toxic chemicals. Removal of these compounds can be done
using aerobic and anaerobic micro-organisms in specially designed bioreactors;
Chen Chuan et al (2010) . It is difficult to maintain anaerobic systems because it
needs strict operation conditions. It is necessary to find out systems which perform
well and easy to maintain with low operational costs. Cyano bacteria play a major
role in supplying oxygen to the bacterial population for the breakdown of complex
organic substances. Oscillatoria and Phormidium have been observed to thrive in
petroleum refinery effluents; Joseph, V. And Joseph, (2002). Compared to bacterial
systems, bioreactors utilizing a symbiotic association between algae and bacteria
have been reported to yield higher treatment efficiency; Borde X, (2003). Photo
bioreactor (PBR) is a system which can work under solar light and photosynthetic
organisms can grow and perform its functions. Different designs of PBR revealed
its efficiency in treating waste water as well as removal of CO2 and VOC s from
waste gas ;Wang Bei, (2008). Present study was conducted to isolate tolerant
cyanobacterial strains from refinery effluent and to immobilize acclimatized strains
of cyanobacteria in rectangular PBR and to evaluate the removal efficiency of
phenol , sulphides and dissolved chemicals.

BIOFILM DEVELOPMENT AND ACCLIMATIZATION
Biofilms collected from the aeration tank and clarifier of secondary treatment plant of a
petroleum refinery were used to isolate cyanobacteria. The selected cyanobacterial strains
were grown in modified BG 11 medium. The enriched cyanobacterial strains were placed
under light assembly at 2500 lux. Laboratory scale rectangular photo bioreactor was
fabricated using Perspex glass sheet of thickness 6mm and having working volume
15L (Fig 1).
Fig. 1 The schematic of experimental setup of Continuous Photobioreactor with

recirculation .
300
December 10-12, 2014, CUSAT, Kochi, India
The inner space of the reactor was divided into 5 compartments by providing baffles of
same material at regular intervals allowing zig zag flow of waste water.
EXPERIMENTAL SET UP
Poly urethane foam having thickness of 1 mm were fixed on the base of the reactor
to immobilize the cyanobacterial filaments. The reactor was inoculated with
cyanobacterial strains and illuminated under light assembly using 4 white
fluorescent lamp with a constant photoperiod (12 L/12 D) and temperature was kept
at 292C throughout the study. Photo bioreactor was inoculated with cyanobacteria
strains and acclimatized by gradually exposed to different effluent concentrations . An
inlet was provided through which the waste water was applied to the reactor and
synthetic effluent was introduced from top of the reactor which was mounted
inclined (10-150) in position in order to achieve a gravity flow inside the reactor at a
flow rate of 10 ml min-1 . Three different concentrations of synthetic effluent were
prepared by adding phenol, suiphide and petrol to study the performance of the
photo bioreactor. Outlet was provided at the other end of the reactor at the same flow
rate. Waste water characteristics like phenol,sulphides, TDS and COD of inlet, outlet
and control were analyzed at every 12 hrs intervals up to 3-4days in continuous
mode operations; APHA (1998).
Recirculation of the effluent was done by
providing a peristaltic pump to the Effluent tank.
Biological treatment of waste water using cyanobacteria offers the advantage of
greater flexibility and lower operational costs over other treatment systems. The
biofilm brought from the Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) of a petroleum refinery
were of unialgal strains of cyanobacteria. It strongly reveals that the species
developed is highly tolerant to that effluent. Microscopic observations revealed that
the mat is composed of Phormidium tenue. Cyanobacteria have high nutrient
removal capacity and they are likely to tolerate the highly variable conditions that
characterize polluted effluents; Subramanian, G. and Uma, L, (1996 ). Acclimatized
strains of P.tenue were developed in the reactor within 2 weeks. It has been reported
that in open systems, phototrophic microorganism can reduce the free CO 2
concentration below its equilibrium concentration with air and consequently cause
an increase in pH;. Chavan Anal and Mukherji Suparna, (2008). Phenol was reduced
to 0.3 mg/l within 36 hrs from low strength effluent whereas 48 hrs were required to
reduce phenol level to 0.46 mg/l from high strength effluent having 300 mg/l
phenol(Fig 2). Removal of Phenol was reported by microalgae under photoauto
trophic conditions and obtained similar results; Hirooka, (2003). Investigations of the
unicellular marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC 7002 revealed its ability to
301

metabolize phenol up to 100 mg L1; Wurster, M et al (2003). These results
support the present data. A marine cyanobacterium Phormidium valderianum was
found to degrade phenol completely at 100 mgL-1 by its intracellular oxidases and
laccase enzymes, and such strains could be effectively used for treatment of phenol
containing wastes;.Shashirekha S et al (1997), 100% removal of sulphides were
reported within 24hrs from the three different concentrations of effluent.
60
300
Sulphide (mg/l)
Phenol (mg/L)
400
200
100
0
0
40
20
0
12 18 24 30 36 42 48
Time , Hrs
Effluent-1
Effluent- 3
Effluent- 2
control
12
Time , Hrs
Effluent- 1
Effluent- 3
24
Effluent- 2
control
Fig 2 Removal of Phenol and Sulphide from different concentrations of

effluent in continuous PBR at different time intervals
Reduced sulphur compounds may be used by the microorganisms as energy source .
Several laboratory scale studies revealed the removal of sulphides from waste water
streams by phototrophic bacteria. Ferrera I, (2004).
700
2500
500
2000
400
1500
COD(mg/l)
TDS , mg/L
600
300
200
100
0
0
12
24
36
48
(a)
500
0
0
12
24
36
48
60
72
Time, Hrs
Time , Hrs
Effluent-1
Effluent- 3
1000
Effluent-2
Control
Effluent 1
Effluent 2
Effluent 3
control
(b)
Fig 3 Total Dissolved Solids (a) and COD (b) in different concentrations of
effluent in continuous PBR at different time intervals
302
December 10-12, 2014, CUSAT, Kochi, India
Aerobic microorganisms can oxidize sulphides 75 % removal of sulphide was reported
in a process of simultaneous desulfurization and denitrification ; Wang A J et al (2005).
TDS value was reduced to 15mg/L in high strength effluent after 36 hrs of treatment
within the laboratory scale photobioreactor( Fig 3). Reduction in total dissolved solids
from petrochemical effluent was reported using Oscillatoria quadripunctulata; Joseph
V and Joseph A(2001). The COD removal efficiency was found to increase day by day.
COD was reduced from 2100 mg/l to 250 mg/L within 48 hrs from high strength
effluent. 100 % removal efficiency of COD was obtained for low strength effluent
within 48 hrs. 96% of COD was removed by phototrophic organisms and algae
Chavan Anal and Mukherji Suparna, (2008). Hydrocarbon degradation has been
widely reported in laboratory-scale batch studies Mohanty G. and Mukherji S, (2007).
CONCLUSION
Phenolic compounds are very toxic to most unicellular and higher organisms.
However, some microorganisms are able to utilize them as carbon and energy source
since they possess remarkable ability to adapt to unfavorable environmental
conditions. The present results confirmed that Cyan bacteria can effectively utilize
the dissolved substances in the petrochemical effluent. Continuous PBR with
Phormidium tenue is no doubt, a novel efficient appliance which can be adopted for
treatment of waste water containing phenol and sulphides. A careful considerations
of various design parameters of PBR with immobilized cyanobacteria promises
greater efficiency even in high concentrations of phenol and sulphides.
Photosynthetic organisms aerate the systems which in turn increases the degradation
rate.
REFERENCES
American public health association (APHA). (1998), Standard Methods for the
Examination of Water and Wastewater. American Public Health Association.
Washington D.C.
Borde, B. Guieysse, O. Delgado, R. Munoz, R.H. Kaul, C.N. Chauvin, H. Patin, B.
Mattiasson. (2003) Synergistic relationship in algal-bacterial microcosms for the
treatment of aromatic pollutants, Biores. Techno, 86, 293300.
Chavan Anal and Mukherji Suparna. (2008), Treatment of hydrocarbon rich waste
water using oil degrading bacteria and phototrophic microorganisms in rotating
biological contactor: Effect of N:P ratio, J Hazard Mater. 154(1-3), 63-72.
Chen Chuan, WangAijie, Ren Nanqi , ZhaoQingliang, Liu Lihong Sunil S. Adav,
LeeDuu-Jong , ChangJo-Shu. (2010), Enhancing denitrifying sulfide removal
with functional strains under micro-aerobic condition, Process Biochemistry 45,
10071010.
Desikachari, T.V. 1959,Cyanophyta. Pub. by Indian council of Agricultural
Research NewDelhi.
303

Ferrera I, Sanchez O, Mas J. (2004), A new non - aerated illuminated packed
column reactor for the development of sulfide oxidizing biofilm, Appl. Microbiol
Biotechnol, 64, 659 664 .
Hirooka, Takashi., Yuko Akiyama., Naoki Tsuji., Takanori Nakamura., Hiroyasu
Nagase., Kazumasa Hirata. and Kazuhisa Miyamoto. (2003), Removal of
Hazardous Phenols by Microalgae under Photoautotrophic conditions, Journal of
Bioscience and Bioengineering, 95, 200-203.
Joseph, V. And Joseph. (2002), Ecology and seasonal variation of microlagal
community in an oil refinery effluent holding pond, Environ. Monit. Assess, 80,
175-185.
Joseph, V. And Joseph, A. (2001), Microalgae in Petrochemical effluent: Growth
and Biosorption of Total Dissolved solids, Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol, 66,
522-527.
Sarti A, Pozzi E, Chinalia FA, Ono A, Foresiti E. (2010), Microbial processes and
bacterial populations associated to anaerobic treatment of sulfate-rich wastewater,
Process Biochem, 45,16470.
Shashirekha S., Uma L. and Subramanian G. (1997), Phenol degradationby the
marine cyanobacterium Phormidium valderianum BDU 30501, J. Ind. Microbiol.
Biotechnol, 19,130133.
Subramanian, G. and Uma, L. (1996), Cyanobacteria in pollution control, J. of
Scientific and Indutrial Research, 55, 685-692.
Wang A J , DUDZ, Ren No, Vam Groene Stign JW. (2005), An innovative
process of simultaneous desulfurization and denitrification by thiobacillus
denitrification, J. Environ Sci Hlth, A 40, 1939- 1949.
Wang Bei, Li Yanqun, Wa Nan, Lan C Q. (2008), CO2 biomitigation using
microalgae, Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 79, 707 718.
Wurster, M., Mundt, S., Hammer, E., Schauer, F. and Lindequist, U. ( 2003),
Extracellular degradation of phenol by the cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC
7002, J. of Appl. Phycol,15, 171-176.
304

Adsorption of Arsenic on Chemically (Mg Cl2) Activated

Carbon derived from Peltophorum Pterocarpum
(Copper Pod)
Indrale Divyarani 1, Shashikanth. R. Mise 2
1
Assistant Professor
Basavakalyan Engineering College
Basavakalyan-585 327, Karnataka, India.
2
Professor
Poojya Doddappa Appa College of Engineering
Gulbarga-, Karnataka, India.
ABSTRACT
In this study adsorption of Arsenic from synthetic sample on chemically activated
carbon prepared from Peltophorum Pterocarpum (Copper pod) fruit have been
carried out at room temperature 32 1oC. Batch tests were conducted for the
removal of Arsenic on activated carbon with Impregnation ratio (I.R) 0.25, 0.50 and
0.75 for optimum dosage, optimum contact time, optimum pH, kinetics and
equilibrium. During the investigation it was found that carbon with I.R ratio 0.75
had maximum arsenic removal efficiency of 98.66% compared to carbon with I.R
ratio 0.25 and 0.50. Also adsorption of Arsenic obeyed Freundlich and B.E.T
Isotherms.
Key words: Arsenic, adsorption, isotherms, Impregnation ratio.
INTRODUCTION
Arsenic and other heavy metals occur naturally in geological structures or
sometimes caused by mining, industrial and agricultural activities. These chemicals
can badly affect human health when they are consumed in large amount. The ground
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: indrale26@gmail.com
Adsorption of Arsenic on Chemically (MgCl2) Activated Carbon
water at various locations in West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh has been noticed
to be contaminated with Arsenic (Arsenic) in excess of its permissible limit of 0.05
mg/l. Recently, the ground water at 14 out of 20 villages in Surpur taluq of Yadgir
district, Karnataka state (India) have been found to be affected by higher doses of
Arsenic content. The determination of Arsenic has been of importance to public
health agencies for many years because of the toxicity of Arsenic compounds.
Several incidents have demonstrated that Arsenic in water may be carcinogenic.
Acute poisoning by Arsenic involves the central nervous system leading to coma
and for doses of 70-80 mg to death. It is recommended that, when water is found to
contain Arsenic at level of 0.05 mg/l (W.H.O), an attempt should be made to
ascertain the valence and chemical forms of the elements.
Adsorption is used widely to remove Arsenic metals from waters and industrial
waste waters. Adsorption is the process where molecules are concentrated on the
surface of the sorbent. Activated carbon made from easily available agricultural
wastes can serve as an economically available alternative. In this research fruit of
Peltophorum Pterocarpum (Copper pod) is used as an adsorbent, which is a waste
material causing litter. This work presents the study to evaluate the performance of
activated carbon derived from fruit of Peltophorum Pterocarpum (Copper pod) in
removing Arsenic from its synthetic solution.
MATERIALS
The material used in this research study is copper pod; the fruit of this tree is used as
an adsorbent. The features of adsorbent are as follows: Scientific name:Peltophorum
pterocarpum, Common name(s):Yellow Poinciana, copper pod etc,
Family:Leguminosae, Origin:not native to North
America, Fruit length:3 To 6 Inches, Fruit covering:
Dry Or Hard, Fruit color:Purple; Red, Fruit
shape:Elongated; Pod.
All the chemicals used in the present study were of
analytical grade. Standards for calibration were prepared
from Arsenic trioxide. pH was adjusted by standard acid
and base solutions of 0.1 N HCl and 0.1 N NaOH
respectively. Gutzeit apparatus was used for determining
Arsenic.
Fig 1: Fruit of Copper Pod
306
METHODS
PREPARATION OF CARBON
The known quantity of washed and dried Peltophorum Pterocarpum (Copper pod)
fruit powder of size 300 Micron was mixed with the activating agent i.e. MgCl2, in
required quantity, depending upon the impregnation ratio (I.R).
Impregnation ratio (I.R) =
Standard Arsenic solution was prepared by diluting 1.00 ml of intermediate Arsenic
solution with 100 ml distilled water, such that the concentration was 10.00 g/l of
Arsenic. Procedure for determining Arsenic was followed according to NEERI
(National Environmental Engineering Research Institute) manual. Gutzeit apparatus
was used for Arsenic determination.
BATCH SORPTION EXPERIMENT:

SELECTION OF OPTIMUM CONTACT TIME:
To study the effect of contact time, 100mL of 10g/L Arsenic solution was mixed
with 0.1g of activated carbon, stirred at different contact times varying from (5mins
to 60mins). Then filtrate was analyzed for Arsenic concentration using
spectrophotometer.
DETERMINATION OF OPTIMUM DOSAGE OF ADSORBENT:
Activated carbon was added to the conical flask in different dosage varying from
(25mg to 300mg), containing 100mL concentration of Arsenic solution (10g/L).
The solution in the conical flask was subjected to stirring for optimum contact time,
filtered and analyzed for residual Arsenic concentration.
SELECTION OF OPTIMUM pH ON ARSENIC:
The effect of pH on Arsenic adsorption was studied by performing equilibrium

adsorption tests at different initial pH values ranging from 6.75 to 9.50. The pH of
solution was adjusted by using 0.1N H2SO4 or 0.1N NaOH
307
SORPTION KINETICS:
The glass stopper bottles containing 100 ml of Arsenic solution of concentration
10g/l and known amount of optimum dosage is added to the glass bottles and
stirred. The samples were withdrawn at different time intervals and filtered
supernatant were analyzed.
SORPTION EQUILIBRIUM:
To the stoppered bottles containing 100 ml of 10g/l Arsenic solution, different
doses of prepared carbon were added and stirred for optimum contact time; the
filtered supernatant solution was analyzed for Arsenic concentration.

EFFECT OF CONTACT TIME:
The adsorption of Arsenic increases with increase in time. The adsorption curves are
characterized by sharp rise in initial stage and decreases near equilibrium which is
mainly due to the large available surface area and the adsorption sites on the surface
area are open and active in the initial stage and later the carbon gets saturated and
the removal efficiency decreases near equilibrium. After equilibrium further increase
in time, adsorption is not changing. Hence, the removal efficiency of Arsenic with
different I.R. 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 was found to be 85.93%, 97.32%, and 98.66%
with an optimum time of 10min, 10min, and 10min respectively. The Arsenic
removed per gram of chemically activated carbon at different I.R.-0.25, 0.50 and
0.75 are 8.593g/gm, 9.732g/gm and 9.866g/gm respectively.
120
% Removal of Arsenic
100
80
I.R=0.25
60
I.R=0.50
I.R=0.75
40
20
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Time in minutes
Fig.2 Effect of contact time on Arsenic removal by chemically activated Carbon
308
EFFECT OF ADSORBENT DOSAGE:

From the graph, as the dosage of carbon increases, amount of Arsenic decreases,
sharply in the beginning and attains maximum later. The dosage, at which maximum
removal is attained, is taken as maximum dosage. The removal efficiency of Arsenic
by using chemically activated carbon with different I.R. 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 was
found to be 73.3%, 78.66%, and 80.57% with an optimum dosage of 150mg, 125mg,
and 100mg respectively.
90
80
70
60
50
I.R=0.25
I.R=0.5
I.R=0.75
40
30
20
10
0
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Adsorbent Dosage(mg)
Fig.3 Effect of adsorbent dosage on Arsenic removal by chemically activated

carbon
EFFECT OF pH ON ARSENIC REMOVAL:

It is observed that Arsenic is removed more effectively in slight alkaline range. The
removal efficiency of Arsenic by using chemically activated carbon with I.R 0.25, 0.50
and 0.75 was found to be 86.6%, 90.62% and 98.66% at a pH of 8.0.
309
120
100
80
I.R=0.25
I.R=0.50
60
I.R=0.75
40
20
0
0
7.5
8.5
9.5
pH
Fig.4 Effect of pH on Arsenic removal by chemically activated carbon
SORPTION KINETICS:
The kinetics of Arsenic removal was performed at room temperature at different
time interval of adsorption. The rate equation for the first order reaction is given as:
Logn Ca / Co = KT
i.e., 2.303 log10 a/ (a-x) = KT
i.e., log 10 a/ (a-x) = K/2.303*T
i.e. K = 2.303 / t*log10 a/ (a-x) -------------------Equation (1)
Where a = initial concentration of Arsenic
x = amount of Arsenic adsorbed at any timet
(a-x) = residual amount of Arsenic
K = rate constant
Equation (1) is of the type Y = mx
Where, Y = log10 a/ (a-x) and x= t, m = K/2.303
310
Log10a/(a-x)
2.25
I.R=0.25
I.R=0.50
I.R=0.75
Linear (I.R=0.25)
1.8
1.35
0.9
Linear (I.R=0.50)
Linear (I.R=0.75)
0.45
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Time in minutes
Fig.5 Plot of reaction rate constant for chemically activated carbon
SORPTION EQUILIBRIUM:
Sorption equilibrium isotherms are useful for the estimation of the amount of
sorbent needed for sorbing a required amount of sorbate from solution. The most
widely used equations to present the adsorption data are Freundlich and B.E.T
isotherms. The sorption equilibrium data are filled for all the isotherms.
a)
FREUNDLICH ISOTHERM:
The linear form of the freundlich isotherm is
= KC1/n
Taking log on both sides
Log10
= log10 K + 1/n log10 C Equation (2)
Where, X/M = Amount of sorbate adsorbed per unit weight of adsorbent at

equilibrium.
X = Amount of adsorbate removed (g/L)
M = Mass or weight of the adsorbent.
C = Equilibrium concentration of adsorbate in solution.
K = an empirical constant related or sorption capacity.
311
n = an empirical constant related to sorption intensity.

The equation (2) is of the type y = mx + c
Where, c = log10 K; Y = log10 X/M; x = log10 C and m = 1/n
The plot of log10 X/M versus log10 C gives a straight line with slope 1/n and
intercept= log10 K, knowing slope and intercept 1/n and K are calculated.
On the basis of the constants obtained following equation can be proposed. For
MgCl2 activated carbon:
I.R = 0.25
X/M = 0.026 C 0.4793
I.R = 0.50
X/M = 0.035 C 0.434
I.R =0.75
X/M = 0.052 C 0.360
The linearised plot indicated that the heterogeneous surface composed of different
classes of adsorption sites. The sorptive capacity is an important factor in selecting a
suitable sorbent system.Smaller value of 1/n points out a better adsorption
mechanism and formation of relatively stronger between adsorbate and adsorbent.
The constant 1/n<1, bond increases with surface density and n >1 is favorable
adsorption condition for Freundlich isotherm.
Fig.6 Plots of Freundlich Isotherm
b)
B.E.T. ISOTHERM
The B.E.T. type of adsorption is generally more applicable than the Langmuir
isotherm and corresponds to multi-layer adsorption. This model assumes that a
number of layers of adsorbate accumulate at the surface and is given by,
X/M
= A x C x X m / (Cs-C) [1 + (A-1) C / Cs] or
C / X (Cs-C)
= 1/A x Xm + (A-1) / A x Xm x C / Cs ..Equation (3)
Where, X
= Amount of solute adsorbed (g/L)
M
= Weight of adsorbent (mg)
C
= Concentration of solute in solution (g/L)
Cs
= Saturation concentration (g/L)
312
A and Xm are constants. The equation (3) is of the type y = c + mx

The plot of C / X (Cs-C) versus C / Cs gives a straight line graph.
The plots of linearized B.E.T. isotherm for adsorbents with different I.R ratios are
represented in fig. The constants are evaluated from graph and presented in the table
1 and it is observed that it obeys B.E.T. isotherm.
Fig.7 Plots of B.E.T Isotherm
Table-1 CONSTANTS FOR B.E.T. ISOTHERM FOR PREPARED CARBON

Type of carbon
MgCl2
I.R.
Constant A
Constant Xm
0.25
0.50
0.75
-1.841
-4.042
-7.139
0.164
0.971
1.073
CONCLUSIONS
1.
The chemically MgCl2 activated carbon with I.R. 0.75 has greater removal
efficiency of arsenic, which is mainly due to the surface area of the carbon;
The optimum contact time for MgCl2 carbon with I.R ratio 0.25, 0.50 and
0.75 was 10 min with maximum removal efficiency of 98.66% for carbon
with I.R ratio 0.75.
313
2.
3.
4.
5.
Experiment on optimization of dosage of adsorbent reveals that, increase in

amount of dosage added, increases the removal of Arsenic from the
solution. Hence Optimum dosage for activated carbon with I.R ratio 0.75
were found to be 100 mg with maximum removal efficiency of 80.57 % .
The removal efficiency of adsorbent increases with slight increase in pH
value. It has been observed that maximum adsorption takes place in slight
alkaline medium at pH-8.0 with maximum removal efficiency of 98.66%
for I.R-0.75 carbon.
The rate of adsorption of Arsenic obeyed first order rate equation.
The results of the batch experiments follows Freundlich isotherm (1/n<1)
indicating single layer adsorption of Arsenic and proves to be a favourable
adsorption. It also follows B.E.T. isotherm.
REFERENCES
1.
2.
3.
4.
Arun kumar, Dinesh Pandey, Ratnesh Anand and Nandlal Choudhary,Study of

Adsorption of Arsenic Metal from Aqueous Solution Through Local Adsorbent Saw
Dust, Indian Journal, Science Research, 2 (4), 73-78, 2011.
Edward F. Gilman and Dennis G. Watson, Peltophorum pterocarpum Yellow
Poinciana, Fact Sheet ST-434, October 1994.
Panthi SR, Wareham DG., Removal of Arsenic from water using the adsorbent:
New Zealand iron-sand, J Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng;
46(13):1533-8, 2011.
Viveka D.Mude1 R.M. Dhoble2 Dr. P. B. Nagarnaik, Removal of Arsenic (III)
From Groundwater by Commercial Activated Carbon: Batch Study, IJAEST Vol
No. 8, Issue No.1, pp 125 134, 2011.
314

NOx Abatement by Discharge Plasma: Effect of

Adsorbents in Cascade
Pooja Talapatra1, Vijetha Reddy2, Sanjana Kerketta1, Anusuya
Bhattacharyya3a and B.S.Rajanikanth3b
1
Student, EE Dept., National Institute of Technology, Durgapur

2
Student, EE Dept., Naitional Institute of Technology, Calicut
3a
Research Scholar(PhD), EE Dept., Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
3b
Professor, EE Dept., Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (corresponding
author: raj@hve.iisc.ernet.in)
ABSTRACT
The paper addresses one of the major industrial applications of high voltage
electrical discharges i.e. cleaning of gaseous pollutants in engine exhausts and
explore its feasibility and economic options. With the growth in pollution due to the
engine exhausts there is a high need in using an eco-friendly fuel such as biodiesel.
Experiments have been conducted on biodiesel fuel exhausts but as everything has a
blemish, the composition of this fuel exhausts contained high amounts of certain
gaseous pollutants. Of particular importance is the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) present
in higher proportions in engine exhausts that needs to be mitigated. The NOx levels
are much higher in biodiesel fuel exhausts when compared to that of the typical
petro-diesels. Lab experiments were conducted in this context to reduce the NOx
level by treating the exhaust utilizing high voltage electrical discharges cascaded
with commercially available adsorbents like sodium zeolite and carbon molecular
sieves. The NOx removal efficiency was studied for different plasma reactors and
adsorbents with and without loading the engine. Under no load conditions while the
plasma could remove about 40% of NOx, the plasma-adsorbent combination could
remove about 80% of NOx. Thus the synergistic effect resulted in twice the removal
efficiency and similar trend was observed under loading condition. The results were
discussed in detail.
Keywords: biodiesel, NOx abatement, adsorbents (NaZSM-5 and CMS)
1
B S Rajanikanth. E-mail: raj@hve.iisc.ernet.in
NOx abatement by discharge plasma
INTRODUCTION
With increased consumption of fuel, it becomes indispensable to devise ways to
curtail emitted pollutants within prescribed limits. Also, the paucity of fossil fuels
has compelled researchers to divert their attention to alternative energy sources.
Biodiesel (plant based oil) is a renewable, environment friendly energy source,
which has proved to be a promising substitute for conventional petro-diesel. The
presence of lower amount of VOCs and particulate matter in the bio-diesel exhaust
supports the use of biodiesel as a fuel but the increased NOx concentration in the
exhaust is a factor, which is a challenge towards the application of biodiesel
commercially [Anusuya et al. (2014)].
Reduction/ Removal of NOx from the diesel engine exhaust, be it petro-diesel or
biodiesel, is still a challenging task owing to the high cost of adsorbents/ catalysts
involved. Continuous replenishment of adsorbents/ catalysts is also a matter of
concern. Any attempt made towards reducing the cost or quantity or both of
adsorbents/ catalysts in NOx abatement is always a welcoming step. It is in this
direction the paper attempts to provide an alternative technique involving
application of high voltage discharges [Anusuya et al. (2013), Rajanikanth et al.
(2008) and Penetrante et al. (1998)]. The discharge plasma mechanisms have been
successfully found to be conducive to gas phase reactions which promote NOx
conversions/ reductions [Hackam and Akiyama (2000) and Chae (2003)]. Literature
has abundant works on diesel engine exhaust treatments involving study of several
parametric variations including types of discharges, reactor configurations,
energizations, gas conditions, with/ without blending commercially available
adsorbents/ catalysts [Rajanikanth et al. (2005) Young et al. (2000) Wang et al.
(2007)].
In this paper, an attempt has been made to apply the dielectric barrier discharge
plasma to reduce NOx concentration from biodiesel exhaust. During the study,
couple of gas treatment reactors was tested with AC/ pulse energizations. The
plasma-treated gas was further passed through a column of adsorbents viz. carbon
molecular sieves(CMS) and sodium zeolites (NaZSM-5) and the synergistic effect of
cascaded plasma-adsorbent system was studied. The results were discussed in detail.
EXPERIMENTAL SET UP
A bio-diesel run 5 kW DG Set is used as the source of NOx in the present study.
While the main exhaust was let to the atmosphere, a small percentage is taken into
the laboratory. This sampled exhaust was then passed through several filtering units
to eliminate soot, oil mist, water vapor and other fine solid particulate matter. The
flow of the exhaust was then regulated using a vacuum pump before allowing it
316
through the dielectric barrier discharge reactor. On application of high voltage to the
reactor, radical induced chemical reactions take place leading to
conversion/reduction/oxidation of NOx. For further improvement of the NOx
removal efficiency, an adsorbent system is cascaded. The treated gas was measured
for its composition using a gas analyzer. Fig. 1 shows the schematic of the
experimental set-up.
Fig. 1 Experimental setup

The experiment was carried out using two different DBD plasma reactor
configurations. The first one, the pipe cylinder reactor, was made up of a glass tube
enclosing a steel pipe (the high voltage electrode), fitted concentrically within the
glass tube to provide a homogeneous electric field distribution. The glass tube was
enveloped with aluminum tapes for grounding purpose.
Fig. 2 Pipe cylinder reactor

The second reactor, the helical wire double ground reactor, included a grounded
steel pipe placed inside a glass tube, which in turn was positioned concentrically
within another glass tube. A steel helical wire was tightly wound on the inner glass
tube and the outer glass tube was grounded in a manner similar to that in the pipe
cylinder reactor.
317
Fig. 3: Helical wire double ground reactor

The energization used for plasma creation was unipolar repetitive pulses which were
generated via intermittent discharges of a capacitor using a rotary spark gap (RSG)
switch. The pulses were of frequency 55- 60 Hz having a rise time of about 20-40
ns.
Plasma reactor is followed by adsorbent reactor where two commercially available
adsorbents were used namely, NaZSM-5 and CMS. Fig 4 shows the pellets of
NaZSM-5 and CMS used in the current study. The pore size of the NaZSM-5
molecule is 5 . It has had reasonable success in NOx adsorption process. Its
surface area is 425 m2/g and the particle size distribution is 2 to 10 m. The pore
size of the CMS is about 3-5 and is being extensively used for O2/N2 separation.
Fig. 4 NaZSM-5 Pellet and CMS pellet

The experiments are carried out at room temperature. The sampled exhaust flow rate
is maintained at 3.8 lpm and the exhaust is filtered and conditioned before treatment.
318
Table 1 Initial concentration of pollutants in biodiesel exhaust

Pollutant
NO (ppm)
NO2 (ppm)
NOX (ppm)
CO (ppm)
O2 (%)
No Load Concentration
318-346
18-30
336-376
950-1500
16.16-16.8
Load Concentration
599-654
54-63
662-715
878-1055
13.97-14-34
The initial concentrations of the pollutants in the biodiesel exhaust under 0% load
and at 20% loading conditions are mentioned in table 1.
The reaction pathways for NOx formation within the diesel engine at high
temperature and pressure are:
N2 + 2O2 2NO2
(1)
N2 + O2 2NO
(2)
It should be noted here that the moisture present in the gaseous exhaust is removed
by water traps and desiccant drierite, the possibility of formation of nitric acid is
negligible.
The plasma atmosphere causes dissociation of the background gas molecules N2 and
O2 by means of highly energetic electrons leading to the formation of N, O and O3
radicals as shown in the following reactions:
O2+ e O + O + e
(3)
O2 + O O 3
(4)
N2 + e N + N +e
(5)
These radicals in turn cause several reduction and oxidation reactions. The reaction
pathways for NO/ NO2 formation/ dissociation are given in Anusuya et al. (2014).
Preliminary investigations were done to understand the relative performance of AC
and pulse energization with respect to the two DBD reactors as shown in Fig. 5. It
can be inferred that the pulse source has shown better performance out of the two
energy sources under investigation. Further, it is clear that in the case of pulse
319
energization, the specific energy consumption by the pipe cylinder reactor is

significantly lower than that with AC energization for a given NOx removal
efficiency. In other words, for a given specific energy, pulse energized pipe cylinder
reactor exhibited highest NOx removal efficiency amongst the four cases shown in
Fig. 5. It should be noted here that further discussion in this paper is concentrated on
the experiments carried out under pulse energization with pipe cylinder chosen as
the plasma reactor.
Fig. 5 Comparison of the NOx removal efficiencies exhibited by the pipe

cylinder reactor and the helical double ground reactor under pulse and AC
energization at 0% loading
320
Fig. 6 Variation of NO/ NO2 for pipe cylinder reactor with CMS and NaZSM-5
Fig. 6 depicts the effects of the two absorbents, the NaZSM-5 and the CMS, on the
NO and NO2 concentrations when cascaded with plasma reactor. Both the adsorbents
have greater affinity towards NO2 adsorption. However, NaZSM-5 appears to have a
large affinity towards NO adsorption as well. It can be seen that NaZSM-5 removes
a large amount of NO/NO2 at zero plasma but when used in cascade with plasma the
rate of NO adsorption is reduced. While CMS exhibits a lower level of efficiency in
the initial energy levels, it increases at a steady rate and ultimately adsorbs more
NOx than NaZSM-5. This is because NO is converted to NO2 in the oxygen rich
atmosphere of the plasma reactor, and the CMS adsorbs NO 2 better. Both the
adsorbents show similar NOx removal efficiencies at energy densities greater than
47 J/l. This is more evident from Fig. 7 where the variation in NOx removal
efficiency is plotted as a function of specific energy. Finally, it is observed that at a
specific energy of 55 J/l, the NOx removal efficiency of the plasma alone is 44%,
and the presence of adsorbents downstream of the plasma reactor enhances the
efficiency to 80 %. This occurs due to the synergistic effect between plasma and the
adsorbents used.
321
Fig. 7 Comparison of NOx removal efficiency for the pipe cylinder reactor and
the two adsorbents at 0% loading
Fig 8 displays the results obtained for the NOx concentrations at 20% loading
condition, which is a step towards the practical condition. With 20% loading, the
initial concentration of NO in biodiesel exhaust increases to around 600 ppm though
the level of NO2 remains the same.
Fig. 8 NO/ NO2 concentration variation under 20% load condition
322
The variation of NO/ NO2 levels with the specific energy with loading can be seen
from Fig. 8. The graph follows the same trend as under no-load conditions.
However, due to increased levels of the pollutant concentration, the reduction in
NOx concentration is not as high as that of the no load case. Therefore, it can be
inferred that both the adsorbents show similar behavior in the case under no load as
well as when under loading when cascaded with the plasma reactor
Further, the total NOx removal efficiency at 20 % loading is depicted in Fig. 9. As
before, NaZSM-5 exhibits better adsorption properties as compared to CMS at lower
energy levels. The rate of NOx removal efficiency by CMS progresses more than
that of NaZSM-5, eventually crossing the efficiency of NaZSM-5 by a small
amount. At the specific energy of around 55 J/l for example, 45% removal of NOx
takes place with CMS whereas only 40% removal efficiency is achieved with
NaZSM-5.
Fig. 9 Comparison of NOx removal efficiency for the pipe cylinder reactor and
the two adsorbents under 20% loading
The bar graph in Fig. 10 exhibits the initial performance of the adsorbents alone
and compares them with the best results of the plasma adsorbent combination. The
initial concentration of NO in the biodiesel exhaust is 316 ppm and that of NO2 is 19
ppm. When the exhaust is allowed to flow through the adsorbents alone, NaZSM-5
shows promising results with 61.38% removal efficiency whereas 21% removal
efficiency is achieved in the case of CMS. It was noted that with plasma alone,
44.18% NOx was removed at 55 J/l, with notable reduction in NO concentration.
However, as discussed before, a large proportion of this NO is converted to NO 2.
When plasma- treated gas was allowed to pass through the adsorbent column, a
remarkable NOx removal efficiency of 80 % and 84% was accomplished by
NaZSM-5 and CMS respectively at 55 J/l. Interestingly, the plasma treated gas,
323
when it passes through any of the adsorbent reactor leads to significant production of
NO. This can be attributed to the reaction of the exhaust byproducts with NO2 over
the surface of the adsorbents at the operating temperatures, which needs to be
verified.
Fig. 10 Trends in NO/NO2 concentration for different conditions of gas

treatment under no loading (percentage values indicate NOx removal)
Fig. 11 shows the corresponding graph in the case of 20 % loading of the diesel
engine. Here, the CMS adsorbs 13.25% and NaZSM-5 adsorbs 18.54% of NOx on
their own. Plasma alone accounts for 18.42% removal of NOx characterized mainly
by NO removal at 51 J/l. At 55 J/l, 40% removal is achieved with the plasmaNaZSM-5 combination. At the same specific energy, the plasma-CMS combination
obtains a removal efficiency of 44.18%. Here also, a similar trend in increase of NO
was observed for plasma-adsorbent treatment.
324
Fig. 11 Trends in NO/NO2 concentration for different conditions of gas

treatment under 20% loading (percentage values indicate NOx removal)
CONCLUSIONS
1.
2.
3.
Laboratory studies demonstrate successful reduction of NOx present in

Biodiesel engine exhaust to a large extent by electrical discharges
Both CMS and NaZSM5 exhibited similar trends in NOx adsorption.
Plasma cascaded with adsorbent gives best results for both no- load and
loading conditions.
Based on the results achieved at laboratory level further studies can be planned to
mitigate the pollutants at real operating condition of the exhaust without exercising
any control on the flow, temperature and moisture. This involves quite a bit of
investment, caution, time and efforts.
REFERENCES
Anusuya Bhattacharyya; Sanjana Kerketta; Shekhar Kumar M; Rajanikanth B.
S.,( 2014) Discharge plasma cascaded with fly ash for removal of nox in biodiesel
325
exhaust: a feasibility study, International Symposium on Non-Thermal/Thermal

Plasma Pollution Control Technology and Sustainable Energy, Dalian, China , S402.
Anusuya Bhattacharyya and Rajanikanth B. S. (2013), Performance of Helical and
Straight-wire Corona Electrodes for NOx Abatement under AC/Pulse
Energizations, International Journal of Plasma Environmental Science &
Technology, 7 (2), 148-156.
Hackam R. and Akiyama H. (2000), Air Pollution Control by Electrical
Discharges, IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation 7 (5), 31-45.
Chae J.-O (2003),Non-thermal plasma for diesel exhaust treatment, Journal of
Electrostatics 57, 251262.
Penetrante B. M., Hsiao M. C., Merritt B. T., Vogtlin G. E., and Wallman P. H,
Neiger M. and Wolf O., Hammer T. and Broer S. (1998), Pulsed corona and
dielectric-barrier discharge processing of NO in N2, Appl. Phys. Lett., 68, 37193721.
Rajanikanth B S, Dipanwita Sinha and Emmanuel P (2008), Discharge Plasma
Assisted Adsorbents for Exhaust Treatment: A Comparative Analysis on Enhancing
NOx Removal, Plasma Science and Technology, 10 (3), 307-312.
Rajanikanth B. S., Srinivasan A. D., Subhankar Das (2005), Enhanced Performance
of Discharge Plasma in Raw Engine Exhaust Treatment-Operation under Different
Temperatures and Loads, Plasma Science & Technology, 7 (4).
Wang J. Y.., Nie Y, Zhong K., Wang L. M., Guan Z. C. (2007), The Influences of
Power Supply on Lean NOx Removal by Plasma-facilitated Selective Catalytic
Reduction, Annual Report Conference on Electrical Insulation and Dielectric
Phenomena.
Young Sun Mok, Ravi V., Ho-Chul Kang, and Rajanikanth B. S. (2000),
Abatement of Nitrogen Oxides in a Catalytic Reactor Enhanced by Nonthermal
Plasma Discharge, IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 31 (1).
326

Influence of Settling Time on Aerobic Granulation

process for the Treatment of Wastewater
B.K. Bindhu1, G. Madhu2
1
Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology,

Kottayam-686 501, Kerala, India,
2
Professor, School of Engineering, Cochin University of Science and Technology
ABSTRACT
Aerobic granulation is a novel idea in biotechnology for wastewater
treatment. It has several advantages over conventional activated sludge process
like denser sludge and faster settleability. The sequencing batch reactor (SBR)
method of wastewater treatment has received considerable attention because it is
compact, easy to operate and maintain, and capable of eliminating nutrients.
Aerobic treatment in SBR leaves a small footprint, as separate settling units are
not required. The formation and development of granules and the pollutant
removal are closely associated with settling time. Treatment of synthetic
wastewater was studied with aerobic granulation technology in sequencing batch
reactor under various settling times. Three trials (trial 1, 2, and 3) were
conducted with settling times of 3, 5 and 10 minutes respectively, keeping the
organic loading rate (OLR) as 6 kg COD/(m3.d) in all trials. Aerobic granules
could be developed in all cases. A COD removal efficiency of 97.80.23% and
97.90.35% and sludge with good sludge volume index (SVI) of 230.5 ml/g and
25 0.5 ml/g could be achieved in trial 1 and 2 respectively. Excellent specific
gravity for granular sludge was observed in both cases. During trial 3, the
reactor showed unhealthy conditions in terms of COD removal efficiency and SVI
after 5 weeks of operation, with loose structured sludge and wash-out of sludge.
This study establishes the fact that a low settling time can improve the
performance of the aerobic granulation in terms of COD removal, settleability of
sludge, and compactness of granules.
Corresponding author: B.K. Bindhu. E-mail: bindhu@rit.ac.in
Influence of settling time on aerobic granulation.
INTRODUCTION
Solid-liquid separation is the basic idea of all types of water and wastewater
treatment systems. The removal of organic matter is achieved by microorganisms in
the biological treatment systems attached or suspended. The effective separation of
biomass from the treated effluent leads to the success of any biological treatment
process. For the conventional activated sludge process, separation efficiency of
biosolids from liquid phase has a significant implication for the design of biological
wastewater treatment systems (Tay et al., 2002). Bioflocs formed in activated sludge
process need longer time for separation as they are not in compacted form and are
light in weight. Hence researches have been done to improve the settleability of the
biosolids.
Biogranulation is a technology developed for wastewater treatment during early
80s. Compared to conventional activated sludge flocs, the advantages of granular
activated sludge are compactness and strength of the structure. It also has good
settleability, high capacity for biomass retention and is able to withstand high
organic loading rates. Almost all research on aerobic granulation has been conducted
and proved to be successful in sequencing batch reactors (SBRs). The SBR is a fill
and - draw (batch) activated sludge system in which the characteristics of operation
can be varied by controlling the time period of each cycle. The system is operated in
a cyclical manner, with each cycle consists of filling, aeration, settling, and
decanting. Among the various phases of the cycle time, settling time (ST) is the
most important fraction that can exert a selection pressure. Particles that can settle
within the allowed settling time will be retained in the reactor, and particles with
poor settleability will be washed out. This continuous selection process may lead to
the formation of aerobic granules slowly from the easily settleable bioflocs. This
paper presents an attempt to study the influence the settling time on aerobic
granulation for the treatment of wastewater.
EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP AND OPERATION
A column type SBR with an effective volume of 2 litres was used for the
experiment. The internal diameter and the effective height of the reactor were 6.5 cm
and 60.3 cm respectively. Influent was added from the bottom and the effluent was
withdrawn from the middle port by two peristaltic pumps. The volume exchange
ratio was kept as 50 %. Air was introduced from the bottom through a porous stone
diffuser, maintaining a superficial air velocity of 3.0 cm/s. The reactor was operated
in successive cycles of 4 hours, which is comprised of 5 min for feeding influent,
225 min for aeration, 5 min for settling, and 5 min for effluent withdrawal. The
328
cyclic operation was controlled by a micro controller AT89C51. Schematic of the

SBR is shown in Fig.1.
Fig.1 Schematic of the Column SBR
INFLUENT AND SEED SLUDGE

The synthetic wastewater consisted of sodium acetate as the sole carbon source was
used for the study. The composition of the feeding solution including micro-nutriens
was adopted from Tay et al. (2002). It gives a total COD of 2000 mg/L. The
composition of the influent is given in Table 1.
Table 1 Composition of the feed
Constituent
Sodium acetate
NH4Cl
K2HPO4
KH2PO4
CaCl2.2H2O
MgSO4 7H2O
FeSO4 7H2O
Micro-nutrients
Concentration
2.93 g/l
350 mg/l
30 mg/l
25 mg/l
30 mg/l
25 mg/l
20 mg/l
1 ml/l
The seed sludge was collected from the activated sludge processing unit of the
Petrochemical Division of Fertilizers And Chemicals Travancore (FACT) Limited,
Cochin, Kerala. The sludge had a gray colour with sludge volume index (SVI) of
245 ml/g and mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) of 5050 mg/l.
329
METHOD
Three different settling times (3 min, 5 min, and 10 min) were studied in three
different trials (trial 1, trial 2, and trial 3 respectively). All other operating
parameters except settling time were kept constant for the present study. For each
trial the reactor was started with 750 ml of seed sludge. The reactor was seeded with
the activated sludge treatment plant after 3 days acclimation.

When the SBR was operated with settling time as 3 min, the MLSS was found to
reduce considerably in the initial period of operation due to the wash out of poorly
settleable sludge particles. The reactor could achieve a MLSS concentration above
2000 mg/l after two weeks only. The granules were first visible on day 19, and soon
after that MLSS showed a marked increase. Steady state was achieved on day 30 and
the MLSS reached around 10000 mg/l towards the end of operation. When the
settling time was increased to 5 min, the MLSS reach 7900 mg/l. Experiments with
settling time as 10 min, formation and development of granules were delayed and
they could not be get matured even after running up to 40 days. The MLSS also
showed a drastic reduction towards the end of operation. The average size of the
granules at three trials were 2.1, 2.4 and 1.1 mm (trial with settling time 3 min, 5
min and 10 min) respectively. The ability of the sludge to settle was measured in
terms of SVI and settling velocity and the values are given in Table 2. The highest
settling velocity (72 m/hr) was observed in trial 1.
The trial with settling time as 10 min resulted in a higher value of SVI (75 ml/g) and
lower value of settling velocity (31.2 m/hr) compared to those obtained in other two
trials. It can be concluded that a lower settling time favours a higher settling
velocity. The variations of COD removal efficiency and SVI with settling time were
graphically represented in Fig. 2 (a & b).
Qin et al., (2004a, b) suggested that very weak selection pressure in terms of long
settling time did not favour aerobic granulation and the settling time required for
successful aerobic granulation would not be longer than 15 min. McSwain et al.,
(2004) and Adav et al., (2009) also concluded with experimental results that short
settling times in SBR cycle select for fast settling granules and the initial mass washout and continual removal of flocs affects species selection during start-up and
produces a less diverse but more stable population. Various enhancement strategies
were studied by Gao et al., (2011) and was concluded that stepwise reduction in
settling time can result in efficient granulation in SBR. Liu et al. (2010) developed
aerobic granules in a pilot scale SBR to treat real wastewater. When a gradual
reduction of settling time from 45 min to 8 min was adopted, a COD removal
efficiency of 80 % was achieved.
330
(a)
(b)
Fig. 2 (a) Variation of COD removal efficiency with settling time (b) variation of
SVI with settling time
The attempt of aerobic granulation with settling time as 10 min could result in a
COD removal efficiency of 90.11% only. Trials with settling time 5 min and 3 min
did not make much difference in terms of COD removal efficiency (97.90.35and
97.80.23% respectively), even though the MLSS concentrations were 790065 and
10000173 mg/l respectively. It is evident from the results that same pollutant
removal efficiency can be achieved at a lower settling time which can positively
affect the overall economy of the treatment system. Investigations relating the
settling time with COD removal are found scanty, hence the results of this study are
expected to be useful for the development of aerobic granular treatment system for
full-scale applications.
Table2 Reactor performance under varying settling times
Reactor performance
Settling Time, min
Granule appearance
Steady state
Size of granule, mm
Settling velocity, m/hr
MLSS, mg/l
SVI, ml/g
Effluent COD, mg/l
COD removal efficiency, %
Trial 1
3
day 19
day 30
2.10.3
724
10000173
230.5
454.7
97.80.23
Trial 2
5
day 17
day 28
2.40.4
55.23.2
790065
250.4
467
97.90.35
Trial 3
10
day 28
--1.10.4
31.22.5
3500440
757
19539
90.11
When the influence of settling time as a selection pressure in aerobic granulation

was studied, the results reinforced the fact that short settling times can enhance
granulation in SBR while long settling times result in suspended sludge. McSwain et
al., (2004) studied the influence of settling time on the formation of aerobic granules
by operating two SBRs with settling time as 2 min and 10 min, and could develop
granules in both cases, hence it was concluded that short settling times are only
necessary to select for predominantly granular sludge.
331
CONCLUSIONS
From the results of the present study following conclusions can be arrived.
A long settling time of the order 10 min could not yield a fully developed
granular sludge with good settling ability.
A settling time of 3 min was sufficient to produce well developed granules with
excellent settleability and to achieve a COD removal of 97.80.23%.
A short settling favours faster selection of settleable particles in a SBR.
A shorter settling time helps to make the wastewater treatment efficient and
economical.
REFERENCES
Adav, S.S., Lee, D.J., and Lai, J.Y., (2009), Aerobic granulation in sequencing
batch reactors at different settling times, Bioresource Technology, 100 (21), 53595361.
Gao, D., Liu, L., Liang, H. and Wu, W.M. (2011), Comparison of four
enhancement strategies for aerobic granulation in sequencing batch reactors,
Journal of Hazardous Materials, 186 (1), 320-327.
Liu, Y.Q., Moy, B., Kong, Y.H., and Tay, J.H. (2010), Formation, physical
characteristics and microbial community structure of aerobic granules in a pilot-scale
sequencing batch reactor for real wastewater treatment, Enzyme and Microbial
Technology, 46 (6), 520-525
Mc Swain, B.S., Irvine, R.L., and Wilderer, P.A. (2004), The influence of settling
time on the formation of aerobic granules, Water Science and Technology, 50 (10),
195-202.
Qin, L., Tay, J.H., and Liu, Y. (2004a), Selection pressure is a driving force of
aerobic granulation in sequencing batch reactors, Process Biochemistry, 39 (5),
579584.
Qin, L., Tay, J.H., and Liu, Y. (2004b), Effect of settling time on aerobic
granulation in sequencing batch reactor, Biochemical Engineering Journal, 21 (1),
4752.
Tay, J.H., Liu, Q.S., and Liu, Y. (2002), Aerobic granulation in sequential sludge blanket
reactor, Water Science and Technology, 46 (45), 1318.
332

La1-xAxCoO3 (A= Sr, Ce; x=0, 0.2) Perovskite Based

Catalysts for Abating Automotive CO Emission
Femina Patel1, Sanjay Patel2
1
Associate Professor, 2Professor

Institute of Technology, Nirma University
Ahmedabad- 382 481, Gujarat, India.
ABSTRACT
LaCoO3, La0.8Sr0.2CoO3 and La0.8Ce0.2CoO3 perovskite type catalysts were prepared
by citrate complexation method. Prepared catalysts were characterized by various
characterization techniques such as XRD and BET. The catalytic performance of the
perovskites for automotive CO oxidation was carried out using atmospheric gas-solid
fixed bed catalytic reactor with simulated gas mixture containing 1% CO, 1% O 2 and
balance N2.
Among the prepared samples, La0.8Ce0.2CoO3 perovskite catalyst shows the higher
activity for CO oxidation than other catalysts. It exhibited lower T50 (light off
temperature) and T100 at 230 and 350 0C respectively than that for all prepared
catalysts compositions. XRD pattern shows that the trace amount of Co 3O4 was
present in La0.8Ce0.2CoO3 catalyst which exhibited promotional role in enhancing the
catalytic activity for CO oxidation of cobaltite sample. The catalytic activity declines
after substitution of Sr because of formation of other phase SrBO 3 as it reduces the
rate of oxygen diffusion and the reducibility of the catalyst. Hence, for the
environmental application of the automotive emission control, La 0.8Ce0.2CoO3
perovskite catalyst is suitable for elimination of poisonous gases.
Keywords: Catalytic converter; Perovskite; Automotive emission; Citrate-complexation
Femina Patel. E-mail: femina.patel@nirmauni.ac.in
La1-xAxCoO3 (A= Sr, Ce; x=0, 0.2) perovskite based..
INTRODUCTION
Air pollution generated from automobiles has been a burning issue because of
poisonous gases like carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbons (HC), nitrogen
oxides (NOx) and particulate matters (PM) emitted by automobiles (Wei (1975);
Bera and Hegde (2010)). These pollutants create adverse effect on human health, air
quality and the environment that lead in stringent regulations in the form of emission
norms (Bera and Hegde (2010)). To control tail pipe emission from two/four
wheelers, three way catalytic converter based on Pt-Pd-Rh have been used
successfully however it has some limitations (Kaspar et al. (2003); Bera and Hegde
(2010)). Perovskite oxides (with general formula ABO3 where A and B are rare
earth, alkaline earth, alkali metal and transition metal cations respectively) can be
alternative catalytic material to this noble metals based three way catalytic converter
for automotive CO oxidation because of their low cost, thermal stability at high
temperature, high mechanical stability and excellent redox properties (Sartipi et al.
(2008); Doggali et al. (2010)). Perovskite compounds can tolerate significant partial
substitution and oxygen non-stoichiometry without destroying the perovskite
structure. A large number of metal ions having different oxidation state can replace
both A and B ions ((Khanfekr et al. (2009)). The properties of ABO3 perovskites can
be easily modified by partial substitution of the A-site cation La3+ with other cations
of different oxidation states like Sr2+ or Ce4+. These substituted catalysts enhance the
oxidation catalytic activity of the catalyst by creating defect structure, modifying the
vacancy concentration, by facilitating oxygen mobility or by enhancing the redox
activity of the Bn+ cation ((Levasseur and Kaliaguine (2009); Ghasdi et al. (2011)).
MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL METHODS

MATERIALS
All chemicals used were analytical or laboratory grade reagents with more than
98.0% purity which were supplied by CDH, Merck and HPLC grade.
CATALYST PREPARATION
LaCoO3, La0.8Sr0.2CoO3 and La0.8Ce0.2CoO3 perovskite catalysts were prepared
according to complexation method using citric acid as a complexation agent. A
typical procedure for preparing LaCoO3 perovskite catalyst is as follows: 17.60 g of
lanthanum nitrate (La(NO3)36H2O) and 11.82 g of cobalt nitrate (Co(NO 3)26H2O)
were first dissolved in 15 ml of distilled water separately. The molar ratio of citric
acid to total metal cations was fixed at unity. Subsequently, 15 ml of aqueous
solution containing 10 wt% excess (17.16 g) of citric acid to ensure complete
complexation of the metal ions was slowly added to the precursor solution under
334
vigorous stirring at room temperature for 15 min. The resulting solution was heated
at 80 0C in oil bath to form a viscous gel which finally yield a solid precursor upon
slow solvent evaporation at 110 0C overnight in hot air oven; it was finally calcined
in muffle furnace under air at 800 0C (ramp = 10 0C/min) for 5 h in order to achieve
the corresponding perovskite structure in the samples.
La0.8Sr0.2CoO3 perovskite catalyst was also prepared according to citrate method.
Metal nitrates (La(NO3)36H2O, Sr(NO3)2, Co(NO3)26H2O) were first separately
dissolved in distilled water (25 ml). Citric acid (10 wt% excess over the 1.5 times
the number of moles of metal cations) was separately dissolved in distilled water (25
ml) and added to the precursor solution under vigorous stirring for 15 min. Excess
water was evaporated in oil bath at 80 0C until a gel was obtained. The viscous gel
was then dried at 110 0C overnight in hot air oven. The obtained spongy material
was finely ground and calcined under air atmosphere at 750 0C (ramp = 10 0C/min)
for 5 h in muffle furnace.
La0.8Ce0.2CoO3 perovskite catalyst prepared by citrate method with same procedure
described above except calcination temperature. The precursors used are
Ce(NO3)36H2O for Ce in case of La0.8Ce0.2CoO3. The obtained spongy material was
calcined under air atmosphere at 800 0C (ramp = 10 0C/min) for 5 h in muffle
furnace for La0.8Ce0.2CoO3 perovskite catalyst.
CATALYST CHARACTERIZATION
Phase analysis was determined by X-ray diffraction using XPert MPD system
(Philips) with Cu K radiation ( = 1.5406 ). Spectra were recorded with a step of
0.050 for 2 between 20 to 800. The crystal phases were identified using the JCPDS
data bank. The specific surface area of the catalyst samples were determined using
ASAP 2010 Micromeritics in which nitrogen adsorption /desorption isotherms
measured at -196 0C. Samples were first evacuated for 6 h at 300 0C to remove
moisture prior to adsorptiondesorption experiments. The specific surface area was
determined from the linear part of the BET curve. The pore size distributions were
calculated using the BarrettJoynerHalenda (BJH) formula.
CATALYTIC ACTIVITY
The catalytic oxidation of CO was carried out in a stainless steel fixed bed reactor
(I.D. 1.805 cm, O.D. 1.905 cm and L. 50 cm) equipped with furnace and flow
controllers. 0.75 g of catalyst particles were used for all the experiments mixed with
3 g of SiO2 (0.51.5 mm) granulates in order to reduce the specific pressure drop
across the reactor and to prevent thermal runaways. The reactor was placed
vertically in the center of tubular PID-regulated furnace. The temperature of the
catalyst bed was monitored by K type thermocouple placed inside coaxially
centered thermo well whose end was in contact with the catalyst bed. The feed gas
335
La1-xAxCoO3 (A= Sr, Ce; x=0, 0.2) perovskite based..
with a total flow rate of 400 N ml/min which corresponds to WHSV 32000 Ncm3g1 -1
h and composition of 1% CO, 1% O2 and 98% N2 (by vol) was used for the
activity test. The reaction temperature was raised from 100 0C to 600 0C and product
stream was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC 2010, Shimadzu) using Shin
Carbon ST 100/120 micropacked column with TCD detector. The CO conversion
in activity tests was defined as: XCO= (Ff,CO - Fp,CO)/ Ff,CO Where Ff,CO: Molar flow
rate of CO in feed stream, Fp,CO: Molar flow rate of CO in product stream. The mass
balance with respect to carbon was 100 3% in all catalytic tests.

