This issue contains four papers. The first paper, “Seismic Evaluation of Masonry Buildings with Flexible Diaphragm: A Performance-Based Approach”, by Amit Sharma, Sonu Malviya, Rakesh Khare and Amit Melani, studies the performance of Unreinforced Masonry (URM) under lateral load excitations. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), USA has published a guideline for performance-based design code FEMA-356 (2000). The authors have analyzed a typical masonry unreinforced shear wall building using FEMA guidelines and the results have been compared with the analysis procedure recommended by various researchers for such work. Further, the procedures have been used for various seismic zones (II, III, IV and V) of the country as per IS Code: 1893 (2002). URM construction is the most common form of habitat practiced in several countries of the world. In India, a large percentage of houses are built using URM, and particularly in the villages and small towns, this is the most common form. People still practice such construction, and as Indian villages are developing, this study may help in improving the seismic behavior of URM and also for rehabilitation of existing URM buildings. For the chosen problem in the study, it has been found for seismic zones III, IV and V of the country that seismic demand as calculated by IS:1893 (2002) gives 50% to 70% less values in comparison to that calculated by the procedure of FEMA-356 (2000) using the data from USGS websites. For Zone II, the seismic demands calculated through the above procedures are comparable. If the procedures suggested by other researchers are followed, then retrofitting is required for structures in zone IV and V and still plenty of reserve capacity is available. With this, it seems more research work is required to have some good recommendations for general use in URM.
The second paper, “An Investigation on Shell Wall of RC Natural Draft Cooling Tower Subjected to Transverse Shear Due to Wind Load”, by Sailesh Adhikari and Amiya K Samanta, has studied the effects of wind load on the hyperbolic cooling tower. The two cooling towers considered here are of the hyperbolic shape throughout the height and cylindrical shape above the throat, located in Andal, West Bengal. The towers are generally shell structures and the use of Finite Element Method (FEM) in its analysis is most appropriate to obtain good results. The FEM software ABAQUS has been used and wind effects have been considered as per Indian Standards and expressed in terms of Fourier series in the data input. The results like stress, displacement and strains for two different towers in the study have been compared. The bottom of the cooling tower is encaster and hence there will be no deflection at this level, but the top portion is free and thus will undergo large deflection and it is evident from the results. It is found that stress variation in hyperbolic tower (model 1) in the first five modes is almost negligible, whereas stress variation could be clearly seen in the hyperbolic-cum cylindrical tower (model 2). Frequency varies with the increasing number of modes and it is quite similar to other structures. The deflection at top in model 1 is less than in model 2. Thus, there is a reason for choosing hyperbolic shape for such towers.
The third paper, “Accelerated Testing of Recycled Aggregate Concrete: Establishing Correlation Equations for Flexural Strength Prediction”, by Manjunath M and Prakash K B, studies the effects of accelerated curing of concrete on its strength with the use of recycled aggregate in place of natural coarse aggregate. For the concrete preparation, Ordinary Portland Cement 43 grade conforming to IS: 8112 (1989) was used. The recycled coarse aggregate is taken from a demolished reinforced concrete structure (slab, beam and column) in place of natural crushed coarse aggregate. Some of the basic properties like water absorption, bulk density in loose and compacted state, crushing values, Los Angeles Abrasion value and impact values of recycled aggregate used here are quite different from natural coarse aggregate. Concrete Mix grade M20 was designed as per IS: 10252 (2009). Different test specimens were prepared with replacement of natural coarse aggregate with the recycled aggregate in proportion of 10% to 100%. Boiling water curing technique was used for accelerated curing of test specimens. The study indicates that the flexural strength of specimens tested under accelerated curing in comparison to 28 days normal curing work gives a value of about 45% less for various replacements of natural coarse aggregate with recycled aggregate. The correlation of flexural strength in the form of exponential equation and also in the form of power equation has been suggested. When the quality and performance of recycled aggregate is uncertain, such work may help.
The last paper, “Physicochemical Characteristics of Foundry Sand and Its Treatment for Reutilization in Foundry”, by Devika G and Praveen A Ghorpade, studies the characteristics of different sand types and their reuse in foundry work. Foundry work requires extensive use of sand, and if every time fresh sand is used, then its requirement increases. So the study understands the characteristic changes in sand. The study has three main objectives, viz., analysis of physicochemical characteristics, structural changes in sand under existing temperature during molding operation and strength of foundry sand after treatment with different chemicals. Three different types of sand have been used, namely, fresh sand from river bed, facing sand exposed to molten metal and backing sand mixed with additives. Structural changes of the foundry sand have also been studied. The study shows that the sand grains of fresh sand exposed to high temperature in foundry process do not undergo any significant change. Sand loses its strength as the temperature increases. The core hardness test at different temperatures indicates sand undergoing mineral transformation. The core hardness and compressive strength of HCL treated sand gives better results than sand treated with glucose, water and ammonium sulphate solutions.
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.
