By
Kaushal Kishore
Materials Engineer, Roorkee
The new Solani aqueduct on Ganges canal Roorkee was built with prestressed concrete which allows for longer spans and a simple more robust design compared to old bricks, lime- surkhi mortar masonry arches of the old aqueduct, in which 8.5 crores bricks were used, while iron railing used in the sides of two lanes were imported from England. This is interesting to note that materials bringing those days on ship from England to Indian ports take 6-10 weeks via the Suez canal or 3 to 6 months via the longer Cape of Good Hope. Calculate in it also time taken on road from Indian ports to Roorkee.
After retirement from University of now IIT Roorkee I joined M/S Roffe Construction Chemicals Pvt.Ltdd, Mumbai as it’s Chief Concrete Technologists afterwards I became it’s one of the Director.

AQUEDUCT picture taken on 7/10/2025
For the contractor of above aqueduct I designed M-40 grade of concrete with Roffe superpladticizer. Those interested may read my paper by visiting Google site and log in; Civil engineering portal The Ganges canal by Kaushal Kishore.
I had designed numerous concrete mix design almost all cements of India in this I find Utra Tech cement as one of best cement OPC and PPC both With Ultratech cement I had designed numerous concrete mixes from ordinary strength to M-80 grade concrete, self compacting concrete, shot crete concrete, fibre reinforced concrete, fly ash concrete and more There is life after retirement and after retirement I worked for 30 year’s which includes in free time working in home research and testing laboratory and numerous construction sites visits almost all India and outside India. At my age of 92 years I still work for 12 hours daily.
I had never worked for money. In spite of doing so gigantic work what to say about car I even do not have 2 wheeler not any of my house not a single inch of land in this world only pension from IIT Roorkee and few clothes
Hi
I have problem of water leakage thro horizontal crack at the of RCC wall and floor joint. The length of tank is 12m
Kindly suggest method of arresting the leakage
grout it with pressure of around 1.5 kg
you can put high quality cement like epoxy to close this crack and then put a water proof membrane ,
If the fail is in structural designe you can make hooks of reinforced steel @ the jionts
Hi Bala,
Please mention about your water tank. Is it under ground or over head water tank.
yes its right use pressure grouting
SOME WATER PROOFING AJENT OR AMSILL ON THE INSIDE OF THE TANK WILL HELP
I
want to become a civil engineering i want some suggestions form you to
get success, and i want more information about civil engineering how to
builduping like professionality or anything please suggest i will try
to inculcate my own thoughts and you suggestions.
Hi! Ma name’z Buhari Hashim. Am currently a final year undegraduate student in Civil Engineering at the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi State, Nigeria. Nd am carrying out a research on the topic: ‘The effect of Coarse Aggregate Size on the Compressive Strength of Concrete’, nd need some professional tips on how 2 go abt it. Plz reply. Thnx.
What is the difference between diversion and bettement?
i have a question am a material engineer and i have project on the concrete, and my question is how the density of the aggregate affecting the mix proportion of the concrete. Thank you.
i think it can affect the weight of the concrete… and the use of the aggregates also depends on the use of the structure…
Simply say ..as the density increases the wieght of aggregate also increases so that specific gravity decreases we know that less sp gr material has good strength as the porosity decreases
we make the mix on the base of the volume of the material so we specify a range of densities for the materials that to be used in the mix
Tell me the standard procedure for epoxy coated reinforcing bars.
Go for FOSROC ZINC RICH EPOXY, appply it on dowells as per material specification data sheet, before that you have clean the corrosive layer of steel by wire brush, then apply such epoxy,for the dowells of future expansion
This is the most comprehensive portal about civil engineering I have ever seen. Keep the good work guys, I spent here plenty hours of my time.
hello Omar..
what i think is…
density of aggregates decide the strength of aggregates…more the density…more is the strength…
so in case…if the density of aggregates is less…more aggregates shall b required per unit volume…and vice versa…
do tel me whether i m right or wrong…
regards
wrong dont compare density,strength, unit volume depand on percentage of aggregate
I think the lesser void ratio is more firm and more strenght
sir please sent ME programming in civil engineering
what is difference between civil engineering and architecture
my frnd ..archtr belongs to the study of constructions of building maps.
where as CE study means we have to study no t only structure but also hydraulic,fluid,geometric,environmental, plant cnstrction etc…..
what is the IS codes for theater?
I want to become a civil engineer. i want some suggestions form you to get success, and i want more information about civil engineering how to building up like professionalism or anything please suggest i will try to inculcate my own thoughts and you suggestions.and also tell which branch in civil should i take,and which branch is in more demand……….
you should choose structural civil engg for successfull future
how to determine the quality of cement by visual observation
Iqbal,
First you have to check the cement bag. If it is already opened, then check the fineness. If u find any hardened parts in the cement like stones, it is old stock or not protected from weather.
Check the date of production written on the bag. With the laps of every six month from the date of production, the strength of cement reduces considerably.
i am going to start my Bachelor’s degree in civil eng this academic year..
i need ur tips to shine in my studies..
what’s the best way to learn the civile ng concepts ?
PLS HELP ME OUT CIVIL ENGINEERS I TOLD TO CARRY THIS PROJECT : THE STRENGTH OF CONCRETE AND ITS CURING
Hello Sir….
I am currently doing B.E civil eng..I decided to do a project work on the topic..”Using chicken feathers in the concrete “..by using chicken feathers to the concrete mix whether is it feasible to increase the concrete strength and properties..? wil the concrete properties can be upgraded ? pls suggest me some ideas regarding tat sir..as it is rare idea..i am in need of ur help..waiting for ur reply..
Thanks & Regards,
Anandhasivam
hi! which is better,a crushed coarse aggregate or a rounded one.
HELLO SIR,
I AM LECTURER AS A CIVIL ENGINEER.
AS A PART OF GTU CURRICULUM.
I HELP TO STUDENT FOR THE PROJECT OF “INDUSTRIAL DEFINED PROBLEM”. FOR DIFFERENT PROBLEM CREATE IN CONSTRUCTION WORK. SO PLEASE HELP ME FOR THIS PROJECT. AND GIVE ME SOME IDEA ABOVE RELATED TOPIC….
WAITING FOR YOUR REPLY.
THANKS & REGARDS,
MAHMEDIRFAN
Sir,
I passed my HSC and now i am confused between Mech. and Civil Engg.
which one should i opt???
I was thinking of taking up mech. engg. but my dad says u should think about civil engg. coz it has a better scope and after completing ur degree civil is the only branch with which we can prosper very fast and get settled.
but what do u think?? plz suggest me what scope mech. engg, is having over civil and vice versa.
pLZ reply it of utmost importance to me. :/
thanks.
hi karan choose civil engineering bcoz it s the most developing job and having gud scope….
Hi everybody,
I want to design a hostel building.So please tell me, which book or IS Code for size & requirements of hostel building that I follow?