XRD spectra show that a single phase perovskite type oxide (JCPDS card 00-0251060) was obtained for all Co based catalysts. XRD spectra show that a small
amount of SrCoO2.8 (JCPDS card 00-039-1084) besides the ABO3 perovskite phase
was obtained for La0.8Sr0.2CoO3 catalyst. The spectra show that after calcination at
800 0C for 5 h, the perovskite structure was developed for LaCoO 3. The spectra
show that after calcination at 800 0C for 5 h, the perovskite structure developed for
La0.8Ce0.2CoO3 catalyst as per JCPDS card 00-025-1060. The XRD patterns reveal
that a small amount of Co3O4 (JCPDS card 00-043-1003) appeared in addition to the
major ABO3 perovskite when substitution of Ce exceeded 10%. Ghasdi et al. (2011)
pointed out that Ce occupy the B-site of LaCoO3 peovskite is based on the solubility
of Ce in the perovskite structure which is up to a saturation point. Moreover, Ce
doping after the saturation point may increase the level of impurities. Levasseur and
Kaliaguine (2009) reported that over 10% Ce substitution in the structure causes
some segregation. That might be the reason that Co3O4 was observed in case of
La0.8Ce0.2CoO3 catalyst.
Table 1 Physicochemical properties, Light-off temperature (T50) and complete
conversion temperature (T100) of La1-xAxCoO3 (A= Sr, Ce; x=0, 0.2) perovskite
catalysts prepared by citrate method
Catalyst
composition
with
calcination
temperature
and duration
LaCoO3
800 0C, 5 h
La0.8Sr0.2CoO
3
0
750 C, 5 h
La0.8Ce0.2CoO3
800 0C, 5 h
336
XRD
phase
Crysta
llite
size,
dXRD
(nm)
BET
(m2/g)
Pore
size
(nm)
Pore
volume
(cm3/g)
T50
(0C)
T100
0
C
T
(0C)
LaCoO3
42.13
5.50
6.75
0.0092
220
349
129
LaCoO3
SrCoO2.
31.24
3.91
8.32
0.0081
250
350
100
33.68
5.10
16.85
0.0215
230
335
105
80
LaCoO3
Co3O4
The results of the nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms at -196 0C for La1xAxCoO3 (A= Sr, Ce; x=0, 0.2) perovskite-type mixed oxides prepared by citrate
method were exhibited a shape of Type IV isotherm with a hysteresis. 20% Sr
substitution at A-site (i.e. La0.8Sr0.2CoO3) and 20% Ce at A-site (La0.8Ce0.2CoO3) of
ABO3 perovskite diminished the specific surface area of LaCoO 3 from 5.50 down to
3.91 and 5.10 m2/g respectively. Physicochemical properties of La1-xAxCoO3 (A= Sr,
Ce; x=0, 0.2) perovskite catalysts prepared by citrate method are reported in Table
1.
The catalytic CO oxidation tests (WHSV = 32000 Ncm3/g h) were carried out with a
simulated gas mixture containing 1% CO, 1% O2 and 98% N2 over the La1-xAxCoO3
(A= Sr, Ce; x=0, 0.2) perovskite catalysts as a function of temperature. Among the
prepared samples, La0.8Ce0.2CoO3 perovskite catalyst shows the higher activity for
CO oxidation than other catalysts. The temperature corresponding to 50%
conversion of CO is defined as light-off temperature of the catalyst. The lower the
light-off temperature indicates that catalyst is more active. In Table 1, the values of
T50 and T100, the temperature of 50% and complete (100%) conversion of CO
respectively for La1-xAxCoO3 (A= Sr, Ce; x=0, 0.2) perovskite catalysts are reported.
Catalytic activity results for automotive CO oxidation shows that La0.8Ce0.2CoO3
exhibited lower T50 (light off temperature) and T 100 at 230 and 350 0C respectively
than that for all prepared catalysts compositions. XRD pattern shows that the trace
amount of Co3O4 was present in La0.8Ce0.2CoO3 catalyst which exhibited
promotional role in enhancing the catalytic activity for CO oxidation of cobaltite
sample. The physicochemical properties of ABO3 perovskites can be easily modified
by partial substitution of the A-site cation La3+ with Ce4+. These substituted catalysts
enhance the oxidation catalytic activity of the catalyst by creating defect structure,
modifying the vacancy concentration, by facilitating oxygen mobility or by
enhancing the redox activity of the Bn+ cation (Levasseur and Kaliaguine (2009);
Ghasdi et al. (2011)). The mentioned all above parameters might be responsible for
higher catalytic activity for T100 over La0.8Ce0.2CoO3 perovskite catalyst.
The catalytic activity for CO oxidation declines after substitution of Sr because of
formation of other phase SrBO3 as it reduces the formation of less number of active
sites, reduced the rate of oxygen desorption and also reducibility of the catalyst.
Shen and Weng (1998) revealed that substituting La with Sr in the catalysts of the
Mn, Co and Ni series can enhance the catalytic activity for NO reduction with CO;
however an optimum substitution fraction exists in each series. The catalytic activity
declines after substitution of Sr which forms SrBO3 because it reduces the rate of
oxygen diffusion and the reducibility of the catalyst. Hence, for the environmental
application of the automotive emission control, La0.8Ce0.2CoO3 perovskite catalyst is
suitable for elimination of poisonous gases.
337
La1-xAxCoO3 (A= Sr, Ce; x=0.2) perovskite based
CONCLUSIONS
LaCoO3, La0.8Sr0.2CoO3 and La0.8Ce0.2CoO3 perovskite catalysts were prepared by
citrate complexation. The prepared perovskite catalysts were characterized by
various characterization techniques. They were studied for automotive CO
oxidation. Following conclusions have been drawn from the present study.All the
catalysts prepared by citrate methods exhibited complete conversion of CO with
100% selectivity to CO2 at the temperature less than 350 0C. The substitution of 20%
Ce in LaCoO3 i.e. La0.8Ce0.2CoO3 catalyst prepared by citrate method enhanced the
catalytic activity compared to LaCoO3 and La0.8Sr0.2CoO3 perovskites because the
trace amount of Co3O4 was present in La0.8Ce0.2CoO3 catalyst which exhibited
promotional role in enhancing the catalytic activity for CO oxidation. Hence, for the
environmental application of the automotive emission control, La 0.8Ce0.2CoO3
perovskite catalyst is suitable for elimination of poisonous gases.
REFERENCES
Bera, P. and Hegde. M (2010) ,Recent advances in auto exhaust catalysis Journal
of the Indian Institute of Science 90.2, 299-325.
Prasad, R. and Singh. P. (2012), A review on CO oxidation over copper chromite
catalyst Catalysis Reviews: Science and Engineering 54, 224-279.
Sartipi, S. Ali Khodadadi, A. and Mortazavi. Y. (2008), Pd-doped LaCoO3
regenerative catalyst for automotive emissions control Applied Catalysis B:
Environmental 83. 3-4, 214-220.
Doggali, P., Kusaba, S., Teraoka, Y., Chankapure, P. , Rayalu, S. and. Labhsetwar.
N. (2010), La0.9Ba0.1CoO3 perovskite type catalysts for the control of CO and PM
emissions Catalysis Communications 11, 665-669.
Khanfekr, A., Arzani, K., Nemati, A. and Hosseini. M. (2009), Production of
perovskite catalysts on ceramic monoliths with nanoparticles for dual fuel system
automobiles International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 6.1,
105-112.
Ghasdi, M., Alamdaria, H., Royer, S. and Adnota. A. (2011),Electrical and CO gas
sensing properties of nanostructured La1-xCexCoO3 perovskite prepared by activated
reactive synthesis Sensors and Actuators B 156, 147-155.
Levasseur, B.,and Kaliaguine. S. (2009), Effects of iron and cerium in La1-yCeyCo1xFexO3 perovskites as catalysts for VOC oxidation. Applied Catalysis B:
Environmental 88, 305-314.
338

Eco-Restoration of Coal Mine spoil through an

Integrated Biotechnological Approach
Vipin Kumar1* and Avantika Chandra2
1
Assistant Professor and 2Research Scholar

Department of Environmental Science & Engineering
Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad 826 004, Jharkhand, India
ABSTRACT
Mining activities disrupts the aesthetics of the landscape and soil components such
as soil horizons and structure, soil microbe populations, and nutrient cycles which
are otherwise crucial for sustaining a healthy ecosystem. Being deficient in plant
nutrients due to lack of biologically rich top soil, mine spoil represents a disequilibrated geomorphic system and poses problem for the process of pedogenesis,
re-vegetation and restoration. A great variety of microorganisms has been found in
mine wastes and microbiological processes are usually responsible for the
environmental hazard created by mine wastes. An attempt has been made to restore
the fertility and productivity of coal mine spoil using culture of biofertilizers and
mycorrhizal fungi along with farmyard manure. The physico-chemical and
biological properties of mine spoil before and after treatment were analyzed. Results
indicated that the applications significantly improved the physico-chemical and
microbiological properties (which were practically absent) of the coal mine spoil
dump. This approach leads to achieve the fertility of barren dumps in a very short
time, thus improving the water holding capacity of the spoil and creating top soil to
sustain high quality vegetation forever. Thus, it is an excellent approach for fast
restoration of coal mine spoil dump that provides better supportive material for
anchorage and growth of the plants leading to the development of sustainable ecosystem and improving the environmental health of the nearby contaminated sites.
Vipin Kumar, E-mail: vipinmicro1@gmail.com
Eco-restoration of coal mine spoil.
INTRODUCTION
Mining activity, wherein the land is used temporarily for the exploitation of mineral
wealth, is one of the major causes for the degradation of environment, and it
becomes more serious if it is open cast mining. Open cast mining, have resulted in
drastic alternations in their geochemical cycles and often lead to land degradation,
with adverse changes in soil textural and structural attributes. Opencast mining
damages the top soil layer and affects several changes of the physical, chemical and
microbiological properties of soil (Kundu and Ghose, 1998). Mining operations
degrade significant areas of land and replace existing ecosystem with undesirable
waste materials in form of mine spoil dumps (Singh et al., 2007).
Dump materials are left over the land in the form of overburden dumps
(mine spoils). These occupy large amount of land, which loses its original use and
generally gets soil qualities degraded. Soil contamination from heavy metals
released from mining activities is a worldwide environmental problem (Tack et al.,
1996). These elements become mobile with the exploitation of coal and on
combustion contaminate farms, forests, and soil, and affect the quality of surface and
ground water, and finally, human health (Gupta, 1999).
Microbial activity is a key factor affecting the functioning of all terrestrial
systems. It has an important role in decomposition and nutrient cycling. Soil
microbes are an essential component of most terrestrial ecosystems. Indeed, as
decomposers they regulate nutrient dynamics, and they also act as a highly labile
nutrient pool, so that soil microbes are also considered as a sensitive indicator of soil
fertility (Wardle et al., 2004; Joergensen and Emmerling, 2006). Dehydrogenase
(DHA) is one of the most important enzymes in the soil environment, and is used as
an indicator of overall soil microbial activity because it occurs intracellular in all
living microbial cells. DHA play a significant role in the biological oxidation of soil
organic matter by transferring hydrogen from organic substrates to inorganic
acceptors.
METHODOLOGY
Sample collection and Analyses
Mine spoils were collected from different locations of five un-reclaimed overburden
of Bastacola open cast mine of Jharia coal field, Dhanbad, India. From each site 5
samples were collected, after collection, the samples were mixed thoroughly to
prepare the composite sample. The collected samples were analyzed for physicochemical and biological properties with special emphasis of nutrients status for their
efficient restoration. Dehydrogenase activity was assayed using 2, 3, 5triphenlytetrazolium chloride as substrate. Microbial population such as bacteria,
actinomycetes and fungi were enumerated following standard dilution plate
340
technique and counted as colony forming units (CFU) from a serial dilution of
sample suspension (Aneja, 2010).
Experimental
The experiments were carried out with four replicates in randomized block design
pots with three treatments consisting of two different amendments namely: biofertilizer (BF) and Farmyard manures (FYM) in appropriate combination. The
treatment combinations used are as follow: T0 = control, T1 = Biofertilizers, T2 =
Farmyard manure, T3 = Bio-fertilizers + Farmyard manure.
Properties of mine spoil
Overall mine spoils were found poor in nutrient content and microbial population
(Table 1). The lower level of organic carbon, available nitrogen, available
phosphorous and available potassium in mine spoils, might be due to the disruption
of ecosystem functioning, depletion of soil organic pool, and also due to the loss of
litter layer during mining, which is an integral storage and exchange site for
nutrients. Several researchers also reported lower clay fraction, high soil bulk
density, low water holding capacity and poor physical conditions of over burden
dump materials (Banerjee et al., 2000; Dutta and Agarwal, 2002). Acidification in
the mine spoil due to different mineral deposits in the over burden dump materials
(Johnson and Skousen, 1995; Suzuki et al., 1999). The present observation was also
agreed with (Tripathy et al., 1998) in soil of Jharia coalfield.
Effects of amendments on properties of mine spoil
The statistical analyses suggested that the mine spoil sample treated with different
amendments, enhanced the soil properties significantly (p0.05) over the control
(Table 1). Biofertilizers with farmyard manure amended treatment were found to be
more effective to other treatments. This might be due to incorporation of
amendments as they stimulate the microbial activity, which enhanced the nutrients
(NPK) and organic matter to the spoil material and maintained a healthy positive
nutrient balance. Used bio-fertilizers might have improved the spoil material by
fixing up atmospheric nitrogen, solubilizing inorganic phosphorus and mobilizing
potassium.
The dehydrogenase activity (DHA) of spoil in all the treatments and in the
control was observed at harvesting. The statistical analysis of DHA data showed that
the dehydrogenase activities of spoil sample in all the treatments were significantly
increased compared to control after plantation. Microbial population namely
Bacteria, Actinomycetes and fungi were also increased significantly as compare to
control (Figure 1).
341
Table 1 Physico-chemical and biological properties of coal mine spoils before

and after treatments
Properties
Unit
Values (MeanSD)
Mine spoil
Moisture
content
Water holding
capacity
%
-3
Bulk density
T0
T1
T2
T3
3.310.02
4.330.05d
5.130.13abc
5.380.15a
4.910.11bc
26.330.12
30.380.15e
34.580.72a
34.550.33a
32.280.49d
g cm
1.540.02
1.410.02a
1.270.00de
1.320.05c
1.350.01b
Porosity
43.270.70
46.740.80e
52.250.16ab
50.371.89c
49.080.31d
pH
7.120.02
7.660.04a
6.920.18c
6.770.12c
7.090.14b
EC
dS m-1
0.280.07
0.300.03g
0.650.01d
0.510.04e
0.660.01d
OC
0.720.05
0.880.06d
1.240.01ab
1.210.02bc
1.180.02c
OM
1.240.04
1.520.06d
2.130.02ab
2.090.04bc
2.030.04c
Available N
mg kg-1
22.342.40
28.352.39d
66.251.75abc
67.551.34a
64.750.70bc
Available P
mg kg-1
1.450.03
1.750.04h
5.560.01a
5.160.13c
4.810.14d
mg kg-1
(g g-1 dry
soil h-1)
35.240.12
41.240.11h
54.380.15c
58.330.13a
47.230.26g
2.120.14
4.090.20d
10.150.59a
9.550.17ab
8.540.32c
Available K
Dehydrogenase
activity
Means (SD) followed by the different letters in the same column are statistically different according to
Duncan's multiple range tests (P 0.05).
700
T0
T1
T2
T3
600
cfu/g = ---- x 103
500
400
300
200
100
0
Bacteria
Actinomycetes
Fungi
Microorganisms
Fig. 1 Microbial population in mine spoils after treatment

The organic manures (farmyard manure and vermicompost), especially
vermicompost, slowly releases its nutrient in higher quantity. Conjunctive use of
Rhizobium and phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) and potash mobilizing bacteria
(KMB) with organic manures possibly increased the plant biomass and other
parameters over the control. Application of farmyard manure might have improved
the soil physical conditions and N, P and K content of soil thereby increasing the
342
yield and yield attributes. Several researchers also reported favourable effect of
farmyard manure on seed yield of red gram. Seed inoculation with bio-fertilizer
treatments might have also influenced the grain yield significantly. The
dehydrogenase activity of the spoil at harvest in all the treatments was found to be
more than the control. This was possibly due to the presence of one or more of the
farmyard manure, vermicompost and biofertilizers in the treatments.
CONCLUSIONS
The combinations, prepared with bio-fertilizers along with farmyard
manure induced best results. This is most likely because of the fact that the
microorganisms used as bio-fertilizer stimulated plant growth by providing
necessary nutrients as a result of their colonization at their rhizosphere or by
symbiotic association. From the experimental results, it may be concluded that the
successful growth of studied pulse crops at these barren recalcitrant overburden
dump materials is possible with the application of suitable amendments. To enhance
the fertility of mine spoil for restoration or revegetation, combination of biofertilizer and farmyard manure may be used. For restoration, it is necessary to have a
cover on the top and sides of the dump that is rich in nutrient and organic matter
content and capable of retaining moisture. The findings of this study can be utilized
by the mine managements in the large scale revegetation of several adjacent coal
mining overburden dumps for eco-friendly mining.
REFERENCES
Aneja, K.R. (2010). Experiments in microbiology, plant pathology and
biotechnology, 4th edn. New Age International Publishers, 157-188.
Banerjee, S.K., Das, P.K. and Mishra, T.K. (2000). Microbial and nutritional
characteristics of coal mine overburden spoils in relation to vegetation
development. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci, 48, 63-68.
Dutta, R.K. and Agarwal, M. (2002). Effect of tree plantations on the soil
characteristics and microbial activity of coal mine spoil land. Trop Ecol, 43, 315324.
Gupta, D.C. (1999). Environmental aspects of selected trace elements associated
with coal and natural waters of Pench Valley coalfield of India and their impact on
human health. International J. Coal Geology, 40, 133-149.
Joergensen, R.G. and Emmerling, C. (2006). Methods for evaluating human
impact on soil microorganisms based on their activity, biomass, and diversity in
agricultural soil. J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci, 169, 295-309.
343
Johnson, C.D. and Skousen, J. (1995). Mine soil properties of 15 abandoned mine
land sites in West Virginia. J. Environ. Quality, 24, 635-643.
Kundu, N.K. and Ghose, M.K. (1998). Studies on the existing plant communities in
Eastern coalfield areas with a view to reclamation of mined out land. J. of Environ.
Biolo, 19(1), 8389.
Singh, S., Ghoshal, N. and Singh, K.P. (2007). Synchronizing nitrogen availability
through application of organic inputs of varying resource quality in a tropical dry
land agro-ecosystem. Appl. Soil Ecol, 36, 164-175.
Suzuki, I., Lee, D., Mackay, B., Harahuc, L. and Oh, J.K. (1999). Effect of various
ions, ph, and osmotic pressure on oxidation of elemental sulfur by Thiobacillus
thiooxidans. Appl. Environ. Microbiol, 65, 5163-5168.
Tack, F.M.G., Callewaert, O.W.J.J. and Verloo, M.G. (1996). Metal solubility as a
function of pH in contaminated, dredged sediment affected by oxidation.
Environmental Pollution, 91(2), 199-208.
Tripathy, D.P., Singh, G. and Panigrahi, D.C. (1998). Assessment of soil quality in
the Jharia coalfield. In: Proceedings of the 7th national symposium on environment,
ISM, Dhanbad, 205.
Wardle, D.A., Bardgett, R.D., Klironomos, J.N., Setala, H., Van der Putten, W. and
Wall,D.H. (2004). Ecological linkages between above ground and below ground
biota. Science, 304, 1629-1633.
344

Studies on the Treatment of Pulp and Paper Mill

Wastewater using Electrocoagulation Process
C.B Shivayogimath1, S. Mohammedayub 2, P.B. Bhagawati 3
1
Professor and Head Civil Engg. Dept,

M.Tech Scholar, 3Research Scholar,
Basaveshwar Engineering College Bagalkot, Karnataka, India, 587102.
2
ABSTRACT
High consumption of water is one of the major environmental concerns in paper
industry. Further, the wastewater contains large amount of pollutants like chemical
oxygen demand (COD), color and suspended solids leading to pollution of receiving
water bodies. Hence effective treatment of pulp and paper mill wastewater is still a
challenging task. In view of these factors, a research study was undertaken to
investigate the feasibility of electrocoagulation (EC) process for the treatment of
paper mill wastewater. The studies were conducted in a EC reactor of 1.50 L
capacity with four aluminum electrodes connected in a monopolar parallel system.
The actual wastewater collected from a near-by pulp and paper industry was used
for the treatment studies. The effect of operating parameters such as pH, electrolysis
duration and applied voltage on treatment efficiency was investigated. The
maximum COD, turbidity and total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiencies of
89%, 96% and 72% respectively were obtained at pH: 7 when the applied voltage
was 12V at very short electrolysis duration of 40 minutes. Thus from the results of
study it can be concluded that electrocoagulation process could be an attractive
alternative for the treatment of pulp and paper mill wastewater.
Keywords: Electrocoagulation, aluminum electrodes and paper mill wastewater.
INTRODUCTION
The pulp and paper industry is one of the oldest and major industries contributing
significantly towards the countrys economy. It is also water intensive industry and
ranked third based on water consumption after metal and chemical industries.
Typically the Indian pulp and paper industry consumes about 100-250M3 of water/
ton of paper production (Sridhar et al. (2011)). Therefore it produces large quantity
1
C.B Shivayogimath. E-mail: cb_shivayogimath@rediffmail.com
Studies on the treatment of pulp and paper
of wastewater characterized by high COD, BOD and color (Katal Reza and
Pahlavanzadeh Hassan (2011)). The color of wastewater is due to presence of lignin
derived from raw cellulose (Zaied and Bellakhal (2009)). Therefore cost effective
treatment of pulp and paper industry wastewater to reduce its water pollution
potential is challenging task. Hence many treatment methods like biological
treatment (Bajpai and Bajpai (1994)), membrane filtration (Jonsson et al.(1996)),
chemical precipitation (Stephenson and Duff (1996)) and adsorption technique
(Venkata Mohan and Karthikeyan (1996)) have been attempted so far. In the present
study an attempt is made to investigate the feasibility of electrocoagulation process,
an emerging technology for the treatment of pulp and paper mill wastewater using
aluminum electrodes.
ELECTROCOAGULATION PROCESS
Electrocoagulation is a process in which the anode material undergoes oxidation
with formation of various monomeric and polymeric metal hydrolyzed species
(Mollah and Yousuf et al.(2011)). These metal hydroxides remove organics from
wastewater by sweep coagulation/ by aggregation with colloidal particles present in
wastewater to form bigger size flocs which ultimately are removed by settling
(Eskelinen et al.(2010)). In this process if M is considered as anode, the following
reactions will occur:
At the anode:
M(s)
Mn+(aq) + ne2H2O (I)
4H+ (aq) + O2(g) + eAt the cathode:
Mn+(aq )+ neM(s)
2H2O (I) + 2eH2 (g) + 2OH
Freshly formed amorphous M (OH)3 has large surface areas that are beneficial for
rapid adsorption of soluble organic compounds and trapping of colloidal particles.
MATERIALS:
The experimental set-up for the batch studies is shown in Fig-1. The reactor of
dimension 15cm x10cm x10cm was made up of acrylic material, with a total volume
of 1.5L. The EC unit consisted of four Aluminum electrodes, of dimensions
5cmx10cmx0.1cm with 1 cm spacing; connected in monopolar parallel system. The
DC power supply (Aplab TD3202D) was connected to the electrodes. The magnetic
stirrer was used to ensure homogenous mixing of the reactor contents. The
chemicals used for the analysis were of analytical grade.
346
Fig.1 Represents of Electrocoagulation Process.

METHODS
The batch experimental studies were conducted to optimize the operating parameters
like pH, voltage and electrolysis time (ET) under ambient conditions. The volume of
the sample in each batch experiment was 1L.The voltage was varied from 4 to 12
volts. The EC experiments were performed up to 45 minute starting from 10
minutes. For each run samples were retrieved at every 5 minutes interval for
chemical analysis.

The wastewater samples collected from a nearby paper industry were analyzed for
physico-chemical parameters like pH, color, chemical oxygen demand (COD), total
dissolved solids (TDS), conductivity and turbidity as per Standard Methods (1998).
The total organic carbon (TOC) was analyzed by using TOC analyzer instrument
(Shimadzu TOC-OCT). The average characteristics of wastewater are shown in the
Table 1. As all the other parameters are not within the disposal standard
necessitating treatment. However COD, TOC, and turbidity were the focused
parameters during the study.
Table 1 Characteristics of paper and pulp industry wastewater
Sr. No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Parameters
pH
COD (mg/L)
BOD (mg/L)
TDS (mg/L)
Conductivity (S/cm2)
Turbidity (NTU)
TOC (mg/L)
Value
5.42
6000
1040
1699
2838
264
1300
347
Initially, the experiments were carried out without adjusting pH of raw wastewater
i.e. 5.42 with varying voltages of 4V, 6V, 8V, 10V and 12 Volts for an ET of 45
minutes. From Fig-2 it can be seen that at applied cell voltages of 12V the COD
reduced from 6000 mg/L to 960 mg/L in 40 minutes of operation, giving maximum
COD removal efficiency of 84%.
During these operating conditions the turbidity reduced from an initial value of 264
to 21.12 NTU giving 92% removal Fig-3; it can also be observed that the removal
efficiency increased with electrolysis time up to 30 minutes and remained constant
after that.
COD removal (%)
At these operating conditions TOC removal efficiency increased with ET upto 40

minutes and remained constant after that (Fig.4). The maximum TOC reduction of
70% was obtained at 12Vand 40 minutes of ET. The TOC reduced from 1300 mg/L
to 390 mg/L.
100
80
60
40
20
0
4V
6V
8V
10V
0
10
20
30
40
50
12V
Time (min)
Fig. 2 COD removal with ET at different voltages at pH-5.42

Turbidity removal
(%)
150
4V
100
6V
50
8V
10V
0
10
20
30
40
50
12V
Time (min)
Fig. 3 Turbidity removal with ET at different voltages at pH-5.42
348
TOC removal (%)
100
4V
6V
50
8V
10V
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
Time (min)
12V
Fig. 4 TOC removal with ET at different voltages at pH-5.42

Next the experiments were carried out by adjusting pH of raw wastewater to 7
with varying voltages at every 10, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 minutes of ET . It can be
observed that the removal efficiency increased with electrolysis time up to 40
minutes and remained same after that (Fig. 5). The maximum COD removal of
88.92% was obtained at 12V, for 40 minutes of ET. During this period COD reduced
from 6000 to 664.8 mg/L.
During these operating conditions the turbidity reduced from an initial value of 264
to 10.56 NTU giving 96% removal as shown in the Fig-6 at12 voltages and 25
minutes of ET.
COD removal (%)
Similarly at these operating conditions TOC removal efficiency increased with

electrolysis time upto 40 minutes and remained same after that, as shown in Fig-7.
The maximum TOC removal of 72%. Was obtained at 12V and 40 minutes of
electrolysis time during which the TOC reduced from 1300 mg/L to 364 mg/L.
100
80
60
40
20
0
4V
6V
8V
10V
0
10
20
30
40
50
12V
Time (min)
Fig. 5 COD removal with ET at different voltages at pH-7
349
Turbidity removal
(%)
150
4V
100
6V
50
8V
10V
10
20
30
40
50
12V
Time (min)
Fig. 6 Turbidity removal with ET at different voltages at pH-7

100
80
60
40
20
0
TOC removal (%)
4V
6V
8V
10V
0
10
20
30
40
50
12V
Time (min)
Fig. 7 TOC removal with ET at different voltages at pH-7
CONCLUSIONS
The experimental result showed that the electrolysis time of 40 minutes, pH 7 and
12V were get the critical operating parameters for the effective treatment of pulp
and paper mill wastewater using aluminum electrodes in monopolar parallel
connection. At these operating conditions highest COD removal of 89%, turbidity
96% and TOC 72% were obtained. Hence, it can be concluded that the
electrocoagulation technology using aluminum sacrificial electrodes appears to be a
feasible alternative for the treatment of pulp and paper mill wastewater.
350
REFERENCES
Bajpai, P. and Bajpai, P. K. (1994), Biological Colour Removal of Pulp and Paper
Mill Wastewaters, J. Biotechnol., Vol. 33, 211220.
Eskelinen, K., Sarakka Kuraniawan, Sillapaa M.E.T., (2010). Removal of
recalcitrant contaminants from bleaching effluents in pulp and papermills using
ultrasonic irradiation and Fenton-like oxidation, electrochemical treatment, and/or
chemical precipitation: A comparative study, Desalination, Vol. 255,179187.
Jonsson A. S., Jonsson, C., Teppler, M., Tomani, P., Wannstrom S., (1996).
Treatment of paper coating color effluents by membrane filtration. Desalination ,
Vol.105, 263276.
Katal Reza. and Pahlavanzadeh Hassan., (2011) Influence of different combinations
of aluminum and iron electrode on electrocoagulation efficiency: Application to the
treatment of paper mill wastewater, Journal of Desalination, Vol. 265, 199-205
Mollah M., Yousuf A., Robert Schennach., Jose R. Parga., David L. Cocke, (2011)
Electrocoagulation (EC) sciences and applications Journal of Hazardous
Materials , 29-41.
Nemerow N.L., and Dasgupta A., (1991) Industrial and hazardous waste
management. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Stephenson R. J. and Duff S. B., (1996),Coagulation and precipitation of a
mechanical pulping effluent-I. Removal of carbon, colour and turbidity, Water Res,
Vol. 30(4), 781792.
Sridhar R., Sivakumar V., Prince Immanuel, Prakash Maran J., (2011), Treatment
of pulp and paper industry bleaching effluent by electrocoagulant process, Journal
of Hazardous Material, Vol. 186, 1495-1502.
Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. APHA-AWWA,
(1998). 20th ed., Am. Publ. Hlth Assoc/Am. Wat. Works Assoc., Washington, DC,
USA.
Venkata Mohan S. and Karthikeyan J., (1997), Removal of Lignin and Tanin
Colour from Aqueous Solution by Adsorption onto Activated Carbon,
Environmental Pollution, Vol. 97(1-2), 183-187.
Zaied M., Bellakhal N., (2009), Electrocoagulation treatment of black liquor from
paper industry, Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol.163, 995-1000.
351
352

Study of Merits and Demerits of Existing Toilet Systems

in Indian Trains and Proposal of a New Approach
Krishnappa G B1, Pavan R S2
1
Professor ,2Project Associate

Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering
Mysore- 570 002, Karnataka, India.
ABSTRACT
Most of the toilets currently used on Passenger Coaches of Indian Railways (IR) are
of flush type, in which human waste is discharged directly on the tracks. Passengers
use toilets of the trains at the stations which makes stations very dirty. This makes
the ecosystem unhygienic, besides resulting in corrosion of track fittings. More than
40,000 coaches are used regularly for passenger service over Indian Railways.
Toilet systems are one of the most critical passenger amenities, especially in the
long distance passenger travel. Keeping this population of the coaches in view, IR
has to operate approximately 1,60,000 toilets, round the clock, on coaches
moving at speeds of 100 kmph plus, with drastic space constraints and a
demanding user profile. Developing suitable technologies for IRs conditions is
posing its own problems due to typical operating constraints such as need for
universal interoperability of coaches within a type and peculiar toilet habits of users
such as excessive use of water and use of toilets as dust bin. The issue of scalability
of various technologies selected for implementation also poses challenges. Recently
Indian railways have introduced few new eco friendly toilet systems but they have
their own merits and limitations. In this paper merits and demerits of such toilet
systems have been discussed and a new approach is proposed to overcome the
limitations of the existing systems. The proposed model is proven to be economical
and eco-friendly.
INTRODUCTION
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: gbkrishnappa@yahoo.co.in
Study of merits and demerits)
Indian Railways is an Indian state-owned enterprise, owned and operated by

the Government of India through the Ministry of Railways. It is one of the world's
largest railway networks comprising 115,000 km of track over a route of 65,436 km
and 7,172 stations. In 2013-14, IR carried 8,425 million passengers annually or more
than 23 million passengers daily (roughly half of which were suburban passengers)
and 1050.18 million tons of freight in the year. In 20132014 Indian Railways had
revenues of 1441.67 billion which consists of 375.0 billion from freight
and 940.0 billion from passengers tickets.
Railways were first introduced to India in 1853 from Bombay to Thane. In 1951 the
systems were nationalized as one unit, the Indian Railways, becoming one of the
largest networks in the world. IR operates both long distance and suburban rail
systems on a multi-gauge network of broad, meter and narrow gauges. It also
owns locomotive and coach production facilities at several places in India and are
assigned codes identifying their gauge, kind of power and type of operation. Its
operations cover twenty nine states and seven union territories and also provides
limited international services to Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Indian Railways is the world's ninth largest commercial or utility employer, by
number of employees, with over 1.307 million employees. As for rolling stock, IR
holds over 239,281 Freight Wagons, 62,924
Passenger Coaches and
9,013 Locomotives (43 steam, 5,345 diesel and 4,568 electric locomotives). The
trains have a 5 digit numbering system and runs 12,617 passenger trains and 7421
freight trains daily. As of 31 March 2013, 20,884 km (12,977 mi) (31.9%) of the
total 65,436 km (40,660 mi) route length was electrified.[1]
Although the IR has developed significantly, the toilet system in the Indian trains
have to be improved considerably.
CONVENTIONAL TOILET SYSTEM IN INDIAN TRAINS

Most of the toilets currently used on Passenger Coaches of Indian Railways (IR) are
of flush type, in which human waste is discharged directly on the tracks. Passengers
use toilets of the trains at the stations which makes stations very dirty. This makes
the ecosystem unhygienic, besides resulting in corrosion of track fittings. Keeping
this in mind several attempts have been made by many agencies to develop hygienic
toilet systems in Indian trains. The merits and demerits of such systems are
discussed.
SOME NEWER TECHNOLOGIES

1 CONTROLLED DISCHARGE TOILET SYSTEM
Controlled Discharge Toilet System (CDTS) discharges waste on the run only after
the train speed reaches 30 kmph. Discharge takes place away from the station,
helping in keeping the stations clean. 5300 CDTS have been installed in 1900
coaches so far. This system is not suitable if multi users use a single toilet at a
354
station. The major drawback of this system is its complicated technology (see Figure
1).
Fig.1. Parts of controlled discharge toilet system

2. ZERO DISCHARGE AND VACUUM TECHNOLOGY TOILET SYSTEM
Several other efforts are also in hand in parallel. One such effort is development of
a prototype train rake based on Zero Discharge Toilet System (ZDTS)
developed by IIT Kanpur and Research Development and Standards Organization
(RDSO), Lucknow. ZDTS uses both recycling and evacuation & is at the second
stage of prototyping. Another effort is provision of vacuum toilets in two rakes of
Shatabdi express. Vacuum toilet technology is a standard in developed railway
systems.
These technologies are more expensive due to inherent complexities and
requirement of extra infrastructure at the terminals. Their deployment is envisaged
in premium trains only.
3. BIO TOILETS (GREEN TOILETS)
The bio-toilets, which have been developed by the railways and the Defense
Research & Development Organization (DRDO),(see Fig.2) have a colony of
anaerobic bacteria, kept in a container under the lavatories that convert human waste
into water and small amounts of gases. The gases are released into the atmosphere
and the water is discharged after chlorination on to the track. The cost of a single
355
module of bio-toilet is between Rs 75,000 and Rs 80,000. The working of a bio

toilet is explained in figure 3.
The bacteria used in the bio-toilet have been collected and analyzed by DRDO from
Antarctica and the efficiency of this system has been tested in extreme climates and
conditions. The bacterial inoculum used by the IR for initiating the bio-degradation
process is a combination of different groups of bacteria involved in the
decomposition of cow dung and human excreta. Typical composition of biogas is
5575 per cent methane and 2550 per cent carbon dioxide. The pH value of the
final discharge is near-neutral (approximately 6.5-7.5) in most of the cases; it may
vary depending upon the number of passengers using the bio-toilet which is
responsible for the maintenance of bio-toilets. According to DRDO, microbial
inoculum contains anaerobic bacteria belonging to four different clusters namely
hydrolytic, acidogenic, acetogenic and methanogenic groups
Fig.2 Bio toilet fitted in a coach
356
Fig.3 Working of a Bio-Toilet
Merits of Bio Toilet

The bio-toilet has the advantage of preventing corrosion of railway tracks, as it
prevents discharge of human waste from the coaches. According to the official, the
Railways had to spend 350 crore every year to offset the damage from corrosion.
The other advantage is that single bacteria recharge works for nearly a year. The
anaerobic bacteria used in the green toilets can withstand extreme climates and
common disinfectants
Demerits of Bio Toilet
Bio-toilets get easily clogged by plastic bottles, tea cups, cloths, sanitary napkin,
nappies, plastic bags and gutkha pouches.
Technical assessments have thrown up teething problems in deployment of these
units developed on bio-digester technology based on anaerobic bacteria. Technical
personnel are encountering problems in fitting these units as each one of these weigh
500 kg.
IIT-Kanpur studied the toilets when they were put on trial three years ago. "There is
no magic bacteria that can treat waste fast enough for use in a train toilet," said
Vinod Tare, professor, environmental engineering and management, IIT-Kanpur.
Tare said the whole project was based on misinformation. "With every flush
untreated waste is expelled through different levels and finally on the tracks," he
said. A mild swipe of the bacteria on the sides of the toilet box is enough to clean the
toilet once, but the railways will load several kilograms of the bacteria in each toilet
box.
AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH
An alternative approach is suggested here which overcomes certain drawbacks of the
bio toilets. Here a closed system approach is suggested. Instead of discharging
human excreta on to the tracks it is collected in a big container. This container
collects the faecal matter from all the coaches. A piping system, which is connected
between exits of the toilets to the container, carries excreta. At required places slurry
pumps are installed. The faecal matter is pumped through pipes and collected in the
container. At a particular station the collected faecal matter is discharged into a
compost pit. This can be utilized to produce organic manure. The produced methane
gas can also be used. The arrangement of piping and container is shown in Fig. 4
(CAD MODEL). The major work in this system is to connect pipes between coaches
and fitting of slurry pumps at appropriate places to pump human waste into the
container. This system costs approximately 50,000 rupees per toilet and is
comparatively less expensive and also eco-friendly.
357
Fig. 4 The new system proposed
CONCLUSIONS
The merits and demerits of the toilet systems in the Indian trains have been
discussed. The existing toilet systems are found to have certain drawbacks. Hence a
new model for disposing the human waste from toilets of Indian trains has been
suggested. The proposed model is found to be less expensive and also eco-friendly.
REFERENCES
Indian railways: Wikipedia
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com
http://www.dailypioneer.com
http://www.indiajournal.com
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
http://www.dailypioneer.com/sunday-edition
358

Artificial Neural Network Approach for the Adsorption

of Chromium (VI) Ions from its Aqueous Solution by
Riverbed Sand
B. Kavitha1 and D. Sarala Thambavani2
1
PG and Research Department of Chemistry, Cardamom Planters Association

College, Bodinayakanur, Tamilnadu, India-625513.
2
Department of Chemistry, Sri Meenakshi Government Arts College for Women
(Autonomous), Madurai, Tamilnadu, India-625 002.
ABSTRACT
The present investigation was aimed to analyzing potential utility of riverbed sand
as an adsorbent of Cr (VI) ions from aqueous solution. The effect of operational
parameters such as adsorbent dosage, initial concentration of Cr (VI) ions, initial
pH, agitation speed and contact time were studied to optimize the conditions for
maximum removal of Cr (VI) ions in laboratory batch adsorption experiment. A
three layer feed forward artificial neural network (ANN) with back propagation
training algorithm was developed to model the adsorption process of Cr (VI) in
aqueous solution using riverbed sand as adsorbent. The neural network architecture
consisted of tangent sigmoid transfer function (tansig) at hidden layer with 10
hidden neurons, linear transfer function (purelin) at output layer and LavenbergMarquardt (LM) back propagation training algorithm. The experimental data were
best fitted with the artificial neural network model.
INTRODUCTION
Environmental pollution attributed due to the presence of toxic heavy metal in
industrial effluents is one of the most vital problems in the world. Heavy
metals are persistent, cannot be degraded or destroyed, and can be
biomagnified by aquatic organisms [Anirudhan et al, (2010)]. Cr (VI) exists as
extremely soluble and highly toxic chromate ions (HCrO 4 _ or Cr2O72_) which can
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: sarala_dr@yahoo.in
Artificial Neural Network Approach for the
transfer freely in aqueous environments [Mitra et al. (2011)]. Persistent exposure to

Cr(VI) causes cancer in the digestive tract and lungs, and may cause other health
problems for instance skin dermatitis, bronchitis, perforation of the nasal septum,
severe diarrhea, and hemorrhaging [Deng et al. (1996)]. Therefore, it is essential to
remove Cr (VI) from wastewater before disposal. The permitted limit for Cr (VI) in
potable water is 0.05 mg /L in both of Iran and USA [Turan et al. (2011)]. Several
methods have been employed to remove high amounts of metal ions from
aqueous solutions. These methods include coagulation, flotation, chemical
precipitation ion exchange and membrane processes. The majority of these
techniques involves high capital cost and is not affordable for small scale industries.
Therefore, it is essential to explore economically feasible and ecologically efficient
heavy metal remediation alternatives. Adsorption an interfacial phenomenon has an
upper hand in this regard [Sarala Thambavani and Kavitha (2014)].
Waste water treatment using adsorption process is a complex process
because a large number of variables influence the removal efficiency.
Modelling of such processes is difficult when standard procedure like simple
linear multivariate correlation is used. , being capable of mapping inputs and
outputs efficiently, can recognize Over the last two decades, ANNs have been
used by many researchers for a variety of engineering applications. ANNs are
a family of massively parallel architectures that solve difficult problems via
the cooperation of highly interconnected but simple computing elements (or
artificial neurons) arranged in layers. ANN represents a powerful tool for the
identification of the relevant parameters and their interactions especially when
relationships are very complex and highly non-linear. Prediction of biosorption
of heavy metals from aqueous solution has been attempted in the past by
many researchers using ANN to a reasonably good degree of success
[Aleboyeh et al. (2008)]].
The objective of the present work is to use riverbed sand as an attractive
adsorbent for the treatment of Cr (VI) from industrial leachate because it is cheap
and locally available. The artificial neural network model also developed to study
the adsorption process and the accuracy of the model was tested using correlation
coefficient and mean squared error.
MATERIALS AND METHOD
BATCH ADSORPTION STUDIES
The batch tests were carried out in glass-stoppered, Erlenmeyer flasks with 200 mL
of working volume, with a concentration of 10 mg/L. A weighed amount (0.5 g) of
adsorbent was added to the solution. The flasks were agitated at a constant speed of
500 rpm for 60 minute in a magnetic stirrer at 303 K. The influence of pH (2.08.0),
initial Cr (VI) concentration (10, 20, 30, 40, 50,60,70, 90, 100 mg/L), contact time
(15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, 135 min), adsorbent dose (0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4,
05, 1, 2, 3 g) and agitation speed (100, 200,300,400, 500, 600, 700, 800 rpm) were
360
evaluated during the present study. Samples were collected from the flasks at
predetermined time intervals for analyzing the residual chromium concentration in
the solution. The residual amount of chromium in each flask was investigated using
UV-VIS spectrophotometer. The percentage of removal of chromium ions was
calculated from the following equation:
R (%) =
(C0 - Ct)
x100
C0
. (1)
The effect of initial concentration of Cr (VI), contact time, initial pH, adsorbent
dosage and agitation speed was investigated by varying any one of the parameters
and keeping other parameters constant.
DEFINITION OF THE ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK MODEL

Neural Network Toolbox MATLAB mathematical software was used to predict
the adsorption efficiency. Ninety experimental sets were used to develop the ANN
model. A three-layer ANN with tangent sigmoid transfer function (tansig) at hidden
layer, linear transfer function (purelin) at output layer was used. The data set
gathered from batch experiments was divided into input matrix and target matrix.
Lavenberg-Marquardt (LM) back propagation training algorithm is fastest training
algorithm for network of moderate size, therefore, used in the present study. Fig. 1
shows network architecture with three layers (a single hidden layer).
Fig.1: Artificial neural network architecture
361

OPTIMIZATION OF PARAMETERS BY BATCH ADSORPTION STUDY
Sorption studies led to the standardization of the optimum conditions as: metal
concentration (10 mg/L), adsorbent dosage (0.5 g), contact time (60 min) and
agitation speed 500 rpm at pH 2 for maximum Cr (VI) ion removal (99.9%).
Adsorption rate initially increased rapidly with the increase in contact time and
ultimately became approximately constant. The effect of acidic and basic
environment was studied by adjusting the solution pH between 2 to 8. The best
efficient removal efficiency was observed in the acidic pH range. Cr (VI) ion
removal efficiency also increased with the increase in the adsorbent dose which
itself was due to the increase in the adsorption surface area and greater number of
active sites available for adsorption. Initial Cr (VI) ion concentration is one of the
primary factors related to adsorption efficiency. The results indicated that percentage
Cr (VI) removal decreased as the initial concentration of Cr (VI) was increased.
The decrease in removal percent was due to the saturation of the sorption sites on
adsorbents. As the agitation speed increased from 100 to 500 rpm, the percentage
removal increased from 64.5 % to 99.99 %. However beyond 500 rpm, the
adsorption percentage remained constant and the agitation speed of 500 rpm was
selected in subsequent analysis. The increase in adsorption capacity at a higher
agitation speed could be explained in terms of the reduction of boundary layer
thickness around the adsorbent particles.
ANN MODEL DEVELOPED FOR ADSORPTION OF CR (VI) IONS
Fig. 2 shows the proposed optimum ANN type algorithm. The ANN consists of 3
layers: input, hidden, and output. Input layer has 5 neurons, which use a tangent
sigmoid activation function. The hidden layer has 10 neurons, which use a tangent
sigmoid activation function; and finally, the output layer has 1 neurons, which use a
linear activation function. As initial stages, two neuron was chosen in the hidden
layer. With the increase of neuron numbers the MSE value was found decreasing.
MSE values was much higher for 2 (MSE= 0.4136) and 4 (MSE=0.3498) neurons in
the hidden layer. With the increase of hidden neurons from 5 to 8, the MSE value
decreases from 0.20784 to 0.027315). With further increasing of hidden neurons the
MSE value decreasing further and reached minimum value (MSE=0.00678) at 10
hidden neurons. Hence the neural network containing 10 hidden neurons was
selected as optimum case. As neuron number in the hidden layer was increased to
12, the MSE value was found slightly increased to 0.007234. With further increase
in neuron numbers in hidden layer resulted a sharp increase in the MSE value.
362
Fig.2.Proposed ANN structure
Fig.3. ANN model training,

validation and testing
The LM training algorithm used was one of the fast training BP methods i.e.,
LevenbergMarquardt algorithms. The LM algorithm is designed to approach
second-order training speed without computing the Hessian matrix. The LM
algorithm is appeared to be the fastest method for training moderate-sized feed
forward neural networks (up to several hundred weights). It has better performance
than the other methods for function approximation problems. Fig. 3 illustrated the
training, validation and test mean squared error for the Lavenberg-Marquardt
algorithm. The training was stopped after 1 epoch. A regression analysis of the
network response between ANN outputs and the corresponding targets was
performed. The graphical output of the network outputs plotted versus the targets as
open circles is illustrated in Fig. 4. Taking into account the non-linear dependence of
the data, linear regression shows a good agreement between ANN outputs (predicted
data) and the corresponding targets (experimental data) (Fig. 5). Test outputs
showed a very small deviation in efficiency values from the experimental data.
Fig. 4. Regression analysis for

adsorption of Cr (VI)
Fig. 5. Comparison between ANN

simulated and experimental output data
CONCLUSION
In the present study, a three layer feed forward neural network was optimized to
predict the Cr (VI) removal efficiency from aqueous solution using riverbed sand as
adsorbent. The MSE value was found lowest (MSE=0.00678) at 10 neurons in
363
hidden layer. A regression analysis was performed between model predict value and
experimental data. ANN predicted values are in close agreement with laboratory
batch experimental data. The correlation coefficient was found to be 0.991. The
present studies showed that the ANN model can effectively simulate and predict Cr
(VI) removal efficiency in complex adsorption process.
REFERENCES
Anirudhan, T.S. Suchithra, P.S. (2010), Chem. Eng. J. 156, 146156.

Aleboyeh, A. Kasiri, M.B. Olya, M.E. Aleboyeh, H. (2008), Dyes Pigments, 77,
288294.
Chairez I., Garcia-Pena I., Cabrera A., (2009), Journal of Process Control, 19, 1103.
Deng B., Alan T.S., (1996), Environmental Science and Technology, 30, 2484.
Elias A., Ibarra-Berastegi G., Arias R., Barona A., (2006), Bioprocess and
Biosystems Engineering, 29, 129.
Mitra P., Sarkar D., Chakrabarti S., Dutta B.K., (2011), Chemical Engineering
Journal, 171, 54.
Movagharnejad K., Nikzad M., 2007Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 59,
78.
Turan, N.G. (2011), Chemical Engineering Journal 173, 98105.
Sarala thambavani D and Kavitha B., International Journal of Research, 1(4), 2014,
718-742.
Sadrzadeh M., Mohammadi T., Ivakpour J., Kasiri N., (2008), Chemical
Engineering Journal, 144, 431.
364

Regulatory Framework in Petroleum Industry

Regarding Environment Sustainability
Mary Vimochana
Associate Professor, Head
Department of Economics
N.E.S. Ratnam College, Mumbai-400078, Maharashtra, India
ABSTRACT
India today remains one of the least explored regions with well density per thousand
sq. kms, being among the lowest. Further, it is also evident that vast amount of
capital investments is necessary if exploration efforts are to be substantially
augmented. This may attract both National Oil Companies (NCOs), as well as,
private sector oil companies to invest in the critical area. The New Exploration
Policy paved the way for improving the exploration activities in India.
The aim of the paper is to understand the regulatory framework introduced in India
to bring about sustainability in the petroleum sector. And also to review the
progress made so far in liberalizing the petroleum sector in India.
From this paper, it is understood that, The New Exploration Licensing Policy
(NELP) in 1997 was the reform initiated by the government in this regard to the
private investors by giving the same fiscal and contractual terms applicable to other
public sector companies.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Keywords: Oil and Natural Gas, Exploration, Sedimentary basins, Reserves
INTRODUCTION
There is an increasing attention provided by developed and developing countries in
environmental protection at all levels. This is clear after the implementation of
environmental regulations in most of the countries and India is not an exception.
India introduced various regulatory frameworks to protect the exploitation of
petroleum resources by implementing various policies.
Mary Vimochana. E-mail: Vimochana@gmail.com
Regulatory framework in Petroleum
India has an estimated sedimentary area of 3.14 million square kilometers,

comprising 26 sedimentary basins, of which 1.35 million square kilometers area is in
deepwater and 1.79 million square kilometers area is in on land and shallow
offshore. At present 1.06 million square kilometers area is held under Petroleum.
Nowadays 1.06 million sq. kilometers space is commanded below fossil oil
Exploration Licenses in eighteen basins by national oil firms viz. Oil and natural gas
Corporation limited (ONGC), OIL India limited (OIL) and Private/Joint Venture
firms.(DGH,2007)
The crude oil and natural gas sector contributes nearly 41.68% to mining and
production sectors domestic product and therefore the proportion of this sectors
contribution to Gross Domestic product of India was 0.44% in 1980-81 and it's
accrued to 1.25% in 1990-91 and in 2006-07 it declined to 0.68% (MoPNG, 2008)
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
To understand the regulatory framework introduced in India to bring about

sustainability in the petroleum sector.
To review the progress made so far in liberalizing the petroleum sector in
India.
AN OVERVIEW OF INDIAS OIL AND GAS SECTOR
The total resource base of oil and gas is the entire volume formed and trapped inplace within the Earth before any production. The largest portion of this base is nonrecoverable by current or foreseeable technology. This inability is either because of
unfavorable economics, or intractable physical forces, or a combination of both. At
the next level, the recoverable resources are divided into discovered and
undiscovered segments.
Table:1 Oil and Gas Reserves in India in Million Metric Tons (MMT)
Crude Oil
On-shore
Off- shore
Total(MMT)
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
357
382
739
376
410
786
387
369
756
357
368
725
404
367
770
406
368
773
403
371
775
403
354
757
398
362
760
340
761
1101
1777
330
745
1075
1724
270
785
1055
1780
304
786
1090
1860
328
788
1115
1888
334
815
1149
1922
431
847
1248
2005
448
883
1330
2090
Natural Gas
On-shore
339
Off- shore
584
Total(BCM)
923
Total ((O+OEG)1570
366
Source: MoPNG, (2000-2012)
The total proven reserves on oil and natural gas in India at the end of 2007 were
about 1780 Million Metric Tons (MMT). This was marginally higher than the
reserves of oil and gas at the end of 2004. In 2012 reserves were over 33% higher
than 2004 reserves of 1570 MMT due to the giant gas discovery in the KG basin.
REGULATORY SCHEMES OF THE PETROLEUM SECTOR
PRICING MECHANISM
Historically, the government has regulated prices and investment in the oil and gas
sector. The MoPNG is the principal regulator of oil and natural gas exploration and
production in India. In order to regulate the oil prices the government of India first
attempted the Administrative Pricing mechanism in 1974 by discontinuing the
import parity pricing system for the determination of the prices of major petroleum
products and implementing cost plus pricing policy known as APM with a aim to
bring about stable prices to safeguard the domestic market from the volatility of
prices in the international market, But the government was not satisfied with the
working of Administered pricing mechanism as it does not provide strong incentives
for investments in technological up gradations .
In 1995 the government appointed Strategic Planning Group for restructuring the oil
industry. This committee recommended that the Administered Pricing Mechanism
to be dismantled. So in 2002 Administered Pricing Mechanism was dismantled and
ONGC and OIL have been allowed to charge import parity prices for the crude oil
produced in India.
KEY PETROLEUM POLICIES
The Oil Act, (1934) relates to the import, transport, storage, production, refinement
and mixing of oil. It stresses that; nobody shall import, transport or store any oil. It
authorizes the central government to order conditions for production. No license is
required for transport or storage of restricted quantities of oil category B, if the
entire amount doesn't exceed two thousand and five hundred liters.
The Oil fields (Regulation and development) Act, 1948, provides for the regulation
of oil fields and for the event of natural resources. This act entails the central
government to form rules for control the grant of mining lease or for prohibiting the
grant of such leases. It emphasises on the regulation of drilling, re-drilling,
deepening, and closing down, plugging associated abandoning of oil wells in an oil
field and permits the gathering of royalties.
The Oil and Minerals Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Act, 1962
367
provides the framework governing the acquisition of right of user in land for giving
birth pipelines for the transportation of oil and minerals and different matters
connected thereupon. This law is restricted to the acquisition procedure, restrictions
on use of land and compensation owed to the persons curious about the land The oil
and Minerals Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Act, 1962 provides
the framework governing the acquisition of rights of users in land for giving birth
pipelines for the transportation of oil and minerals and different matters connected
thereupon. The legislation is restricted to the acquisition procedure, restrictions on
use of land and compensation owed to the persons curious about the land.
The Petroleum Rules, 2002 currently regulate the activities by putting restrictions on
delivery and dispatch of crude oil, by stressing the necessity for storage license
issued by a certified agent. It prohibits employment of youngsters and intoxicated
persons on transporting crude oil. It emphasises on special precautions against
accident. With respect to import of crude oil, it stresses the need for license.
The Petroleum Product Pipeline Policy, proclaimed by the GOI in Dec 2002,
provides a mechanism for laying pipelines within the country on the idea of a
standard carrier principle. Corporations laying new pipelines area unit needed to
produce a minimum of 25th additional capacity beyond that required by themselves
and their interested firms for alternative users.
The Petroleum and Gas Regulatory Board Act, 2006 provides for the establishment
of the petroleum and gas restrictive Board to control the purification, processing,
storage, transportation, distribution, promoting and sale of petroleum, crude oil
merchandise and gas (excluding production of fossil oil and natural gas) therefore as
to defend the interests of customers and entities engaged in specific activities
regarding petroleum, petroleum merchandise and gas and to promote competitive
markets.
REFORMS INITIATED IN THE PETROLEUM SECTOR
Since 1980s, government of India has been making necessary attempts to invite
private investment in exploration of oil and gas in the country. This was initiated by
offering exploration blocks almost on regular basis for both onshore and offshore
areas from 1991 and announced six bidding rounds till 1995. (Pre -NELP). The New
Exploration Licensing policy (NELP) was formulated in 1997, with view to attract
the private investors by giving the same fiscal and contractual terms applicable to
other public sector companies. From that time onwards, the NELP plays a very
important role in the upstream sector between private and public sector companies in
all fiscal, financial and contractual matters. NELP became effective in 1999 and
acreages are offered to the participating companies through the process of open
competitive bidding system.
368
The features of NELP rest on providing freedom to the contractors for the marketing
of crude oil and gas in the domestic market. Royalty payments are to be collected at
the rate of 12.5% for the on land areas and 10% for the offshore areas. Half the
royalty of the offshore area will be credited to a hydrocarbon development fund to
fund and promote exploration related study and activity.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF NELP
Out of 3.14 million sq.km sedimentary basins 1.79 million sq.km sedimentary basins
of India are in on-land and off-shore and about 1.35 million sq. km has been
estimated in the deep water area. Over the last twelve years, the DGH has achieved
in exploring the hydrocarbon potential of the sedimentary basins of India. The
unexplored area has come down to 15% which was 50% in 1995-96. After the
NELP 94 blocks have been given out for exploration when compared to 22 blocks in
the preceding 10 years. (DGH, 2000) ONGC has 57.2 per cent of the total areas
licensed by the government for oil exploration, and the Reliance Industries and Oil
India Ltd have received licenses covering around 26.6 %.( MoPNG, 2003)
In the first six rounds of NELP, a total number of 162 blocks have been awarded.
This has resulted in coverage of about 44% of Indian sedimentary basin under
exploration coverage between 2000 and 2007.
At present we are in NELP X round and 254 blocks are awarded and 148 are in
operation. Total 128 hydrocarbon discoveries (46-Oil and *2 gas fields) were made
in 42 blocks. Government has collected 657 million Dollar royalty till 2012-13.
The above policies provide environmental protection and the regulatory frameworks
that stabilize spending and investment requirements, with minimum resource
revenues towards domestic assets. This will enable to compensate for resource
depletion and transform national economy. Further more effective regulation in the
extraction sector will improve sustainable development issues.
CONCLUSIONS
The study presents the account of the empirical analysis of oil and natural gas sector
in India.
1.
Over the last eleven years, there have been significant forward steps in
exploring the hydrocarbon potential of the sedimentary basins of India. The
unexplored area has come down to 15% which was 50% in 1995- 96.
Under NELP, PSCs for 110 exploration blocks have already been signed.
2.
The Oilfields Act also provides for payment of royalties in respect of any
mineral oil mined, quarried, excavated or collected from the leased area.
369
3.
On 1st September 2006, consistent to its powers under section 8 of the

Oilfields Act, the government selected the DGH as the authority or agency
to exercise the powers and functions of the government with a view to
promote sound management of the hydrocarbon resources in India.
4.
The Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in

Land) Act, 1962 provides the framework governing the acquisition of right
of user in land for laying pipelines for the transportation of petroleum.
5.
New Exploration Licensing policy (NELP) was developed in 19971998 that provides a lot of avenues to the private investors by
giving identical fiscal and contractual terms applicable for the offer of
exploration acre.
6.
Over the last eleven years, there have been significant forward steps in
exploring the hydrocarbon potential of the sedimentary basins of India.
7.
After implementation of NELP, area under exploration has increased from

11% to 44% of Indian sedimentary basin area. India is heavily dependent
on imports to meet the rapidly growing demand for petroleum products.
Substantial efforts are therefore, necessary to boost the level of exploration

activity in the country, so that, new finds can be made and the level of crude oil and
gas production significantly increases in the years to come so that sustainability can
be maintained.
REFERENCES
Government of India (2000-2007), Annual Reports of Directorate General of
Hydrocarbons.
Government of India (2004) Draft National Environmental Policy, Ministry of
Environment and Forests, New Delhi.
Government of India (1988-2008), Annual Reports of Ministry of Petroleum and
Natural Gas.
Planning Commission, Government of India (2001) Approach Paper to the Tenth
Five Year Plan (20022007).
RBI (2003) Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy 200203.
370

Adaptation Measures to Environmental Regulatory

Compliance in Small and Medium Enterprises - A Study
to Combat Operational Issues
A. B. Bhasi1, P. S. Tide2, P. V. Shouri3
1
Associate Professor, 2Professor

Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi - 682 022, Kerala.
3
Associate Professor, Model Engineering College, Kochi, Kerala.
ABSTRACT
In the past few decades, there has been increased attention and concern towards the
potential damaging effects of industrial pollutants on the global eco-system. To
combat these effects, countries have enacted their own environmental regulatory
laws and standards. However removal of the pollutants at the source and keeping
the product standards according to the regulatory compliance level becomes a
major concern for the manufacturing sector, particularly to Small and Medium scale
Enterprises (SMEs).This study aimed at Indian Small and Medium Enterprises,
identifying the possible adaptation measures to combat vulnerable regulatory issues
to environmental compliance. Stratified random sampling design is adopted for
data collection with a complete sample size of 71. The framework developed during
this study and related discussions brings out various socio-economic dimensions
and the relevance of strategic interventions from government, regulatory
organizations, industry associations for improving the sustainable business
environment of SMEs.
Keywords:
compliance.
Adaptation, Vulnerability, Environmental regulation, Regulatory
INTRODUCTION
Environmental regulation refers to rules and regulations governing human actions
that are likely to affect the environment and is designed to protect the environment
by regulating the resource usage. Environmental regulation establishes standards
designed to control the material and energy outputs of society to the biophysical
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: bhasiab@gmail.com
Adaptation Measures to Environmental
environment (Cohen, 1987; Yandle, 1989). However the seminal work of calculated
motivation (Becker, 1968; Stigler, 1971) predicts that regulated entities comply with
a given regulation when they conclude that the benefits of compliance, including
averting fine or other sanctions, exceed the costs of non-compliance.
To comply with the environmental regulation, regulated industry is expected to
develop new structures and practices (Ashford, 1993). For this, they normally need
to change or modify plant layout, input resources and pollution control devices. In
some cases organizations need to reformulate the existing product mix or forced to
generate new products (Ashford, 1993). In addition to the knowledge about current
regulations affecting operations, managers must also need to track numerous future
challenges applicable to their processes (Phillip et al., 1998). Thus, vast resources
must be utilized effectively for complying with the environmental laws.
Manufacturing industry is the one that feels the sting of the environmental
regulations most (Phillip et al., 1998). The regulatory framework below (Fig. 1)
shows the inter-linkages between regulation and stakeholders.
Regulations could be behavior or conduct related which are used for regulating
behavior in the market, mainly for price control, for rules to keep minimum quality
of the product and advertising. Economic regulations are mainly macroeconomic
and exercised on natural monopolies and market structures for controls. Social
regulations regulate the environment, protecting labor and consumer. These
regulations mainly deal with the issues like personnel safety in factories and
workplaces, providing information on the packaging of goods, prohibition of certain
goods or services which may harm consumers etc.
Studies on environment regulations and manufacturing industry bring out several
variables that are significant drivers of interaction, particularly between the industry
and the environment. These are referred as vulnerabilities in this study.
Vulnerability is defined as the degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable
to cope with the adverse effects of some externalities (IPCC, 2001). It is also been
defined as the inability of the firms to respond to or cope with, recover from or adapt
to, any external stress placed on their operations (Kelly and Adger, 2000).
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the most affected by the regulation due
to various resource constraints compared to their larger counterparts (Visvanathan
and Kumar, 1999).
The financial and human liabilities associated while
incorporating abatement technologies and related procedural changes have made
them highly vulnerable to meet the local and global compliance standards
(Visvanathan and Kumar, 1999). Small and medium firms are exposed to a greater
level of regulatory uncertainty than larger firms because the unit costs of acquiring
information about regulation and regulatory processes found to be heavy for them
(Hampton, 2005). Adding to this, strict regulatory compliance or over compliance
by bigger firms normally pushes the smaller ones out of contention from the
372
competitive market (Gurtoo and Antony 2007). Though SMEs process orientation is
towards meeting international standards, the management of resources, marketing
and regulatory requirements in SMEs seems to focus more on internal as well as
external pressure (Dean et al., 1994).
VULNERABILITY AND ADAPTATION- LINKAGES

Stimulus
Respondents
Impact
External factors
/support
Enforcement Regulatory
organizations
Operational
Vulnerability - firms
Environmental rules
and regulation for
Sustainability
External
Stakeholders
Adaptation/
Compliance
Methods
Internal Factors
/support
Fig. 1 Regulatory framework

The foremost mention of vulnerability in literature is of technology related.
Variables like R&D expenditure, constraints in innovation, stakeholder pressures to
use green technologies and need for high investment in abatement technologies are
the major ones. Specific to the developing nations, literature also highlighted the
issues about poor access to pollution abatement technologies, problems in achieving
the desired quality level and poor maintenance of international standards.
Within the organization, manufacturing process related variables take precedence
over all others. Input concerns include shortage of raw material, inadequate
knowledge of treatments, designs for compliance and correct handling of the
technologies. In process variables, process redesign and layout change, product
substitution and reformulation, pollution monitoring and control, handling and
373
disposal of waste and high energy consumption for compliance are the major ones.
The output variables discussed are waste/off-spec product handling and disposal,
monitoring the permissible level of contaminations, increased operational cost and
decline in productivity. In strategic management functions related studies, shift in
location and uncertainty due to frequent changes in regulations are the major
concerns. Managing the qualified and skilled human resource is another constraint
that is being discussed widely in the literature. Studies also talk about the capital
investment needed for training and development of skilled workforce.
External to the organization, significant marketing variables discussed are nonuniformity in international regulatory mechanisms and stakeholders demand for
products with green labeling. Major regulatory concerns observed are technical help
or aid from the enforcing organizations, communication between organizations and
regulatory authorities, penalty imposed due to lack of compliance during
inspections, support from the government to develop and market new products, and
legal costs for the enforcement settlements. Adapting to the regulatory requirement
highlights two types of variables, namely those related to the systems and those
related to the process. The systems related variables observed are; those based on
review and feedback like corrective action plan environmental impact assessment,
environmental friendly image through labeling and pollution statement on products,
and certifying with environmental management systems providers. Those based on
process are emission reduction/pollution control by end-of- pipe technology,
changing the product mix or raw material substitution, reformulation of final product
and timely re-design.
ADAPTATION SYSTEMS AND PATTERNS

Adaptation is defined as "adjustment in natural or human systems in response to
actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploit
beneficial opportunities (IPCC, 2001). The adaptation to regulation studies
categorized the compliance methods in to internal as well as external to the industry.
Comparison of pollutant levels with the environmental standards, alternate solutions
to comply with the standards, analysis of competitors strategy; policy analysis based
on national and international environmental policy, creation of network of
companies, incentives and financial help from the Government, recruitment of
policy analysts/planners and environmental lawyers; changes in internal objectives
like limits of market share, energy and water conservation and motivating
employees to incorporate eco-friendly changes are some of the important items
among them. The study on compliance mechanism brings out the following process
and items elementary to adaptation, classified in to eight groups (Table 1).
374
Table 1: Adaptation mechanisms to the regulatory requirement

Adaptation
process
Review
Policy
analysis
Internal
management
Evaluation
and
Registering of
effects
Internal
objectives
Management
programme
and manual
Operational
control
Records and
audits
Items
1.Identify the hazards involved in the manufacturing process
2.Compare current pollutant levels with the environmental standards
3.Develop alternate solutions to comply with the standards
4.Conduct analysis of competitors strategy
1.Analyze the national and international environmental policy
2.Formulate policy statement focusing on sustainable development
3.Shift plant production location from more stringent to less regulated area
4.Create network of companies for sharing information on regulatory concerns
5.Obtain incentives and financial help from the Government
6.Recruit policy analysts/planners and environmental lawyers
1.Utilize technical know how from the enforcement organizations
2.Plan for newer abatement technology (Cleaner technology )
3.Explore innovative R&D in product and process to control pollution
4.Give training to all concerned on environmental regulatory concerns
5.Introduce green manufacturing and end of life cycle concept in all activities
6.Outsource waste reclamation and disposal (if the resources are inadequate)
7.Initiate step to follow good manufacturing practices (GMP)
1.Be up to date about the changes/ amendments of environmental regulations
2.Make available the industrial regulatory standards to all concerned
3. Compare the existing situation with the standards and identify the challenges
ahead.
1.Keep the level of pollution to the minimum possible
2.Set the limits of Market share (National and International)
3.Incorporate energy and water conservation as part of regulation
4.Motivate employees by incorporating eco-friendly changes
1.Corrective action plan based on environmental impact assessment
2.Develop environmental friendly image through labeling and pollution
statement on products
3.Stakeholder participation by taking their consent and approval while
designing the organizational strategy
4.Do environmental reporting, routinely
5.Certify with environmental management systems providers
1.Ensure emission reduction/pollution control by end-of- pipe technology
2.Ensure emission reduction/pollution control by changing the product mix
3.Ensure emission reduction/pollution control by raw material substitution
4.Reformulation of final product to reduce the environmental impact
5.Reduce the generation of the wastes at the source by in process recycling
6.Timely Redesign process for cleaner/pollutant free product control and
certification of all components of supply chain
1.Conduct internal safety and environmental audit
2.Develop on and off site emergency plans to minimize hazards
3.Conduct mock drills to plan for emergency preparedness
4.Do pollution level measuring and reporting
375
Adaptation score in the study with the 7 point Likerts scale ranges from the values 1
to 7. As the value moves towards one, more the adaptability of that particular system
and vice versa otherwise. Fig. 2 shows the easily adapted systems and those systems
showing some resistance to compliance. In turn this signifies that, internal
management actions like aligning technical capabilities, personal commitment of the
owner and top management, analyzing methods such as material substitution,
exploration of innovative R&D, and collaborating with suppliers and supply
integration are not the methods commonly used by the SMEs.
Records.audits
Op.control
Mgmt.Progm
Int.Objective
Evaluation
Int.Mgmt
Policy
Review
High Adaptation.................................................Low Adaptation.

