Anand Plappally

Bio: Anand Plappally is an academic researcher from Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur. The author has contributed to research in topics: Ceramic & Water conservation. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 30 publications receiving 651 citations. Previous affiliations of Anand Plappally include Ohio State University & Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Use of marble and iron waste additives for enhancing arsenic and E. Coli contaminant removal capacity and strength of porous clay ceramic materials for point of use drinking water treatment

Abstract: This paper elaborates manufacture and performance analysis of new clay ceramic (CC) water filtration materials. The CC is manufactured from clay and sawdust mix. Waste marble powder and machined iron fines are used as additives to the mix for manufacturing the new modified materials. An equal volume of clay and sawdust were used to manufacture the control CC. Another ceramic, marble clay ceramic (MCC), was manufactured with distinct volume fractions of clay, sawdust, and marble (40:40:10). Third ceramic, ferrous clay ceramic (FCC), was manufactured from an equal volume of clay and sawdust and five percent by volume of iron fines. FCC showcased better arsenic (As (V)) contaminant removal from water at acidic pH while MCC showcased best As (V) removal at around pH of 8. Average flexural strength of MCC was comparatively better than FCC and CC. The modified materials showcased similar percolation rates at par with control CC. MCC showcased comparatively better E. coli removal capabilities than FCC and CC. Only limited volumetric addition of marble powder and iron fines were found to positively affect compressive strength. The results demonstrate new low-cost ways of modifying strength and specific water treatment characteristics of CC using waste materials from local marble-processing and iron-machining industries.

Numerical and multivariate stochastic approaches to characterize flow in a constructed wetland basin

Abstract: Reduction in specific and viscous dissipation rate in surface waters by flow control and contaminant removal are the goals of constructed wetlands. A two-dimensional simulation study on surface flow through a constructed wetland in Guilin, China is performed. The flow through the wetland is modeled and dynamically simulated by distinct case studies by varying both inlet width and inflow rate. Nonlinear increase in peak dynamic pressure and specific dissipation rates as a function of increasing inflow rate is reported for the different cases studied. The results of the numerical models confirm an increase in viscous dissipation, shear stress and dynamic pressure within the wetland with increase in inflow rate. These modeling results are used as inputs for performing a statistical data analysis. Further, a multivariate stochastic statistical framework has been proposed for the prediction of dissipation as a function of variables including inflow rate, inlet geometry and wall shear stress. Multivariate and variance analysis is performed to validate the appropriateness of the theoretical models proposed. Results provide simplified meaningful suggestions to constructed wetland design and related applications.

The effect of joint role of creative analogy and concept-in-context map on the learning interest and performance of first year mechanical engineering undergraduates

Abstract: High School science to engineering education transition of students offers challenge for instructors to adopt distinct teaching strategies which enable holistic learning matrix and to provide conceptual framework which links their prior knowledge with the freshmen engineering curriculum. In order to achieve these two objectives, an instructional teaching strategy combining the attributes of visual analogy and concept-in-context maps (CC maps) is been illustrated. In this case, engineering strain-stress curve of metals enumerating variation in its strength was used as the subject to be taught to mechanical engineering freshmen. The technical questionnaires, feedback forms and random interviews unveiled three significant things. First, analogy fostered interest and exposed students to creative form of learning. Second, mapping helped in the development of technical inventory. Finally the synergistic treatment of both techniques assisted freshmen to gain complete confidence to attempt any subject related technical query.

Water Use and Related Costs at Households in Western and Northern Parts of India

Abstract: This article elaborates a survey on water use events and activities in households. The survey inquires socioeconomic aspects, technology, processes and devices which may play an important role in these water use events. Processes like washing clothes and utensils, cooking refrigeration and heating are discussed. Devices like water purifiers, air-coolers, and toilets are qualitatively analyzed. Water use events such as bathing and brushing teeth are studied. The survey in online format and printed version was randomly responded by one hundred sixty people including fifty three family heads within city of Jodhpur, India. More than hundred respondents answered the online questionnaire from Mandi in north India, Delhi, the national capital territory and Jodhpur in west India. More than ninety per cent of the respondents were males. Climate of the regions mentioned above played a decisive role in water consumption. The general public was very much unaware of the policies of the government towards water conservation and management. Advertisements by vendors were found to misguide consumers providing importance to aesthetic features rather than technical specification. The implications of this study helps in becoming environmentally aware of how human actions affect the management of water and related energy use at households.

Development of affordable ICT solutions for water conservation in agriculture

Abstract: Today, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is ubiquitous. It has touched almost all spheres concerning human survival, growth and development. Agriculture is no exception to it. This paper presents the research initiatives towards improving irrigation efficiency through affordable ICT solutions. It presents experimental results of studies related to improving irrigation efficiency in Semi arid zones in India, using commercially available ICT solutions. It compares between simple microirrigation and microirrigation with ICT (irrigation on demand) and establishes that by using ICT in agriculture, we can increase the irrigation efficiencies by a considerable amount. The paper also presents the development of indigenous wireless sensor node and gateway made from open source hardware and software components. The efforts in this regard show, while maintaining comparable performance, a significant reduction in the cost of wireless sensor devices, when compared to commercially available wireless sensor devices, is achieved.