Sustainable Engineering Research Laboratory
About the Sustainable Engineering Research Laboratory
The Sustainable Engineering Research Laboratory (SERL) at SRM University- Andhra Pradesh provides a broad range of activities, including those pertaining to education, research, development, industrial projects, and consultancy. The primary research objectives of the lab are to develop sustainable geotechnical and geo-environmental engineering solutions. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are used extensively for geotechnical and geo-environmental monitoring. This leads to advanced monitoring methods and allows for capturing real-time, high-resolution data for better project management. Furthermore, efforts are being made to create environmentally acceptable geosynthetic-clay liners for waste containment facilities by exploiting industrial by-products to encourage eco-friendly practices and minimize waste.
People
- Dr Raviteja KVNS
- Assistant Professor
- Department of Civil Engineering
- E-mail : raviteja.k@srmap.edu.in
Research Projects/Fellowship
- Sustainable Ash based Geosynthetic Clay Liners for MSW Landfills
- Coordinating Faculty : Dr Raviteja KVNS
- Funding Agency : SERB (SIRE), DST, Govt. of India
- Role : Research Fellow
- Status : Awarded (SIR/2022/000374), Under Progress.
- Briefing : In general, natural materials like clays/bentonites in combination with geomembranes (GMB) are used in liners. However, to increase the strength properties and reduce the compressibility characteristics, bentonites are often mixed with sand. With the increased cost and scarcity of sand, there is a renewed interest among the researchers to identify an alternative material to replace sand proportion in compacted GCLs in MSW landfills. Among several materials, fly ash has proved to be a potential substitute for sand in landfill liners.
Equipments
Large Scale Direct Share Test
Specifications
- Direct operation: Motorized
- Rates of Strain (mm/min): 72 speeds ranging from 0.0014 to 10.16mm/min
- Specimen size: 30 x 30 x 15 cm
Description
Large Scale Direct Shear test the shear resistance between a geosynthetic or geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) and the contact surface of a layer soil sample according to test methods in ASTM D5321 and ASTM D6243. The test sample is divided horizontally and mounted in a two-piece shear box assembly. As per (IS: 2720-Part XIII).
Geophysical Test
Specifications
- Poros parts:2
- Cell Length: 3.4" (86.4 mm)
- Carrying Case: 8.0" × 5.0" × 3.5" (203 × 126 × 88 mm)
- Power Supply: 2 9-Volt Alkaline Batteries or 12-Volt DC Plug (for connecting to car battery or 12-Volt AC adapter) Resistivity Range: 0.01 – 400 ohm-meters
- Temperature Range: 14 – 140°F (-10 - 60°C) NaCl Range: .2 – 300 kppm.
Description
DC (direct current) resistivity methods involve injecting a steady-state electrical current into the ground and observing the resulting distribution of potentials (voltages) at the surface or within boreholes. As per IS: 15736 (2007).
Geotechnical Modelling Test
Description
FLAC/Slope can simulate stability problems under a wide variety of slope conditions, including arbitrary slope geometries, multiple layers, pore pressure conditions, heterogeneous soil properties, and surface loading.