Adaptation (Avg. value)
Fig. 2 Adaptation levels

Adaptation pattern (Fig. 2) shows the following result: A score of less than or equal
to 2 shows that the systems are well adapted in the organizations taken for study. A
score of above 2 shows some difficulty or resistance in implementing the abatement
systems.
376
CONCLUSION
The regulatory requirement provides standards and guidelines to the statutory or
regulatory bodies, being passed on to the respective industries. Behavior response to
regulatory requirements needs to ensure the protection of human health and the
environment by keeping the industrial performance to the optimum. Enforcement in
the form of command and control has been regarded as the solution to speedy
compliance. It involves the set of actions that government or other regulatory bodies
take to correct or halt behavior that fails to comply. Frequent changes in
environmental policy and regulations can impede the management actions of every
affected organization. It can even hinder the day to affairs of the organization in a
larger extent. As these regulatory requirements involve huge capital, the regulated
firms normally keeps the investment pending. This in turn affects the performances
in manufacturing, marketing and other related areas of operations.
In manufacturing different methods are proposed as part of compliance promotion
to enhance sustainable and optimum productivity level. Major among them being the
process re-design, substitution of input raw materials and reformulation of the
existing product. Even for a minor change, especially in pharmaceutical sector one
needs to obtain the concurrence from the regulatory and enforcement organizations.
This has made the changes practically impossible for the small and medium scale
manufacturers. The changes in existing process set up or layout to incorporate
abatement technology and related equipments becomes very costly and time
consuming for SMEs in comparison with larger firms. The compliance concerns to
the regulatory requirements and compliance measures are considered to be the two
sides of the same coin. Hence introduction of abatement measures to tackle the
vulnerable issues is vital for operational performance of SMEs.
REFERENCES
Ashford, N.A. (1993), Understanding Technological Responses of Industrial Firms
to Environmental Problems: Implications for Government Policy, Environmental
Strategies for Industry, Island Press, Washington DC.
Becker, G. (1968), Crime and punishment: An economic approach, Journal of
Political Economy, 76, 169-217.
377
Burton, Ian and Lim, Bo. (2001), Adaptation in the Context of Global Change:
Achieving Adequate Adaptation in Agriculture, CAGM. ARSO. GOV. SIWorkshop.
Cohen, I. (1987), Regulation and deregulation, California Management Review,
29, (4), 169183.
IPCC (2001) on Climate Change (2001). Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability,
McCarthy publishers.
Dean T. J. and R. L. Brown. (1994), Pollution regulation as a barrier to new firm
entry: Initial evidence and implications for future research, Academy of
Management Journal, 38, 288303.
Gurtoo, A., and Antony, S. J. (2007), Environmental regulations: Indirect and
unintended consequences on economy and business, Management of
Environmental Quality, 18 (6), 626 642.
Hampton, P. (2005), Reducing Administrative Burdens: Effective Inspections and
Enforcement, HM Treasury, London.
Kelly, P. M., and Adger, W. N. (2000), Theory and practice in assessing
vulnerability to climate change and facilitating adaptation, Climate change,
Springer, 47 (4), 325-352.
Phillip, E. Miller and Michael, M. McKinney. (1998), Analyzing effects of
regulatory compliance in manufacturing, Industrial Management & Data Systems,
98 (3), 108-112.
Stigler, G. J. (1971), The theory of economic regulation, Bell Journal of
Economics and Management Science, 2, 3-21; Economy. 70, 526- 536.
Visvanathan, C. and S. Kumar. (1999), Strategies for Implementing Cleaner
Production in Asian Small and Medium Industries, Journal of Cleaner Production,
7, 127-134.
Yandle, B. (1989), The Political Limits of Environmental Regulation, Quorum
Books, New York.
378

Heavy Metals and PAHs Characteristics of the Ashes

from Unchahar Thermal Power Plant
S. K. Verma1, L. C. Ram2, S. K. Maiti3, R. E. Masto4
1
Research Scholar, 2Chief Scientist, 3Professor ,4Scientist

Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Indian School of Mines,
Dhanbad-826004 Jharkhand (India)
2&4
CSIR: Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Research (DC) Digwadih Campus,
Dhanbad-828108 Jharkhand (India)
1&3
ABSTRACT
Energy extractions from coal combustion in power plants are essential for meeting
the energy demand of the country. However, the various operations starting from
coal crushing, combustion, ash handling, and effluent water handling, etc., are not
free from certain environmental hazards. Potentially toxic heavy metals and
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may emanate from the power plant stacks
and other water outlets of the power plant. These potential contaminants may be
transported to the soils of nearby villages and ultimately affect the health of human
beings by various exposure pathways. Coal, fly ash, and bottom ash samples
collected from the power plant were analyzed for major and trace elements and
PAHs. All the trace elements were enriched in fly ash as compared with coal,
whereas Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn were enriched in bottom ash. The total PAH contents
were much higher in coal (4541 gkg-1) than fly ash (31.5 gkg-1) and bottom ash
(9.82 gkg-1).
Overall, the heavy metals are within the safe limits, but the contents of PAHs may
pose exposure risks in a long run, especially through consumption of agricultural
produces grown in soils.
Keywords: Coal, fly ash, bottom ash, heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons.
INTRODUCTION
1
Corresponding author, E-mail: sanbiotech312005@gmail.com,.
Coal is one of the most abundant and important energy resources of the world. Coal
largely occurs in countries like Germany, Australia, Russia, U.S.A., China, India,
and Canada. In 20132014, coal production was 565.64 million tons (Mt) including,
90.4% by opencast method. The practice of meeting the energy demand from
coal/lignite (presently 56 %) will continue in view of the projected increase in the
energy requirement from 2.4% to 4.5% by 2020 (http://www.handsontv.info), and
287.0109 t of estimated total available coal reserves (coalindia.nic.in/coalreserve.
html, 2007; Ram and Masto, 2010; Singh et al, 2011). Present generation of fly ash
(FA) from coal combustion in TPPs in India is 160 MT/year and it is expected to
increase to 300 and 700 MT/year by 2016-17 and 2031-32 respectively (cfarm.org/Brochure%20F%20for%20mining%20 seminar. pdf), which needs to be
handled and disposed safely, as the ash may contain toxic health hazardous elements
and PAHs, hence the requirements prior to their utilization (Mastral et al., 1995; Liu
et al., 2000; Goodarzi, et al., 2008; Fedjea, et al, 2010; Ram and Masto, 2010, 2014).
The mineralogical and elemental composition of the fly ashes generated in power
stations, and the potential leachability of trace elements, have been investigated
(Iordanidis et al., 2001; Ram, et al., 2007; Singh, et al., 2011). The main source of
concern with PAHs is that some members are known mutagens and or carcinogens
(US EPA, 1992). Mutagenic and carcinogenic effects of some high molecular weight
PAHs have been clearly established decades ago (IARC, 1983). Even PAHs
showing low mutagenic effects can produce, as part of their catabolism by different
organisms, metabolic intermediates with significantly have higher toxic effects
compared to the original compounds. From the above considerations, Present study
discusses the enrichment of the trace element and PAHs in the ashes on the quality
of surrounding soil of the Unchahar TPP.
SAMPLE COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
The fly ash, bottom ash and feed coal samples were collected from national thermal
power plant (NTPC) of Unchahar, Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India. For determination
of trace elements, samples were digested using acid mixture (containing 1:1 of HCl
HClO4) at approximately 2000C for about 30-45 min. The content of trace elements
in the digested solution was measured using ICP-OES (Thermo Scientific, model no.
ICAP 6000 Series, ICP, Spectrometer). The fly ash and bottom ash after removing
the un-burnt C at 90015C for one hour, was performed following the Indian
Standard Method IS 1355-1984. To find out the inherent PAHs content of the
samples, Microwave extraction system using acetone- hexane mixture (1:1) was
carried out. Extracts were analyzed using GC-MS system (Varian GC 450 and MS
240).
380

The content of major and trace element in the fly ash, bottom ash, and coal are
presented in Table 1. Fly ash consists of SiO2 > Fe > Al > Ca > P > Mg, whereas the
bottom ash contains SiO2 > Fe > Al > Ca > Mg > P. Further the content of SiO 2, Al,
Fe, Ca, S, and P in the fly ash, bottom ash, and coal is in the order: fly ash> bottom
ash> coal. The trend is reported by others (Elseewi, et al., 1980; Ram, et al., 2006,
2007a, b). The content of trace elements like Mn, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sr, V,
Zn, B, Ba in the fly ash (range1.4-187, mgkg-1) is the maximum among all the three
samples. Further the content of some of the elements like Mn, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn in the
bottom ash is higher than coal but that of As, Cd, Co, Cr in the coal is higher than
bottom ash. Arsenic content was below detection limit (BDL) in bottom ash,
whereas in fly ash and coal was 3.46 mgkg-1and 0.07 mgkg-1, respectively. Trace
elements in coal are present in organic or inorganic matter or minerals (crystalline /
non-crystalline phases) or with organic constituents; many of these elements are
found simultaneously in both forms (Grdal, et al., 2011). Each element has its own
physical and chemical characteristics, which undergo various changes resulting
variation in the pattern of elemental concentrations in the ashes.
Table 1 Major and Trace Element Content in Fly Ash, Bottom Ash, and Coal
Samples Collected from NTPC, Unchahar, and Raebareli
Parameters
SiO2 (%)
Al (%)
Fe (%)
Ca (%)
S (%)
P (%)
Mg (%)
Mn (mgkg-1)
As (mgkg-1)
Cd (mgkg-1)
Co (mgkg-1)
Cr (mgkg-1)
Cu (mgkg-1)
Ni (mgkg-1)
Pb (mgkg-1)
Sr (mgkg-1)
V (mgkg-1)
Zn (mgkg-1)
B (mgkg-1)
Ba (mgkg-1)
Fly ash
78.57
1.01
1.68
0.31
0.05
0.16
0.13
187
3.46
1.4
3.88
47.1
45.8
11.7
44.1
48.6
78
53
77
134
Bottom ash
48.74
0.27
1.18
0.16
0.01
0.03
0.06
153
0
0.69
0.94
13
24.1
3.68
11.7
11
11.6
9.82
33.5
35.5
Coal
26.64
0.07
0.51
0.09
0.01
0.03
0.03
67.5
0.07
0.75
0.86
14.9
7.35
1.65
5.44
16.3
36.5
6.23
36.3
67.5
381
Apart from this, temperature, residence time, and air supply on the incinerator grate
and combustion chamber as well can greatly influence the distribution of the metals
with high vapor pressure, thereby major fraction of the elements in the fly ash than
bottom ash. The enrichment pattern of these trace elements is presented in Figure-1.
All the trace elements are enriched in fly ash as compared with coal, whereas Cu,
Ni, Pb, and Zn are enriched in bottom ash. The enrichment pattern in fly ash could
be arranged as: As > Zn > Pb > Ni > Cu > Co > Cr > Mn > V > B > Ba > Cd. The
processes of trace elements enrichment in coal is complicated and additional genetic
types, such as, submarine-exhalation-controlled and volcanic ash-controlled, have
been proposed (Dai, et al., 2008b; Ren, et al., 2006). Fly ash having finer fraction as
compared to bottom ash, offers more surface area for condensation, thereby
enhancement in the concentration of trace elements with high affinity for small
particles in the fly ash than bottom ash (Singh, et al., 2011). An inverse relationship
of concentration of elements with their particle size is attributable to the larger
surface area-to-volume ratio of the smaller particles (Mardon, et al., 2008;
Arditsoglou, et al., 2004; Wilcox, et al., 2012).
PAHs CONTENT IN COAL, FLY ASH AND BOTTOM ASH

The content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the fly ash, bottom ash,
and coal are presented in Table 2. FLE, BBA, CHR, INP, DBA, and BPR were BDL
in fly ash, bottom ash, and coal. There was no significant difference between fly ash,
bottom ash, and coal for FLU, PHEN, BBF, and BKF. The enrichment pattern of
these PAHs is presented in Figure-2. The concentrations of all the PAHs in fly ash
and bottom ash are less than that of the coal. The content of ACL, ACN, FLU,
PHEN, ANT, and BAP are combatively higher in bottom ash than fly ash, whereas
BBF and BKF are more enriched in bottom ash. The total PAH contents were much
higher in coal (4541 gkg-1) than fly ash (31.5gkg-1) and bottom ash (9.82 gkg1). The organic matter of coals usually comprises of (i) the dominant component
with a macromolecular structure, insoluble, 3D network with condensed aromatic
and hydro-aromatic units, and (ii) a molecular phase of compounds of low to
medium molecular mass, mostly soluble in organic solvents, with varying
distributions of aliphatic hydrocarbons, PAHs, and heterocyclic compounds
(Mastral, et al., 1995; Liu, et al., 2000). During combustion, coal structure
382
undergoes chemical and physical changes with the release of organic fractions
(Mastral et al, 2001). These fractions undergo cyclization reactions leading to
polycyclic compounds that can exist in gaseous and in solid phases, depending on
the surrounding temperature and their molecular volume (Badger, 1962; Gantner, et
al., 1985). PAHs originally emitted in the gaseous phase can be subsequently
adsorbed on the generated fly ash, particularly the 4-to-6 ring species (Liu, et al.,
2000). The fine particle fly ash has more surface area per unit mass than the coarse
particles, thus more condensed PAHs can be absorbed by fly ash particles as
compared to absorption by the bottom ash particles. A reverse relationship of
concentration with particle size was revealed for PAHs, particularly the heavier
compounds, which could possibly be attributable to the higher volatility of the lower
PAHs that may adsorb on ash particles from the gas phase (Arditsoglou et al., 2004).
Table 2 PAHs Content (gkg-1) in Fly Ash, Bottom Ash, and Coal Samples
Collected from National Thermal Power Plant, Unchahar
PAHs
Acenaphthylene [ACL] (gkg-1)
Acenaphthene [ACN] (gkg-1)
Fluorene [FLU] (gkg-1)
Phenanthrene [PHEN] (gkg-1)
Anthracene [ANT] (gkg-1)
Fluoranthene [FLE] (gkg-1)
Pyrene [PYR] (gkg-1)
Benzo[a]anthracene [BBA] (gkg-1)
Chrysene [CHR] (gkg-1)
Benzo[b]fluoranthene [BBF] (gkg-1)
Benzo[k]fluoranthene [BKF] (gkg-1)
Benzo[a]pyrene [BAP] (gkg-1)
Indeno (1,2,3-c,d) pyrene [INP] (gkg-1)
Benzo- (g,h,i) perylene [DBA] (gkg-1)
Dibenzo(a,h) anthracene [BPR] (gkg-1)
PAH (gkg-1)
Fly ash
0.137
0.282
0.063
0.609
1.01
BDL
4.75
BDL
BDL
3.08
20.9
1.09
BDL
BDL
BDL
31.5
Bottom ash
0.22
0.608
0.591
3.15
1.55
BDL
3.15
BDL
BDL
0.4
0.483
BDL
BDL
BDL
BDL
9.82
Coal
5.91
14.6
57.8
50.2
202
BDL
587
698
BDL
567
535
956
867
BDL
BDL
4541
383
CONCLUSIONS
Thermal power plants environmental impacts were evaluated by looking deep into
heavy metal as well PAH contamination of the surrounding soil of Unchahar thermal
power plant.
1.
2.
All the trace elements were enriched in fly ash as compared with coal, where as
Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn was enriched in bottom ash.
PAHs are compounds of much concern due to their severe human health
impacts. The PAH analysis of samples showed the presence of all the 16
USEPA suggested PAHs. The total PAH contents were much higher in coal
(4541 g/kg) than fly ash (31.5 g/kg) and bottom ash (9.82 g/kg) samples.
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386

Electrochemical Treatment of Sugar Industry Wastewater

Vandana Gupta, Bidyut Mazumdar1, Neela Achaya
1
Associate Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Raipur,
Chhattisgarh,492010,India
.
ABSTRACT
In the present article, treatment of sugar industry effluent by Electro-coagulation
(EC) process has been presented for the reduction of COD and colour. The process
was performed in 1.5 liter cubic reactor made of perperex glass. The cupper plate
were used as electrode. Experiments for the EC process were performed in the pH
range 2 8, current density (CD) 44.6 133.93 A/m2, electrode gap (EG) 1 - 2.5
cm. At pH 6.5, CD 44.6 A/m2 and EG 2 cm the maximum COD reduction was 606.37
mg/dm3 from initial COD (COD0) 1880 mg/dm3 . At same operating conditions the
colour reduction was 98.735% in 30 min of EC process . At optimum pH 6.5 ,effect
of electrode gap in the range 1 2.5 cm and CD 44.6 A/m2 were also studied. The
maximum reduction in COD of 303.48 mg/dm3 from initial COD 1278 mg/dm3 and
maximum colour reduction of 95.67 % were obtained at EG of 1.5 cm. At C D 133.9
A/m2 , pH 6.5 and EG of 1.5 cm the maximum reduction in COD (COD 0 = 1278
mg/dm3) was 298.504 mg/dm3 and colour reduction was 95.67 % .. The settling
studies were also performed to separate solids in mixture solid and liquid (slurry).
Keywords: Sugar Industry Wastewater , Electrochemical Treatment, Settling,
Copper Electrode
INTRODUCTION
Indian Sugar mills generate 0.16-0.76 m3 of waste water for every tonne of cane
crushed (www.tifac.org.in). During 1993-94, India produced 98 lakh tonne of sugar.
At this production level, on an average, the Indian sugar mills generated about
4,50,800 lakh liter of waste water. (www.tifac.org.in).The combined sugar mill
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: - bmazumdar.che@nitrr.ac.in
Electrochemical Treatment
waste water has a BOD of 1,000 to 1, 500 mg/l. (www.tifac.org.in). the pollution
standards stipulate that BOD of waste water should be less than 30 mg/l for disposal
into inland surface waters and less than 100 mg/l for disposal on land. BOD can be
500 mg/l, in case land application of treated waste water is envisaged as a secondary
treatment system for further removal of BOD. The sugar mill waste water, as it
leaves the premises, has a relatively clear appearance, however, after stagnating for
sometime, the waste water turns black and starts emitting foul odour. If discharged
in water sources, its high BOD depletes dissolved oxygen in water and makes the
environment unfit for fish and other aquatic life. Oil and grease in waste water
hasten such mortalities. If untreated waste water is discharged on land, decaying
organic solid and oil and grease present in the waste water clog the soil pores
(Salequzzaman et al.,2008). Generally the sugar industry waste water characterized
as - pH, Total dissolved solids (TDS), Dissolved Oxygen (DO),Biological Oxygen
Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Electric Conductivity (EC),
Potassium (K+): Calcium (Ca++), Magnesium (Mg2+),Chloride (Cl-), Bicarbonate
(HCO3- ),Sulphate (SO42),Ortho-Phosphate (PO43-), Nitrate (NO3-) ( Doke et
al.,2011, Memon et al.,2006 ). Electro-oxidation is finding its application in
wastewater treatment in combination with other technologies ( Chen 2004,Moises et
al.,2012,Sahu et al.,2014 ). The electrochemical process is one of the advanced
oxidation processes, potentially a powerful method of pollution control, offering
high removal efficiencies in compact reactors with simple equipments for control
and operation. These processes generally operate at a room temperature
(Shivayogimath et al.,2013). In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the
treatment of industrial effluents by electrochemical methods. Many researchers had
investigated the electrochemical oxidation for the treatment of various types of
wastewater .( Asaithambi et.al.,2011, Pouet et al.,1995, Jahed et al.,2013). In this
study we used copper plates as electrode for the Electro-Coagulation process for the
treatment of sugar industry effluent.
MATERIALS
Effluent
The effluent of sugar industry, used in this study was taken from the Bhoremdev
Sugar Industry,Kawardha ,Chhattisgarh ,India.
Chemicals apparatus and equipment Laboratory reagent (LR) grade hydrochloric
acid(HCl),sodium hydroxide (NaOH),ferrous sulfate (CuSO 4.5H2O), COD reagent A
and B and Wattman filter paper were procured by the Merk Ltd. Mumbai,India.The
Copper sheet is used as electrode.Plates are arranged in parallel manner with full
submerged condition.DC current supply, magnetic stirrer was used for the proper
mixing of wastewater. micropipette was used to take samples. perfex glass reactor.
388
COD Digester,UV spectrophotometer are used for the COD and color analysis in
treated and untreated wastewater.
PROCEDURE
The sugar industry effluent was taken in the Perspex glass reactor of volume 1.5 dm3
with Cu electrodes of 2mm thickness and 70x80 mm dimension. pH of sample was
measured and maintained by Hydrochloric acid (HCL) (1M) and Sodium Hydroxide
( NaOH ) (1M).Four plate configuration at varying current intensities (1, 2 and 3)
and electrode gap (1 , 1.5 ,2 and 2.5 mm) were used during experiment . All test
runs were performed at a room temperature and atmospheric pressure for 30 min.
Since pH has tremendous effect on Electro-chemical treatment the experiments were
first performed at different initial pH, when the optimized pH evaluated , treatments
were performed at different current intensities and electrode gap. Samples were
drawn at regular intervals and allowed to settle of sludge and analyzed at the end of
electro-coagulation process for COD and color. Prior to the use , the electrodes were
cleaned with 10% HCl solution followed by the washing with distilled water and
drying in oven slightly above the room temperature.

COD and Color Analysis
Spectroscopic method is used for the Determination of COD and color. 3 ml of
effluent/treated sample was mixed with 0.3 ml of reagent A and 2.3 ml of reagent B
in test cell and shaked well. The test cells containing samples were placed in COD
digester and Incubated for 2 hr at 148 oC . After 2 hr, the samples were cooled at
room temperature. The absorbance of digested sample were taken at 605 nm using
UV spectrophotometer and corresponding COD was estimated. color was
determined by placing the sample in spectrophotometer for the absorbance at 475
nm.
EFFECT OF PH
EC is an exothermic process and the heat generation was a function of initial pH of
the cell solution. The effect of pH in the range of 2 - 8 was investigated and results
are presented in Fig 1.a for COD reduction and Fig 1.b for color reduction. At pH
6.5 with current of 2A (CD 89 A/m2 ) and electrode gape ( EG ) of 2 cm , electrode
loss of 0.6517 gm with the maximum COD reduction form 1880 to 606.37 mg/dm 3
and best reduction in color 98.735% at pH 5 were obtained in 30 min of electrocoagulation process .
389
Fig 1.a : Effect of pH on COD reduction Fig 1.b : Effect of pH on color reduction.
Effect of Electrode Distance and Current Intensity
The results shows that the COD and color reduction was minimum (COD 357.20
mg/dm3 and color reduction 90.13 % ) for small electrode gap (1 cm), when the
electrode gap increased after the certain limit the COD and Color removal efficiency
also decreased. The EG of 1.5 cm gives the considerable reduction in COD (303.48
mg/dm3) and color (95.67 % reduction).
The study of current intensity is represented in Fig 2.a and Fig 2.b. The experiments
were performed for the current range of 1 3 A (CD 44.6 -133.9 A/m2 )keeping other
parameter constant (pH 6.5 , electrode distance 1.5 cm ). The results shows that the
COD and Color removal efficiency improves with the current intensity.
390
Fig 2.a : Effect of current on COD reduction Fig 2.b : Effect of current on color
reduction
Settling study
Settling study was carried out in measuring cylinder. The well mixed slurry was
homogenized before pouring in to the cylinder , the sample was allowed to settle
for maximum 2 hr. Fig 3 represents the result of settling study. The settling rate
were in order of pH 3 > pH 6.5 > pH 5 > pH 8. Results shows that the solid liquid
interface (H/H0) (0.26) and maximum COD reduction was favorable for EC process
at pH 6.5.
Fig 3 : Settling study at different pH

391
CONCLUSIONS
The following conclusion has been reported from the Experimental results
COD REDUCTION
1.
2.
3.
During Electro-coagulation the dissolution of copper takes place and it is

influenced by pH . At pH 6.5, current 2A , electrode gap 2 cm and
electrode loss of 0.6517 gm the maximum COD reduction was obtained
form 1880 to 606.37 mg/dm3 is reported in 30 min of electro-coagulation
process .
Experiment at various electrode gap of 1 cm , 1.5 cm , 2 cm and 2.5 cm
gave the COD reduction of 357.20 mg/dm3,303.48 mg/dm3 , 320.43
mg/dm3 and 333. 71 mg/dm3 respectively from initial COD 1278 mg/dm3.
The results show that the COD reduction efficiency improves with the
current intensity. Reduction in COD was 298.502 mg/dm3 for current of 3
A in 30 min of electro-coagulation process
COLOR REDUCTION
1.
2.
3.
For the 30 min of operation the color reduction of 86.31% , 84.47% ,

98.735% , 93.6% and 97.13 % were obtained at pH 2, pH 3.5 , pH 5, pH
6.5 and pH 8 respectively. The best reduction in color was obtained for pH
5 with 98.735 % reduction.
At pH 2 current 2A and electrode gap of 1 cm , 1.5 cm , 2 cm and 2.5 cm
respectively the color reduction of 90.13 % ,95.67 % , 93.60 % and 92.67
% obtained.
Color removal efficiency improved with the current intensity. 97.6 % color
reduction was obtained at current intensity of 3A .
SETTLING STUDIES
For the settling study , of EC process the settling rate were in order of pH 3 > pH 6.5
> pH 5 > pH 8.
392
REFERENCES
Asaithambi P., Matheswaran M. (2011), Electrochemical treatment of simulated
sugar industrial effluent: Optimization and modeling using a response surface
methodology.Arabian Journal of Chemistry 1-7
Chen G. (2004), Electrochemical technologies in wastewater treatment, Separation
and Purification Technology 38 1141
Doke K. M., Khan E. M., Rapolu J., Shaikh A. ( 2011), Physico-chemical analysis
of sugar industry effluent and its effect on seed germination of vigna angularis,
vigna cylindrical and sorghum cernum, Environmental Science Vol 5 ,7-11
Jahed E., Khodaparast M. H. H. , Lotfian F., Khaneghah A. M. (2013),
Performance Investigation of Electrochemical Treatment Process on Wastewater of
Applicable Decolorization Resins in Sugar Factories, Society for Sugar Research &
Promotion
Memon A.R., Soomro S.A., Ansari A. K. (2006), Sugar Industry Efflunet
Characteristics and Chemical Analysis, J.App.Em.Sc. 152-157
Moiss T. P., Patricia B. H., Barrera-Daz C.E. , Gabriela R.M. , Natividad R.
(2010), Rangel Treatment of industrial effluents by a continuous system:
Electrocoagulation Activated sludge, Bioresource Technology 101 77617766
Pouet MF, Grasmick A.(1995),Urban waste water treatment by electro coagulation
and floation,water sci.technol 31 275-79
Sahu O., Mazumdar B., Chaudhari P. K. (2014), Treatment of wastewater by
electrocoagulation: a review article,Environ Sci Pollut Res 21:23972413
Salequzzaman M., Tariqul-islam S. M., Tasnuva A., Kashem M.A., Mahedi-almasud M. ( 2008) ,Environmental impact of sugar industry - a case study on
kushtia sugar Mills in Bangladesh,j. innov.dev.strategy. 2(3) 31-35
Shivayogimath C.B.,Jahagirdar R. (2013),Treatment of sugar industry wastewater
using electrocoagulation technique, International Journal of Research in
Engineering and Technology 262-265
393
394

Microbial Fuel Cell Technology for Wastewater

Treatment and Electricity Production
Sanju Sreedharan1, Renu Pawels2
1
Research Scholar, 2Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Division,

School of Engineering, Cochin University of Science and Technology
ABSTRACT
Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) is a promising technology for efficient wastewater
treatment and recovering energy as electricity. The main objective of this study is to
develop a lab scale microbial fuel cell model. The microbial fuel cell set up consists
of plastic bottles, Salt Bridge, Graphite electrodes and Fish tank air pump. Rice
starch and glucose were used as substrates. Experimental results have showed 8.5%
reduction in COD and electric potential in the range of 170 mV from starch within 4
days. Where as COD reduction was increased to 56% and electricity production was
reached above 190mV within 4 days in glucose sample. An increase in electric
potential was noticed in further studies on glucose sample with addition of salts like
NaCl. Microbial studies revealed the presence of Gram positive spore forming
bacterial cells, as long chain bacilli in glucose sample, whereas plump/ovoid monobacilli from starch.
INTRODUCTION
The drastically increased demand of fossil fuels for energy, unbearable climatic
changes due to air pollution, and the increase of energy cost considerably motivate
the current research towards searching for new alternative energy production
approaches. The other byproduct of development is wastewater produced from
different sectors, which also demand energy for its treatment and safer disposal.
Biodegradable organic-rich wastes from domestic, industrial and agricultural sectors
are the ideal candidates as sustainable energy sources for electrical production, since
energy can be biologically extracted from them and the wastes are treated in tandem.
1
Sanju Sreedharan. E-mail: sanjus@scmsgroup.org
Microbial Fuel Cell Technology
MFC is a bioreactor that converts chemical energy in the chemical bonds of organic
compounds directly to electrical energy through catalytic reactions of
microorganisms under anaerobic conditions. MFCs produce electricity from organic
waste directly, without the need for methane collection, its conversion to heat by
combustion and then to electricity. The bio-conversion in MFCs can occur at
temperatures below 20C and at low substrate concentration levels, where anaerobic
digestion generally fails due to low reaction rates and high solubility of the methane
produced.
In MFC, organic matter or biomass is oxidized at the anode producing CO2, protons
as well as electrons. Microorganisms here fulfill the role of biocatalysts. Electrons
produced by the bacteria from these substrates are transferred to the electrode
(anode) and flow to the cathode (positive terminal) linked by a conductive material
containing a resistor or device (like LED Bulb). Since cathode and anode are
separated by proton exchange membrane (PEM), proton will diffuse through
membrane to reach cathode. Cathode chamber of MFC is maintained in aerobic
condition. The electrons that reach the cathode through external circuit combine
with protons and oxygen and the resulting product is water. The schematic sketch of
MFC is given in Figure 1. [Rabaey and Verstraete (2005)]
Fig. 1 Schematic Sketch of Microbial Fuel Cell

The bio-chemical reactions taking place in anode and cathode cells of MFC to create
energy can be explained by Eq. (1).
Anode: C6H12O6 + 6 H2O
Cathode: 24 H+ + 24e + 6O2
6 CO2 + 24 H+ + 24 e
12 H2O
C6H12O6 + 6 O2 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + Electrical energy
(1)
Electrical energy theoretically approaching 2840 kJ/mol. [Pham et al. (2006)]

396
The present study was conducted on recreated version of MFC using locally
available materials. Worldwide, several studies were reported on analyzing MFC
using synthetic wastes. But this study was conducted with a MFC system using
natural waste water drained from boiled rice as substrate, which is available and
generally thrown away from 99% of households and restaurants of Kerala. The test
was repeated on synthetic glucose sample and also it includes the modification of
cell by addition of salt.
MATERIALS
A typical MFC consists of an anodic chamber and a cathodic chamber separated by
a Proton Exchange Membrane and externally connected by circuit. The MFC set up
for this experimentation was made up with locally available materials.
Two plastic bottles: Used chemical bottles were effectively used to create anodic
and cathodic chambers. Bottle for the anodic chamber was retained with cap, having
2 holes for fixing electrode and salt bridge. To maintain the cathodic chamber in
aerobic condition, the top portion of the bottle had been removed and kept open with
a wider mouth.
Salt Bridge: A salt bridge was prepared and was used to provide internal
connectivity between cathodic and anodic chambers instead of PEM. It was prepared
by fixing a semi-fluid media made of 5gm Agar and 1gm NaCl boiled with 50ml
distilled water, in a U-shaped glass tube.
Graphite Rods: Graphite rods were used as electrode in both chambers.
Air pump: Fish tank air pump with plastic tubing was used to improve the aeration
in the cathodic chamber. It was operated for half an hour daily.
External circuit: Electrodes were externally connected by insulated wire and an
LED bulb.
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
Experimental evaluation was done in the microbial fuel cell (MFC) lab model as
shown in Fig. 2. The experimentation was done in three stages. In the first stage,
starch was used as the substrate for biodegradation and current generation and COD
reduction was monitored for 4 Days. Starch water samples were collected from three
different houses and mix of equal proportions were prepared. The average COD of
the mixture was evaluated initially. The mixture was loaded into the anode bottle
after one day to form anaerobic state. This substrate was seeded with 1 ml of 2
397
weeks old starch sample which was assumed to be with suitable type of bacteria.
The experiment was repeated with synthetic glucose sample using the same seed.
System was run for 13 days with voltage measurement and then final COD of
glucose sample was evaluated to find the treatment efficiency.
Fig. 2 Experimental set up and measurement of voltage using multi-meter

In the second stage of the study, the glucose sample was modified with an addition
of NaCl and CaCl2 at different concentration levels and tested for voltage production
between electrodes for three days. The third stage of the evaluation was to identify
the characteristics of microbial population developed in the MFC set up using starch
and glucose as substrates.

Comparison of Starch and Glucose as substrates in MFC: Since the samples
were loaded into the anode chamber after one day, Electric potential evaluation
started after 24hrs of preparation of samples. Fig. 3 (a) shows the comparison
between production of electricity in starch and Glucose samples and Fig. 3 (b)
shows the gradual increase of voltage in Glucose sample. MFC loaded with starch
shows a continuous decrease after the third day.
Fig. 3 (a) Comparison between the voltage development in Starch and Glucose
samples (b) Voltage development in glucose sample for extended period
398
Voltage fluctuations were monitored for the first four days for the starch and glucose
sample. Maximum voltage production for starch was found as 173.7 mV on third
day and then next day onwards it showed a continuous decrease. Whereas Glucose
had shown a slow, steady growth from fourth day onwards until it reach a maximum
potential of 265mV on 12th day and then decreased. The delay in development of
current in Glucose was due to the addition of seed from starch, by which microbial
growth was in a lag phase initially. Reductions in COD of both substrates are
summarized in Table (1). The efficiency of MFC was compared, with the anaerobic
reduction of COD that occurs naturally on stocking the sample. Higher reduction in
COD was observed for glucose sample, due to the structural complexity of starch.
Starch is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined
together by glycosidic bonds which makes it more stable against biodegradation.
Table 1 COD reduction in MFC compared to Natural Biodegradation
Initial
Time
Final COD COD reduction Natural COD
Substrate
COD
span
from MFC
in MFC
reduction
Glucose
49735mg/l 8 days
21888mg/l
55.99%
38.53%
Starch
31574mg/l 4 days
28880mg/l
8.53%
3.92%
Effect of salts on electric potential from MFC: Effect of NaCl and CaCl2 as
electron mediators were studied in glucose sample, in order to have a control over
the substrate concentration. Each cell was tested for 3 days. Fig. 3 shows the effect
of addition of electron mediators on voltage development of MFC. When the same
quantity of NaCl and CaCl2 were used, NaCl has shown better electron transfer
efficiency. Increase of concentration of salt shows a considerable increase in
potential, only for CaCl2. Further studies are required to reveal the effect and the
optimum dosage of salt required as electron mediator.
Fig. 4 Effect of salts on voltage development (a) using NaCl and (b) CaCl 2
Microbial Characterisation: The microbial characterisation study was done by
agar plate count test. On incubation at 370C, bacterial colonies were found to be
Gram positive spore forming rods upon Gram staining followed by Spore staining.
399
The bacterial cells found in glucose sample was long bacilli in chains, whereas from
starch was found to be plump/ovoid monobacilli.
CONCLUSIONS
The Microbial fuel cell developed using cheaply available material was found to be
developing electric potential by degradation of organic substrates. Since starch is
comparatively less biodegradable, electric voltage potential is less in case of starch
compared to glucose. The observation from this study can be concluded that:
1.
2.
Anaerobic biodegradation creates electrons and by tracking them in a conductor,

electricity can be produced. Hence MFC is a System which converts
biodegradable waste to electricity directly.
Electricity potential depends on the electron transfer efficiency of microbes to
electrodes. In the presence of chemical mediators, electrical potential from MFC
is found increasing due to the increased electron transfer efficiency of cell
impart by increase in dissolved ions. Further study is needed in this area to
identify the best chemical salt working as electron mediator and its optimum
dosage.
The system needs further optimization study in terms of electrode material, its
structure, surface area and chamber design. The electric potential and wastewater
treatment efficiency of MFC can be increased by efficient seeding with anaerobic
bacteria. Further studies can be conducted by modifying the MFC using Proton
Exchange membrane instead of salt bridge.
REFERENCES
Byung Hong Kim, Seop Chang and Geoffrey M Gadd (2007), Challenges in
microbial fuel cell development and operation, Applied Microbial Biotechnology,
76, 485494.
Korneel Rabaery, Peter Clauwaert, Peter Aelterman and Willy Verstraere (2005)
Tubular Microbial Fuel Cells for Efficient Electricity Generation, Environmental
Science Technology, 39, 8077-8082.
Pham, T. H., Rabaey, K., Aelterman,P., Clauwaert, P., De Schamphelaire, L., Boon,
N. and Verstraete, W. (2006), Microbial Fuel Cells in Relation to Conventional
Anaerobic Digestion Technology, Engineering Life Science, 6(3), 285 -292.
Rabaey, K. and Verstraete, W. (2005), Microbial fuel cells: novel biotechnology
for energy generation, Trends Biotechnology, 23, 291298.
Zhuwei Du, Haoran Li and Tingyue Gu (2007), A state of the art review on
microbial fuel cells: A promising technology for wastewater treatment and
bioenergy Biotechnology Advances, 25, 464482.
400

Catalytic Treatment of Dye Wastewater

Neela Acharya, P.K.Chaudhari1, Vandana Gupta
1
Associate. Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering,
National Institute Of Technology
Raipur-492001, Chhattisgarh, India.
ABSTRACT
The present article concerns the synthesis of zeolite derived from low cost material
(fly ash) for reduction of Congo red dye by catalytic thermal treatment and catalytic
wet oxidation. The effects of various operating parameters like temperature, pH,
H2O2 concentration and catalyst loading was observed on COD and percentage
color removal of dye waste water. The percentage removal of dye and COD were
best at pH 2 and temperature 705C with 4 ml/l H 2O2 and 4 gm/l catalyst in dye
solution in 3 hours. The maximum percentage color removal was found to be
99.52% and COD removal was 88%.
Keywords: Dye wastewater, Congo red ,thermolysis, wet oxidation
INTRODUCTION
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being
applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant
to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber. Dyes are mainly comes from textile ,
food processing and dye industry. Large variety of functional groups are contained
in different dyes and have their diverse properties. Also, the effluents are usually
very complex and very harmful. Therefore, before it is to be discharged in water
P.K.Chaudhari. E-mail: pkchaudhari.che@nitrr.ac.in
Catalytic treatment..
receiving bodies it is necessary to treat it. Some literature have been published for
removal of dyes (Kumar et al, 2008, Hua et al, 2013; Kondru et al., 2009, Wang et
al, 2005) Various types of dyes available are:
Natural dye: The majority of natural dyes are from plant sources are:- roots, berries,
bark, leaves, wood, fungi and lichens.
Synthetic dye: Synthetic dyes quickly replaced the traditional natural dyes. They cost
less, they offered a vast range of new colors, and they imparted better properties to
the dyed materials.
Thermolysis is a chemical process by which a substance is decomposed into other
substance by use of heat. This study proposes the treatment of wastewater containing
dye using the thermolysis process.
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION
MATERIAL
Chemicals: Sodium Hydroxide pellets, Sulphuric acid, Hydrogen peroxide (30%
analytical grade) and COD reagent A and B were procured from Merk India Ltd,
Mumbai. Fly ash was obtained from SKS ISPAT & Power LTD Siltara, Raipur
(C.G), Congo red dye was arranged from local suppliers,
Apparatus: 0.5 l three-necked glass reactor, magnetic stirrer equipped with heater,
total reflux, thermometer.
METHODS
ZEOLITE SYNTHESIS AND ITS CHARACTERIZATION
Synthesis: The synthesis of zeolite was carried out in the following steps; fly ash
was initially screened through 355 micron mesh and the particles that retained on the
screen were kept aside. Screening of fly ash is followed by calcinations at 80010C
to eliminate unburnt carbon and volatile matter. NaOH in form of pellets is grinded
to fine powder and then 24 g of that powder is thoroughly mixed with 20 g of fly ash
which was obtained after calcinations. The mixture is then taken into a crucible and
fused at 550 C in a furnace with an increasing ramp of 30 C/ 10 min. The fused
mixture is then cooled, grinded and aged for 10 hours at room temperature. The
sodium aluminate slurry obtained after aging was subjected to microwave heating
for a period of 15-20 minutes and then kept for crystallization in an oven for 10-12
hours at static state. After hydro thermal crystallization the upper layers of slurry
were collected, cooled, washed thoroughly with deionized water followed by
filtration and drying at 100-110C for 4 hours. The zeolite thus formed is in
402
powdered form and stored in a dry place. The preparation of synthesis zeolite has
been presented by some authors (Hollmana et al., 1999, Querol et al, 2002, Carlos et
al., 2009) .
Characterization: The determination of images and composition of catalyst were
done by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)/EDX, (Zeiss, model EV018 special
edition). The determination of structure of the catalyst was done by X-ray
diffractometer (PANalytical, XPERT-PRO diffractometer system). The catalyst
structure was conrmed by using Cu K as a source and Ni as a lter media. The
range of scanning angle (2) was kept between 4-100 C. The intensity peaks
indicate the values of 2, where Braggs law is applicable (Fig.1 and Fig.2). (Kondru
et al., 2009).
Intensity (counts)
Fig.1 SEM image of synthesized zeolite.

10000
6400
3600
1600
400
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
2Theta ()
Fig.2 XRD pattern of synthesized zeolite.
403
TREATMENT PROCEDURE AND ANALYSIS

The experimental studies were carried out in a 0.5 liter three-necked glass reactor
equipped with a magnetic stirrer with heater and a total reux. Then 250 ml water
containing Congo red (i.e. a 1gm/liter solution) dye solution was transferred to the
three-necked glass reactor. Thereafter, 1 gm of catalyst and 1 ml of hydrogen
peroxide (H2O2) was added to the solution at desired temperature. The raising of the
temperature of the reaction mixture from ambient took about 15-30 min. The total
reux was used to prevent any loss of vapour and magnetic stirrer to agitate the
mixture. The runs were conducted at desired temperature for 3 hours and the
samples were taken at periodic intervals. After the completion of the run, the
collected samples were allowed to cool and settled overnight and filtered, if required
and finally the collected samples were tested for COD and percentage color removal.
The UV spectra of dye solutions for color reduction and COD at 497nm and 605nm
wavelengths respectively were recorded after treatment for different time lengths
using a UV-1800 spectrophotometer.

Effect of pH
The influence of pH on dye and COD removal were studied in detail. The initial pH
was maintained at values 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8. The initial color of the dye solution was
red at pH 6, 7, and 8 and blue at pH 2, 3, and 4 respectively. During the experiments
it was observed that at acidic pH the red color of the dye solution changes to blue at
pH 2, 3, and 4, which further changes to red color on adding catalyst and H2O2 at
705C. During heating of solution the red color changed to light brown and during
processing it becomes colorless.
The percentage dye removal obtained for pH 2, 3, and 4 in 15 min were 84.81,
36.54, and 23.97 respectively, which further increased to 99.52, 63.94, and 50.11 on
treating for 3h. Also, for pH 6, 7, and 8 in 15 min color removed were 21.12, 19.17,
and 10.55 respectively, which further increased to 40.41, 32.01, and 30.99 in 3 h
treatment. Fig.3 shows the results obtained at various pH as percentage dye removal.
At pH 2 a large amount of settled mass was seen in test tube, which shows one of the
reasons of dye removal. Formation of solid mass may be due to reaction between
functional groups present in the dye and also may be due to complexation of dyes
with catalyst.
404
pH2
pH3
pH4
pH6
pH7
pH8
Dye removal (%)
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
50
100
150
200
Time (min)
Fig.3 : Effect of pH on percentage dye removal. Temp 70 oC., dye 0.1 g/l, catalyst 4
g/l., H2O2 4ml/l.
The COD removal estimated at pH 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 was reduced to 20.32, 38.48,
47.21, 58.24, 60.42 and 78.45 mg/l respectively on treating for 3h. It was seen that
COD reduced at a faster rate in 60 min and after that it became slow (Fig.4).
COD (mg/l)
pH2
pH3
pH4
pH6
pH7
pH8
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
50
100
150
200
Time (min)
Fig. 4 Effect of pH on COD removal. Temp 70 oC., dye 0.1 g/l, catalyst 4 g/l., H2O2
4ml/l.
Effect of H2O2 Concentration and Catalyst Mass Loading
The effect of H2O2 concentration (1 ml) and catalyst mass loading (1 gm) on
percentage dye removal and COD removal were studied at temperature 705C for
405
3h (180 min) duration. At pH 2, in the presence of 1 ml H 2O2 the dye removal was
90.68% in 3 h. While in presence of 1 ml H2O2 and 1 gm catalyst the dye removal
was 99.52% in 3 h. Similar process was performed in absence of H2O2 i.e. only 1 gm
of catalyst added gave 70.01% dye removal in 3 h (Fig. 5).
Dye removal (%)
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
50
With catalyst
100
Time (min)
With Hydrogen peroxide
150
200
With catalyst and Hydrogen peroxide
Fig 5: Removal of dyes with catalyst, H2O2 and catalyst and H2O2
.
CONCLUTIONS
In the present work synthesis of zeolite from fly ash was done, which was used for
COD and dye removal from the synthetic dye wastewater. The process was found to
very effective. The main conclusions are:
1. COD and color re
2. moval depended on pH had highest 99.52% dye removal and 88% COD
removal (20.32 mg/l from 190 mg/l) at pH 2. Lowest dye and COD removal
was at pH 8 with 30.99% dye removal and 59% COD removal (78.45 mg/l
from 190 mg/l) in 3h treatment. These results were obtained at temp 705C
and H2O2 4 ml/l and catalyst 4 gm/l.
3. The catalytic wet oxidation gave 99.52% dye removal and 88% COD removal
(20.32 mg/l from 190 mg/l). Heating with catalyst alone gave 70.01 % dye
removal and 30 % COD removal (133.66 mg/l from 190 mg/l). Wet oxidation
with H2O2 gave 90.68 % dye removal 52 % COD removal (85mg/l form
190mg/l) in 3 h
406
REFERENCES
Carlos A., Ros R, Williams C. D., Roberts C. L., A comparative study of two
methods for the synthesis of fly ash-based sodium and potassium type zeolites, Fuel
88 (2009) 14031416.
Hollmana G G., Steenbruggena G., Janssen-Jurkovicova M. A two-step process
for the synthesis of zeolites from coal fly ash, Fuel 78 (1999) 12251230.
Hua L., Hongrui M, Zhang L, Degradation process analysis of the azo dyes by
catalytic wet air oxidation with catalyst CuO/c-Al2O3, Chemosphere 90 (2013) 143
149.
Kondru A.K, Kumar P, Chand S., Catalytic wet peroxide oxidation of azo
dye (Congo red) using modied Y zeolite as catalyst, Journal of Hazardous
Materials 166 (2009) 342347.
Kumar P., Prasad B., Mishra I.M., Chand S., Decolorization and COD reduction of
dyeing wastewater from a cotton textile mill using thermolysis and coagulation,
Journal of Hazardous Materials 153 (2008) 635645.
Wang S., Boyjoo Y., Choueib A., A comparative study of dye removal using fly ash
treated by different methods, Chemosphere 60 (2005) 14011407.
Querol X., Moreno N., Uman J.C., Alastuey A., Hernandez E., Lopez-Soler A.,
Plana F., Synthesis of zeolites from coal fly ash: an overview, International Journal
of Coal Geology 50 (2002) 413 423.
407
408

Numerical Investigation of Injector Geometries on Jet in

Cross-flow at High Speed
Anand Raj Hariharan1, Tide P S2, Bhasi A B3
1
Assistant Professor
Adi Shankara Institute of Science and Technology
Kalady-683574, Kerala, India.
2
Professor, 3 Associate Professor

ABSTRACT
Numerical simulations of sonic jet injection into supersonic cross-flow are carried
out due to its tremendous application in scramjet combustors. It is well known that
the combustion process in a scramjet combustor is largely mixing controlled (this
further depends on injector geometry). Accordingly, the objective of the present
work is to investigate the effect of injector geometries (circular and diamond shaped
orifices) on mixing and spreading of the injectant. The performance of injectors is
evaluated using metrics namely, degree of mixing and total pressure loss. The
numerical simulations are carried out using OpenFoam code. The results obtained
shows that the circular injector provides better spreading of the injectant at the
expense of total pressure.
INTRODUCTION
Supersonic combustion is essential for the efficient operation of air-breathing
engines at hypersonic flight Mach numbers. In supersonic combustion ramjet
(scramjet) engines, the residence time available for the completion of mixing and
combustion is of the order of few milliseconds. In this regard, Heiser and Pratt
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: anandraj.hariharan@gmail.com
Numerical Investigation of Injector Geometries
(1994) proved that normal injection of fuel into supersonic cross-flow involves
better mixing than axial counterparts at the expense of total pressure. The complex
three-dimensional flowfield encountered is usually studied by the sonic injection of
a gas (which represents fuel) into supersonic cross-flow. The sonic injection of fuel
into supersonic crossflow comes under the problem of Jet in Crossflow (JICF) at
high speeds. In order to reduce the high total pressure loss encountered for the jet in
crossflow at high speeds, sonic injection of fuel was attempted through non-circular
injector geometries. This includes elliptical (Gruber et al., 1997), wedge (Barber et
al., 1999), slot (Foster and Engblom., 2004) and diamond shaped (Tomioka et al.,
2003) geometries.
The present research work is hence focused on the performance of diamond and
circular injectors for high pressure ratio injection in a scramjet combustor using
Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The numerical predictions from this work
have been compared with the data available from literature. All the simulations have
been done by discretizing the governing equations using C ++ library OpenFoam.
FORMULATION AND SOLUTION METHODOLOGY

The flowfield around the injector is three-dimensional. Accordingly the
computational domain extends 8D (D is the diameter of the circular injector which is
4 mm) both upstream and downstream of the injector in streamwise direction. The
domain further extends to 4.5D and 2.4D in vertical and either side of the spanwise
direction respectively. The outline of the domain is shown in Fig. 1. The origin of
the coordinate system is at the center of the injector with X, Y and Z axes points in
streamwise, vertical and spanwise directions respectively. The solid surface is
modeled as the bottom wall and the boundaries on the top and spanwise directions
were taken as slip boundaries since the flow is axial on these planes. In the case of
diamond injector, the cross-sectional area is same as that of the circular injector and
the notch angle is 14o.
The flow considered here is three dimensional, compressible and turbulent.
Accordingly, Favre-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are solved together with
species transport. The temporal, convective and diffusion terms in the governing
equation are discretized using implicit, upwinding and central differencing schemes
respectively. All the numerical results are second order accurate in space and time.
The turbulence in the flowfield is modeled using Menter's SST k- model after
enabling compressibility effects along with a resolution up to the sub-layer on the
bottom wall. Default values have been used for the model constants. The turbulent
Prandtl and Schmidt number have been taken as 0.85 and 0.7, respectively. At
turbulent inflow boundary, the air enters the domain with a Mach number of 1.6.
The total pressure and total temperature for the freestream is maintained at 241 kPa
and 295 K respectively. The injectant is air which enters at sonic speed. The
410
injectant enters the domain with total pressure and total temperature of 476 kPa and
295 K respectively. In the present numerical simulations, both the injectant and
freestream are air. Hence the freestream is modeled as a mixture with mass fractions
0.23 and 0.77 for oxygen and nitrogen respectively. The injectant is taken as air
alone such that mixing can be directly assessed based on the mass fraction of air.
Fig.1 Schematic diagram of computational domain used for numerical simulations.
Fig. 2 Variation of the mean mass fraction of the injectant along the centerline on
the bottom wall for the circular and diamond injector (left). Validation of the present
numerical simulations (right) with DNS (Pirozzoli et al., 2004) and LES data (Rana
et al., 2011).
The accuracy of the numerical predictions from CFD depends on the correct framing
of physics and mathematics of the required problem. The former is verified using
validation and latter by verification. Celik et al., (2008) proposed a verification
index, namely, Grid Convergence Index (GCI). GCI is a measure of numerical
uncertainty associated with grid refinement as the resolution is improved from
coarse to fine mesh. For the results presented herein, GCI values of the injectant
mass fraction at the exit plane comes out to be 1.3%, 0.9% and 0.4%, (Coarse mesh,
intermediate mesh and fine mesh) respectively for the circular injector and 1%, 0.8%
and 0.2%, (Coarse mesh, intermediate mesh and fine mesh) for diamond injector.
411
Fig. 3 Mach number distribution on the vertical central plane (XY plane, z = 0) for
circular and diamond injector. a: The main flow is from left to right. a: Freestream
air, b: Bow shock, c: Region of interaction between the bow shock and barrel shock,
d: Separation of flow, e: Subsonic region behind the Mach disc and f: Expansion
fan. Mach disc (solid line) and barrel shock (dotted line) are also shown.
Fig. 4. Variation of degree of mixing (D m) along the test section. a: Spreading of the
injectant based on qj/qa, b: The reduction in spreading rate due to loss of momentum
(Mach disc), c: Spreading rate increases due to mixing with supersonic stream.

