Analysis Of Time And Cost Overruns In Infrastructure Projects In India
K. Deeppa and I. Krishnamurthy
Implementation of infrastructure projects in India has improved substantially. Although the complexity of infrastructure projects has increased, the capacity to handle them efficiently is inadequate on many fronts and that is why, time and cost overruns in projects still persist. This paper tries to explain the typical causes of project cost and time overruns and provides some useful tips and techniques for managing and reducing costs. In order to analyse the above, Principal Component Analysis and Relative Importance Index (RII) has been derived. The analysis of the response data revealed that there were variables that significantly contributed to the cost and time overruns and had a chance of recurring in future projects. These included among others, delayed payments to contractor, employer cash flow problems, delay in disbursement of funds by financiers, bureaucracy of government agencies, complex interfaces of various work packages, the length of the implementation of the project, delay in procurement of materials and equipment, inadequate planning by employer before commencement of construction, late design changes, delay in approvals by engineer, delays in release of drawings, increase in scope of work, disputes between parties and delay of access to site.
Infrastructure Projects, Cost Overrun, Time Overrun, Principal Component Analysis, Relative Importance Index (RII)
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Research Articles
Search For Appropriate Design Of Top Floors Of Low-Rise Residences In Kolkata For Thermal Comfort And Sustainability
Shivashish Bose and Somen Sarkar
The urban development in Kolkata is very high and tall buildings are rapidly changing the earlier traditional skyline. In this metamorphosis, most of the modern buildings are residential and single or double storied old residences are being replaced by three-five storied residences in the city. The old traditional buildings had climate-responsive architectural design and elements that brought comfort to the residents. Modern low-rise residences are mostly blocks of flats. Natural ventilation and insulation of walls and roof are not considered properly for these buildings, due to which, the top floors of such buildings become unbearably hot during summer and often roofs get damaged due to rainwater penetration after few monsoon rains. Installation of air-conditioner for thermal comfort and recurring roof repairs for stopping rainwater penetration adds cost to maintenance, increasing demand for energy and contributes to unsustainable environment in the city. This article is a result of a research project funded by the University Grants Commission. It discusses the problems of top floors of low-rise buildings and proposes solutions for them.
Kolkata, Low-rise residences, Top floor, Indoor environment quality, Problems and Proposals
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Research Articles
Framework For Performance Evaluation And Maintenance Decision Of Pavements
Koduri N V Satya Saikumar and Abhay G. Tawalare
The pavements are deteriorating with time due to different loading and harsh environmental conditions. To increase the life of a pavement, periodic performance evaluation, timely maintenance and rehabilitation of pavements is necessary. The highway departments in developed countries have their own program for performance evaluation and maintenance of pavement. The highway departments in India need to develop in this aspect. This paper aims at providing better framework for performance evaluation and maintenance decision of pavements. Various tests and maintenance criteria are selected from Indian Road Congress (IRC) codes to develop the framework for performance evaluation and maintenance of pavement. It is validated through expert interviews. This framework will be useful to government agencies in highway sector in India to generate data base through systematic performance evaluation and to adopt appropriate maintenance of pavements.
Pavement, Performance Evaluation, Pavement Maintenance, India
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Research Articles
CBR Improvement Of Expansive Black Cotton Soil Using Coir Geotextile
Kundan Meshram, P. K. Jain, S. K. Mittal and P. K. Agarwal
The paper presents the results of laboratory study conducted on black cotton soil reinforced with a layer of Coir Geotextile (CGT ) placed at different depths below the loading surface in the California Bearing Ratio test mould. The CGT layer was placed in two ways- directly embedded in the clay or in between the cushion of sand layers. The placing of CGT was varied with reference to the loading face of California Bearing Ratio (CBR) plunger at 0mm, 25mm, 35mm and 45mm.The CBR test was conducted in soaked condition of the soil. The effect of CGT inclusion on CBR of the soil is expressed in terms of Strength Improvement Ratio (SIR) which is the ratio of CBR of CGT reinforced soil to that of the raw soil. It is found that SIR is maximum when CGT is placed just at the top of the loading face and decreases as the placement depth increases. This is true in both the cases i.e. without sand cushion and with sand cushion. Further, the SIR value is found more in sand cushion condition than the corresponding value in the other condition.
California Bearing Ratio (CBR), Black Cotton (BC) Soil, Strength Improvement Ratio (SIR), Coir Geotextile (CGT)
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Research Articles
Comparison Of Pressure-Settlement Behaviour Of Model Circular Footing With Skirt In Medium And Dense Sand
Sareesh Chandrawanshi, Rakesh Kumar, Suneet Kaur and P. K. Jain
This paper presents the results of load tests conducted on a circular footing resting in Narmada river sand confined by cylindrical skirts. The skirts of different combinations of height and diameters were installed centrally in a model tank filled with sand at relative density of 50% and 70%. The uPVC pipe of thickness 3 mm was used as a skirt below the model circular footing of 50 mm diameter. The height and skirt diameter were varied and load tests were performed. The results show that the pressure corresponding to 5 mm settlement (i.e. 10% S/D ratio), increases appreciably by confining the sand with skirts and it is due to the fact that skirt restricts the lateral displacement of the sand underneath the footing. The relative densities of the sand are kept as 50% and 70% to study the phenomenon for medium dense sand and dense sand. For the case of skirts of small diameters, the effect was small and reaches optimum value for a specific diameter of skirt with respect to diameter of pile and again as skirt diameter increases to an appreciable level this phenomenon loses its significance.
Skirt, Confined sand, Model test, Footing, Load bearing capacity
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