Journal of the Indian Institute of Science最新文献

Integrating resilience and sustainability into engineering projects from their inception is more crucial now than ever. Our world is grappling with environmental challenges and socio-economic uncertainties, heightened by risks such as climate change impacts, population growth, resource depletion, urban sprawl, and social injustice, among others. A unified framework capable of quantifying and integrating these aspects into engineering projects is essential to address these challenges effectively. Despite the importance, there is a scarcity of frameworks tailored for this purpose, while existing industry rating tools are often subjective and have limitations in integrating these concepts effectively. A general integrated sustainability and resilience assessment framework (named Tiered Quantitative Assessment of Life Cycle Sustainability and Resilience (TQUALICSR)) was developed at the University of Illinois Chicago to bridge this gap. However, the potential of such a framework has not been fully realized in past studies as they are confined to specific techniques, methods, and tools, limiting the applicability of the proposed framework for diverse engineering projects. The primary aim of the current study is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the proposed framework and offer alternative tool options for each stage of the assessment process. We begin with a thorough review of definitions of resilience and sustainability concepts, establishing functional definitions for broader use. The proposed general framework classifies the variables related to resilience and sustainability into quantitative (Tier 3), semi-quantitative (Tier 2), or qualitative (Tier 1) variables, providing flexibility based on data availability. The integrated assessment starts with a robust resilience assessment, incorporating elements such as functionality curves for technical resilience quantification and cascading environmental, social, and economic impacts as other necessary dimensions of resilience. Subsequently, resilient design alternatives resulting from the resilience assessment undergo a comprehensive sustainability assessment that considers all three triple bottom-line aspects of sustainability, using various tiers of variables and tools as available/suitable. The quantified variables then face the challenge of integration and decision-making as these variables often differ in units of measurement and magnitudes. To address this, we discuss various normalization techniques, weighing methodologies, and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) tools, outlining their principles, procedures, advantages, and drawbacks. By delineating the phases of the proposed framework and presenting diverse tool options, engineers can select the most suitable techniques for their projects and perform an integrated quantification of resilience and sustainability.

Aquaculture or aquatic farming is an important source of food, nutrition, and livelihood globally. Conventional farming techniques are limited by low yields, are water intensive and cause nutrient pollution. Recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), wherein water is treated and reused (recirculated), provides up to 100 times higher yields and is well-known to be a sustainable farming technique. This paper discusses the merits and challenges of RAS and reviews the different processes applied for the treatment of water—including solids removal, ammonia removal and disinfection—in RAS. Since, ammonia generally assumes foremost concern in RAS, this work focuses on nitrification in RAS. Parameters affecting nitrification process and the different types of commonly used reactors have been reviewed.

The accumulation of contaminants in aquatic sediments poses a significant threat to ecosystem health and human well-being. This review paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of contaminated sediment management and development of Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQG). The paper includes national and international scenario about contaminated sediment issues focusing on the sources, contaminants, and their environmental and economic impacts followed by characterization of contaminated sediments, reference methods, the need and development of sediment quality guidelines. Sediment management includes remediation strategies, remediation processes, discussion about the factors affecting remediation processes and the potential for reusing treated sediments. Further, use of nano remediation with nano Zero Valent Iron (nZVI) and bioremediation process are discussed in detail including advantages, disadvantages, and possible approaches. Valorisation of contaminated sediment is the latest trend and has been discussed with the approaches to Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of contaminated dredged sediments, which include consideration of environmental impact and carbon emissions involved in various remediation techniques and a comparison of the same to have an informed decision about the remedial measures to take.

Buildings are amongst the fundamental needs to human settlements. Present construction industry accounts for nearly 40% of the global GHG emissions. With the raising concerns due to climate change, and corresponding global temperature rise, sustainable practices in building construction is of paramount importance. This article discusses the developments in building technologies focusing on energy efficiency, low carbon, and comfortable & healthy building practices in the last decade. Areas of key technical advancement, current trends in their application, challenges, and potential future research directions have been discussed.