COMPARISON WITH EXPERIMENTAL DATA
The numerical predictions are compared with the experimental data at axial location
5D upstream of the injector. The results are shown in Fig. 2. From the figure it is
clear that the trends have been captured well by the present numerical predictions.
The deviation of the present numerical predictions, inspite of the resolution used,
can perhaps be attributed to the turbulence model used.
412
CONTOURS OF MACH NUMBERS

Sonic injection of air into supersonic air stream (Mach 1.6) results in the formation
of a curved three-dimensional bow shock which is strongest within the vertical plane
(see Fig. 3). The strong interaction of shock wave with the boundary layer results in
the separation of boundary layer which is visible for the circular injector (marked d).
However, in the case of the diamond injector the flow separation is hardly visible.
The Mach number distribution clearly indicates that the interaction between the
inejctant and freestream is stronger for the circular injector compared to the diamond
injector. How this will influence the spreading and penetration height achieved by
the injectant is investigated next.
DEGREE OF MIXING (Dm)

Degree of mixing in a given cross-sectional plane is defined as the ratio of the area
occupied by the injectant compared to the injector cross-sectional area (12.56 mm2).
The area occupied by the injectant in a given cross-sectional plane is determined by
taking the outer boundary of the injectant as 1% of maximum injectant mass fraction
(Kumaran et al., 2010). It should be noted that the degree of mixing is like Mie
scattering, which would be used for tracking the spreading of the injectant. The
variation of degree of mixing along the test section is shown in Fig. 4.
The figure clearly shows that the degree of mixing is better for the circular injector
than diamond injector by 18 % at the exit plane of the test section (x = 32 mm).
However, the total pressure loss associated with mixing enhancement is to be
investigated.
An investigation of total pressure loss reveals that it is higher for the circular injector
when compared to the diamond injector by 8% (of 241 kPa). The total pressure loss
in the case of the circular injector is due to the three-dimensional bow shock (ahead
of the injector), Mach disc, viscous dissipation and mixing. For the diamond
injector, the three-dimensional bow shock is weaker. Thus the circular injector
provides better spreading of the injectant when compared to the diamond injector
with higher total pressure loss.
CONCLUSIONS
The following conclusions are derived based on the numerical simulations.
1. The circular injector provides better spreading than the diamond injector.
2. The total pressure loss has been found to be higher for the circular injector.
413
The better spreading of the injectant from the circular injector at the expense of
higher total pressure loss compared to the diamond injector is due to the strong
interaction between the freestream and the injectant. The circular injector is
preferable for low hypersonic flight Mach numbers (particularly less than 8). The
diamond injector is preferred for higher fight Mach numbers. It is also possible to
operate these injectors in tandem so as to derive the advantage of both.
REFERENCES
Barber, M. J., J. A. Schetz., and L. A. Roe., (1999), Normal sonic helium injection
through a wedge-shaped orifice into supersonic flow", Journal of Propulsion and
Power, 13(2), 257-263.
Celik, I. B., U. Ghia., P. Roach., C. J. Freitas., H. Coleman., and P. E. Raad., (2008),
Procedure for estimation and reporting of uncertainty due to discretization in CFD
applications", Journal of Fluids Engineering, 130(078001), 4.
Foster , L. E, and W. A. Engblom., (2004), Computation of transverse injection into
supersonic crossflow with various orifice geometries", AIAA-2004-1199.
Gruber, M. R., Nejad, A. S., Chen, T. H., and Dutton., J. C., (1997),
Compressibility effects in supersonic transverse injection flowfields", Physics of
Fluids, 9(5), 1448-1461.
Heiser, W., and Pratt, D., (1994), Hypersonic Airbreathing Propulsion", AIAA
Education Series, AIAA, Washington D. C.
Kumaran, K., Behera, P. R., and V, Babu., (2010), Numerical investigation of the
supersonic combustion of kerosene in a strut based combustor", Journal of
Propulsion and Power, 26(5), 1084-1091.
Pirozzoli, S, F. Grasso, and T. B. Gatski, (2004), Direct numerical simulation and
analysis of a spatially evolving supersonic turbulent boundary layer at M=2.25,
Physics of Fluids, 16(530), 1-15.
Rana, Z. A., B. Thornber., and D. Drikakis., (2011), Transverse jet injection into
supersonic crossflow", Physics of Fluids, 23 (046103), 1-22.
Tomioka, S., L. S. Jacobsen., and J. A. Schetz., (2003)., Sonic injection from
diamond-shaped orifices into supersonic crossflow", Journal of Propulsion and
Power, 19(1), 104-114.
414

Prediction of Turbulence Characteristics of Coaxial

Dual Nozzle Flows
Bindu M D1, Karun V Gopal 2, Tide P S 3
1
Assistant Professor, Government Engineering College, Thrissur,

PG Student, ICTM, Government Engineering College, Thrissur,
3
Professor in Mechanical Engineering, Cochin University of Science and
Technology, Kochi, Kerala.
2
ABSTRACT
Coaxial dual nozzles develop very complex flow structures depending on the mean
velocity ratio between the primary and secondary streams. In the present study, the
effect of varying mean velocity ratio on the turbulence characteristics of subsonic
jets emanating from coaxial dual nozzle were predicted using numerical simulations.
The 3D coaxial dual flows were analyzed using a commercial software employing
two equation turbulence model for three different velocity ratios - 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7.
The primary jet velocity was kept constant for all the three cases. Turbulence
intensities, potential core lengths, velocity decay of primary and secondary flows
were predicted from simulations. The results were compared with available
experimental data in the literature. The study indicates that the flow characteristics
of coaxial dual jets can be predicted reasonably well with RANS simulations.
INTRODUCTION
The noise generated by aircrafts is causing serious environmental problems
particularly after the rise in the air traffic rate in the modern era. The main source of
noise in the aircraft is the jet. The search for quieter engines primarily concentrates
on improved nozzle design without compromising on thrust developed by the jet. In
jet engines, better mixing at the exhaust also reduces noise. In single flow nozzles,
the exhaust jet mixes with the ambient air creating vortices which are the main
source of noise. However in coaxial dual nozzles, the introduction of a secondary
shear layer between primary shear layer and ambient air causes gradual mixing
which helps in reducing noise considerably. This noise reduction benefit allows
coaxial nozzles to be widely used in turbofan engines.
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: mdbindu@rediffmail.com
Prediction of turbulence characteristics
The flow through a coaxial dual flow nozzle is very complex to model and
understand clearly. The nature of this flow is yet to be understood and revealed
completely. This complexity of coaxial flow through dual nozzles attracts
researchers to study about these types of flows. Both numerical and empirical
methods were used by researchers to study the characteristics of coaxial dual nozzle
flows. Experimental methods are generally expensive and difficult to carry out.
Numerical models such as DNS, LES and RANS have proven to be fairly accurate
for predicting the flow characteristics.
Several researchers have conducted experiments on the characteristics of flow
through nozzles. Ko and Kwan (1978) studied the initial region of coaxial subsonic
jets. They identified three mixing regions in these flows namely a primary shear
layer and two secondary shear layers. In the primary mixing zone high frequency
vortices are developed. Low frequency vortices are generated in the outer or
secondary mixing region. The frequency of these vortices largely depends on
velocity ratio and Strouhal number.
Murakami and Papamoschou (2002) performed experiments to study the effect of
secondary Mach number and area ratio on eccentric and coaxial configurations. In
their study primary flow was set at Mach number of 1.5. Better mixing was reported
in the eccentric case than coaxial nozzle flow. Length of the potential core was also
smaller in the eccentric configuration. They have also suggested a semi empirical
model to predict the primary and secondary potential core lengths. Bogey et al.
(2011) have studied the effect of initial turbulence level in the flow and acoustic
fields of coaxial nozzles. Koh et al. (2008) studied the effect of temperature on the
noise generation mechanism of single and coaxial jets. They have reported that the
sideline acoustics were enhanced by the temperature gradient in a hot coaxial jet.
Choi (2005) evaluated the effect of Reynolds shear stresses on jet noise mechanism
using a simple k- turbulence model. Comparisons were made with experimental
data.
This paper reports the studies carried out on the turbulence characteristics of flow
emanating from a round, subsonic, coaxial dual nozzle. The effect of different
velocity ratio is predicted using RANS equations and SST k- model. The results
are then validated against the experimental data available in the literature.
416
NUMERICAL SIMULATION
GEOMETRY AND FLOW CONFIGURATION
The nozzle geometry used in this work is same as that used by Guitton et al. (2007).
The diameters of primary (Dp) and secondary (Ds) nozzles are 55 mm and 100 mm
respectively. In the experiment designed, flow from the settling chamber enters the
nozzle through a polynomial like contraction. This has 5.6:1 ratio for primary and
4.94:1 for secondary flows over a length of 450 mm. The main variable used in this
experiment was the exit velocity ratio (=Us /Up). Three velocity ratios maintained in
the nozzle were 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7. The exit speed of primary jet is kept constant with
a Mach number of 0.5. Both jets were kept at the same temperature of 293 K.
The model was developed and equations solved using commercial software. The
computational domain is a circular region. The full 3D simulation of the region was
carried out using a domain which extends 18.5 Ds in the axial direction and 6 Ds in
the radial direction. The grids as shown in Fig.1 were finalized after conducting grid
independence and domain independence studies. The dimensions of the domain
were finalised after getting an idea about the potential core length. The results
presented here are all second order accurate in both space and time. Approximately
0.75 million cells were used.
Y
X
Fig.1 Computational grid
The flow was modelled as three dimensional, turbulent and compressible. Favre
averaged Navier Stokes equations along with SST k- turbulence model were solved
with default values of model constants. The nozzle inlet, nozzle outlet and circular
entrainment surface were modelled as pressure inlet. The domain outlet was treated
as pressure outlet and at atmospheric pressure. All solid surfaces are adiabatic
surfaces and standard wall functions were used.
417

The comparison of numerical results on the variation of Mach number at three axial
locations, the centre line velocity decay for the primary and secondary jets and the
rms values of axial velocity components for the three exit velocity ratios of 0.3, 0.5
and 0.7 were made with available experimental data.
Mach Number
MACH NUMBER
Figures 2, 3 and 4 depict azimuthal symmetry of the jet. The jet Mach numbers at
three different axial positions x/Ds = 0, x/Ds = 5, x/Ds = 10 were compared. In all the
graphs, the predictions and experimental results agree well with each other. Even
though the RANS simulation slightly over predicts the trend, it is evident from the
graph that the profiles of predictions nearly overlap with the experimental values.
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
x/Ds=0
SIMULATION
SIMULATION
SIMULATION
EXPERIMENT
EXPERIMENT
EXPERIMENT
x/Ds=5
x/Ds=10
x/Ds=10
0.5
1.5
r/Ds
Fig. 2 Mach number variation = 0.3 (Expt. data: Guitton et al., 2007)
Mach Number
0.6
SIMULATION
x/Ds=0
0.5
SIMULATION
0.4
SIMULATION
x/Ds=10
0.3
EXPERIMENT
0.2
EXPERIMENT
x/Ds = 5
EXPERIMENT
0.1
0.5
1.5
r/Ds
Mach Number
Fig. 3 Mach number variation = 0.5 (Expt. data: Guitton et al., 2007)
0.6
x/Ds=0
0.5
SIMULATION
0.4
SIMULATION
0.3
x/Ds=5
0.2
SIMULATION
x/Ds=10
EXPERIMENT
0.1
EXPERIMENT
0.5
1.5
EXPERIMENT
r/Ds
Fig.4 Mach number variation = 0.7 (Expt. data: Guitton et al., 2007)
418
CENTERLINE VELOCITY DECAY

Figures 5 and 6 depict the centerline velocity decay of primary jet. The lengths are
4Ds, 5Ds and 6Ds for velocity ratios of 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 respectively. The primary
velocity profile is normalized using primary jet centerline velocity. The decay is
taken at r/Ds = 0. The shorter length of potential core indicates better mixing. The
over prediction of potential core length is seen in all the cases. The increase in the
length of potential core with increase in velocity ratio is due to the decrease in the
velocity gradient between layers.
The decay of secondary velocity is taken at r/Ds = 0.3875. In the experimental data
the potential core length is nearly same for the three cases. Simulation over predicts
secondary velocity decay initially up to a length of 6Ds. The over prediction may be
due to the change in the mesh spacing from finer to coarser in these regions.
Fig. 5 Centerline decay rate of mean axial velocity for primary jet
at r/Ds = 0 (Experimental data: Guitton et al., 2007)
Fig. 6 Centerline decay rate of mean axial velocity of secondary jet

at r/Ds = 0.3875 (Experimental data: Guitton et al., 2007)
419
RMS VALUES OF AXIAL VELOCITY COMPONENTS
In Figures 7 and 8, the consumption of turbulent kinetic energy is explained. For

velocity ratio 0.3, secondary shear layer consumes lesser energy. Secondary jet
reduces turbulence for dual nozzle flows. It is observed that increase in velocity ratio
reduces turbulence in the inner shear layer and enhances the same in the outer shear
layer.
Fig. 7 rms profiles of axial velocity component = 0.3

(Experimental data: Guitton et al., 2007)
Fig. 8 rms profiles of axial velocity component = 0.5

(Experimental data: Guitton et al., 2007)
420
CONCLUSIONS
The turbulent characteristics of coaxial dual nozzle flows were predicted using
RANS simulation for three exit velocity ratios. The jet symmetry profile is
consistent with variations in exit velocity ratio. The length of potential core depends
on exit velocity ratio between the secondary and primary jet. A drastic increase in
velocity for the secondary jet was noticed for a low value of velocity ratio ( = 0.3).
This phenomenon is due to the momentum transfer from the relatively high velocity
primary jet to the low velocity secondary jet. The axial component of velocity is a
measure of turbulence. Increase in velocity ratio reduces turbulence in the inner
shear layer. The similarity of the predictions from the numerical simulations with the
available experimental data establishes the capability of SST k model to capture
turbulent flow field of dual flows reasonably well.
REFERENCES
Antoine Guitton, Charles E. Tinney, Peter Jordan, Joel Delville. (2007),
Measurements in co-axial subsonic jet, 45th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting
and Exhibits, 8-11, January 2007, Reno, Nevada. AIAA-2007-0015.
Christophe Bogey, Olivier Marsden, Christophe Bailey. (2011), A Computational
Study of the Effects of Nozzle exit Turbulence level on the flow and acoustic fields
of a subsonic jet, 17th AIAA/CEAS Aeroacoustics Conference(32nd AIAA
Aeroacoustics Conference) 05 - 08 June 2011, Portland, Oregon, AIAA 2011-2837.
Dong-Wang Choi. (2005), Multi stream coaxial turbulent jet mixing with a simple
turbulence model for jet noise prediction, Journal of Korean Physical Society,
47(2), 235-241.
Erina Murakami, Dimitri Papamoschou. (2002), Mean Flow Development in Dual
Stream Compressible jets, AIAA Journal, 40(6), 1131-1138.
N W M Ko ,and A S H Kwan. (1976), The initial region of subsonic coaxial jets,
Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 73(2), 305-332.
Seong Ryong Koh, Wolfgang Schroder, Matthias Meinke. (2010), Turbulence and
heat excited noise sources in single and coaxial jets, Journal of Sound and
Vibration 329,786-803.
421
422


Subsonic Jets from Round & Beveled Nozzles
Sandhya M1, Tide P S2
1
Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering

Government Engineering College, Thrissur-680 009, Kerala, India
2
Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering
Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi- 682 022, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
Numerical investigations are carried out on the mean flow and turbulent
characteristics of jet flows, as these quantities play a vital role in the generation of
jet noise. The flow field and hence the noise generation is dominated entirely by
turbulent mixing in subsonic jets. In the present work, numerical simulations of a
turbulent compressible subsonic jet from round and beveled (20 0) nozzles are
carried out. The Mach number at exit for the above nozzles is 0.75. Simulations are
performed in a three dimensional computational domain using steady RANS
equations and SST k- turbulence model. The computational domain is discretized
using hexahedral / tetrahedral mesh with approximately 2 million cells. The flow is
investigated for axial and radial profiles of velocity components, turbulent intensity,
turbulent viscosity, and Reynoldss stresses. The results are found to be in good
agreement with the available data in the literature. The beveled nozzle considerably
enhances turbulent mixing and thereby modifies the turbulent characteristics of the
jet.
INTRODUCTION
The most important part of mixing and jet propulsion is the jet flow. Once the flow
leaves the nozzle, the jet flow becomes a free shear layer. The action of turbulence
dominates flow developments farther downstream. Investigations on both the mean
flow and turbulent characteristics of jet flow are highly significant as they play a
vital role in the jet noise prediction. As such, jet flow properties are difficult to
1
Corresponding author e-mail: sandhyamiraj@gmail.com
measure or predict analytically. Numerical simulations of low speed jets using

Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) turbulence models such as the k-
models can provide better knowledge on the flow field and it provides the turbulence
characteristics needed for the computation of jet mixing noise.
Several numerical studies have been carried out in Computational Aero Acoustics
to investigate the noise generated from a jet with different variations in nozzle
geometries, flow and temperature conditions. Anderson et al. (2003, 2005)
investigated the flow field of an isothermal Mach 0.75 compressible jet with Re
5x104 using Large Eddy Simulation. The obtained results were found in good
agreement with the experimental results except the initial jet spreading and the
potential core length. Anderson et al. (2004) carried out LES and Tide & Babu
(2009) performed an unsteady RANS simulation of cold and hot jets. It was found
that heating of the jets results in a higher mixing and hence a shorter potential core
region. Bogey et al. (2003) simulated a three-dimensional circular jet with a Mach
number of 0.9 and Reynolds number of 65000 to study both flow field and acoustic
radiation. Both the mean flow development and the radiated sound of 0.9 Mach
circular jet was computed by Freund et al. (2001) using DNS. Viswanathan et al.
(2005) simulated the flow field and the noise generated by round and beveled
nozzles (450 and 330). Results from both RANS and LES computations were
presented. Viswanathan et al. (2008) carried out simulations of the flow field and
noise of single and staggered dual, round, and beveled nozzles with the goal of
gaining insights into the flow features that are responsible for noise generation.
Uzun and Hussaini (2010) carried out LES of a baseline round with overset grid
capability to compute the jet flow in detail and the effect of inflow conditions on the
jet flow field and far field noise. To assess the effects of geometric variations on jet
plume evolution and radiated noise in dual stream nozzles, Viswanathan et al.
(2012) performed a joint computational and experimental program with different
combinations of primary and secondary nozzle geometries like round and beveled
and their modifications.
Although the predictions are quite accurate with LES for simple geometries with
proper grid resolution, it is computationally very expensive. The new designs in the
nozzle geometry intended to reduce the noise level from the jet, can more easily be
evaluated using computationally less expensive RANS simulation. In the present
work, numerical simulations of a turbulent compressible subsonic jet from round
and beveled (200) nozzles using SST k- turbulence model are carried out. Both the
mean flow and turbulent characteristics of jet flows are compared. In this work
modeling, meshing and simulations were carried out using ANSYS 14.0
424
COMPUTATIONAL METHODLOGY
Computational Domain
Simulations have been performed for two jets, one from a round and other from a
200 beveled nozzle (Fig 1). Diameter of jet (Dj) in both the cases is 50 mm and the
exit Mach number is 0.75. Simulations are performed in a three dimensional
computational domain using steady RANS calculations. The turbulence model used
is SST k- with default values for all constants and second order accurate
discretization for all variables. The domain extends 50 times the nozzle diameters
downstream of the nozzle exit. The diameter of the domain at the inlet is 10Dj, and
at the outlet it is 20Dj and the length of buffer zone is 40Dj. The computational
domain has been discretized using hexahedral mesh with 2.4 million cells for the
round nozzle and a hybrid mesh of both tetrahedral and hexahedral with 1.7 million
cells for beveled nozzle.
Fig. 1 Nozzle geometry for Round and Bevel nozzles

Boundary Conditions
The nozzle inlet has been defined with a boundary type pressure inlet and the total
pressure and temperature are specified. The domain inlet and the top entrainment
surface have also been modeled as pressure inlets at the ambient pressure and
temperature. The domain outlet is taken to be a pressure outlet at the ambient
pressure. The bottom boundary is treated as a symmetry surface. All solid surfaces
have been treated as adiabatic surfaces and standard wall functions have been used.
The pressure-based solver has been used for carrying out calculations. Table 1 gives
the inlet conditions for the two simulated jets.
425
Table1. Flow properties

Properties
Values
Uj
C
0.75
Tj
T
1
P (Pa)
101300
( kg/m3)
1.225561
C (m/s)
340.174
U
(m/s)
0
T
(K)
288.0
Toj (K)
ReD
320.4
5x104

Comparison of mean axial velocity
Fig. 2 (a) shows the comparison of mean axial velocity along the centreline.
Potential core length (axial location where the averaged axial velocity is 0.95 times
the jet velocity at nozzle exit Uj) is obtained as 6.5Dj for the round nozzle which is
same as the experimental value mentioned in Anderson et al. (2004). The bevel
nozzle has a reduced potential core length of 5Dj. The reduction in potential core
length indicates the better turbulent mixing in the case of bevel nozzle compared to
round nozzle. The radial profiles of axial velocity at three axial locations namely
x/Dj = 1, x/Dj = 2.5 and x/Dj = 5 are shown in Fig. 2(b) which gives the down stream
development of the flow.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 2 (a) Variation of mean axial velocity along the centreline, (b) Radial
profile of velocity at different axial stations
426
Fluctuating Quantities
Fig. 3 Variation of u rms and v rms along the centreline

The comparison of fluctuating quantities urms and vrms are shown in Fig. 3, which
indicates the position of maximum turbulence intensity. The peak values of
turbulence intensity is close to the nozzle exit for the beveled nozzle due to higher
initial mixing and inturn a reduced potential core length. The radial location of the
turbulence intesity peaks are shown in Fig. 4. Mach number and turbulent intensity
contours are shown in Fig. 5 and 6.
Fig. 4 Radial profile of u rms and vrms at different axial stations
427
Fig. 5 Mach number contours for round and bevel at x/Dj =1, 2.5, 5
Fig. 6 Turbulence intensity contours for round and bevel at x/Dj =1, 2.5, 5
CONCLUSIONS
Numerical analysis of a subsonic jet with Mach number 0.75 from round
and beveled nozzles using SST k- turbulence model have been performed and the
mean and turbulent characteristics of the jets were analyzed. Potential core length
was predicted accurately in both cases. It was found that bevel nozzle had a shorter
potential core with an enhanced spreading of jet when compared with a round
nozzle. The peak values of turbulence intensity together with the turbulence
anisotropy were captured accurately. The beveled nozzle considerably improves
turbulent mixing and thereby modifies the turbulent characteristics of the jet. The
radial profiles of velocities (both mean and fluctuating components), the contours of
Mach number and turbulence intensity can provide better knowledge on the flow
field that is essential for the computation of jet noise. The present study was
conducted for a 200 bevel nozzle and it can be extended for different bevel angles
and also for different geometries such as double beveled nozzle, beveled nozzle with
tabs, beveled chevron nozzle etc.
428
REFERENCES
Andersson N., Eriksson L.E. and Davidson L. (2003) Large-Eddy Simulation of a
Mach 0.75 Jet, AIAA-2003-3312.
Andersson N., Eriksson L.E. and Davidson L. (2004) A Study of Mach 0.75 Jets and
Their Radiated Sound Using Large-Eddy Simulation, AIAA-2004-3024.
Andersson N., Eriksson L.E. and Davidson L. (2005)Investigation of an Isothermal
Mach 0.75 jet and its Radiated Sound using Large-Eddy Simulation and Kirchhoff
Surface Integration, International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, 26, 393410.
Bogey C., Bailly C. and Juve D. (2003) Noise Investigation of a High Subsonic,
Moderate Reynolds Number Jet using a Compressible Large Eddy Simulation,
Theoretical and Computational Fluid Dynamics, 16, 273297.
Freund, J.B. (2001) Noise sources in a low Reynolds number turbulent jet at Mach
0.9, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 438, 277305.
Tide, P.S. and Babu V. (2009) Improved noise predictions from subsonic jets from
subsonic jets ai mach 0.75 using URANS calculations, Progress in Computational
Fluid Dynamics, 9(8),460- 474.
Uzun A. and Hussaini, M.Y. (2010) High-Fidelity Numerical Simulations of a
Round Nozzle Jet, 16th AIAA/CEAS Aero acoustics Conference AIAA 2010-4016
Viswanathan.K, Shur.M, Strelets.M, Spalart.P.R.(2005) Numerical Prediction of
Noise from Round and Beveled Nozzles Euromech Colloquium 467: Turbulent
Flow and Noise Generation.
Viswanathan.K, Shur.M, Strelets.M, Spalart.P.R.(2008) Flow and Noise Predictions
for Single and Dual-Stream Beveled Nozzles AIAA Journal 46( 3), 601-626.
Viswanathan K, Spalart P.R, Czech M.J. (2012) Tailored Nozzles for Jet Plume
Control and Noise Reduction AIAA Journal, 50(10), 2115-2134.
429
430

Thermodynamic Modeling of a Single-Effect Vapour

Absorption System for a Constant Cooling Load
Jayadeep Kumar J1, James Varghese2
1
Research scholar, 2 Assistant Professor

ABSTRACT
In the present work, the thermodynamic modeling of a single effect vapour
absorption system for a constant cooling load (1 TR) has been carried out. WaterLiBr pair was chosen as the refrigerant-absorbent combination as a good
compromise. The mathematical model for the single effect absorption system based
on the mass and energy balances and heat transfer equations were developed. The
models were implemented in MATLAB and the numerical results were validated with
the experimental results from the literature. In order to improve the system design, a
parametric study has been carried out to investigate the influence of key parameters
on the overall system performance. It has been found that there is a minimum
generator temperature (Tg) for the system to operate.
INTRODUCTION
The design of energy conversion systems becomes more important due to limitations
of fossil fuels and the environmental impact during their use. Refrigeration sector is
the most important in the industrial sector because approximately 15% of all
electricity produced worldwide is used for refrigeration and air-conditioning
processes as estimated by the International Institute of Refrigeration
(www.iifiir.org). One of the major alternatives of vapour compression systems is the
absorption refrigerators which can be driven by low grade energy such as solar
energy.
Many investigations have been done on single effect absorption systems (Florides et
al., 2003). Several studies investigated the effect of different parameters on the
performance of absorption heat pumps (Lee and Sherif, 2001; Bakhtiari et al., 2010).
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: jamesvar@cusat.ac.in
Thermodynamic Modeling of a single effect
Different mathematical models of various complexity have been developed for

different purposes, such as simulation of absorption system, optimization and design
(Cascales, J et al, 2010 ;).
In order to characterize the performance of the absorption system, a mathematical
model for the absorption system is developed. For each component, mathematical
models are developed based on energy and mass balances. The absorption system
consists of five basic components, an absorber, a generator, a condenser, an
evaporator and a solution heat exchanger as shown in Fig.1. A solution heat
exchanger, placed between the absorber and the generator, makes the process more
efficient. Low pressure water vapour is absorbed in the absorber by the solution. The
heat generated during the absorption is removed by the cooling water.
THERMODYNAMIC MODEL
The model is used to analyze the behaviour of absorption chiller with
respect to characteristics of each component; internal conditions of the cycle and
conditions of external heat carrier circuits. This implies assumption of some internal
parameters when defining the governing equations for each component in absorption
cycle in order to obtain the required chilling capacity. Beside this assumption, some
additional assumptions within the absorption cycle are usually used for convenience
in modeling.
Fig.1
432
With reference to Fig.1, the assumptions are:

Saturated conditions are assumed at the exit of the evaporator and
condenser.
No pressure drops except through the solution pump and throttling

devices .Throttling devices are isenthalpic
MASS AND ENERGY BALANCE

The solution pump circuit
(a)
Energy balance
QP =
m 3h3 m 2 h2
(1)
QP is the pump work which is very small compared with Qg and can be neglected.
Thus,
m 3h3 m 2 h2
(2)
m 3 h3 m 4 h4 m 8 h8
(3)
m 9 h9 m 8h8 m 7 h7
(4)
h9
(b)
(c)
m 8 h8 m 7 h7
m 9
(5)
Mass conservation
m 2 m 3
(6)
m 3 m 4 m 8 2m 4 2m 8
(7)
m 9 m 8 m 7
(8)
Conservation of absorbate
433
m 2 X 2 m 3 X 3
(9)
X2 = X 3 = X a
m 3 X 3 m 4 X 4 m 8 X 8
(10)
X3 = X4 = X8 =Xa
m 9 X 9 m 8 X 8 m 7 X 7
(11)
1
m 2 X 2 m 7 X 7
2
(12)
m
1 m 2
X2 7 X7
2 m 9
m 9
(13)
m 9 X 9
Rearranging,
X9
SOLUTION HEAT EXCHANGER

The expression for the effectiveness is given as
T6 T7
T6 T4
T7 = T6 (T6 T4)
(14)
(15)
(b) Energy balance
m 4c p 4 T5 T4 m 6c p 4 T6 T7
T5
m 6c p 6
T6 T7 T4
m 4c p 4
m 4 m 5 1 2 m 2 and m 6 m 7
434
(16)
(17)
GENERATOR
(a) Energy balance
Qg m 6 h6 m 10h10 m 5 h5
(18)
or Qg may be expressed from the external circuit
Qg m 18c p18 T18 T19
(19)
(b) Conservation of total mass
m 6 m 5 m 10
(20)
Conservation of absorbate
m 5 X 5 m 6 X 6
(21)
m 5 X 5 m 5 m 10 X 6
(22)
Rearranging to get the flow ratio (FR)
FR
m 5
X6
m 10 X 6 X 5
(23)
CONDENSER
(a)
Energy balance
Qc = m10 (h10-h11)
(24)
or Qc may be expressed from the external circuit

Qc = m16cp16 (T17 T16)
(25)
EXPANSION DEVICE
h11 = h12
11 m
12
m
435
EVAPORATOR
(a) Energy balance
1 h1 h12
Qe m
(26)
1 m
12
and m
Or Qe may be expressed from the external circuit
Qe = m13cp13 (T13-T14)
(27)
COEFFICIENT OF PERFORMANCE (COP)

The overall energy balance equation for the whole cycle is
Qe + Qg - Qa - Qc = 0
(28)
The COP for the system is
COP
Qe
Qg
(29)
The objective of this paper is to optimize a small LiBr-water absorption machine

(capacity 1 TR) and evaluate its performance characteristics. The mathematical
model for the single effect absorption system based on the mass and energy balances
and heat transfer equations were developed. In order to improve the system design, a
parametric study has been carried out to investigate the influence of key parameters
on the overall system performance.
The models were implemented in MATLAB and the numerical results were
validated with the experimental results from the literature.
436
Table 1. Water - LiBr absorption refrigeration system calculations based on the

given input conditions. (Tg = 353 K, Ta = 308K, Te = 279K, Tc = 313K, Qe=3.5
kW, Heat exchanger efficiency = 0.85, pump efficiency =1)
po
int
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
H
(kJ/k
g)
2511.
4
81.8
81.8
81.8
147.9
195.6
122.6
81.8
101.1
2651
166.6
166.6
F
(kg/s)
T (K)
%LiB
r (X)
0.0015
0.03
0.03
0.015
0.015
0.0135
0.0135
0.015
0.0285
0.0015
0.0015
0.0015
279
308
308
308
339.7
353
314.7
308
312
353
313
279
0
54.7
54.7
54.7
54.7
60.7
60.7
54.7
57.6
0
0
0
Qg
(kW)
Qa
(kW)
Qc
(kW)
Qe
(kW)
CO
P
4.3
4.17
3.7
3.5
0.79
Fig.2. Variation of solution flow rate with COP

437
As the flow rate increases, the COP decreases, keeping the other input parameters
constant. When the solution flow rate is less than 0.03 kg/s, crystallization of LiBr
will start occurring at absorber input.(For e.g., at f=0.02 kg/s, the absorber inlet T
and X is 304 K and 67.6 % which will fall in the crystallization region).
Fig.3. Variation of condenser temperature with COP
Fig.4. Variation of evaporator temperature with COP
438
The COP increases with increase in evaporator temperature because the load in the
generator reduces for the same refrigeration capacity.
Fig.5. Variation of generator temperature with COP

It has been found that COP decreases with increase in generator temperature (Tg)
because the generator load increases while the capacity (output) is kept constant.
The other input parameters are kept constant.
CONCLUSIONS
It has been found that there is a minimum generator temperature (Tg) for the system
to operate. When the generator temperature increases COP first increases and then
decreases while the capacity (output) and the other input parameters are kept
constant.
The COP increases with increase in evaporator temperature because the load in the
generator reduces for the same refrigeration capacity.
When the flow rate is less than 0.03 kg/s, crystallization of LiBr will start occurring
at absorber inlet.
For the given input conditions (Ta = 308K, Te = 279K, Tc = 313K, Qe=3.5 kW,
Heat exchanger efficiency = 0.85, pump efficiency =1) an optimum generator
temperature of 80o C and solution flow rate of 0.03 kg/s is obtained.
439
The development of these types of small capacity absorption systems has been
receiving a lot of attention nowadays and solar energy can be used as the heat source
by proper integration.
REFERENCES
Asdrubali, F., Grignaffini, S., 2005. Experimental evaluation of the performances of
a H2O-LiBr absorption refrigerator under different service conditions. International
Journal of Refrigeration 28, 489-497.
ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook, 1997.
Bakhtiari, B., Fradette, L., Legros, R., Paris, J., 2010. A model for analysis and
design of H2O-LiBr absorption heat pumps. Energy Conversion and Management.
Cascales, J., Garca, F.V., Izquierdo, J., Marn, J., Snchez, R.M., 2010. Modelling
an absorption system assisted by solar energy. Applied Thermal Engineering.
Florides, G.A., Kalogirou, S.A., Tassou, S., Wrobel, L., 2003. Design and
construction of a LiBr-water absorption machine. Energy Conversion and
Management 44, 2483-2508.
Joudi, K.A., Lafta, A.H., 2001. Simulation of a simple absorption refrigeration
system. Energy Conversion and Management 42, 1575-1605.
Lee, R., DiGuilio, R., Jeter, S., Teja, A., 1990. Properties of lithium bromidewater
solutions at high temperatures and concentration. II. Density and viscocity.
ASHRAE Trans 96, 709-728.
Lee, S.F., Sherif, S., 2001. Thermodynamic analysis of a lithium bromide/water
absorption system for cooling and heating applications. International journal of
energy research 25, 1019-1031.
Li, Z., Sumathy, K., 2000. Technology development in the solar absorption airconditioning systems. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 4, 267-293.
440
Nomenclature
Cp specific heat at constant pressure(kJ/kg.K)
f solution flow rate
m. mass flow rate (kg/s)
h specific enthalpy(kJ/kg)
Qc heat rejected at condenser (kW)
Qa heat released at absorber (kW)
Qg heat supplied at generator (kW)
Qe heat absorbed at evaporator(kW)
T Temperature(K)
X concentration of LiBr.
- efficiency
441
442

An Investigation on Fluid Flow Oscillations for Flow

past a Square Cylinder at various Reynolds Numbers
Sunil A. S 1*, Tide P.S 2
1
2
Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering, Government Engineering College, Thrissur.

Professor in Mechanical Engineering, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi.
ABSTRACT
When fluid flows past any obstruction, vortices are created in the wake region and
detach periodically from either side of the body creating alternating low pressure
vortices on the downstream side of the object. The vortices which depart from either
side of the object, produces a Von Karman vortex street. The periodic vortex
shedding generates oscillatory forces on the object and induces vibration on it. This
vibration occurs predominantly in the cross-stream direction and since the origin of
the forces is associated with the vortex shedding, this type of structural response is
called vortex induced vibration. Numerical investigation of a fluid flow past a
square cylinder at low Reynolds numbers is carried out and the parameters like
Strouhal number drag and lift forces are investigated. Finite Volume Method is used
for the discretization of the domain in both 2D and 3D. A three dimensional
Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes code equipped with a two equation turbulence
model is applied for the numerical calculations. The results are validated with the
experimental data available in the literature.
INTRODUCTION
Vortex shedding behind bluff bodies is of main concern for many engineering
design and applications. When fluid flows past a bluff body like a square cylinder
vortices are generated, as Reynolds number is increased beyond some critical value.
Increase of the Reynolds number from 40 makes the steady vortices to become
unstable, in which opposite-signed vortices are periodically shed from the opposite
sides of the near wake. This is termed as the primary instability of the wake. The
periodic vortex shedding generates oscillatory forces on the square cylinder across
which fluid flows. The forces on the plane of the cross-section of the cylinder can be
decomposed into drag and lift forces. Due to the existence of these oscillatory forces
caused by the flow, structures vibrate when fluid flow across them. The vibration
*Corresponding author: e-mail: sunilkoni@gmail.com
An Investigation on fluid flow
occurs predominantly in the cross-stream direction, since the origin of the forces is
associated with the vortex shedding. This type of structural response is called
vortex-induced vibration (VIV). Vortex shedding is responsible for many
phenomena such as structural movement of high rise buildings, bridges, oscillations
of industrial components (chimneys). Therefore, it is important for engineers to
study and understand these flow-induced problems so that engineering design and
public comfort can be improved continuously.
Over the last twenty years, only few studies were found on flow past square
cylinder, at moderate Reynolds number. Inoue et al. (2006) constructed a nonuniform mesh and divided the computational domain into three regions, each with a
different grid ratio. Okajima (1982) conducted experiments at Reynolds numbers
less than 500 and reported the influence of Reynolds number on the mean drag
coefficient. Ali et al. (2012) numerically investigated the sensitivity of the computed
flow field to flow parameters for a flow with Reynolds number 150. Computational
meshes were constructed based on reasonable estimates of cell size and grid
stretching ratios.
2 .NUMERICAL SIMULATION PROCEDURE

2.1 FLOW FIELD FORMULATION
The governing equations on the flow field are the continuity and
momentum equations (NavierStokes equations)
(1)
(2)
(3)
where is the fluid density, is the fluid viscosity, V is the velocity vector of the
flow field, p is the pressure, and u and v are the velocity components in the x and y
directions, respectively. Bx and By are the body forces per unit volume, which are
negligibly small in the present study. The fluid is air which is assumed to be
incompressible since the Mach number is less than 0.3, and its properties has been
taken as =1.225 kg/m3 and =1.789410-5 kg/m.s
2.2 COMPUTATIONAL DOMAIN
A rectangular domain was used with a length of 38D and a width of 20D,
where D=0.04 m is the length of the side of the square cylinder. The cylinder
centre has the coordinates x=10.5D and y=10.5D. The fluid flows uniformly
(with velocity U) from left to right into the downstream of the domain.
Boundary conditions should be enforced at the outlet and the lateral
444
boundaries of the computational domain. At domain inlet and outlet, velocity

inlet and pressure outlet respectively have been employed. A symmetry
boundary condition at the lateral boundaries of the domain and wall with noslip condition has been used at the cylinder wall.
Figure 1: Flow domain for a square cylinder (not to scale)

2.3 DISCRETIZATION METHOD
The entire domain has been discretized using the finite-volume method on a
fixed Cartesian-staggered grid with non-uniform grid spacing. The grids in
the region of the embedded boundaries are made sufficiently fine in order to
capture the vortex phenomenon with reasonable accuracy. The temporal
discretization has been done in conformity with the second order implicit
scheme. Temporal discretization involves the integration of every term in the
differential equations over a time step t. The simulations were carried out
as an unsteady state with a time step (t) size of 0.07 sec with 2000 time
steps. The pressure-velocity coupling scheme, PISO was adopted in the
calculation of the flow field.
2.4 GRID INDEPENDENCE ANALYSIS
One of the reasons for variation in numerical results is the difference in the
mesh or grid used for numerical simulation. Six different 2D grids were
used, ranging from a coarse grid to a fine grid. The results of the simulations
show a certain dependency on the grid resolution for the different grids used.
It was observed that in the upstream all the runs predict identical results,
whereas a faster recovery of mean axial velocity was predicted when the grid
resolution is increased. Since the grid size with 83352 cells captured the
vortex shedding zone well with reasonable computation time, it was selected
for further calculations.
445
Figure 2: Mean axial velocity distribution along the center-line of the wake
Various parameters such as drag coefficient; Cd= Fd /0.5u2D, pressure

coefficient; Cp= (P- Patm) /0.5u2 and Strouhal number; St=f D/U have
been computed to study the influence of grid on predictions. It is observed
that the results are not highly sensitive to the grid size. The above grid
provides sufficient grid-independency for the Reynolds number considered
in this study.
The value of St obtained by running the simulation at Re=150 was in good
agreement with experimental studies of Okajima (1982) and Ozona (1999).
The experimental value of St obtained by these authors was in the range
0.148-0.155 and the present study predicted a value 0.15. Similarly the value
of CD obtained experimentally was 1.40 and the present study predicted a
value as 1.58.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In this section, the results are demonstrated and analyzed for Reynolds
numbers of 40 (non-vortex shedding case) and 150 (vortex shedding case)
for a square cylinder
3.1 NON-VORTEX SHEDDING CASE (Re=40)
Simulation was performed for square cylinder with Reynolds number 40.
The principal aim is to study the flow structure around the cylinder, to obtain
the flow variables, pressure variation along the surface of the cylinder and in
the near wake region and the drag coefficient. A contour plot can quickly
reveal regions of high (or low) values of the property being studied. Fig. 3(a)
shows the vorticity magnitude contours for Reynolds number 40 which
446
indicate that there is no formation of vortex street in the wake region. At

Reynolds number 40, only recirculation eddies are formed immediately
downstream of the cylinder as indicated by streamlines shown in Fig. 3(b).
The U/U plotted in Fig. 5 is in agreement with the literature. The fluid
comes to a complete stop at the mid-point of incident face of the square
cylinder i.e. at the stagnation point. The flow accelerates around the
upstream corner, so much that boundary layer cannot negotiate the sharp
corner and separates and reverse flow occurs in the immediate downstream
of the cylinder. While moving further downstream of the wake region, flow
slowly regains its velocity.
Figure 3(a): Vorticity magnitude

function contour
for (a) Re=40
Figure
3(b):
Stream
for (a) Re=40
3.2 VORTEX SHEDDING CASE (Re=150)

When Re is increased beyond 40, wake behind the cylinder becomes
unstable. Wake develops a slow oscillation in which the velocity is periodic
in time and downstream distance, with amplitude of oscillation increasing
downstream. Periodic wake rolls up into two staggered rows of vortices with
opposite sense of rotation. This staggered row of vortices behind the square
cylinder is termed as Von-Karmann Vortex Street. Eddies formed in the
wake periodically break off alternately from the two sides of the cylinder as
shown in Fig. 4(a). While an eddy on one side is shed, that on the other side
is formed, resulting in an unsteady flow near the cylinder. The vortices of
opposite circulations are shed off alternately from either sides of the
cylinder, resulting in an oscillating lift. This effect can be obtained by
plotting variation of Coefficient of lift Vs Flow simulation time. Fig. 4(b)
shows the streamline pattern for Re=150 which indicates a rotating lump of
fluid shed from the top portion of the cylinder. It is clearly evident from Fig.
5 that the velocity in the wake region of cylinder at Reynolds number, Re =
150 is lower than that for Re = 40. It is also observed that vortices are shed
447
over
much
larger
Fig 4(a): Vorticity magnitude contour

contour
Re=150
length
of
the
wake.
Figure 4(b): Stream function

for Re=150
Figure 5: U/U along the wake center-line for (a) Re=40 and (b) Re=150
3.3 COMPARISON BETWEEN FLOW CHARACTERISTICS AT
REYNOLDS NUMBERS 40 AND 150
Apart from velocity profile, pressure distribution is an important parameter in the
study of flow around a cylinder. Pressure changes accordingly, with the motion of
vortices, in the vicinity of the body. At stagnation point, located at midpoint of face
0-1 as shown in Fig. 6, flow comes to rest and pressure thus reaches maximum
value. Near the top surface of the cylinder, flow momentum is quite low due to
viscous effects and is thus sensitive to changes in pressure gradient. The flow has to
move against pressure force in addition to the viscous force. This leads to reduced
velocity and wall shear stress. Flow separation occurs when shear stress cannot
overcome adverse pressure gradient and hence separation occurs just after
top right corner of the square cylinder where wall shear stress is zero as
indicated in Fig. 7.
448
Fig 6: Pressure variation along the surface,

the surface for (a) Re=40 and (b) Re=150
Re=150
Fig 7: Wall shear stress along

for (a) Re=40 and (b)
The pressure variation near the top left corner and top surface of the cylinder
is much larger creating a greater adverse pressure gradient (than that of
Re=40) opposing the flow as shown in Fig. 6. Hence the flow around the
square cylinder at Re=150 separates off much earlier (i.e. at the top left
corner of the cylinder) as the wall shear stress approaches zero along
cylinder surface (after point 1) and is evident from Fig. 7. The values of CD,
CL and St obtained by simulation are compared with experimental and
simulation works of other researchers. The flow separates in a square
cylinder geometry much earlier when compared to a similar circular cylinder
geometry and is investigated in present work.
Study
St.
Expts; Okajima (1982); Sohanker et al. 0.148(1999)
0.155
Sohanker et al. (1998)
0.165
Doolan (2009)
0.156
Inoue et al. (2006)
0.151
Ali et al. (2009)
0.160
Present study
0.150
CD
CL
1.40
1.44
1.44
1.40
1.47
1.58
.250
0.296
0.40
0.285
0.196
449
CONCLUSION
At various Reynolds numbers flow characteristics of a flow around a square
cylinder show remarkable variations. For Re=40, only recirculation eddies
are formed immediately downstream of the square cylinder and there is no
periodic vortex shedding. The flow separates at top right corner of square
cylinder i.e. flow wraps the cylinder at the top and bottom face at Re=40. For
Re>40, flow around square cylinder becomes unstable and results in an
oscillating flow with amplitude of oscillation increasing in the downstream
direction. But at Re=150, due to the turbulent nature of the flow the flow
separates much earlier i.e. at top left corner. To study the flow
characteristics the parameters like Strouhal number, CD and CL are computed
and compared with available data in the literature. Variations in value for CD
and CL may be due to the computational limitations of the present
investigation
REFERENCES
Doolan, C.J., (2009). Flat-plate interaction with the near wake of a square cylinder.
AIAA Journal 47, 475478
Inoue, Iwakam, and Hatakeyama. (2006) Aeolian tones radiated from flow past two
square cylinders in a side-by-side arrangement. Physics of Fluids ; 18(4), 046104.
Mohamed Sukri Mat Ali, Con J. Doolan & Vincent Wheately. ( 2012) Low
Reynolds number flow over a square cylinder with a detached flat plate.
International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow 36, 133141.
Okajima, A. (1982) Strouhal numbers of rectangular cylinders. Journal of Fluid
Mechanics; 123, 379398.
Ozono, S. ( 1999) Flow control of vortex shedding by a short splitter plate
asymmetrically arranged downstream of a cylinder. Physics of Fluids; 11, 2928
2934.
Sohankar, A, Norberg, C, and Davidson, L (1998): Low-Reynolds-number flow
around a square cylinder at incidence: study of blockage, onset of vortex shedding
and outlet boundary condition, International Journal of Numerical Methods in
Fluids, 26(1), 39-56.
Sohankar, A., Norberg, C., Davidson, L., 1999. Simulation of three-dimensional flow around
a square cylinder at moderate Reynolds numbers. Physics of Fluids 11, 288306.
450

Design of CD Nozzle and its CFD Analysis

Kens Babu1, Navaneeth Kishan1, Rohith C1, Subramanian G 1, Anand
Raj hariharan2
1
UG student, 2 Assistant Professor

Adi Shankara Institute of Engineering and Technology
Kalady-683574, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
The supersonic blow down facilities used for the high-speed flow research
consist of a convergent-divergent (CD) nozzle and a test section. Hence the
design of nozzle is crucial. As far as the operation of a CD nozzle is
concerned, there exists only one design pressure ratio for which the flow is
reversible and adiabatic. The present research work is hence focused on the
design of a CD nozzle (Mach number of 3) and its CFD analysis. CFD
analysis is carried out at different operating pressure ratios (both design
and off-design) so as to represent a wide range of operating conditions.
Numerical simulations are done using OpenFoam code.
INTRODUCTION
The expansion of compressible flow through a convergent-divergent (CD) passage
has been a classic problem in the field of high speed flow research. The supersonic
flow emerging from the nozzle expansion is used for rocket propulsion, thrust vector
control and blow down facilities to name a few. Several results directed in the design
and analysis have been reported (Dusa et al., 1991).
The present research focuses on the design of CD nozzle for Mach 3 and its CFD
analysis. The CD nozzle contour is generated using the classical method of
characteristics using a C program. CFD analysis is carried out using OpenFoam
code.
2
Corresponding author. E-mail: anandraj.hariharan@gmail.com
Design of CD nozzle
DESIGN OF NOZZLE
In the present problem, a CD nozzle has to be designed to achieve Mach number,
pressure and temperature of 3, 101325 Pa and 300 K respectively.
In the design of CD nozzle, the aim is to find a proper geometry that will enable the
acceleration of flow which will be uniform, parallel and wave -free supersonic flow.
An improper contour will result in the presence of weak waves, which can coalesce
to form a shock of finite strength and prevents non-uniform flow.
The sonic line at throat is assumed to be straight. The methodology involves the
computation of weak waves (known as characteristics lines), which is known as the
method of characteristics. At any point within the domain there exist two
characteristics lines (known as left and right running). These characteristic lines
emerging from one point get reflected from the wall. A CD nozzle has to be
designed such that the flow at desired Mach number is uniform and shock free. This
is done by adjusting the characteristic lines so that a reflected wave from the wall is
cancelled. Reflected waves are not formed when the flow is parallel to the wall.
The present nozzle is a sharp throated one in which, the angle of wall is maximum
just downstream of throat. This design is preferred if the length of expansion is as
short as possible. The sharp throated nozzle helps to achieve the required Mach
number by rapid expansion. Accordingly, the length of the divergent section of the
CD nozzle is reduced significantly. This is crucial for the design of CD nozzle for
the propulsion applications where weight reduction is a major criterion. The basic
strategy is to find the right running wave (-) and left running wave (+). f
(which is half of Prandtl angle, 49.757 o) is divided into 14 characteristics with the
first being at 0.757o and the rest being at a difference of 3.5 o. The reflections from
centerline and right running waves form the region where, flow deflection angle ()
and Prandtl-Meyer angle is determined. A program is written in C language for
finding the deflection and Prandtl angles in every region. Once Prandtl angle is
known, the Mach number can be determined.
LOGICAL SEQUENCE USED IN DESIGN OF NOZZLE

The following steps are used for finding the contour of the nozzle:
1.
2.
452
Determine the expansion angle at throat. This is equal to half of the PrandtlMeyer function for the exit design Mach number, which is 3 (Anderson.,
1990).
Divide this angle into 14 (this is an input parameter, which gives the
number of characteristic lines) characteristics lines. Since, the Mach
3.
4.
number (hence Prandtl angle, ) and flow deflection angle () are known
the equations of characteristic lines (equations of straight line itself) can be
framed (which are determined from the program).
From the point of intersection of the first characteristic line with the bottom
wall of the nozzle, a left running characteristic is considered at an average
slope of Prandtl angle at throat. The equations of characteristic lines at the
points of intersection are determined (At each point of intersection, the C
program finds Prandtl angle and flow deflection angle).
From the Prandtl angle, flow Mach number and area of cross section is
determined, which helps to find the nozzle contour based on area variation.
The output is in the form of x and y coordinates values. It is scaled so as to match

the test section reported by Tomioka et al., (2003). In the case of the convergent
section, the nozzle contour is generated based on a circular arc of radius equal to
four times that of the height at the throat and angle subtended is at 25o. The angle is
chosen from the meshing point of view. The resulting geometry is shown in Fig. 1.
Fig 1 Contour of CD nozzle generated using the method of characteristics.
SOLUTION METHODOLOGY
The flow considered here is two-dimensional, compressible and turbulent.
Accordingly, Favre-averaged Navier-Stokes equations have been solved. The
turbulence in the flowfield is modeled using SST k-, after enabling compressibility
effects together with standard wall functions. Default values have been used for the
model constants. In addition to this, the turbulent Prandtl number and turbulent
Schmidt number have been taken to be 0.85 and 0.7, respectively.
453
Design of CD nozzle
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
In the present numerical simulations, the operation of CD nozzle is carried out by
gradually increasing the total pressure at the nozzle inlet after keeping the exit
conditions (300 K, 101325 Pa) to be the same. The curved surface on the top and
straight bottom line are taken as wall boundaries. The numerical simulations are run
by assuming wall boundaries to be adiabatic with no-slip conditions. All the results
are second order accurate in time and space. The specific heat is kept constant by
assuming the gas to be calorically perfect. All the numerical simulations have been
run until the imbalance of mass, momentum and energy is less than 1 % of the
minimum values of the domain boundaries.

The operation of nozzle is initially simulated by maintaining a pressure ratio (ratio
of exit static pressure to inlet total pressure) of 0.0301. At this pressure ratio, flow
expands to supersonic speeds. However presence of a normal shock is expected. The
variation of static pressure along the length of the nozzle is shown in the Fig. 2. In
this figure, the normal shock is clearly visible as a sudden increase in the static
pressure. In addition to this, the variation of Mach number and total pressure along
the length of nozzle is also shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The presence of normal shock
results in a total pressure reduction to 32 %.
Fig. 2. Static pressure variation along the length of the CD nozzle. The static
pressure is scaled by 3366279 Pa (Total pressure at inlet).
454
Fig. 3. Variation of Mach number along the length of nozzle. The presence of shock
is clearly visible as a sudden reduction in Mach number.
Fig. 4. The variation of total pressure ratio (ratio of local total pressure to total
pressure at along the length of nozzle inlet). The total pressure at any axial
location is normalized by inlet total pressure.
Fig. 5. The variation of Mach number (right) and static pressure variation along the
nozzle length (left).
455
Design of CD nozzle
Fig. 6. Mach number distribution along the length of nozzle at pressure ratio of
0.02679.
At design condition, a pressure ratio of 0.02679 (which is obtained based on
isentropic calculations) is maintained across the nozzle. The variation of static
pressure and Mach number is shown in Fig. 5. Based on the distribution of Mach
number and static pressure, it is clear that the flow expands smoothly to achieve the
required Mach number. At the lip of the sharp throat, flow is turned by PrandtlMeyer expansion fan. This is evident from Fig. 5. In addition to this, the distribution
of Mach number along the length of nozzle is also shown in Fig. 6. The variation of
stagnation pressure is not shown here since its loss is very small in the core region of
the flow.
CONCLUSIONS
The design and analysis of a CD nozzle is carried out and conclusions can be
summarized as follows:
1.
Method of characteristics has been used for the generation of a sharp

throated nozzle contour.
2.
The designed nozzle geometry is able to expand the flow to Mach 3 when
operated at a pressure ratio of 0.0276, without any shock waves.
In the present work, nozzle contour generated was a sharp throated one. This nozzle
together with the test section can be used for the analysis of jet in crossflow problem
at high-speed. In addition to this the nozzle design strategy can be used for
generating modern nozzle contours like Rao nozzle contour.
REFERENCES
Anderson, J. D., (1990)., Modern compressible flow with historical perspective,
McGraw-Hill International Edition, 1990.
D.J. Dusa, (1991) Exhaust nozzle system design considerations for turboramjet
propulsion system", Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on
Airbreathing Engines, Vol. 2, Reston, VA, 1991, pp. 11001110.
456
Pinkel, I. Irving, (1948)., Equations for the design of two-dimensional supersonic

nozzles, NACA RM No. E8B02.
Puckett, A. E., (1946)., Supersonic nozzle Design, Journal of Applied Mechanics,
13 (4), A265-A270.
Shames H., and Seashore, F. L., (1948), Design data for graphical construction of
two-dimesnional sharp-edge throat supersonic nozzles, NACA RM No. E8112.
Tomioka, S., L. S. Jacobsen., and J. A. Schetz., (2003)., Sonic injection from
diamond-shaped orifices into supersonic crossflow, Journal of Propulsion and
Power, 19(1), 104-114.
457
Design of CD nozzle
458

Numerical Investigation On The Effect Of Secondary

Gas Injection In Dual Bell Nozzle Flow Transition
Aswith R.Shenoy1, J. C. Pisharady2, Khalid Rashid3, Tide P.S4
1
Post Graduate Student in Mechanical Engineering, Cochin University of Science

and Technology, Kochi - 682 022, Kerala, India.
2,3
Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, ISRO, Valiamala, Thiruvananthapuram,
PIN 695 547, Kerala, India.
4
Professor in Mechanical Engineering, Cochin University of Science and
Technology, Kochi - 682 022, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
The dual bell nozzle has been found out to be one of the most promising concepts for
altitude adaption of the nozzle jet. The wall contour inflection linking the base
nozzle with the extension provides two stable operating modes, circumventing the
area ratio limitation inherent to conventional main stage engine nozzles. The flow is
separated at low altitudes from the base nozzle and the flow gets fully attached to
the extension at high altitudes due to the geometric discontinuity. Its advantage is
the simplicity it offers due to the absence of any additional mechanical device or
movable parts. Hence it offers reliability along with improved nozzle performance
as demanded by future launch vehicles. One of the primary concerns regarding the
dual bell nozzles are the transition of flow from base nozzle to the extension. A
comprehensive numerical analysis has been carried out with a dual bell nozzle
designed for this specific study. The aim is to understand the effect of secondary
injection on the dynamics of flow transition. A time-accurate analysis is carried on
to understand the effect of injection on the transition time. The results show that the
injection of the secondary gas has significant effect on flow behavior and transition
time.
Corresponding author. E-mail: shenoy316@gmail.com
Numerical Investigation on the Effect of Secondary Gas
1. INTRODUCTION
The design of todays launchers has changed from classical tandem to a parallel
configuration and the main stage engine therefore has to fulfill a wider range of
operation conditions during ascent of the launcher. Common main stage rocket
nozzles are designed to be full flowing under sea-level conditions to avoid flow
separation and undesired side loads. But these requirements limit the expansion ratio
and result in performance losses as ambient pressure decreases during ascent. A
promising way out is the use of altitude adapting rocket nozzles such as plug
nozzles, dual bell nozzles or nozzles with an extendible exit cone.
The dual bell nozzle shown in Figure 1 operates under sea-level and high altitude
conditions. Its characteristic wall inflection offers a one-step altitude adaptation,
without any moving parts. In sea-level mode the flow separation is controlled
symmetrically at the wall inflection and thereby dangerous side loads are avoided.
During ascent of the launcher, at a certain altitude, the nozzle flow attaches to the
wall of the nozzle extension until the exit plane and the full area ratio is used. Due to
a higher expansion ratio an increase in vacuum thrust is achieved.
Fig. 1 Dual bell nozzle geometry

Nasuti et al. (2001) addressed the critical aspects of the design of the nozzle shape,
and the numerical issues that occured in their analysis and design. Genin et al.
(2009) and Nasuti et al. (2002) found out the influence of the geometric parameters
of the base and extension on the transition conditions. Onofri et al. (2009) analyzed
the flow behavior during the transition between the two operating modes by time
accurate simulations for the configurations with and without film cooling. Martelli
et al. (2006) conducted thermo-fluid-dynamic analysis of film cooling in rocket
nozzles and determined the need to introduce secondary fluid much before the
460
occurrence of flow separation in a nozzle. Aupoix et al. (1998) conducted

experimental and numerical study of supersonic film cooling with different
turbulence models to predict the effectiveness of this cooling technique. Pai and
Whitelaw (1968) experimentally investigated the influence of density gradients on
the adiabatic wall and the film cooling effectiveness in steady two dimensional
flows. Verma et al. (2009) carried out an experimental investigation to study the
flow characteristics of a dual bell nozzle during its transition mode.
The employment of dual bell nozzle for modern semi cryogenic and cryogenic
engine with high payload requires an effective cooling technique for nozzle walls.
The most easy and effective solutions is to inject a thin layer of low temperature
exhaust gases. This is an already proven technique by which the supersonic film
cooling can be employed in the rocket nozzle. But application of this technique in
dual bell nozzle poses great uncertainties due to the peculiar flow behavior of the
dual bell nozzle, in particular, the two modes of operation and the transition of the
flow from base nozzle to the extension
The present work deals with the numerical analysis of dual bell nozzle with
secondary injection. A detailed study of flow behavior with certain design
parameters has been carried out for the above nozzle. Parametric analysis of film
cooling is also conducted to understand the effect of secondary injection on the flow
behavior with different mass flow rates and injection Mach numbers.
. DESCRIPTION OF TEST NOZZLE

The study is carried out in 2D axi-symmetric nozzle designed for an engine with
requirements depicted in Table 1, along with the geometric parameters. The base
nozzle is Raos thrust optimized contour and the extension nozzle is a contour with a
constant assigned pressure value (Linearly Increasing Pressure profile LIP)
designed by method of characteristics.
Table 1 Dual bell nozzle Geometry

Throat Radius Rth
0.138 m
Non Dimensional Base nozzle length lb/rth
18.54
Non Dimensional Total nozzle length lt/rth
25.91
base
Extension Nozzle Area ratio Extension
Base Nozzle Area ratio
Inflection Angle
Propellant Combination
35.74
71.42
10
Kerosene +LOX
461
Mixture ratio
Thrust
Specific Impulse Isp
Mass Flow Rate
Inlet Total Pressure P0
Inlet Total Temperature T0
Ratio of Specific Heats
2.6
2000 kN
324 s
600 kg/s
180 MPa
3818 K
1.1412
The coolant used for the present study was gaseous nitrogen. The injection was
made through an axi-symmetric slot which moves along the nozzle contour with a
height of 8 mm. The above height was chosen, as earlier studies by Nasuti et al.
(2006) had given ample proof that the height of the slot does a minimum variation in
flow behavior of the nozzle. The slot for the film injection (Fig. 2) was made by
translating the nozzle wall profile from the point of injection up to the nozzle end to
get a smooth profile which would not affect the nozzle profile characteristics. The
location of the film injection inlet was located at the divergent section of the base
nozzle at l/Rth=12.4046 and area ratio =22.29. The near wall Mach number at the
region of film inlet is 2.
Fig. 2 Film Injection Configuration

The computational domain independence study was carried out and the best results
were obtained when the horizontal and vertical lengths were taken as 35D and 15D
respectively, where D is the nozzle exit diameter.
The size of the grid was varied and the results were compared after CFD simulation
to conduct the grid independence study. The grid upon which the independent
studies were conducted employed the number of cells as 2 10 5, 3.5 105, 6.5 105
and 8 105. The results showed that the increase of grid size beyond 6.510 5 does
not yield any significant variation in the results. The study also showed that 210 5
grids was quite insufficient to capture the flow in a refined manner and 3.510 5
462
mesh was having slight deviations from the predictions of 6.510 5. Hence the grid
size was finalized as 6105. The nozzle section has 630 cells in stream wise
direction and 180 cells in the normal direction inside the nozzle with a maximum
wall y+ value of 1.4 and average y+ value of 0.98.
The numerical simulations were carried out by keeping the chamber pressure as
design pressure i.e. 180 bar. The ambient pressure was slowly reduced from the
pressure at ground level to simulate the ascent of vehicle with altitude. The film
injection is made with different mass flow rates by varying the temperature and total
pressure, keeping film total temperature and static pressure constant. This method is
selected in order to make sure that injection was made at supersonic speed and
required static pressure so that the injected film keeps adapted with the main flow
inside the nozzle. Table 2 shows the film Mach number Mf, non-dimensional film
Temperature Tf /T0 and the mass flux which is the ratio of film mass flow rate and
main mass flow rate mf /m.
Table 2 Film injection conditions
(Mf)
Tf /T0
mf/m
1.01
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
0.8263
0.7712
0.7123
0.6547
0.5997
0.0323
0.0397
0.0481
0.0573
0.0673
The film total temperature was kept constant at 300 K and film static pressure was
kept constant at 1.2 bar. These values were selected from the pressure plot of the
nozzle at the location of film injection so as to adapt the flow. As seen from the
table, the film static temperature decreases with the increase in film Mach number.
On the contrary, the total pressure increases with increase in the film Mach number
as the flow is assumed to be adapted with constant static pressure.
The numerical analysis is divided two parts. At first, a steady state simulation is
carried out to understand the effect of film cooling in separation, pressure ratio and
nozzle performance (Specific impulse). The second part is a transient time-accurate
computation where the effect of film cooling on transition time is understood.
3. NUMERICAL APPROACH & ANALYSIS

The numerical analysis was carried out in a commercial CFD package called
CFD++12.0 by Metcomp Technologies. The simulations were carried out on a 2D
axi-symmetric species reacting time accurate RANS solver. The turbulence model
463
used was SST k- (a two equation model) for its improved performance in separated
flows. The conductivity and viscosity is defined by Sutherlands law.
3.1 STEADY STATE COMPUTATION
3.1.1 FLOW SEPARATION
Steady state simulations were carried out to find out the two pressure ratio at which
the transition starts and the ratio at which the full flow was achieved. The results of
this analysis show that the flow is separated at the inflexion from ground level
pressure ratio of Pr=180 and remains anchored at the inflection point. Then the flow
is in transition and move towards the exit of the second bell and a fully attached
flow is obtained at a nozzle pressure ratio of Pr=505. In terms of altitude, the flow
remains in sea level mode up to 2.5 km and transition occurs until a fully attached
flow is attained at an altitude of 8 km.
In the film cooled case, the Mach number contour corresponding to the flow which
is completely anchored at the inflection point at Pr= 226 is shown in Fig. 3. A full
flow in the second bell is attained at a pressure ratio of 524. The Mach number
contours of these two cases are shown in the figure.
Fig. 3 Mach number contour for film cooled case

464
3.1.2 WALL TEMPERATURE

As one of the primary goals for employing the film cooling is to protect the nozzle
wall and thus reduce its temperature, the temperature profiles for film cooling is of
great importance. The nozzle wall temperature behaviour for the fully attached flow
with film cooling has been depicted in Fig. 4. It is observed that the wall temperature
immediately downstream of the injection is the recovery temperature of the injected
coolant. Wall temperature is slightly greater than that of the coolant injected
temperature. The temperature just downstream of the point of injection is maintained
nearly constant. This is due to the fact that the mixing of the coolant and the
combustion gas takes time and the mixing layer merges with the wall boundary
layer. The wall temperature rises beyond this region as it comes with the influence
of hot combustion gas. Due to the greater mass flow rate, this temperature is
considerably lower than the nozzle wall which is to be protected. At the inflection
point the temperature profile shows a dip in its behavior. This may be due to the
expansion fans which act at the inflection point causing negative pressure gradient in
this region. The nozzle wall temperature beyond this point rises again due to
downstream mixing and positive pressure gradient in this region.
The wall temperature at the exit has a lower average temperature for higher value of
film Mach number. The exit temperature of the nozzle is 1000 K for the highest film
Mach number Mf=1.8 and 1750 K for Mf=1.01.
Fig. 4 Temperature contour of fully attached flow with film cooling
465
3.1.3
INFLECTION REGION
The inflection region is associated with a strong negative wall pressure gradient as
seen in Fig. 5. In this region the separation can find stable solutions (not necessarily
symmetric solutions) which may lead to unwanted side loads on the nozzle wall. The
remaining portion of the second bell is associated with a positive pressure gradient
where the separation point cannot find a stable solution.
Fig. 5 (Left) Wall pressure profile with inflection region; (Right) Behavior of
wall pressure and the gradients of dual bell nozzle
The injection of film into the nozzle flow has a significant role in modifying the
flow-field properties of the nozzle wall. The fully attached wall pressure and their
gradients for clean (without film cooling) and film cooled configurations are plotted
in Fig. 6.It is observed that the length of the inflection region Li shows increase in
length for film cooled configuration. There is only a slight variation in Li with
change in film Mach number (or the corresponding mass flux). This may be
explained by the fact that the change of the flow and the thermodynamic conditions
like Mach number and specific heat ratio with the presence of secondary gas
(coolant) changes the wall pressure behavior. The variation of the length of
inflection region is quantified in Table 3.
466
Fig. 6 Wall pressure and their gradients for fully attached flow for clean and
film cooled configurations
Case
Clean
Mf = 1.01
Mf = 1.2
Mf = 1.4
Mf = 1.6
Mf = 1.8
Table 3 Infection Region length

Length of inflection region
Li
0.118
0.160
0.171
0.174
0.178
0.180
Lfilm cooled / Lclean

1
1.35
1.45
1.47
1.51
1.52
3.2 TRANSIENT TIME-ACCURATE COMPUTATIONS

To understand the effect of film cooling in transition time, time-accurate transient
computations were conducted by varying the nozzle pressure ratio by means of
pressure ramping (by varying the total chamber pressure and keeping the ambient
pressure constant). In order to reduce the computational resources and time, only
two cases are chosen for the transient analysis. The two cases chosen are the
467
uncooled case and the film cooled case with film Mach number Mf=1.8. Also the
transient computations were started with nozzle pressure ratio of 180 for clean
uncooled case and 226 for film cooled case. These are the pressure ratios at which
the flow is perfectly anchored at the inflection point. The pressure ramping taken for
the present study are 0.5 bar/second, 1 bar/second and 2 bars/second. These values
are chosen arbitrarily based on the previous studies conducted in this field.
The transition time is measured in such a way that the time spend in the inflection
region represented by ttr,inf is accounted first. Then the time taken to the end on the
nozzle lip for getting fully attached flow represented by t tr,ext is accounted. The total
transition time ttr,tot = ttr,inf + ttr,ext. The transition time obtained is reported in Table 4
below.
Table 4 Transition Time

Pressure ramping
(bar/second)
0.5
1.0
2.0
Case
Clean
Film Cooled
Clean
Film Cooled
Clean
Film Cooled
ttr,inf
ttr,ext
ttr,tot= ttr,inf + ttr,ext
(ms)
5.7
2.4
5.1
2.2
3.9
1.7
(ms)
13.9
2.2
13.2
2.0
11.2
1.5
(ms)
19.6
4.6
18.3
4.2
15.1
3.2
CONCLUSIONS
The results of the numerical study show that the injection of secondary fluid
effectively cools the nozzle wall of the dual bell nozzle. The transition between the
two operating modes of the nozzle (un-cooled and film cooled configurations) has
been computed with a combustion gas of kerosene and LOX (fuel-oxidizer
combination) and gaseous nitrogen as coolant. Both steady and time accurate
simulations were carried out on a 2D axi-symmetric nozzle. The steady state
simulations show that the injection of film coolant increases the transition pressure
ratio as well as the length of the inflection region. For the film cooled configuration
the film Mach number alone affect the transition pressure ratio in a slight manner.
Time accurate simulations were carried out with uncooled and film cooled
configuration with film Mach number of 1.8. The results indicate that the transition
time for the film cooled configuration is reduced by a factor of 4. In the case of slow
ramping the flow has sufficient time to react to effect change in pressure ratio. As
the pressure ramping becomes faster the transition time reduces in a much faster
pace. The significant influence of pressure gradient in transition time was also
observed.
468
REFERENCES
Aupoix, B., Mignosi, A., Viala, S., Bouvier, F., Gaillard, R., (1998) Experimental
and Numerical Study of Supersonic Film Cooling, AIAA Journal, 36(6), 915923.
B.R Pai and J.H Whitelaw. (1968) The Influence of Density Gradients in the
Effectiveness of Film Cooling, ARC, London.
Emanuele Martelli, Francesco Nasuti and Marcello Onofri. (2006) Thermo-FluidDynamics Analysis of Film Cooling in Over expanded Rocket Nozzles, 42nd
AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit, AIAA-2006-5207
Francesco Nasuti and Marcello Onofri. (2001) Flow analysis and methods of
design for dual bell nozzles, 37th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference
& Exhibit AIAA-2001-3558.
Francesco Nasuti ,Marcello Onofri, and Emanuele Martelli (2002) Numerical study
of transition between the two Operating modes of dual-bell nozzles 38th
AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit AIAA_2002-3989.
Genin C., Stark R. (2009) Experimental Study on Flow Transition in dual bell
nozzles, 45th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit, AIAA 20094855
Marcello Onofri, Francesco Nasuti, Emanuele Martelli (2009) Film cooling effect on
dual-bell nozzle flow transition, 45th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion
Conference Exhibit, AIAA-2009-4953.
S.B.Verma, C.Nuerenberger-Genin, Oskar Haidn, R.Stark.(2009) Flow separation
studies during the transition modes of a sub-scale dual bell nozzle.45th
AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, AIAA-2009-4854.
469
470

Estimation of Performance of Turbulence Models in

Imperfectly Expanded Jets from a Convergent
Divergent Nozzle
Mubarak A. K1, Jaison K. A2, Tide P. S 3
1,2
Mechanical Engineering Department, Government Engineering College, Thrissur

Mechanical Engineering Division, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Kochi
ABSTRACT
Three different turbulence models have been employed for the numerical prediction
of flow field of supersonic jets at over-expanded conditions. All solid walls were
treated as no-slip adiabatic surfaces and the bottom was defined by a symmetry
boundary condition. The flow was assumed to be three dimensional, steady,
compressible and turbulent. The simulation was carried out for different Nozzle
Pressure Ratios (NPR) of 2.4, 3.4 and 5.4. The governing equations such as
continuity, momentum and energy were solved by using density based solver along
with appropriate boundary conditions. The turbulence models employed in the
present work were standard k- model, standard k- model and SST k- model. The
Mach number contours obtained from these models were compared with the
Schlieren images captured by an earlier researcher. It is observed that SST k-
model gave better predictions, especially at lower nozzle pressure ratios, when
compared with available experimental data in the literature.
Keywords: Supersonic jet, Turbulence model, Over-expanded flows
Corresponding author. E-mail: mubarackak@gmail.com
Assessment of performance of turbulence models.
INTRODUCTION
Aerospace propulsion devices operating at supersonic speeds experience a form of
repeating shock pattern known as shock diamonds. The flow structure of underexpanded and over-expanded jets from axisymmetric nozzles have been investigated
over the last 50 years beginning with the works by Love et al. (1959). The main
classification of turbulence models is based on the additional number of partial
differential equations that are being solved. The equations for k- and k- models
are derived using Boussinesq approximation. Menter (1994) solved the transport
equations for the turbulence kinetic energy k, and the turbulence inverse time-scale
. On the wall, the flow adjusts to the ambient pressure almost immediately past the
shock. Back et al. (1965) presented the comparison of measured and predicted flows
through conical supersonic nozzles. In a convergent divergent nozzle, the flow
separation guides to unstable plume in the exit region. According to Xiao et al.
(2009) the flow separation can be ably utilized to improve the jet mixing. Balabel
and Hejab (2011) deliberated the turbulent gas flow dynamics in a two dimensional
Convergent Divergent (CD) nozzle and numerically predicted the related physical
phenomena at various operating conditions. According to Morrisette and Goldberg
(1978) nozzles for launch vehicles are usually designed for some average expansion
ratio which would give the best overall performance through the full trajectory.
Panda and Seasholtz (1999) carried out a number of experiments on supersonic free
jets from CD nozzles. The axial and radial components of velocity, temperature and
density of the supersonic free jets operating at Mach number 1.4 using spectrally
resolved Rayleigh scattering process were measured. Mubarak et al. (2014)
compared their numerical predictions with the experimental results of Panda and
Seasholtz (1999) using different turbulence models such as standard k- model,
RNG k- model, realizable k- model and the SST k- model. The comparison
exposed that the SST k- model is the best suited two equation turbulence model for
nozzle flows.
COMPUTATIONAL CODE AND PROCEDURE
The finite volume solver, ANSYS FLUENT 14.0, is used to obtain the numerical
solution of the three-dimensional compressible Reynolds Averaged NavierStokes
(RANS) equations for the three turbulence models considered in this analysis. The
discretized equations, along with the initial condition and boundary conditions, were
solved using implicit method. The conservation of mass and momentum were solved
sequentially with a pressure correction equation in the density based solver used.
Three different turbulence models such as the standard k model, the standard k
model and the shear-stress transport k model were used for numerical predictions.
NOZZLE GEOMETRY AND OPERATING CONDITIONS
The test nozzle used by Hunter (1998) is the one modeled in this investigation. The
nozzle is a convergent divergent nozzle with a nominal throat area At=4.317 in2.
472
Here, the nozzle has a design NPR of 8.78 and an exit Mach number of 2.07. The
design throat Reynolds number is 3.2 x10 6 for an ambient pressure Pa=14.85 psi.
Fig. 1 Nozzle geometry and coordinates (Hunter; 1998)

COMPUTATIONAL DOMAIN AND GRID GENERATION
A 3-D computational domain with the assigned boundary conditions is shown in Fig.
2. The selection of the space grid will influence the solution obtained. When using a
finer grid, the changes in the basic flow structure are minute, but the computational
cost increases tremendously. Therefore, the grid chosen here represents a
compromise between the accuracy, computational cost and time. The maximum
value of wall y+ in the computational domain is 70 and the weighted average is 50.
Fig. 2 3D view of computational domain

Stagnation conditions were applied to the inlet face of the duct upstream of the
nozzle, so as to match experimental conditions for total pressure and temperature.
473
The static ambient region surrounding the nozzle was defined by a subsonic inflow
condition (Ta=287 K, Pa=102387 Pa, Ma = 0.025) at the domain inlet, a characteristic
boundary condition at the top surface, and a smart boundary condition on the
domain outlet. All solid walls were treated as no-slip adiabatic surfaces.

