ces magazine 2010

Some of the articles in this magazine have been compiled from various sources on the internet.

This magazine is only intended for educational purposes, and no monetary gains are sought.

Credits

Cover Page Design ………………………………………………… Sukesh Nayak

Articles Compilation……………………………………………….Prabhat Ravi, Mrinal Bhutani

Magazine Editing and compilation ……………………….. Mrinal Bhutani

CES Office Bearers Photo ……………………………………… Nishtha Sharma

Introduction

Engineering Civil

The civil engineering society has come a long way to be one of the most active departmental societies of

IIT Kharagpur. Through the numerous events throughout the year and the annual festival Megalith, we

at CES try to provide the students with a platform to enhance their skills as a civil engineer.

The successful release of the first edition of Engineering Civil in spring 2009 has encouraged us put our

best effort to make this edition a better combination of an educational and a fun reading.

CES, on its journey to excellence proudly presents to you another landmark, the second edition of

Engineering civil.

Contents

CES Office Bearers 2009-10 ………………………… 1

From the Chairman’s Desk ………………………… 2

From the President’s Desk ………………………… 3

Megalith ………………………… 4

An Interview with Mr. Debaditya Dutta ………………………… 8

The Three Gorges Dam ………………………… 12

The greenest building in US ………………………… 20

Heat resistant adhesives ………………………… 24

Haiti’s Quake: Some geotechnical aspects ………………………… 25

White roof may successfully cool cities ………………………… 35

New simulation:How materials break ………………………… 37

Aiming at phantom traffic jams …………………………39

Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering - Dr. V. R. Desai ………………………… 41

Cover Story – The dispute: What brought WTC down? ………………………… 45

Civilian Speak …………………………57

CES Office Bearers

Chairman Advisor

Dr. D. J Sen Dr. Nilanjan Mitra

President Vice President Treasurer

Ajit Singh Abhineet Gupta Ankit Prasad

General Secretary, Journal Web Incharge General Secretary, A&P

Mrinal Bhutani Sukesh Kumar Nayak V.V. Aditya

Rohit Rout

General Secretary, Sports Secretary, Literary Secretary, A&P

Ankit Priyadarshi Prabhat Ravi Chilluka Pawan Kumar

Secretary, Sports Secretary, Web

Sourav Das Gowtham Harsha

Rahul Chauhan

From the Chairman’s Desk

From the Chairman’s Desk

It gives me great pleasure to present this volume of the annual magazine of the Civil Engineering Society. A collage of articles, ranging from earthquake to environment and water projects to transport problems, makes this issue a lively reading. The cover article investigating the engineering reasons behind the collapse of the WTC and an interview with one of our alumni (topper of the 2004 batch and presently pursuing a Ph. D. in Carnegie Mellon University), would also be of interest to the reader. January 2010 saw, for the first time in the history of this department, a Civil Engineering festival organized entirely by the students with active support from the entire faculty. This volume also includes a report on the event, christened Megalith, which helped generate a sense of pride for the Civil Engineering profession amongst the students – both the participants from the other engineering colleges as well as our own flock. Finally, with the present academic year also drawing to a close, I would like to place on record the good wishes of the department to the passing out batch. I am sure some of them would blossom as great leaders in their chosen professional fields and continue to inspire the future batches of this department by their contributions to the country and the society. Dhrubajyoti Sen Chairman, Civil Engineering Society

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From the President’s Desk

From the President’s Desk

Life we lead must be worth living and, I worth it –being an IIT-Kgpian. I distinctly remember the day when I first stepped on the premises of Civil Engineering department five years back, surrounded with new faces and exploring the mixed feeling of excitement and nervousness. But, as the years have passed away, these strangers and the premises have become integral parts of my life.

My final year at IIT Kharagpur and also my final year of alignment as a member of the CES team, I have witnessed many changeovers and transitions. We have had a new director, new departmental head, new faculty members, transformation of N-201, novel look of departmental main building and finally not to forget mentioning about the wonderful and magnificent Farakka trip and departmental fest (for the first time in Civil Engineering department). Change alone is eternal, perpetual and constant. Changeovers and transitions are the rhythms of life- fresh hopes, clear vision and, determined mission-leading to the path of progress. We all are propelled by these rhythms.

It`s been a lively and cheerful journey, the last five years as I can see myself learning, developing and maturing as a student, as a colleague, as a friend and most importantly as a human. It’s not only me who have this feeling but, all we people share the same thought. The good and bad time we spend together will deepen down in the heart and remain forever as beautiful memories.

I consider myself fortunate enough that I have been associated with the CES and observing it so intimately. CES is prospering year by year. It has successfully launched its independent websites and departmental magazines in electronic versions along with some other achievements.

CES stands for Civil-Engineering-Society. But, mind it, it is not merely one of the societies meant to bedight the catalogue of existing ones on this vibrant and vivacious campus. It holds beyond that. It is known for its sodality. It is the platform of networking, where seniors and juniors lead a symbiotic association. The motto of CES is to promote the interaction between the students of the Civil Engineering department on account of sharing views and exploring new horizons. CES is flourishing which is proved by increment in the participation rate year by year. It is meant for interacting; learning; progressing and sustaining the “TEMPO” forever (even as the alumni). I am proud to claim that CES has done its job well. We all are proud of CES. Before signing off, I would like to thank all faculty members who have been always supportive and helping us throughout. Ajit Singh President, Civil Engineering Society

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The mega- Megalith

The mega- Megalith

CES organized the very first version of the Civil Engineering festival, Megalith in January 2010.

Megalith successfully attracted over 120 participants from different Engineering colleges all

over India.

The Civil Engineering Society has conceived Megalith to provide a platform for eminent persons

from corporate world and academia to congregate and share knowledge gathered over years of

experience in civil engineering.

Hence, through Megalith we tried to circumscribe all the conventional branches of civil

engineering, while we also had event like Civionics- the robot modeling competition and

Darkode- the programming competition.

The organizing team of Megalith consisted of students from all the spheres of the department,

also we received high cooperation and help from the professors to make the venture a success. Details about the events are given below.

Case Study: Case study gave an opportunity to the participants to encounter a grand River interlinking

project. They had to “Reverse Engineer” Ken-Betwa river interlinking project. The challenge was

to justify and critique the calculations that had been made by NWDA, and suggest any changes.

The event was judged by Professor Baidurya Bhattacharya, Professor D. J. Sen and professor

V.R. Desai, IIT Kharagpur based on an online report submission and a presentation made during

the event.

The winners were:

First:

Harshad sachani(VNIT)

Second:

Mohit shrivastava (University of Petroleum and energy studies)

Third:

Pratick chaudhary( Institute of technical education and research university –Rhub, Orissa)

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The mega- Megalith

Civionics Civionics, as the name suggests utilised not only the concepts of civil engineering but also of

electronics. There was a large participation in the event with total of 12 teams including both

in-house and outside participants with an average of 3-4 members per team.

The problem was a simple task of lifting and putting stones from a specified location to inside of

concentric circles with a mechanical robot just like that of a jcb machine. Points were awarded

on the accuracy with which the stones were placed and the no. of stones placed. Teams came

out with brilliant solutions and some amazed us with their creativity.

The winners were:

First:

Rohit (NIT jamshedpur)

Second:

Abhishek agarwal, shrekanth das(IIT KGP)

Third:

Swagatam patnaik, jagbandhu chaudhary, swajit mishra(ITER)

Coordinates Designing is a very important skill expected out of a good civil engineer and an architect. Co-

ordinates was an event that promoted and judged the CAD skills of the participants using DWG

editor. There were 45 teams each consisting of 2 members which took part in the event. The

problem statement was released on the spot and the participants were expected to draw the

front view, top view, and side view of the Nehru museum (IIT kharagpur). A series of pictures

were provided and only on dimension of the building was provided. The participants had to

measure and relatively scale the other dimensions of the building. Judging was done on the

basis of accuracy and extent of completion. Overall the event was huge success and provided

an equal platform for students of each year to compete.

The winners were:

First:

Chersyn karuvely, santosh kumar

Second:

Avash kumar, kamalkant mudaliar(IIT KGP)

Third:

Prasad chaudhari, indira priyadarshani( IIT KGP)

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The mega- Megalith

Criar Criar involved an on-spot modeling of a cable stayed bridge based on the given specifications. A

limited time frame of 8 hrs with certain set of materials was provided for the complete

modelling process.

The event was a mega success and attracted more participation than any other event in

Megalith. In the final models we got to see some very innovative designs along with a few

conventional models. The judgement was made by Professor L.S. Ramachandra and professor

N. Dhang, IIT Kharagpur.

The winners were:

First:

Suman kumar, Praveen kumar, neelesh kumar, Satyajit das, Deepankar arunesh(IIT KGP)

Second:

Raja kumar, vijay jain, prashant kumar, keshav kumar(Nit jamshedpur)

Third:

Jagbandhu chaudhary, swagatam patnaik, swajit mishra, pratick chaudhary, mohit

mohanty(ITER)

Darkode In this particular event, the participants were given a programming problem. They were

required to formulate the algorithm and write a program using C in a given time frame.

Darkode attracted enormous participation from outside and especially from IIT Kharagpur.

The event was judged by Professor Sudeshna Mitra, IIT Kharagpur on the basis of accuracy of

and the time taken for the solution.

The winners were:

First:

Rahul chauhan, rahul chatterjee(IIT KGP)

Second:

Abhishek agarwal(IIT KGP)

Third:

Nipundeep, Jai prakash gupta(IIT KGP)

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The mega- Megalith

IDP IDP or Industrail Design Problem was one of the most brainstorming events conducted during

Megalith-10. The event demands solution for a live problem faced by industries and thus,

serves as a bridge between academia and industry.

As the task, a foundation was to be designed considering facts and data being provided to them

for a high rise building. The 8 participating teams, each consisting of not more than 5 members,

were given the challenging task of giving a step-by-step algorithm for deciding a general

solution for the problem along with suitable calculations.

The event was judged by Professor S.P. Dasgupta, IIT Kharagpur and Professor Dipankar

Chakravorty, Jadavpur University.

The winners were:

First:

Shibrat Naik,Tushar Kanti Mandal,Surojit Ghosh( Jadavpur university)

Second:

Vijay Krishnan, Abhishek, Ranjani, Haripriya(College of engineering, Guindy)

Third:

Munika, Emanuel, Nivas, Jeffery Russell(College of engineering, Guindy)

C-wiz: This was a quiz about civil engineering and related fields.

Seminars: The following seminars were hosted at Megalith.

Water proofing materials: Mr. Bhanusekar, Texsa

Cement and ACC-Help: Mr. Sandip Dasgupta, ACC Ltd.

