Geotechnology Brain Storming Session at IIT Bombay

8/18/2019 Geotechnology Brain Storming Session at IIT Bombay

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B r a i n St o r m i n g S es s i o n o n

Emerging Trends in Geotechnical Engineering

March 26, 2014

u n d e r t h e a eg i s o f

Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)Department of Science and Technology (DST), India

O r gani z ed by

Department of Civil EngineeringIndian Institute of Technology Bombay

Mumbai- 400076


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Minutes of the Session

Agenda: To identify the futuristic research needs in the realm of geotechnical engineering and in

the process bridge the gap between Academia and Industry.

Panel of the Session:

Prof. Kalyanaraman, PAC, DST

Prof. K.P. Kaliappan, Associate Dean, IITB

Prof. K.V. K. Rao, HOD (Dept. of Civil Engg.) IITB,

Prof. S. Chaudhuri, Dept. of CESE, IITB

Sri M. Kulkarni, DST

Prof. D.N.Singh, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay

Participants: The participants who attended this session are listed in Table 1.

Table 1

Name Affiliation

S. Sreedeep IIT Guwahati

G. L. S. Babu IISc Bangalore

Chandresh Solanki SVNIT, Surat

Narendra Dalmia STRATA Geosystems (India) Pvt. Ltd.

A. Dalinaidu IIT Madras

Tejpal Singh CSIR Bangalore

Vandana Shreedharan GCE Kannur

Nadim Rouhana Dargroup, Pune

D N Sharma Singareni Collieries

S Rajesh IIT Kanpur

B.N.D.Narasinga Rao ANITS, Sangivalasa

Sarat Das NIT Rourkela

Supriya Pal NIT Durgapur

Pratul Kumar Choudhary STUP, New Delhi

M. Dutta IIT Delhi

M. Basha IIT Hyderabad

Rajesh D. Padhye Walchand College of Engineering, Sangli


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Uma Shankar IIT Hyderabad

S. Moitra Fugro Geotech Ltd., Mumbai

A N desai BTRA, Mumbai

Nainesh Dhanani Perfomax Analytical, Mumbai

Kapil Mohan ISAR, Ahmedabad

V. Pancholi ISAR, Ahmedabad

K. Navneeth Kumar Garware-Wall Ropes Ltd., Pune

S. K. Mittal CSIR, Chandigarh

Sunil Basarkar

ITD CEMENTATION INDIA LIMITED,

Mumbai

Pradipta Chakraborty IIT Patna

S. S. Chandrasekaran VIT Vellore

B. Hanumantha Rao IIT Bhubaneswar

A M Shingarey Geotech Services, Nagpur

Manoj Bagde CIMFR, Nagpur

Amit Vidulkar TechFab India Industries Ltd., Mumbai

Satyajit Patel SVNIT Surat

Pooja Rao VJTI Mumbai

Dinesh S V Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumkur

S S Bhosale COEP, Pune

Govind Parchani RRCAT, Indore

Dr.Sobha Cyrus CUST, Cochin

Parampreet AENC, New Delhi

Vikas Thakur Norwegian Public Roads Administration

Ravikiran Vaidya Geodynamics, Baroda

S L Chottaraj IIRS, Dehradun

Subhadeep Banerjee IIT Madras

V B Maji IIT MadrasJalindar R Patil RMD Sinhgad School of Engineering, Pune

Anitha G Pillai Albertian Institute of Science & Technology, Cochin

A Trivedi and

Vivek Tripathi

Delhi College of Engg.

Sreevalsa Kolathayar ISM Dhanbad

Sanjeev Gupta TCE, Mumbai

C R Parthasarathy Sarathy Geotech & Engineering Services Pvt Ltd.,


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Bangalore

Suneet Kumar Pandey Vedanta

C. R. Patra NIT Rourkela

Shankar Guha Simplex Infrastructures Limited, Chennai

K. Srinivasa Rao Aarvee Associates Architects Engineers and

Consultants Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad

Vidya Bhushan Maji IIT Madras

Neeraj Chadha Complete Instrumentation Solutions Private Limited,

Gurgaon

Manager Singh Archaeological Survey of India, Aurangabad

Uday Kulkarni Noble Geo-Structs, Mumbai

Prashant B. Daigavane Government College of Engg. & Research, (AvasariKh.) Pune

P. Gujar TICB Mumbai

Mr. Pranav Kapur AIMIL Ltd.

