These are my presentations on slideshare.net

TOP 10 ENGINERS OF ALL TIMES
http://www.slideshare.net/gibz09/top-10-engineers-of-all-times

THE GOD PARTICLE
http://www.slideshare.net/gibz09/the-god-particle

GREEN STRUCTURES AND SMART MATERIALS

The need for Green Building

People and building are as intrinsically infused with nature as bees and their hives are with honey. Unfortunately the effects of our building industry are far less sweet. Due to the non-ecological structure of building industry and historical lack of environmental awareness of many building professionals, the way buildings, built environment and the process of building have been created, has played major role in the decline in Earth’s ecological health.

For the construction of a building or a structure we need a lot of energy, and for the requirement of this energy, fossil fuels are burnt in a large quantity so that it can meet our needs which are growing exponentially. This results in disturbing the ecological balance and pollutes the environment. The most effective solution for this destruction of earthly resources is the new concept of construction, that is, green structure or green building concept.

Buildings worldwide consume about 40% of the planet’s material resources and 30% of its energy. The construction of buildings is estimated to consume 3 billion tonnes of raw materials per year, and generates between 10% and 40% of the solid waste stream in most countries. For every tonne of cement, the world’s most used material, about two tonnes of raw material must be mined, and nearly one tonne of CO₂ and 6 kg of NO_x green house gas is produced.

Concept of Green Building

A green building is a building that produces net zero or less carbon footprint or the other harmful emissions. Advanced technology and the efforts of brilliant scientists throughout the world has made it possible for humans to harness energy from sun, wind, water and other renewable sources of energy. Deriving energy from these sources produces less or negligible unwanted gases or waste which harms the environment.

A green building does not produce a negative impact on the environment as it generates its own energy from renewable source and then use that energy efficiently and effectively and then the waste is again reused or recycled for further use. This is the simple concept of green structures. In today’s generation, most people are not aware of this concept and are not concerned with the deterioration of environment caused by us by constructing buildings which are just built to shelter the humans and not the environment.

To observe the concept of green building in practice, I went to see a green building which has been constructed in my hometown, Bhopal, M.P.  by an Indo-German company, Omega-Renk.

My visit helped me to understand this concept very well. Some of the features or specialities of green buildings which I came to know about are:-

 

·  A green building runs on energy produced by an adjacent power plant, which produces its own energy from a renewable source of energy i.e. sunlight. The green building is thus, run by this derived energy.  A sizeable quantity of waste produced by the building is ultimately treated, recycled or is reused. The building which I visited produced its own energy from a solar power plant situated just adjacent to the green building.

 

   It had 2 two large panels fitted with many solar cells. It produced maximum of 75kw. Installation of a wind mill was also in progress so that a steady supply of electricity is maintained throughout the year, even in rainy season, when sunlight is not enough to produce required solar energy output.

 

·         That building had LED lights which consumed very less electricity as compared to cfl’s and tube lights. These LED lights were installed with motion sensing technology so that when no one is there in room, it switches off automatically.

 

·         The materials used for the interiors and for the furniture were recyclable. Almost 95% of the furniture used in that building was recyclable.

 

·         It had efficient air conditioners(AC). The AC’s used in that building consumed only 50% electricity compared to the electricity consumption by normal AC. The harmful gases emitted by those AC’s were treated first before disposing them in the atmosphere so that they don’t harm the environment.

 

·         The walls and roof of the building were insulated so that the temperature inside the building is maintained and there is minimum use of air conditioners.

 

·         The liquid and solid waste produced by humans was also collected and then treated for using the liquid waste again for watering the gardens and the solid waste for making soil fertile. Therefore, there was negligible amount of waste generated from the building.

 

·         Rain water was also collected by practicing rain water harvesting. The rain water which was collected was then used for various purposes. One of the main uses of that water was to increase the underground water level.

Two or three holes were drilled in the land just like boring is done to extract underground water. The rain water which was collected was allowed to pass in those holes through pipes because of which the water flows deep down the surface and increases the underground water level.
   ·        The paint used for painting the roof of the building reflected the sunlight falling on it which maintained the temperature of the building to some extent.

This building was certified with platinum rating by LEEDS, which is the highest rating by it. Leed was established in 1998, in US. Since then it has been adapted for use in India, Canada and Italy.

There are many organisations and associations which assess buildings and have their own protocols, rules and laws like the US Green Building Council, the UK’s Association for environmentally conscious builders, Kyoto Protocol and the Australian building Energy Council etc.

Now this concept of green building has gained attention of many builders and contractors and some are even interested in building houses by following this concept but a big question arises: Will eco friendly homes find buyers? Naturally it is new concept, but if established with proper implementation, will find takers!