MRTS systems: Mr. Niraj Jain, Kolkata Metro Rail Cooperation

Steel Structures: Mr. Srinivas Rao Saravade, Eversendai Consultants

As can be seen above the events spanned the length and breadth of our field and challenged the

participants in every imaginable way. The event was well conducted by the Megalith team

which was the main “building block” for the whole event.

Here’s to many more successful editions of our fest, MEGALITH!!!!

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An interview with Debaditya Dutta


Debaditya Dutta is an alumnus of the department of Civil engineering, IIT Kharagpur. He graduated

from this institute in 2006 and held the department rank 1 during his studies at IIT. He is right now a

PhD candidate at Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University,

Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A.

CES: Can you tell us something about your work at CMU?

Debaditya: I am working on structural health monitoring. A lot of money goes into

maintaining infrastructure. Some people are trying to automate that, and do that without

employing people, to do the inspection visually so it is more like a continuous process of

non-destructivetesting, if you put it that way.

CES: At what point in your B.tech career did you decide to go for an MS?

Debaditya: Not onto the left. I was looking for jobs as well as have studies to try and inspire

that i got a better offer from ME so i chose that.

CES: So, how long does this integrated course take to complete?

Debaditya: I am doing a PhD and i got my masters on the way. It usually takes 4-5 years.

CES: There is a conception that getting admission in an integrated course is easier than only

an MS course. What do say about this?

Debaditya: This is correct. It depends whether you want to be fully funded or not. You can

get into an MS course pretty easily if you can pay 10,000$ per semester. Graduates from IIT

usually have to pay half the tuitionfee, because of the scholarships available. But still you

don’t get any stipend, so there are the living expenses as well. Ifyou are ready to pay for all

of these, then getting into an MS is easy. But if you want full financial support, thenit is

difficult to get only for an MS. This is comparatively easier for a PhD, although getting

admission into the PhD program itself is difficult. This is because the faculty member hiring

you is making a commitment to you and an investment on you. For the masters where you

learn different techniques and then you work for the university as a PhD and they gain from

your expertise. Unless you do the PhD the university does not have any reason to invest in

you during your masters.

CES: Right now you are in Korea, what are you working on?

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Debaditya: When I joined one of my advisors was south Korean and later on he joined ,he

wanted to come back to his country and he joined ,Korean institute of science and

technology and set up a a very good laboratory here. So, i just took the opportunity. Since

he was one of my advisors, he invited me here and this is a lab which accelerates my work

on and it’s good to spend time here.

CES: What are your future plans?

Debaditya: I am open to options. It’s not like i have a preference for academia or industry.

It’s not the other way round either.it depends on what offers i get. At this point i have not

yet started applying anywhere.

CES: Depending on the current market scenario, whatwould you suggest a B.tech student to

do? Go for higher studies or for a job?

Debaditya: It completely depends on student’s choice. In India, a B.tech student doesn’t get

much.so most IIT B.tech students join software firms or financial companies. I don’t want to

suggest anything in particular. I will however say this, if he chooses to go for higher studies

there good opportunities in the US. They pay a stipend and you work on a higher degree

which will help you get a better pay in the future. In this sense, it is a better option, but if

the civil engineering firms start paying well, then joining the industry is also ok.

CES: How should one select a university for PhD or integrated courses?

Debaditya: It’s a little different for both cases. A general rule is that if you are interested

only in an MS you should choose a higher end university but if you want a PhD as well then

it is important to find a research group, it doesn’t have to be a higher end university.

Anything from 1-30 or 40 is fine for PhD. Personal satisfaction is important because it is a

long term commitment.

CES: What should be the key points in an MS application?

Debaditya: For only MS IIT graduates make it anywhere. IITians have a very good reputation

in the US. If you have anything like a publication which strengthens your applicationwrite it,

but it is not a requirement.

However for a PhD some research work as an intern or in your B.tech project helps. A

publication is helpful, although this is tough for anyone.

CES: Does CGPA matter?

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Debaditya: It matters quite a bit,GRE not quite as much. Even if you have a lower CGPA but

have research experience like an internship or in your b tech project or you can show them

than you can do good research, itsenough. Forstudents with lesser CGPA,some kind of

research is better.

CES: Does a job experience help?

Debaditya: Yes, it really does. I know civil engineering graduates who have worked in

software companies for two years. That kind of thing adds value to your resume even

though you haven’t done anything related to civil engineering. Job experience counts in a

PhDapplication. The reason is that the faculty will feel that you are more professional in

your attitude than a fresh graduate. You will know how the professional world works and

same will be expected in your PhD term.

CES: What do you suggest for students to do for an internship, choose a research project or

go for industrial training?

Debaditya: Foreign training is always good. I tried, but didn’t get one. If you don’t get one,

especially in the present scenario, then you have to choose whether to go for an industrial

project or to a research institute. This depends on what you want to do after your

graduation. In my case i went to IISC for summer training. I wouldn’t say that it was the best

thing to do, as i really don’t know it really helped me. If you want job directly after

graduation, thendefinitely go for an industrial training. If you want do research then for a

research institute.

CES: Did the studies at IIT help you with your research at CMU?

Debaditya: Yes I think it did. One of the reasons is that as i am doing research, the

fundamentals are very important, which is stressed a lot in IITs .so we design practical civil

faculty put a lot of importance in the fundamentals which helped during my research. I did

my B.tech project on something which is related what i am doing now. I am really grateful

for what i learnt in IIT.

CES: Can you give us some details your B.tech project?

Debaditya: I worked with Professor L.S. Ramachandra on nonlinear expansions of plates and

membranes. It involved formulating dynamic equations from scratch because i was dealing

with large depressions and could not make any assumptions. I used techniques developed

by LSR himself. During my PhD i continued work on this.

CES: What is the difference in the level of academics in kgp and there?

Debaditya: It is a lot different there. Here homework is given regularly which are evaluated

also and these count in your grade. If you get good feedback from the faculty, it keeps you

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on the run. In kip we had nohomework and we used to study a few days before the exams.

It is totally different.in the US universities we have to put in a lot of work. The situation

however is totally different. A direct comparison is difficult, but it is more gruelling here.

CES: What are your views on the curriculum here?

Debaditya: One thing i felt especially in my final year was that there should be more

electives. At present we take a minimum number of courses in each stream. But nowadays,

your expertise should be in a particular area. You will get a better job if you specialize in a

particular area rather than knowing something about all areas. I am not the right person to

suggest this but more electives should be offered. This is the case here. Fewer courses are

mandatory. So, basically, you get to choose what you want to learn.

CES: B.tech graduates are not paid much, even in foreign companies is it due to the

curriculum?

Debaditya: No, it has nothing to do with the teaching patterns or the curriculum. The faculty

in IIT is very good. I think on the major issues is that the government is not spending much

on infrastructure projects. As a result civil engineers don’t get paid well.India is now paying

the price for not having enough infrastructures. If the investment increases, then the

situation will be better. In some foreign countries, there is already good enough

infrastructure, so they don’t hire people from other countries. There are exceptions to this.

Some B.tech graduates are hired, mainly in the Middle East and Australia, but not in the

USA. They already have enough number of civil engineers.

CES: What was your hall and cgpa?

Debaditya: I was a resident of Azad hall. My cgpa was 9.21.

CES: Would you like to give any message for the CES office bearers and the students, in

general?

Debaditya: I think you guys are already doing a wonderful job. Actually i myself was the

literary secretary once, but i was never this involved in these departmental activities. It’s

good that you are taking up initiatives like the civil engineering department fest megalith. I

believe that it’s important that you make most of the opportunities available to you in IIT. I

see a shift in the attitude, the way you people are working is in a very good direction. This

will help you to get more professional with what you are going to do in future.

As for the other students, learn as much as you can. I expect them to get more involved in

the academics and departmental activities. It will benefit you a lot.

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THE THREE GORGES DAM, CHINA

THE THREE GORGES DAM, CHINA The Three Gorges Dam is the world’s largest hydroelectric Dam located in the heart of the Yangtze River. More than a mile wide and over 600 feet long, the dam is the most extensive and most expensive engineering project in the world. While the official cost of the project approximately $25 billion, some estimates range as high as $75 billion. When completed, it will have the potential to generate 18.2 million kilowatts of electricity to account for 3% of China’s total energy needs. In addition to providing hydroelectric energy, the Three Gorges Dam is also intended to control flooding of the Yangtze River Basin and enable more efficient navigation along the river to increase trade along the port cities.

First proposed by Sun Yat-sen in 1919, China’s Three Gorges dam has become a symbol of prestige in China, boasting political success, and is comparable to the magnitude of the Great Wall of China. Since the projects first proposal, the dam was continually reassessed and developed until final approval was granted in 1992 to begin construction. So far the project has used a world record of 16

million cubic meters of concrete, flooded 100,000 acres of farm land, and relocated more than 1 million people from the Yangtze River Basin.

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Despite the economic benefits, the Three Gorges Dam has been referred to as “The most environmentally and socially destructive project in the world” (Dai Qing). Today, China’s government has finally acknowledged the vast environmental destruction associated with the dam, and has started to develop extensive plans to address these problems. However, government officials continue to deny the negative social consequences of the relocation process, and have yet to implement any change to alleviate the great social unrest that has resulted in the relocation of 1 million people.

Relocation of Three Gorges Dam area residents

Project Development First proposed in 1919, the Three Gorges Dam Project has faced many challenges throughout the plan’s development, including political crisis and project criticism. The dam was first proposed by Sun Yat-sen, the father of modern China, in order to

protect river communities from floods and also contribute to his economic development plan for China. The Three Gorges Dam was meant to be a symbol of the country’s economic success, as prestigious as the Great Wall of China.

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In 1932 the Construction Committee of Sun Yat-Sen created the initial plan for a much smaller dam on the Yangtze River. China modelled their plan with US government assistance, and by 1944, the project was referred to as “Chinese TVA.” They believe that the dam would “bring great industrial developments…It will bring widespread employment. It will bring high standards of living. It will change China from a weak to a strong nation.” The project lost support during the China Civil War in 1947, but after the devastating Yangtze River floods in the 1950s, the idea was reintroduced to the government. In 1958, Mao Zedong pushed for support; he wanted China to have the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. Political unrest again delayed construction until

1979, when the State Council approved construction because growing economy demanded more electric power. Over the next ten years, many feasibility tests were conducted to appease critics, who complained of technical, social and environmental issues. Li Rui, Vice Minister of Electric Power opposed the dam, saying that it would not contribute substantially to transportation, and flood the most fertile land in China as well as several cities. Many critics suggested building a series of smaller dams that would have less severe environmental impact, but project proponents wanted to make one large dam to create a political monument that would represent the nation’s contemporary greatness.

In early 1989, the State Council agreed in March to suspend construction plans because of international pressures. At the same time, Dai Qing, a Chinese journalist and eminent critic of the dam, presented his book “Yangtze! Yangtze!” to the State Council. He was imprisoned for 10 months after he called the Three Gorges Dam “the most environmentally and socially destructive project in the world”.