The computed Mach number contours for different NPRs 2.4, 3. 4 and 5.4
are plotted in Figures 3, 4 and 5. These contours describe briefly the principal
separation phenomena in the nozzle considered. The separation shock consists of
incident and reflected oblique waves that merge into a Mach stem at the triple point
(termed as lambda foot of the shock) and can be clearly visualized in Fig. 3.
3D MACH CONTOUR COMPARISON
NPR 2.4
Standard k - model
SST k model
Standard k model
Schlieren image (Hunter 1998)
Fig. 3 Mach number contours for NPR 2.4

The SST k model was able to predict the separation phenomena occurring due to
the presence of shock waves. The lambda foot structure of shock obtained by the
intersection of separation shock wave, reflection shock wave and the normal shock
is clearly evident from Fig. 4. It is observed that the SST k model is able to
capture the shock cell structure reasonably well.
The shock wave stays close to the nozzle exit for the nozzle pressure ratio of 5.42.
As the NPR value increases, the normal shock moves downstream inside the
diverging section of the nozzle and becomes stronger.
474
NPR 3.4
Standard k - model
SST k model
Standard k model
Schlieren image (Hunter 1998)
NPR 5.4
Standard k - model
Standard k model
SST k model
CONCLUSIONS
The numerical simulations of compressible flow passing through a 3D convergent
divergent nozzle at different nozzle pressure ratios were carried out using
475
commercial software. The predictions were obtained by solving the RANS equations
for compressible flow in its conservative form coupled with both the energy
equation and the equation of a state. Three different turbulence models were
employed, namely; the standard k model, the standard k model, and shearstress transport k model. The numerical results disclose that the SST k model
gives the best result when compared with other models in predicting the shock wave
position and the separation point. The gradual blending from the standard k
model in the inner region of the boundary layer to a high-Reynolds-number k
model in the outer part of the boundary layer may be the reason behind the same.
REFERENCES
Back, L. H., Massier, P. F., and Gier, H. L. (1965), Comparison of measured and
predicted flows through conical supersonic nozzle with emphasis on transonic
region, AIAA Journal, 3(9), 1606-1614.
Balabel, A., Hegab, A.M. (2011), Assessment of turbulence modeling for gas flow
in a 2D Convergent Divergent Rocket Nozzle, Applied mathematical modeling,
3404-3422.
Love E. S., Grigsby C. E., Lee L. P., and Wooding M. J. (1959), Experimental and
Theoretical Studies of Axisymmetric Free Jets, NACA TR R-6.
E. Leon Morrisette and Theodore J. Goldberg. (1978), "Turbulent-Flow Separation
Criteria for Overexpanded Supersonic Nozzles", NASA Technical Paper 1207,
August 1978.
C.A. Hunter. (1998)," Experimental, Theoretical, and Computational Investigation
of Separated Nozzle Flows", AlAA 98-3107.
Menter FR. (1994), Two-equation eddy-viscosity turbulence models for
engineering applications, AIAA Journal, 32(8), 1598-1600.
Mubarak A.K., Naveen S. Das and Tide P.S. (2014), "Assessment of Performance of
Turbulence Models in the Numerical Simulation of Mach 1.4 Free Jet from a
Convergent Divergent Nozzle", European Journal of Scientific Research, 123(3),
316-332.
Panda J., Seasholtz (1999), Velocity and Temperature Measurement in Supersonic
Free Jets Using Spectrally Resolved Rayleigh Scattering, AIAA 99-0296.
Qing Xiao, Her Mann Tsa., Dimitri Papamoschou, and Andrew Johnson. (2009)
Experimental and numerical study of jet mixing from a shock-containing nozzle,
Journal of Propulsion and Power, 25(3), 688-696.
476

Health Assessment of Gas Turbine Inlet Air Filter

System Using Artificial Neural Network Model
Shaiju M.R.1, Arun P 2, S. Jayaraj 3
1
Sr.Manager, NTPC Limited,

Assistant Professor, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National Institute of Technology Calicut, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
The recent deregulation of the electricity market and the resultant increase in
competitiveness has led to power producers seeking new means of maintaining and
increasing profits by improving plant reliability, availability and maintainability
(RAM). Gas turbine combined cycle power plants play an increasingly important
role in electric power generation in recent years. Even under the best possible
operating conditions, the performance of a gas turbine is subjected to deterioration
because of compressor fouling, inlet filter clogging, thermal fatigue and oxidization
of combustor and turbine. For improving plant RAM, advanced methods of health
monitoring systems are essential for gas turbine plant components such as inlet air
filter, compressor, combustor and turbine. This paper focuses on health monitoring
of inlet air filter system considering different fault conditions, to limit compressor
fouling and inlet filter clogging. The health monitoring is achieved by developing an
inlet air filter simulation model, to predict the performance of the inlet air filter
system at different design and off design operating conditions. Among the process
history data based methods, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) have proved to be
effective for modelling non-linear and complex processes. Hence, ANN is used as
the modelling platform for this study. The prediction of future events achieved
through the model is found to provide key information to the decision making
process and planning of maintenance actions. Principal Component Analysis (PCA)
is a suitable technique that is efficient in capturing the variability of the data. It
determines the loading vectors and is suitable for improving the effectiveness of the
ANN model. Different fault conditions pertinent to the gas turbine inlet air system
1
E-mail: shaijumr@gmail.com
Health Assessment Of Gas Turbine

are demonstrated with actual plant data using the ANN based health monitoring
system.
INTRODUCTION
Gas Turbine Combined Cycle power plants play an increasingly important role in
electric power generation in recent years. Modern gas turbines are the corner stone
of the rise of the combined cycle as the power source of the new millennium. Even
under the best possible operating conditions, the performance of a gas turbine is
subjected to deterioration because of compressor fouling and corrosion, inlet filter
clogging, thermal fatigue and oxidization of hot-gas path components. For the
improvement of reliability and availability advanced methods of fault detection and
fault diagnosis become increasingly important for gas turbine power plant. The
growing need to increase the competitiveness of industrial systems continuously
requires a reduction of maintenance costs, without compromising safe plant
operation. Therefore, forecasting the future behaviour of a system allows planning
maintenance actions and saving costs, because unexpected stops can be avoided.
The gas turbine is a complex assembly of a variety of components that are designed
on the basis of thermodynamic laws. The design and operation theories of these
individual components are complicated. The complexity of thermodynamic analysis
makes it difficult to mathematically solve the nonlinear equations involved in the
modelling of such systems. In addition to that gas turbine is subjected to varying
operating condition such as part load operation and different atmospheric condition,
which is different from design condition. Hence getting information about process
performance and fault diagnosis is not an easy task. Broadly the fault diagnosis
methods are classified as ones which use process-model information, and ones
which rely on process-history-based knowledge. Process history-based (data-driven)
fault detection and diagnosis (Wang et al., 2009; Lee et al., 2010; Lee et al. 2011)
emerged as an alternative to the process model-driven approach
(Venkatasubramanian et al., 2003) that requires accurate process model.
Advancement in computer capabilities and software provide great possibilities for
data-driven fault detection and diagnosis.
INLET AIR FILTRATION SYSTEM

Inlet air filtration system is an essential component in any gas turbine module. The
inlet filtration system cleans the air entering the compressor. Poor quality inlet air
can significantly impact the operation, performance, and life of the gas turbine. The
consequences of poor inlet air filtration are foreign object damage, erosion, fouling,
turbine blade cooling passage plugging, particle fusion, and corrosion.
478
IMPACT OF INLET AIR FILTER DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE

The effects of inlet air filtration are both positive and negative to gas turbine. The
inlet filtration will help sustain the gas turbines performance above an acceptable
level and minimize the occurrence of the degradation effects. Cleaner air with
reduced particle or moisture content controls erosion and fouling at reduced
efficiency. The negative side of filtration is that whatever is placed in the path of air
coming into the gas turbine causes a pressure loss, resulting in reduced performance
such as reduced power output and increased heat rate of the machine. The
relationship between the inlet filtration system pressure loss against output load and
heat rate are linear.
HEALTH ASSESSMENT OF INLET AIR FILTRATION SYSTEM

The present work deals with gas turbine inlet air filtration system health monitoring
considering different fault conditions to reduce compressor fouling and filter
clogging. It also analyses the performance of a newly placed filter with residual
analysis. Data-driven fault detection of inlet air filtration system has been carried out
for finding the faulty events in the complex systems to support effective operation
and maintenance. The first component required for the health monitoring system is
inlet filtration system simulation model, which should able to predict the
performance under different operating conditions. The fault diagnosis algorithm for
inlet filtration system is shown in Fig.1. (Shabanian and Montazeri, 2011).
Fig. 1 Fault diagnosis algorithm for inlet filtration system

The accuracy of the diagnosis mainly depends on the accuracy of the simulation
model under different operating conditions. Process-history based techniques make
use of the large amount of process history data for the creation of gas turbine
simulation model. This can accommodate installation, modification and overhauling
effects. Recent advances in data manipulation techniques and sensor technology
have improved the data quality. Residual evaluation is the statistical comparison of
current residual signals with predefined fault conditions, the proximity to each of
these fault conditions is measured and the fault type and size is identified.
479
INLET FILTRATION SYSTEM MODEL

The inputs to the proposed method are sensor measurements obtained from a gas
turbine. Among the process history data based methods; Artificial Neural Networks
(ANN) has proved to be an effective tool for gas turbine components modelling and
diagnosis (Bettocchi et al., 2007). An existing combined cycle plant operated by
NTPC Ltd located at Kayamkulam, Kerala has been considered as the reference
plant for the work. The critical parameter for inlet filter system performance analysis
and fault diagnosis is inlet air filter differential pressure (DP) (Wilcox et al., 2010).
Hence Inlet air filter DP is taken as output (target) quantity of inlet air filter system
ANN model. The variables that affect inlet air filter DP and the corresponding
information diagram are shown in Fig.2.
Fig. 2 Inlet air filtration system information diagram

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a suitable technique that is efficient in
capturing the variability of the data. It determines the loading vectors and is suitable
for improving the effectiveness of the ANN model. Measured data corresponding to
the inlet air filter have been collected for a period of one year from July 2012 to June
2013 on an hourly basis for the entire operating hours of a new filter set. The pre
processed data are used for training, validation and testing of the network. A twolayer feed-forward network with sigmoid hidden neurons and linear output neurons
can fit multi-dimensional mapping problems arbitrarily well, given consistent data
and enough neurons in its hidden layer. Here the network is trained with LevenbergMarquardt back propagation algorithm. Using the processed 3276 samples a feed
forward neural network model of inlet air filter has been developed having 20
neuron in the hidden layer as shown in Fig.3.
Fig. 3 ANN model of inlet air filtration system

480
RESIDUAL GENERATION OF THE INLET AIR FILTER MODEL

Inlet air filter measured data collected from NTPC plant for a period of one year
from July 2012 to June 2013 on an hourly basis with half an hour offset of the
training data. These input data have been fed to the model and the model output was
validated with actual Differential Pressure (DP). Model-based fault detection is
based on generating a difference, known as a residual, between the predicted output
value from the model and the real output value measured by the sensors. The
performance monitoring parameters of inlet filtration system are filter DP and the
residuals have been generated for the entire operating hours. Fig.4 shows the
residuals.
Fig.4 Validation DP residual
Fig. 5 Case study DP residual
CASE STUDY
Frequently occurring faults in inlet filtration system are degraded performance of
inlet air filter due to poor quality material, crack or damage in the filter house and
improper fixing of new filter cartridge. During operation as the filter collects
particles, it is slowly loaded until it reaches a full state. This state is usually
defined as the filter reaching a specified pressure loss, or when the end of
maintenance interval. The newly replaced filters performance needs to be assessed
for the full pressure loss range over its life, not just when it is new. Performance
assessment of inlet air filter with different manufactures has been done. Even though
the filter rating was same but the performances were different. Fig.5 shows the
residuals of entire operating hours for a different manufactures filter. This gradual
increase in residual indicates the poor quality material of inlet air filter. If there is a
step rise in the residual DP, then analysis to be done for damage in the filter house
and improper fixing of new filter cartridge.
CONCLUSIONS
For the improvement of reliability, availability and maintainability (RAM),
advanced methods of health monitoring are essential for gas turbine plant
components such as inlet air filter, compressor, combustor and turbine. This paper
481

describes inlet air filter health monitoring system with different fault conditions to
reduce compressor fouling and inlet filter clogging. The first component required
for the health monitoring system is a inlet air filter simulation model, which should
able to predict the performance of the inlet air filter at different operating conditions
(design and off design) and generate residuals. Process history data based Artificial
Neural Networks (ANN) model of inlet air filter has been developed and validated
with site conditions. Different fault conditions pertinent to the gas turbine inlet air
system were demonstrated with actual plant data using the ANN based health
monitoring system. However, the method is suitable to situations where sufficient
accurately measured data are available to ensure the development of a robust model.
Residual of inlet filtration system can be used for the performance assessment of
subsequent system such as compressor, combustor and turbine.
REFERENCES
Bettocchi R., M. Pinelli, P. R. Spina, M. Venturini (2007) Artificial Intelligence for
the Diagnostics of Gas TurbinesPart II: Neuro-Fuzzy Approach ASME Journal
of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power JULY, Vol. 129 / 720.
Lee Y.K., Dimitri N. Mavris,Vitali V. Volovoi,Ming Yuan,Ted Fisher(2010 )A
Fault Diagnosis Method for Industrial Gas Turbines Using Bayesian Data Analysis
ASME Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power APRIL, Vol. 132 /
0416021-6.
Shabanian M., Mohsen Montazeri (2011) A Neuro-Fuzzy Online Fault Detection
and Diagnosis Algorithm for Nonlinear and Dynamic Systems International
Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems 9(4):665-670.
Venkatasubramanian V., R. Rengaswamy, K. Yin, and S. N. Kavuri, (2003) A
review of process fault detection and diagnosis Part I: Quantitative model-based
methods, Computers and Chemical Engineering, vol. 27, pp. 293-311.
Wang H., T.-Y. Chai, J.-L. Ding, and M. Brown, (2009) Data driven fault diagnosis
and fault tolerant control: some advances and possible new directions,Acta
Automatica Sinica, vol. 35, no. 6, pp. 739-747.
Wilcox M., Rainer Kurz, Klaus Brun (2012) Technology Review of Modern Gas
Turbine Inlet Filtration Systems International Journal of Rotating Machiner
Volume 2012, Article ID 128134, 15 p doi:10.1155/2012/128134.
Wilcox M., Richard Baldwin, Augusto, Garcia-Hernandez, Klaus Brun, (2010)
Guideline for gas turbine inlet air filtration systems Gas Machinery Research
Council Southwest Research Institute, Release 1.0.
482

Modelling and Simulation of Two-Component

Lean Fuel/Air Flames
B. Manickam1, , S.P.R. Muppala2,*, F. Dinkelacker1, S.Dembele2
1
Institute for Technical Combustion, Leibniz University Hannover,

Welfengarten 1a, 30167 Hannover, Germany
2
Faculty of Science, Engineering & Computing, Kingston University
Roehampton Vale, London, SW15 3DW,
United Kingdom
now with GE Energy, Austria

ABSTRACT
Turbulent premixed flames are a challenge to reaction modelling, especially as the
strong preferential diffusion effects modify the physical processes, which are of
importance even for highly turbulent high-pressure conditions. In the present work,
RANS modelling is carried out to investigate pressure and hydrogen content on
methane/hydrogen/air flames. For this purpose, four different subclosures, used in
conjunction with an algebraic reaction model, are compared with two independent
sets of experimental data. Model I shows that the increase of unstretched laminar
burning velocity (SL0) is not sufficient to describe the increased reactivity in
turbulent situations. This non-corroboration proves the importance of preferential
diffusion effects in highly turbulent flames. Model II over predicts the reactivity for
higher pressures. Model III accurately predicts for nearly all studied flame
conditions. Model IV under predicts the average reaction rate compared with
experiments.
INTRODUCTION
Several experimental studies have been reported on the performance of hydrogen
enriched fuels on knocking, emission characteristics, flame stability, extinction
strain rate, lean blow out limit and burning velocity. The experiments have been
carried out with different configurations such as SI engines , sudden expansion
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: s.muppala@kingston.ac.uk
Modelling and Simulation of Two-component
dump combustor e.g. Duwig et al. (2006), counter flow opposed jet e.g. Jackson et
al. (2003), Bunsen Halter et al. (2005), rod stabilized, freely propagating e.g. Shy et
al. (2008), spherical Kido et al. (2002) and swirl flames . Systematic experiments
have been carried out with a sudden expansion dump combustor by Griebel et al.
Duwig et al. (2006) at high velocity and with variation of hydrogen concentration.
They reported an extension of the lean blow out limit and decrease of NOx emission
with addition of hydrogen into methane/air mixture. Jackson et al. (2003) carried out
measurements with counter flow opposed jet configuration, showing that the
extinction strain rate decreases by adding hydrogen. Halter et al. (2005) conducted
experiments with Bunsen flame configuration and found that the flame position
moves towards inlet and flame brush thickness decreases at high pressure which
indicates that the flame speed increases for 10 and 20 percent hydrogen
concentration in the fuel-air mixture. Law et al. (2005) examined the effect of
adding propane to hydrogen at different pressures and observed that propane reduces
the tendency toward diffusive-thermal instability, whereas a pressure increase
promotes diffusive-thermal instability, causing flame front wrinkling and high flame
speeds. The increase of hydrogen concentration at constant velocity extends the lean
blow out limit and the operability range in the swirl flame. It was also mentioned
that OH concentration increases in the reaction zone due to hydrogen addition
especially in the positively curved edges of the flame.
REACTION MODEL FOR

PREMIXED TURBULENT COMBUSTION
One of the commonly proposed ways to model turbulent premixed flames is based
on a reaction progress variable approach. With the strong correlation between major
species and temperature, the computation of flames can be simplified essentially by
describing the main reactive and thermal processes within one transport equation of
c (~
c = 0 in unburned and
the density-weighted mean reaction progress variable ~
~
c = 1 in burned mixtures). The transport equation for the Favre-filtered progress
~
variable c
( c)
( uk c )
t
xk
xk
t
c

xk
Sct
wc
where the average gas density , the molecular and turbulent kinematic viscosities
and t and the turbulent Schmidt number (Sct = 0.7). A rather simple algebraic
relation for the product of a flame-surface wrinkling ratio
484
AT / A
and the gradient of
reaction
progress
variable
(the
AFSW
0.3
0.2
model),
wc u SL 0 AT A c is modelled as (Muppala et al. (2005))
leading
to
u p
AT ST
0.46
1+ Le1 Ret0.25
where Le is the Lewis number of
A SL0
e
S L 0 p0
the fuel/air mixture. The applicability of the AFSW model Eq.3 has been tested for
other lean flame configurations.
SUBCLOSURES FOR HYDROGEN DOPING EFFECTS

The effects of the Lewis number and influence of pressure have been included in the
reaction model and validated for three hydrocarbons with varying Le values and
pressures up to 10 bar. However, for the hydrogen enriched flames, the preferential
diffusion effects, thermo diffusive instability and increase of laminar burning
velocity makes the turbulent burning velocity and reaction rate higher than in pure
hydrocarbon flames.
In a previous study Dinkelacker et al. (2011) proposed a relation for an effective
Lewis number, assuming the process of fuel diffusion into the flame to be similar to
the weighted average of the single fuel diffusion of methane and hydrogen, leading
to
D* xCH4 DCH4 xH2 DH2 , with the volume fractions xi of the fuel mixture.
Accordingly, the effective Lewis number Le* of the multi fuel-mixture is expressed
as
xCH 4
xH
1
D * xCH 4 DCH 4 xH 2 DH 2
2 where is the thermal

Le *
LeCH 4 LeH 2
diffusivity of the fuel/air mixture. This very simple physical model of an average
diffusivity allowed a reasonable good prediction of the same flames investigated
below for the cases up to 20 % hydrogen content in conjunction with the underlying
reaction model. These factors are included into the AFSW reaction model as
subclosure which is based on the mean local burning velocity and critical chemical
time scale.
SUBCLOSURE BASED ON THE MEAN LOCAL BURNING VELOCTY
In turbulent reacting flows, local curvature and local flow strain effects modify the
planar one-dimensional flame, so that the mean local burning velocity is modified in
the local reaction zone. Commonly, a linear relation is assumed here for moderate
curvature and flow strain effects, with the Markstein number as a phenomenological
485
parameter and the Karlovitz number Ka as dimensionless stretch parameter. We

used the formulation as described in Lipatnikov, A., (2005).

S L S L 0 1 Mac s L S L 0 1 Mac Ka
SL0
where, Mac is the Markstein
number for consumption speed, SL is the mean local burning velocity, SL0 is the
unstretched laminar burning velocity, s dA /( Adt ) is the stretch rate acting on
the flame surface, owing to local curvature or locally diverging flow strain. The
product of stretch rate and chemical time scale c 0 L / S L 0 is equal to the
dimensionless Karlowitz number,
Ka u ' SL0 Ret-0.5 .

2
Without discussing the derivation, we used it in the form (in the following named as
Model II):
Mac
Ze 1- Le-1 I ln
1
ln
-1
2
1
where the Zeldovich number
with I
Ze Tb -1 /
ln 1 x
dx
x
u b
is the
unburned to burned gas density ratio.

We also investigated another approach by Cant, Bray and Peters (Bray et al. (1991,
1994)). They assumed the modification of the local laminar burning, which is
termed as Model III, is
SL SL0 1- 0.28Mac 0.69Mad Ka 0.054 Mac Mad2 Ka 2

where,
, and the Markstein number for
min 1; exp 0.25 1 Ka 0.5
displacement speed is Mad Mac
ln
. Mac is determined in Eq. 6a.
-1
The modified reaction model for calculating overall turbulent burning velocity (ST)
is as follows ST
SL 0 0.46 Ret0.25u0.3S L0.7 p / p0 . As SL is expected to

0.2
include the molecular transport effects, the Le term in Eq. 3 is not used in Model II
and Model III.
SUBCLOSURE BASED ON THE LEADING POINT CONCEPT
Critical chemical time scale cr, that highlights the phenomenon of very strong effect
of the Lewis number, can replace the chemical time scale c0=L0/SL0 in the reaction
closure. cr as a function of the Lewis number and activation temperature is
486
described
in
Lipatnikov
A.N.
and
Chomiak
J.
(2005)
as
32
Tb Tr
Tb
; Tr Tu (Tb Tu ) / Le
exp
T
r
2Tb Tr
cr c Le1
where Tr is the temperature in the critically curved flame element, Tb the adiabatic
flame temperature, the activation temperature. With cr instead of c0, the reaction
model is modified for the turbulent burning velocity (S T).
NUM ERICAL IMPLEMENTATION
In this numerical study, two-dimensional simulations are carried out for the two
simple flame configurations. The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS)
equations for mass, momentum and turbulence along with a scalar equation
representing reaction processes are solved to handle turbulent reacting flows on an
incompressible variable density solver using Fluent . The Favre-averaged turbulence
quantities k and are modelled with the k turbulence model, and its
performance is predictable with sufficient accuracy for these combusting flows. The
pressure-velocity coupling is based on the SIMPLE scheme and the second-order
discretization schemes are applied to all transport equations. Initial and boundary
conditions are set up in accordance with the experiments performed by Halter et al.
(2005) and Griebel et al. (2006). The algebraic flame surface wrinkling (AFSW)
reaction closure is implemented as a user-defined subroutine function to the solver.
For the Bunsen flame configuration, in a pre-study both calculated flame position
and flame angle are found to remain unaffected for lateral dimension equal to or
greater than 40 percent of the experimental chamber diameter. For the PSI burner,
the computational domain size is identical to the experimental dimensions.

In the following, RANS simulations of premixed turbulent flames for two
configurations are presented using the basic AFSW reaction model and its three
modified subclosures.
RESULTS OF THE CALCULATED ORLEANS BUNSEN FLAME
The calculated values of the mean local burning velocity SL reaches up to three
times in Model II and and two times for Model III the unstretched laminar burning
velocity SL0 for the methane/hydrogen/air mixtures. While for Model II the
estimated Markstein number, Mac decreases from 0.12 to 1.28, the same quantity
shows a sign change from +0.24 to 0.91 for model III, from 0 to 20 % hydrogen
addition as shown in Figures 1 and 2 the simulation results from the Models I to IV
487
are shown in comparison with the experiments. It is convenient to discuss the

simulated flame length in terms of a turbulent burning velocity ST, in compact form
normalized as ST/SL0 as a function of u'/SL0 (Fig. 2). The velocity ST is here
determined with the simplified relation sin 2 ST U , where U is the inlet
velocity and is the flame cone angle. The flame angle is estimated from the flame
shape of the c 0.5 contour line being considered as a triangle with the full cone
angle at the flame tip. The flame length is calculated by distance from inlet to
c 0.5 . From Figures 1 and 2, it can be seen that the purely chemical effect of
increased reactivity of the added hydrogen (Model I, with increased SL0) does not
explain the experimentally observed increase of the ratio ST/SL0. Model II shows
good agreement for pure methane/air mixtures, but it strongly deviates for higher
pressures and addition of hydrogen, predicting too high reactivity. The predictions of
Model III (based on Markstein numbers determined according to Cant, Bray and
Peters) reached a very good agreement for 1 and 5 bar and show a slight over
prediction at 9 bar for higher u'/SL0.
Fig. 1. Simulated and measured Bunsen flame height ( c 0.5 ) for 0, 10 and
20 % hydrogen concentration and 1, 5 and 9 bar pressure
For Model IV however, the quantity ST is strongly underestimated which means that
the predicted flames are much longer than the experimentally observed flames. As
discussed in Lipatnikov (2005), for the expanding spherical flames of
Le <1 mixtures, at critical radius of ignition (rcr) the consumption speed attains the
maximum value. Under such conditions, the observed ratio critical/chemical time
scale (cr/c) is in the order of 0.05 for ultra-lean hydrogen/air flames. For this
Bunsen flame experimental conditions, the calculated cr/c values are 0.35 and 0.18
for 10 and 20 % H2 addition. Although this general decreasing trend of cr/c
indicates that the burning rate of methane/hydrogen/air mixtures increases with
hydrogen addition, the simulations under predicts ST. Improved numerical
predictions for this data are possible from Model IV if cr may be obtained from the
simulation of critically curved laminar flames invoking a detailed chemical kinetic
mechanism, as described in Betev A.S. (2005).
488
Fig. 2. Simulated and measured turbulent burning velocity normalized by

unstretched laminar burning velocity ST/SL0 for 0, 10 and 20% H2 addition
To summarize for the Bunsen flame study, for measured low inlet mean velocity and
turbulence conditions, the Model I shows a qualitative trend of decreasing flame
shape with hydrogen addition but it quantitatively under predicts this effect. Model
II and Model IV either over predicts or under predicts the flame length for
increasing concentration. Model III shows good agreement for all nine cases.
RESULTS OF THE HIGHLY TURBULENT TEST CASES (PSI FLAMES)

For the preheated methane/hydrogen/air mixtures, the Markstein number values
from Model II and Model III lies between 0.12 and 2.13 and between +0.46 and
1.54, for 0 to 40 % hydrogen addition, respectively. According to these effects, it
can be assumed that flame instability increases for higher hydrogen concentration
leading to higher burning rates. The calculated SL/SL0 values rise to about 3.3 for
Model II and to about 4.1 for Model III. The corresponding chemical time scale
cr/c values are calculated between 0.86 for pure methane and 0.17 for 40 %
hydrogen, respectively.
Figure 3 shows the experimental flame height and turbulent burning velocity
(absolute value) in comparison with the calculated ones for the highly turbulent
experiments at 5 bar with varied hydrogen content up to 40 %. The basic Model I
numerically predict the flame shape satisfactorily up to 10 % hydrogen with
experiments. For higher levels of turbulence and increased hydrogen doping, the
Model I again completely under predicts the reactivity. This indicates that even at
high turbulent conditions the molecular preferential diffusion and thermo diffusive
instability effects are important and are especially noticeable for flames with
489
increased amount of added hydrogen. As shown in Figure 3, again the Model III
predictions of turbulent burning velocity are in good agreement with the
experimental trend, while Model II and Model IV under predict or over predict the
reactivity for all studied cases. Here again increased hydrogen content leads to
increased reactivity, which leads to shortened flames.
Comparing the two investigated models based on the Markstein number approaches
this study shows very good predictability for the relations from Cant, Bray and
Peters (Model III), while the older ones (Model II) deviate by up to 50 percent. This
difference is stemming from the fact that for Model III already a fitting procedure to
DNS studies has been involved which was not the case for the Model II relation.
Model IV based on the critically curved laminar flames again underpredicts the
reactivity significantly at much higher turbulence intensity than in the Bunsen cases.
Lipatnikov has assumed this model to be eventually more suited for higher
turbulence conditions. On the other hand they have argued that the Markstein
models with a linear relation between SL and SL0 should be valid only for small
deviations of these two quantities, while in the second test case the ratio was found
to be much above one. Nevertheless, the present results showed that the Model III
worked well here even for high turbulence.
Fig. 3. Simulated turbulent burning velocities from the three subclosures are
compared with PSI experimental data for 0 to 40 vol% hydrogen.
CONCLUSION
Simulations were carried out with four subclosures for preferential diffusion and
Lewis number effects in conjunction with an algebraic reaction model. Model I
based solely on increased laminar unstrained burning velocity for added hydrogen
was not could not describe the more increased reactivity in turbulent situations. This
showed that preferential diffusion plays a significant role even in high in turbulent
flames. Models II and III were based on two Markstein models where the local
490
burning velocity is assumed to be modified by the local curvature and flow strain.
The approach by Bechtold and Matalon (Model II) over predicted for both
experiments. The approach by Cant, Bray and Peters (Model III) reached a very
good quantitative agreement with both sets of data. The leading point concept
(Model IV) gave noticeable under predictions with both measured data. These under
predictions are resulting possibly from the simplified assumptions made in the
estimation of the critical chemical time scale.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The first author would like to thank EPSRC for the First Grant EP/H010173/1.
REFERENCES
Aluri, N.K., S.P.R. Muppala, and F. Dinkelacker (2008), Large-Eddy Simulation of
Lean Premixed Turbulent Flames of Three Different Combustion Configurations
using a Novel Reaction Closure. Flow Turbulence and Combustion 80: p. 207.
Bray K.N.C. and R.S. Cant (2005), Proc. R. Soc. London. A434: p. 217.
Bray K.N.C. and P.A. Libby (1994), Recent developments in the BML model of
premixed turbulent combustion, in Turbulent Reactive Flows, P.A. Libby and A.
Williams, Editors, Academic Press: London. p. 115-151.
Betev, A.S., et al., (1995) Hydrogen combustion in engines and preferential
diffusion effects in laminar and turbulent flames. Archivum Combustionis. 15(3-4):
p. 188-215.
Dinkelacker F., B. Manickam, and S.P.R. Muppala (2011) Modelling and simulation
of lean premixed turbulent methane/hydrogen/air flames with an effective Lewis
number approach. Combustion and Flame 158 (9), 1742-1749.
Duclos J.M., D. Veynante, and T. Poinsot, (1993) A comparison of flamelet models
for premixed turbulent combustion. Combustion and Flame. 95: p. 101-117.
Duwig, C., et al. (2006), Large Eddy Simulation of a confined jet: influence of
combustion on the velocity field. AIAA-Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit
44(Article-157).
Halter F. et al. (2003) Characterization of the effects of hydrogen addition in lean
premixed methane/air turbulent flames at high pressure. in Proceedings of the
European Combustion Meeting. Orleans (France).
491
Jackson, G.S., et al., (2003) Erratum to "influence of H2 on the response of lean

premixed CH4 flames to high strained flows" Combust. Flame 135(3): p. 363.
Kido H. et al., (2002) Turbulent Burning Velocities of Two-component Fuel
Mixtures of Methane, Propane and Hydrogen. JSME Inter. J., Series B 45(2).
Law C.K. G. Jomaas, and J.K. Bechtold (2005), Cellular instabilities of expanding
hydrogen/propane spherical flames at elevated pressure: theory and experiment.
Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 30: p. 159-167.
Lipatnikov, A., (2005) Lewis number effect - Leading point concept, in Private
Communication.
Lipatnikov AN, Chomiak J. (2005) Molecular transport effects on turbulent flame
propagation and structure. Prog Energy Combust Sci (31):171.
Muppala S.P.R, et al., (2005) Development of an algebraic reaction rate closure for
the numerical calculation of turbulent premixed methane, ethylene and propane/air
flames for pressures up to 1.0 MPa. Combustion and Flame 140: p. 257-266.
Shy S. et al., (2008) Effects of H2 or CO2 addition, equivalence ratio, and turbulent
straining on turbulent burning velocities for lean premixed methane combustion.
Combust and Flame 153: p. 510-524.
492

An Advanced Grid Connected Photovoltaic System with

Modular Structure
Arya Sasi-A1, Jasmy Paul-B2
1
M.tech Scholar, 2 Asst.Professor

EEE Dept., ASIET Kalady
ABSTRACT
In this paper, realizing an advanced grid connected PV generation system with high
performance, by selecting a modular system configuration. Modular configuration
consists of dc-dc converter modules and dc-ac inverter modules. And dc bus works
as a current sharing information carrier between them. Parallel and redundant
operation of inverter modules is realized without any communication link between
them. Comparing with existing systems such as centralized, string, multi string and
ac module structures, modular structure has excellent redundancy and scalability.
Then applying a new inverter topology to this system. Different multilevel inverters
are viewed for this purpose and Single Phase Nine Level Inverter has chosen as the
suitable topology. Because of its flexibility in control and less no. of switches have
been found as its main advantages. An advanced grid connected PV system consists
of PV panel, boost converter, implementation of MPPT algorithm (P&O), Single
phase nine level inverter, grid side control. And applying a suitable current control
strategy at grid side with grid synchronization. The objective of this paper is to get
the reliable and stable output of modular grid connected photovoltaic generation
system with single phase nine level inverter topology. It is obtained by doing
modelling of this system using MATLAB software.
Keywords: PV, MPPT, Grid synchronization, dq current control
INTRODUCTION
Distributed micro generation means generation of environmentally friendly
electricity on small scale for individual customer use. Micro generation technologies
1
Arya Sasi. E-mail: aryaageethh55@gmail.com
An Advanced Grid Connected Photovoltaic System with Modular structure
include small scale wind turbines, micro hydro, photovoltaic systems etc. Among
these, Photovoltaic generation system can be considered as the best solution for
electricity production with rising fuel costs. Since the Photovoltaic generation
system can be considered as the best solution for electricity production. It involves
PV arrays, MPPT and Solar inverters. Grid connected PV generation system is
having a relevance in this era. Evolution of PV system configurations involves
centralised structure, the string structure, the multi string structure and the ac module
structure. From the comparison of all these structures, new configuration has to be
used to get reliable output [1]. Modular configuration was introduced. In this paper,
applying a new multilevel inverter topology to this system to improve the
performance. Modelling of this system is done in MATLAB software.
SYSTEM OVERVIEW
A complete modular structure of the PV generation system consists of modular dcdc converters and modular dc-ac inverters shown in fig.1. PV arrays are interfaced
with their own dc-dc converter to a common dc bus, where the inverter modules are
distributed and modularized instead of a centralized inverter [2]. Voltage step-up
and MPPT are obtained by the dc-dc converters. Both inputs and outputs of all the
inverter modules are sharing the dc and ac bus without line transformer isolation.
The inverter modules can inject a sinusoidal ac current into the utility grid with unity
power factor with the regulated dc bus voltage when it is connected with grid. Each
module unit in this generation system has independent functions. The structure of
modular PV generation system is shown below. In this paper, modular PV
configuration considered and application of single phase nine level inverter in this
system analysed. To get a reliable and stable output from PV generation system, all
these components have to be modelled and simulated by using MATLAB software.
The next section explains the importance of grid tied inverter in this system.
Fig.1 Modular grid connected PV generation system
GRID TIED INVERTER

Multilevel inverter improves the output wave form and it is suitable for grid
connection. It reduces harmonic content in output. Therefore few of the multilevel
494
inverters are analysed and single phase nine level inverter topology has chosen for
the modular grid connected PV system [3][4]. Comparison table is given below.
Table 1 Comparison of multilevel inverters for nine level output
Components
Clamping
diodes
Clamping
capacitors
Power switches
Diode
clamped
56
Flying capacitor
-
Cascaded H
bridge
-
Hybrid
cascaded
-
Single phase
nine level
-
28
16
16
16
10
MODELLING OF GRID CONNECTED PV SYSTEM COMPONENTS

PV MODULE: Solar cell is a large-area semiconductor diode; it is a basic element
of this PV system [5]. To increase the output power, photovoltaic cells are connected
in series and parallel to form a module. The equivalent circuit of a PV cell is as
shown in Figure 2.
Fig.2 PV cell model

The required equations for modelling PV array, the terminal equation for the current
and voltage of the array is,
(1)
BOOST CONVERTER: The DC/DC boost converter only needs four external
components: Inductor, Electronic switch, Diode and output capacitor. P&O
algorithm used here for the switching of converter. The value of inductance and
capacitance can be found,
(2) and
(3)
SINGLE PHASE NINE LEVEL INVERTER: The single phase nine level
inverter with two inputs DC sources for nine-level output is shown in Figure. The
topology has eight switches and to obtain any desired voltage level, three switches
need to be ON simultaneously as observed from Figure 3. Four pairs of
complimentary switches are there.
495
Fig.3 Single phase nine level inverter
Fig.4 Multicarrier PWM scheme

In a multicarrier PWM scheme, comparing carrier signals with the reference signal
and the pulses so obtained are used for switching of device corresponding to the
respective voltage levels .In the proposed modulation scheme, for all the carrier
waveforms above the time-axis, the results of comparison with the reference sine
wave are 1 or 0. For all the carrier waves below the time-axis, the results of
comparison with the reference sine wave are 0 or -1. The signals so obtained are
aggregated so as to synthesize an aggregated signal. The aggregated signal has same
number of levels as desired in the output waveform. The switching signals are
derived from this aggregated signal by comparison of the signal with desired level
and the output is fed to the switches corresponding to the level using the lookup
table
.
GRID CONTROL - dq CURRENT CONTROL: When DC-AC inverter is
connected with grid, voltage and phase should be synchronized with grid. Applying
a switching pulse through PLL for inverter switching by adjusting sinusoidal
reference voltage provided at inverter. The current control method based on a dq
synchronous reference frame provides an infinite control loop gain at grid frequency
and a superior disturbance rejection. In this case, the active power injected into the
grid can be controlled transforming the current in the same reference frame and by
acting on the amplitude of the Id component. The Iq component also be controlled in
order to ensure zero reactive power injection.
496
Fig.5 Block diagram-dq current control
SIMULATION RESULTS AND ANLAYSIS

Simulations have been performed in MATLAB/SIMULINK is shown below.
Fig.6 Simulink model of modular grid connected PV system
Fig.7 (a)Single phase nine level inverter output (b) THD content(grid islanding)
Figure 6 having PV array, boost converter and single phase nine level inverter,
utility grid interconnection. PV array modelling was done by considering 72 cells in
series and it is having voltage output of 180 v. Therefore voltage is boosted to a
value of grid voltage by boost converter. Single phase nine level multilevel inverter
is used here and it is having two dc voltage source inputs. And it consists of 8
switches. It uses multi carrier PWM method for switching. This inverter with load
gives 325 v nine level output with some distortions. RL load is connected at inverter
side and through a filter it is synchronized with grid. By taking inverter load current
497
and grid current as I and I giving to the dq current control block for active power
improvement. And a good nine level output waveform is obtained here with
magnitude 325 v and THD 11.40 shown in figure 7&8(one module section)
CONCLUSIONS
In this modular structure, the system is simulated with single phase nine level
inverter. The benefits and inferences from this simulation.
1. Device count reduced and hence total system cost reduced.
2. Malfunctioning of any module section will not affect the entire system due to its
modular structure
3. THD content reduced to low value.
More than nine levels can also be used in this system, but it will make the system
more bulkier. Here this topology with nine level keeps the THD value below the safe
range and at the same time makes the system more efficient.
REFERENCES
Li Zhang,Kai Sun, Xing, Lanlan Feng, and Hongjuan Ge,``A Modular GridConnected Photovoltaic Generation System Based on DC Bus", IEEE Transactions
On Power Electronics, Vol.26, No.2, February 2011.
T. Kerekes, R. Teodorescu, M. Liserre, C. Klumpner, and M. Sumner,`` Evaluation
of three-phase transformerless photovoltaic inverter topologies, IEEE Trans. Power
Electronics., vol. 24, no. 9, pp. 2202-2211, Sep.2009.
Surin Khomfoi and Leon M. Tolbert, Chapter 31 Multilevel Power Converters, 2008
Krishna Kumar Gupta, Shailendra Jain ,``A multilevel Voltage Source Inverter
(VSI) to maximize the number of levels in output waveform, Electrical Power and
Energy Systems 44 (2013) 2536
N. Pandiarajan and Ranganath ,``Mathematical Modeling of Photovoltaic Module
with Simulink, International Conference on Electrical Energy Systems (ICEES
2011), 3-5 Jan 2011
Sk. Md. Golam Mostafa,``Designing a Boost Inverter to Interface between
Photovoltaic System and Power Utilities, IOSR Journal of Electrical and
Electronics Engineering (IOSR-JEEE) ISSN: 2278-1676 Volume 3, Issue 2, PP 0106 , (Nov. - Dec. 2012)
498

Adaptive MPPT Using Sliding Mode Control for Wind

Power Plant
Raji Reghunathan1, Ancy Sara Varghese2
1
P G Student,2 Asst.Professor
Saintgits College of Engineering
Pathamuttom, Kottayam- 686 532, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
Among renewable energy sources, wind energy generation has been noted as the
most rapidly growing technology, being one of the most cost-effective and
environmental friendly mean to generate electricity from renewable sources. This
thesis includes a variable speed grid connected wind energy system using PMSG.
The generator is interfaced to the utility by means of a power electronics converter
consisting of a back-to-back two-level voltage-source inverter (VSI). For Variable
speed wind energy conversion system the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is
a very important requirement in order to maximize the efficiency. This thesis
presents a novel adaptive high performance MPPT technique .This allows high
tracking quality due to superior dynamic response and high output power quality
due to steady state oscillations cancellation. Two controllers have been designed
one based on a Sliding Mode Control (SMC) scheme and the other is Resonant
Controller. The proposed controllers have to be simulated in MATLAB/ SIMULINK.
INTRODUCTION
Wind-turbine generators, can be built either as constant speed machines, which
rotate at a fixed speed regardless of wind speed, or as variable-speed machines in
which rotational speed varies in accordance with wind speed. For fixed-speed wind
turbines, energy-conversion efficiency is very low for widely varying wind speeds.
In recent years, wind turbine technology has switched from fixed speed to variable
speed.
1
Raji Reghunathan.. E-mail: rajireghunathan87@gmail.com
Adaptive MPPT Using Sliding Mode Control for Wind Power Plant
Fig.1 Subsystems and the associated control for grid-connected wind energy
system.
In this system, the generator-side control loop deals with turbine operation the gridside control loop which ensures the transfer of the generated power to the utility
grid.
Wind system modelling
The total amount of power capture from wind can be expressed as in equation
(1)
where is the air density (kilograms per cubic meter), is the wind speed in meters
per second, A is the blades swept area, and Cp is the turbine-rotor-power
coefficient, which is a function of the tip speed ratio () and pitch angle ().
(2)
The coefficient of performance of a wind turbine is influenced by the tip speed to
wind-speed ratio, which is given by
(3)
The wind turbine can produce maximum power when the turbine operates at
maximum Cp. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the rotor speed at an optimum value
of the tip-speed ratio opt . If the wind speed varies, the rotor speed should be
adjusted to follow the change.
PMSG modelling
The dynamic model of PMSG (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator) is
normally developed in the dq reference frame, in which the daxis is aligned with the
magnet axis and the q-axis is orthogonal to the d-axis with respect to the direction of
rotation . The voltage equations can be represented in the d-q reference frame as
below:
500
(4)
(5)
Where Vdq; idq and Ldq are the dq-axis voltage, current and inductance respectively,
we is the electrical speed and PM is the permanent magnet flux. The mechanical
equation, which describes the mechanical behaviour of PMSG is listed
as the following:
(6)
where Tm and Te are the mechanical and electrical torques respectively. Band J are
the viscus friction coefficient and the inertia of PMSG respectively. wr is the
mechanical speed and p is the pole pairs.
CONTROL STRUCTURE FOR THE CONVERTERS

Generator Side Converter control
The generator side subsystem consists of a speed controller, sliding mode controller
and an MPPT controller.
Grid Side Converter control
The grid-side subsystem consists of a resonant controller and a PI controller.
ADAPTIVE MPPT
The proposed MPPT requires two signals to be measured: the output active power
and the rotational speed. The proposed technique is based on using an adaptive
coefficient K which increases in the tracking phase and decreases once the MPP is
reached. For a fixed value of K, the pilot signal is calculated.
The flowchart of the proposed MPPT is shown below. The operation of MPPT is as
follows.
Step 1:Read the active power P(k) and (k), where k refers to the present sample
instant.
Step 2: Compute the change in the active power and rotational speed for one sample
time
P = P (k) P (k 1)
= (k) (k 1) .
Step 3: Compute the pilot signal (k + 1) = sgn(P) sgn ()
Step 4: Detection of the toggle using the logical operator exclusive or between the
actual value (k + 1) and the previous one (k).
Step 5: Increment or decrement the coefficient K accordingly to the output of the
exclusive OR, i.e., increment if the output is set to one (K = KKup) and decrement if
the output is set to zero (K = KKdown).
501
Step 6: Update the reference speed:

Step 7: Save actual values of , P, and for the next sample time.
Fig.2. Adaptive MPPT

RESONANT CONTROLLER
Resonant (R) controller is a real alternative to the conventional Proportional Integral
(PI) controller. Christian Alexandra(2013)
An outer voltage control loop, regulates the dc-link voltage Udc at an imposed value.
Which is given to the PI controller to produce the reference currents The computed
reference currents in d-q frame are transformed to frame current i*ref and
i*ref.The transformation from dq reference to reference.
The resonant controller is represented by the transfer function
(7)
Where, is the AC frequency and kres is a constant.
SLIDING MODE CONTROLLER
Variable structure control with SMC is one of the effective nonlinear robust control.
The first step of SMC design is to select a sliding surface that models the desired
closed-loop performance in state variable space. The speed control requires the
current control, therefore we have defined two sliding surfaces, to speed, quadrature
current component respectively. Emna Mahersi (2013)
Lets start with the speed control, we have:
S(r) = r*- r
(8)
Taking into account the demonstration mentioned above, the expressions of the
continuous and the discontinuous components of iq are given by:
502
(9)
(10)
as a result the reference of the quadrature current component is given by:
(11)
S(iq) = iq* - iq
(12)
The expressions of the continuous and the discontinuous components of the voltage
are given by:
(13)
(14)
then, the quadrature voltage component reference is expressed as:
(15)
SIMULATION MODELS AND RESULTS

Grid connected wind system with Adaptive MPPT ,sliding mode control and
resonant control.
Fig.8. Output voltage waveform of Wind PMSG simulink model
503
Fig.9. Grid voltage waveform
Fig.10. Grid current waveform
Fig.11. Active power waveform
Fig.12. THD of grid current waveform
504
CONCLUSION
Nowadays, the most common wind turbine configurations are based on the variablespeed pitch-control and the fixed-speed stall-control concepts..A systematic analysis
of the adaptive technique for MPPT in WECS has been given in this research paper.
By using this technique the maximum power output can be obtained and total
harmonic distortion can be reduced.
REFERENCES
Christian Alexandra ,A .K Raji Development of a Proportional + Resonant
(PR) Controller for a Three-Phase AC Micro-Grid System2013
Emna Mahersi, Adel Khedher, M.Faouzi Mimouni The Wind energy

Conversion System Using PMSG Controlled by Vector Control and SMC
StrategiesInternational journal of renewable energy research vol.3 no.1.2013.
505
506

PSO based Optimal Placement & Setting of Fuel Cell in

Wind Integrated Power System for Maximizing
Loadability
Sebin Joseph1, Emil Ninan Skariah2, Tibin Joseph3, Sasidharan
Sreedharan4, Chittesh V C1, Vipin Das P1, Vishnu J1
1
PG Scholar, SAINTGITS College of Engineering, Kottayam, Kerala,

Asst. Professor, SAINTGITS College of Engineering, Kottayam, Kerala
3
Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher, Institute of Energy, Cardiff University,
Cardiff, UK
4
HOD Dept. of EEE, Vidya Academy of Science & Technology, Thrissur, Kerala.
2
ABSTRACT
In this paper, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) based technique for the optimal
placement & setting of fuel cell in a wind integrated power system is developed. By
means of fuel cell optimal placement, it is intended to maximize the system
loadability while observing the system stability margins viz., voltage stability, and
line stability. The objective function to maximize is the load power increase at
various buses with respect to the base case load. The active power outputs from the
distributed generators are adjusted from their base case power outputs in order to
supply the additional load and to minimize the disturbance on the conventional
generators due to the fluctuating outputs from wind turbine generators. The
application of the scheme is illustrated on a standard IEEE 14-bus system. Newton
Raphson power flow method is used to quantify the benefits of the proposed
methodology. Results present the maximum system loadability in percentage,
optimal location and setting of distributed energy resources, maximum safe bus
loading beyond which system becomes unstable.
Corresponding author. E-mail: sebin.j@saintgits.org
PSO Based Optimal Placement & Setting Of Fuel Cell In Wind Integrated Power System
INTRODUCTION
Distributed Generators (DG) are gaining widespread applications around the world
because of the recent technological advancements in power system towards smart
grid technologies. In the current deregulated electricity markets wherein competition
is introduced in generation, transmission and distribution, also strongly favors the
integration of distributed energy resources in order to maximize the utilization of
their resources and facilities for maximizing the profit. Fast depletion of fossil fuels,
environmental concerns, advancements in green energy and constraints in erecting
additional transmission and distribution lines are also major reason for development
of renewable energy systems as viable options for future electricity generation.
Distributed generations are an effective method to improve system stability and
reliability, reduce transmission losses, increase system loadability, improve system
voltage profiles etc.
However the integration and high penetration of distributed generations into the
power system poses many issues that need to be addressed carefully. The variations
in wind speed and unpredictable solar radiation causes the output powers from wind
and photo voltaic systems to fluctuate considerably. With increased size and
complexity of modern power system, there are chances of cascaded effect of
oscillations from a small disturbance leading to complete system black out. The
oscillatory instability is one of the limiting criteria for synchronous operation of
distributed generators [1,8]. Also, the dynamic loadability of a system depends on
small signal stability limit [2]. There are other issues like the optimal allocation of
distributed generators to extract maximum technical benefits, like higher stability
and security margins of operations, better voltage profile, increased loadability,
reduced losses.
In this paper, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) based technique for the optimal
allocation & setting of multiple distributed energy resources (DER) in the power
distribution systems is developed. By means of DER optimal placement, it is
intended to maximize the system loadability while observing the system security and
stability margins i.e., voltage stability, and line stability. The objective function to
maximize represents the load power increase with respect to the base-case load;
equality constraints are the power flow equations; and inequality constraints
represents technical limits, such as bus voltage magnitude limits and current flow
limits through the branches of the network. In addition, the active power outputs
from the distributed generators are also increased/decreased from their base case
power outputs in order to supply the additional load and minimize the disturbance on
the conventional generators due to the fluctuating outputs from wind turbine
generators.
508
The paper is organized as follows, the first section briefs about distributed
generators and optimal DG placement problem. The optimization problem and
constraints are formulated in Section 2. Results are detailed in Section 3. Section 4
summarizes the conclusions and major contributions.
PROBLEM FORMULATION
MAXIMIZE THE SYSTEM LOADABILITY WITHIN STABILITY MARGIN
The optimization problem to find the optimal location of Fuel Cell DG is formulated
as a single objective optimization problem considering the loadability of all buses as
given below [3]
N
b
(1)
Maximize F(x,u)= P ()
Li
i=1
Subject to the equality constraints
N
b
(2)
P =P +V V (G cos +B sin ) ;i=1,2,...N
Gi Li i
j ij
ij ij
ij
b
j=1
N
b
(3)
Q =Q +V V (G sin B cos ) ;i=1,2,...N
Gi Li i
j ij
ij ij
ij
b
j=1
Where, P & Q Li are the total active and reactive loads at bus i and N is the total
Li
b
number of buses in the system.
The inequality constraints h(x,u) are [4]
Apparent power flow limit:
S S
ij ijmax
(4)
Bus voltage limit:

V
imin
V V
i imax
Slack generator power output limit

P
P
slack slackmax
Q
Q
slack slackmax
(5)
(6)
(7)
Wind Power output limit. The wind power dispatch should not exceed the available
wind power from the wind park: [4]
509
(8)
windmax
Q
(9)
wind windmax
In eq. (1), is a load parameter of the system, which maximizes the total power that
the network can supply within the system stability margin.
wind
The load factor represents the variation of system real & reactive loads P
Q , defined as [3]:
Li
and
Li
(10)
P ()=P
;i=m+1.......,N
Li
Li
b
Q ()=Q
;i=m+1.......,N
(11)
Li
Li
b
Where, m is the total number of generator buses, = 1 indicates the base load case.
DEPENDENT AND CONTROL VARIABLES

In Eq. (1), x represents the dependent variables. The dependent variables in this
analysis are slack bus power P , load bus voltage V
, generator reactive
G1
m+1.......Nb
power outputs Q and apparent power flow S ; x can be expressed as [3]:
G
k
T
(12)
x =[P ,V
V ,Q ...Q ,S ....S ]
G1 m+1....... Nb G1 Gm 1 N
u represents the control variables. The control variables considered here are
generator real power outputs P except at the slack bus P , generator voltages
G
G1
V , and the locations of DER device, L. u [3]:
G
T
u =[P ...P ,V ...V ,L, ]
(13)
G2 Gm G2 Gm
f
POWER SYSTEM STABILITY CONSTRAINTS

1) FAST VOLTAGE STABILITY INDEX
The safe bus loading of the system is assured by incorporating the Fast Voltage
Stability Index (FVSI) proposed by I. Musirin [5].
2
4Z Q
j
FVSI =
(14)
ij
2
Vi X
510
Where Z is the line impedance, Q j is the receiving end reactive power,
Vi is the
sending end voltage and X is the line reactance. If FVSI 1.00: bus connected to
the line is approaching its instability point. If FVSI 1.00: one of the buses
connected to the line will experience a sudden voltage drop and the bus will collapse
due to overloading.
2)
LINE STABILITY INDEX
The line stability index symbolized by L
proposed by M. Moghavemmi [6] is

mn
formulated based on a power transmission concept in a single line. The line stability
index L is given by
mn
4Q X
r
L =
(15)
mn
2
[|V |sin()]
s
where is the line impedance angle, and is the angle difference between the
supply voltage and the receiving voltage. The value of L must be less than 1.00 to
mn
maintain a stable system.
3) LINE STABILITY FACTOR
System Stability is also assured by Line Stability Factor (LQP) proposed by I.
Musirin and A. Rahman [5]. The LQP should be less than 1.00 to maintain a stable
system.
LQP=4
X X 2
P +Q
V2 V2 i j
i i
(16)
LQP assure that at no level of bus loading the line is overloaded.
SIMULATION RESULTS & DISCUSSION

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
The proposed solution method was tested on an IEEE 14 bus test system. The bus
system consists of 5 generators, of which one is slack and there are 20 lines. Bus 2,
3, 6 and 8 are PV buses and 3, 6 and 8 are synchronous compensator buses. It has
generators located at buses 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8 and four transformers with off-nominal
tap ratio in lines 4-7, 4-9, 5-6 and 8-9. The lower voltage magnitude limits at all
511
buses are 0.9 p.u. and the upper limits are 1.1 p.u. Total real and reactive power of
load is 259 MW and 81.4 MVAr respectively.
Wind farm consisting of 300 wind turbines and 600 MVA / 69 kV capacity has been
connected to bus 3 as identified using wind farm placement index [3]. Fuel Cell DG
and Solar PV have been connected to different bus and loads were modelled as static
loads (constant PQ) with constant power factor, and increased according to Eq. (10)
and Eq. (11). The kV rating of DG is the kV of the bus to which it is connected. All
the lines of the system except line with generators are selected to be the optimal
location of the DG. Hence in this case, buses 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 are
suitable for DG placement. The analysis was done using PSAT/MATLAB integrated
environment as suggested by F. Milano [7].
RESULTS & ANALYSIS
The DG is placed at seven arbitrary positions and the resultant power flow results
are analyzed. The loadability on the buses is increased gradually in such a way that
the base case power factor is maintained at all loading points. The bus to which Soid
Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) is connected is modelled as a V bus and all the additional
load is supplied by the SOFC resulting in minimum load disturbance on the
conventional generators.
Using particle swarm optimization algorithm, the optimal location of SOFC for
maximum loadability was found to be at bus 4. The loading of the IEEE 14 bus test
system without integration of DG can only be increased to 1.2 times the base case
loading beyond which the system drives into instability and collapses. With the
optimal placement and setting of DG the loadability can be increased from the base
case loading of 2.59 p.u to 4.90 p.u. Total generation and load at maximum system
loading is given in Table.1.
From the table it is obvious that with optimal placement & setting of DG, more load
demand can be met. In the present work 2.31 p.u additional active load could be
handled without driving the system into instability i.e an increase of 89.2% loading.
Table 1 Generation And Load At Maximum System Loading.
System Loadability
Base Case
At Maximum Loading
Difference (max load - base load)
512
PG
2.73
4.99
2.26
QG
1.09
1.65
0.56
PL
2.59
4.90
2.31
QL
0.81
1.50
0.69
Voltage profile of power system with DG at bus 4 and without DG is compared in

Fig. 1. It can be seen that at maximum system loading the voltages are maintained
within the stipulated limits of 0.9 and 1.1 p.u.
Base Case (with out DG)

