Devdas Menon

Bio: Devdas Menon is an academic researcher from Indian Institute of Technology Madras. The author has contributed to research in topics: Slab & Deflection (engineering). The author has an hindex of 10, co-authored 50 publications receiving 388 citations. Previous affiliations of Devdas Menon include Indian Institutes of Technology.

Numerical Simulation of Nonlinear Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Beam-Slab Systems

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Behaviour of Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum panels as Walls: An Update on the Recent Research Developments

Abstract: The current housing shortage problem in the country, especially among the low-income groups and the necessity to address their shelter needs, led to the introduction of Glass fibre reinforced gypsum (GFRG) panels in India. These panels were originally developed in Australia in 1990 and later introduced in India, China, Hong Kong and other countries. They are light-weight, load-bearing walls used for rapid construction of affordable and eco-friendly houses (individual units to multi-storeyed buildings) and are being used in India for more than a decade. These are prefabricated in controlled-conditions in factories, from gypsum plaster reinforced with glass fibres along with certain special additives and are available in a fixed size of 12 m length, 3 m height and 124 mm thickness. The panels are hollow, with cavities of size, 230 × 94 mm, aligned along the height. These panels can resist axial, in-plane and out-of-plane loads and various studies conducted worldwide established the suitability of the panel for the construction of walls, slabs, staircases and parapet walls. GFRG buildings consist of GFRG panels as walls and slabs (without any beams and columns) and can be constructed up to 5-8 storeys in low to moderate seismic zones, and lesser height in higher seismic zones. Thus to properly understand the structural behaviour of the GFRG building system and to develop a proper design guideline, comprehensive research works were undertaken in India and other countries which includes the study to determine the various material and structural properties of the panel and this paper presents a critical review of the experimental and theoretical investigations on the structural behaviour of GFRG wall panels.

Flexural creep in plain concrete: State of the Art

Abstract: Concrete, being a viscoelastic material, creeps with time causing additional strains and deflections in flexural members. Most of the studies in creep of concrete are based on long-term tests on plain concrete standard cylinders under axial compression, very limited studies have been reported on creep of concrete in flexure and direct tension. Whether the mechanism of creep in tension is different from creep in compression is still being debated. Numerous studies have been reported in the literature showing varied results with regard to the effects of creep in direct compression, direct tension and flexure. This paper provides a brief review of various creep tests on plain concrete reported and attempts to understand the effects of various parameters on the creep behaviour of concrete. Some studies reported that the creep in tension is higher than that in compression, whereas a few others obtained contradictory results from creep tests. This may be attributed to the fact that the relative creep behaviour in tension and compression is highly sensitive to the material composition, exposure conditions and loading level. The studies by various researchers on flexural creep in plain concrete are also discussed.

A review of loading conditions for railway track structures due to train and track vertical interaction

Abstract: Train and track interactions during services normally generate substantial forces on railway tracks. Such forces are transient by nature and of relatively large magnitude and are referred to as impact loading. There has been no comprehensive review of the typical characteristics of the loading conditions for railway track structures, in particular, impact loads due to the wheel/rail interaction, published in the literature. This paper presents a review of basic design concepts for railway tracks, abnormalities on tracks, and a variety of typical dynamic impact loadings imparted by wheel/rail interaction and irregularities. The characteristics of typical impact loads due to wheel and rail irregularities, e.g. rail corrugation, wheel flats and shells, worn wheel and rail profiles, bad welds or joints, and track imperfections, are presented with particular emphasis on the typical shapes of the impact load waveforms generally found on railway tracks. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Wind loading of structures

Abstract: The static and dynamic approaches to the determination of design wind loads have been summarised along with the various assumptions, approximations and limitations involved. The application of these two approaches using the Australian Standard AS1170.2 is discussed along with comparisons from wind tunnel measurements.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) Application in Malaysian Construction Industry

Abstract: Bu ilding Informat ion Modeling (BIM) is a set of digital tools that can manage construction projects effectiveness. BIM has been used by the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industries in Malaysia. The idea to imp lement BIM in Malaysia was introduced by the Director of Public Works Depart ment (PWD) in 2007. The aim of this paper is to exp lore BIM imp lementation in Malaysian construction industry. A literature review was done to exp lore previous BIM studies on definitions and history of BIM, construction issues, application of BIM and BIM tools in construction projects as well as benefits of BIM . Malaysian government encourages construction players to apply BIM to construction projects because it can overcome construction project problems such as delay, clash of design by different professionals and construction cost overrun. Autodesk tools have been suggested by the government as a BIM tool platform. Other tools include Revit Architecture, Revit St ructural, Revit M EP, Navisworks and Cost-X. It is crucial for construction players to be aware of the importance of BIM applicat ion in construction projects. This is because BIM can be one of the conditions required of a co mpany to qualify for government and private projects, similar to what is practiced in some other countries. Moreover, BIM helps to increase construction project efficiency and effectiveness. It can also be imp lemented to improve commun ication and collaboration between construction players. The implementation of BIM technology is expected to become mo re widespread in Malaysian construction industry because of the government's effo rts in pro moting BIM .