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BENEFITS:

1) Flood Control: Since the beginning of the Han Dynasty 2,300 years ago, there have been 214 major floods recorded, averaging 1 flood every ten years. Within this past century, there have been five major floods that were recorded to have claimed hundreds of millions of lives, millions of acres of farmland, destroyed thousands of homes, and billions of dollars of damage. In 1998, a flood of such catastrophic level in the Three Gorges area caused 4,000 casualties, left 14 million people homeless, and created $24 billion in economic loss.

Reservoir Flooding of the Three Gorges Dam

The proponents of the Three Gorges Dam believe that it will serve to protect 15 million people and 1.5 million acres of farmland in areas of the Yangtze River that are vulnerable to flooding. In order to do this, the water height of the reservoir upstream from the dam will change according to season. During the dry season, from November to April, the water level will be allowed to reach 185 meters above sea level, but during the flooding months, the water level will be reduced to 135 meters in order to attempt to contain flood waters.

2) Hydroelectric Power:

By the time of its completion, the Three Gorges Dam will produce enough electricity to supply 3% of China’s total energy needs. The demand for energy is increasing so rapidly in China that the initial estimate in 1993 for energy production capacity was 10% of China's total energy needs. With a

Water Spillway of the Three Gorges Dam total of 26 turbines, each generating 700 megawatts, the dam will have a total generating capacity of 18.2 million kilowatts.

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The dam will generate as much energy as 18 coal power plants and will have 20 times as much power capacity as the Hoover Dam in the US. The rate of energy production, equivalent to burning 11,000 barrels of oil per hour, is enough to supply Beijing with power for one year. The project is part of China’s initiative to move towards green energy usage. China is currently the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. Coal is the main energy source, accounting for two thirds of all electricity produced in the country. Coal power is not only a nonrenewable resource, but also generates immense amounts of pollution, including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide. By 2020, China wants 15% of total energy production to come from renewable resources. Hydroelectric power is a critical non-carbon energy source that will help reduce energy consumption and air pollution. By substituting coal-produced energy with hydroelectric energy from the

Three Gorges Dam, China will reduce annual coal consumption by 40-50 tons, effectively reducing the amount of pollution released into the atmosphere. Hydropower currently accounts for 6% of the national power supply, and by 2020 China aims to triple hydroelectric power capacity to 300 gigawatts.

3) Navigation:

The Three Gorges dam will enable better navigation to boost Yangtze River trade, which accounts for 80% of China’s inland shipping. The Three Gorges area of the Yangtze is notorious for dangerous shipping conditions. The elevated water levels of the reservoir upstream from the dam will enable larger ships to travel further inland on the Yangtze.

Ship Lock System of the Three Gorges Dam

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In order to facilitate transportation, the dam will have a 5 tier ship lock system to enable ships to pass through the dam. A ship elevator is to be installed that will be capable of lifting passenger or cargo ships of 3,000 tons. This new transportation system is said to cut transport costs by one third and increase shipping on the Yangtze from 3 million tons to 50 million tons per year. The river city of Chongqing is expected

to undergo great economic development as a result of the increased trade on the Yangtze. Chongqing was recently approved to be the fourth centrally-administered municipality of China, after Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin. It is expected to undergo an urbanization rate of 70% within the next 12 years, with it’s population reaching 21 million by 2020.

Environmental impacts: Critics had long warned of the potential environmental damage that would result from such an extensive construction project. Some say that hydroelectric power should not be considered as are renewable energy source because of the irreversible environmental damage that results from these projects.

Greenhouse Gases: The main environmental benefit of the Three Gorges Dam is the reduction of carbon emissions. However, it has been found that the dam does cause greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere, just not in the form of industrial pollution. In reservoirs, the breakdown of vegetation and organic material that accumulates actually releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere! Therefore, while proponents claim that hydroelectric energy is a “clean” energy source, this is not entirely the case.

Water Pollution: Vegetation is not the only thing that will accumulate behind the dam. The dam has

blocked approximately ten million tons of plastic bags, bottles, animal corpses, trees, and other detritus that would have otherwise have flowed out to sea. The Yangtze River is already one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Because of its proximity to several city centres, the dumping of industrial waste and sewage has always been a serious problem. More than 265 billion gallons of raw sewage are dumped into the Yangtze annually. In addition, the reservoir itself flooded 1,600 abandoned factories, mines, dumps, and potential toxic waste sites. Because the dam prevents any of this material to be washed out to see, water quality in the Yangtze has become much worse since construction of the dam began. This project claims to yield social benefits: less air pollution will result in better health and a higher standard of living. But in reality, millions of residents of the Three Gorges Dam area rely on the Yangtze River as their only water source. In Fengdu County alone, which lies on a tributary of the Yangtze River, contaminated water affects the lives of 50,000 people.

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Siltation Because of reduced water speed behind the dam, an estimated 530 million tons of silt will accumulate behind the dam. Critics claim that the spillway built into the dam, with a discharge capacity of 116,000 cubic meters, is still not of sufficient size to prevent siltation from occurring behind the dam. The rising silt levels could eventually cause sections of the Yangtze to be impassable for shipping, which will impact Chongqing, which relies on Yantze River trade for economic vitality. Silt accumulation could even block the sluice gates that are essential to control water levels behind the dam. In the event of heavy rainfall, rather than working to control the waters, the dam could actually cause more flooding to occur upstream. In addition, the reduced water speed will hinder the power generating capacity of the hydroelectric dam and contribute to accumulation of pollutants and toxins in water, reducing fresh water availability. Ecosystem Disruption: The giant hydroelectric dam serves as a physical barrier that disrupts the river ecosystem. In addition to water pollution, habitat fragmentation will have a detrimental effect on all species within the Three Gorges Dam area. In an environmental impact assessment, it was determined that there are 47 endangered species in the Three Gorges Dam area that are supposed to be protected by law. Two of the most popular marine animals in

China, the Chinese River Dolphin and the Chinese Sturgeon are included in the list of species at risk. Ecosystem disruption poses not only environmental problems, but economic problems as well. The physical barrier interferes with fish spawning, and in combination with pollution, the dam will have a serious impact on the fishing economy of the Yangtze River. Deforestation: Deforestation is another factor that refutes China’s claim that the Three Gorges Dam is a “clean” energy source. Forests are a major carbon sink and work to negate greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere. However, the process of deforestation (burning trees) actually emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and is responsible for 20% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. An immense amount of deforestation occurred for the construction of this project, mainly to provide farmland in the surrounding areas for those whose homes and farms were flooded by the reservoir. Much of this land is located on the steep slopes of the gorges,

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and has been determined as unsuitable land for farming. In addition, the three gorges dam area is geographically unstable,

and deforestation has increased the risk of landslides. Because of this, residents are being forced to relocate for a second time.

Landslides: The most current environmental concern with the Three Gorges Dam is the prevalence of landslides. So far there have been 91 places where the shore has collapsed, with a total of 36 kilometres of land caved in. Some of these landslides have triggered 50 meter-high waves on the reservoir behind the dam.

The potential for geological disaster is threatening the lives of millions of residents in the area. Large dams increase the possibility for earthquakes because of increasing geological pressure from rising water. Over 360 million people live within the watershed of the Yangtze River. In the chance of earthquake or dam collapse, millions of people who live downstream will be endangered.

Landslides on the Yangtze River

Landslides have resulted from a culmination of factors. The Three Gorges area has been always been geologically unstable before construction on the dam began. When relocation began, many people were moved to higher land in the valley just above the flood line. Farmers cleared land to plant crops or orange trees, but deforestation contributed to soil erosion and destabilized many hillsides.

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Greenest building in US

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (US) wants to be the greenest office building in the country. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a unit of the U.S. Department of Energy, is midway through construction of a $64 million project that lays claim to that title. The architects and engineers have spent hundreds of hours calculating the energy use of every aspect of the building, from the elevator to the exit signs. They have tweaked the design again and again with the aim of getting the 218,000-square-foot building to perform at net zero—meaning it will consume so little energy that it won't need to draw a single electron from the grid.

The NREL's $64 million, 218,000-square-foot research campus is being built to the highest green standards. Nationally, 191 commercial buildings meet the most stringent standards for sustainability laid out by the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington nonprofit that promotes and certifies green building practices. The NREL building is designed to go well beyond the highest standard—a designation known as LEED platinum—to reach net zero. No other commercial building of its size has achieved that goal in the U.S., according to the U.S. Green Building Council; just a few have made it in Europe.

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A Smart Building NREL began the project by setting an energy budget for the building based on British thermal units, a standard measure of energy, in addition to a financial budget. NREL told designers bidding on the project that the new building could use no more than 32,000 BTUs per square foot a year. A typical office building in the Rocky Mountain region uses 65,000 BTUs per square foot a year, says the U.S. Green Building Council. To achieve that goal, the

winning design-build team—which included the international architectural firm RNL; Haselden Construction LLC of Centennial, Colo.; and Stantec Consulting, a North American engineering firm—assembled a crew of 180 to rethink the concept of an office building, from the outside in. "Traditional architecture is design first, then figure out how to make it work," says Rich von Luhrte, president of RNL, which has offices in Denver. "This project reverses that mindset: Energy drives the design."

A rendering of the NREL building's exterior Instead of a blockish tower, Philip A. Macey, a senior associate at RNL, drafted plans for two long, narrow wings of office space positioned along an east-west axis to catch maximum light. A mirrored louver built into the building's south-facing windows will bounce that daylight toward the ceiling,

where it should diffuse, creating a natural overhead light that Mr. Macey says will be adequate on all but the darkest days. The building, in fact, will control a good deal of the working environment. Some windows will open and close automatically as outdoor air warms and cools throughout

21


the day. Other windows will be left to employees to operate—but the building will ping occupants with reminders, flashing alerts on their laptops (desktops use too much energy) when it is time to open or close particular panes. Some windows will be shrouded to minimize glare and heat. Others will be

coated with a reflective film developed by RavenBrick LLC of Denver. The glass darkens automatically as the temperature rises, so it reflects the sun's heat away from the building while still allowing daylight to penetrate.

An interior space, designed to maximize natural lighting

A detail of the exterior, showing shrouded windows and heat-capturing black metal panels

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Temperature is regulated through an age-old concept known as "thermal mass," which involves sheathing the building in concrete panels nearly a foot thick. In summer, the panels will absorb the sun's heat, keeping the interior of the building comfortable, much the way an old stone cathedral remains cool inside even on the warmest days. In winter, the building relies on thin sheets of perforated metal that hang down south-facing walls. The metal is painted black, so it heats up quickly in the intense Denver sunshine. Air flowing through holes in the hot sheet metal is also warmed. A fan then sucks the warm air into an underground labyrinth—a crawl space crowded with a

maze of concrete blocks. The labyrinth stores the warm air until it is needed elsewhere in the building. A backup system of 42 miles of radiant piping runs through the building's hollow floors, using hot and cold water to keep work space comfortable even in the most extreme weather.