Maj Gen S S Sharma (Retd.)

Institute of Defence Scientists and Tachnologists,

Pune

Ashish Gharpure Maccaferri India

Thyagaraj T. IIT Madras

Sudhir.K.Jain Reliance Power Ltd., Mumbai

Deepak Raj Keller Ground Engineering India Pvt Ltd., MumbaiDeepankar Choudhury IIT Bombay

P Phale IIT Bombay

A. Juneja IIT Bombay

J N Mandal IIT Bombay

Prathyusha Jayanthi IIT Bombay

Asha Latha IIT Bombay

B. S. Patil IIT Bombay

Sanyam Dangayach IIT Bombay

Jeevan Joseph IIT Bombay

Pankaj Pathak IIT Bombay

Susha Lekshmi.S.U IIT Bombay

Meenu P. S. IIT Bombay

Somenath Mondal IIT Bombay

Nevin Koshy IIT Bombay

Susmita Sharma IIT Bombay


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Kannan Iyer IIT Bombay

A. Mane IIT Bombay

Giridhhar Rajesh Bande IIT Bombay

Raghvendra Pratap Singh IIT Bombay

Farahnaz Darikandeh IIT Bombay

The inaugural session started at 9.30am, Board Room in VMCC, 4th

Floor, IIT Bombay.

Prof. D.N. Singh welcomed the delegates from different parts of the country and

expressed the need for organising this session. He articulated his concern in bridging the

gap between the industry and the academia to explore emerging areas in the geotechnicalengineering discipline. He expressed his concern regarding selection of the presentations

for the session (120 out of 200 including 38 presentations in absentia) with 3mins of

presenting time. For those in absentia as well as the participants attending the session, the

presentations and video would be made available for all in the CDEEP IIT Bombay

website http://www.cdeep.iitb.ac.in/events.php

Prof. Kalyanaraman wished the meeting a great success and conveyed his desire that the

outcome of the session would reveal the thrust area in the present day geotechnical

engineering. Further, he enlightened the participants by saying that the consortiated

report of the session would be prepared and sent to the experts in the concerned area for

their possible feedback. He mentioned that the focus of the session is on need based

research related issues with an interdisciplinary approach to cater the requirements of the

society and urged to conduct a National Convention in 2015 with association of

Industries.

Prof. K.V.K. Rao thanked SERB and DST for their immense support, Prof. Kalliapan, for

encouraging this proposal in IITB and expressed his gratitude to Prof. Singh for

developing the Environmental Geotechnical Lab and the brain storming session as well.

He also wished this session good luck and a great success.

Dr. Kalliappan and Dr. S. Chaudhuri wished the session a great success and believed that

the session would generate worthy research ideas with the mutual consensus of academia

and industry which would be benefitting the growth of Science and Technology of the

Nation.


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Mr. Kulkarni presented a brief of the functions of Science and Engineering Research

Board related to funding for research. He enlightened about a scheme called PACE of

DSIR which provides grant to an institute and a soft loan with an interest of 2.5% to the

industry, for research. He has expressed his concern that only 27-30% of the submitted

proposal is being approved under SERB, which necessitates the need of a conference of

this kind.

The dignitaries hoped that the session would cater to the need of the challenges faced by

the industries with their association with the academia. The inaugural session closed at 10.00AM

and was followed by the presentations and discussions among the participants.

Based on the presentations, the points raised by the participants are listed in the following:

The first presentation was by Mr. S. Jain, Reliance Power Ltd., Mumbai on Coal Bed

Methane. He talked about the contemporary issues related to the identification of

contribution from individual Thin Coal Seam in CBM production, to avoid perforating

and hydro-fracturing less potential seams in large number of development wells to

achieve better economics. Further, he expressed his concern on environmental issues

related to hydro-fracturing and water disposal which can be elevated to research level.

Researchers from IIT Bombay (Prof. Singh), IIT Madras (Dr. Arnepalli), and Sigareni

Collieries (Dr. D. N. Sharma), expressed their desire to collaborate with Mr. Jain, for

submitting the proposal on Enhance Coal Bed Methane recovery (ECBM) using carbon

sequestration techniques.

