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Dear Readers,
The September issue of “ Construction Bulletin” features two articles. The first article is
about Green buildings. Green building refers to building which is energy efficient and
environmental friendly.
The second article “ Execution of deep cutting with special reference to stability of slope” in
one of the gauge conversion projects, describes a simple in-situ test conducted at site to deter-
mine the stability of slope in deep cutting
The best way to disseminate knowledge is through publication of articles on the specialised
works being carried out by you. The readers are requested to actively participate by sending
articles on various issues related to construction, which you feel important to be shared with others
throught this forum. The articles may be sent on a CD or throught e-mail at mail@iricen.gov.in . This
bulletin is also available on the website at www.iricen.gov.in
- Executive Editor
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EDITORIAL BOARD
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Shri Ghanshyam Bansal Professor / IRICEN Member
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INDIAN RAILWAYS CONSTRUCTION BULLETIN
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CONTENTS
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The views expressed by the authors of technical papers are not necessarily the views of
IRICEN.
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Published by
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The Director
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Indian Railways
Institute of Civil Engineering
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Pune - 411 001.
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Green Buildings “ The Habitat for Future”
by
A. K. Rai *
1.0 Introduction
‘Green Building’ is a concept which is rapidly gaining acceptance in the country.
In simple terms it refers to a building which is energy efficient and environment friendly
in terms of minimal disturbance to environment during construction and service. How
ever, when we use the term “Green Building” we are not talking of the building only. Rather
the term encompasses the planning, construction processes and service performance
aspects. Green buildings result from integrated design and construction processes which
reduce the negative impact of building on the environment and the occupants. Today
Green Buildings are considered to be important component of any model for
sustainable urban development.
Most of the construction material are obtained from the nature and subsequently
processed. The manufacture of building materials and the construction processes
disturb the environment and consume energy. The disturbance to environment includes
depletion of ground cover, cutting of trees and soil erosion due to change in land use
and excavation.
Buildings are the third largest consumers of energy after industry and
agriculture. The actual consumption varies from building to building depending on the
nature of building in terms of use of the building, air conditioning, and other facilities.
However in all categories of buildings the consumption of electricity is going to
increase further in coming years.
Several construction materials emit polluting gases for a long period after the
construction. These include paints, varnishes and vinyls. These toxic construction
materials cause harmful effect on health of inhabitants.
These issues can be addressed by adopting green features in building
construction. The concept has been popular in USA and several other countries. These
countries have rating systems to assess ‘green’ character of buildings. At the same
time in these countries many local bodies have set norms for green features to be
incorporated in buildings.
The green buildings cost more than the conventional buildings, the difference of
cost being dependent on green features being incorporated in the design and
construction. A green building may cost 20% to 50% more but annual energy costs
would go down by 30% to 65%. However, over a certain period, depending on the
energy requirement of the building, the additional expenditure will be compensated by
the reduction in annual energy bill. This pay back period would vary from building to
building. However, over the life cycle the green buildings would turn out to be more
economical as compared to conventional buildings.
A large pool of green features and techniques are available for adoption in
design and construction of buildings. Appropriate ones have to be selected depending
on function and type of the building, climatic conditions etc. Some such feature which
aim at fulfilling the criteria for green buildings are as follows:
The site planning should ensure minimal damage to site and surroundings.
a) Land should be disturbed only to the extent it is unavoidable.
b) Preserve land in the surrounding area.
c) Avoid disturbance to water courses.
d) Minimise cutting of trees and undertake compensatory plantation.
^maVr` a{b oZ_m©U H$m`© [oÌH$m Indian Railways Construction Bulletin 3
I§S> 16, H«$_m§H$ 2, ogV§§]a 2006 Vol. 16, No 2, September 2006
e) Replant the grown up trees.
f) Preserve the excavated top soil and use it in landscaping.
g) Adopt erosion control measures to prevent erosion of exposed soil.
Energy efficiency is one benefit from green buildings which appeals to all. The
green buildings incorporate energy efficiency primarily through reduced requirement of
power for lighting and air conditioning.
a) Indoor air quality can be improved by using non-toxic (low VOC) paints and
adhesives.
b) CFC free HVAC and refrigeration system
c) Halogen-free fire suppression systems
In recent years some major buildings constructed in the country have adopted
green features. These includes the CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre,
Hyderabad, TERI’s Retreat Building, Gul Pahari, Gurgaon, Laboratory Building IIT
Kanpur , Transport Corporation of India Ltd, Gurgaon and National Media Centre
Cooperative Housing Scheme, Gurgaon. Two such buildings are being discussed in
following paragraphs.