Higher Construction Costs

All of these techniques cost a premium. A run-of-the-mill office tower in Denver costs about $140 per square foot to design and build, according to an analysis by RSMeans, a unit of Reed Construction Data.

The underground labyrinth where air warmed by the

black metal is stored for later release throughout the

building.

The NREL building costs about twice that, almost $280 a square foot unfurnished, according to Haselden Construction. But NREL says its building meets federal guidelines for government construction costs—federal buildings generally cost more because of added safety and security requirements—and is, in fact, no more expensive than a standard government

office building that has fewer energy-efficiency features. The federal government also plans to continue studying—and tweaking—the building's energy use long after construction is complete. "That is critically important," says Bob Fox, a partner at the New York firm Cook + Fox Architects, which focuses on green building. "We need more projects like this to push the envelope.

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Heat-resistant adhesive for building work

Heat-resistant adhesive for building work

The Metropol Parasols will be the new centerpiece of Plaza de la Encarnación in Seville. As well as being an eye-catching work of art, the mushroom-like structures are also playing host to some pioneering construction techniques, with even the load-bearing structural components consisting of finely-wrought laminated veneer lumber beams. With mechanical joining methods ruled out for structural reasons, the beams are instead joined together by means of glued-in threaded rods. However, the high temperatures and relentless sunshine of a typical Seville summer could pose a significant challenge to the adhesive, in the worse-case it loses its ability to hold the components together.

The type of adhesive used in Seville is designed to withstand temperatures of up to 60 degrees, so researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research WKI have been working on behalf of the building inspection authorities to determine how close the thermal load is likely to come to this limit. “We ascertained the temperatures that might occur at the site and used simulations to determine the temperature this would trigger within the construction materials,” explains Dirk Kruse, head of department at WKI. Subsequent tests carried out on three specimen components in a climate chamber confirmed their findings, giving rise to a stark choice: either the adhesive would have to be improved, or the building inspection authorities would be forced to bring building work to a halt. Fortunately, there is a method of improving the adhesive's resistance to high temperatures, namely by “tempering” the structural components: “Once the components have been glued in place, they are heated up again,” Kruse continues. “This causes post-curing reactions to occur.” The adhesive is less likely to take on a liquid form and maintains its stability up to a temperature of 70 degrees. This gives a safety margin over and above the thermal stress that is actually expected to occur, which means that the building work can now be continued as planned and Seville will soon be featuring a brand new landmark. “These are the kinds of solutions that will help to firmly anchor adhesive technology within the building industry,” Kruse states. While adhesive bonding is widely used in the aircraft industry, the use of adhesion for structural applications in the building industry is still in its infancy. Yet the method opens up a whole new wealth of possibilities for architects.

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http://www.fraunhofer.de/en/Images/md01_fo5g_tcm63-39364.jpg

Haiti’s Quake: Some geotechnical aspects

Haiti’s quake: Some geotechnical aspects

What happened

The Mw 7.0 earthquake that struck the Republic of Haiti on January 12, 2010 is among the most destructive earthquakes in recorded history. As of February 6, 2010, the death toll reported by the Government of Haiti exceeds 212,000 with an additional 300,000 injuries. More than 5 million people live in the area directly affected by the earthquake, and 1.2 million people are now living in temporary shelters (United Nations, 2010). Five weeks after the earthquake, humanitarian relief agencies continue to be challenged by the scale of the disaster.

The Republic of Haiti occupies the western

third (27,750 km2) of the island of

Hispaniola, located in the NE Caribbean

between Puerto Rico to the east and

Jamaica and Cuba to the west (Fig. 1), and

has a total population of approximately 9

million. Its largest city, Port-au-Prince, has

an estimated population of between 2.5

and 3 million people within the

metropolitan area and is located 25 km ENE

of the epicenter.

A field reconnaissance in Haiti by a five-member team with expertise in seismology and

earthquake engineering has revealed a number of factors that led to catastrophic losses of life

and property during the January 12, 2010, Mw = 7.0 earthquake. The field study was conducted

January 26 - February 3, 2010. This article presents to you the geotechnical aspects of the final

report after investigation

The January 12, 2010,

earthquake is

indicated by a star, as

are the historic

earthquakes that

occurred on the

Enriquillo fault

(source: ten Brink and

Andrews, 2010, USGS

Woods Hole web site)

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The Main Shock and Aftershocks

The January 12, 2010 event occurred at

04:53 PM local time. The U.S. Geological

Survey (USGS) epicenter is 18.457° N,

72.533° W, which places the event 25 km

WSW of Port-au-Prince on or near the

Enriquillo fault (Fig. 2). The estimated depth

is 13 km, but the lack of local seismic data

makes the precise depth uncertain. The

USGS assigned a horizontal uncertainty of

+/- 3.4 km. The focal mechanism for the

main shock indicates left-lateral oblique-slip

motion on an east-west oriented fault. The

fault rupture from east to west, away from

Port-au-Prince and towards the cities of

Léogâne, Grand Goâve, and Petite Goâve.

The USGS finite fault model shows a

maximum slip of 5 m up-dip from the

hypocenter (Fig. 3). The earthquake source

zone (i.e., the surface area of the fault that

slipped) is quite compact with a down-dip

dimension of approximately 15 km and an

along-strike dimension of 30 km. This

source dimension is about one-third the

size of a typical Mw 7.0 earthquake. The

earthquake rupture was very abrupt and

sharp; maximum moment release occurred

in the first 10 seconds of the fault slip.

Numerous cracks in the roadway could all

be attributed to slumping of the road

embankment, which rise as much as 3 m

(9.8 ft) above the adjoining fields. Indeed,

many of the most prominent road cracks

were oriented north-south, while the

Enriquillo fault is oriented east-west. An

examination of the fields adjacent to the

cracked roadway consistently revealed no

surface rupture, with the exception of a

crack adjacent to the road that was

oriented north-south. A field study along

the coastline centred at (18.44609° N,

72.685912° W) did not reveal surface

rupture, despite clear liquefaction features

in a nearby field.

GEOTECHNICAL ASPECTS

Liquefaction

Liquefaction-induced lateral spreading was

a significant factor contributing to the

extensive damage at the Port de Port-au-

Prince, especially the collapse of a pile-

supported marginal wharf. The liquefaction

features and resulting damage are

described in more detail in a subsequent

section of this report on the port.

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Other less severe liquefaction-related

features were observed in the alluvial plain

surrounding the city of Léogâne. The figure

above shows the failure of a structure

located about 75 m from the shoreline at

18.446323° N, 72.686259° W. There were

several sand boils nearby; the largest of

which measured approximately 4 m (13 ft)

in diameter.

Ground-Motion Amplification The role of ground-motion amplification in causing the widespread damage observed in Port-au-Prince is unclear at present because little is known about soil conditions. To the north of Port-au-Prince is the “Chaine des Mateux” mountain range.

To the south lie the foothills of the La Selle Mountains that form the backdrop of the city. Most of Port-au-Prince rests on Holocene alluvial fan deposits consisting of gravel, sand, and clay The thickness of the deposits is variable and is reported to reach more than 200 m (650 ft) in some locations. Landslides We observed a large number of landslides along Highway 204 in the mountainous area approximately 10-15 km southwest of the epicenter. Most of these landslides occurred in cut slopes along the highway (Fig. 3a).

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Fiugre3(a)

We did not observe many landslides in natural slopes away from the highway. We also observed several landslides in the foothills of the La Selle mountains between

downtown Port-au-Prince and Pétion-Ville. Fig. 3b shows an example of one such landslide that destroyed several homes on top of the slope.

Fiugre3(b)

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Embankment Failures Two failures that caused damage to the pavement were observed along Nationale No. 2 west of the epicenter where the road is constructed on an embankment above low-lying coastal areas. In the first case the pavement damage appears to have been

caused by a slope failure (Fig 4a). The cause of damage in the second case is more complex and may be the result of dynamic densification of the fill because the pavement has settled by approximately 1 m (3.3 ft)Fig 4(b).

Figure 4(a) Figure 4(b)

BUILDINGS

This section provides an overview of Haitian building and housing statistics, typical construction practices and damage to residential construction. This part presents the performance of reinforced concrete and masonry structures, and illustrates key features with four case studies. The section concludes with a discussion of the performance of prefabricated steel frames and a quantitative survey of distributed damage for two sample areas.

Residential Buildings Based on the field observations, residential construction in Port-au-Prince can be roughly divided into three categories:

Shanty housing using a mixture of wood and corrugated metal

Concrete masonry unit (CMU, also called concrete block) with corrugated-metal roof

Reinforced concrete columns and slabs with infill concrete block walls.

The team did not see much damage or collapse in the first two categories of

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residential construction (Fig. 5). The lower weight of the building materials in these

types of construction likely resulted in lower seismic inertial forces.

Figure 5

In contrast, there were numerous examples of severe damage and collapse to residences with the heavy concrete slab floors and roofs (e.g., Fig. 6).

Figure 6

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The concrete and masonry buildings have several characteristics that might have contributed to their vulnerability:

We observed concrete and concrete block being made at several sites. The site materials appeared to be graded on site with a hand sieve to create the aggregate, and mixed on the ground (or in a wheelbarrow) with cement and water to create mortar. It was not unusual to see pockets of loose aggregate in the concrete work indicating a stiff and/or poor mix. The concrete and mortar often appeared to be of poor quality.

The slabs and roofs were typically about 150-mm (6-in.) thick and utilized concrete block to create voids in the slabs to reduce the amount of concrete needed. Reinforcing steel was placed

between the concrete block void areas to create a system of reinforced ribs in the slab. It appeared that some of this concrete block was placed close to columns, potentially reducing the punching shear capacity of the slab system.

The supporting concrete columns were typically small, on the order of 200 to 250 mm (8 to 10 in.) square. The reinforcing steel in these columns often consisted of only 4-#4 vertical bars with #2 ties spaced at 200 to 250 mm (8 to 10 in.). It was not unusual to see smooth rather than deformed bars as the longitudinal reinforcement. The column ties appeared consistently to be smooth, and the hooks on these ties were short 90° hooks rather than 135° seismic hooks (Fig. 7).

Figure 7

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The concrete block walls were constructed after the concrete frame had been completed and did not appear to be reinforced. Interior

walls were also made with concrete block, further increasing the seismic mass of the residence.

Two adjacent structures located in a hamlet near Léogâne illustrate the important benefits of having a low seismic mass, particularly for relatively brittle structures built without consideration of earthquake performance. The first, a two-story, concrete bearing wall house suffered severe

damage to all of its first-story walls, particularly on the sides with multiple openings (Fig. 8a). The adjacent, one-story church, with a light-metal roof supported by masonry walls, appeared to be constructed with materials of poorer quality, but it fared much better during the earthquake (8b).