Base case (with DG)
Bus voltage (pu)
1.10
DG at optimal allocation
0.90
Fig. 1
7Bus8no.9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Voltage levels at different buses with and without DG
Fig. 2 shows the Generations at different buses. It can be seen that with optimal
placement and setting of fuel cell at bus 4, the conventional generations can be
reduced and the whole load disturbance is absorbed by the fuel cell. Bus 3 has the
largest load share and PSO is able to accurately locate the best suitable location for
placement of fuel cell at bus 4 which is near to the load center. Also with optimal
placement and setting of fuel cell at bus 4, the load on the conventional generator at
bus 1 has considerably reduced and most of the load increase is shared by the fuel
cell.
Fig. 2
Generations at different buses
Fig. 3 shows the maximum loadability at different buses with & without DG.
513
Fig. 3
Active loads at different buses
In Fig. 4 line power flows with and without DG is shown. The line active power
flows increases as the system loading is increased but the stability constraints
assures that the increase is within the stability and security margins of the power
system.
Fig. 4
Line Active Power flows.
The stability constraints at the best compromise solution represented by FVSI, LSI
and LQP are shown in Fig. 5. It can be seen that voltage and line stability indices
(FVSI & LQP) are well within acceptable limits. This maintains grid stability at
various loading ensuring no bus collapses due to overloading and no line is
overloaded under any grid condition.
514
Fig. 5
Stability Indices FVSI, LSI, LQP
CONCLUSION
In this paper, a new methodology of optimal allocation of distributed energy
resources has been proposed to maximize the system loadability by taking into
consideration the power system stability and security constraints.
1. It is found that PSO based optimization technique is much better to enable
optimal allocation of DG in power distribution system.
2. Incorporation of Fast voltage stability index (FVSI) and Line stability
factor (LQP) constraints in the optimization problem ensures grid stability
at various levels of system loadability.
3. With optimal placement of DG near to load centre the most of the load
disturbance can be made to be shared by the DG.
4. The applicability of the proposed scheme was tested on a standard IEEE
14-bus system using Newton Raphson power flow method.
REFERENCES
D. Lee, L. Wang, (March 2008), Small-Signal Stability Analysis of an
Autonomous Hybrid Renewable Energy Power Generation / Energy Storage
System Part I: Time-Domain Simulations, IEEE Trans Energy Convers 2008;
23(1):31120.
S. Dahal, N. Mithulananthan, (July 2012), Assessment and Enhancement of Small
Signal Stability of a Renewable-Energy-Based, no. IEEE Transactions on
Sustainable Energy, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 407-415.
I. M. Wartana, J. G. Singh, and W. Ongsakul (July 2011), Optimal Placement of
UPFC for Maximizing System Loadability and Minimize Active Power Losses by
515
NSGA-II, International Conference on

(ICEEI), pp. 1-6.
Electrical Engineering and Informatics
S. Sreedharan, Weerakorn Ongasakul, and J. G. Singh (July 2011), Development

of PSO Based Control Algorithms for Maximizing Wind Energy Penetration,
IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, pp. 1-6.
I. Musirin and A. Rahman (November 2002), Estimating Maximum Loadability
for Weak Bus Identification Using FVSI, IEEE Power Engineering Review, vol.
50, pp. 50-52.
M. Moghavemmi and F.M. Omar (Nov. 1998), Technique for contingency
monitoring and voltage collapse prediction, IEE Proc. Generation, Transmission
and Distribution, vol. 145, pp. 634-640.
F. Milano (Aug. 2005), An Open Source Power System Analysis Toolbox, IEEE
Transactions on Power Systems, pp. 1199-1206.
Takur D and Mithulanthan N., (2009). Influence of constant speed wind turbine
generator on power system oscillation. Electric Power Components and Systems,
Vol. 37, pp. 478- 494.
516

Five Level Cascaded H Bridge Multilevel Converter for

Photovoltaic Application
Deepa Sankar1, C.A.Babu2
1
Research Scholar ,2Professor

ABSTRACT
In this paper, a five level Cascaded H Bridge (CHB) multilevel converter topology
for a grid connected Photovoltaic (PV) system is presented. Maximum power point
tracking is performed by variable step size P&O algorithm. This method is
advantageous over the other MPPT algorithms due to its ease of implementation.
For grid connected applications, the low output voltage of the PV cells should be
boosted to a high voltage. The boost topology acts as one of the major topology for
getting the desired output. To overcome the limitations of conventional Boost
converter, an interleaved boost topology with resonant soft switching for increasing
the overall efficiency of the PV system is presented. A control strategy based on
sinusoidal pulse width modulation is employed for CHB in this paper. Simulation
results and analysis of the proposed system is presented to prove the effectiveness of
the system.
INTRODUCTION
With a growing demand for conventional energy sources such as fossil fuels, the
possibility of their fast depletion and environmental pollution is a matter of concern.
Thus the renewable energy source (RES), with a very low environmental impact,
proves to be an attractive solution for the increasing energy needs. The most
exploited RESs are hydroelectric, photovoltaic (PV), and wind. Among the clean
technologies, PV has experienced the most growth in the last few years, Enrique
Romero et al (2013).
The main design objective of photovoltaic (PV) system is to extract the maximum
power from the PV array and inject it into the ac grid, Enrique Romero et al (2013).
1
Deepa Sankar. E-mail: neenusankar@gmail.com
Five level cascaded H bridge
Several MPPT methods are compared to identify the most effective approach, Esram
and P. L. Chapman (2007). There are two conversion stages for a PV system -DC to
DC and DC to AC.
The low output voltage of the PV cells should be boosted to a high voltage. For this
aspect, a boost converter strategy has been shown to have significant advantages
over other dc/dc converter configurations, due to the presence of blocking diodes,
G.Walker and P.Sernia (2004). In response to the growing demand for medium and
high power applications, multilevel inverters have been attracting growing
consideration in PV systems, Tolbert and Peng(2000).Multilevel converters enables
the output voltage to be increased without increasing the voltage rating of the
switching components. Among different types of multilevel converters, cascade
converters are used in PV applications due to its modularity and structure, S.Kjaer et
al (2005).
In this paper, a modified five level Cascaded H Bridge (CHB) multilevel converter
topology for a PV system is presented. Maximum power point tracking is performed
by variable step size P&O algorithm. Varying the step size value reduces the
oscillations around the MPP and leads to a faster response to reach it. Here an
interleaved boost topology with resonant soft switching for increasing the overall
efficiency of the PV system is presented, Jun-Ho Kim (2008).
MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKING

Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques are used in PV systems to
maximize the PV array output power by tracking continuously the maximum power
point (MPP) which depends on panels temperature and on irradiance conditions.
The perturb & observe (P&O) algorithm, is very popular and the most commonly
used in practice because of its simplicity in algorithm and the ease of
implementation, Nicola et al (2005). But with this algorithm the operating voltage V
is perturbed with every MPPT cycle. This causes a power loss which depends on the
step width of a single perturbation. To minimize all these drawbacks, a modified
Perturb and Observe method is proposed. Here initially perturbation value is more,
and then reduces step size such that it approaches maximum power point. To
achieve faster MPPT response and more accurate MPP, D can be employed .D
can be selected as function of PV power as shown in Eq.(1).
D(k)= (p(k)-p(k-1))
(1)
where is the constant value to control the movement toward the MPP and the
accuracy of convergence for MPPT, is the sign of step dependent on perturbation
direction. The modified perturb and observe method is simulated using
MATLAB/Simulink.
518
INTERLEAVED BOOST CONVERTER WITH RESONANT SOFT

SWITCHING
In this paper, an interleaved boost topology with resonant switching for increasing
the overall efficiency of the PV system is presented. Interleaved topology minimizes
the input current ripple, output voltage ripple and can reduce the inductor and
capacitor size, Jun-Ho-Kim(2009). It includes two boost converters connected in
parallel with a single output capacitor. Each switch is controlled with a PWM signal
having a phase difference of 180.The size of the inductor and hence the inductance
can be reduced since the current flowing through it is small. Series connected
inductors L1 and L2 minimizes the input current ripple.
FIVE LEVEL CASCADED H BRIDGE MULTILEVEL CONVERTER

Multilevel converters are mainly utilized to synthesize a desired single or threephase voltage waveform. The cascaded H-Bridge inverter is composed of several Hbridge converters in cascade connection, M.Malinowski et al (2010).The main
advantages of the cascaded multilevel inverter are that the regulation of the DC
buses is simple, S Daher (2008). In proposed system there are six switches and four
of them are operated in high frequency and other in fundamental frequency it
reduces overall switching losses. This inverter topology uses two carrier signals and
one reference to generate PWM signals for the switches.
SIMULATION
MATLAB-SIMULINK is used to explore the functional characteristics of a PV
system. The solar module required for simulation is developed using the
characteristics of a bpsx150_s solar module with an irradiance of 1000 w/m2 and
25C. The MPPT based on the Variable step size Perturb and Observe technique is
implemented by means of a MATLAB Function block that generates embeddable C
code. This converter uses a MPPT system which automatically varies the duty cycle
in order to generate the required voltage to extract maximum power. Fig 3 shows the
PV model with MPPT controller and DC-DC converter.
MODIFIED FIVE LEVEL CASCADED H BRIDGE INVERTER

WITH FILTER
Here,Vin=100V, switching frequency, fs=40kHz, modulation index, m=0.78 are the
system parameters. By carrying out the THD analysis, the significant harmonics
were identified. To eliminate these harmonics, a suitable filter was designed. The
value of capacitor and inductor for designing this filter is as follows,
C=220uF; L=1mH
519
Fig.1 Modified five level cascaded H bridge inverter with filter
Fig.2 Output waveform of modified cascaded H bridge with filter
SIMULINK MODEL OF THE PV SYSTEM WITH MPPT
Fig.3 Simulink model of the PV system with MPPT

520
Fig.4 Output voltage of PV array
Fig.5 Output voltage waveform of converter
Fig.6 Output voltage waveform of inverter
CONCLUSION
The PV array has been modeled using MATLAB/Simulink and then implemented
with variable step size P&O MPPT. The reference signal from the MPPT is used to
generate pulses for the interleaved soft switching boost converter. In this model a
521
PV panel of 12 volts has been simulated .The duty cycle pulses have been fed to
DC-DC converter in accordance with the MPP value. Slight change in output
voltage waveform of converter and inverter is account on, the irradiance condition of
the system. From figure, it can be easily understood that after tracking MPP, the
output voltage from converter is boosted up from 12 volts panel output to 112 volts
with a THD of 0.3%. By the proposed system simulation, less than 3 sec is taken by
the converter to settle the voltage waveform. The proposed converter and inverter
sections could be modified for improving the efficiency and outcome of the system.
An inverter section with higher number of levels and reduced number of switches
would give a more prominent result.
REFERENCES
Enrique Romero, Giovanni spagnuolo, Leopoldo g. franquelo, Carlos-andrs ramospaja,Te uvo suntio, and Weidong-michael xiao (2013),Gridconnected
Photovoltaic Generation plants,IEEE Industrial Electronics magazine.
.
G. Walker and P. Sernia (2004), Cascaded dc/dc converter connection of
photovoltaic modules, IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 1130
1139.
J.-H. Kim, D.-Y.Yung,S.-H. Park, C.-Y.Won, Y.-C. Jung, and S.-W. Lee (2009),
High efficiency soft-switching boost converter using a single switch, J. Power
Electron., vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 929939.
M. Malinowski, K. Gopakumar, J. Rodriguez, and M. A. Prez (2010), A survey on
cascaded multilevel inverters, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol.
57, n. 7, pp. 2197-2206.
N. Femia, G. Petrone, G. Spagnuolo, andM. Vitelli (2005), Optimization of perturb
and observe maximum power point tracking method, IEEE Trans.Power
Electron., vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 963973.
S. Daher, J. Schmid, and F. Antunes (2008), Multilevel inverter topologies for
stand-alone PV systems, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 55, no. 7, pp. 2703
2712.
S. Kjaer, J. Pedersen, and F. Blaabjerg (2005), A review of single-phase
gridconnected inverters for photovoltaic modules, IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol.
41, no. 5, pp. 12921306.
T. Esram and P. L. Chapman (2007), Comparison of photovoltaic array maximum
power point tracking techniques, IEEE Trans. Energy Convers., vol. 22, no. 2.
522

Experimental Study of Especially Designed Heat

Exchanger fitted with Flat Reflectors used in Hybrid
Solar Water System
V N Palaskar1, S P Deshmukh2
1
Assistant Professor, 2Associate Professor

Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute Mumbai-400019, Maharashtra India
2
Institute of Chemical Technology Mumbai-400019, Maharashtra India
ABSTRACT
The hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar water systems are commercially
unviable due its low concentration ratios, less combined efficiencies and nonstandardization of heat exchanger surfaces. The simple and cost effective technique
to increase performance of hybrid system is to enhance available solar radiation on
surface of module during experiments. This could be accomplished by fitting flat
reflectors to sides of module. This paper provides design and performance
investigation of spiral flow heat exchanger used in hybrid system with reflectors
fitted to module sides. The obtained investigational results like performance
efficiencies of photovoltaic, thermal, and combined photovoltaic/thermal are
compared for forced and natural circulation of water through hybrid system. At peak
PV point, natural flow system could produce combined efficiency of 56.60 % as
compared to 57.74 % generated by forced flow hybrid system. This assessment
showed that thermo-syphon hybrid system will be ideal solution for electrical power
generation and hot water production used for low temperature applications.
Keywords-low concentration ratio; combined PV/T efficiency; flat reflectors; spiral
flow heat exchanger, thermo-syphon hybrid system, low temperature applications.
INTRODUCTION
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: vnpalskar@vjti.org.in, vnpalaskar2512@gmail.com
Experimental study of especially designed heat exchanger......

Performance of PV module decreases significantly when it is heated by absorbing
solar radiation. The cooling of module improves its performance and operational
life. Module is cooled by circulating cold water through the heat exchanger fixed at
bottom of module. In hybrid solar system, simple module and thermal unit are
mounted together to facilitate conversion of solar energy in to electrical and thermal
energy simultaneously. Hybrid system generates higher combined energy per square
meter area of module. Material cost of PV cells is 50 % to 60% of total cost of PV
module. Significant measures are required to reduce cost of PV power by reducing
use of cell material to widespread and commercialize PV technology. The number of
techniques such as use of thinner wafer, thin-film solar cell and concentrator
techniques are incorporated to reduce overall price of PV modules. In concentrator
technology; optical reflectors could replace costly PV cell area by cheaper reflector
materials such as glass mirror, aluminum sheets, acrylic mirror sheets etc.
Percentage area of solar cell incorporated in PV module is replaced by the value of
concentration ratio. The high concentration ratio put stringent constraints on solar
cells heat dissipation capacity and sun tracking system. However it is possible to
use low concentration optics with simple modules in static mode to eliminate
continuous tracking.
Kostic et al (2008) carried out studies using sheet and tube heat exchanger used in
hybrid water collector; fitted with a pair of flat aluminum concentrators. In this
study it was found that with aluminum sheet concentrators; electrical and thermal
energy increased by 8.6% and 39% compared to simple module. Aluminum foil
concentrators produced 17.1% more PV energy and 55% more thermal energy than
conventional module. Othman et al (2008) studied performances of seven types of
heat exchangers using simulation, namely, direct flow, oscillatory flow, serpentine
flow, web flow, spiral flow, parallel-serpentine flow, and modified serpentineparallel flow. The simulation results showed that heat exchanger with spiral flow
produced highest thermal efficiency of 50.12%; with module efficiency of 12.8% as
compared to other flows. Three hybrid water collectors, namely, direct flow, parallel
flow and split flow were designed and their thermal performances were compared
for various tilts of hybrid collector by Kamaruzzaman, et al (2011). In this study it
was found that split flow produced 51.4% thermal power compared to 50.8 % and
50.6% by other two flows. Sangani and Solanki (2007) have designed and fabricated
V-trough concentrator system to evaluate PV electricity cost ($/W) reduction as
compared to simple module and found that this system with two-sun concentration
was able to generate 44% more output power compared to simple module. The
cost/unit watt of electricity was reduced by 24% using this system as compared to
simple module. Burkhard Donald et al (1978) derived formulas analytically to
calculate concentration ratios and irradiance distribution at the base of linear trough
design. After derivation; concentration ratios were obtained in a range of 1.5 to 4
depending on geometry and coefficient of reflection. Palaskar and Deshmukh (2014)
designed, developed a pair of aluminum reflector attached to sides of simple module
to study its effect on performance of module. The modified module design at 250 tilt
524
and 240 reflector orientations normal to its surface could generate PV power and
efficiency of 161 W and 13.8% respectively.
In this study, performance analysis of spiral flow heat exchanger used in hybrid
system fitted with flat reflectors is compared on the basis of passive and active
modes of water circulation. Spiral flow heat exchanger was designed and fabricated
using copper hollow square tubes. Copper material was used in this study due to its
high thermal conductivity and ease of fabrication. A pair of aluminum reflector was
designed, fabricated, and fitted to the shorter sides of module. Due to this technique;
it was observed that there was considerable increase in solar radiation on module
surface and performance of hybrid system. For both modes of water circulation;
increase in PV, thermal power, PV, thermal and combined efficiency for peak power
point condition are discussed and analyzed in this work.
EXPERIMENTAL
PV MODULE, HEAT EXCHANGER DESIGN, AND ITS FABRICATION
Tata Bp PV module with rated capacity of 180 watts (Vmax of 36.6 V and Imax of
4.99 A) with area of 1.25 m2 was used to conduct experiments on heat exchanger
with reflectors for both modes of water circulation. The combined efficiency of
hybrid water system depends on material and configurations of heat exchanger.
Detailed literature review and its analysis was carried out (Othman et al.,2008) and
simulation results of square stainless steel spiral flow PV absorber surface was
analyzed with experimental work by using copper tubes for passive and active
modes of water circulation. The copper square section tube provides good surface
contact and high thermal conductivity to absorb heat from module. Spiral flow PV
absorber arrangement was used to achieve highest combined efficiency. The
manufacturing and assembly of copper spiral flow PV absorber surface was simple
as compared to other types of flows. The detailed heat exchanger specifications are
given in table 1. The actual installation of spiral flow PV absorber surface at bottom
of module is shown in figure 1.
DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF ALUMINUM FLAT REFLECTORS
The performance of module is strongly influenced by solar radiation falling normal
to its surface. The intensity of solar radiation varies constantly over a day. Its value
is less in morning and afternoon, maximum at noon. Due to this fluctuation of solar
radiation, power produced by module varies at different period of a day. So module
generates power inconsistently as compared to rated power specified by
manufacturer. Different methods can be used to enhance electrical power of module
as explained in introduction part. In this study, simple and cost effective method was
used to increase concentration ratio by fitting flat reflectors to module sides.
525

Aluminum sheet of 0.5 mm thickness, available in market was used for fabrication
of reflectors. The amount of solar radiation reflected from reflectors on module
surface was strongly influenced by its concentration ratio and, reflector angle with
module surface. The concentration ratio and reflector slant height were calculated as
per formulas explained by Burkhard Donald et al (1978). Using this data, a pair of
reflector was fabricated with its size equal to module dimensions and, was fitted to
shorter sides of module as shown in figure 2.
Table 1 Heat exchanger characteristics
Size of square
Copper tube
12x12x
1.25 mm
Pitch
37
mm
Fig.1 Installation of heat

exchanger at bottom of
module
Total length of heat

exchanger
31.5 mts
PV module back side area

occupied by heat exchanger
32 %
Fig.2 Complete assembly of hybrid solar water

system fitted with reflectors
EXPERIMENTAL OBSERVATIONS
The main objective of this study was to compare the performance of spiral flow heat
exchanger fitted with reflectors to hybrid system by using passive and active modes
of water circulation. To determine performances of above setup over a day; daily
experiments were conducted for 7 hours per day between 9.30 AM and 4.30 PM.
Different readings such as global and diffuse radiations, voltage and current at
corresponding loading conditions were recorded at a 30 minutes interval. K-type
thermocouples with data logger were used to scan and record the ambient
temperature and the temperature at the top and bottom of module at an interval of 1
minute. The water temperatures at the inlet and outlet of the hybrid system were
recorded at a 30 minute interval. Experiments on both modes of water circulation
with reflectors were performed at same module slopes of hybrid system. In passive
circulation flow; tests were conducted by maintaining full opening of inlet tap for
peak PV power point. In active circulation flow; experiments were conducted by
526
altering the water flow rate for each day to know performance of hybrid systems for
peak PV power point.

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF PASSIVE WATER COOLED SYSTEM
The hybrid solar system with natural water circulation through its heat absorber
surface resulted in generation of voltage (35.20 Volts) and current (4.81 A) at peak
PV power point. With this type of water circulation through heat exchanger, the
temperature of the module can be reduced by absorbing the heat from the solar
module. As the performance of the PV module depends on its working temperature,
reduction in its temperature improves the overall electrical output of the PV module.
The operating temperature of the module was found reduced by 100C by cooling the
module with natural circulation of water through absorber surface. With this module
produced 169.30W photovoltaic power with 13.30% efficiency. By utilizing waste
heat of module, hybrid solar system generated 553W of thermal power. The
temperature of water at the outlet of heat exchanger was 36.25 0C, which is suitable
for low temperature applications such as domestic use; swimming, etc. The
combined efficiency of 56.60 % was observed for peak PV power point. This
improvement in the total output power and the efficiency of the system is attributed
to the reduction in operating temperature of the model due to absorption of its heat
by absorber surface and additional generation of the thermal energy in the form of
hot water.
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF ACTIVE WATER COOLED SYSTEM
The hybrid solar system was fitted with electric pump for providing forced water
circulation of water through the hybrid system. Advantage of this system is that we
can control the rate of cooling water flow in the absorber surface controlling the rate
of cooling of PV module to some extent. Tests were performed on the hybrid system
by supplying cooling water at different flow rates and the flow rate reducing
maximum temperature of the module was used for taking trails for generation of
power by the hybrid system. For the highest power the system was operated which
generated electric power with 35.45 voltage and 4.86 A current. Because of this,
module produced 172.3W of photovoltaic power with 12.62% efficiency. By
utilizing waste heat of module, hybrid solar system generated 616 W of thermal
power. The system generated power with maximum combined efficiency of 57.74 %
for peak power condition. The temperature of water at the outlet of heat exchanger
measured was 38 0C, which was found lower than the output temperature of the
passive system.
ILLUSTRATION OF PAY BACK PERIOD
The cost analysis for both modes of water circulation fitted with reflectors was
carried out. On the basis of cost analysis; payback period was calculated and was
found 5.5 years for passive mode and 5.4 years for active mode water circulation.
527
CONCLUSIONS
The performance of copper spiral flow heat exchanger used in hybrid system fitted
with reflectors was studied, analysed and compared for passive and active modes of
water circulation. Natural circulation hybrid system could produce combined
efficiency of 56.6 % with PV efficiency of 13.30 %. At the same time; forced
circulation hybrid system might generate combined efficiency of 57.74 % with PV
efficiency of 12.62%.This results showed that copper spiral flow heat exchanger
with reflectors might generate same combined efficiency for both modes of water
circulation. After carrying out cost analysis; it can be shown that payback period of
both modes of water circulation was calculated and found same. The above study
showed that, passive or thermo-syphon hybrid system will be ideal solution for
electrical power generation and hot water production used for low temperature
applications by maintaining sufficient head of cooling water in water tank. This
method can saves electrical power to run pump for circulation of cooling water. By
using this concept; an autonomous hybrid system may be developed for generation
of electricity and hot water use in rural areas.
REFERENCES
Burkhard Donald G, Strobel George L, Burkhard Daryl R (1978). Flat-sided
rectilinear trough as a solar concentrator: an analytical study. APPLIED OPTICS;
Volume 17, issue; pages: 1870-1883.
Kamaruzzaman Sopian, Goh Li Jin, MohdYusof Othman, Saleem H. Zaidi, Mohd
Hafidz Ruslan (2011). Advanced absorber design for photovoltaic thermal (PV/T)
Collectors. Recent Researches in Energy, Environment, and Landscape Architecture;
ISBN: 978-1-61804-052-7.
Kostic Lj, T Pavlovic and Z Pavlovic (2008). Influence of physical characteristics of
flat aluminum concentrators on energy efficiency of PV/T collector. Proceedings of
10th Annual Conference of the Materials Research Society of Serbia: 115, No. 4.
Othman Mohd Yusof, Adnan Ibrahim, Kamaruzzaman Sopian, Azami Zaharim
(2008). Simulation of different configuration of hybrid photovoltaic thermal solar
collector designs. Selected Paper from Simulation and Modelling, Marathon Beach,
Attica, Greece.
Palaskar V N, Deshmukh S P (2014). Design and Performance Analysis of
Reflectors attached to Commercial PV Module. International Journal of Renewable
Energy Research (IJRER) Volume 4, Issue 1, pp: 240-245.
Sangani C S, Solanki C S (2007). Experimental evaluation of V-trough (2 suns) PV
concentrator system using commercial PV modules. Solar Energy Materials & Solar
Cells: 453459.
528

Determination of River Current Energy DensityA Statistical Approach

James Varghese1, Bony John2
1
Assistant Professor
2
Assistant Professor
St. Josephs College of Engineering and Technology
Palai- 686 579, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
The present paper aims at developing Weibull probability density function from
daily time-series river flow data in order to predict the hydrokinetic potential of a
site. Fourteen year daily flow data of Meenchil river basin, India, has been
statistically analyzed. The probability density distributions are derived from timeseries data and distributional parameters are identified. Weibull probability density
functions are fitted to the measured probability distributions. Further statistics
suggest that the Weibull probability density function can be used, with acceptable
accuracy, for prediction of hydrokinetic energy output needed for preliminary
design assessment of river current turbines.
INTRODUCTION
River current turbines, or hydrokinetic turbines, produce power directly from the
water flowing through a river or a stream. This kind of small-scale hydropower
machines are considered environmentally friendly. The available hydrokinetic
power is a function of the density of the water and the speed of the current.
Modelling and prediction of river current characteristics are essential design inputs
in the development of hydrokinetic power systems for different locations. In this
paper, the daily river flow data for river basin Meenachil, India, over a period of 14
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: jamesvar@gmail.com
Determination of River Current Energy Density-A Statistical Approach
years (1998 2011), is modelled in terms of the Weibull distribution function, in

order to predict hydrokinetic power potential of the site.
Since the discharge through the river is significant only during the monsoon period
(June-November), flow data of remaining months are excluded from the statistical
analysis. The probability density distributions are derived from time-series data and
distributional parameters are identified. The performance of river current turbine
generators on a particular site can be determined from the sites river current speed
probability distribution and the corresponding river current turbine power curve.
Consequently, since the River current turbine power curves are known, the
probability distribution of river velocity is the key information needed to estimate
hydrokinetic power potential at a given site for a particular hydrokinetic turbine
model.
Once the current speed distribution is known, the hydrokinetic power potential and
hence, the economic viability can be obtained easily. Mert and Usta (2008) used
probability density functions to describe wind speed frequency distribution. In
general, the Weibull probability density function can be used to estimate a sites
probability distribution of wind speeds. The Weibull distribution technique is widely
accepted and used in the wind energy industry as the preferred method for
describing wind speed variations at a given site; Patel (1999) reports the Weibull
distribution as the best fit for describing wind speed variations at a given site.
RIVER FLOW DATA

In the present study, daily river flow data of Kidangoor (9.6667 N, 76.6000 E)
measured during a period of 14 years (1998-2011), have been statistically analysed.
Daily river flow data of Meenachil river basin recorded from kidangoor observation
site of Central Water Commission was downloaded from the official website of
central water commission, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India.
Average flow velocity was calculated from daily river discharge data by the
application of continuity equation.
WEIBULL DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION

The river current speed distribution predominantly determines the performance of
river current turbines. Once the current speed distribution is known, the water power
potential and hence, the economic viability of hydrokinetic machines could be
obtained. When the daily time-series river flow data become enormous, it is always
desirable to have only a few key parameters, which can represent the characteristics
of a wide range of river speed data. The simplest and most practical method to settle
this issue is by means of a distribution function. The Weibull distribution function,
expressed by Eq. (1), is one of the normally used functions to illustrate the wind
530
speed distributions as stated by Lu and Yang (2002); its success dues a lot to its two
adjustable parameters which can provide great flexibility of fitting the distribution
function to the measured values with different behaviours.
Daily average river flow data is available in the official website of central water
commission, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India (http://www.indiawris.nrsc.gov.in/HydroObservationStationApp.html). Downloaded data is then
arranged in the frequency distribution format since it is more convenient for
statistical analysis. Therefore, the available time-series data were translated into
frequency distribution format as done by Celik(2003). This process is illustrated in
Table 1. The flow velocity is grouped into classes (bins) as given in the second
column of Table 1. The mean current speeds are calculated for each speed class
intervals (the third column of Table 1). The fourth column (gives the frequency of
occurrence of each speed class. The probability density distribution obtained from
measured data is presented in the fifth column. The sixth column represents
probability distribution obtained from the Weibull function. Zhou et al. (2006) used
following equation for the determination of Weibull probability density function
k 1
v k
exp
(1)
c
where fw(v) is the distribution probability of water current speed v, c is the Weibull
scale parameter and k is the dimensionless Weibull shape parameter.
k v
f W (v ) =
c c
Table 1 Arrangement of the measured flow data in frequency distribution

format and the probability density distributions
j
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
vj
vm,j
0-1
1-2
2-3
3-4
4-5
5-6
6-7
7-8
fj
0.5
1.5
2.5
3.5
4.5
5.5
6.5
7.5
f(vj)
1094
1113
287
65
3
1
1
1
fW(vj)
0.42701
0.434426
0.112022
0.025371
0.001171
0.00039
0.00039
0.00039
0.488661
0.432655
0.118916
0.015179
0.00101
0.00034
0.00032
0.0003
DETERMINATION OF WEIBULL PARAMETERS

Seguro and Lambert (2000) describes several methods to calculate the two Weibull
parameters, k and c. One of such methods uses the mean water velocity, (vm) and the
531
standard deviation () of N measured velocity values for obtaining the values of k

and c. The mean water velocity and standard deviation for N datas are given by,
vm =
1N
vi
N i=1
1 N
=
(vi vm )2
N 1 i =1
(2)
1/ 2
(3)
the parameters k and c can be calculated by the following approximations.
k =
vm
1 .086
(1 k
c=
10 )
(4)
vm
(1 + 1 / k )
(5)
Fig.1 Probability density distributions based on measured data and

corresponding Weibull distribution curve
The Gamma function is defined by the following integral equation, William et al.
(1989) solved it by the standard formula.
532
(x ) =
x 1
exp
( )d
(6)
v
Where = and (1 + x ) = x ( x )
c
Evaluation of Gamma and Weibull functions values were conducted in Microsoft
Excel for different classes of data. The average probability density distribution
obtained from the measured flow data and the corresponding Weibull probability
distributions which are given in the fifth and sixth column of Table 1. is presented
in Fig. 1. From the curve we are getting the probability or the fraction of time, a
river current speed shows a particular velocity vj. Weibull probability curve fits
closely to the probability distribution curve obtained from measured data. From
Figure1, it is again obvious that the major fraction of the time the velocity lies in the
range (.5-3 m/s). The shape factor (k) obtained from Eq. (4) is 1.78 and the value of
scale factor obtained from Eq. (5) is 1.39.
AVERAGE WATER POWER DENSITY ANALYSIS

If the power of the river current per unit area is given by
P (v ) =
1
v 3
2
(7)
the mean river current power density(Pm,R) for the measured probability density
distribution given in the fifth column of Table 1 can be calculated from the
following equation, which serves as the reference mean power density,
Pm , R =
1
v mj 3 f (v j )
2
(8)
Fig.2 Water power density obtained from the measured data versus those
obtained from Weibull model
533
Celik(2003) obtained the mean river current power density (PW) based on Weibull
probability density distribution (sixth column of Table 1.) using following equation
PW =
1
v mj 3 f W (v j )
2
(9)
The power densities calculated from the measured probability density distributions
and those obtained from the Weibull model is shown in Fig. 2. Weibull curve
closely matches with the measured probability density distributions. With the help of
Weibull parameters we can predict hydro kinetic power potential of a particular
location, which will be helpful in designing and development of hydrokinetic power
systems.
Fig.3 Error values in calculating the water power density obtained from the
Weibull model in reference to the water power density obtained from the
measured data
The errors in calculating the hydrokinetic power densities using the Weibull model
in comparison with that of measured data can be found out using following formula:
PW Pm , R
Error (%) =
Pm , R
100
(10)
Maximum error calculated is 18% only. But for lower velocities error values in
calculating the power density were found below 5%. Error values in calculating the
water power density is shown in Figure 3.
534
CONCLUSIONS
In the present study, fourteen year daily measured time-series river flow data of
Meenachil river basin, India, has been statistically analyzed. The probability density
distributions have been derived from the time-series data and the distributional
parameters were identified. The hydro kinetic energy potential of Kidangoor site of
Meenachil river, has been studied based on the Weibull function. Weibull shape
factor for Kidangoor site is 1.78 while the Weibull scale factor is 1.39. Once this
Weibull function parameters are determined for a given site, the calculation of the
average yearly power production for hydraulic machines such as a river current
turbine installed at the site is only a matter of integrating the product of this function
and the power curve of the corresponding turbine. The analysis suggests that the
model can be used with acceptable statistical accuracy for prediction of river current
kinetic energy potential for the location.
REFERENCES
Celik, A.N. (2003) A statistical analysis of wind power density based on the
Weibull and Rayleigh models at the southern region of Turkey , Renewable
Energy, 29, 593-604.
Lu, L. and Yang, H.X. (2002), Investigation on wind power potential on Hong
Kong islandsan analysis of wind power and wind turbine characteristics,
Renewable Energy, 27(1), 112.
Mert, Y. and Usta, K.I. (2008), Analysis of Wind Speed Distributions: Wind
Distribution Function Derived from Minimum Cross Entropy Principles as Better
Alternative to Weibull Function, Energy Conversion and Management, 49, 962973.
Patel, M.R. (1999), Wind and Solar Power Systems, CRC Press
Seguro, J.V. and Lambert, T.W.(2000), Modern estimation of the parameters of the
Weibull probability density distribution for wind energy analysis, Journal of Wind
Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 85, 75-84
William, H.P., Brian, P.F., Saul, A.T. and William, T.V. (1989), Numerical
recipes, Cambridge, MA, Cambridge University Press.
Zhou, W., Yang, H., Fang, Z.,(2006), Wind Power Potential and Characteristic
Analysis of the Pearl River Delta Region, China, Renewable Energy, 31,739-751.
http://www.india-wris.nrsc.gov.in/HydroObservationStationApp.html
535
536

Prospect of Renewable Energy in India:

An analysis from Climate Change Perspective
Meenakshi Sharma1, D.Chattopadhyay2
1
Faculty, 2 Research Scholar

Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra (Noida extn)
NOIDA, UP, India
ABSTRACT
Power generation by burning coal contributes to increase in CO2 in atmosphere
which produces net global warming. UNFCCC has set the target for reductions of
GHG that will be a binding on most of the countries including India by the year
2030. In India, at present about 60% of installed capacity come from coal based
power plant and 29% from hydro and renewable together. As per IEA New Policy
Scenario, RE will contribute about 39% of total energy mix together with hydel
power in year 2030 in India to restrict the global temperature increase to
sustainable level. Thus it is necessary to shift from coal based power generation to
Renewable /Hydro power generation in India such that there will be a change in
energy mix from 29% in year 2014 to 39% in year 2030 by RE and hydel together to
reduce global warming to sustainable level.
INTRODUCTION
In various international forums over the years, almost all countries have agreed that
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions need to be reduced to prevent global warming.
Power generation in India is now dominated by coal based power plant. The Energy
Mix in total Installed Capacity in March 2014 shows that about 60% capacity
addition has come from coal based power plant and 29% from hydro and renewable
together. However, Coal will not be the preferred fuel in future for power generation
as burning of coal contributes to increase in CO 2 in atmosphere. The reductions of
GHG would result from the policy of low-carbon energy consumption.
1
Corresponding author. E-mail:dchattopadhyay08@gmail.com
Prospect of Renewable Energy in India
Accordingly we explored the power sector development in future from climate

change perspective. To reduce global warming to a sustainable level, IEA has made
projections under various scenarios (IEA 2010). We analysed the installed capacity
projections in year 2030 under Current Scenario (1000 Scenario, where global
temperature is expected to rise by 60 C), 450 Scenario (where global temperature is
expected to rise by 20 C) and New Policy Scenario (650 Scenario, where global
temperature is expected to rise by 3.50 C) in the long run. We found that RE will
have a capacity of 98000 MW in year 2030 and will contribute about 39% of total
energy mix together with hydel power. So there will be a change in energy mix from
29% in year 2014 to 39% in year 2030 by RE and hydel together.
Thus RE will play a significant role in future capacity addition programme in India
for meeting the environmental norms set by UNFCCC to prevent global warming.
PRESENT INSTALLED CAPACITY OF POWER SECTOR IN INDIA

Power generation in India is now dominated by coal based power plant. However,
Coal will not be the preferred fuel for power generation from environmental
consideration (KPMG 2010). The capacity addition is to be achieved in a technically
efficient and environmentally sustainable manner using different fuels and both
conventional and non-conventional energy sources. The Installed Capacity and the
Energy Mix as on March 2012, March 2013 and March 2014 (CEA 2014) are shown
in Table 1 below:
Table 1. Installed Capacity and Energy Mix in India
March
2012
March
2013
March
Installed Energy Installed Energy Installed
Capacity Mix
Capacity Mix
Capacity
(MW)
(%)
(MW)
(%)
(MW)
Coal
112022
56.1
130221
58.3
145273
Gas / Diesel
19581
9.7
21310
9.5
22982
Nuclear
4780
2.4
4780
2.1
4780
Hydro *
38990
19.5
39491
17.7
40531
Renewable **
24504
12.3
27542
12.3
29463
Total
199877
100.0
223344
100.0
243029
* Here we have taken Hydro (capacity > 25MW) as a separate head.
Energy
Source
2014
Energy
Mix
(%)
59.8
9.4
2.0
16.7
12.1
100.0
** Only small Hydro power upto 25 MW capacity is included in Renewable. This is as per
existing practice of Indian Power Sector.
538
Energy Mix (%)
80
Coal
60
Gas/ Diesel
40
Nuclear
Hydro
20
Renewable
0
2012
2013
2014
Year
Fig.1. Energy Mix in Installed Capacity for last three years

As may be seen from Table 1 and Fig. 1 above, at present about 60% of installed
capacity (56.1% in March 2012, 58.3% in March 2013 and 59.8% in March 2014)
come from coal based power plant and 29% of installed capacity (31.8% in March
2012, 30.0% in March 2013 and 28.8% in March 2014) come from hydro and
renewable together.
HYDRO AND RENEWABLE ENERGY POTENTIAL IN INDIA

Hydro potential in India : The Reassessment studies (1978-87) were undertaken by
CEA to estimate the Hydro Electric potential in India. The basin-wise Hydro
Electric power potential in India (CEA 2008) is given in Table 2 below:
Table 2. Hydro Electric potential (Basin-wise) in India
River Basin
Indus
Ganga
Brahmaputra
Central Indian River system
West Flowing Rivers of Southern India
East Flowing Rivers of Southern India
Total Hydro Potential
Probable Installed Capacity (MW)

33832
20711
66065
4152
9430
14511
148701
Renewable Energy potential in India : Grid-interactive renewable power projects in

India are based on wind power, small hydro, biomass /biogases, and solar power.
The ultimate installed capacity for wind power, small hydro, biomass /biogases as
projected in (MOSPI 2013) and for solar power is given in Table 3 below:
539
Table 3. Renewable Energy potential (source-wise) in India

Energy Source
Ultimate Installed Capacity (MW)
Wind Power
49130
Small Hydro power *
15399
Biomass, Biogases, Waste to power
25245
Solar power **
50000
Total
139774
* small hydro power upto 25 MW capacity
** as per Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), capacity addition
programme of 22000 MW during year 2012-2022 is targeted (MNRE 2014). We
have projected it to an estimated 50000 MW as ultimate capacity, based on
indication available in various literatures, for projection in our estimate. As such, the
estimation is still under process and ultimate capacity is likely to be higher than
50000 MW, depending on technology innovation of solar energy in future.
GLOBAL WARMING BY GHG EMISSION OF POWER SECTOR

In the Current Scenario (1000 Scenario), governments make no changes to their
existing policies of burning fossil fuel for power generation and the rate of growth of
fossil energy consumption would result in a long term concentration of GHG in the
atmosphere in excess of 1000 parts per million of CO 2-equivilant (ppm CO2-eq).
This CO2 concentration would result in the global average temperature rising by 6 0
C. This would lead to massive climatic change resulting in irrepairable damage to
the planet (UNEP 2003).
UNFCCC targets to limit the global temperature rise to prevent the environmental
destruction (UNEP 2006). It has suggested that it is necessary to take collective
policy action by the countries to limit the long-term concentration of all GHG in the
atmosphere to 450 ppm CO2-eq to restrict the global temperature increase to 20 C.
Based on present trend of coal based generation particularly in underdeveloped and
developing countries, it appears that it will not be possible to restrict GHG emission
so that global temperature increases are limited to 2 0 C. IEA has also made
projections under New Policy Scenario where policy action by the countries would
limit the long-term concentration of all GHG in the atmosphere to 650 ppm CO 2-eq
to restrict the global temperature increase to 3.5 0 C.
The installed capacity of power generation in India in year 2030 as projected by IEA
(IEA 2010) under the Current scenario (1000 Scenario), 450 Scenario and New
Policy Scenario (650 Scenario) are given in Table 4 below:
540
Table 4. IEA projection of Installed capacity in year 2030 in various scenarios

Temperature rise
IEA projection
Scenario
Energy Source
Coal
Gas /Oil
Nuclear
Hydro
Biomass & Waste
Wind
Solar
Total Renewables
Total
60 C
1000
Scenario
347000
78000
18000
83000
8000
34000
15000
57000
583000
20 C
3.50 C
450
New Policy (650)
Scenario
Scenario
Installed Capacity (MW)
148000
246000
76000
83000
34000
22000
147000
125000
15000
14000
60000
50000
55000
34000
130000
98000
535000
574000
As in the Current Scenario (1000 Scenario), global average temperature rise by 6 0 C

would result in massive climatic change causing irrepairable damage to the planet
and as in the 450 Scenario, global average temperature rise by 2 0 C appears too
difficult to achieve, we have considered the projections made under New Policy
Scenario that would limit the global temperature increase to around 3.50 C.
IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON POWER SECTOR OF INDIA

Here the source-wise installed capacity has been analysed in Table 5. It is expected
that environmental norms targeted by UNFCCC will be a binding on most of the
countries including India by the year 2030. So the present power generation installed
capacity in year 2014 as per (CEA 2014) has been compared with the projections
made by (IEA 2010) under New Policy Scenario in year 2030.
Table 5. Energy Mix of Installed capacity in year 2014 and year 2030
Energy
Source
Coal
Gas / Diesel
Nuclear
Hydro
Renewable
Total
Present Capacity
Year 2014
Installed Energy
Capacity
Mix
(MW)
(%)
145273
59.8
22982
9.4
4780
2.0
40531
16.7
29463
12.1
243029
100.0
New Policy Scenario

Year 2030
Installed
Energy
Capacity
Mix
(MW)
(%)
246000
42.9
83000
14.4
22000
3.8
125000
21.8
98000
17.1
574000
100.0
Year 2014 to 2030

Capacity Addition
(MW)
100727
60018
17220
84469
68537
330971
541
Analysis of Table 5 shows that RE has present installed capacity of 29463 MW and
contributes about 29% of total energy mix together with hydel power (RE 12.1%,
Hydel 16.7%). If we compare this with the projection in year 2030 to restrict the
global temperature increase to around 3.50 C, we found that RE will have capacity of
98000 MW in year 2030 and will contribute about 39% of total energy mix together
with hydel power (RE 17.1%, Hydel 21.8%). Thus there will be a change in energy
mix from 29% in year 2014 to 39% in year 2030 by RE and hydel together.
The contribution by RE in the Energy Mix may better be realized from the fact that
while RE capacity addition was 29463 MW as against coal capacity addition of
145273 MW in India till year 2014 (i.e. about 20% of coal capacity addition), RE
capacity addition will be 68537 MW as against coal capacity addition of 100727
MW in India during period 2014-2030 (i.e. about 68% of coal capacity addition).
CONCLUSION
At present about 60% of installed capacity come from coal based power plant and
29% from hydro and renewable together. However, coal will not be the preferred
fuel in future for power generation as it produces net global warming. As per IEA
New Policy Scenario, RE will contribute about 39% of total energy mix together
with hydel power in year 2030 in India to restrict the global temperature increase to
around 3.50 C. Thus it is necessary to shift from coal based power generation to
Renewable /Hydro power generation in India such that there will be a change in
energy mix from 29% in year 2014 to 39% in year 2030 by RE and hydel together to
restrict global temperature increase to sustainable level.
REFERENCES
CEA (Central Electricity Authority) India (2008), Hydro Development Plan for
12th Five Year Plan (2012-17), Para 1.2, p.2.
CEA (Central Electricity Authority) India (2014), Executive Summary - Power
Sector : March 2014. Section A, p.4.
IEA (International Energy Agency) (2010), World Energy Outlook 2010,
www.iea.org/pubications.
KPMG (2010), White Paper on Implementation Challenges and Opportunities Power Sector in India. Energy Summit, Nagpur, www.KPMG.de/docs/
powersector_2010.pdf.
542
MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy) (2014), Annual Report 201314, para 4.2, p.43.
MOSPI (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation) India (2013),
Energy Statistics 2013. Chapter 1, 1-6.
UNEP (2003), How will global warming affect my world, A simplified guide to the
IPCCs Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability.
www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar.
UNEP (2006), Publication on Climate Change and Economic Development Our
Planet, Vo. 17 No.2, www.unep.org.
543
544

Hybrid Fibre Reinforced Concrete (HFRC) An

Innovative Construction Material
Shashi Kumara S.R1, Venkatesh Babu D.L. 2
1
Assistant Professor, 2Professor and Head

Department of Civil Engineering, JSS Academy of Technical Education
Bangalore -560 060, Karnataka, India.
ABSTRACT
Concrete is a brittle material that fractures abruptly when the maximum stress
reached. Under normal circumstances, reinforced concrete structures show
excellent performance in terms of durability and structural behaviour except for the
zones that are subjected to severe mechanical or cyclic loading and aggressive
environmental conditions. Use of hybrid fibres in various civil engineering
applications is indisputable. The behavioral efficiency of hybrid fibres is far
superior to that of plain concrete and many other construction materials. Extensive
research work on FRC has established that addition of various types of fibres such
as metallic and non-metallic fibers like, steel, glass, synthetic, and carbon, in plain
concrete improves strength, toughness, ductility, post-cracking resistance, etc. The
addition of metallic fibers helps in converting the brittle characteristics of concrete
to ductile ones. The beneficial effects of non-metallic fibres could be attributed to
their high aspect ratios and increased fibre availability at a given volume fraction.
The hybrid combination of metallic and non-metallic fibres can offer potential
advantages in improving concrete properties. This paper presents a brief state-ofthe-art report on properties of various fibre reinforced concrete systems, containing
steel fibres and polypropylene fibres. A comparative study of concrete with and
without fibres was made based on fresh and hardened properties.
1. INTRODUCTION
Cementitious composites are typically characterized as brittle, with a low tensile
strength and strain capacity. In this regard, the benefits of fiber reinforcement in
improving the fracture toughness, impact resistance, fatigue endurance and energy
absorption capacity of concrete are well known. To improve the performance of
reinforced concrete fiber hybridization is practicing in the recent years. In hybrid
1
Shashi Kumara S.R. E-mail: ramakrishnashashi@gmail.com
Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete (HFRC)
system, two or more different types of fibers are rationally combined to produce a
composite that derives benefits from each of the individual fibers and exhibits a
synergistic response. Broadly one can divided the hybrid composites into two
categories.
Fibres of different sizes or shapes mixed together.
Fibres of about the same dimensions, but with different elastic modulus mixed
together (Ranjith Kumar et al. (2013)).
In the first, fibers different in sizes or shapes are combined. In the second,
combination of large macro-fibers that provide toughness at large crack openings
with fine micro-fibers that reinforce the mortar phase and enhance the response prior
to or just after cracking. Hybrid fibre reinforcing system is used in airport and
highway pavements, earthquake-resistant and explosive-resistant structures, mine
and tunnel linings, bridge deck overlays, hydraulic structures machine foundation
and rock-slope stabilization to improve one or more properties of normal concrete.
In recent years, the research focusing on the application oriented benefit of hybrid
fibre reinforced concrete in different structures. Dong Joo Kim et al. (2011)
conducted experimental work on different types of steel fibres and conclude that in
hybrid system, the improvement of bending strength and toughness are depends on
the types of macro fiber. Muthuswamy and Thirugnanam (2014) inferred that,
reinforced concrete exhibits two fold increase in toughness index due to inclusion of
both steel and glass fibers. Marijan Skazli (2010) conducted a application study of
hybrid fibre-reinforced concrete in the construction of concrete pavement and repair
of bridge deck overlay and found improved behavior both at fresh and hardened
state. Experimental work carried out by Banthia and Nandakumar (2013) shows that,
use of polypropylene fiber as secondary fibre is highly effective in enhancing the
efficiency of deformed steel fibers in concrete.
2. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME
2.1 MATERIALS
Ordinary 53 grade Portland cement with specific gravity of 3.15 was used in this
study. Manufacture sand with a specific gravity of 2.68 conforming to grading zone
II as per I.S 383-1970 was used. Granite stone was used as coarse aggregate with a
specific gravity of 2.68 conforming to single sized aggregate having maximum size
of 20mm with 33 percentage replacement by 10mm as per I.S 383- 1970. Micro
Silica 920-D was added as partial replacement of cement at 7.0% by weight of
cement. BASF Super Glenium Super Sky 8630 superplasticizer used to get the
required workability (0.8% by weight of binder material). The round end hooked
steel fibres of 0.5% by volume of concrete having 0.6 mm diameter, 30mm length
and aspect ratio 50 was used. Recron 3S polypropylene fibres with optimum dosage
of 0.0378% volume of concrete having diameter 0.036mm, cut length 12mm and
546
aspect ratio 334 was used in addition to steel fibres to prepare HFRC. Potable Water
conforming to the requirements of water for concreting and curing as per IS: 4562000 used.
Fig.1 Recron 3S Polypropylene fibres
Fig.2 Round end hooked steel fibres
2.2 CONCRETE MIX PROPORTIONS

The four set of concrete mixes were prepared using water-binder ratio of 0.35.
Conventional concrete (CC)

Concrete reinforced with 0.5% steel fibre (SFRC)
Concrete reinforced with 0.0378% of polypropylene fibre (PFRC) and
Concrete reinforced with hybrid combination of 0.5% of Steel fibres and
0.0378% Polypropylene (HFRC).
Concrete mix proportion is given in Table1. The percentages of fibers and mineral
admixture were decided based on the results of trail mixes with a requirement of
100mm 10mm slump. The amount of super plasticizer was decided by marsh cone
test which was 0.8% by weight of binder to maintain the workability and the
uniformity of the mixes. IS 10262:2009 guidelines were referred in the mix design
of conventional concrete mix (CC).
Table 1. Mix Proportion Details
Materials
OPC
Fine aggregate
(Manufactured Sand)
Coarse aggregate
(20mm Single Size)
CC
395
Quantity (kg/m3)
PFRC
SFRC
395
395
HFRC
395
800
800
800
800
685
685
685
685
547
Coarse aggregate
(10mm Single Size)
Water
Micro Silica
Superplasticizer
Steel fibre
Polypropylene fibre
340
340
340
340
150
30
3.4
-
150
30
3.4
0.9
150
30
3.4
1.20
-
150
30
3.4
1.20
0.9
2.3 TEST ON FRESH AND HARDENED CONCRETE

The workability of different set of concrete was checked for targeted slump flow of
100 mm10mm. Following mechanical properties were determined for the 4 types
of concrete mixes at the ages of 7 and 28 days of curing. Specimen of different sizes
were casted and tested to determine the compressive strength (cube of size
150x150x150mm),split tensile strength(cylinder of size 150mm diameter and
300mm height), flexural strength (prism of size100x100x500mm).
3. RESULT ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS

The comparison of mechanical properties of concrete specimens given in Table 2 is
discussed below:
Table 2. Comparison of Mechanical Properties
548
Comparison of Mechanical Properites at 7

days
Comparison of Mechanical Properites at

28 days
60.0
70.0
50.0
Strength in N/mm 2
40.0
PFRC
SFRC
30.0
HFRC
20.0
10.0
Strength in N/mm 2
60.0
CC
CC
50.0
PFRC
40.0
SFRC
30.0
HFRC
20.0
10.0
0.0
0.0
Compressive
Strength (N/mm)
Split Tensile
Strength (N/mm)
Flexural Strength
(N/mm)
Compressive
Strength (N/mm)
Split Tensile
Strength (N/mm)
Flexural Strength
(N/mm)
Fig.3 Graphical comparison of mechanical properties at 7 and 28 days of curing

3.1 CUBE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
From Table 2 and Fig.3 compressive strength of concrete mixture increases by
2.45% & 1.66% for PFRC, 3.50% & 3.76% for SFRC and 6.81% & 5.89% for
HFRC at 7 & 28 days of curing respectively. Effective bridging of micro cracks by
hybrid fibres is the reason for this increase.
3.2 SPLIT TENSILE STRENGTH
It is evident that at 7 and 28days, the split tensile strength of concrete mixture
increases by 18.79% & 34.72% for PFRC, 31.82% & 45.28% for SFRC and 45.45%
& 54.44% for HFRC respectively. Noticeable increase is mainly due to delayed
splitting of cement paste matrix.
3.3 FLEXURAL STRENGTH
At 7 and 28 days, the flexural strength of concrete mixture increases by 13.39% &
20.72% for PFRC, 25.89% & 33.02% for SFRC and 34.64% & 40.34% for HFRC
respectively. Increase is due to synergetic effect of fibres in cracking control,
improved toughness and enhanced ductile behaviour.
4. CONCLUSIONS
Following conclusions drawn from the present experimental investigations:
There was marginal enhancement of 5.89% at 28 days in compressive strength

due fibre hybridization.
Observations inferred that substantial increase in spilt tensile strength from 3.60
to 5.56 N/mm2 due to addition of fibres.
549
The main advantage of hybridization is reflected in flexural strength increase up

to 40.34%.
Reduced cracks were observed due addition of hybrid fibres, even at failure of
specimen.
Further studies can be carried with respect to ductile factor, toughness index and
durability aspect of hybrid fibre reinforced concrete as per BIS/ASTM standards.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Authors gratefully acknowledge the Management and Principal for their constant
support to carry out this experimental work at Centre for Research, Department of
Civil Engineering, JSS Academy of Technical Education, Bangalore, Karnataka.
REFERENCES
Mr.Ranjith Kumar.R, Ms.Vennila.A, Mr.Southamirajan.S (2013), Experimental
Investigation on Hybrid Fibre Reinforced Concrete, International Journal of
Emerging Trends in Engineering and Development, Issue 3, Vol.2 , 39-45.
Dong Joo Kim, Seung Hun Parka, Gum Sung Ryu, Kyung Taek Koh (2011),
Comparative flexural behavior of Hybrid Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced
Concrete with different macro fibers, Construction and Building Materials, 25,
41444155.
K.R. Muthuswamy and G.S. Thirugnanam (2014), Experimental Investigation on
Behaviour of Hybrid Fibre Reinforced Concrete Column under Axial Loading,
Asian Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 15, No. 2, 169-178.
Marijan Skazli(2010), Development and Application of Hybrid Fibre Reinforced
Concrete, Second International Conference on Sustainable construction materials
and Technologies, 28-30 June, 2010, Uniersita Politecnica della marche, Ancona,
Italy, ISBN 978-1-4507-1490-7.
N. Banthia and N. Nandakumar (2013), Crack growth resistance of hybrid fiber
reinforced cement composites, Cement & Concrete Composites, 25, 39.
R. Yu , P. Spiesz, H.J.H. Brouwers (2014), Static properties and impact resistance
of a green Ultra-High Performance Hybrid Fibre Reinforced Concrete (UHPHFRC):
Experiments and modelling, Construction and Building Materials, 68, 158171.
Rajarajeshwari B Vibhuti, Radhakrishna, Aravind N (2013), Mechanical Properties
of Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete for Pavements, International Journal of
Research in Engineering and Technology, eISSN: 2319-1163, pISSN: 2321-7308,
244-247.
550

Utilization of Indian Red Mud and Fly Ash with

Combustible Additives to prepare Foam Bricks
K. K. Singh1, Vinay K. Singh2, T. R. Mankhand3 and A. K. Mandal4
1
Associate Professor, 2Student ,3Professor, 4Foreman

Department of Metallurgical Engineering, IIT(BHU)
Varanasi- 221005, Uttar Pradesh, India.
ABSTRACT
The disposal of red mud generated from alumina plants and fly ash from thermal
power plants are one of the major environmental issues in India. Both of these
wastes can be utilized to produce foam bricks by adding small quantities of
combustible materials such as rice husk, saw dust, polystyrene etc. Foam bricks are
light weight and have better insulation properties than those bricks with lower
porosity. The combustible additive materials dissipate during firing and leaves
behind cavities in the bricks. They can be used as light weight building materials
also, as they are more susceptible against earthquake forces. It has been observed
that 60 per cent fly ash and 40 per cent of red mud by weight produce good
compressive strength in the fired bricks. The addition of saw dust gives good
porosity and lower bulk density as desired. However, there is a loss in compressive
strength of the bricks produced due to the creation of voids in the bricks. The
present paper examines the properties of bricks produced with varying ratio of fly
ash and red mud with the additives to create porosity. At optimum ratio, it studies
the effect of saw dust quantity and firing temperature on porosity, bulk density and
compressive strength of the prepared bricks.
INTRODUCTION
Red mud, fly ash and bottom ash are the waste products of aluminum extraction
industries and coal based power plants. It is always a challenge to dispose these
waste products in better ways.
With these wastes, production of light weight bricks is possible by using
combustible additives in appropriate amounts and in appropriate particle sizes with
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: kksingh.met@iitbhu.ac.in
Utilization of red mud and fly ash
higher thermal insulation properties (Junge, 2000). Conventionally pores are created
with combustion of low ash materials such as saw dust, rice husk etc. However, the
ash residues left inside deteriorate the properties of insulation bricks.
The Light weight foam bricks (LWFB) for building and construction applications,
produced by firing at a temperature (1000-12000C) of with a composition
containing red mud, fly ash and foaming agents (Najar, 2003). Cultrone et. al (2005)
examined that Construction bricks can be prepared by firing it in a furnace at a
temperature ranging from 90012000C . The hardness of brick is attributed to the
ceramic bond from the fusion phase of the silica and alumina clay constituents
(Demir et. al, 2008). One way to increase the insulation capacity of bricks is to
generate porosity in the clay body. Combustible pore-forming additives of organic
origin are most frequently used for this purpose.(Abdul et.al 2010). The present
paper try to optimize the ratio of these wastes to produce good quality insulation
bricks.
MATERIALS
Red mud and fly ash samples were taken from Hindalco Industries, Renukoot, where
as saw dust was local. The following tables show main constituents of materials.
Constituent
Wt %
Table 1: Constituents present in red mud

Al2O3 SiO2 Fe2O3 TiO2 Na2O P2O5 CaO SO3 ZrO2 V2O5 Cr2O3
44.74 24.1 14.14 5.9 5.48 1.86 1.16 0.60 0.38 0.26 0.04
Table 2: Constituents present in fly ash

Constituent SiO2 Al2O3 P2O5 Fe2O3 S
TiO2 Na2O ZrO2 K2O CaO
Wt %
69.35 26.32 1.13 1.16 0.364 0.329 0.137 0.083 0.063 0.071
Table 3: Constituents present in saw dust
Constituent SiO2 Al2O3 P2O5 Fe2O3 TiO2 SO3
ZrO2 CaO Y2O3
Wt %
78.32 20.45 0.329 0.28
0.218 0.095 0.058 0.029 0.218
METHODS
The red mud and fly ash were dry mixed in varying quantity along with saw dust
followed by addition of water. The moulds were prepared and dried for 48 hours in
air followed by oven at 110-1200C for 24 hours. The hardening was carried out at
1000-12000C .
552

Effect of Saw dust on Compressive Strength:
The compressive strength of insulation bricks are one of the most important
properties. The fig 1 shows that when red mud percentage increases the strength of
the brick sample increases and reaches maximum for the composition is 60F40R.
Fly ash has less clay content and is coarser than Red Mud and not acts as a binder.
Fig.1: Effect of composition on compressive strength (0% Saw dust)

Red mud is very fine and having more clay content so it is a good binder . Beyond
the 40% of red mud strength of the sample decreases due to more fine particles
Fig.2: Effect of Saw dust on Compressive Strength :( 60F40R)

By increase of the percentage of saw dust strength of the brick sample decreases
because saw dust is not a binding agent. Figure 2 shows that the effect of saw dust
on compressive strength. It is also clear that the higher firing temperature increases
compressive strength. At higher firing temperature molten phases form.
553
Effect of Saw dust on Bulk density:

Fig 3 shows that the effect of saw dust on bulk density. Increase in saw dust
percentage decreases the bulk density due to pores formed in the brick samples. It
can also be seen that when firing temperature increases bulk density of the brick
sample increases.
Fig.3: Effect of Saw dust on Bulk density (60F40R)

Effect of composition on porosity:
Red mud is more finer than fly ash. Hence, by increase in the share of red mud the
compactness increases and porosity decreases as shown in fig 4.
Fig.4: Effect of Composition on Porosity (0% Saw dust)

By addition of saw dust, porosity is increased (fig 5) by forming voids after firing
due to conversion of voids in to closed cells at higher temperature.
554
Fig.5: Effect of Saw dust on Porosity (60F40R)

Effect of Saw dust on different properties:
Fig 6 shows that the combined effect of saw dust on different properties. It is clear
from the graph that increase in saw dust percentage, strength and bulk density of the
brick sample decreases. However, the porosity of the brick increases.
Fig.6: Effect of saw dust on different properties

555
CONCLUSIONS
From the results of the investigation on the preparation of fly ash/red mud
insulation bricks with addition of saw dust, the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. Fly ash/red mud bricks with addition of saw dust can be made for
utilization of industrial wastes such as fly ash/red mud.
2. Increasing firing temperature, strength increases and porosity decreases in
bricks produced.
3. Increasing saw dust strength of bricks decreases but porosity increases.
4. 60% FA and 40% RM composition is optimum for good compressive
strength
5. Fly ash/red mud bricks with addition saw dust, pore forms at high
temperature (>9500C).
6. The main problem of using saw dust is remaining ash residue left inside the
material.
REFERENCES
Abdul Kadir A, Mohajerani A, Roddick F, Buckeridge J, (2010), Density, strength, thermal
conductivity and leachate characteristics of light-weight fired clay bricks incorporating
cigarette butts. Int. J Civ. Environ. Eng. , (2) 179-84
Cultrone G, Sebastian E, de la Torre M J, (2005), Mineralogical and physical behavior of
solid bricks with additives, Construct Build Mater (19), 39-48
Demir I, (2008), Effect of organic residues addition on the technological properties of clay
bricks, Waste Manag,. 28, 622-7
Junge K., (2000), Additives in the brick and tile industry, Zi- Annual, Bauverlag
GMBH, Wiesbaden and Berlin, 25-3.
Najar, P.A Mohamed, Manoj T. Nimje, S.U.Bagde, V.S.Pathak, S.S.Prajapati,
B.K.Satpathy and J. Mukhopadhyay (2003) Development of Light Wight Foamed Bricks
from Red Mud 25-57
***
556

Experimental Investigation on Partial Replacement of

Fine Aggregate with Cinder in Concrete
P.S. Raghuprasad
Associate Professor, Dept. of Construction Technology and Management,
Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, Mysore-570 006, Karnataka State,
INDIA. Email. :psrsjce@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Due to industrialization and urbanization, Environmental pollution, Scarcity of
natural resources and disposal problems of industrial by products leads to search
for alternatives for partial replacement of ingredient materials of cement or
concrete. The paper present laboratory investigation carried out on concrete with
partial replacement of fine aggregate with cinder for M20 grade of concrete mix
with w/c of 0.50 in accordance with BIS specification. From the result of the present
investigation it is evident that the performance of concrete with 30% partial
replacement of cinder for fine aggregate is better than that observed for
conventional concrete.
Key Words: Concrete, Cinder, Environmental pollution.
INTRODUCTION
The advancement in the new construction materials has lead to develop high
strength materials, which are generally selected to reduce the weight of construction
(V. Bhasker Desai and A. Sathyam 2014). Concrete is the most versatile and robust
construction material available. The versatility and flexibility of concrete, its high
compressive strength and the discovery of the reinforcing and pre-stressing
techniques which help to make up for its load tensile strength have contributed
largely to its widespread used. We can rightly say we are in age of concrete.
1
P. S. Raghuprasad E-mail:psr@gmail.com
Construction activities have increased substantially in the past decade in almost all
countries. Fine aggregate is one of the most important ingredients in making
concrete. One has to depend heavily on natural resources, but there is always a
limit. Therefore one has to search for alternative means and ways for best usage of
natural resources. Many industries generating wastes; one among them is the unburnt coal which commonly called as Cinder which can be used as a partial
replacement for fine aggregate in making an efficient concrete thus natural resources
can be conserved and also the disposal problem can be solved to certain extent.
OBJECTIVE:
The objective of the present work is to study the workability and strength of
concrete made with 10%, 20% and 30% cinder as a partial replacement for fine
aggregate for M20 grade of concrete mix. An attempt has been made to compare the
results with that of the conventional concrete.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE:
Rathish Kumar P and Krishna Rao M.V. (2012) reported that the workability,
increased strength and durability of concrete can be improved with decrease in size
of the cinder aggregate.
N. Shivalinga rao (2011) reported that the Usage of light weight (cinder) industrial
waste aggregate to some extent (60%) along with natural granite aggregate (40%)
and industrial waste admixtures such as silica fume has proved to be quite
satisfactory with respect to various strengths.
M C Natraj and Lelin Das (2011) reported that the burnt coal cinder taken as coarse
aggregates can be used in place of conventional aggregates provided they are
proportioned in the systematic way, through not for structural concrete
economically.
EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM:
Materials used and their properties:
Cement:
Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) factory blended is used throughout the
investigation.
558
Table-1: Results of Test on Cement

Sl No.
Particular
Normal Consistency, %
31.5
Specific gravity
2.902
Setting Time (mins.)