It is a matter of great pride for Indians that this Indian building was adjudged
as world’s ‘Greenest’ building in the year 2003. In that year the CII – Sohrabji
Godrej Green Buisiness Centre in Hyderabad, a 20,000 sq. feet building designed by
Vadodara based architect Karan Grover was awarded ‘Version 2 Platinum’ rating by
United States Green Building Council (USGBC), Pittsburg. The Council recognises
structures for environment friendly materials and techniques; and energy efficient
architecture.
Apart from adopting bio-climatic principles in the design, two solar passive
features namely earth tunnel and solar chimney have been incorporated in the
building design. The building has Solar water heating system and Photo-voltaic cells
for harnessing solar energy and gasifier system for using bio-waste. Landscaping has
been done to suit the climate. There is also a waste water treatment system and treated
water is used for irrigation.
In USA and some other developed countries there are several voluntary Rating
Systems for Green Buildings. The most widely known system is the LEED (Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design ) system administered by Green Building
Council, Pittsburg, USA. However most of these systems are applicable to
air-conditioned buildings only. In India TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute ) has
prepared a voluntary rating system for green building certification of buildings in India.
This system, known as TERI-GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat
Assessment) is applicable to both air-conditioned and non air-conditioned
buildings. The Rating System is being administered by TERIBCSD ( TERI
Business Council for Sustainable Development).
Under this rating system, the performance of the building is to be assesses on
the basis of 32 criteria covering Site Planning, Building Planning and Construction, and
Building Operation and Maintenance. Some of these criteria are mandatory. Points can
be earned against each of the criteria and buildings earning 50 or more points out of
100, are entitled for certification and star rating.
9.0 Conclusion
The green buildings involve additional initial costs but over the life cycle these
buildings turn out to be more economical. Besides, from the environmental and social
consideration, it is desirable to go for green buildings. It is expected that the
recognition of CII – GBC building as the ‘greenest’ building in the world and launching
of TERI-GRIHA would act as a stimulus and increase green consciousness in India.
The new IRICEN building at Koregaon Park, Pune would perhaps be the first green
building on Indian Railways.
^maVr` a{b oZ_m©U H$m`© [oÌH$m Indian Railways Construction Bulletin 8
I§S> 16, H«$_m§H$ 2, ogV§§]a 2006 Vol. 16, No 2, September 2006
EXECUTION OF DEEP CUTTING WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO STABILITY OF SLOPE
by
Manjul Mathur * and V. S. Khobare @
1. INTRODUCTION:
Widening of deep cuttings in Gauge Conversion projects has been a
challenging task before the Engineers. Once the face of cutting that had been stable for
number of years gets disturbed, it unfolds a series of problems. Therefore before such
a task is undertaken, a careful study of engineering properties of existing soil should
be done to determine the stable slope and a careful execution should then follow. The
basis of design of slope had been traditionally through collection of undisturbed/
disturbed samples and performing appropriate test in laboratory under controlled
conditions. However, if the properties of soil can be determined in-situ or as close to
their natural state as possible the results will be much more reliable. This paper
describes a simple in-situ test conducted at site to determine the stable slope.
2. TOPOGRAPHY
The section Ambari- Kosai of Adilabad- Mudkhed Gauge Conversion project
had a continuous graded stretch from Km. 130- 133, with the gradient during the MG
days being 1 in 67. During the Gauge Conversion,a study was made to flatten the
gradient, however because of deep cutting in this length, easing of gradient beyond 1
in 80 proved to highly un-economical. Besides the above it was very difficult to
acquire the land, as the section passed through the reserved forest. The existing
height of cutting had been 20 m. Flattening of gradient even to the extent of 1 in 80
required the cutting to be lowered by 5 m. It was therefore decided to provide a
gradient of 1 in 80 (compensated) duly shifting the alignment by 5.1 m in order to
avoid or create minimum disturbance to at least one face of cutting. (Fig. 1)
428
424
EXTG GROUND LEVELS
420 EXTG MG LEVELS
416 PROP BG LEVELS
412 25 M
408
404 5m
REDUCED LEVELS
400
396
392
388
384 HIGHLY HARD HIGHLY
380 FRACTURED INTACT FRACTURED
ROCK 800 M ROCK ROCK 900 M
376 400 M
372
368
364
360
130400 130800 131200 131600 132000 132400 132800 133200 133600 134000 134400
CHAINAGES
In view of soil with rock fragments of size 50 mm and above, the matter was referred to
Dr. M. R. Madhav, Retd. Professor, IIT, Kanpur for suggesting the stable slope. Under
his guidance an In-situ tilt test was conducted at site.