Dr. C. R. Parthasarathy, Sarathy Geotech & Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd., enunciated

the challenges associated with pile foundations in carbonate soils. He has stressed on the

use of sophisticated laboratory testing facility for the characterization of such soils. The

panel of dignitaries have suggested him to collaborate with Mr. Ravi Kiran Vaidya,Geodynamics, Baroda, for utilizing his expertise on the non-destructive techniques

available with his organization. Mr. Neeraj Chaddha, CISPL, adds: “CISPL can also

contribute in this as we not only have advanced geotechnical testing equipment which are

manufactured to the scientific objective of the customer but are also offering Frequency

Domain Pile Tester equipped with TRAP software which is not only used for analysis but

also for checking the mobility and has the simulation module. It can also be used to

assess piles with anomalies by using curve matching in real time. Up to 10 geotechnical


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Mr. S. Gupta, Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd. stated the utilization of Marine clay and

hinted on dredging and reclamation related issues as well.

Mr. N. Kumar, Garware-Wall Ropes Ltd. suggested the need of research associated with

construction methodology and failure of Polypropylene rope gabions due to abrasion and

material properties. Mr. Gharpure and Dr. Arnepalli further added that UV Radiation is

also an area of research for estimating the durability of the PP ropes. Dr. Desai from

BTRA invited Mr. Kumar to visit his organisation for exploring their facilities.

Mr. N. Rouhana, Dar Al-Handasah Consultants, Pune, wished that academicians would

develop a code for the sustainable geotechnical practices and solutions in association with

the industries. He has emphasized on advanced soil characterization schemes considering

soil non-linearity and anisotropic properties.

Ms. Renu, on behalf of Dr. U. Kulkarni, presented the importance of studying unsaturated

shear strength in the current research arena.

Dr. S. S. Basarkar, ITD Cementation India Ltd., Mumbai, advocated the necessity of

applied geotechnology for efficient and economical execution of deep foundations and

retaining structures. He further added the need of new alternative technologies for pile

bore cleaning and their monitoring for large diameter caissons and focused on techno-

economics issues in high capacity pile load testing arrangement.

Prof. M. Dutta, IIT Delhi, envisaged the importance of environmental geotechnics in the

present scenario. He presented the issues related to the closure of old MSW waste dumps,

sustainable remediation of contaminated soils, new landfilling technologies and

geohazards mitigation using the state of the art technologies. The panel suggested him to

come up with a virtual Centre for Excellence in collaboration with MoEF and DST and

groom researches in this field and mentioned that an interdisciplinary approach is

required for solving such contemporary issues.

Mr. S. Guha, Simplex Infrastructures Ltd., Chennai, put forward his concern about the

lack of guidelines on pile termination criteria for different types of soil and for different

methods of installation of piles which results in enormous cost as well as substantial

additional time of completion of the project. As regards to stone column, he pointed out

that when stone columns are adopted where the sub soil at shallower depths is rocky or


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impenetrable, no guidelines are available. Hence these aspects need to be investigated in

detail.

Mr. Bagli (on behalf of Mr. N. Dalmia), Strata Geosystems (India) Pvt Ltd., Mumbai,

highlighted the extensive experimentation on Geocell 3D reinforcement system and

dearth of systematic scientific analytical solutions for the same. The panel suggested him

to get expertize from IITB (Prof. Mandal), IITM (Dr. Arnepalli), IISc (Prof. Shivakumar

Babu), IITKGP (Dr. Das), SVNIT Surat (Dr.Solanki), Siddaganga Institute of

Technology, Tumkur (Dr. Dinesh), IITH (Dr. Sireesh, Dr. B. Umashankar) and Dr. S. S.

Bhonsle (College of Engineering Pune).

Mr. P. M. Gujar, TICB, Mumbai, talked about the effective use of industrial waste

material as a substitute for soil. The panel suggested that Prof. Dutta and Prof. Babu

should formulate a task group with the industries dealing with the construction debris and

industrial wastes.

Mr. S. K. Pandey, Vedanta, opined on stability of slopes/location of development of shear

planes to prevent landslides.

Maj. Gen. S. S. Sharma, SASE (DRDO) envisioned geotechnical issues related to

avalanche in Himalayan range. His presentation focused on methods for strengthening

foundation and exploring new technologies for the cold region. The panel recommended

Dr. Maji, Mr. Gharpure and Dr. Vikas Thakur for coming out with the appropriate

solutions for the same. Prof. Singh requested Maj. Sharma to take up a course dealing

with “Cold Region Geomechanics” at IITB as a stepping stone. Maj. Sharma has

suggested the following:

1. Any road alignment being planned anywhere in India should be vetted by a panel of

Geotechnologists and their recommendations should be taken into consideration while

planning.