 

SMART MATERIAL:-

What are smart materials? How are these materials different from normal materials? Basically, a smart material is a material which responds to an action by the environment in a predictable way. For example, photo chromatic glass. When light falls on this type of glass, it gets darkened. This reduces the intensity of light entering through that material. So these glasses can be used in windows during summers so that the temperature is cool in the room.

Smart materials have appropriate and predictable responses, whereas, normal materials have limited responses.

Smart materials are the result of development of material science due to which many new and cost efficient materials are now being used in civil engineering to deal with the deteriorating infrastructure. With two crystal structures called Austenite and Martensite under different temperatures, smart material exhibits two special properties different from ordinary steels. One is shape memory, and the other is superelasticity. Both of these two properties have applications in civil engineering, such as prestress bars, self-rehabilitation, and two-way actuators, etc.

 

Smart materials are the materials that have the intrinsic and the extrinsic capabilities, first, to respond to environmental changes and, second to activate there functions according to these changes. This is the general definition of smart materials.

CLASSIFICATION OF SMART MATERIALS

Smart materials can be classified further depending on its properties. They can be grouped into the following:-

·         Piezoelectric: - These are the materials which undergo some mechanical changes when subjected to electric charge or a variation in voltage. For example, Quartz.

·         Electrostictive: - These materials have the same properties as that of piezoelectric materials but the mechanical change in these materials is proportional to the square of the electric field. For example, silicone polymers.

 

·         Magnetostrictive: - These types of materials undergo an induced mechanical strain when these materials are subjected to magnetic field. So these types of materials are used as sensors or actuators. For example, iron, cobalt, nickel etc.

 

·         Shape memory alloys:- Types of materials like nickel, aluminium, zinc etc. undergo large strain, while recovering their initial configuration at the end of the deformation process spontaneously or by heating without any residual deformation .The particular properties of SMA’s are strictly associated to a solid-solid phase transformation which can be thermal or stress induced. Currently, SMAs are mainly applied in civil engineering specifically in seismic protection of buildings.

 

·         Optical fibres: - Fibres that use intensity, phase, frequency or polarization of modulation to measure strain, temperature, pressure and other measurable quantities. They are excellent sensors.

 

The material used for making bricks is the top layer of soil which is very fertile and is used for agricultural purposes. But for making bricks it is dug out resulting in the infertility of soil. So another material which can be used in some percentage for making bricks is fly ash. Fly ash is a fine powdered material which is of no use and it harms the environment if it is not disposed efficiently. So it can be used for making bricks. It also increases the strength of bricks. Fly ash can also be used for making concrete.

 

LED lights are also an example of smart materials. They consume less electricity and can be used for lighting purpose in buildings. LED lighting is also considered as ‘green technology’ as it is efficient than any other lighting material.

 

Conclusion

 

The concept of green building, if implemented at an international and national level, will help greatly in alleviating environmental pollution, which in turn shall help overcome even more immense environmental problems like global warming. The need to adopt this concept of green building at a more mass level is ever increasing.

sutainable development

Hello everyone!

After a long time I am posting on this blog as I was little busy, my apologies for that. During this period of time I attended a workshop on sustainable development and now I would like you people know about sustainable development and how a civil engineer is responsible for sustainable development.

What is sustainable development?

Sustainable development is nothing but the development that takes place to fulfil the needs of the present generation such that the future generation don’t have to compromise with their needs.

We all know that most of the energy which is used by us for driving cars, electricity for lighting bulbs, tube lights, in air conditioners etc. is obtained from non renewable form of source i.e. coal , petroleum and all other fossil fuels.

Since these sources of energy will soon exhaust, if we will use them rigorously as we are using them now then we will fall prey to various problems and difficulties. So, to overcome this situation we have to think of the other sources of energy which are renewable like solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy etc so that our future generation doesn’t have to face problems for their survival.

So all the decisions made today, should be implemented keeping in mind the needs of future generation and this can be done by generating energy from renewable sources of energy, using minimum amount of energy and by applying the 3 R’s in our modern lifestyle.

 

This is known as sustainable development.

How we can contribute for sustainable development?

There are various ways in which we can contribute for sustainable development. Which are:-

·         Using LED lights in place of bulbs and tube lights.

·         Using fuel efficient cars or bikes.

·         Using bicycle for going to place which are near to your house.

·         Using solar water heater for heating water

·         By collecting rain water by rain water harvesting.

·         By recycling, reusing and reducing the use of different materials.

·         By using public transport.

·         By using electricity generated from renewable form of energy etc.

 

 

 

 

How a civil engineer plays a vital role for      sustainable development?