Figure 8(a) figure 8(b)

Multi-Story Reinforced Concrete and Masonry Structures Most multi-story structures appeared to consist of reinforced concrete frames, with reinforced concrete roofs and floors, and masonry infill. The team did also find some bearing-wall structures supporting concrete floors and roofs, and occasionally, wood or steel roofs. For structures with low-to-moderate levels of damage, it was often difficult to determine whether the bearing

walls were made of concrete, reinforced concrete or masonry. Figure 9a shows the collapse of the multi-story Turgeau Hospital, whose lateral-force resistance was provided by a reinforced concrete frame with masonry infill. The columns and joints had little transverse reinforcement. The new Digicel building across the street appeared to be nearly undamaged with slight damage to a few windows (Fig 9b).

32


Figure 9(a) Figure 9(b) Nonetheless, the stark difference in performance suggests that the severe damage to numerous buildings could have been avoided with greater attention to seismic performance. Pre-Engineered Metal Buildings Pre-engineered metal buildings (PEMB) are not common in Haiti. The PEMB structures we observed had unreinforced masonry walls rather than light-gauge metal siding. For warehouse or industrial structures in Haiti, the common structural configuration included reinforced concrete columns with masonry infill walls supporting steel trusses and a light-gauge metal roof. While some industrial or warehouse structures with concrete and masonry bearing walls experienced partial or total roof collapses, the PEMB structures fared much better. The

steel framing supporting the gravity loads for the most part appeared undamaged. The significant amount of lateral spreading and large shipping containers impacting the building caused some of the steel frames to fail. A negative aspect of the performance of the steel framed structures was the detachment of the non-structural masonry. The extent of the resulting damage varied. In one case, the failure of the masonry caused the roof below to collapse.

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Figure 10

The figure above shows two typical examples of PEMB structures from Port-au-Prince, in which the masonry failed out of plane. The team saw no evidence of ties between the structural steel and the masonry walls.

FINAL REMARKS

Indirect evidence suggests that the earthquake did not produce ground motions sufficient to severely damage well-engineered structures. Many bearing-wall structures did survive the earthquake. Similarly, bridges located near the epicentre suffered only minor damage and were able to function immediately after the earthquake. It appears that the widespread damage to residences, government and private buildings, roadways, and port facilities was

attributable to a great extent to the lack of attention in design and construction to the possibility of earthquakes. In many cases, the structural types, member dimensions, detailing practices, and fill properties were inadequate to resist strong ground motions. These vulnerabilities may have been exacerbated by poor construction practices. The effects of this damage were also compounded by widespread poverty, the density of Port au Prince, and the fragility of the public institutions in Haiti.

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White Roofs May Successfully Cool Cities

White Roofs May Successfully Cool Cities Painting the roofs of buildings white has the potential to significantly cool cities and mitigate some impacts of global warming, a new study indicates. The new NCAR-led research suggests there may be merit to an idea advanced by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu that white roofs can be an important tool to help society adjust to climate change. Cities are particularly vulnerable to climate change because they are warmer than outlying rural areas. Asphalt roads, tar roofs, and other artificial surfaces absorb heat from the Sun, creating an urban heat island effect that can raise temperatures on average by 2-5 degrees Fahrenheit or more compared to rural areas. White roofs would reflect some of that heat back into space and cool temperatures, much as wearing a white shirt on a sunny day can be cooler than wearing a dark shirt. The study team used a newly developed computer model to simulate the amount of solar radiation that is absorbed or reflected by urban surfaces. The model simulations, which provide scientists with an idealized view of different types of cities around the world, indicate that, if every roof

were entirely painted white, the urban heat island effect could be reduced by 33 percent. This would cool the world's cities by an average of about 0.7 degrees F, with the cooling influence particularly pronounced during the day, especially in summer. The authors emphasize that their research should be viewed as a hypothetical look at typical city landscapes rather than the actual rooftops of any one city. In the real world, the cooling impact might be somewhat less because dust and weathering would cause the white paint to darken over time and parts of roofs would remain unpainted because of openings such as heating and cooling vents. In addition, white roofs would have the effect of cooling temperatures within buildings. As a result, depending on the local climate, the amount of energy used for space heating and air conditioning could change, which could affect both outside air temperatures and the consumption of fossil fuels such as oil and coal that are associated with global warming. Depending on whether air conditioning or heating is affected more, this could either magnify or partially offset the impact of the roofs.

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White Roofs May Successfully Cool Cities

More cooling for certain cities The research indicated that some cities would benefit more than others from white roofs, depending on such factors as:

Roof density. Cities where roofs make up more of the urban surface area would cool more.

Construction. Roofs that allow large amounts of heat from the Sun to penetrate the interior of a building (as can happen with metal roofs and

little insulation) are less effective in cooling outside temperatures when painted white.

Location. White roofs tend to have a larger impact in relatively warm climates that receive strong, year-round sunlight.

While the model did not have enough detail to capture individual cities, it did show the change in temperatures in larger metropolitan regions.

36

How Materials Break

New Method for Predicting and Describing How Materials Break

A study of this new mathematical model has managed to describe the fracture process for materials such as glass, polymers, concrete, ceramics, metals, rocks, and even certain geological fractures. Antonio J. Pons, of the research group on Nonlinear Dynamics, Nonlinear Optics and Lasers of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)-Barcelona Tech at the Terrassa Campus, has developed a new

mathematical model leading to a new law of physics that describes all the stages involved in the way materials crack, making it possible to predict how they will do so before the fracture actually occurs. This is the first time ever that this model has been used to describe objects or materials in 3D, namely all of those that occupy a volume in space and are isotropic, with a homogeneous structure.

A powerful simulation From a technological, physical, and geological perspective, everything around us is material, and everything is potentially breakable: the wing of an airplane, the

column supporting a building, the hull of a ship, the nozzle of a hose and even the structure of the Earth in a geological fault. Until now, science strove to understand how the simplest things broke: two-dimensional objects such as sheets of paper, for instance; meanwhile, breakage in

37

How Materials Break

three-dimensional objects continued to baffle scientists. It is known that if certain tensions are applied to objects, they crack, but what remains uncertain is what forces describe the crack path and how it occurs. Antonio J. Pons' study puts an end to this uncertainty, creating a simulation model powerful enough to predict and describe crack patterns in structures ranging in size from the microscopic to others as large as certain geological faults. This simulation model actually replicates all the stages in the fracture process from beginning to end, and knowing how certain materials behave can enable us to design new materials that are far more crack-resistant.

How some materials break A material-or, in other words, any solid object or element in our environment-can break in three different ways: from top to bottom (as in the San Andreas Fault, in California); horizontally, like a cut; or as a tear, for instance when a cable is pulled and twisted at the same time. To set a few other examples, the fault along the Serranía del Interior mountain range in Venezuela cracks following a mixed pattern, combining the first and the third model; the crankshaft in a car motor breaks from torsion and fatigue; an adjustable wrench also breaks from fatigue; polymer materials crack like rocks; objects made of glass break

along the same crack lines as geological fractures.

Disaster prediction Antonio J. Pons' new method now enables the scientific community to describe the processes involved in the fracture of materials from their initial state, as the break develops, and its final outcome at all scales. In addition, the method allows for describing cracks mathematically in three dimensions. The method also enables us to perform numerical simulations that were impossible until now. With this research, crack front patterns can be predicted before they appear, opening up the possibility of applications for preventing disasters and optimizing materials or new production techniques for microscopic elements. It also enables us to predict and gain a better understanding of the way in which bones break in patients suffering from certain pathologies such as osteoporosis.

Macro technological applications A useful application of this mathematical model involves understanding the behavior of large structures such as buildings in areas with intense seismic activity. The new method makes it possible to modify construction materials to make these buildings safer.

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Aiming at 'phantom' traffic jams


Countless hours are lost in traffic jams

every year. Most frustrating of all are those

jams with no apparent cause -- no accident,

no stalled vehicle, no lanes closed for

construction.

Phantom jams are born of a lot of cars using

the road. No surprise there. But when

traffic gets too heavy, it takes the smallest

disturbance in the flow - a driver laying on

the brakes, someone tailgating too closely

or some moron picking pickles off his

burger - to ripple through traffic and create

a self-sustaining traffic jam.

Such phantom jams can form when there is

a heavy volume of cars on the road. In that

high density of traffic, small disturbances (a

driver hitting the brake too hard, or getting

too close to another car) can quickly

become amplified into a full-blown, self-

sustaining traffic jam.

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A team of MIT mathematicians has

developed a model that describes how and

under what conditions such jams form,

which could help road designers minimize

the odds of their formation. The

researchers reported their findings May 26

in the online edition of Physical Review E.

Key to the new study is the realization that

the mathematics of such jams, which the

researchers call "jamitons," are strikingly

similar to the equations that describe

detonation waves produced by explosions,

says AslanKasimov, lecturer in MIT's

Department of Mathematics. That discovery

enabled the team to solve traffic jam

equations that were first theorized in the

1950s.

The equations, similar to those used to

describe fluid mechanics, model traffic jams

as a self-sustaining wave. Variables such as

traffic speed and traffic density are used to

calculate the conditions under which a

jamiton will form and how fast it will

spread.

Once such a jam is formed, it's almost

impossible to break up -- drivers just have

to wait it out, says Morris Flynn, lead author

of the paper. However, the model could

help engineers design roads with enough

capacity to keep traffic density low enough

to minimize the occurrence of such jams,

says Flynn, a former MIT math instructor

now at the University of Alberta.

The model can also help determine safe

speed limits and identify stretches of road

where high densities of traffic -- hot spots

for accidents -- are likely to form.

The team tackled the problem last year

after a group of Japanese researchers

experimentally demonstrated the formation

of jamitons on a circular roadway. Drivers

were told to travel 30 kilometers per hour

and maintain a constant distance from

other cars. Very quickly, disturbances

appeared and a phantom jam formed. The

denser the traffic, the faster the jams

formed.

"We wanted to describe this using a

mathematical model similar to that of fluid

flow," said Kasimov, whose main research

focus is detonation waves. He and his co-

authors found that, like detonation waves,

jamitons have a "sonic point," which

separates the traffic flow into upstream and

downstream components. Much like the

event horizon of a black hole, the sonic

point precludes communication between

these distinct components so that, for

example, information about free-flowing

conditions just beyond the front of the jam

can't reach drivers behind the sonic point.

As a result, drivers stuck in dense traffic

may have no idea that the jam has no

external cause, such as an accident or other

bottleneck. Correspondingly, they don't

appreciate that traffic conditions are soon

to improve and drive accordingly.

In future studies, the team plans to look

more detailed aspects of jamiton formation,

including how the number of lanes affects

the phantom traffic jams.