2. A large number of highway and railway projects are under planning in Himalayan

ranges, which will involve construction of a large number of tunnels, bridges and other

structures. It is suggested that Geotechnologists should be involved at all stages of the

planning and other activities. Any pre-emptive action of this nature may result in saving

of a lot of time and money.


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3. The Geotechnologists in association with the specialists in remote sensing and GIS

should develop special softwares to identify the potential land slide zones, mud slide

zones, stretches affected by seasonal torrents, and weak strata which are prone to road

sinking, and take protective measures well in advance. As per his knowledge the DTRL,

a lab of DRDO, has done a lot of work on this and they should be involved in this

activity. Director DTRL Dr MR Bhutiani may be invited to further deliberate on this

activity.

4. The DST should approach all the road building organizations like BRO to earmark 1 %

of their budget for geotech research. This will help in developing advance techniques for

defence against land slide and other natural hazards.5. Geotechnologists should develop working models for estimating geo-weather

interaction of roads and terrain of strategic importance. Collaboration with DTRL will

help. This will have a lot of implications for defence.

Dr. Vikas Thakur articulated the need of cost effective and sustainable solutions for the

contemporary issues related to Geotechnical Engineering through an internationally

recognised National Geo-test site. Prof. Singh mentioned about INNOR, a collaborative

venture between Norway and India for geohazard mitigation.

Dr. M. N. Bagde, CSIR, Nagpur, proposed issues related to health hazards and the

utilization of fly-ash in underground mine backfilling. The panel suggested him to get

expertise from Mr. S. Pal, NIT, Durgapur.

Mr. Md. Aarif, HCC, Mumbai, proposed the need for research on the effect of bentonite

on pile friction in soft to medium stiff clays / loose to medium dense sand. Mr. Rupam

Mahanta, ONGC-IEOT, opined that CPT (Cone Penetration Test) may be used for

continuous probing of the ground for a better quality of soil investigation and assess the

properties of soil more accurately. It may reduce some uncertainty about the pile

capacity, although the uncertainty in this case is thought to be due to the effect of

bentonite. CPT is not generally being used in the onshore projects in India although it is

used regularly for offshore projects of ONGC. The panel suggested him to get associated

with Mr. Rupam Mahanta, ONGC-IEOT, Panvel, and Mr. Ravi Kiran Vaidya for the

same.


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Dr. S. S. Bhosale, CoEP, Pune, discussed about the necessity for extensive utilization of

Geosynthetics in pavements. Further, he talked about the ethical issues related to

pavement construction. The panel has suggested him to be associated with Mr. Narendra

Dalmia / Mr. S. P. Bagli and Dr. Bagde to come up with some proposal in this context.

Subsequently, the 1st

discussion started at 11.55 AM and Prof. Sreedeep briefed

the issues related to evaluation of analytical methods and their reliability, development of

code and guidelines for sustainable geotechnical practices, archeological studies, cold

region geo-mechanics, MSW landfill, contamination of the soil mass, dredging and

reclamation, and evolution of artificial materials for construction industry. The panel has

urged the participants to submit their proposals within two weeks to accelerate the further

formalities.

The presentations were resumed and Mr. Deepak Raj, Director, Keller Ground

Engineering, proposed research on understanding the behaviour of vibro-stone columns

in ultra-soft marine clays (SPT N~0). He showed successful application of Large

diameter Vibro Stone Columns for soft clays for more than 20m deep. He also clarified

Mr Guha of Simplex Infrastructures about design procedure of Vibro-Stone Columns in

varying soil strata. He opined about the efficient usage of Electric Cone Penetration tests

to check density of loose sandy strata for evaluation of liquefaction mitigation

techniques. In this regard, Prof. Dutta, IITD, opined the usage of ECPT for identifying

the liquefaction prone area. Prof. Singh suggested Mr. Raj to collaborate with Dr. Das,

IIT KGP, and generate proposals which can be sent to different IIT’s for perusal. Mr.

Neeraj Chaddha adds: “CISPL in collaboration with A p van den Berg, The Netherlands

is providing these equipment and can possibly look at providing services as long as the

project is big enough. We would certainly like to be a part of this and contribute in a

small little way we can”.

Dr. A. G. Pillai discussed about the existing agricultural scenario in Kerala and suggested

utilization of soil amendments using naturally available materials such as coir pith, which

would enhance the soil fertility and hence the agricultural productivity. Utilization of

marine clay (disposal of which from construction sites is a serious concern) in

conjunction with coir pith to improve water retention capacity of uncultivable sandy

stretches and finding the best possible means of irrigation is the need of the hour. Prof.