 

Actually not just civil engineers but each and every person on this planet Earth is responsible for the sustainable development because in today’s scenario every person uses electricity, manufactured goods and materials for daily use, transport etc.

But I think a civil engineer plays a key role for sustainable development. It is the civil engineer only who constructs roads, buildings, railways, airports; in short it is the civil engineer who plans the whole map of the city. For doing so he will need a lot of energy in the form of electricity, petroleum, various materials for the construction purposes, transport facility for the labours etc.

So they contribute tremendously for sustainable development.

For example, suppose I’ve to construct a building, and that building should be constructed such that there is a minimum use of energy, and all the other things which are non renewable or harm the environment. Then what are the things I could do?

Let me tell you, there is a new concept for constructing a building which is known as green building. A green building is perfect for sustainable development as it uses negligible amount of energy from exhaustible sources and produces minimum amount of waste so that there is no major problem for the disposal of the waste which could harm the environment.

 

So for constructing a building I can construct a green building, some of its features are:-

·         It uses energy of its own i.e. it generates electricity by solar energy or wind energy.

·         The materials used for the construction of the building should be durable and should be made from waste materials. For example, bricks can be made by using fly ash.

·         The walls of the building should be insulated so that the temperature inside the building is cool

·         The rain water should be collected from the roofs for other uses or it can be used for increasing the underground water level.

·         The building should have LED lights and they should be installed with motion sensing technology as they will automatically get switched off if we forget to do so after use.

·         By using the sunlight instead of electric lights at day time.

·         During the construction of a building it should be ensured that the materials are taken from a local supplier as it will reduce the emission of CO₂ during transport.

·         The water from the washrooms should be treated and used for irrigation purposes.

·         By treating the harmful gases emitted from the air conditioners which deplete the ozone layer

 

These were some of the ways in which a civil engineer can contribute for sustainable development.

 

Sustainable development is very important for the survival of the humans for longer period of time if this is not realised soon and if no proper steps are taken then its result will be devastating.

 

 

Hi-Tech city

HI-TECH CITY – THE NEW AGE LIVING

Hi-tech cities are fast gaining popularity in India. These unique cities not only provide buyers high standards of living but plenty of job opportunities as well.

So for a civil engineer it is very important to know about this type of construction planning and get updated of the new way of living of the people.

Ø  WHAT ARE HI - TECH CITIES?

Hi – tech cities are self sustaining cities where the residents have access to all the basic elements of living such as schools, playgrounds, a golf course, hospitals, internal roads, shopping centres, malls and employment generating business under one roof.

Apart from these basic elements, these cities have some other features which are not to be found in conventional cities and societies such as water treatment and solid waste treatment plants, which wholly cater to the residents of the township itself, thereby ensuring a healthy supply of water round the year. Further with direct access to the power grid, these cities ensure that their residents are never without power and are able to enjoy a comfortable living.

Ø  SOME UNIQUE FEATURES:-

·         Mechanical cleaning.

·         Sweeping systems.

·         Closed loop city MRT system

·         Parks and natural lakes etc

Apart from providing high class living standards, these cities would also play a very important role in generating employment opportunities in special designed finance, trade and commerce development zones. Many of these townships are also proposed to have software technology parks, and scientific and engineering instrumentation zones.

 

Ø  HI – TECH TOWNSHIP: A NEW CONCEPT IN INDIA

Though this type of concept is new in India, it is gaining fast popularity due to the myriad opportunities it offers to buyers in terms of high standards of living as well as abundance of employment opportunities.

Several cities are being planned all over the country (INDIA). There are certain guidelines for builders such as there should be green are covering 50% of the total area. Further, they should also have green belts, parks and playgrounds and well connected roads to the nearest urban centres. Many of these cities are locate far from the commercial centres and as such a common public amenity should be included in the cities.

So, Hi-tech cities are the future of real estate and are all set to change the skyline of the country.

 

about civil engineering

How do I know Civil Engineering is for me?

Do you:
Want a career which makes extensive use of science and technology?
Want to make a contribution to protecting our natural environment?
Want to improve the quality of life for all South Africans?
Want to participate in projects which will contribute to the long term development of South Africa?
If you have answered to yes to some of the above, Civil Engineering is for you.

