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Posts by Kanwarjot Singh

What is the difference in design philosophy between flexible dolphin and rigid dolphin?

(A) Rigid dolphin
The impact energy of vessel is absorbed mainly by fender. As such, the dolphin itself is designed as a rigid structure with a group of piles. The piles serve to transfer the reaction force from fender system to the foundation soils. The design of rigid fender is similar to other structures and the strength and stiffness of rigid dolphin should be sufficient to withstand berthing forces without causing excessive deformations.

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Which configuration is better, finger jetty or T-shaped jetty?

Finger jetty is a more efficient pier structure because it could accommodate vessels at both sides of the jetty. However, there should be sufficient water depth as the berths at finger jetty is relatively close to shoreline when compared with T-shaped jetty so that it is anticipated that vessels are required to berth at shallower water. Moreover, there should be no cross current to enhance berthing at both sides of finger jetty. Also, as mooring points are often located on the jetty, leads are not ideal for larger ships.

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In mooring of vessels, wire ropes or fibre ropes are commonly used for tying the vessels to mooring system. It is not recommended to use them together in mooring. Why?

Mooring lines are provided by vessel while the shore provides the mooring points. Wire ropes provide a more rigid mooring system than fibre ropes. When a high degree elastically is required, fibre ropes would be a better choice.

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Why is larger concrete cover normally used in marine concrete?

In marine environment, the cover to reinforced concrete in exposure zones is specified to be much larger than normal concrete (e.g. 75mm). Based on past experimental studies, the concrete cover is identified to be directly related to the corrosion failure of marine structures.

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Fly Ash Determination In The Supplied Portland Pozzolana Cement

By
Er. Kaushal Kishore ,
Materials Engineer, Roorkee

There is no direct method for the determination of Fly Ash content in the PPC. However, based on the past test results of insoluble Residue in the PPC, Fly Ash content in the supplied PPC may be obtained.

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Simple Testing Of Admixtures And Surface Coating For Permeability To Water.

By
Er. Kaushal Kishore ,
Materials Engineer, Roorkee

This method of test describes the procedures for determining concrete permeability to water by capillary absorption method for comparison between controlled specimens and the specimens containing admixtures having surface coatings. This method gives the waterproofing efficiency of admixtures and coating, thus also of the greatest interest for durability of concrete offers protection to reinforcement from corrosion.

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How does lateral pressure of soils affect the drain performance?

The presence of lateral pressure of backfilling sidesoils induces bending
moments in the opposite direction from those produced by vertical loads and bedding support reaction. Such bending moment reduces the flexure in pipe wall and as a result this causes an equivalent increase in supporting strength of the pipe.

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Should a box culvert be designed as free flow or surcharged flow?

Whenever possible box culverts should be designed for free flow at design flow rate. A box culvert with surcharged flow is similar to inverted siphon which creates maintenance problem. There is a risk of blockage by silt and debris and the inspection and maintenance of submerged culvert is difficult when compared with free flow condition. For long box culverts (more than 20m) it is even more important to design for free flow to decrease the risk of blockage which results in an inaccessible path.

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Should angular or rounded stones be used in riprap channel?

Rock used for riprap should be blocky and angular, with sharp edges and flat faces. Angular stones proved to be effective to withstand external forces. Rounded stones have a high tendency to roll and inadequately protect the channel bed and bank. The ratio of length to thickness of angular stones should be less than 2.

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Should riprap be constructed by dumping or by hand-placing?

Riprap by dumping involves the dumping of graded stone by dragline or crane in such a way that segregation would not take place. Dumped riprap is a layer of loose stone so that individual stones independently adjust to shift in or out of the riprap. The dumped riprap is very flexible and would not be damaged or weakened by minor movement of the bank caused by settlement. Moreover, local damage or soil loss can be readily repaired by placement of more rock.

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