This issue contains five papers. The first paper, “Seismic Response of Cylindrical
Elevated Steel Water Tank”, by Keerti M Telsang, R V Raikar and Kiran M
Malipatil, studies the earthquake behavior of steel water tank. The water tanks are classified as structures of post-earthquake importance, and they must survive the seismic excitation and remain functional to supply water to the affected community. The authors have assumed cylindrical water tank on steel framing with and without bracings of different heights. It is a good concept to study the response of various cases to ascertain the behavior in seismic excitations. Basically two, three and four-stage framework with and without bracings were studied. The bracings make the support structure stiffer, and its displacement during response will be much less than unbraced framework. The modeling is very simple as all the mass of tank will be concentrated on top of the frame, and at various staging points masses will be lumped. In this study, STAAD-Pro V8i software was utilized. The analysis must recognize the fact that hydrodynamic and water sloshing effect will take place inside the tank during shaking, and the study has considered this effect. IS code 1893 (part 2) recommended response spectrum analysis was used. The braced steel framework staging behaved as a rigid structure, and its time period, displacement, etc. were much less than that of unbraced steel frame staging in the tank and the results as obtained were in conformity with this fact. The base shear in braced staging, was more than bare staging and it was also corroborated with the results obtained.
The second paper, “Experimental Investigation of Waste Glass Powder as Partial Replacement of Cement and Sand in Concrete”, by S Sai Tejaswi, R Chinna Rao, B Vidya and J Renuka, studies the effect of addition of glass powder in the strength of concrete and its suitability. The basic ingredients used in conventional concrete are cement, sand, aggregate and water. Various researchers have tried adding different types of materials to replace cement, sand or aggregate and further have studied its effect on the properties of concrete. Different recommendations were also made. The authors have used glass as a substitute for cement and sand in making concrete by adding waste glass powder and tested its compressive strength at 3, 7 and 28 days. The percentage of replacement varied as 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50%. The casted cubes were put into oven at 100 °C. In the test concrete, mix design was of grade M35. The results indicated that a maximum of 20% replacement of glass powder increases the compressive strength of concrete in 3, 7 and 28 days tests and this can be taken as optimum value. Further, the study also indicates that on heating, residual compressive strength with 20% replacement is same as concrete without any replacement, indicating that such concrete will be effective in fire too.
The third paper, “Factors Affecting Compressive Strength of Heat-Cured Geopolymer Concrete with Fly Ash and Slag”, by Sonal Thakkar and Darpan Bhorwani, assesses the strength of concrete with addition of fly ash and slag. Both fly ash and slag are practically considered waste material in the industry, and its disposal is a big problem. If such wastes are used effectively, it will be a big step in their proper disposal and utilization. Here M25 concrete was used for the study. The fly ash and slag were used as source material, keeping its ratios as 90:10 to 50:50, respectively for tests. Alkaline liquid as used is a combination of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate. Locally available coarse aggregate of 10 and 20 mm and fine aggregate with fineness of 4.75 were used. Workability of mix was improved by addition of naphthalene sulphonate-based superplasticizer. The cubes were tested at specified age in accordance with the procedure outlined in IS 516 (2009) for testing OPC concrete. The results indicated that flexural and split tensile strength were same as control concrete. The strength of heat-cured geopolymer concrete was more than control concrete for 3 and 7 days, but 28 days’ strength was almost same, indicating faster gain in strength in early days. It looks that this concrete does not use any cement, and if it is so, then it has a promise. More tests, including various other factors affecting concrete, are taken up to prove its utility.
The fourth paper, “An Experimental Study on the Exterior Behavior of Beam-Column Joint Reinforced with GFRP Rebars”, by A Sofi and J Saravannan, studies the flexural behavior of the joint. In a structural system, joints play an important role in transferring forces to nearby members. FRP rebars have corrosion resistance properties and hence useful in RCC members where corrosion is suspected. In this study, two beam column joints are casted with conventional reinforcement as control specimen and another two with GFRP bars. The static load was applied with increments, and observations for load and moment carrying capacity were taken. The test results indicated that use of conventional reinforcement in the joint exhibited better performance than GFRP bars. The ultimate load and also moment carrying capacity was 20-30% more in using conventional rebars than GFRP bars. The deflection exhibited in GFRP specimen was more than control specimen. Thus it cannot be said that use of GFRP bars exhibited better performance than use of conventional rebars.
The fifth paper, “Thermal Buckling and Post-Buckling of Columns of Variable Cross-Section”, by N Venkateshwarlu, Suresh Akella, T Kishen Kumar Reddy and G Venkateseswara Rao, studies the thermal buckling of columns along its cross-section. The chosen circular cross-section under study is of sinusoidal and linearly varying type. The buckling loads, which are the mechanical equivalent of uniform compressive load, developed when the column is subjected to high temperature are evaluated by use of Rayleigh-Ritz (RR) method. The study is a theoretical development. Various end conditions of the columns like Hinged-Hinged and Clamped-Clamped, in both types of columns are assumed for the development of solution. The thermal buckling loads and the thermal post-buckling loads are obtained for different taper ratios and the reference central deflection parameters. The results are presented in the form of tables for various ratios of taper along the section.
Automated Teller Machines (ATMs): The Changing Face of Banking in India
Bank Management
Information and communication technology has changed the way in which banks provide services to its customers. These days the customers are able to perform their routine banking transactions without even entering the bank premises. ATM is one such development in recent years, which provides remote banking services all over the world, including India. This paper analyzes the development of this self-service banking in India based on the secondary data.
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is playing a very important role in the progress and advancement in almost all walks of life. The deregulated environment has provided an opportunity to restructure the means and methods of delivery of services in many areas, including the banking sector. The ICT has been a focused issue in the past two decades in Indian banking. In fact, ICTs are enabling the banks to change the way in which they are functioning. Improved customer service has become very important for the very survival and growth of banking sector in the reforms era. The technological advancements, deregulations, and intense competition due to the entry of private sector and foreign banks have altered the face of banking from one of mere intermediation to one of provider of quick, efficient and customer-friendly services. With the introduction and adoption of ICT in the banking sector, the customers are fast moving away from the traditional branch banking system to the convenient and comfort of virtual banking. The most important virtual banking services are phone banking, mobile banking, Internet banking and ATM banking. These electronic channels have enhanced the delivery of banking services accurately and efficiently to the customers. The ATMs are an important part of a bank’s alternative channel to reach the customers, to showcase products and services and to create brand awareness. This is reflected in the increase in the number of ATMs all over the world. ATM is one of the most widely used remote banking services all over the world, including India. This paper analyzes the growth of ATMs of different bank groups in India.
International Scenario
If ATMs are largely available over geographically dispersed areas, the benefit from using an ATM will increase as customers will be able to access their bank accounts from any geographic location. This would imply that the value of an ATM network increases with the number of available ATM locations, and the value of a bank network to a customer will be determined in part by the final network size of the banking system. The statistical information on the growth of branches and ATM network in select countries.
Indian Scenario
The financial services industry in India has witnessed a phenomenal growth, diversification and specialization since the initiation of financial sector reforms in 1991. Greater customer orientation is the only way to retain customer loyalty and withstand competition in the liberalized world. In a market-driven strategy of development, customer preference is of paramount importance in any economy. Gone are the days when customers used to come to the doorsteps of banks. Now the banks are required to chase the customers; only those banks which are customercentric and extremely focused on the needs of their clients can succeed in their business today.