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Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering

Civil Engineering related to ‘Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering (HWRE)

-V. R. Desai, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur-721302

Among all engineering disciplines, the civil engineering discipline is the closest to nature. We civil engineers study soil (in the form of soil mechanics), water (in the form of hydraulics, hydrology and water resources), energy (in the form of hydropower), wind (in the form of wind engineering) as well as space (in the form of space structures). These are considered as the five basic elements of nature, which are popularly known as the ‘Pancha mahabhootas’ in the Indian philosophy. In addition to this, civil engineers ‘build the quality of life’ as aptly said in a quotation by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) by designing appropriate facilities at the individual, community, national and global levels. Civil engineering related to water resources can be broadly grouped into three categories as listed below.

1. Civil engineering is involved in the study/management of various WATER USES like: a. municipal water supply, b. industrial water supply, c. hydropower and offshore development, d. water for agriculture and aquaculture, e. water for navigation & recreation and f. Water for other uses.

2. Civil engineering is also involved in the study/management of various WATER

RELATED HAZARDS like: a. floods, b. droughts/ water scarcities, c. landslides/ excessive seepages, d. tsunamis, e. reservoir induced earthquakes and f. other hazards;

3. In addition to these, Civil engineering is involved in the study/management of

various UNDESIRABLE BY-PRODUCTS OF WATER USES like: a. municipal wastewater, b. industrial wastewater, c. agricultural return flow / drainage / water induced soil erosion and d. Other undesirable by-products of water uses.

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There have been continuous updates in the technology, scale as well as the method of construction of facilities in each of the areas listed above over the years, decades and centuries. Research and development related to these areas have come from the developing as well as the developed world. Among the various water uses, the water required for drinking and cooking in the municipal water supply requires the best quality as per the potable water quality standards while the water required for agriculture requires the highest quantity. Some of the notable examples are listed here. The centralized planning for municipal water supply projects was initiated in the Western Europe / North America around the 1840’s. The present water supply projects for huge metropolis like Greater New York City, Greater Mexico City and Greater Tokyo (each with a population of 20 million plus and a per capita per day water demand in excess of 100 liters) can be mentioned here. On one hand it makes every civil engineer feel proud while on the other hand it has also robbed the time-tested practice of managing water resources almost independently at individual house and community levels. To overcome this drawback, rainwater harvesting at individual house and community levels is being promoted voluntarily as well as through mandatory stipulations to reduce the load on the centralized municipal water supply schemes. Similarly the amount of industrial water supply required was about 291 billion cubic meters (BCM) accounting for about 65% of the total water demand as per the World Bank data during the period from 1980 to 1998 in a highly industrialized country like the USA. As far as the large hydropower development was concerned, the Itaipu Project between Brazil and Paraguay in South America has an installed power capacity of 12,600 megawatt (MW) with a maximum unit size of 725 MW. The Three Gorges Dam Project on the Yangtze River in China is expected to have a power generating capacity of 18,200 MW consisting of 26 units each of size of 700 MW by the year 2009. The famous Brahmaputra U-bend in Tibet in China with an elevation drop of about 2.25 km (between two of its cross sections which are 37-km apart) is estimated to have a hydropower potential of about 60,000 MW if series of cascading hydropower projects are planned. This project has been termed as the project of the ‘engineer-dreamers’ for the enormous amount of challenge (such as designing appropriate hydropower structures in the earthquake prone Himalayas as well as bringing about a socio-political understanding and synergy between the two Asian giant nations viz., India and China) and the benefits it offers. In the same manner, design of very long coastal bridges such as the one recently built near Shanghai in China across the River Yangtze represents the finest example of near-shore and offshore development. Another example is the Ijsselmeer, wherein a 32 km long Afsluitdijk Dam was built in 1932 within the inland sea of central Netherlands to create a mega-reservoir for storing freshwater. Extending this concept, the work for the ambitious Kalpsar Project across the Gulf of Khambatt connecting Southern Gujarat in India near the mouth of River Narmada with a place 67-km away in Saurashtra in the peninsular region of Gujarat. Such a project will not only create a very large freshwater reservoir for the waters from rivers Narmada, Mahi, Sabarmati and other 7 to 8 smaller rivers in that region. But also it will

42


significantly reduce the distance, time and cost of travel by land between Mumbai /its vicinity and parts of Saurashtra. As for as irrigation (i.e., agricultural water demand) is concerned, India (with its very high percentage of arable land of 45%) was using about 460 BCM water during the year 1980 to 1998 as per the World Bank data accounting for about 92% of its total water demand. Refer to Figure 1 below. On a smaller scale, Israel has successfully demonstrated the use of drip irrigation and thereby growing and exporting fruits from its desert lands. Similarly, parts of Pakistan having sandy soils of the Thar Desert are known for growing valuable crops like Basmati rice by utilizing the waters of River Indus through a well-developed century old Indus Canal system.

Figure 1. Sector wise water usage in major countries during 1980-1998. In navigation, the construction of Panama Canal between the two continents of North and South America as well as the construction of Suez Canal between Africa and the Middle-East within the past century has resulted in a significant reduction of travel time and cost for all kinds of ships. Water use for recreation has been developed locally all over the world in the form of sports and adventure activities. Lastly among the other water uses, the floating market of Bangkok across the Chao Phraya River in Thailand is worth mentioning here. Coming to the civil engineering related to water hazards like floods, droughts, tsunamis, landslides etc. various structural measures as well as non-structural measures have been adopted through out the world to effectively manage them. However, the increase in the degree as well as the frequency of hydro-meteorological extremes possibly due to the effect of climate change induced global warming is a cause for serious concern especially in the developing world and sporadically in the developed world. In this regard, the impact of the December 2004 Tsunami spread over three continents ranging from Somalia in Africa through Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia in Asia and to some extent in the western part of the Australian

43


continent is worth mentioning here. Similarly activities like creation of paved and impervious surfaces and building of reservoirs is leading to urban flooding, erosion, sedimentation and reservoir induced seismicity in many parts of the world. Such problems need to be addressed using an integrated approach for the conservation of natural resources such as soil, water and vegetation. Civil engineering knowledge is also very much required in managing the undesirable by-products of water uses such as municipal and industrial wastewater, agricultural return flow, water induced soil erosion etc. In these areas many traditional technologies, modern technologies as well as blends of traditional and modern technologies have been evolved over decades and centuries of research and innovation. Almost all countries have contributed in the development of civil engineering knowledge base to address water related issues. India is also an active contributor of traditional and / or modern technologies aimed at achieving integrated water management. Some of the most notable contributions from India can be broadly grouped into those belonging to the ancient as well as modern period. Among those during the ancient period, the first measurement of rainfall by Koutilya during the 3rd Century BC in the Magadh Empire of present day Bihar and the building of Grand Anicut over River Cauvery (which is functioning quite satisfactorily even now) by the Chola king Karikala during the 1st Century AD are worth mentioning here. Among the Indian contribution to water related civil engineering during modern times the commissioning of the world’s largest reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant at Kalpakkam Atomic Power Plant near Chennai, Tamil Nadu (in 2004 with a daily capacity of 4.5 million litres) as well as the well developed canal systems in the Ganga, Indus and Godavari basins are worth remembering here.

44

A closer look at the dispute: What brought WTC down


Introduction: The Structural System Faced with the difficulties of building to unprecedented heights, the engineers employed an

innovative structural model: a rigid "hollow tube" of closely spaced steel columns with floor

trusses extending across to a central core. The columns, finished with a silver-colored aluminum

alloy, were 18 3/4" wide and set only 22" apart, making the towers appear from afar to have no

windows at all.

Also unique to the engineering design

were its core and elevator system. The

twin towers were the first supertall

buildings designed without any masonry.

Worried that the intense air pressure

created by the buildings’ high speed

elevators might buckle conventional

shafts, engineers designed a solution

using a drywall system fixed to the

reinforced steel core. For the elevators,

to serve 110 stories with a traditional

configuration would have required half

the area of the lower stories be used for shaftways. Otis Elevators developed an express and

local system, whereby passengers would change at "sky lobbies" on the 44th and 78th floors,

halving the number of shaftways.

The structural system, deriving from the I.B.M. Building in Seattle, is impressively simple. The

208-foot wide facade is, in effect, a prefabricated steel lattice, with columns on 39-inch centers

acting as wind bracing to resist all overturning forces; the central core takes only the gravity

loads of the building. A very light, economical structure results by keeping the wind bracing in

the most efficient place, the outside surface of the building, thus not transferring the forces

through the floor membrane to the core, as in most curtain-wall structures. The floor

construction is of prefabricated trussed steel, only 33 inches in depth, that spans the full 60 feet

to the core, and also acts as a diaphragm to stiffen the outside wall against lateral buckling

45


forces from wind-load pressures."

This article presents to you the key elements of the technical dispute regarding the collapse of WTC.

The individual points of the former collapse theory by Tim Wilkinson are presented followed by some

other important observation, made later. The arguments of both National Institute for Standards and

Technology (NIST) and Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth team (AE911 Truth) have been

compiled from 3 separate reports, firstly the initial collapse theory, and two other reports published in

September 2009.

Initial theory of collapse -Tim Wilkinson, Lecturer in Civil Engineering

The structural integrity of the World Trade

Center depends on the closely spaced columns

around the perimeter. Lightweight steel trusses

span between the central elevator core and the

perimeter columns on each floor. These trusses

support the concrete slab of each floor and tie

the perimeter columns to the core, preventing

the columns from buckling outwards.

After the initial plane impacts, it appeared to

most observers that the structures had been

severely damaged, but not necessarily fatally.

It appears likely that the impact of the plane

crash destroyed a significant number of

perimeter columns on several floors of the

building, severely weakening the entire system.

Initially this was not enough to cause collapse.

However, as fire raged in the upper floors, the heat would have been gradually affecting the

behaviour of the remaining material. As the planes had only recently taken off, the fire would

have been initially fuelled by large volumes of jet fuel, which then ignited any combustible

material in the building. While the fire would not have been hot enough to melt any of the

steel, the strength of the steel drops markedly with prolonged exposure to fire, while the elastic

modulus of the steel reduces (stiffness drops), increasing deflections.

46


Modern structures are designed to

resist fire for a specific length of

time. Safety features such as fire

retarding materials and sprinkler

systems help to contain fires, help

extinguish flames, or prevent steel

from being exposed to excessively

high temperatures. This gives

occupants time to escape and allow

fire fighters to extinguish blazes,

before the building is

catastrophically damaged.

It is possible that the blaze, started

by jet fuel and then engulfing the

contents of the offices, in a highly

confined area, generated fire

conditions significantly more severe

than those anticipated in a typical

office fire. These conditions may

have overcome the building's fire

defences considerably faster than

expected. It is likely that the water

pipes that supplied the fire

sprinklers were severed by the

plane impact, and much of the fire

protective material, designed to

stop the steel from being heated and losing strength, was blown off by the blast at impact.