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Singh requested her to collaborate with IITB and Keller for submission of a proposal on

the same.

Mr. N. Chadha, Complete Instrumentation Solutions Private Ltd., Chandigarh, has

deliberated issues related to pro-activeness in seismic analysis. He familiarised the

audience with the instrumentations on seismic hazard analysis for improvisation of

geophysical models. The panel recommended him to initiate an alliance with Dr. S.

Banarjee, IIT Madras, Dr. Mittal, Dr. Maji, Mr. Tezpal and Mr. Chattoraj.

Dr. B. N. D. Narasinga Rao, ANITS, proposed for development of laboratory equipment

for determination of shear parameters of the soil for the estimation of safe bearing

capacity and allowable bearing pressure through full-scale in-situ load tests on footings,

simulating the soil exploration, construction and loading conditions, coupled with

suitable instrumentation for in-situ stress determinations. The in-situ tests will be

supplemented with suitable laboratory tests on undisturbed soil samples to finally

fabricate suitable laboratory equipment for measurement of shear strength parameters.

The panel has asked him to club with Dr. Solanki, SVNIT, Surat, and Dr. Parthasarathy

for a proposal.

Dr. B. Umashankar, IIT Hyderabad, coined the importance of sustainable geotechnics

implicating the generation of alternate materials for backfill. Prof. Singh advised him to

focus on a full scale demonstration project instead of laboratory model studies and also

have partnership with Mr. N. Dalmia / Mr. S. P. Bagli and Dr. Solanki for development

of geosynthetics reinforcement pavement and a codal provision for the above mentioned

case.

Mr. S. L. Chattoraj, IIRS, Dehradun, explained the case studies conducted in Uttarakhand

on numerical simulation and modelling of debris flow events and its vulnerability

analysis. The panel has opined him to team up with Mr. Gharpure, Mr. Kumar and Dr. C.

Ghosh, NIDM, New Delhi.

Mr. K. S. Rao, Aarvee Associates, Hyderabad, questioned the methodologies related to

pile foundation and remedial measures for subsoil strata prone to liquefaction. The panel

suggested him to seek advice from Prof. D. S. Murthy, IITB.

Mr. Parampreet Singh, Avantech Engineering Consortium Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi,

illustrated the fundamentals and state of art instrumentation of unsaturated soil. The panel


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suggested Prof. Babu, Dr. Sreedeep, Dr. Thakur, Dr. Rajesh, IIT Kanpur, Dr. Thyagraj,

IIT Madras and Ms. Renu to conduct a conference on unsaturated soil mechanics in

association with Mr. Singh. Mr. Neeraj Chaddha adds “CISPL and Wille Geotechnik,

Germany have developed several advanced testing equipment for several German

Universities for testing in unsaturated conditions and substantial work has been done in

this regard. Will certainly be interested in being a part of this group”.

Mr. P. Kapur, AIMIL Ltd. focused on cost effective, indigenous automated

instrumentations and online systems for geotechnical tests.

Mr. R. Mahanta and Mr. S. Bandopadhyay, ONGC-IEOT, put forward their view that

there is a need for research in India on new concepts of deep water foundation such as

‘torpedo anchor’ which has the potential for being a cost effective solution that is not

only cheaper but also relatively easy to install. They enquired if centrifuge modelling can

be of help in carrying out research for such foundation and also for research on problems

related to the behaviour of calcareous soils of Indian offshore having a lot of

uncertainties. The panel advised them to explore the facilities of research with IIT

Bombay and IIT Madras. Mr. Neeraj Chaddha adds “Our principals M/s A p van den

Berg, The Netherlands and NGI have done substantial work in the area Offshore Soil

Investigations. Can certainly get associated in case required”.

Prof. J. N. Mandal underlined the importance of testing, design, construction and

specification of geosynthetics. He proposed fabrication of transmissivity apparatus with

loading system to evaluate high flow capacity geocomposite drains for vertical and

horizontal drainage in case of roads and highways, railways, ports and harbors, water and

waste management.

Dr. Rajesh, IIT Kanpur, visualised the importance of unsaturated soil mechanics, waste

management and long term performance of geosynthetics. The panel recommended him

to get associated with Prof. Dutta for development of the virtual Centre of Excellence.