Education

If you have a senior certificate in passes in Mathematics and Physical Science, you may study at an Institute of Technology, for the National Diploma in Civil Engineering. This is a three year course of which one-year comprises of experiential training with an employer. This is followed by two years of practical training to qualify for registration with the Engineering Council of South Africa. Responsibilities include the building and maintaining of high technology infrastructure and providing services.
Degree: Civil Engineering is offered at many universities, eg. UCT, UP, UNISA, US, UKZN, Wits. The engineering degree requires a minimum of 4 years of study at a recognised university.
BTech degrees and Diploma Courses: Civil Engineering is also offered at CPUT, CUT, TUT, DUT and SW Gauteng FET.
A person who has obtained a recognised BSc(Eng) or BEng degree is then eligible for registration as an Candidate Engineer. After gaining at least 3 years of appropriate practical experience, a civil engineer may register as a Professional Engineer under the auspices of the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA).

The Career

Satisfying Aspects
- solving problems
- wide variety of specialities available
- knowing that your work is of benefit to society
- working as part of a team
- good salaries, with benefits

what is civil engineering

WHAT IS CIVIL ENGINEERING?

In general, it is the branch of engineering which deals with the planning, design, construction and maintenance of the structures like buildings, roads, bridges, canals, dams, water supply and treatment systems etc. It has a broader spectrum and comprises of many sub-disciplines under it.

The branches of civil engineering are
1) structural engg
2)construction engg
3) geotechnical engg
4)urban/town/municipal engg
5)environmental engg
6) transportation engg
7)surveying
8) water resource engg
9)tunnel engg,
10)earthquake engg
11) material engg
12) coastal engg. 

top 10 engineers till date

10. Alan Turing

BIODATA:-

Born: June 23, 1912, Maida Vale, London, United Kingdom

Died: June 7, 1954, Wilmslow, United Kingdom

Books: Computing Machinery and Intelligence, The Essential Turing: Seminal Writings in Computing, Logic, Philosophy, Artificial Intelligence, and Artificial Life plus The Secrets of Enigma.

Education: Princeton University (1936–1938), King's College, Cambridge (1931–1934), Sherborne School, St. Michael's School.

Parents: Ethel Sara Stoney, Julius Mathison Turing

Siblings: John Turing

INVENTIONS:-

Every time you use a computer, it is in part because Alan Turing made significant contributions to make computing possible. Alan Turing developed the binary architecture now used in all computers, as well as much of the theory behind computers.

He is regarded by some as the father of computer science. He is also credited with breaking the German Enigma code during WWII, which made victory possible. In the years following the war he made numerous contributions in software creation. Time magazine named him as one of the most important people of the 20th century.

9. Nicolaus Otto

BIODATA:-

Born: June 14, 1832, Holzhausen an der Haide, Germany

Died: January 26, 1891, Cologne, Germany

Spouse: Anna Gossi

Children: Gustav Otto

INVENTIONS:-

Nicolaus Otto was a German inventor credited with developing the four-stroke or Otto-cycle engine which sparked the development of the motor care. His Otto-cycle engine worked in four steps; drawing in fuel and air, compressing the mixture, igniting it and expelling the exhaust. This Otto-cycle is still used in the internal combustion engines that run all of our cars today.

8. Nikolna Tesla

 

BIODATA:-

Born: July 10, 1856, Smiljan, Croatia

Died: January 7, 1943, New Yorker Hotel, New York City, New York, United States

Full name: Nikola Tesla

Awards: Elliott Cresson Medal, IEEE Edison Medal, John Scott Legacy Medal and Premium

Education: Graz University of Technology (1875–1878), Gymnasium Karlovac (1870–1873)

INVENTIONS:-

Tesla moved to America in 1884 to work with Thomas Edison, another remarkable engineer. Within weeks of working for Edison, he indicated that he could improve the efficiency of the company’s generators by 25%. Edison promised Tesla a $50,000 bonus if he achieved this feat. Within weeks Tesla delivered on his promise – and Edison reneged on his, telling young Tesla, “You don’t understand our American humor.”

Every electrical engineer should have a picture of Nikola tattooed somewhere on their bodies. Maybe not a tattoo but at least have a picture of him hanging in their office. Tesla’s inventions make him arguably the greatest electrical engineer of all time. His inventions include fluorescent lighting, the Tesla coil, the induction motor, and 3-phase electricity. He developed the AC-current generation system comprised of a motor and a transformer.

 

 

7. Archimedes

 

BIODATA:-

Born: 287 BC, Syracuse, Italy

Full name: Archimedes of Syracuse

Nationality: Greek

Assassinated: 212 BC, Syracuse, Italy

Parents: Phidias

INVENTIONS:-

It was Archimedes who came up with the simple yet clever idea of determining an object’s volume by measuring the amount of water displaced by the object. Other inventions credited to him include the catapult, levers and pulleys, and the Archimedean Screw, a device used to raise water for irrigation or mining. He also calculated an approximation for pi and developed many mathematical insights without which modern engineering would be impossible.