(a) Initial
(b) Final
75
195
Test Results
Table-2: Compressive Strength of Cement

Particulars
Compressive Strength of Cement in
MPa
No. of days
3days
7days
28days
24.6
34.24
53.23
Test Results
Serial
No.
1
2
Aggregates:
Locally available river sand and crushed & quarried granite stone of maximum size
of 20mm were used as fine and coarse aggregate respectively throughout the
investigation for all concrete mixes.
Serial
No.
1
2
3
4
Table-3: Properties of Aggregates

Fine
Coarse
Particulars
Aggregate
Aggregate
Specific
2.58
2.74
Gravity
Fineness
2.91
7.19
Modulus
20 mm &
Grading Zone
Zone II
Down size
Water
1.006%
1.15%
Absorption
Test on Cinder:
Specific gravity: 3.13
Water absorption: 1.7%
TSETS ON HARDENED CONCRETE
Mix proportion: 0.5:1:1.499:2.912
559
On hardened concrete compression, split tensile and flexural tests were conducted in
accordance with BIS specification and the results are tabulated in Tables- 4,5& 6.
Table-4: Compressive Strength of Concrete

Cinder Replacement, %
00
10
20
30
Average Compressive Strength, Mpa

3 days
7 days
28 days
20.09
24.56
25.12
23.98
24.92
26.30
27.03
25.87
30.95
34.18
38.52
37.03
Table-5: Split Tensile Strength of Concrete

00
10
20
30
Average Split Tensile Strength, Mpa

3 days
7 days
28 days
1.53
1.57
1.86
1.84
2.14
2.31
2.59
2.36
3.29
3.34
3.89
3.56
Table-6: Flexural Strength of Concrete

00
10
20
30
560
Average Flexural Strength, Mpa

3 days
7 days
28 days
3.23
3.74
3.96
3.89
4.64
4.99
5.01
4.95
5.89
6.11
6.38
6.02
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS:
From the test results it has been observed that the maximum strength in all the three
cases recorded at 20% replacement of cinder with fine aggregate.
The surface of the cinder is usually rough and highly porous due to mineral
structure. No physical testing is usually performed to quantify the angularity of the
material, however it is visually classified as having 100% crushed face. The water
absorption for cinder is found to be 1.7%. This significant difference may be the
main reason of reduction in strength at higher percentage of replacement.
CONCLUSION:
From the above studies it is observed that the concrete with incorporation of cinder
as partial replacement by 20% recorded higher strength than that observed for
conventional concrete.Hence it can be concluded that cinder, being a waste product
can be utilized effectively and efficiently in the concrete as partial replacement for
fine aggregates and also ensuring the safe disposal of waste products there by
maintaining the ecological balances, limiting usage of valuable natural resources
without compromising with the performance characteristics.
REFERENCES
V. Bhasker Desai and A. Sathyam Some Studies on Strength Properties of Light
Weight Cinder Aggregate Concrete, International Journal of Scientific and
Research Publications, Vol.4, Issue 2, Feb. 2014. pp.1-12.
Rathish Kumar P and Krishna Rao M.V. A Study on the Effect of Size of
Aggregate on the Strength and Sportivity of Cinder Based Light Weight
Concrete. Research Journal of Engineering Sciences. ISSN: 2278 9472,
Volume 1(6), Dec. 2012, pp. 27-35.
N. Siva Linga Rao Properties of Light Weight Aggregate Concrete with Cinder
and Silica fume Admixture International Journal of Earth Sciences and
Engineering. ISSN: 0974-5904, Volume 04, No 06 SPL, Oct. 2011, pp 907-912.
M C Natraj and Lelin das Feasibility study for the production of non structrural light weight
concrete using characterised cinder and GGBS. Indian journal of Engineering and
materials Sciences, volume 18, Oct. 2011, pp.361-369.
561
562

Strength Behaviour of Blended Cement And OPC

Composites in Marine Enviornment
1
Satish R.,
P.S. Raghuprasad, 3 Ravikiran R., 4Abhishek N.
Associate Professor, 3,4PG students, Dept. of Civil Engg.

Associate Professor, Dept. of Construction Technology and Management,
Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, Mysore-570 006, Karnataka
State, INDIA.
2
ABSTRACT
Concrete is a versatile material which can be used in applications required to
perform in aggressive environments. Of these marine environment is considered to
be the most severe and destructive natural environment. The paper presents
laboratory investigations relating to concrete produced from three different types of
cements namely fly ash and slag based blended cement i.e., PPC & PSC and 53
grade OPC for both normal and artificial sea water conditions. An attempt has been
made to compare the strength behavior of three types of concrete made from above
cements for M30 grade of concrete mix with W/C of 0.45. On fresh concrete
workability tests such as Slump, Compaction factor and V-bee tests were conducted
and on hardened concrete Compression, Split tensile and Flexural tests were
conducted in accordance with BIS specifications. From the results of the
investigation it can be concluded that the performance of Blended Cement Concrete
is better when compared to OPC concrete.
Keywords: Blended cement composites, Marine environment,
Artificial sea water.
INTRODUCTION
In this investigation, an attempt has been made to confirm that Blended Cement
Composites can improve the strength behavior of in marine environment.. Many
researchers have carried out their study in concrete exposed to marine environment. ,
dU Preez A. A. and M., G., Alexander (2004) investigated the effectiveness of site
Satish R. E-mail: satishrsjce@rediffmail.com
Strength Behaviour of Blended Cement
curing methods in coastal environment. Miguel Ferreria et al. (2004) studied the
influence of blast-furnace slag cement for concrete durability in marine
environment. Akinkurolere, O.O., (2007) investigated the effect of sea water as
mixing or curing water on concrete compressive strength. Raghuprasad, P.S., (2007)
made studies on blended cement composites with different grade OPC composites.
The study indicated that there is an improvement in strength properties of Blended
Cement Concrete.
MATERIALS
CEMENT: 53 grade OPC, Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) and Portland Slag
Cement (PSC) both factory blended were used throughout the investigation. The
various physical properties and the compressive strength of the cement are
determined as per BIS specification and the results are reported in Table 1.
Table 1 Physical Properties and Compressive Strength of Cement
Properties
53 Grade OPC
PPC
PSC
3.15
2.98
3.04
Standard Consistency, %
31
30
29
Initial Setting Time, mins.
39
41
70
Final Setting Time, mins.
202
240
230
Specific Gravity
Compressive strength, MPa

3 days
38.00
33.00
27.20
7 days
50.50
39.50
42.90
28 days
65.00
55.00
52.50
AGGRAGATES: Locally available river sand of specific gravity 2.65 and fineness
modulus 3.59 conforming to Zone II and crushed & quarried granite stone of
specific gravity 2.68 and fineness modulus 7.90 for 20mm size and 2.65 and 6.30
respectively for 12.5mm size aggregate were used as fine and coarse aggregate
respectively throughout the investigation for all concrete mixes. Sieve analysis is
also done to determine the fineness modulus in accordance of BIS specification.
564
MIX PROPORTIONS:
OPC Concrete
1:1.55:2.67
PPC Concrete
1:1.52:2.62
PSC Concrete
1:1.54:2.64
EXPOSURE CONDITION
The specimens were cast and cured using normal water for 28 days. Then the
specimens were immersed in artificial sea water prepared according to ASTM: D
1441 1998 (Reapproved 2003) for the required period. However, some specimens
were immersed in normal water for comparison. But the age of concrete is 56 days
for both the cases.
TESTS ON FRESH CONCRETE
In the present investigation workability related tests such as slump, compaction
factor and V-B tests were conducted in accordance with BIS specification and the
results are presented in Table2.
Table 2 Results of Workability Tests
Type of
Concrete
53 Grade OPC
PPC
PSC
Slump (mm)
78
83
88
Compaction
factor
0.900
0.942
0.986
Vee-Bee degrees,
S
13
11
10
TESTS ON HARDENED CONCRETE

On hardened concrete compression, split tensile and flexural tests were conducted in
accordance with BIS specification and the results are shown in Fig. 1 to 6.
565
Fig. 1 Average Compressive Strength

of concrete after immersion in normal
water
Fig. 3 Average Split Tensile Strength

of concrete after immersion in normal
water.
566
Fig. 2 Average Compressive

Strength of concrete after
immersion in artificial sea water
Fig. 4 Average Split Tensile

Strength of concrete after
immersion in artificial sea water.
Fig. 5 Average Flexural Strength of

Concrete after immersion in normal
water.
Fig. 6 Average Flexural Strength

of concrete after immersion in
artificial sea water

SETTING TIME OF MEMENT
The setting time of blended cement (PSC and PPC) both initial and final gets
delayed. This is due to slow pozzalonic reaction.
WORKABILITY OF CONCRETE
All the three types of concretes are easily workable. However, PSC and PPC
composites are more cohesive and better for placing and compacting. For a given
slump, concrete with blended cement composites are easier to place, compact and
surface finish than OPC concrete. Workability is maintained relatively for a longer
period.
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
At 28 days the compressive strength of OPC concrete is higher than PPC and PSC
composites in normal water. The strength of PPC and PSC composites are higher
than 53 Grade OPC concrete at later age.
At 45 and 90 days, it is observed that the performance of PSC concrete is better
followed by PPC and OPC concrete in both normal and artificial sea water. The
increase in the strength of blended cement concrete may be attributable to secondary
hydration reaction indicating the long term gain in strength.
567
SPLIT TENSILE STRENGTH

From the test results it has been observed that there is increase in Split Tensile
Strength of blended cement concrete after 28 days in both normal water and artificial
sea water. The Split Tensile Strength is better in case of PPC and PSC composites
compared to OPC concrete in both normal water and artificial sea water.
At 45 & 90 days, it is evident that the performance of PSC concrete is better
followed by PPC and OPC concrete in both normal and artificial sea water. The
strength variation in blended concrete in normal water and artificial sea water is
marginal.
FLEXURAL STRENGTH
It is evident that the flexural strength of blended cement concrete are marginally
lower than that of 53 grade OPC concrete at initial ages in both normal water and
artificial sea water. However, at later ages the strength of blended cement concrete is
higher than that observed for 53 grade OPC concrete in both normal and artificial
sea water.
It has been observed that flexural strength of PSC concrete is more compared to PPC
and OPC concrete in both conditions.
CONCLUSIONS
1. The setting time of blended cement (PSC and PPC) both initial and final gets
delayed. This may be attributed to the slow pozzolanic reaction. This
delayed setting time can be of benefit during mass concreting especially in hot
weather concreting.
2. All the three mixes were easily workable. However the workability performance
of blended cement concrete is better than OPC concrete. For a given slump,
concrete with blended cement/ SCMs are easier to place, compact and surface
finish than OPC concrete. Workability is maintained relatively longer period.
3. The initial rate of gain of strength of blended cement concrete is lower than
that o f co ntro lled co ncrete in b oth the co nd itions which is mainly
due to the slow pozzolanic reaction. However at later ages the strength of
blended cement concrete is higher than that of OPC concrete.
568
REFERENCES
Akinkurolere, O.O., Cangru Jiang and Shobola, O. M., The influence of Salt Water
on the Compressive Strength of Concrete, Journal of Engineering and Applied
Sciences 2 (2):412-415, 2007, Medwell Journals, 2007, pp. 412- 415.
ASTM: D 1441 1998 (Reapproved 2003), Standard Practice for the
Preparation of Substitute Ocean Water, An American national standard.
dU Preez A. A. and M., G., Alexander, A site study of durability indexes for
concrete in marine conditions, Materials and Structures, Vol. 37, pp. 146154, April 2004.
Miguel Ferreria, Guofei Liu and Odd, E., Gjrv, Blast-Furnace Slag cements for
concrete durability in marine environment, Concrete under Severe Conditions:
Environment and Loading, CONSEC 2004, Seoul, Korea, pp. 109-116, 2004.
Raghuprasad, P.S., Study of Blended Cement Composites with different grade OPC
composites, PhD. Thesis, Kuvempu University, 2007.
569
570

Analysis of Strength Behaviour of Lime Treated

Red Earth and Mine Tailings Mixtures Using XRay Diffraction and SEM Techniques
Ramesh H N1, Krishnaiah A J2
1
Professor, UVCE, Bangalore University, Bangalore-5 60 056, Karnataka, India.

Associate Professor, Malnad College of Engg., Hassan-573201, Karnataka, India.
ABSTRACT
The present study investigates the feasibility of using mine waste in presence of lime
to alter and improve the engineering properties of red earth (RE). Mine tailings(MT)
is an industrial waste by-product which is generated from mining. X-ray diffraction
and scanning electron microscopy analysis were used for studying the strength
behaviour of red earth treated with mine tailings and lime. Unconfined compressive
strength tests were conducted and the results were analyzed using XRD and SEM
techniques. The addition of mine tailings and lime to red earth improved the
strength with curing period. The XRD and SEM analysis confirmed that the cured
samples showed significant changes in the formation of new peaks and micro
structure compared to untreated samples.
Keywords: Mine waste, Lime, Unconfined compressive strength, Curing,
Stabilization.
INTRODUCTION
In this investigation, an attempt has been made to bring out and confirm that the
lime treatment can improve the engineering behavior of Kaolinitic clayey soils.
Formation of cementitious compounds such as CAH and CSH due to the soil-lime
reactions were observed in all lime treated soils which were further confirmed by
using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) technique. Many researchers have carried out their
study in changes of micro structural and mineralogical characteristics of stabilized
soils. The structure of soils stabilized with cementation compounds was identified
using SEM by Croft (1967). Kawamura and Diamond (1975) investigated the
pozzolanic compounds formed in the compacted clay-lime mixtures. Rajasekaran et
al. (1995) studied the influence of sodium hydroxide on the fabric of lime treated
A J Krishnaiah. E-mail:, ajkmce@gmail.com
Analysis of Strength Behaviour of Lime Treated Red Earth and.
marine clays using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique and it was found
that lime stabilization is very effective for marine clays. The study indicated that
there is an overall improvement in strength, formation of new peaks and micro
structural change in the treated soil with curing period. Mine tailings can be
effectively utilized for civil engineering constructions to reduce the disposal
problems and minimize the environmental hazards (Pebble project 2005).
MATERIALS
Red Earth: The soil is a typically non-expansive clayey soil containing Kaolinite as
its chief mineral constituent and was collected at a depth of 1.5 meters below the
natural ground surface at the Bangalore University, Jnanabharathi campus,
Bangalore, India. To ensure the uniformity of the soil sample it was oven dried,
pulverized and sieved through 425 micron BIS sieve before used in the present
investigation.
Mine tailings: Mine tailings was collected from an open dump from Kolar Gold
Fields (KGF), Kolar, and Karnataka, India. After removing the vegetations from the
mine tailings, it was air dried, pulverized and passing through 425 micron BIS sieve
was used in the present investigation.
Lime: Lime [Ca (OH) 2] used in the present investigation was obtained from Fisher
Scientific Chemicals private limited, Mumbai, India.
The physical properties of Red Earth and Mine tailings are presented in
Table.1
Table 1.Physical properties of Red Earth
Properties
Colour
Specific Gravity
Liquid limit (%)
Plastic limit (%)
Plasticity Index (%)
Shrinkage limit (%)
Fine sand fraction (%)
11.0
17.0
Silt fraction (%)
42.0
70.4
Clay fraction (%)
47.0
12.6
MDD (kN/m )
16.3
15.7
OMC (%)
20.26
21.54
572
Values
RE
MT
Brick red
Pale gray
2.59
2.78
39.3
44.0
26.1
Non plastic
13.2
Non plastic
15.4
24.6
METHODS
The compaction tests were conducted using mini compaction test apparatus as per
the procedures of Sridharan and Sivapullaiah (2005). Unconfined compressive
strength tests were carried out as per BIS: 2720 (part X) [1973]. All samples were
prepared at their respective maximum dry density and optimum moisture content.
The prepared samples were transformed in airtight plastic bags and kept in to the
desiccators to maintain 100% humidity for prolonged curing periods. XRD and SEM
analysis were carried out on radiation generated at 20 kV and 40 mA using Rigaku
Miniflex 600 XRD (X-ray diffraction) analyzer and the ZEISS EVO (R) MA and LS
Series Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) operated at 20KV were used. A
representative samples were oven dried at (105 5C) and hand crushed to passed
through 5 mm sieve for XRD and samples of (10 mm * 10mm) for SEM analysis.
To identify the mineral types, qualitative assessment was made by comparing the
diffraction pattern of each sample with standard patterns prepared by the Joint
Committee of Powder Diffraction Data Service (JCPDS, 1999).
RESULTS ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS

The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning microscope (SEM) tests were conducted
to study the mineralogy and morphology of the stabilized soil. In the present
investigation the changes in mineralogical and micro structure of red earth treated
with mine tailings and lime are discussed and presented.
Compaction and unconfined compressive strength
The compaction and unconfined compressive strength tests were carried out on red
earth and mine tailings mixtures treated with lime. Addition of various percentages
of mine tailings to red earth, and 10% of mine tailings for red earth was found to be
optimum percentage. Similarly addition of various percentage of lime to red earth
and mine tailings mixture and 3% lime content was found to be optimum percentage
(Ramesh et al 2012). The unconfined compressive strength tests were carried out for
optimum mixes the strength increases with increase in curing period as shown in
table 2.
X-Ray Diffraction and Scanning Electronic Microscopy Studies
The effect of addition of additives on red earth and mine tailings mixture treated
with lime have been studied by XRD and SEM analysis as shown in Figs. 1 to 5.
Red earth treated with mine tailings and lime will improve the strength with curing
as indicated in table 2. The results showed that the red earth treated with optimum
573
mine tailings with and without curing as shown in XRD pattern and SEM images
with EDS micrographs. Red earth predominantly composed of Quartz with kaolin,
which is containing kaolinite as the major clay mineral which is having pronounced
peaks at 7.17, 3.84, 3.57, 2.33 and 2.29, In addition to Kaolinite, other minerals
like Quartz peaks at 4.25, 2.12, 1.81, 1.54 and 1.37) and Illite 10.0, 3.34, 2.99,
illustrates a micrograph of red earth stabilized with 10% mine tailings. The X-ray
diffraction analysis of the samples showed that calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) and
calcium aluminium silicate hydroxide (CASH) cement hydration compounds have
formed in the samples due to formation of new peaks (Willougghd et al 1968). The
CSH and CASH cement hydration compounds formed due to pozzolanic reaction
may be CaO content in presence of silica present in both red earth and mine tailings.
To assess the strength of the samples under immediate as well as with curing effect
the strength increases. The Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) with
EDS micrographs show the elements (Ca, S and Al) which also contribute for
gaining strength of the soil for long term curing period due to formation of hydration
and pozzolanic reaction.
Table 2 UCS of RE and MT mixture treated with optimum Lime
Mixtures
RE Alone
RE + 10 % MT
RE+10 % MT +3 % lime
Unconfined compressive strength (kPa)

Curing period in days
0
7
30
90
180
365
145
183 193 201
221
245
320
204 670 843 1417 1604 1883
Fig. 1 X-ray diffraction pattern of RE and MT mixtures without curing
574
Fig. 2 SEM image and EDS micrograph of RE and MT mix without curing
Fig.3 XRD pattern of RE and MT mix treated with lime for curing periods
Fig. 4 SEM image of RE and MT mix treated with lime without curing
575
Fig. 5 SEM image of RE and MT mix treated with lime cured for 365 days
CONCLUSIONS
1.
The X-ray diffraction analysis of Red earth treated with optimum mine
tailings and lime showed that calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) and calcium
aluminium silicate hydroxide (CASH) cement hydration compounds have
formed with curing period which increased the strength.
2.
The SEM images with EDS micrographs have observed after 365 days of
curing show the hardened paste microstructure has developed with
soil-mine tailings-lime mixtures in different stages of pozzolanic activity
and shows the pronounced peaks (S, Al and Ca) which will contribute for
increase in the strength during the pozzolanic reaction.
REFERENCES
BIS 2720 (Part X) (1973), Determination of Unconfined Compressive Strength,
Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi
Croft J. B,(1967). The structure of soils stabilized with cementitious agents. Journal
of Engg. Geol., 2, 63-80.
Joint Committee of Powder Diffraction Data Service (JCPDS, 1999).
Kawamura M. and Diamond, S (1975), Stabilization of clay soils against erosion
loss, Clays and Clay Minerals, 23, 443-451
.
Pebble Project (2005), Tailings and Tailings Managements, Northern Dynasty Mines
Inc.1-4
576
Rajashekaran G, Murali K and Srinivasaraghavan R (1195), Fabric and

mineralogical studies on lime treated marine clays Ocean Engg. 24(3), 227-234
Ramesh H.N, Krishnaiah A.J and Supriya M.D (2012), Effect of Lime on the
Compaction and Strength Behaviour of Red Earth treated with Mine tailings, IOSR
Journals of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, 2(4), 01-16
Sridharan A and Shivapullaiah P V (2005), Mini Compaction test apparatus for fine
grained soils, Geotechnical testing journal,28(3),1-20
Willougghd D.R, Gross K.A, Ingles O.G, Silva S.R and Veronica M.S (1968), The
identification of reaction products in alkali stabilized clay by electron microscopy,
x-ray and electron diffraction. Paper No. 430. Reprinted from Proc. of 4th Conf. of
Australian Board.
577
578

Vertical Urban Farming: A Solution for Sustainable

Indian Cities
A.Madhumathi1, Shiren Naushaba2, S.Vignesh 3
1
Associate Professor,2,3 Student,

Department of Architecture, Thiagarajar College of Engineering,
Madurai, Tamilnadu, India
ABSTRACT
Space demands have gone up tremendously, and the world is in the era of vertical
development. Living has become vertical, working has become vertical, and if
farming can also be made vertical, verticality can be termed as a sustainable
direction for development. Vertical farming is not a new concept. It has grown out of
the research stations and has started taking strong foundations in places like
Newyork and Chicago. Is it feasible to bring it to India- a country where 70% of the
population depends on farming? If the answer is yes, then the challenge is to make it
suit the Indian context. Making sure that it creates no un balance in the eco-system.
In the present scenario, where India is mid-way from being called a developed
country it might be Utopian to think of cultivating staple food through this method,
but might very well be feasible for vegetation that is of rarity and needs utmost care
in its cultivation. A multi-storey agricultural Industry is a better solution than
genetically modified food. Exploiting the wide-open technology and design
potential of these vertical farmsas building-based agriculture is the key objective
of this paper. To future-is farming, it is important to have a clear understanding of
the existing conventional methods of cultivation and the various spaces involved in
the process, buildings machineries, etc. This paper will display the meanings, the
advantages and the techniques of the Vertical farming as a part of the sustainable
strategy for the urban environment. The Green vertical and horizontal surfaces can
contribute significant environmental, social and economic benefits to the built
environment. Moreover the paper will display why this emerging technology should
be considered as a valuable part of the design process for addressing climate
change and energy crisis. The Vertical Farming done in buildings could function for
1
A.Madhumathi. E-mail: madhua13@gmail.com
Vertical Urban Farming
urban agriculture, urban gardening, or for its beauty as art. It is sometimes built
indoors to help alleviate sick building syndrome.
INTRODUCTION
It took humans 10,000 years to learn how to grow most of the crops we
now take for granted. Along the way, we despoiled most of the land we worked,
often turning verdant, natural ecozones into semi-arid deserts. Within that same time
frame, we evolved into an urban species, in which 60% of the human population
now lives vertically in cities. This means that, for the majority, we humans are
protected against the elements, yet we subject our food-bearing plants to the rigors
of the great outdoors and can do no more than hope for a good weather year.
However, more often than not now, due to a rapidly changing climate regime, that is
not what follows. Dont our harvestable plants deserve the same level of comfort
and protection that we now enjoy? The time is at hand for us to learn how to safely
grow our food inside environmentally controlled multi-storey buildings within urban
centers. A Potential Solution to all urban problems is Farm Vertically
At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for
raising crops is in use (sources: FAO and NASA). Historically, some 15% of that has
been laid waste by poor management practices. ). The concept of indoor farming is
not new. What is new is the urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate
another 3 billion people. An entirely new approach to indoor farming must be
invented, employing cutting edge technologies. The Vertical Farm must be efficient
(cheap to construct and safe to operate). Vertical farms, many stories high, will be
situated in the heart of the worlds urban centers. If successfully implemented,
vertical farms offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe
and varied food supply (year-round crop production), and the eventual repair of
ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.
Vertical farming other than providing food to urban dwellers also does
numerous benefits to built environment also. Wong et.al (2003) have said that
urbanization and rapidly growing population change city features and convert them
to concrete jungles . Migration into urban areas and growing population lead to some
problems like air, noise, and water pollution, increase concrete buildings and hard
surfaces, lack of vegetation, increasing urban heat island, global warming etc.
(Wong et.al (2003), Forbes (2010), Miller (2008), Bianchini et.al (2012) Van
Renterghem (2009) Nyuk Hien.et.al (2009), Nafici (2012) Saadatian et.al. (2014)).
Ismail et.al. (2008) and Aziz.et.al (2009) have represented that increased air
temperature leads to growing discomfort in indoor environments. Ahmed et.al
(20090 has suggested that applying sustainable methods in the form of greenery
systems and applying these systems to buildings is an intelligent way to mitigate
some of these drawbacks, and can mitigate depletion of resources . Using plants and
580
greenery is an ecological solution to control solar radiation and reduce temperature

Picot (2004) and Skinner (2006). Honjo (1990) has proved that small green areas
spaced at appropriate intervals help to cool surroundings , and an experiment
confirms this claim and reveals direct connection between temperature and green
areas Wong et.al.(2005). Applying greenery on unused building surfaces is a way to
integrate urban areas and plants. MacIvor (2010). Kumar (2005) has stated that
answer to heavy population and high cost of land that prevent city habitants from
having enough public green spaces on the ground . Applying green roofs and vertical
greenery systems are appropriate ways to use greenery systems in buildings.
Controlling temperature by green roofs is becoming common and valuable research
have been done (Wong et.al.(2003), Niachou et.al.(2001), Morau (2012), Lanham ,
(2007)) but using vertical greenery systems to control temperature is a new idea and
requires more consideration. Mir(2005) . Vertical farming is cultivating plant or
animal life within a skyscraper greenhouse or on vertically inclined
surfaces.Traditional farming requires huge inputs to sustain it, from water to
potentially hazardous pesticides to fertilizers. Vertical Urban Agriculture has the
potential to solve this problem and could lead to urban and environmental renewal on
a fantastic scale for Indias cities. This paper presents an argument for the
implementation of an emerging building typology the vertical farm as potentail
solution to the conflict between ecological stability and humanitys persistent and
economic growth. This paper also examines the ways and techniques for
implementing vetical farming for Indian conditions.
TYPES OF VERTICAL FARMING

DESPOMMIER'S SKYSCRAPERS - Ecologist Dickson Despommier argues that
vertical farming is legitimate for environmental reasons. He claims that the
cultivation of plant and animal life within skyscrapers will produce less embedded
energy and toxicity than plant and animal life produced on natural landscapes. Plant
and animal life are mass-produced within hermetically sealed, artificial
environments that have little to do with the outside world. In this sense, they could
be built anywhere regardless of the context.
MIXED-USE SKYSCRAPERS - Mixed-use skyscrapers were proposed and built
by architect Ken Yeang. Yeang proposes that instead of hermetically sealed massproduced agriculture that plant life should be cultivated within open air, mixed-use
skyscrapers for climate control and consumption (i.e. a personal or communal
planting space as per the needs of the individual). This version of vertical farming is
based upon personal or community use rather than the wholesale production and
distribution plant and animal life that aspire to feed an entire city. It thus requires
less of an initial investment than Despommier's "The Vertical Farm".
581
Despommier's skyscrapers are unlikely to be advantageous with regards to energy

consumption as the internal environment must be maintained to sustain life within
the skyscraper. For a Tropical country like India where outdoor conditions are
conducive to agriculture Mixed-use skyscrapers would be more suitable. Hence
mixed use systems of vertical farming are reviewed in detail in the present study.
TECHNOLOGIES AND DEVICES

Vertical farming relies on the use of various physical methods to become effective.
Combining these technologies and devices in an integrated whole is necessary to
make Vertical Farming a reality. The most common technologies suggested are:
ROOF ARCHITECTURE
GREEN HOUSE - A greenhouse is a building or complex in which plants are
grown. Commercial glass greenhouses are often high tech production facilities for
vegetables or flowers. The glass greenhouses are filled with equipment like
screening installations, heating, cooling, lighting and also may be automatically
controlled by a computer to maximize potential growth. Greenhouses can be divided
into glass greenhouses and plastic greenhouses.
ROOFTOP FARMING- Urban rooftop farming is a fascinating new trend which
uses modern green roof technology for agricultural production on rooftops in
densely populated urban areas. Roof top farming can be done either by extensive ,
intensive or container gardens.
INTENSIVE GREEN ROOFS - Intensive green roofs (Fig. 1), commonly thought
of as garden roofs, are the more complex of the two, exhibiting much greater plant
diversity, and a greater need for design expertise. Planting media for intensive green
roofs are a foot deep at minimum. Almost always used for new construction.
Fig. 1: Intensive green roof

EXTENSIVE GREEN ROOFS -Extensive green roofs (Fig. 2) are the most
common with planting media of 1 to 5 inches thick. Several modular extensive green
roof products have emerged in the last few years that allow plants to be grown at the
582
factory prior to actually being installed on a roof. Careful plant selection must be
considered depending on the depth of the system, the geographic location, and the
availability of irrigation.
Fig. 2: Extensive green roof

CONTAINER GARDENS AND PLANTERS Container gardening (Fig.3) is the
practice of growing plants exclusively in containers instead of planting them in the
ground. Containers range from simple plastic pots, teacups to complex automaticwatering irrigation systems.
Fig. 3: terrace garden in densely populated urban India
VERTICAL GROWING ARCHITECTURES

Plants grown on vertical surfaces are called vertical greenery systems. In this way
one or several kinds of vegetation can grow vertically on a surface whether naturally
or made by humans either inside or outside the building , attached to the wall of the
building or standing independently in front of the wall . In brief, vertical greenery
systems are described as growing each kind of plants on each kind of vertical
surface.
There are different classifications for vertical greenery systems.
583
THE FOLKEWALL - The Folkewall (Fig.4,5) is a construction with the dual

functions of growing plants and purifying waste water. This system is also known as
a living wall or green wall.
Fig. 4:Single Sided Folke Walls With

Water Conveyed In Zig-Zag Pattern
Fig. 5: Double Sided Folke Walls
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON PLANTS SPECIES - In wall-climbing types,

which are common in traditional architecture, plants can cover wall surfaces directly
or use trellises to climb (Fig.6). Using wall climbing is easy, but it takes time to
cover entire facade surfaces with greenery. Hanging-down types are made by plants
with long pedicel on the balconies or on top of the buildings. This kind is something
between green roof and green facade. By using hanging-down type in each level of
the buildings all facades will be green in a short time; moreover, by using different
kinds of plants the facade will be colorful and visually attractive. The last one,
module type, is a new technique. Fast growing, colorful, diverse, attractive and easy
to replace spoil and withered plants are some module type advantages.
Fig. 6: Vertical greenery systems based on species

CLASSIFICATIONS BASED ON THE LOCATION OF GROWING MEDIAGrowing media is the place that plant roots find nutrition. It is possible for growing
media to stay on the ground and only plants grow vertically and cover the vertical
surfaces. It is called green facade (Fig.7), and common in traditional architecture.
Moreover, it is possible for growing media stand vertically in front of the vertical
surfaces. It is called living wall, and it is modern technique. In living walls (Fig.8)
584
substrates stand vertically and hold growing media in carriers, therefore living walls
are able to host a greater diversify of plants. Common systems for living walls are
panel, felt or container systems. Panel systems are pre-planted panels that are
attached to the structures.
Fig. 7:Green Facade
Fig.8: Living wall
Hunter (2014) has a sub-classification for green facades (Fig.9) based on the
location of greeneries and wall surfaces as direct green facades and double-skin
green facades. In direct green facade self-clinging climbers are attached to the
vertical surfaces while in double-skin green facades engineering support structures
assist plants to grow vertically.
Fig. 9 -Direct green facade (left) and double-skin green facade (right)
GROWING MEDIUM -AEROPONICS / HYDROPONICS / AQUAPONICS
Aeroponic growing refers to plants grown in an air culture that can develop and
grow in a normal and natural manner. The basic principle of aeroponic growing is to
grow plants suspended in a closed or semi-closed environment by spraying the
plant's dangling roots and lower stem with an atomized or sprayed, nutrient-rich
water solution (Fig.10).
585
Fig. 10 - Ohare Airports Vertical Garden, - 928-square-foot, soil-less venture

will help supply fresh produce and herbs to the airports restaurants.
Hydroponics is a subset of hydro culture and is a method of growing plants using
mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil (Fig.11). Terrestrial plants may be
grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium,
such as perlite, gravel, mineral wool, expanded clay pebbles or coconut husk.
Fig. 11-Thanet Earth -large industrial agriculture / Plant factory project,UK.

Aquaponics is a food production system that combines conventional aquaculture
(raising aquatic animals such as snails, fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks)
with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment (Fig.12).
Aquaponic Gardening is four to six times more productive on a square foot basis as
soil-based gardening.
Fig. 12- Plant placed into nutrient rich water channel in a Nutrient film
technique system
586
GROW LIGHT A grow light or plant light is an artificial light source, generally
an electric light, designed to stimulate plant growth by emitting an electromagnetic
spectrum appropriate for photosynthesis. Grow lights are used in applications where
there is either no naturally occurring light, or where supplemental light is required.
IRRIGATION- Drip irrigation, also known as trickle irrigation or micro irrigation,
is an irrigation method which saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip
slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root
zone, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters.
BENEFITS OF VERTICAL FARMING
Year-round crop production

Eliminates agricultural runoff
Significantly reduces use of fossil fuels (farm machines and transport of crops)
Makes use of abandoned or unused properties
No weather related crop failures
Offers the possibility of sustainability for urban centers
Converts black and gray water to drinking water
Adds energy back to the grid via methane generation
Creates new urban employment opportunities
Collects rainwater.
Returns farmland to nature, helping to restore ecosystem functions and services
Restoration of ecosystem services,
aesthetic quality of urban landscape gets improved
important learning centers for generations of city-dwellers, demonstrating our
intimate connectedness to the rest of the world by mimicking the nutrient cycles
reduce cooling load of a building.
It is proved that vicinity of urban green areas reduce noise annoyance.
CASE STUDIES
INTERNATIONAL:
EDITT Tower (Ecological Design In The Tropics) is being built in Singapore
(Fig.13). The 26 story tower will have over half its surface area covered by organic
local vegetation. Solar panels will generate up to 40% of the buildings energy
demands, and human waste will also be converted into an energy source via an onsite bio-gas facility.
587
Fig. 13- EDITT tower, Singapore

PASONA Head Quaters., Tokyo
Nine story high, 215,000 square foot. 43,000 square feet green space (20% of
office space) with 200 species including fruits, vegetables and rice that are
harvested, prepared and served at the cafeterias within the building
It is a major renovation project consisting of a double-skin green facade, offices,

an auditorium, cafeterias, a rooftop garden and most notably, urban farming
facilities integrated within the building (Fig.14, Fig.15).
Using both hydroponic and soil based farming, crops and office workers share
a common space.
Fig. 14- 50 Year Old Structure
588
Fig. 15Coverted Eco-Office Building
INDIAN EXAMPLES:
Fig.17 -Bio wall Residential Building in Coimbatore
Fig.18- Extensive roof garden Residential appartment building, Madurai
589
Fig.19- Roof Top urban Agriculture in Bangalore
CONCLUSION
"Slow agricultural growth is a concern for policymakers as some two-thirds of
Indias people depend on rural employment for a living. Current agricultural
practices are neither economically nor environmentally sustainable and India's yields
for many agricultural commodities are low. Poorly maintained irrigation systems
and almost universal lack of good extension services are among the factors
responsible. Farmers' access to markets is hampered by poor roads, rudimentary
market infrastructure, and excessive regulation." World Bank: "India Country
Overview 2008". Urban Farming is now becoming necessity of the time. With
urbanization, the agricultural fields are not only reducing but also going far away
from cities, ie the ultimate consumers. Indias 2.94 million km2 of land mass,
approximately 1.1 million km2 is given to agricultural production. Vertical Urban
Agriculture equates 1 indoor acre with 10 outdoor acres of production capacity. We
could potentially reduce Indias agricultural land to 110,000 km2 and increase forest
cover to a maximum of 1.7 million km2. Increasing forest cover leads to healing the
Earth and undoing the damage that years of agricultural production have wrought on
the land. In India, is facing an acute water crisis especially, in the southern Indian
states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. With farm land becoming scarce, Indian
Council of Agricultural Research experts are working on the concept of vertical
farming in soil-less conditions, in which food crops can be grown even on
multistoried buildings in metros like New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai
without using soil or pesticides. Vertical Farming can be part of a building design
strategy that effectively improves the thermal performance of a building thereby
contributing to lower energy use and green house gas emissions.
590
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N.H. Wong, Y. Chen, C.L. Ong, A. Sia (2003), Investigation of thermal benefits of
rooftop garden in the tropical environment, Build Environ, 38, pp. 261270
D. Forbes (2010), An analysis of municipal tools for promoting green roof
technology into dense urban development [1480905], Tufts University, United States
Massachusetts
L. Miller (2008), Green roof policy: a sustainable space to grow? Tufts University,
United States
F. Bianchini, K. Hewage (2012), How green are the green roofs? Lifecycle
analysis of green roof materials, Build Environ, 48, pp. 5765
T. Van Renterghem, D. Botteldooren(2009), Reducing the acoustical faade load
from road traffic with green roofs, Build Environ, 44, pp. 10811087
W. Nyuk Hien, T. Puay Yok, C. Yu (2007), Study of thermal performance of
extensive rooftop greenery systems in the tropical climate, Build Environ, 42, pp.
2554
N. Nafici (2012), The impact of green roof and green faade on urban agriculture,
Am J Sci Res, 8, pp. 121128
O. Saadatian, K. Sopian, E. Salleh, C.H. Lim, S. Riffat, E. Saadatian, et al. (2013) A
review of energy aspects of green roofs, Renew Sustain Energy Rev, 23, pp. 155168
Ismail A, Abdul Samad MH, Abdul Rahman A (2008). Using green roof concept as
a passive design technology to minimise the impact of global warming. Second
international conference on built environment in developing countries (ICBEDC
2008), Malaysia;. p. 58898.
H.A. Aziz, Z. Ismail (2011), Design guideline for sustainable green roof system,
IEEE, Malaysia, pp. 198203
Ahmed MHB, Rashid R (20090. Thermal performance of rooftop greenery system in
tropical climate of Malaysia. In: Proceedings of the conference on technology &
sustainability in the built environment;. p. 391408.
X. Picot (2004), Thermal comfort in urban spaces: impact of vegetation growth: case
study: Piazza della Scienza, Milan, Italy, Energy Build, 36, pp. 329334
C.J. Skinner (2006), Urban density, meteorology and rooftops, Urban Policy Res,
24, pp. 355367
591
T. Honjo, T. Takakura (1990), Simulation of thermal effects of urban green areas on

their surrounding areas, Energy Build, 15, pp. 443446
N.H. Wong, C. Yu (2005), Study of green areas and urban heat island in a tropical
city Habitat Int, 29, pp. 547558
J. MacIvor (2010), Green roofs as constructed ecosystems: native plant performance
and insect diversity [MR68820], Saint Marys University (Canada), Canada
R. Kumar, S.C. Kaushik (2005), Performance evaluation of green roof and shading
for thermal protection of buildings, Build Environ, 40, pp. 15051511
N.H. Wong, D.K.W. Cheong, H. Yan, J. Soh, C.L. Ong, A. Sia (2003), The effects
of rooftop garden on energy consumption of a commercial building in Singapore,
Energy Build, 35, pp. 353364
A. Niachou, K. Papakonstantinou, M. Santamouris, A. Tsangrassoulis, G.
Mihalakakou (2001), Analysis of the green roof thermal properties and investigation
of its energy performance, Energy Build, 33, pp. 719729
D. Morau, T. Libelle, F. Garde (2012), Performance evaluation of green roof for
thermal protection of buildings in Reunion Island, Energy Procedia, 14, pp. 1008
1016
J. Lanham (2007), Thermal performance of green roofs in cold climates [MR37311],
Queens University, Canada
M.A. Mir (2011), Green facades and building structures Delft University of
Technology, Delft
A.M. Hunter, N.S.G. Williams, J.P. Rayner, L. Aye, D. Hes, S.J. Livesley (2014),
Quantifying the thermal performance of green faades: a critical review, Ecol Eng,
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592

Mechanical properties of Bio-Based Acrylated

Epoxidized Castor Oil Nanocomposites
Nagarjuna Reddy Paluvai1, Smita Mohanty2, Sanjay K Nayak2
1
Reader,2Professor
Advanced Research School for Technology & Product Simulation (ARSTPS),
Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET), Chennai-32,
India
ABSTRACT
In this present investigation the bio-based epoxy nanocomposites prepared from the
acrylated epoxidized castor oil (AECO), (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane and
organo modified montmorillonite (OMMT) clays using sol-gel process. Proton
Nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR) spectroscopy used to characterize the
chemical structure of the monomers. The homogeneous dispersion of
nanocomposites was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
Methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride (MHHPA) and benzyltriethylammonium
chloride (TEBAC) cured AECO/OMMT nanocomposites were exhibited to 32.6% of
tensile strength and 16.47% of flexural strength higher than that of the AECO
system.
INTRODUCTION
Thermosetting polymers have dominated in most of the industrial sectors since the
invention of polymers. Epoxy monomers are one of the thermosetting polymers, that
are being widely used in industries due to their good mechanical strength,
exceptional dimensional stability, good wetting ability, fire retardant nature,
excellent chemical resistance and low cure shrinkage [Remi A et al.]. Referable to
the growing environmental consciousness, sustainability and the rapid depletion of
non-renewable resources, the bio-based epoxies are gaining very good interest and
successfully replaced by petroleum-based epoxies. These bio-based epoxies are
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: nag1987@gmail.com
Mechanical properties of bio-based epoxy
developed from natural resources such as sugars, vegetable oils, lignin, and furans.
Among them, castor oil is one of the abundant and inexpensive vegetable oil [Park
SJ et al.], which can be used as a raw material in the preparation of bio-based
epoxies from the epoxidation process. Development of epoxidized castor oil (ECO)
is carried out using a peracid, by reacting carboxylic acid as the oxygen carrier with
hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as the oxygen donor.
Acrylated ECO resin exhibiting excellent mechanical and thermal properties,
because it contains pendant acrylic double bonds, which ready participate in the
addition reaction. Behera D et al. have synthesized acrylated epoxidized soybean oil
(AESO) for making greener composites. In addition, these acrylated monomers were
reinforced with OMMT clays to improve the properties in industrially.
The present work studied the mechanical properties of bio-based epoxy systems.
The AECO/OMMT composites were obtained by reacting AECO with 3aminopropyltriethoxy silane and cloisite 30B calys, cured with MHHPA and
TEBAC. The chemical structures of ECO and AECO were obtained by 1HNMR
analysis.
MATERIALS
Anhydrous sodium sulphate, acrylic acid, hydrogen peroxide (30 wt%),
hydroquinone, sodium carbonate, sulphuric acid (98%), triethylamine and other
analytical grade products were used procured from Fisher Scientific Company
(Hyderabad, India). Castor oil was purchased from S D Fine-Chem Limited
(Mumbai, India). Cloisite 30B (OMMT) clays, MHHPA, TEBAC and 3aminopropyltriethoxy silane procured from Sigma-Aldrich (Bangalore, India).
METHODS
Synthesis of Epoxidized castor oil
Typically ECO was synthesized by the following procedure. 100 g of castor oil
(CO), 26 g of glacial acetic acid and 29 g of H2SO4 were charged to a three-necked
round flask. The mixture was rapidly stirred for 30-40 min at 55 oC. The
epoxidation reaction was carried using 80 g of H2O2 (30 wt.%) were slowly added
drop wise using funnel to above mixture for 3h temperature was controlled at 55-60
oC. After the addition of all reagents, the obtained mixture was further stirred at 55
oC for 7h. The reacted mixture was then extracted using diethylether in a separating
funnel and followed by washing two times with 10 w.t% of Na2CO3 solution. The
distilled water was used to remove the free acids. The collected organic phase was
594
kept in a vacuum oven at 70 oC over night to remove diethylether (Yield: 97 g, Avg.

Epoxy equivalent weight = 278 g/eq, oxirane oxygen of about 6.19 %).
Synthesis of Acrylated epoxidized castor oil
A mixture of ECO (50 g) and acrylic acid (12 g) containing 0.5 wt.% hydroquinone
was stirred at a temperature of 70 oC for 30 min. Then triethylamine (2 g) was added
to the mixture and stirred for another 1 h at 45-60 oC. An additional amount of
acrylic acid (8 g) was added to the mixture which was then kept at 60 oC for another
1 h. After cooling to room temperature, the unreacted acrylic acid was removed by
dissolving the product in diethyl ether and washed several times with 10 % Na2CO3
solution. The product was washed with a saturated sodium chloride solution and
dried over magnesium sulfate. The collected organic phase of acrylated epoxidized
castor oil (AECO) was kept in a vacuum oven at 70 oC for 4 h to remove diethyl
ether.
Preparation of bio-based epoxy networks
AECO nanocomposites were prepared with OMMT clays consisting of 0.5, 1, 2, and
3 wt.%. Prior to preparing nanocomposites, OMMT clays were dried in an oven at of
120 C for 4h. High-pressure mixing (HPM) method was chosen to disperse the
nanoclays into AECO resin. OMMT clays were dispersed in acetone and mixed at
1400 rpm for 20-30 min until wet slurry was obtained. The slurry was mixed with a
mixture of AECO and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (1 wt.% to AECO) at room
temperature with a mechanical stirring for about 4 h to give a homogeneous liquid.
Then the mixture was sonicated for about 2 h with pulse mode (15 s on/ 15 s off) to
achieve a temperature of 70C. Heating at this temperature was necessary to remove
the acetone. After mixing, calculated amount of MHHPA (100 wt.%) and TEBAC (1
wt.% to AECO) were added to the above sonicated mixture. Subsequently, the
solution was poured into a glass mould and the cured at 90 C for 1 h, 110 oC for 2
h, post cured at 140 C for 1h. After curing, the samples were allowed to cool room
temperature and characterized for different properties. The same procedure was
adopted to obtain unmodified AECO and ECO resins, except mixing of clay and 3aminopropyltriethoxysilane into AECO and ECO.
Characterization
1HNMR was performed on a 400 MHz AVANCE III Bruker NMR spectrometer
(Bruker, Switzerland) with CDCl3 as a solvent.
Tensile and flexural properties were determined using Instron, 3369 Universal
Testing Machine. Rectangular bars were used in accordance with ASTM D 3039-76,
ASTM D 790, using a crosshead speed of 10 mm/min and 5 mm/min, respectively.
The degree of dispersion of the OMMT clays in the AECO system was investigated
using a Jeol-2011 HR Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) with an
accelerating voltage of 200 KV.
595

1HNMR spectroscopy: The synthesis and the chemical structure of the ECO and
AECO are shown in Fig.1. The acrylate double bonds of AECO are very reactive
and can be easily radically polymerized. Fig.2 shows the 1HNMR spectra of the CO,
ECO and AESO resins. The peaks appearing at 5.3 to 5.7 ppm of CO associated
with C=C bonds and it converts into an epoxy group of 2.8 to 3.2 ppm of ECO. The
peaks obtained in AECO from 5.7 to 6.2 ppm indicate the presence of C=C of the
acrylate ester.
Fig.1 The synthesis mechanism of ECO and AECO systems
Fig.2 1HNMR spectra of CO, ECO and AECO systems

Mechanical properties: The mechanical properties of ECO, AECO and its OMMT
systems are displayed in Table 1. It is evident that the ACEO improves the
mechanical properties of 27.7% in tensile strength and 27% in flexural strength as
compared with the ECO resin. This fact may be attributed to the increase in crosslinking density due to the presence of the pendant acrylic groups. These pendent
groups may help to improve the stiffness of the system. AECO/OMMT
nanocomposites exhibit the highest mechanical properties as compared with the
596
AECO system. AECO/OMMT nanocomposites increase in tensile and flexural

strength observed up to 1 wt.% OMMT filled in AECO. It is due to the exfoliation
of clays within the AECO system and the formation of nanocomposites. This may
also be due to the silane coupling agent increases the interactions between the
carboxylic ester groups of the polymer and the -OH group of OMMT clays. Further,
the tensile and flexural strength of the AECO nanocomposites decreases with the
increasing OMMT clay loading (2 and 3 wt.%). This is due to the inadequate
dispersion within the AECO system which forms microvoids or cracks. The AECO
nanocomposites at 1 wt.% OMMT clays revealed an optimum increase of 32.68% in
tensile strength, 21.4% in tensile modulus, 16.5% in flexural strength and 21.7% in
flexural modulus as compared with AECO resin. The above explanation is wellsupported by the mechanical property results published by Rongpeng Wang et al.,
which is attributed to the formation of entangled network structure developed due to
exfoliated active sites of nanoclays in glycidyl ester of an epoxidized fatty acid
(EGS). This suggests that the 1 wt.% OMMT/AECO system interaction is very
strong, therefore, the nanocomposites show an enhancement in mechanical
properties as compared to the ECO and AECO systems. Further, exfoliation of
OMMT in AECO system has been well explained by TEM images.
Table 1 Mechanical properties of bio-based systems
Bio-based Epoxy
resin
ECO
AECO
AECO/0.5%C30B
AECO/1%C30B
AECO/2%C30B
AECO/3%C30B
Tensile
Strength
(MPa)
201
262
332
351
321
292
Tensile
Modulus
(MPa)
66419
90029
106026
110432
115930
124836
Flexural
Strength
(MPa)
402
523
582
613
562
521
Flexural
Modulus
(MPa)
82025
107023
125622
130030
138127
148335
Clay dispersion morphology: Mixing is an essential process for the dispersion of

nanoclays into the polymer resins. Fig.3(a,b) shows the morphology of the OMMT
clay layers within the AECO nanocomposites using TEM analysis. AECO/1 wt.%
OMMT (Fig.3a) shows the OMMT silicate layers were completely exfoliated within
the AECO system. It is due to the excellent dispersion of the OMMT silicate layers
in the AECO system, and the average thickness of clay layers are 5-10 nm. AECO/3
wt.% OMMT (Fig.3b) image shows partially exfoliated clay layers within the
AECO system. This is due to the inadequate dispersion of clay layers within the
AECO system because of large amounts of clay, which leads poor dispersion with
the hydrophobic matrix.
597
Fig.3 TEM micrographs for AECO/OMMT nanocomposites containing (a) 1

wt.%, and (b) 3 wt.% nanoclays
CONCLUSIONS
Acrylated epoxidized castor oil nanocomposites were developed via in situ polymerization
and their effective mechanical properties were studied. TEM analysis reveals that the
OMMT clays are exfoliated and uniformly dispersed within the AECO system. The
acrylic groups were confirmed by 1HNMR at 5.7 to 6.2 ppm, and by FTIR at 1639, 1462
and 1400 cm-1, respectively. AECO/OMMT nanocomposites exhibit higher mechanical
properties as compared with AECO system. 1 wt% OMMT reinforced AECO composites
exhibit higher tensile strength (37.4 MPa) and flexural strength (63.42 MPa). The sisal
fibers are being used to study the mechanical and thermal properties of AECO
nanocomposites to make sustainable bio-composites and will be reported in our next
publication.
REFERENCES
Remi, A. Sylvain, C. Ghislain, D. Bernard, B. and Jean-Pierre, P.(2014), Biobased
Thermosetting Epoxy: Present and Future, Chemical Reviews, 114(2), 1082-1115.
Soo-Jin, P. Fan-Long, J. and Jae-Rock, L.(2004), Effect of Biodegradable
Epoxidized Castor Oil on Physicochemical and Mechanical Properties of Epoxy
Resins, Macromolecular. Chemistry and Physics, 205, 2048205.
Behera, D. and Banthia, A.K.(2008), Synthesis, Characterization, and Kinetics
Study of Thermal Decomposition of Epoxidized Soybean Oil Acrylate Journal
of Applied Polymer Science, 109, 25832590.
Rongpeng, W. Thomas, S. Vuppalapati, R.R. and Chandrashekhara, K .(2013),
Fabrication of bio-based epoxyclay nanocomposites, Green Chemistry, DOI:
10.1039/c3gc41802b.
598

An Investigation on Mechanical Strength and Dynamic

Stability of an Ornithopter Manufactured Using ABS
Plastic By FDM Technology
Manoj Kumar M 1, Antony J K1, Rakesh V Babu2, Jithu K. S2,
Milosh C. Chinnan2, Anand T.R2, Muhammed Nesleel M. A2
1
Assistant Professor, 2Student,

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology
(Govt. Engineering College), Kottayam-686516, Kerala, India
ABSTRACT
Flapping Wing Aerial Vehicle commonly known as Ornithopter is a flying vehicle
which mimics the flapping motion of natural flyers. Aerodynamic performance of an
ornithopter deteriorates with its weight. So great care is required in selecting a
suitable material and feasible manufacturing method. Conventional choice of
lightweight materials like balsa wood may not offer a great deal of easiness of
fabrication and it reduces the flexibility of designer as the designer must be aware of
the manufacturability of designed parts with available material. Other than the
structural parts, material selection for transmission elements of ornithopter is more
challenging. Here the possibility of ABS plastic is investigated by analyzing the
structural and dynamic stability of transmission elements. Mechanical strength and
dynamic stability of ornithopter components manufactured by FDM technology is
analyzed in ANSYS 15.0 software.
INTRODUCTION
Inspired by the flight of birds and insects, ornithopters have attained a great deal of
attention in the past 25 years due to advanced technologies that have made them
feasible and cost effective. They are superior in terms of maneuverability,
lightweight and endurance compared with traditional Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: manojkumar_m2000@yahoo.com
An Investigation on Mechanical strength and dynamic stability of an ornithopter
In this investigation, ornithopter was designed using CATIA P3V5R20 software.

The dimensions were calculated from empirical relations and suitable allowances
were given to each component in order to ensure safe and smooth working. Fig.1
shows the final design of the ornithopter. Using fundamental lift equation, the
flapping frequency was found to be 4Hz. But in order to reduce the effects of air
resistance, flapping frequency was chosen as 6Hz.
Table 1 Design Parameters
Mass
Wing Span
Chord Length
Aspect Ratio
Flapping Frequency
Flapping Amplitude
650g
1.1m
0.23m
6
6 Hz
80deg
Fig.1 Ornithopter CAD model

For ornithopters with large size, aerodynamic performance is poor due to increased
weight. Therefore it is important to introduce a new material and manufacturing
method to fabricate a large scale ornithopter with lesser weight. Fused Deposition
Modeling (FDM) is a 3D printing technology used to fabricate the components of an
ornithopter in an efficient way. 3D printers that run on FDM Technology, build parts
layer-by-layer from the bottom up by heating and extruding filaments made of ABS
plastic. Parts fabricated by this material are mechanically strong, lightweight and
stable, Rajashekar Patil et al (2012).
The objective of this paper is to investigate the structural and dynamic stability of
ornithopter components manufactured using ABS plastic. The ornithopter must
withstand all structural loads. For dynamic stability all natural frequencies of
ornithopter components should not coincide with its operating frequency. The
feasibility of ABS plastic and FDM technology is analyzed by checking the
operation of ornithopter assembly.
600
ANALYTICAL INVESTIGATIONS
MATERIALS
Mechanical strength and dynamic stability of ornithopter components made of ABS
plastic were investigated using ANSYS Static Structural and Modal Workbenches.
The required CAD models are created in CATIA software and imported to ANSYS
Workbench in igs format. After analyzing the feasibility of ABS plastic, all
mechanical components of the ornithopter except for fuselage, wing and tail
membrane and structural rods are fabricated using Fused Deposition Modeling
(FDM) technique. The 3D printers that run on FDM technology heats ABS plastic
filament to a semi-liquid state and deposits it in ultra-fine beads along the extrusion
path. Where support is needed, the 3D printer deposits a removable material like SR30 soluble. Power transmission system of ornithopter is the critical part which
consists of lithium polymer battery, DC brushless motor and several gears with nonstandard modules. It is difficult to manufacture gears having nonstandard modules
by conventional methods. With the assistance of Rapid Prototyping machine,
manufacturing of gears having any required specification is possible.
METHODS
It is necessary to take care of the mechanical properties of the components that are
manufactured using FDM technology, in addition to minimizing the weight, i.e. the
components should have sufficient strength and dynamic stability for smooth
working of the ornithopter. For ensuring the same, structural and modal analyses of
different components were carried out. Table 2 represents mechanical properties of
ABS plastic that are used in the analysis. The objective of modal analysis is to
determine the first six natural frequencies and corresponding mode shapes of tail and
gear box assembly and to ensure that probability of failure due to resonance is
minimum. In static structural analysis stress distribution and deformations of various
components due to static load were investigated.
Table 2 Mechanical properties of ABS plastic (provided by the manufacturer)
Density
Tensile Modulus
Poissons ratio
Tensile strength
1.04g/cc
2320MPa
0.35
37MPa

601
From the contact analysis of gears, it is found that the gears made of ABS plastic are
capable of transmitting required torque without any structural failure. Maximum
stress developed in the gear assembly is found to be 12MPa which is very much less
than ultimate strength of 40MPa. Fig.2 represents stress distribution in the gear. Due
to contact forces a maximum deformation of 40m is observed at the contact region.
From the structural analysis of the frame assembly, maximum stress concentration
of 4MPa is observed in the tail member under static load. Fig.3 represents equivalent
strain developed in the tail region.
Fig.2 Stress Distribution
Fig.3 Equivalent strain
From the modal analysis first 6 natural frequencies of tail and gear box were found
out, which is shown in Table 3. If any one of the natural frequencies coincides with
the flapping frequencies of the ornithopter, then resonance will take place. The
structure will vibrate at high amplitudes resulting in the failure of the structure.
Since the flapping frequency does not coincide with the natural frequencies, there is
no possibility of resonance due to flapping at 6 Hz. First and second mode shape of
tail shown in Fig.4 and Fig.5. Fig.6 represents 4th mode shape of gear box assembly.
Table 3 Natural frequencies of Tail and Gear box
Mode
1
2
3
4
5
6
602
Frequency (Hz)
Tail
Gear box
16.559
904.77
36.071
956.51
41.717
1162
49.865
1208.3
78.549
1642.6
116.22
1659.5
Fig.4 First mode shape of Tail
Fig.5 Second mode shape of Tail
Fig.6 Gear box 4th mode shape

After investigating the feasibility of ABS plastic, various ornithopter components
were fabricated using FDM technology. ABS plastic was a right choice to make
ornithopter parts which will help in weight reduction with structural and dynamic
stability. Fig.7 shows other components manufactured by FDM technology. Fig.8
represents power transmission system of ornithopter. Fig.9 represents final assembly
of ornithopter. Trial testing and field trials of the ornithopter was undertaken. The
initial testing was encouraging. The power transmission system of the ornithopter
was working as per design specification, and the gears are transmitting required
power without any failure. Flight testing of ornithopter needs to be done, and the
corresponding flight dynamics data needs to be collected so that flight performance
can be specified.
603
Fig.7 Components made by FDM
Fig.8 Power Transmission system
Fig.7 Ornithopter final assembly
CONCLUSIONS
From the analysis structural and dynamic stability of ornithopter were investigated.
After checking the feasibility of ABS plastic various components were fabricated
using FDM technology.
1. Natural frequencies of various ornithopter components are not lying in the
operating frequency range. Hence ornithopter is dynamically stable.
2. Ornithopter is capable of withstanding structural loads.
REFERENCES
Rajashekar Patil, S. Mohan Kumar, E. Abhilash. (2012), Fabrication of Flapping
Wing Micro Aerial Vehicle using Rapid Prototyping Technology, International
Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering.
604

Comparative Analysis of Flexure Springs for a Stirling

Cryocooler
Rajesh V R1, Biju T Kuzhiveli2
1
Research Scholar, 2Associate Professor

Calicut- 673 601, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
In the range of milliwatt to a few watts cooling capacity, pulse tube and Stirling
cycle operated cryocoolers are most suitable for producing cryogenic temperatures
due to their high efficiency, eco-friendliness, cooling capacity to mass ratio etc. The
compression work for the cooler is obtained from a linear motor rather than a
rotary one. The piston moves in accordance with the motion imparted to it from the
motor. The piston is held in its position and moves to and fro with the support of so
called flexure bearings or flexure springs. Flexure springs are thin metallic flat
discs having spiral slots cut in them. Flexures offer incomparably high repeatability
of motion since the motion is enabled through elastic deformation of the material.
Absence of relative motion between two contacting parts leads to frictionless, wearfree operation. Thus, if designed adequately to withstand fatigue, flexure bearings
can easily outlast rolling element bearings and slider bearings. The present work
analyses different possible variations in the flexure springs by varying the spiral
angle, spiral width, disc thickness and number of spirals. The finite element analysis
is performed in ANSYS by suitably modelling the geometry using parametric
modelling software. Different materials are also investigated in order to get a design
within the fatigue strength limit on the application of the load. The maximum stress
is developed at the end of the spirals. Then the stress concentration at the ends is
reduced by modifying the ends by curling. It is found that as the spiral angle and/or
number of spirals increases, the stress developed decreases.
Corresponding author. E-mail: rajeshvr.kld@gmail.com
Comparative Analysis of Flexure Springs
INTRODUCTION
Cryocoolers have found numerous applications in military and space, particularly for
electronics cooling. In space applications, they can replace the stored cryogens on
board, which make the payload higher. In military applications, infrared imaging is
made possible by cooling the sensors to cryogenic temperatures. The energy
requirement for the cooler is very less, when compared with the conventional
Rankine cycle cooling. The cryocooler can run on reversed Stirling cycle (known as
regenerative cryocooler), which uses a small amount of helium gas as the working
medium. Helium is an eco-friendly gas, with zero ODP and it is non-CFC too. A
closed cycle cryocooler is the need of the hour as the cost of the cryogens is
increasing and the Earths Helium reserve is getting depleted.
The development of long life cryocooler for space applications is improved by the
advent of flexure bearings. Flexure can be defined as a component, which allows
motion due to change in shape, i.e., flexing. The present cryocoolers have a linear
compressor for compressing the working gas with a small axial displacement. The
flexures move by the same amount as that of the piston displacement. Flexure
bearings or simply known as flexure springs, minimize the wear and tear due to
friction by suspending the piston inside the compressor. The piston moves
concentrically with no direct contact with the cylinder. The flexure springs ensure
that the clearance seals between the piston and the cylinder are preserved under all
operating conditions. As far as cryocoolers are concerned, the concept of flexure
suspension systems is first used in the Oxford University Cryocooler narrated by
Werret et.al. (1986). Absence of relative motion between two contacting parts leads
to frictionless, wear-free operation.
Flexure springs integrate the use of both spring and bearing in a single part and have
a high radial to axial stiffness ratio. As the flexure springs do not have any rubbing
parts, the life of the entire system increases tremendously in comparison with the
conventional helical springs. Flexures offer incomparably high repeatability of
motion since motion is enabled through elastic deformation of the material.
The complex geometry and the operational requirements such as high fatigue
strength and high radial stiffness, preclude the exact analysis in the design of the
spring. Therefore, the use of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is indispensable in this
context. Many papers have been published in the area of flexure spring analysis.
Gaunekar et.al., (1996) have presented the use of Finite Element Method (FEM) to
produce normalized curves for the design of the spiral arm flexure springs. In a
paper published by Oxford University, Gordon Davey et.al., (2002) investigate the
dependency of linearity of motion on clamping conditions of the springs. They
made a simple theoretical model with six spiral arms for investigating the linearity.
606
In this paper, an attempt has been made to analyze the spring by varying a
combination of geometrical parameters viz. disc thickness, spiral sweep angle,
number of spirals and spiral slot width. The effect of different materials on
maximum stress developed, while in motion is also investigated.
DESIGN ASPECTS OF A TYPICAL FLEXURE SPRING

A typical unit of a flexure suspension system used in linear compressor is having
each unit in the form of a thin flat metal disc. A number of spiral arms are cut on the
disc for linear movement normal to the plane of the disc. A simple flexure spring
with three spiral arms is shown in Fig. 1. Twelve circular holes are made on the
periphery to clamp the disc rigidly onto a support. The piston rod is fixed to the
flexure through the central hole. A linear electromagnetic drive provides the
required force for motion.
Fig.1 Flexure Spring Geometry

The design of flexure springs is critical in the reliable performance of the cooler
over its entire life time. Flexure supports the piston and restricts the movement of
piston only in the axial direction. The design criteria are to have less axial stiffness
and high radial stiffness. The minimal axial stiffness will provide the sufficient
displacement in the axial direction, while high radial stiffness restricts the radial
movement to the minimum to maintain the component clearance. The lower axial
stiffness compared to gas spring stiffness above the piston keeps the moving mass to
a minimum, which controls the vibrations in the system.
Each spiral arm of the flexure is subjected to alternating stresses at the frequency of
operation of the cooler. For a limited axial displacement, the magnitude and location
of the maximum stress developed are dependent on the spiral profile, disc thickness
and spiral cut width. At the same time, the spring should have high fatigue strength
to withstand the repeated cyclic loading.
607
The design variables of the disc are the spiral angle, number of spirals, spiral width
and the disc thickness. The outer diameter of the spring is automatically fixed by the
size of the cooler. The number of holes drilled on the outer periphery for clamping
the spring to the support affects the stress developed. The geometry of the spiral is
fixed by taking into account the diameter of the centre hole and the outer diameter of
the disc. The spiral slot themselves are Archimedean spirals.
METHOD OF ANALYSIS
As the exact analysis is not possible to carry out, the FEA was chosen. A non linear
static structural analysis was conducted using analysis software ANSYS 14.0. The
modelling the spring was built using CATIA and Solid Edge. The analysis was
begun with basic configuration shown in Fig.1 and the mesh was successively
refined to reach at a convergence point and to decide on the adequacy of the mesh.
It is observed that a high value of stresses occur at the ends of the spiral arm in the
basic configuration. This makes the stress concentration around the ends of the spiral
slots. In order to avoid that, the spirals have been modified by curling both the ends.
The inner end is curled into the centre and outer end is curled out of the centre to
give a better solution to these stress concentrations. A number of simulations have
been made in order to arrive at the best curling of the ends. The curling was initially
provided centrally at the ends of the spiral slots, later modified to the one as shown
in the Fig.2. The curling results in significant reduction in the stress concentration as
can be observed from the results.
Fig.2 Modified Spring
608
Fig. 3 Meshing
The analysis has been carried out by fully constraining the motion at the 12 holes at
the periphery of the disc. An axial displacement as required by the moving
component (piston) of the cooler was given to the spring perpendicular to the disc
plane. The meshing was refined, Fig.3, for each simulation especially in the region
closer to the ends of the spiral slots. Many angles of revolution for spiral are
investigated beginning from 180 through 720 with an increment of 90. Three
different materials have been identified for spring; SS 304, Beryllium Copper and
Flapper Steel (Spring Steel). Of the three materials, Flapper Steel is having higher
fatigue Strength with light weight and Beryllium Copper has the least fatigue
strength among the three.
The analysis was extended by varying a combination of the parameters such as the
disc thickness, the spiral sweep angle, the spiral slot width and number of spirals.
The results show that the increase in the disc thickness results in increase in stress
developed. More stress is developed when the spiral width is increased. Some good
compromise, without affecting the design and operating constraints, was to be made
to get the optimised configuration. Optimal design of Flexural spring is done by
considering criteria of long fatigue life. The maximum stress is developed at the end
of spiral slot irrespective of the material and curling. The main focus is given on the
effect of spiral angle as well as spiral slot width on maximum stress for a given axial
displacement.