Dr. D. N. Arnepalli, IIT Madras, pronounced the need of isolation and disposal of

greenhouse gases into geo-environment, and the design of buffer material for disposal of

hazardous wastes. The panel recommended him to submit a proposal on studies related to

gas diffusion in association with Dr. D. N. Sharma.


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Dr. Sreedeep, IIT Guwahati, addressed the utilization of geothermal sources, advanced

instrumentation and data interpretation, disaster management and long term performance

assessment for alternate materials. The panel requested him to submit a proposal on the

geotechnical issues related to various Geotechnical issues in North East. Moreover, he

was advised to join hands with Dr. Mittal for advanced instrumentation and data

interpretation. Mr. Neeraj Chaddha adds “CISPL is actively involved in exploration of

geothermal resources and offers complete services in this area. We are also working with

NGI in this area in India. So if it is appropriate, we can be associated in this project”.

Dr. B. H. Rao, IIT Bhubaneswar, presented the need for simple handy instrumentation for

monitoring the stability of weak slopes and coined the term ‘smart instrumentation’ in

this regard. He also pointed out the utilization of fly ash and red mud and necessity to

develop a large-scale field experimental set up for coupled process in nuclear waste

materials. The panel has requested him to submit a proposal for the use of geosynthetics

for problematic soil in collaboration with Dr. Umashankar, IIT Hyderabad.

Dr. T. Thyagaraj, IIT Madras, talked about the behavior of Bentonite and Bentonite

Enhanced Barriers with an emphasis on shrinkage and physico-chemical factors. The

panel advised him to seek help from other expertise in the area of unsaturated soil

mechanics.

Dr. V.Sreedharan, GCE Kannur, illustrated the significance of sustainable practices viz,

green remediation, improvisation of the functional barrier systems, promotion of

localized low cost technologies (life cycle analysis) and the need for establishing a code

of practice on the use of recycled and waste materials in barriers in geo-environmental

engineering and their anticipated outcomes. Prof. Singh asked her to submit a proposal

regarding the same to DST.

Dr. S. K. Mittal, CSIR-CSIO Chandigarh, pronounced the need for the indigenous

development of efficient and cost effective technologies for advanced research in the

country and proposed a Centre for Geotechnology for the same. Keeping in view his

expertise, the panel suggested him to provide required Instrumentation support in the area

of Geotechnology, to the geotechnical fraternity of India.

Dr. D. N. Sharma, The Singareni Collieries Co Ltd., has focused on the geotechnical

studies related to both underground and open cast mines. He proposed the assessment of


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horizontal stress field and preparation of hazard maps of various mining blocks blocks

through geotechnical mapping, hydro-fracturing tests and lineament analysis with

Landsat imageries. The panel urged him to join hands with Dr.Shovan of IIRS, Mr.

Dalmia and Dr. Maji for the same. Additionally, Dr. Sharma expressed his desire to

collaborate with Dr. Thakur, NGI, Norway.

Dr. Tejpal Singh, CSIR, Bangalore, explained about the crustal deformation processes

and proposed seismic hazard analysis, tectonic and climate coupling interaction.

Dr. B. M. Basha, IIT Hyderabad, discussed the concern about the lack of confidence on

reliability based design due to non-availability of codal provision. The panel advised him

to submit a proposal along with Prof. Babu and Dr. D.S. Murthy, IITB for the same.

Prof. G. L. S. Babu, IISc Banglore deliberated about the risk and reliability based design

and analysis procedures in Geomechanics and contaminated landfills. He talked about the

need to conduct a session on reliability analysis.

Dr. K. Mohan, ISR, Ahmedabad, emphasized on the assessment of seismic hazard on

micro scale which requires the input from geology, geography, geotechnics and seismo-

technical details. The panel suggested him to collaborate with the expertise from IITB,

IITM and IIT Patna for Geotechnical support. Mr. Neeraj Chaddha adds “CISPL offers

comprehensive solutions in terms of equipment and services for microzonation studies.

So we would certainly like to be associated with such a project”.

Dr. P. Chakraborty, IIT Patna, proposed the geotechnical investigations related to the pile

foundation in heterogeneous cohesionless liquefiable soils. The panel asked Mr. S Guha

to get associated with him.

Dr. S. Banerjee, IITM, expressed his concerns related to underground vibrations in urban

environment viz. tunnel boring and traffic vibrations and site response analysis of treated

soils.

