The focus of the first paper, “Seismic Analysis of Bridges: A Case Study of
Saraighat Bridge”, by Yogesh Wadhwa and Damodar Maity is on the study of
seismic response of Saraighat rail-cum-road bridge. This bridge is constructed on mighty Brahmaputra river and is a vital link between upper and lower Assam.
It is well-known that whole of the northeast region lies in high seismic area of the country and has the capability to produce bigger earthquakes exceeding magnitude 8.0. The well-known Assam earthquake of 1950 is a reminder. The bridge under study is a system of simply supported steel truss multispan double deck bridge with road on upper portion and railway on the lower portion. The authors have used FEM technique with SAP2000 software to make the dynamics model of the structure considering one end span and one interior span for study. They report that the dynamic model of the bridge starts to show the sign of yielding as the earthquake force reaches the level of 2.5 times (0.315 g) of the normal anticipated level of (0.126 g) as calculated by using the code provisional of IS 1893. Further, it is also found out that the shore span is more likely to reach state of failure earlier than the intermediate span. Overall, it gives some idea of the behavior of this bridge under earthquake excitation. More such studies with improved dynamic modeling, two and three directions of earthquake excitations will give a comprehensive knowledge about its behavior.
The focus of second paper, “A Study on Durability of High Performance Concrete with Industrial Wastes”, by Pazhani K C and Jeyaraj R is on the study of durability of so-called high performance concrete. Normal concrete is generally not used for structures under adverse environment and concrete which exhibits good behavior is used to sustain attack of adverse condition. Here the authors have tried to use a concrete made with industrial waste. The utilization of industrial waste and steel plant blast furnace slag are several products used in various combinations to make a concrete and study its characteristics. The study uses ordinary Portland cement
53 grade locally available, sand and coarse aggregate with GGBS of sp. gravity of 2.94 and copper slag in granular form with fineness modules and sp. gravity of
3.63 and 3.22, respectively. Further study was done for rapid chloride penetration using AASHTO-T277 specifications, alkalinity test was also done. Based on various other tests, the authors have reported slump value, water absorption, chloride ion penetration and PH value.
The focus of third paper, “Effect of Elevated Temperature on Physical Properties of Concrete”, by D K Singha Roy and P Chaitanya Sai Krishna is to ascertain the effect of very high temperature on the physical properties of concrete. Concrete as a structural material has been used in a variety of constructions because it can be transformed into any shape. In making a concrete also, researchers have shown innovation and have added various substances to reduce its basic material component and derive economy and increased strength. Here the authors have used M40 concrete and exposed it to 80 °C and investigated its residual compressive strength, loss of weight and spalling. Concrete structure could be destroyed in a fire accident and such instances are being reported regularly. After fire damage of concrete, whether this concrete could be repaired for reuse or will have to be completely destroyed is a question in the mind of structural engineers. This study may focus some light to such dilemma. Use of steel fibers have included ductility to concrete, as concrete is considered as brittle material and this addition has helped to resist deformation in concrete and showed better failure mode with enough warning before collapse and this is a very desirable feature. The authors report that up to 40% of fly ash can be used as a substitute for cement without loss of compressive strength, as compared to normal concrete with no fly ash addition.
The focus of fourth paper, “Influence of Polyolefin Macro Monofilament Fiber on Impact Resistance in High Performance Concrete (PMMFHPC)”, by D Maruthachalam, B G Vishnuram, I Padmanaban and D Sadeesh Kumar is to study the impact resistance of High Performance Concrete (HPC). The concrete mix uses fly ash, mineral admixture trade named metakaoline and fibers of polyolefin Macro monofilament. The concrete thus prepared is called Polyolefin Macro Monofilament Fiber Reinforced High Performance Concrete (PMFRHPC). It is found that as percentage of fiber is increased the compressive strength of concrete goes on increasing for 28, 56 and
90 day samples. The authors have provided several curves for compressive strength versus impact energy for various samples. The replacement of cement with mineral admixtures, fly ash 10% and metakaoline 10% and 0.7% PMFF by volume in concrete and it increases the compressive strength for 28, 56 and 90 days sample varying from 11%, 20.87% and 22.54% respectively. This indicates that compressive strength generally increases, but from the graph, it is evident that after 56-60 days, the increase is not significant. Similarly, the impact resistance of concrete has shown significant increase as the time duration of concrete goes higher.
The focus of fifth paper, “Study of Unconfined Compressive Strength of Fly Ash Stabilized with Different Stabilizers”, by V Gayathri and R K Dutta is to study the effect of different stabilizers on the UCS of fly ash. Fly ash is a by-product of thermal power plant and is considered as a waste material. Its disposal has become a real problem. Some studies in the past have been already reported and here the authors have used fly ash from Rajghat Thermal Power Plant, New Delhi. This fly ash contains a sand fraction of about 20% silt fraction of about 77% and clay contents of about 3%. Average grain size (D50) is 0.028. The stabilizers used in this study are lime 4%, lime 3%+1% calcium chloride and lime 3%+1% gypsum and further a few other percentage combinations of the same material. It has been reported that generally the UCS for fly ash increased when stabilized with any one of the above-mentioned stabilizers. The fly ash stabilized with stabilizers will have very effective use in increasing the bearing capacity of the weak soils.
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.