Several in situ tests like standard penetration test, cone penetration test, vane shear
tests are being conducted to determine the engineering properties of soils. Jain and Gupta
(1974) report, uses a 1.2 m square direct shear box for in situ direct shear test. The maximum
size of particles was 200 mm. Prakash and Ranjan (1976) modified the standard test set to
carry out simultaneously two in situ direct shear tests on boulder deposits. The specimen size
was 1.5 m square. Cancelli et al (2001) and Wasti and Ozduzgun (2001) report the
development of Inclined Plane test for determination of interface shear resistance of
geo-synthetics with soil and also between different layers of geo-synthetics. The size of
specimen was 400 mm X 335 mm. However, it is rather impossible to carry out test on the
slope itself. Therefore, a large shear box 1.0 m square was used at site to determine the shear-
ing resistance of rock fill. (Fig 3)
THETA
Ø 3 4°
The equipment consists of two boxes 1 mx1mx0.25m made up of MS sheets. The upper box
was opened at both top and bottom while the lower box was open at top and closed with a MS
plate at the bottom. Both the boxes had small pipes welded on all four sides. The boxes were
kept one over the other and filled with rock fill. During filling, the boxes were held together with
the rods smaller in diameter than the inside diameter of pipes to prevent the relative motion.
The top edge of the bottom box and bottom edge of top box were ground to make them smooth
and minimize the friction. (Fig. 4)
The boxes were kept on ground and filled with the rock fill/ soil in 5- 6 layers each time
compacting the layer with the rods to bring the rock fill/ soil mass as close to the naturally
compacted state as possible. After the boxes were completely filled up the rods holding them
together were removed and the boxes were gradually lifted through the cable attached at one
end of bottom plate with a poclain. The height (H) at which the top box starts sliding down, with
respect to bottom box, was measured. The angle at which the shearing/ slipping takes place
can then be determined from sin ø = H/L where L is the distance from the point about which
lifting took place.
The test was repeated with soil/ rock fill in saturated condition to replicate the effect during
monsoon. The test was finally conducted with the empty boxes to determine the friction
between the edges of the boxes and correction was applied to the measured angle of shearing
resistance. (Fig. 5)
Angle of
S. Location of Max. Height Angle of Tilt Shearing
Condition
No. sample at Tilt (mm) (Degrees) resistance
(Degrees)
1 Ch. 132/225, TP side, 1411 69.6 55.1
Dry
3 m above
2 Ch. 132/300, TP side, 1218 54.0 39.5
Saturated
2 m above
The angle of shearing resistance was obtained by subtracting the friction angle of box alone
from rest of the results. The net shear resistance of the rock fill was estimated to be 54 to 56
degrees in dry condition and 39.5 to 49.3 degrees in wet condition. Sample No.3 gave a low
value of the order of 29 degrees. Such a value is inadmissible for granular material. It is
possible that the sample was not compacted properly. Therefore the safe slope recommended
for the cutting was 1:1.
The important feature of the above profile is the catchment ditch, which will prevent any rock
fragment or boulder accidentaly falling from the top/ face of cutting, to come on to the track.
Taking cue from the above, it was decided to provide a 1500 mm wide drain cum catchment
ditch in the cutting, to provide drainage and also to prevent the rock fragments/ boulders to fall
on to track. As an additional precaution it was decided to provide rail and tie bar fencing on the
wall of drain adjacent to track. The height of this fencing was decided from the consideration; in
case it overturns due to falling of boulder, it should not infringe the track. A 1.5 to 3 m berm was
provided at half the height of cutting to intercept and reduce the velocity of falling rock
fragment. With the above considerations the following cross section was provided
as shown in Fig. 6
PROPOSED DESIGN OF SLOPE
TOP OF CUTTING
H/2
2000
BERM AT MID HEIGHT
1500 3125
A system of catch water drains was laid on the top of cutting draining the water to
natural water courses in Br. Nos.162 and Br. No. 163 on the either side of cutting. Care was
taken to provide the masonry walls at the locations where such drain was running very near to
the face of cutting to prevent the cutting material to become loose during monsoon and fall.
The cutting executed with the above profile has seen one monsoon season and no untoward
incident has been reported so far.
7.0 Conculsion :
Geotechnical Engineering is a science but its practice is an art. The in-situ test de-
scribed in the above paper is a simple test, which can be used for determining stable slope for
predominantly cohesionless soils with rock fragments/ soils with mild cohesion. The
maximum size of rock fragment can be as high as 125 to 150 mm with the box size of 1.0 m x
1.0 m. Safe slopes are governed by the characteristics of soil/ rock fill. Even in the same face
of cutting the stable slope angle will vary for sound rock, weathered rock and soil overburden.
Blasting tends to open up the cracks near the face of cutting allowing increased rate
of weathering, infiltration of water and consequent deterioration of face of the slope. Hence
despite taking all necessary precaution during widening, the widened face is likely to pave
way for rock falls in subsequent years. Therefore the provision of catchment ditch as
suggested in AREMA Manual is a good measure to prevent the rock fragments to come on
the track.