The variation in maximum stress developed with spiral angle is shown in Fig.4. The
maximum stress is noted down for the given axial displacement in each case. It is
observed that the stress developed decreases with the increase in spiral angle. It is
attributed to the flexibility the spring gets with the increase in spiral angle. As the
spiral angle increases, the flexure can move more freely, so less stress is developed.
From the results, it is observed that 720 spiral angle has the least stress developed in
it for all the materials.
609
Fig.4 Variation of Maximum Stress vs. Spiral Angle

Fig. 5 shows the variation of maximum stress developed for different spiral slot
width. Spiral slot width is varied from 0.5 mm to 0.75 mm in steps of 0.05 mm.
Maximum Stress is noted down for the given axial displacement. It is observed that
the stress developed decreases slightly with the increase in spiral slot width. As the
incremental increase is only 0.05mm, the maximum stress developed is nearly
constant towards the end. Therefore, it is decided to take 0.5 mm slot width flexure,
considering the fabrication simplicity.
Fig.5 Variation of Maximum Stress vs. Spiral Slot Width
610
Fig.6 Variation of Maximum Stress vs. Disc Thickness

When the analysis is conducted by varying the thickness of the spiral disc for a
spiral angle of 720, Fig. 6, it is observed that the maximum stress developed
increases steadily with the thickness. It is attributed to the fact that the stress is
directly proportional to the force applied. More the thickness of the disc, more the
force applied to produce an equal axial displacement. Hence, from the results
obtained, it is concluded that the 0.5 mm disc is the optimal one.
Fig.7 Variation of Maximum Stress vs. Number of Spiral Arms

The analysis is extended by altering the number of spiral arms keeping the optimized
angle obtained from the analysis. The number of spiral arms is increased from one to
611
four and the simulation is run for each pass. It is observed that, when a single spiral
arm is used the stress developed is the maximum. As the spring finds it difficult to
move with a single spiral, the stress developed is at its peak. The stress developed
decreases drastically in the beginning, and then slowly. It can be observed that when
the number of spirals increased from three to four, the stress developed is nearly
constant. The optimum number of spirals taken is three, based on the observations.
CONCLUSIONS
The optimization analysis of the flexure spring has been carried out using FEA. The
flexure spring was designed for the use in a Stirling cryocooler. The simulations
were run by varying geometrical parameters such as spiral sweep angle, spiral slot
width, number of spirals and disc thickness. Various materials have been identified
and were compared with for the design criteria of high fatigue life. It is observed
that the maximum stress developed in the spring is at the either ends of the spiral
arms. To minimize the stress concentration curling was introduced at the ends. Since
flapper steel has the advantages of light weight and high fatigue strength, when
compared with the other two, it would be ideal to choose as the material for spring.
The flexure spring with three spiral arms of 0.5 mm slot width on a 0.5 mm thick
circular disc has been identified as the best possible configuration for the designed
cryocooler.
REFERENCES
Werrett S.T., Peskett G.D., Davey G., Bradshaw, T.W. and Delderfield, J. (1986),
Development of a Small Stirling Cycle Cooler for Spaceflight Applications,
Advances in Cryogenic Engineering, 31, 791-799.
A.S. Gaunekar, T. Goddenhenrich and C. Heiden (1996), Finite Element Analysis
and Testing of Flexure Bearing Elements, Cryogenics, 36, 359-364.
Gordon Davey, Mike Dadd, Pual Bailey (2002), An Investigation of the Motion of
Spring Suspended Pistons, Scientific and Technical Final Report, Oxford
University.
N. Chen, X. Chen, Y. N. Wu, C. G. Yang, L. Xu (2006), Spiral profile design and
parameter analysis of flexure spring, Cryogenics, 46, 409-419.
Ray Radebaugh (2009), Cryocoolers: the state of the art and recent developments,
Journal of Physics, IOP Science, 21, 9pp.
Sunil Girde, Y.l. Yanakar (2012), Finite Element Analysis of Various Shapes of
Flexures, Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, 2, 25-29.
612

Estimation of Distortions and Residual Stresses in

Welded Joints
Jees Varghese1, C G Nandakumar2
1
Design Engineer,2 Associate Professor

1
S & O Maritime Services PVT. LTD,
Kaloor, Kochi- 682017
2
Department of Ship Technology,
ABSTRACT
Welding is one of the major and principal activities in steel fabrication industry,
including ship building. Welding induced distortions and residual stresses are the
major problems associated with it. This problem becomes severe in case of thin
panel fabrication which is common in boat building. The welding process involves
transient heat transfer in domains with complicated boundary conditions,
temperature dependent material and thermal properties and moving heat sources.
These issues cause difficulty in numerical modelling of welding process and
analysis of welded joints. FEM is a powerful technique to perform welding
simulation on various weld joints and materials. In the present study T joint ,
straight and curved stiffened panel have been modelled and heat transfer analysis
and static analysis are conducted using finite element software ANSYS to find out
the residual stress and distortion. T joint has been modelled using solid element and
stiffened panels have been modelled using shell element to include the rotation
effect. Comparisons have been made with the solutions based on classical methods.
The influence of residual stress on buckling as well as on the warping has been
reported.
INTRODUCTION
Welding is a joining technique in which the materials are joined together through the
formation of primary chemical bonds by the application of heat (Messeler, 1999).
The two pieces of the metal to be joined are placed together and heated with a filler
material until they melt. Welding has wide applications in the fabrication of ships,
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: jeesvar@gmail.com
Estimation of distortions and residual stresses
pressure vessels, boilers, bridges and structural steelwork in offshore structures. Out
of these, three-fourth of the welding operations are done in the ship building
industry. Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW) and
Submerged Arc Welding (SMAW) are the various types of welding used in ship
building industry, among which GMAW is the most commonly used one. Residual
stresses and distortions are the major problems associated with the welding
fabrications. Which remain as a permanent effect after welding is completed. The
residual stresses reduce the load carrying capacity of the structural members and
bring down the buckling load (Mandal, 2009). Distortions induced by the thermal
effects of welding spoil the profile expected after welding. Hence rectification of
residual stress and distortions are necessary.
CLASSICAL METHODS FOR THE ANALYSIS OF WELDED JOINTS
T JOINT
The equations for residual stresses and distortions have been developed by Ractliffe,
based on the concept of tendon force which is balanced by a reaction distributed
over the whole of the structural element including the weld affected zone. According
to the law of conservation of energy the amount of heat input during welding is
given by Eq. (1),
Q= (V * I) in Watts
(1)
Compressive residual stress is given by Eq. (2),

200..Q / v
r
b p .t p
in N/mm2
(2)
This formula appears to be accurate for all type of weld and all practical range of
current, voltage, speed, plate width and thickness and yield stress. For fillet welds,
relation between amount of heat and weld leg size is given by the Eq. (3),
Q / v a (a 1) / C in kJ/mm
(3)
Where, C is a constant that depend on the welding process. For GMAW, C = 33

Shrinkage across a T-fillet and cruciform weld joint is given by the Eq. (4).
3..Q / v .n.k
s
2.t p t w
in mm
Where,
614
(4)
k is a constant having values 2 for shrinkage of flange and 1 for total shrinkage
across joint in web direction.
Masubuchi introduced an empirical formula to determine the warp up of a range of
fillet weld in the steel T- joint and is given by Eq. (5.a) and (5.b),
0.5.t p . log e 0.24.a in degrees
if tp < 9mm
(5.a)
45. log e a 67
in degrees
tp
if tp > 9mm
(5.b)
Critical stress of the panel is given by Eq. (6).
4. .E.t in N/mm
12.1 .b
2
cr
2
p
2
p
(6)
Welding of stiffeners over the panel results in residual stress and if this stress
exceeds the critical stress of the panel, buckling of the panel occurs. Therefore the
residual stress in the structure due to welding along with the other inplane
compressive stress resultants should not exceed its critical stress.
OPEN HULL
The governing equation of thin walled open sections subjected to torsion (Iyengar,
1986) is given by Eq. (7),
d
d 3
(7)
C1
dZ
dZ3
When the longitudinal forces such as compressive, tensile and shear does not pass
through the shear center, bending and torsion are produced. When stiffeners are
welded to a plate, shrinkage takes place in both longitudinal and transverse
direction. In the present study the longitudinal shrinkage which is the tendon force
has been considered as the main cause leading to buckling. The equation of tendon
force developed on the plate is given by Eq. (8),
(8)
F 224.Q net
Because of the symmetry of the stiffened panel, only one panel viz., a portion of the
plate with a stiffener centered on the plate strip is considered. Flexural warping
stress of thin walled open section (Mohamed, 2010) is determined by the Eq. (9).
E.T

..k. tanh( kL)
(9)
G.J t
Relative warping displacement is given by Eq. (10).
u 2..
(10)
Mt C
615
FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF WELDED JOINTS

T JOINT
Dimensions of the welded joint studied herein, which is available in Rui et al.
(2008). The plate breadth is set to 610 mm, which is the stiffener spacing usually
adopted for ship building purposes. The width and thickness of the plate are 1000
mm and 12 mm respectively. The height and thickness of the web are 138 mm and
16 mm. Fillet weld of leg length 6 mm is taken for the analysis. Only half of the
model has been created due to the symmetric properties of the T joint. Solid brick
elements available in the ANSYS library are used to model the plate and the
stiffener. SOLID 70 and its prism option are the solid elements used to mesh and
analyze the joint for heat transfer analysis. For static analysis solid elements of
SOLID 45 and its prism option are used.
The finite element model has 2256 nodes and 1570 elements. The plate material
considered for the analysis is mild steel designated as C-Mn steel. The material
properties for the present analysis are specified as the function of temperature. The
thermal input has been specified as body flux through the weld. Welding parameters
for the present analysis are, current = 330 A, voltage = 32V and speed = 5 mm/sec.
The heat flux is calculated as ( * V * I) / v and for the present analysis, heat flux is
(0.85 * 330 * 32) / (0.005) = 1795200 J/m. Temperature history obtained from
transient thermal analysis has been used for static analysis. The boundary conditions
of this problem are initial value of temperature and conventional heat transfer
besides the structural parameters at the boundary. Initial temperature has been taken
as room temperature itself (25oC). Convection heat transfer has been specified on the
surface of the plate (15 W/m2K). Due to symmetry, translation in the x direction has
been constrained during static analysis. The distortion of the welded T joint is
estimated by using ANSYS software. The results have been tabulated along with the
classical and experimental results obtained as shown in the table 1.
Table 1 Results of T joint
Methods
Transverse
Angular
Residual Percentage
distortion(mm) distortion(o) stresses error of
(N/mm2) residual
stress( % )
Empirical formula
0.2693
0.5679
49.049
16.78
Finite element method 0.2230
0.577
39.815
2.26
616
Experiment by Rui et
0.2
1.35
42
al.(2008)
The determined residual stress deviates from the experimental value by 16.78% and
2.26% for classical and finite element method respectively. It has been found that
the finite element results is closer to the experimental value and hence make it more
acceptable than empirical values.
OPEN HULL
A 6 mm plate with width 1500 mm and length 4000 mm has been used for the
present study. An angle stiffener has been welded on the plate. The dimension of the
angle stiffener is 75 x 75 x 6. The spacing between the stiffeners is 500 mm. Shell
elements are used to model the plate and stiffener. SHELL 57 is used to mesh and
analyse the joint for heat transfer analysis. For static analysis shell element of
SHELL 63 is used. Panel has been placed over the rigid support and the stiffeners
have been welded. Hence for analysis of straight stiffened panel the rigid foundation
boundary condition has been taken. Similarly the curved panel welding has been
carried out by placing the panel over the skids, hence x, y and z translation has been
constrained. Due to its symmetry, the translation along the x direction has been
constrained. Both finite elements have 220 nodes and 210 elements. Temperature
history obtained from transient thermal analysis has been used for static analysis.
Warping stress and warping displacement of straight and curved stiffened panel
have been tabulated as shown in table 2. Buckling stress obtained using the Eq. (6)
are also tabulated.
Table 2 Results of Straight and Curved Stiffened Panels
Methods
Straight stiffened panel
Curved stiffened panel
Buckling
stress
(N/mm2)
Flexural Warping
Flexural Warping
Classical
method
Finite
element
method
warping
stress
(N/mm2)
27.54
displacement
(mm)
0.462
warping
stress
(N/mm2)
27.54
24.74
displacement
(mm)
0.462
103.68
0.284
29.17
0.546
103.68
These warping stress resultants are acting in the same sense as the inplane
compressive stress resultant and leads to buckling of plate. The exceedance of total
617
compressive stress resultants above the predicted buckling stress indicates buckling
failure.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

1. Analyse the welded T joint, straight and curved stiffened panel based on the
classical methods.
2. Heat transfer and static analysis of welded T joint, without considering weld
penetration effect has been conducted using 3D solid element.
3. Comparisons have been made with the results obtained from classical method
and finite element method using ANSYS APDL along with the experimental
results by Rui et al.
4. Thermo mechanical analysis of thin walled open section such as straight and
curved stiffened panel have been conducted using the finite element software
ANSYS and a comparison has been made with the results obtained from
classical method.
5. Finite element analysis can be recommended for the determination of distortions
and residual stresses
REFERENCES
Element Library, ANSYS
canonsburg.P.A.2009.
12.1
Documentation
Preview,
ANSYS,
Inc.,
Iyengar, N. G. R. (1986), Structural stability of columns and plated, East-west

press, New Delhi.
Mandal, N. R. (2009), Welding Techniques, Distortion Control and Line Heating,
Narosa publication, New Delhi.
Messeler, R. (1999), Principles of welding: Processes, Physics, Chemistry and
Metallurgy, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York.
Mohamed, S. (2010), Torsion and shear stresses in ships, Springer, London.
Ractliffe, A. T. (1983), The Basis and Essentials of Thermal Residual Distortion in
Steel Structures, The Royal Institute of Naval Architects, 217-225.
Rui, W., R. Sheriff and S. Hesashi (2008), Numerical and Experimental
Investigations on Welding Deformation, Transactions of JWRI, 37, 79-90.
618

December 10-12, 2014, CUSAT, Kochi, India. 619-626
Material Property Evaluation of Carbon Fibre Reinforced

Plastic from Tone Burst Eddy Current Thermography Data
using Inversion Method
Suni Mathai1, Biju N.2, Krishnan Balasubramaniam3
1
Assistant Professor, Federal Institute of Science and Technology,

Mookkannoor, Angamaly 683577, Kerala, India.
2
Associate Professor, Cochin University of Science and Technology
3
Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Madras , Chennai, India.
ABSTRACT
A recently developed non destructive technique, Eddy Current Thermography, can
be used for defect detection as well as material property evaluation. Eddy current
Thermography technique uses a transient electromagnetic method where eddy
currents are induced in a conducting medium in order to produce local heating
inside the material. Diffusion of the heat inside the material is imaged by measuring
the transient temperature profiles at the surface, using devices such as an infrared
camera. The present work is to evaluate simultaneously the thermal and electrical
properties of an anisotropic material, like Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP)
from the eddy current temperature data both numerically and experimentally. The
simulation of the forward problem of electromagnetic induction and heat transfer
was carried out using COMSOL finite element software. From the time-temperature
data obtained, the properties of the material were estimated using Genetic
Algorithm (GA) based inversion method.
KEY WORDS: Eddy current Thermography, carbon fibre reinforced
plastics,
simultaneous estimation, inversion, Genetic Algorithm (GA).
1. INTRODUCTION
Eddy current created by electromagnetic induction generates heat due to Joule
heating. The heat diffuses into the material and the temperature on the surface of the
specimen changes. The transient temperature behaviour on the surface of the
specimen is sensed by infrared(IR) camera. Recorded images (thermograms) over
1
Suni Mathai. E-mail: sunibp@yahoo.co.in
Material property evaluation of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic
several time frames were processed. The thermography can be used in nondestructive evaluation for defect characterization and material property evaluation
(Orain S et al. (2001), Verma S. and C. Balaji (2007) Yue K., X. Zhang, and F. Yu
(2007), N. Biju et al (2011,) Liang Cheng and Gui Yun Tian (2011).
In the present work, an attempt was made to find the thermal and electrical
properties, of the given sample of an anisotropic material (CFRP), simultaneously
from the time-temperature data of eddy current thermography, by using inversion
technique. The forward problem of electro-magnetic induction heating was solved
with a 2D model using the finite-element method and from the temperature profile
history, an inverse analysis was performed using the Genetic Algorithm (GA) to
estimate the properties. Both numerical simulations and experimental investigations
had been performed. To solve the electromagnetic induction and heat diffusion
problem (forward model) for CFRP, COMSOL3.4 multiphysics software was used.
MATLAB Genetic Algorithm Optimisation Toolbox was implemented for inversion
to find the thermal and electrical conductivity of the material. Analytical result is
compared with that obtained experimentally.
MATHEMATICAL MODEL
The governing equations used in preparing mathematical model for electromagnetic
induction were Maxwells equations which consist of Faradays law, Amperes law
and Gauss law and constitutive equations. The modified form of Amperes equation
for eddy current problem becomes
1
( j 2 0 r ) Az 0 r ( Az ) J s
V
L
A - magnetic vector potential (Wb/m)

J - current density in (A/m2)
r- the relative permittivity(F/m),
12
0- the permittivity of free space = 8.854 10 F / m
r- the relative permeability,
7
0- the permeability of free space= 4 10 H / m ,
- electrical conductivity (S/m)
V - potential gradient
L - the length of the induction wire
is the governing equation pertaining to magnetic field propagation.
The boundary conditions are magnetic insulation on the air boundary Az=0 and
continuity of magnetic fields on the interior boundaries
n H 1 H 2 J s
620
The surface current Js vanishes at the boundary. Thus the above becomes zero
automatically.
The governing equation for heat transfer is the two dimensional diffusion equation
expressed as
kx
2T
2T
T
k y 2 Q C p
2
t
x
y
3
where Q is the heat generation, is the material density(kg/m3) , C p is the specific
heat capacity (J/kg.K), T is the temperature (K) and kx and ky is the thermal
conductivity (W/m.K). From the above equation it can be inferred that the thermal
diffusion depends on the properties of the material. This aspect is utilized for
material characterization by inversion. The eddy currents induced in the sample
generates heat due to Joule heating and the average value of the heat generated
within the plate is
1
2
E- electric field intensity
4
Q E
(V/m)
For the induction simulations, the heat generated was incorporated into the above
equation with appropriate boundary conditions to solve for the thermal profile at any
point in the solution domain as a function of time. The boundary conditions for heat
transfer are the constant temperature boundary condition at outer air domain
boundaries with temperature equivalent to room temperature and convection as well
as radiation heat flux from the coil and specimen surfaces.
(
)
(
)
(
)
5
where q0 is the inward conductive heat flux from other external sources and T a is
the ambient temperature. For the transient heat transfer analysis, the initial
temperature is taken as 300 K.
FORWARD MODEL
Fig.1 shows the model used for numerical simulation. The specimen was a 2mm
thick composite (CFRP) plate. A linear coil was modeled above the CFRP plate.
The lift-off of the coil above the plate was 2 mm. The excitation frequency was kept
at 200 kHz. The external current density was taken as 109A/m2.
621
Fig.1 Forward model
Fig. 2 Temperature distribution in the

sample after 10s
Fig. 3 Temperature profile thus

generated from simulation results
Both the coil and the specimen were placed in air domain. The heating was done for
3s and the period of observation as 10s. During this period, temperature rise occurs
due to heating and diffusion. The material parameters used for the simulation studies
are shown in Table1. The temperature distribution in the model after 10s obtained
by numerical simulation is shown in fig.2. The time-temperature data used for the
inversion was taken in from surface of the specimen just below the coil at eight
different positions. The temperature profile thus generated from simulation results
are as shown in fig. 3.
Table 1 Electrical and thermal parameters of the materials used in simulation
Sl. No
1.
2.
Parameters
Rel. permeability, r
Electric conductivity,(S/m)
3.
Thermal conductivity,k (W/m.K)
0.026
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Density, (kg/m)
Specific heat,Cp (J/kg.K)
Convective Coefficient, h(W/m)
Emissivity,
Ambient temperature (K)
1.23
1005
5
0.3
300
622
Air
1
0
CFRP
1
12 x 104
kx-=5
ky= 0.8
1500
918
Copper
1
5.99 x 107
400
8700
385
EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
The experimental setup for eddy current thermography consisted mainly of an
induction heating unit and infrared camera. Inductor heats the sample and infra-red
camera detects radiation in the infrared region (wavelength 0.9 14 m) of the
electromagnetic spectrum. The two dimensional transient temperature profiles
(thermograms), at the material surface, were recorded and analysed. Equipment
specifications are shown in Table 2
Table 2 Equipment specifications
Camera
Induction heating unit

Software linked
FLIR-SC5000 MWIR (3-5micrometer) cooled type, focal length 27mm, InSb detectors, focal plane array (FPA)- 320 x 258 Pixels
pitch- 30m, frame rate -200Hz
maximum excitation power- 1kW, maximum current-1500A
excitation frequency range- 150 400 kHz.
Altair, Cirrus
The experiments were performed on a composite (CFRP) plate of 200mm x 100mm

x 2mm. A rectangular coil made of copper with 2mm diameter was used for
induction. The lift-off of the coil from the sample was kept approximately 2mm. It is
placed normal to the specimen (z-direction). A peak current of nearly 1200A was
passed through the coil for 10s and the temperature history of the surface was
monitored for 20s. The experiment was done with an excitation frequency of 200
kHz. The camera was placed on the same side as the coil (reflection mode). A
schematic diagram of the experimental setup is shown in fig.4. The thermal
conductivity was assumed to be anisotropic in the x-y plane. The inductor is
modeled as a wire perpendicular to the x-y plane (z-direction). The excitation
current was passed in the z-direction. The temperature data used for the inversion
was taken in from the surface of the specimen just below the coil at eight positions
along the x-direction. No shielding was done. Thermograms at various time frames
are shown in fig.5.
a
c
a
a. 0s
b. 5s
c. 10s
d. 15s
e. 20s
Fig 5 Thermograms at various time frames
d
a
Fig. 4 Schematic diagram of

the experimental setup
e
a
623
INVERSION USING GENETIC ALGORITHM

For inversion, time temperature data obtained by solving the 2D model of
electromagnetic induction is utilized for analysis. Objective here is to minimize the
difference between the measured Tref(xi,tj) and the calculated T(xi,,tj) using the
objective function
n
f (Tref ( xi , t j ) T ( xi , t j )) 2
i 1 j 0
where n - number of locations and m- number of time steps subjected to constraints

min max
kx min k kx max
ky min k ky max
where kx and ky are the thermal conductivities of the composite in longitudinal
direction (fibre direction) and transverse directions respectively. is the electrical
conductivity of the material. Tref(xi,tj) is the timetemperature data which are the
measured surface temperature from experiments at selected locations (xi) obtained
over a short duration of time(t) in j number of steps. Then the inversion process
starts by solving the forward problem repeatedly, by assuming the material property
values (kx, ky, ) in the given range, randomly. The temperature history at the same
location is stored as T(xi,,tj). Temperatures at a number of locations were selected as
observation points just below the coil towards either sides in x-direction (fibre
direction) as this region is more sensitive to temperature changes. The observation
time was divided into 0.1 s time steps.
Table 2 Upper and the lower
bounds selected for the material
(CFRP) properties
.
Bounds
Property
kx(W/m.K)
ky(W/m.K)
(S/m)
Lower
Upper
0
0
0.010 x 107
10
1
0.015 x 107
Table 3 GA Parameters used for inversion

Initial Population
Selection type
Cross over type
Cross over rate
Mutation type
Mutation rate
10
Roulette wheel selection
Heuristic cross over
90% of initial population
Uniform
10% of initial population
The GA based inversion is performed using the optimization tool box in MATLAB.
The GA produces as many generations as the convergence criterion defined by the
user is reached, for which can be either the specified number of generations or a
specified value of the fitness function.
624

SIMULATION WITHOUT NOISE
The time temperature data from the forward model was taken at eight different
locations on the surface of the sample plate of CFRP at 0.1s time steps for 10s. This
temperature data was considered as the reference temperature data. Temperatures at
these locations for 0.1s time steps were calculated for values of properties assumed
by GA. These two sets of temperatures were considered while optimizing the
objective function. The estimated value of thermal conductivity and electrical
conductivity for different number of generations from the simulated data with the
percentage error in the parenthesis is as shown in Table 5.
Table 5 Estimated values of thermal and electrical conductivity of CFRP without noise
No. of Generations
50
100
250
500
kx (W/m.K)
4.787 (4.25%)
5.26 (5.28%)
4.961 (0.77%)
5.032 (0.65%)
ky (W/m.K)
0.877 (9.68%)
0.84 (5.23%)
0.843 (5.37%)
0.787 (1.61%)
(S/m)
11.08x104 (7.66%)
13.58x104 (13.21%)
12.42x104 (3.58%)
12.05x104 (0.47%)
SIMULATION WITH NOISE

The simulation was also extended for the case with noise. The noise in the camera
was taken to be 0.1 C . A random noise of maximum magnitude 0.50C was added
to the reference temperature data. The values of properties of the material were
estimated by inversion with the percentage error are shown in Table 6.
Table 6 Estimated values of thermal and electrical conductivity of CFRP with
noise
No. of Generations
50
250
500
1000
kx (W/m.K)
5.402 (8.04%)
5.292 (5.85%)
5.579 (11.59%)
5 (0%)
ky (W/m.K)
0.91 (13.75%)
0.729 (8.75%)
0.689 (13.76%)
0.768 (4%)
(S/m)
13.08x104 (9%)
12.9x104 (7.53%)
12.19x104 (1.63%)
12.12x104 (1%)
It was noticed that the percentage error of the estimated values of the properties
obtained in simulation with noise is much more than without noise for the same
number of generation.
625
SIMULATION WITH EXPERIMENTAL DATA
Experiment was done with the setup as mentioned earlier. Estimated values
of the properties from the experimental data for various generations are
given in the Table 7.
Table 7 Estimated values of thermal and electrical conductivity of CFRP using
experimental data
No. of Generations
50
250
500
kx (W/m.K)
5.343 (6.86%)
5.301 (6.02%)
4.829 (3.42%)
ky (W/m.K)
0.891 (11.37%)
0.853 (6.62%)
0.735 (6.5%)
(S/m)
12.91x104 (7.58%)
12.4x104 (3.33%)
11.79x104 (1.75%)
It was possible to reconstructed values of the material property by inversion using

experimental data with error below 5%, except for ky which was found to be 6.5%.
With more number of generations error could be reduced.
REFERENCES
Liang Cheng and Gui Yun Tian (2011), Surface Crack Detection for Carbon Fibre
Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) Materials Using Pulsed Eddy Current Thermography, Sensors
Journal, IEEE, 11, 3261-3268.
N. Biju., N.Ganasen, C.V.Krishnamurthy, Balasubramaniam, K (2011), Simultaneous
estimation of electrical and thermal properties of isotropic material from the tone-burst eddy
current thermography (TBET) time - temperature data, IEEE Transactions On Magnetics,
47, 2213-2219.
Orain S., Y. Scudeller, S. Garcia, and T. Brousse (2001), Use of genetic algorithms for the
simultaneous estimation of thin films thermal conductivity and contact resistance, Int. J.
Heat & Mass Transfer, 44, 39733984.
Verma S. and C. Balaji (2007), Multiparameter estimation in combined

conduction- radiation from a plane parallel participating medium using genetic
algorithm, Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 50, 17061714.
Yue K., X. Zhang, and F. Yu (2007) Simultaneous estimation of thermal properties
of living tissues using non invasive method, Int. J. Thermophys., 28, 14701489
626

Feasibility Study on Implementing Shock Response

Spectrum in a Finite Element Software
Anjana Krishnan1, Ajimon Thomas2, Tom George3
1
Reader, 2Asst.Professor, 3Asst.Professor

Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology
Trivandrum- 695015, Kerala, India.
ABSTRACT
Shock type loading in mechanical sense is an attribute of a short duration load with
a considerably large magnitude, which can result in catastrophic damages to
mechanical and structural systems. It is of engineering importance to assess the
destructive potential of such transient loadings analytically or numerically, prior to
choosing appropriate designs. Finite element method is one of the most popular
numerical tools used in engineering analyses. To this end, five methods of
implementing SRS among many procedures available in published literature are
identified for its probable incorporation into finite element software.
INTRODUCTION
Response spectrum is a method proposed by Biot in 1932 for estimating the
damaging effects of seismic shocks upon buildings and has since been used in
analyzing shocks which have been applied to a linear system. Shock Response
Spectrum (SRS) is obtained as a result of data reduction of the transient (shock load
or earthquake force) to the response domain (Harris and Piersol, 2002). The transient
is input to a number of SDOF systems with different frequencies but the same
damping ratio. The response time history of these SDOF systems to the input
transient is calculated and the magnitude of peak response is plotted as a function of
the natural frequency which results in the SRS. It is assumed that the oscillator mass
does not affect the dynamic behavior of the base (Wijker, 2008). Fig.1 shows the
schematic representation for calculating SRS.
1
Anjana Krishnan. E-mail: anjanaknair@yahoo.com
Feasibility study for implementing shock response spectrum
Fig.1 Schematic representation for calculation of SRS (Steinberg,1988)

ENFORCED ACCELERATION ON AN SDOF SYSTEM
SRS is calculated by considering the response of many SDOF systems subjected to a
base excitation. A SDOF system is considered with a discrete mass m, a damper
element c and a spring element k placed on a moving base which is accelerated with
acceleration (t). The resulting displacement of the mass is x(t) (Wijker 2008).
Fig.2 Enforced acceleration on an SDOF system
628
The equation of motion for the SDOF system is given by,

[ ( )
( )
[ ( )
( )]
( )]
(1)
The relative displacement of the mass with respect to the base is given by
()
( )- ( )
...(2)
Substituting Eq. (2) in Eq. (1) and normalizing with respect to mass, the equation of
motion becomes,
( )
( )
( )
( )
(3)
The enforced acceleration of the SDOF system is transformed into an external force.
The absolute displacement ( ) is calculated by
( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
(4)
The solution of Eq. (3), taking into account the initial condition with respect to
displacement ( ) and velocity ( ) is
( )
( )
( )
))
( )
(5)
The first two terms of Eq. (5) gives the homogenous solution for Eq. (3). The
motion described by these terms is caused by the initial displacement, ( ) and the
initial velocity, ( ) at time, t = 0. The third term, the integral is used for
determining the particular solution i.e., the part of motion being caused by the
excitation, ( ) occurring during the time interval for which the solution is sought.
The integral is known as Duhamel or convolution or superposition integral where
the external force and unit impulse response of SDOF system are convolved to
obtain the response of the system (Gaberson, 1980).
For SRS calculations, the initial displacement and initial velocity are considered as
zero, i.e., ( ) = ( )
, hence Eq. (5) becomes
()
( - )
(6)
Differentiating Eq. (6) gives the relative velocity

( )
- ( )
(- )
( - ))
()
(7)
629
Direct convolution of the input acceleration and the impulse response is seldom used
since it is computationally intensive. This calls for alternate methods to evaluate the
Duhamel integral. The process by which Eq. (6) and Eq. (7) are evaluated
constitutes the various numerical methods for calculating the SRS.
NUMERICAL EVALUATION OF THE DUHAMEL INTEGRAL
Various theories are available for the numerical evaluation of the Duhamel integral.
The methods differ on the assumption in variation of the input acceleration between
two time steps. The term input acceleration refers to the shock signal or the
earthquake motion acting as base excitation to the SDOF systems. These methods
are applicable to input acceleration sampled at equal time intervals. The following
methods are called recursive filtering relationships in which the response at any time
depends in part on the response at the previous times. The term filtering refers to the
fact that the response of SDOF system itself behaves as a simple low-pass filter. The
filtering relationship is derived by integrating over extensive number of steps in time
domain (Gunda and Rao, 2012). It may also be derived by frequency domain
transformation methods, particularly the Z-transform method. The advantage of
these methods is that for a constant time interval t, the coefficients depend only
upon and , and these are constant during the calculation of the response.
Presently, the following methods are considered:
Trapezoidal Rule (Gaberson, 2008)
Linear approximation of input acceleration (Nigam and Jennings,1968,
Kelly and Richman, 1969)
Parabolic approximation of input acceleration (Kelly and Richman,
1969)
Z-transform theory (Lane, 1964)
IMPLEMENTATION AND VALIDATION

The methods mentioned above are implemented in MATLAB to check its
feasibility. The inputs required for calculation of SRS are:
Damping ratio and frequency range for which the SRS is to be calculated.
Time history of the input acceleration
The algorithm used for implementing the programs is as follows:
Step 1: Data files are prepared for the inputs
Step 2: The starting frequency
is considered
Step 3: The constants required for the corresponding method is calculated
Step 4: For each time step, relative displacement and velocity and absolute
acceleration is calculated and peak value is found out
Step 5: Next frequency is considered
630
Step 6: If it is
proceed to Step 7 else Step 3
Step 7: Plot the absolute acceleration vs. frequency in a log-log scale
The programs are validated using a half-sine shock pulse. This is a typical shock
load used for shock testing of components. The time of application of the shock is
from 0 to 0.011 seconds. The data is sampled at a rate of 9091 samples per second.
The time interval between two data points in the input is 0.00011seconds. Maximum
amplitude for the signal is 50 g. SRS is calculated within a frequency range of 1-900
Hz with a frequency increment of 1 Hz. The quality factor used for the SRS
calculation is 10. The half-sine wave is shown in Fig.3 and the SRS obtained is
shown in Fig.4. The results obtained from the various methods are given in Table 1.
Fig.3 Half-sine wave of 0.011seconds duration and maximum amplitude of 50g
631
Fig.4 Comparison of SRS obtained for the half-sine wave

Table 1 Comparison of peak values of SRS obtained from various methods
Method Used
Trapezoidal
Lane
Nigam Jennings
Kelly Richman Linear
Kelly Richman Parabolic
NASTRAN
Peak Absolute
Acceleration(g)
Frequency at which peak

occurs(Hz)
88.8393
82.2190
82.5667
82.1194
82.1238
82.5260
73
76
75
74
74
74
CONCLUSIONS
The following were inferred from the study conducted:
All the methods perform well in frequency ranges between the extreme
frequency values
Nigam-Jennings method performs well for high and low frequencies
Trapezoidal method performs well only at very high sampling frequencies
Lanes method is computationally efficient but gives lower response values
at lower frequencies
Kelly-Richman method gives lower response values at higher frequencies
632
REFERENCES
Gaberson,H.A. (1980), Shock Spectrum Calculations from Acceleration Time
Histories, Civil Engineering Laboratory, Technical Note TN No. N-1590.
Gunda,J.B. and Rao,V.G. (2012), Shock Response Spectrum and Its Damage
Potential: An Application to Launch Vehicle Structures, Journal of Space Science &
Technology, 1( 3), 23-36.
Harris,C.M. and Piersol,A.G. (2002), Harris Shock and Vibration Handbook, Fifth
Edition, McGraw-Hill Handbooks, ISBN 0-07-137081-1.
Kelly,R.D. and Richman,G. (1969), Principles and Techniques of Shock Data
Analysis, SVM-5, The Shock and Vibration Information Center, U.S DoD.
Lane, D. W. (1964), Digital Shock Spectrum Analysis by Recursive Filtering , Shock
and Vibration Bulletin No. 33, Part II, DoD, The Pentagon, Washington, D. C
Nigam,N.C. and Jennings,P.C. (1968), Digital Calculation of Response Spectra from
Strong Motion Earthquake Records, California Institute of Technology.
Steinberg (1988),Vibration Analysis for Electronic Equipment,John Wiley and Sons.
Wijker,J.J. (2008), Spacecraft Structures, Springer Publications.
633
634

Analysis of Mechanical Properties of Prosopis Juliflora

Composite Treated with Sodium Hydroxide
LakshmananV#1, Gopal P1, SivaKumar E2
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, BIT campus, Tiruchirappalli

2
TechnicalOfficer, CBPST Cochin
ABSTRACT
Natural fibers have recently become attractive to automotive industry as an
alternative reinforcement for glass fiber reinforced thermoplastics. The best way to
increase the fuel efficiency without sacrificing safety is to employ fiber reinforced
composite materials in the body of the cars so that weight reduction can be
achieved. Designing the structures with the focus on improvement aspects is very
important in the automotive industry. This research is focused on eco-friendly
Prosopis juliflora (PJF) fibers compounded with orthophthalic resin to enhance the
desired mechanical properties for automotive body material. In order to get proper
results two different weight fractions i.e. 4wt% and 5wt% of PJF fiber is used. Here,
fiber is used as blended type. So the fiber is chopped with three different lengths
20mm, 30mm and 40mm respectively. The fabrication processes started when the
mixture is poured into the mould and it is compacted until it perfectly fulfilled the
mould. The mixture took about one to two hours to completely dry. The specimens
then were cut into standard dimensions according to ASTMD638-10 and
ASTMD790-10 standards. The results indicate that some mechanical properties
such as tensile strength, youngs modulus, flexural strength and flexural modulus
are more advantages to conventional automotive body material.
INTRODUCTION
NATURAL FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITES
The interest in natural fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials is
rapidly growing both in terms of their industrial applications and fundamental
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: laksh100683@gmail.com
Analysis of mechanical properties of prosopis juliflora composite treated with
research. They are renewable, cheap, completely or partially recyclable, and

biodegradable. Plants, such as flax, cotton, hemp, jute, sisal, kenaf, pineapple, ramie,
bamboo, banana, etc., as well as wood, used from time immemorial as a source of
lignocellulosic fibers, are more and more often applied as the reinforcement of
composites. Their availability, renewability, low density, and price as well as
satisfactory mechanical properties make them an attractive ecological alternative to
glass, carbon and man-made fibers used for the manufacturing of composites. The
natural fiber-containing composites are more environmentally friendly, and are used
in transportation (automobiles, railway coaches, aerospace), military applications,
building and construction industries (ceiling panelling, partition boards), packaging,
consumer products, etc.
REINFORCEMENT (PJF)
Natural fibers from plants are ideal choice for producing polymer
composites. Bark fibers of Prosopis juliflora (PJ) as shown in figure 1, an evergreen
plant have not been utilized for making polymer composites yet.The PJ plant has a
twisted stem and flexible branches with long and strong thorns.The PJF belonged to
gelatinous or mucilaginous type. Its lignin content (17.11%) and density (580 kg/m3)
were relatively higher and lower, respectively in comparison to bark fibers of other
plants.
Fig 1 Prosopis juliflora tree

Fig.2 Fiber extracted from PJ plant
The stems (approximately 25 mm diameter) of PJ plant were collected from
Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu.Bark of this plant acted as the source of natural fiber. The
barks of the PJ plant were immersed in water to allow microbial degradation for a
maximum period of two weeks such that they became soft and both inner and outer
layers got detached as shown in figure 2. The outer layer was removed and disposed
of while the inner layer was retained for subsequent separation of fibers by
employing a traditional combing process with the aid of fine, long metal teeth. In
order to dehydrate the fiber, it is kept in oven at 50C for 6 hours.
MATRIX
Polyester resins are thermoset polymers that are created by combining a
glycol (like ethylene glycol) with an alcohol (like phthalic or maleic acid). Water is
given off in what is known as a condensation reaction. Orthophthalic, it is also
referred to as ortho or General Purpose Polyester (GP) was the original polyester
developed. It has the lowest cost and is still very widely used in FRP industry. It is
commonly used in applications where high mechanical properties, corrosion
resistance, and thermal stability are not required. Although the upper temperature
limit is only 50C, it performs satisfactory in water and sea water. It is normally not
recommended for use in contact with chemicals. The general purpose polyester resin
636
is a quick curing resin and raw material for laminating purpose. It is un-accelerated.
Suitable for both hand layup and gun spray up.
MOLD
The mould is prepared by using three nova plywood boards with the
dimensions of each 400x400x5mm as shown in figure 3.The die cavity of
dimensions 250x160x5mm is made in the middle plate. These three plywood boards
are bolted together tightly.
Fig 3 Mold
Fig 4 Various length fibers
METHODOLOGY
FIBER PREPARATION
The fully dehydrated PJF is used as reinforcement. To know the ratio for
the resin and fiber in the composite the weight fraction method is used. According to
this method the maximum weight of resin that can be poured inside the mold cavity
is calculated. Similarly the maximum weight of the fiber that can be kept inside the
mold is calculated. Maximum weight of resin inside the mold cavity = 290 gms.
Maximum weight of fiber inside the mold cavity = 14.5 gms. In order to get proper
results two different weight fractions i.e. 4wt% and 5wt% of fiber is used. Here,
fiber is used as blended type. So the fiber is chopped with three different lengths
20mm, 30mm and 40mm respectively as shown in figure 4.
PREPARATION OF MATRIX
The required amount resin for one mold is taken in glass container without
any air bubbles. By trial and error method it has been found that 0.75% of
accelerator and hardener are suitable for curing the resin within 1-2 hours. The
amount of resin taken is 300ml, Hence, 0.75% in 300ml is 2.25ml. So 2.25ml of
accelerator is taken through a syringe and added with resin and stirred thoroughly
until the colour changes from muddy yellow to pale green. During stirring of the
resin it must be noted that there is no air bubbles. Because, any air bubble presented
in the resin created air cavities in composite which results in reducing the strength of
the composite. Similarly the hardener is also added with this composition and stirred
thoroughly until the colour changes from pale green to pale brown.
MOLDING PROCESS
The simplest of the fabrication processes, hand layup method is used in
low-volume production. To avoid the leakage of resin the mould is sealed with
labbam. The resin added with accelerator and hardener is poured in the mould cavity
to form a thin lower layer of resin. Then the blended fiber is evenly distributed over
the resin and then the remaining resin is poured over the fiber and OHP sheet is
placed over it to ensure the easy removal of composite after the resin is cured and
637
the top plate is placed over it and bolted tightly placed over fiber as shown in figure
5. A catalyst or accelerator initiates curing in the resin system, which hardens the
composite without external heat. After two hours the composite is removed from the
mold cavity as shown in figure 6.
Fig 5. Fiber distribution over resin layer

Fig 6. PJF reinforced composite.
CHARACTERIZATION OF COMPOSITE
Specimens of required dimensions are cut from the composite to perform
tensile and bending tests.
Tensile test
Ultimate tensile strength, often shortened to tensile strength or ultimate
strength, is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched
or pulled before failing or breaking. The tensile test is generally performed on flat
specimens. During the test a uniaxial load is applied through both the ends of the
specimen. The ASTM standard test method for tensile properties of fiber resin
composites has the designation D 638-10. The length of the test section should be
165 mm and the width should be 20mm for the thickness of 5mm. The tensile test is
performed in the Tinius Olsen H50KS standard tensile properties testing machine for
plastics with the cross head speed of 1mm/min and results are analyzed to optimize
the tensile strength of composite samples.
Flexural test
Flexural strength, also known as modulus of rupture, bend strength, or
fracture strength, a mechanical parameter for brittle material, is defined as a
material's ability to resist deformation under load. The flexural strength represents
the highest stress experienced within the material at its moment of rupture.The three
point test is conducted as per ASTM standard D790-10 the standard test method for
flexural properties of unreinforced and reinforced plastics. Span length of 170 mm
with the width of 50mm and the cross head speed of 1 mm/min are maintained.
During this test, load is applied perpendicular to the axis of the specimen.
OBSERVATIONS AND CALCULATIONS

TENSILE TEST
The tensile test results areshown in a stressstrain curve which gives clear
view about the tensile properties of the composite. Specimens 1, 2 & 3 are
composite of 4wt% fiber (20mm, 30mm, and 40mm respectively). Specimens 4, 5 &
6 are composite of 5wt% fiber (20mm, 30mm, and 40mm respectively). Width of
specimen = 20mm,Thickness = 5 mm, So, Area of specimen = 100mm2 as shown
in table 1 and 2.
638
Table 1. Tensile properties of the composite.

Fiber content
(Wt %)
Length of the fiber

in specimen (mm)
Ultimate force
(N)
Tensile strength
(Mpa)
Total elongation
( %)
20
888
8.88
0.72
30
993
9.93
0.874
40
1140
11.4
0.983
20
897
8.97
0.509
30
1120
11.2
0.67
40
1290
12.9
0.874
Table 2 Flexural properties of the composite

Fiber content
(Wt %)
Length of the
specimen in (mm)
Maximum
load (N)
Flexural
Strength (MPa)
Total
elongation (%)
20
160
585.2
0.001
30
164.33
601
0.002
40
168.33
615.7
0.001
20
215
786.3
0.003
30
291.6
1066.8
0.003
40
96.7
1085.9
0.002

COMPARISON OF TENSILE PROPERTIES
Fig 7. Tensile properties of the composite.

The ultimate tensile strength for the PJ fibre reinforced with polymeric resin is
higher for the specimen which has weight percentage 5% and fibre length
40mm.The fibre with weight percentage 5% and fibre length 40 mm has higher
tensile strength compared to PJ fibre reinforced polyester composite which has
weight percentage 4% and fibre length 20mm, 30mm, 40mm as well as 5% and fibre
length 20mm and 30mm.The new class of composite with higher tensile strength of
12.9 Mpa as shown in figure 7.
COMPARISON OF FLEXURAL PROPERTIES
The composite shows very less elongation during 3 point test. So this composite has
the brittle properties.The ultimate flexure strength for the PJ fibre reinforced
639
polyester composite is higher for the specimen which has weight percentage 5% and
fibre length 40mm.The fibre with weight percentage 5% and fibre length 40 mm has
higher flexural strength compared to PJ fibre reinforced polyester composite which
has weight percentage 4% and fibre length 20mm, 30mm, 40mm as well as 5% and
fibre length 20mm and 30mm.The new class of composite with higher bending
strength of 1085.9 Mpa as shown in figure 8.
Fig 8. Flexural strength of the composite.

CONCLUSION
The following important conclusions are obtained from this investigation, Fibre has
been successfully extracted from Prosopis juliflora tree and the fibre has been
reinforced with polyester based composite which is orthophthalic resin. Evaluation
of mechanical properties of the fibre such as tensile and flexural and the results are
obtained for various fibre length and weight percentage of specimen viz.4% (20
mm, 30 mm, 40 mm); 5% (20mm, 30 mm, 40 mm).The specimen with higher
tensile strength for a weight percentage and fibre length has been found out.A new
class of polymer composite incorporating PJ fibre reinforcing phases into a
polymeric resin with higher tensile strength for a weight percentage has been found.
REFERENCES
Saravanakumar.S.S, Kumaravel.A, Nagarajan.T, Sudhakar.P, Baskaran.R (2012)
Characterization of a novel natural cellulosic fiber from Prosopis juliflora bark,
journal of carbohydrate polymers.
Fiore, V., Valenza, A., & Di Bella, G. (2011). Artichoke (Cynaracarduncullus L.)
fibers as potential reinforcement of composite structures. Composites Science and
Technology, 71, 11381144.
K. Murali Mohan Rao, K. Mohana Rao, Extraction and tensile properties of natural
fibers: Vakka, date and bamboo Composite Structures 77 (2007) 288295.
ShaikNaseeruddin, K.SrilekhaYadav, L.Sateesh, AnanthManikyam,(2013) Selection
of the best chemical pre-treatment for lignocellulosic substrate Prosopis juliflora,
journal of bio resource technology.
Anuar, H., &Zuraida, A. (2011). Improvement in mechanical properties of
reinforced thermoplastic elastomer composite with bast fibre. Composite Part B, 42,
462465.
640

Springback Analysis of L-Sectioned bar of Linear WorkHardening Materials under Torsional Loading
J. P. Dwivedi1, V.P. Singh1, Radha Krishna Lal3 , Vikas Kumar
Choubey4 & S. K. Srivastava5
1
Professor , 2Assistant Engineer, 3Assistant Professor, 4 Professor

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology
(Banaras Hindu University)
Varanasi-221005, India
2
Nagar Nigam, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
3
Institute of Engineering & Rural Technology
(Engineering Degree Division), Allahabad, India
4
School of Biochemical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology
(Banaras Hindu University)
Varanasi-221005, India
ABSTRACT
This paper deals with the torsional spring-back problems of L-sectioned bars of
linear work-hardening materials. Using the deformation theory of plasticity, a
numerical scheme based on the finite difference approximation has been proposed.
The growth of the elastic-plastic boundary and the resulting stresses while loading,
and the torsional spring-back and the residual stresses after unloading are
calculated. The results are verified experimentally with mild steel bars having a L
cross-section and the experimental result have been found to agree well with the
theoretical results obtained numerically.
1. INTRODUCTION
L-shaped bars, which have re-entrant corners, are widely used in structures. Initially
springback studies were limited to sheet bending operations only. Singh and Johnson
(1979) and others studied the springback considering bending of sheets of different
3
Corresponding author: E-mail: radhakrishna773@gmail.com
Springback Analysis of L -Sectioned bar of linear Work-Hardening Materials under..
shapes, and depicted springback as a function of material thickness, length and

width of the sheets taken. Their studies were limited to V and U-shaped dies for
applying bending loads and they predicted the springback as a measure of change in
the curvature distribution. Dwivedi et al (1986) analytically predicted the residual
angle of twist and torque relation etc. for bars of elastic strain-hardening materials
with narrow rectangular sections. This works, however, has the limitation that it is
valid for thin rectangular strips only. Dwivedi et al (1992) also dealt with the
torsional springback of L-shaped section bars of non linear work-hardening
materials.
An accurate analysis of springback has been made in the past on sheet bending and
tube bending operations through experiment by Megharbel et al. (2008), Da-xin et
al. (2009).Torsional springback in thin tubes with non-linear work hardening
analysis by Choubey et al (2010). Springback analysis of rectangular sectioned bar
of non linear work- hardening materials under torsional loading analysis by Lal el al
(2013)
In the following, a numerical scheme has been prepared for analysing the problem of
torsional springback and elastic-plastic boundary in L-sectioned bars of linear workhardening materials. The results have been verified experimentally by taking Lsectioned bars of mild steel. The experimental results have been found to agree well
with the results obtained numerically.
2.1
2. BASIC THEORY
ELASTIC TORSION
Consider a prismatic bar under elastic torsion, Timoshenko and Goodier (1951). Let
u , v and w be the small displacements of a point (x, y, z) , relative to its initial
position, in the X-, Y-, Z- directions respectively. At a section z = constant, the crosssection rotates about the Z axis, and so
(1)
u yz , v xz and w f (x, y)
where is the angle of twist per unit length. For elastic deformation, is small and
is constant along the length of bar; f (x, y) is called the warping function and is
assumed to be independent of z.
If a stress function is taken such that
and yz
,
y
x
then the elastic torsion equation is given as
2 2
2 2 2 2G
y
x
xz
(2)
(3)
with a constant (taken to be zero) along the boundary of the cross-section.

The torque T is given by
T 2 dx dy,
(4)
A
642
Where A is the cross-section of the bar.
2.2
PLASTIC TORSION
A somewhat less realistic representation of the tensile stress-strain behaviour of

compressible metals, other than the Ramberg-Osgood relation, is the piecewise
linear relation (elastic-linearly strainharding materials). However, this
approximation does model certain features of plastic flow. In particular, the behavior
of aluminium alloys is very closely approximated by this type of an idealization.
It has been assumed that basic assumptions in the theory of elastic torsion are still
valid for the elastic-plastic case expect the stress-strain relation becomes different
for such an idealization (as stated above), and is given by
_
ij (1 ) ij kk ij [1 (e )1 ]Sij
(5)
where
__
3 E
' 1 if e 1
2 E
__
=0
if e 1 ,
being a strain-hardening parameter for elastic linearly strain-hardening materials
__
and e is the effective stress normalized with respect to yield stress ( y ) .

From Fig. 1, the amount of springback twist is
s P R .
(6)
Corresponding to this recovered angle of twist, the unloading problem is solved by
seeking the solution of corresponding elastic torsion equation
2 s 2 s
2G s
(7)
x 2 y2
3. NUMERICAL SOLUTION
Since the numerical technique is based on finite difference, it becomes necessary to
first decide upon an appropriate mesh size which will give a converging solution. By
carrying out the actual computations, it was found that the size of suitable mesh
depends on the shape of the cross-section. If the gradient of the stress function is
expected to change rapidly in a particular direction then a finer mesh must be used in
that direction. A mesh size h=1/16 was found to be an optimum choice from the
point of view of accuracy and the computational time.
4. EXPERIMENTATION
The material selected for experimental verification was mild steel. Test pieces of Lshaped section(shown in Figs 2-10) were made from a square section bar (2020
mm) of 150 mm length were prepared for the test. The modulus of elasticity of the
material (2.1106 kgf/cm2)was found by the beam bending method. The linear workhardening parameter of the material was found by performing the torsion test on
643
an Avery torsion testing machine, in which the angle of the twist is measured with a
Vernier scale giving an accuracy of up to 0.1 o. The work-hardening parameter ( )
for the test piece material was found to be nearly 15.84.The angle of twist, torque
and residual angle of twist were noted for different levels of elastic-plastic loading.
5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

_
Figure 2 shows the variation of equivalent stress ( e ) along the line of symmetry
_
SS' for fixed value of (=9), taking ( p ) as the parameter.. Figure show the pattern
_
of variation of e for the loading problem is similar to that which has been discussed
in earlier studies.
Fig. 1 Loading-Unloading curve
Fig. 3. Equivalent stress e along the

lower edge SK for =9
644
Fig. 2.Equivalent stress e along the

line of symmetry SS' for =9
Fig. 4. Equivalent stress e along the

_
lower edge SK for p =4.5
Fig.5 Stress function along the line of

symmetry for =9
Fig.6 Stress function along the line of

_
symmetry for p =4.5
Fig.7 Elasto-plastic boundaries for Lshaped section for =9
Fig.8 Elasto-plastic boundaries for L-
Fig.9 Springback / Residual vs angle

of twist with as the parameter.
Fig.10 Comparison of experimental and

theoretical values of springback.
shaped section for p =4.5
Figures 3 and 4 are drawn to the variation of equivalent stress ( e ) along the lower
_
edge of the thick L-shaped bar. In Fig. 3,
e variation is shown taking p as a
parameter for =9, where as in Fig.4 p is fixed and is taken as the parameter.
Figure 5 shows the variation of stress function along the line of symmetry SS' for
_
=9 taking p as a parameter. In Fig. 6 the same is shown for p = 4.5 taking as

_
the parameter. Location of elasto-plastic boundaries, taking p and as

parameters are shown in Figs 7 and 8, respectively. It is clear from Fig.8 that the
645
elasto-plastic boundary starts developing at first from the re-entrant corner, where
_
stress concentration is very high, and with increasing values of p , the plastic zone
moves inward encompassing more and more of the outer zones. It is also seen from
Fig. 8, that has little effect on the elasto-plastic boundary. It means that even If
one commits some error in determining the value of the elasto-plastic boundaries
are hardly affected.
_
It can be seen from Fig.9, that up to
p =2.0, R is practically zero for all values of
but for p >2.0, R increases rapidly with increasing values of p .It is also clear
from Fig.9 that this rate of increase is higher for lower values of .Comparison of
theoretical predictions, as obtained from the proposed scheme of springback
analysis, and the experimental result shown in Fig 10.Theoretical prediction match
well with the experimental results. The maximum difference between the
experimental and theoretical values of springback is nearly 5.25%.
6. CONCLUSION
The proposed numerical scheme is found to predict the torsional springback quite
successfully .This is supported by the excellent agreement between the theoretical
and the experimental results. The accuracy of the theoretical results, of course,
depends on the mesh size. The strain hardening index ( ) has little effect on the
elasto-plastic boundary. It means that even If one commits some error in
determining the value of the elasto-plastic boundaries are hardly affected .The
method can be used for any other cross-section such as rectangular, elliptical,
triangular, etc.
REFERENCES
Choubey, V.K., Gangwar, M. and Dwivedi, J.P. (2010) Torsional springback
analysis in thin tubes with non-linear work hardening, Journal of Mechanical
Engineering,Vol ;7(1),15-34.
Dwivedi, J.P., Singh. A.N., Ram, S. and Talukder, N.K.D.(1986) Springback
analysis in torsion of rectangular strips, Int. J. Mech. Sci.28,505-515.
Dwivedi, J.P., Upadhyay, P.C. and Talukder, N.K.D. (1992), Springback analysis
of torsion of L Sectioned bars of work-hardening materials, Comp. &
Stru.,43(5):815-822.
Da-xin, E., Hau-hui, H., Xiao-yi, L and Ru-xin N. (2009), Experimental study and
finite Element analysis of spring-back deformation in tube bending, International
Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials , 16(2):177-183.
646
Lal, R.K. , Choubey, V.K., Dwivedi, J.P. , Singh, V.P., Kumar, S. (2013)
Springback analysis of rectangular sectioned bar of non linear work- hardening
materials under torsional loading International Conference on Advances in
Mechanical Engineering 2013, ICAME 2013; Malacca; Malaysia; 28 August
2013 through 29 August 2013, Applied Mechanics and Materials, Volume 393, 422434
Megharbel, A., Nasser, A.G. and Domiaty, A. (2008), Bending of tube and section
made of
strain-hardening materials, Journal of Materials Processing
Technology,203:372-380.
Singh, A.N. and Johnson, W. (1979), Springback after cylindrically bending metal
strips, Dr Karunesh Memorial International Conference, New Delhi.
Timoshenko, S. and Goodier, J.N. (1951), Theory of Elasticity,2nd Edn.pp.
McGraw-Hill, Tokyo,258-262.
647
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