Prof. C. R. Patra, NIT Rourkela, addressed issues related to soil contamination by various

sources and its detection and remedial measures.

Dr. A. Shingarey, Geotech Services, Nagpur, talked about the utilization of natural

materials viz. paddy straw for natural geonets and use of enzymes for stabilization of

Black cotton soils. He has suggested the following:


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1. DST must accommodate funding for new Indigenous equipment development, which

will enable R & D done at laboratory to take it in to field. These equipment may

be available outside India but it's cost and capacity both, does not fit to our

requirements. Till this date we don't have an appropriate mechanical auger to carve

out correct sized under-ream for friction piles. And piles keep on failing for

inappropriate bulb. Ultimately client goes for Raft foundation even for small

structure. So design fails for want of good equipment.

2. Same is true for drilling for investigation OR utilization of Fly Ash.

3. Funding for NABL accredited labs at concessional interest rates through SIDBI or

other banks for instrumentation required for R & D.4. DST can assess labs it's potential, before sanctioning such schemes.

5. DST must look beyond educational institutions for R & D to transfer Research in to

Technology.

Prof. A. Juneja, IITB, talked about the anisotropic behavior of the materials and its

dynamics and emphasized the importance and interpretation of routine laboratory results

in advanced geotechnical models other than Mohr Coulomb. The panel has advocated Dr.

Parthasarathy to get associated with him.

Dr. S. Cyrus, CUSAT, talked about the significance of desiccation cracking of clay liners

and risk related to their long term performance. The panel advised her to get connected

with the researchers working in this area of geotechnical engineering.

Prof. S. Das, NIT Rourkela, has emphasized on the improvisation of geotechnical

characteristics of industrial wastes (viz. fly ash and red mud) using biopolymer and bio-

organisms. The panel suggested him to conduct a thematic workshop in collaboration

with IITB, as Biogeotechnics is becoming an emerging area in the current scenario.

Dr. V. B. Maji, IIT Madras, proposed geotechnical investigations related to the long term

performance of tunnels. The panel has advised him to join hands with Dr. Parchani for

the same. Mr. Neeraj Chaddha adds “CISPL and Wille Geotechnik, Germany are ready to

develop any special equipment required for advanced geotechnical testing for long term

performance of tunnels”.

Dr. S. S. Chandrasekaran, VIT University, Vellore, talked about the necessity for

alternate remedial measures for frequent landslides in Nilgris, specifically at three sites


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(Achanakal, Coonoor and Aravankadu). Further, he stated the importance of full-scale

instrumentation for investigating the lateral response of pile groups in field. The panel

advised him to get associated with Dr. S. K. Mittal, CSIR-CSIO Chandigarh, Mr. A. D.

Gharpure, Maccaferri Environmental Solutions Pvt. Ltd and Dr. V. B. Maji, IIT Madras

to submit a project proposal on remedial measures and instrumental monitoring of

landslides. Mr. Neeraj Chaddha adds “CISPL is forging an association with Aachen

University for real time monitoring of Landslides. Can get associated with this project if

so desired”.

Mr. S. Pal, NIT Durgapur, proposed studies on contaminated land reclamation by electro-

kinetic mechanism and photo-catalytic treatment. He has also proposed to undertake

investigation on contaminants attenuation potential of some fine grained soil.

Prof. A. Trivedi explained about the uncertainties in multi-scale modelling (viz. damage,

deformation and conductivity) of rock mass.

Through a presentation, Mr. V. Nigam, Wazir Advisors Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, has addressed

the need of R&D and advanced instrumentation related to North East development plan

related to ‘Assisting the government of India in implementing the Technology Mission

on Technical Textiles, launched by Ministry of Textiles’.

Dr. G. Parchani, RRCAT Indore, discussed about the necessity of seepage analysis for

exclusion of subsoil water.

Ms. P. Rao, VJTI, Mumbai, talked about the causes, challenges and existing techniques

for evaluating ground subsidence, giving importance on numerical methodologies.

Prof. S.V. Dinesh, SIT, Tumkur, elaborated the importance of post liquefaction studies

and seismic vulnerability analysis. He also expressed the need of design guidelines in sub

grade for improving the performance of pavement. The panel requested him to get

associated with Prof. Babu.

Dr. J. Patil, RMD School of Engineering, Pune, focused on computational tools for

design of pile foundation and prediction of its load settlement behaviour. The panel

recommended him to collaborate with Dr. Basarkar, ITDC, Mumbai, for the same.