Eventually, the loss of strength and stiffness of the materials resulting from the fire, combined

with the initial impact damage, would have caused a failure of the truss system supporting a

floor, or the remaining perimeter columns, or even the internal core, or some combination.

Failure of the flooring system would have subsequently allowed the perimeter columns to

buckle outwards. Regardless of which of these possibilities actually occurred, it would have

resulted in the complete collapse of at least one complete storey at the level of impact.

47


Once one storey collapsed all floors above would have begun to fall. The huge mass of falling

structure would gain momentum, crushing the structurally intact floors below, resulting in

catastrophic failure of the entire structure. While the columns at say level 50 were designed to

carry the static load of 50 floors above, once one floor collapsed and the floors above started to

fall, the dynamic load of 50 storeys above is very much greater, and the columns at each level

were almost instantly destroyed as the huge upper mass fell to the ground.

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Impact of Planes on Steel Columns NIST reports that of the 47 core columns in each tower, three in WTC 1 were severed, four sustained

heavy damage and five sustained

moderate damage, adding up to about

25% of the columns. In WTC2 five core

columns were severed, four sustained

heavy damage and one sustained

moderate damage, adding up to about

21% of the columns. NIST argues that

in combination with the steel beams

weakened by fire after the plane

impact stripped fireproofing from the

beams, this was sufficient to trigger a

general collapse in both towers.

NIST critics among building professionals argue that the towers were built to survive even if more than

50% of the columns were severed or weakened. A favorite 1964 quote from the professional magazine

Engineering News-Record cites the assertions of WTC designers that a catastrophe "could cut away all

the first story columns on one side of the building, and partway from the corners of the perpendicular

sides, and the building could still withstand design live loads and a 100 mph wind from any direction."

NIST responds that designers did not allow for the "unique conditions" of the tower events. Some

independent NIST supporters add that the magazine quote itself is more self-promotion than

construction reality.

Load Redistribution NIST estimates that after the

airplane crashes severed some

beams in each tower, loads on

some columns increased by up

to 35%. NIST allows that, just

as it should have been, the

weight of the stories above the

severed beams was efficiently

distributed to intact beams

and to other support elements

but notes that, even so, once

the fires softened the steel

core and trusses bearing the

extra load, there was sufficient

give to allow the perimeter

columns to bend inward and

49


thereby touch off the collapse.

Opposing professionals note that the WTC designers specifically designed for airplane impact (though

they concede for a somewhat smaller jet plane). Moreover, to assist load redistribution and for other

safety reasons, the designers used a super-strong steel in the beams that, critics say, gave a margin of

error allowing beams to handle three times their load capacity. Some critics cite a statistic that the

outside perimeter columns could handle increases of 2000% above the designed live load. NIST says it

never heard of such a number and doesn't know its derivation. Such a number is clearly inaccurate given

the events, NIST says.

Dislodged Fireproofing Absolutely essential to the NIST

case is its finding via computer

modeling of the damage that

"significant amounts" of

fireproofing protecting the core

steel beams were dislodged from

both towers by the impact of the

aircrafts, allowing the steel to

soften sufficiently (not melt) in

the ensuing fires to destabilize

the entire building. In one

building 43 of the 47 core beams

on at least one floor were

estimated by NIST to be so damaged. Without this dislodgment, NIST concedes, the airplane crashes and

subsequent fires could not have caused the collapse of the two buildings.

Critics point out that there is no hard evidence the fireproofing was stripped on impact or that so many

core beams were damaged by fire, the hard evidence having been destroyed or carted away. NIST

therefore had to rely on computer models to determine this, a process in which the information chosen

to be input was all important. They note that it is simply a NIST hypothesis that significant dislodging

occurred. To support this theory, NIST performed laboratory tests in which shotguns pellets were fired

at steel surfaces coated with spray-on foam insulation like that used in the twin towers. Critics note that

the underlying assumption is that a crashing Boeing 757 would have been transformed into the

equivalent of the thousands of shotgun blasts needed to dislodge fireproofing from the 6,000 square

meters of surface area of structural steel in the fire areas.

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Fire and Steel Softening NIST argues that once the fireproofing was dislodged, the combination of gasoline fire and huge paper

and office furniture fires created sufficient

general area heat in sufficient time (with the air

heated up to 1000C in some areas) so that the

steel beams with dislodged fireproofing were

able to reach temperatures of 700C, at which

point they lost slightly more than half their load-

bearing capacity, initiating the collapse. How did

NIST come to cite the crucial 700C number? In

its own lab tests, NIST found that the steel

would soften sufficiently to allow floors to sag if

it reached 700C. NIST further notes: "Bare

structural steel components, when exposed to a

large and sustained fire, can heat rapidly to the

point where their ability to support their load is

compromised."

Opposing experts argue that the temperatures from the fires ever reached the levels cited by NIST in the

areas around the core beams. They point out that (1) NIST's own display chart shows that the highest air

temperatures, which NIST estimated lasted only 15 to 20 minutes, were not in the area of the core inner

beams and that only 3 perimeter columns of 16 studied had reached a temperature above 250C, while

two core columns studied had not even reached 250C. (2) Even in the unlikely event the beams lost 50%

of their load- bearing capacity, they had capacity to handle three times the load they were carrying. (3)

Steel rapidly transfers heat elsewhere such that no one spot is likely to have become sufficiently hot to

lose its load-bearing capacity. (4) NIST states there is no visual evidence for fires close to or in the core

of the buildings. (5) In the case of WTC2, all the NIST-claimed fire damage would have had to happen

within 52 minutes whereas it took almost an hour and three quarters (102 minutes) for the impact-fire

events allegedly to collapse WTC1.

Floor Sagging NIST reports that impact-area floors sagged just

before the collapse, as has happened in other

steel-framed buildings under the duress of fire.

With its computer-modeling of the collapse, NIST

estimated the floors sagged 54 inches, pulling

perimeter columns inward, which placed more

load on the fire-weakened inner steel columns.

For NIST this is another key element in the

collapse scenario.

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Opposing building professionals argue that no other fire in a steel-framed building ever caused so much

floor sag and that in fact NIST's own tests demonstrated only a few inches of sagging in the middle - and

this after two hours in a high-temperature furnace. NIST, some critics allege, could have pumped the

statistics fed into the computer in order to achieve a pre-desired outcome, justifying doing so with its

questionable hypothesis that the fire-proofing was stripped as severely as NIST estimates.

Perimeter Column Buckling NIST claims that crucial evidence that helped steer its research into what brought on the collapse is a

film by two Czech brothers showing perimeter support columns near the area of impact bending

inwards, thus "applying an inward pressure" on the inner support beams, forcing them to bear some of

the load of the perimeter columns. Once it saw the perimeter beams bend in, NIST says, it began to

search for the cause which led to its understanding of the sagging floors.

Outside experts find two problems with this.

One, NIST has never released the supporting

film so that independent tests can be done on

whether the perimeter columns actually bent

inward or only appeared to do so because of

light refraction. Second, to bolster its

computer model's outcome as to the effects

of the columns supposedly moving inward,

NIST, according to former Underwriters Lab

chemist and whistleblower Kevin Ryan, fed

into the computer information that "doubled

the height of the unsupported wall sections

[moving inward], doubled the temperatures,

doubled the duration of the stress, and

ignored the effect of insulation."

Global Collapse Theory In its most controversial finding, NIST argues that "global collapse" or "total progressive collapse" of the

floors beneath the impact areas of both buildings ensued instantaneously after the impact area gave

way and the tops of the buildings came crashing down into the lower sections. The lower sections

"provided little resistance to the tremendous energy released by the falling building mass," NIST

reported. This happened with near free-fall speed despite the known load-bearing strength of the steel

beams holding up the lower floors. As NIST spokesman Newman put it, "It is a simple matter of physics:

force equal mass (of the upper stories) plus acceleration. We believe our calculations are accurate and

we have had top physicists confirm this is how it could happen."

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Critical outside building professionals and others note that NIST provides no detailed calculations as to

how the force of the upper stories was received by the lower ones, only a formula as to how it might

have happened, and they cite Newton's Law of Conservation of Momentum in which, quite logically they

say and as evidenced by other damaged steel buildings, the upward strength and sheer size of the lower

buildings mass with its huge steel columns would slow the descent of the upper portion of the buildings,

not yield to it and collapse en mass. Not even if all the core steel beams in the fire area gave way, they

argue, could global collapse ever occur absent some other force weakening the steel of the lower floors,

which would have to come from pre-planted explosives. Absent such explosives, the "weak link" of the

most severed or heated steel would have given first, at most causing the upper stories to topple to one

side and not, as in two identical buildings, causing a mass and fairly straight-down collapse.

Molten Steel NIST denies that any of the building steel ever turned molten before the collapse, which would take a

temperature much greater than it says the fires in the building reached but which an explosive such as

thermite would easily generate. NIST argues that the yellow-reddish molten metal clearly seen pouring

from one of the buildings was the aluminum from one of the planes turned yellow likely by blending

with burning elements of furniture, computers and the like. NIST spokesman Newman further argues

that any possible photographic evidence and eyewitness testimony of molten steel being removed from

Ground Zero, if such evidence even exists was either aluminum, mistaken as steel or steel that had

cooked in the heat and fires under the pile generated after the collapse and which were trapped, oven-

like, in the debris and earth.

Critical independent professionals pounce on all this, noting that:

(1) NIST only surmised but did not actually test the hypotheses that silvery molten aluminum could turn

yellowish-red when compounded with building contents; (2) NIST only studied carefully-selected whole

steel sections; (3) there is some eyewitness testimony and a few photos showing that quantities of non-

aluminum molten metals were seen above ground and so could not be explained by underground fires;

(4) metal fires burned for weeks "consistent with the use of high-temperature cutter charges such as

thermite, routinely used to melt/cut/demolish steel," producing temperatures above 2000C, as one

53


NIST-rebutting technical essay claims, and (5) it is physically impossible and absurd beyond science that

fires in trapped rubble could burn hotter than the building fires and thus melt fallen steel unless some

other chemical element were in place to reinforce those fires. A chemical such as thermite, which

contains its own oxygen, would allow burning in oxygen-less underground spaces. The critics also note

that NIST admits it never saw or tested any of the molten steel itself, and some of NIST's lead scientists

even deny its existence.

The Incendiary "Super" Thermite Most NIST critics cite as the most

devastating potential evidence of

explosives the work of Dr. Steven E.

Jones, a physicist who was forced to

retire from his tenured

professorship at Brigham Young

University in Utah after he wrote a

highly critical analysis of the NIST

twin towers report that was

severely rebuked by BYU"s own

building engineering department as

mistake-ridden because it was

outside Jones area of expertise.