6. James Watt

 

BIODATA:-

Born: January 19, 1736, Greenock, United Kingdom

Died: August 25, 1819, Handsworth, West Midlands, United Kingdom

Education University of Glasgow

Parents: Agnes Muirhead, James Watt

Spouse: Ann MacGregor (m. 1777–1819), Margaret Miller (m. 1764–1772)

Children: James Watt junior, Margaret Watt, Gregory Watt, Janet Watt

INVENTIONS:-

James Watt was an enthusiastic inventor whose improvement of the steam engine sparked the Industrial Revolution. During the 1760s he devoted most of his time to improving the efficiency of steam engines. The result was a machine that became very popular that Watt is sometimes mischaracterized as the inventor of the steam engine. Watt’s many mechanical advances earned him several patents, and his engines were used for coal mining, textile manufacturing, transportation and a host of other industrial uses.

The watt unit of power is named after James Watt. He is credited for measuring the power of his steam engine: his test with a strong horse resulted in his determination that a “horsepower” was 550 foot-pounds per second. Subsequent calculation by Watt resulted in one horsepower equaling 746 watts.

5. Hero of Alexandria

 

BIODATA:-

Hero of Alexandria was an ancient Greek mathematician and engineer who were active in his native city of Alexandria, Roman Egypt.

Born: 10AD

Died:  70AD

INVENTIONS:-

This man could have started the Industrial Revolution in 50 AD with the invention of the Aeolipile, a form of steam or jet engine where jets of steam spin a ball. However, he failed to realize what the device could do, and thought of it as nothing but a toy. Some have speculated that the abundance of slave labor negated any need for a labor-saving device, so no one applied his device in the manner of the Industrial Revolution. Hero also wrote many works on subjects ranging from pneumatics to mathematics to physics.

 

 

4. Wilbur and Orville Wright

 

BIODATA:-

Born: Wilbur- April 16, 1867, milville, Indiana

           Orville: august 19, 1871, Dayton, Ohio

Dies: Wilbur- may 30, 1912

           Orville: January 30, 1948

INVENTIONS:-

Before Wilbur and Orville discovered what would later become the safest mode of transport, they were bicycle mechanics with a passion for kite-flying. The crucial insights from both fields would later propel them to victory in the race to the sky.

Most prototypes of the time could not stay in the air long enough after taking off. The Wright brothers however understood that stability was crucial in overcoming this challenge. After several experiments using kites and gliders, they created a pulley system that altered the shape of the wing in mid-flight, increasing and decreasing the speeds. The Wright brothers were also the first to look at propeller design and aerodynamics, profoundly changing the world.

3. Henry Ford

 

BIODATA:-

Born: July 30, 1863, Greenfield Township, Wayne County, and Michigan

Died: April 7, 1947, Fair Lane, Dearborn, Michigan, United States

Full name: Henry Ford

Education: Detroit Business Institute

INVENTIONS:-

Henry Ford realized that he would a more efficient way to mass produce cars in order to lower the price. He looked at other industries and found four principles that would further their goal: interchangeable parts, continuous flow, division of labor, and reducing wasted effort. Ford put these principles into play gradually over five years, fine-tuning and testing as he went along. In 1913, they came together in the first moving assembly line ever used for large-scale manufacturing. Ford produced cars at a record-breaking rate forever changing the automobile industry.

2. Thomas Edison

 

BIODATA:-

Born: February 11, 1847, Milan, Ohio, United States

Died: October 18, 1931, West Orange, New Jersey, United States

Awards: Congressional Gold Medal, Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Franklin Medal, John Fritz Medal, Matteucci Medal, John Scott Legacy Medal and Premium, Technical Grammy Award, Edward Longstreth MedalMore

INVENTIONS:-

Edison is the most prolific inventor in history, holding a record 1,097 patents. He developed the phonograph, incandescent light bulb, stock ticker, motion picture camera and projector, and hundreds more. He also created the first electrical plant and distribution infrastructure. Without these inventions, modern life is almost inconceivable.

1. Leonardo da Vinci

 

BIODATA:-

Born: April 15, 1452, Vinci, Italy

Died: May 2, 1519, Amboise, France

Full name: Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci

Period: High Renaissance

INVENTIONS:-

Perhaps the biggest visionary of all time, Leonardo foresaw everything from the helicopter to the tank to the submarine. Modern engineers have proven that many of his designs, including bridges, hang-gliders, transmissions, parachutes, and more would have worked had they been built. There have been few individuals in the history of engineering who have designed so many revolutionary devices that actually worked. For having this remarkable vision and intelligence, Leonardo qualifies as the most remarkable engineer of all time.