Dr. P. B. Daigavane, GCE, Pune, mentioned about geosynthetics and geo-foams and their

importance.


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Ms. F. Darikandeh, IITB, coined the development of a concept called “Smart soil”

utilizing nanoparticles and bio-particles.

Ms. J. N. V. Prathyusha, IITB, talked about the application of micro-materials for

stabilization of fine grained soil against its shrinkage and cracking. She has also

emphasized on the creation of an engineered soil (enhanced properties) by application of

sustainable materials.

Ms. S. Lekshmi, IITB, discussed about the advanced instrumentation for soil moisture

content determination and development of sustainable agricultural land.

Mr. N. Dhanani, Perfomax Analytical, Mumbai, showcased the advance instrumentation

facilities being marketed by him related to soil characterization.

Dr. S. Kolathayar, ISM, Dhanbad, talked about the utilization of fly ash for civil

engineering purposes, use of natural geosynthetics in pavements, seismic site

characterization and scope for geotechnical engineers in mining areas.

Dr Varun Joshi, GGSIPU, New Delhi emphasized on use of bioengineering and

engineering measures in stabilization of landslides in NE region. This is very effective

technique in NE region as the weather is very conducive for this activity. This technique

is also implemented in some of the landslide in western Himalaya and came out with avery useful geotechique for shallow slides.

The list of the presentations by the delegates www.civil.iitb.ac.in/~dns/BSS.zip who

could not attend (Table 2) the meeting was also presented.

Table 2

Name Affiliation

Neha Jain Kautilya Inst. of Engg & Tech., Jaipur

Dilip Karandikar Karandikar Associate

V. Padmavathi JNTU, Hyderabad

N. Raghavan IIT Madras

M K Agarwal Man Infraconstruction Ltd. Mumbai

V. SRINIVASAN

McLarens Young Loss Adjusters & Surveyors India Pvt.

Ltd.

R. K. Mittal BITS Pilani


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N.C. Nainwal HNB Garhwal University, Uttrakhand

Varun Joshi Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi

Amit Prashant IIT Gandhinagar

Aniruddha Sengupta IIT KGP

P.V . Surya Prakash Pydah College of Engineering, Kakinada

Debasis Roy IIT Kharagpur

A. Boominathan IIT Madras

S. R. Pathak COEP Pune

K. M. Nithya VIT Chennai

Anbazhajan P. IISc Bangalore

Lalit Thakur Babaria Institute of Technology, Varnama, Vadodara

D L Shah MSU Baroda

Rajagopal Karpurapu IIT Madras

Sima Ghosh NIT Agartala

Ashish Trivedi Oceanking Survey Services FZC, Sharjah, UAE

S. Krishnaiah JNTUA CEK, Anantapur

Dr. Pusadkar Govt. College of Engineering, Amravati

Shantha Kr. VIT Vellore

Rajiv Khatri

Director – Global Engineering And Management College,

Jabalpur

Kedar Birid Toto House

B. B. Das NICMAR Goa

Rajay balwan Govt. Polytechnic, Karad

B. Jha Dr. B.B.A. Govt. Polytechnic, Karad, (DP)

Khan, Sajjad IN KWA SL Siemens, Mumbai

Manoj verman GEODATA India (P) Limited, New Delhi

Amitava Ghosh CBRI

Amol Maskar SBPCOE, Indapur.

C. Ghosh NIDM Delhi


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Subsequently, the wrap up session started at 4.00 PM. Prof. Kalyanaraman opined that it is

apparent that ‘research gaps’ have not been addressed properly and emphasized that ‘the

originality’, ‘novelty’ and ‘basic mechanisms’ should be given prime importance for

developing research proposals and submitting them to the DST, SERB. He briefed the

audience about the proposed National conference “Civil Engineering Research Scholars’

meet’ under the aegis of DST at Nagpur, for disseminating knowledge, technologies and

professional practices among the research scholars. Mr. Kulkarni, DST, New Delhi, tried to

highlight the importance of internship for bachelors and for inculcating research culture. He

also suggested for a dedicated website for technology transfer on the realm of geotechnical

engineering.Prof. Singh reminded the audiences to form their respective research groups and submit

good proposals to DST, SERB, at the earliest.

Finally, he has expressed his gratitude towards the panel as well as the participants for

participating in day long deliberations and making the session useful and successful.

Geotechnology Brain Storming Session at IIT Bombay

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