Jones and two other scientists, then

analyzed and, in a peer-reviewed

scientific journal, reported and

showed photographs last April of what they said was clear evidence of nano-thermite, otherwise known

as super thermite, in the dust. Super thermite easily cuts through steel and is used by the military.

After Jones informed NIST of his findings and invited a dialogue, NIST countered that there was no "clear

chain of custody" proving that the dust indeed came un-tampered from Ground Zero. Jones then invited

NIST to conduct its own studies using its dust. NIST has refused to take up the challenge.

The critics attribute such neglect to the self-protective peer-pressure effect of NIST scientists being

government employees or contractors, including many defense contractors.

Other Evidence of Explosives

NIST concedes it never tested for explosives or residues largely because no credible evidence of

explosives appeared, just as no molten steel samples were presented to it by the independent civil

engineers who gathered up the steel to be tested. NIST argues that what appeared to be explosive-like

puffs of light and smoke pushing out from various sections of the buildings were "squibs" of heated air

and debris forced outward by the immense downward air pressure created as the mass of the buildings

collapsed.

54


Critical professional outsiders often angrily dispute every element of this. Their refutations include:

(1)A body of hundreds of eyewitnesses testimony reporting hearing and seeing loud explosions taking

place in rapid sequence, including testimony from first responders and live news reports. NIST defenders

argue the explosions and explosive sounds likely came from transformers blowing up, particularly the

generators along the elevator shafts; from the floors crashing on one another, and from rivets popping

en mass from the pressure of the fall.

(2) The fact that the light flashes and smoke emissions NIST labeled dust "squibs" developed in such an

unusual pattern in lower floors, far from where the crunch was happening, that they cried out for closer

investigation as explosives.

(3) In Building 7, these squibs occurred in a distinct rapid and symmetrical pattern along the line of the

building that exactly mirrors controlled demolitions.

(5) The official lab tests conducted for NIST and for the WTC-adjacent damaged Deutche Bank found

widespread evidence of "iron-rich microspheres" which, NIST critics assert, is a byproduct of steel

becoming molten, a challenge to NIST's claim that molten steel existed only in small pockets

underground.

Dust Clouds and Pulverization The NIST report asserts that every single one of these

phenomenon was caused by the magnitude of the tons of

material from the tops of the buildings that gained speed

and added other tons of toxic materials as the buildings

collapsed. And the vast dust clouds that appeared to be a

massive explosion in the top floors, NIST asserts, were

caused by the force of air being compressed and blowing

outward from the building, sending debris flying as well.

Critical building experts dispute each of these assertions.

NIST provides no calculations to justify its case that the top

of the buildings blew out via exhalation of compressed air

instead of via explosives. Moreover, they say, large chunks

of matter flew off the building and reached outside

perimeter distances from a force that could only have

come from explosives. Similarly, there is no evidence of any

other collapsed building ever experiencing such intense

pulverization except where explosives have been used. As

for the highly corrosive dust, normal building and office

materials would not cause that; only residues from certain

explosives would be so toxic to metals, the critics argue.

55


Demolition Footprint NIST central argument here is that even though all three buildings seemed to follow the classic footprint

of a pre-planned demolition, both in the speed and symmetry of the structural collapse, in fact its global

collapse theory better explains the anomalies of the events. It cites demolition experts it consulted

affirming that all three buildings did not meet the classic demolition model. Many independent

demolition experts also support NIST in this claim.

NIST critics do not allege a classic model of

demolition in the towers, though they get close to

doing so for Building 7. Instead they argue that

incendiaries or explosives were used to assure

collapse in a manner that could be obscured as to

cause, and they cite by name several demolition

experts, including eyewitnesses to the events,

who attest their belief that explosives were used.

Furthermore, the critics hold as wildly improbable

the NIST concept that the impact-area core beams

all gave way at once, allowing for a symmetrical

collapse of both towers nearly simultaneously and

in identical manners. (Even more improbable,

they say, was Building 7 crash footprint, with no

plane crash into it). Instead, the critics argue, if

there was loss of holding power in some beams,

the towers would have tilted and crashed in an

asymmetrical manner, as other buildings have.

Says AE911's Gage: "In the twin towers, it's very

explosive. You can see the explosions in all the

videos, and what's happening is the explosions are

creating this incredible dust cloud right in the

beginning, even before the gravitational potential

of this top portion, which we're told drove the

building all the way down to the ground. But the

dust clouds are forming immediately."

56

Civil-ian Speak

Civil-ian Speak

Yeah..13th is jinxed!!! On 13th February 2010, at around 7:30 pm, I read about the Pune bomb blast on the internet,

condemned the attack and forgot it. Around 11 pm on the same day, we were discussing about the

everlasting tempo of Tempo (Ankik) Da, and then at 11:56 pm I got the news that we won’t be able to

see that tempo again, never. And I cried, after a long time I cried, and so did everyone else who heard

the news. Every person on hearing the news asked if it was true, if it is confirmed, even though they

knew it was, but the human mind always tries to delude itself by finding those chinks of faith in the

darkest circumstances, to deny what it doesn’t want to believe. Nobody wants to believe its true, but

that’s what it is. As was my first reaction, condemn and forget, so was the reaction of over 1 billion

Indians, because that’s all we do. But as soon as I came to know about the sad demise of Ankik Da, the

anger, the frustration, the dissatisfaction, the grief reached an altogether different level. I can no longer

shed it out of my mind, but for how long, may be a week or two, at most a month and then life will

come back to normal as if nothing happened. In fact for most of the people who didn’t know him or

anyone injured in the blast, life never changed...most people just show dissent for a while, abuse the

government and then get along, roam around on valentine's eve or just sleep in the comfort of their

blankets. We don’t raise a voice if the victim is unknown, and we stop raising voice in a month or two

even if he is known. There was 1 terror attack in the US and the terrorists have forgotten the path to US.

We have been facing worse attacks than the 9/11 year after year after year and yet all we do is hope it

wont happen again. We are pessimists who expect the government to fight for us while the truth is we

cannot stand for ourselves or our neighbour, or friend or for anyone except for ourselves. We are

hypocrites talking about peace and harmony. We are not peace loving, but a scared bunch of people

who mask their fears by preaching about love and peace. Busy with our own comfortable life, we don’t

look around, we don't notice that we are next in line. The question remains, why can’t we bring about a

change? Is it because the system is irreparable or because we are too lazy to make amends in it? I won't

ask everyone to come forward, unite and take responsibility to change the way things are around here

coz this is the same country that has forgotten Gandhi's death, so these 9 deaths don't even stand in the

line. But I am still writing all this since I believe, that some people think and act, coz I believe that even if

one mind accepts this and wishes to change the way things are, the destiny will itself show the course.

We know the destination here and that should be enough. If the path is beautiful, first confirm where it

leads, but if the destination is beautiful, don’t bother how the path is, just keep walking...and this

destination, my friends is much better than the timidness we have mistaken for reality.

Pradeep Rathore

3rd Year Undergraduate Student

Department of Civil Engineering

IIT Kharagpur

57

Civil-ian Speak

Forgotten

"The army is now like Cinderella getting all the love

and attention but it won't be long before all is forgotten and it starts

receiving step-motherly treatment again."

Anuradha Mathur, 56 APO (During Kargil war, India Today, July 26, 1999. Letters.)

The words of Anuradha Mathur have proven yet again to be true on 13 Dec 2009 when only 11 MPs paid

tribute to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives fighting terror attack on the parliament. The others

seemed to be taking their Sunday off, many of these were the same MPs who had their hands in their

mouths as they were inside the parliament at the time of attack and who were saved by the forgotten

jawans.

Sometimes I feel who are these guys fighting for?? For the country or for these ehsaanfaraamosh

politicians who feel nothing whatsoever..... Mahesh Bhatt, one of the top notch directors said in an

interview recently when asked about his son, "Ehsaan kiya hai desh par"(by disclosing his links with

Headley)......Thank you Mr. Bhatt, we are deeply indebted.

I remember the NSG commando Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan who got killed while battling terrorists in

Mumbai. His father shut his house doors on the CM Achuthanandan and home minister Balakrishnan

with media cameras rolling . At this, Mr CM said," Had it not been a martyr's house, not even a dog

would have entered there." This was the real condolences Mr CM had in mind and the rest was a show

off.

In an interview with Mr and Mrs Unnikrishnan, they were asked a question ,"Are you proud that your son

lost his life fighting for the country?"

Of all the answers I have heard from various mothers and fathers and friends of martyrs who said they

were extremely proud and held their head high, this answer was different. His father said," What should I

be proud of? My son lost his life performing his duty. This is what I taught him from the childhood and

this is what he believed in. " When he was asked how their life was going now, they answered that they

were left with no hopes. He had even thought of committing suicide but Mrs. Unnikrishnan stopped

him. The day she will feel the same, they will put an end to their lives together.

I also remember Anuj Nayyar, the 24yr kargil martyr. Along with his Mahavir chakra, his father received

the allotment letter of a petrol pump. Claiming the pump that came as a memory of his son was never

going to be easy, but Nayyar had never imagined that it was going to be this tough - it took not one, not

two, but innumerable visits to every possible Goverrnment office.

"The struggle of Kargil was one part. The struggle of Kargil Heights (petrol pump) was another. In the

Kargil struggle, the might of the Indian Army was there to support, that was one war, but in the other

war of Kargil Heights, there was no back-up," said Nayyar.

58

Civil-ian Speak

Years after the pump was alloted, Nayyar and his wife were still getting permissions from the Delhi

Vidyut Board, the DDA and the Delhi Police.

We are a proud nation. We have survived the recession with a growth of 6%. But we do not know the

people responsible for saving us. Seems like our heroes have changed. We have our role models as

Shahrukh khans and Kareena Kapoors and Katrina Kaifs. We also remember their birth dates and

marriage anniversaries. Are these the right issues??

We enjoy slangs in shows like Roadies and Dadagiri and get emotional when one of our favourite most

good looking contestant is voted out and get overwhelmed when he or she wins. We spend out time

watching television shows like big boss where 10 -12 stupid people are made to live in a house and we

enjoy watching them fight over petty things.

On all this, I remember the lines of Dinkar's Kurukshetra,

वह कौन रोता है यहाॉ इततहास के अध्याय पर,

जिसमें लऱखा है नौिवानों के ऱहू का मोऱ है,

प्रत्यय ककसी बूड ेकुटिऱ नीततऻ के व्यवहार का, जिसका ह्रदय उतना मलऱन जितना कक शीषष वऱऺ है,

िो आप तो ऱडता नह ॊ, किवा ककशोरों को मगर,

आश्वस्त होकर सोचता , शोणित बहा, ऱेककन , गयी बच ऱाि सारे देश की !!

Enough said.

Gaurav Khare

4th Year Undergraduate Student

Department of Civil Engineering

IIT Kharagpur

59

ces magazine 2010

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