The presence of microbial and chemical impurities in surface and groundwater compels consumers to treat drinking water at the point of consumption. Chemically contaminated groundwater is usually purified by reverse osmosis (RO) technology. However, this technology wastes water as only a portion of raw water is treated and the remaining is discarded as RO reject with almost twice the salinity of the raw water. The study examines the potable water quality, the extent and consequences of usage of RO technology in the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) area of 575 km². Water quality maps indicated that the Cauvery river water is microbially contaminated during travel to the treatment plant. Comparatively, groundwater in some BBMP zones have TDS (total dissolved solids), F (fluoride) and Pb (lead) contamination, while all BBMP zones are contaminated by Fe (iron) and nitrate. Calculations projected that 49% of 29.1 lakh households consume 14.29 MLD (million liters per day) of RO water. Of the 49% households, 43% of households are treating the drinking water appropriately as they solely depend on groundwater. Six percent of households with Cauvery water supply are inappropriately using RO technology as they can consume UV treated Cauvery water. Usage of 14.29 MLD of RO water will generate 14.29–33.3 MLD of RO reject water with elevated salinity levels that eventually reach the inland water bodies. The consequences of elevated salinity levels from sewage discharge on a Bengaluru lake are illustrated.

The human circulatory system facilitates supply of oxygen and nutrients to all the tissues in the body. This system consists of a net-work of closed-compliant tubes (the aorta, arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules and veins, etc) of various sizes and lengths, start and terminate at the chambers of the heart. However, continuous flow of blood through these vessels is the genesis for the development of a number of circulation-related medical emergencies such as, myocardial infarction, stroke etc. Most problems in cerebral circulatory disorders are due to formation of constrictions, bulges, blockages or leakages. Correspondingly, the blood vessels are subjected to stenosis, aneurysms, stroke, brain hemorrhage etc. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) engineers can employ mathematical models to analyze a number of what-if type scenarios of clinical interest, for patient-specific conditions. Present study covers cerebrovascular disorders such as Moyamoya Angiopathy (MMA), Arteriovenous malformations (AVM), Stroke, Stenosis and aneurysms in a broader sense, as the CFD tools are similar for all these flow problems. Literature is replete with modeling tools, methods for supporting clinical decisions prior to surgical/ endovascular intervention. Typically, CFD-based modeling starts with a radiological scan to identify the underlying disease-specific condition to segment the region of interest. Identified geometry is meshed and simulated with the aid of CFD-based solvers to develop hemodynamic parameters of clinical interest. Present study reviews the state-of-the-art regarding such tools and analyzes the modeling steps involved. This review is limited to the cerebrovascular disorders and the modelling of aneurysm rupture-risk prediction tools of importance to clinical decision making. In this review, a brief of CFD analysis of various clinical management options such as clipping, coiling, bypass etc are presented. Although most analysis is based on clinical parameters coupled with radiological features on a population cohort, CFD based tools are gradually gaining prominence. Development of reliable tools with and without fluid–structure interaction are central to providing confidence to the clinicians. Understanding blood flow and enabling necessary perfusion to various parts of the body is important to our healthy living and survival.

Magnetic driven targeted drug delivery (TDD) involves the manipulation of magnetic drug carriers, such as nano/micro particles or bubbles, within the body using external magnetic fields to precisely reach the intended target location. This method is utilized in treating severe illnesses like cancerous tumors and nervous disorders, offering higher efficacy with reduced drug dosages and side effects. While numerous studies have simulated magnetic driven TDD, comprehensive reviews remain scarce. This article presents an extensive review of computational/numerical work done on magnetic driven TDD utilizing both microbubbles and non-bubbles (nano/micro particles) within human vasculature and lung airways. The study aims to analyze the drug delivery problem from physical and numerical perspectives. Key highlights include artery wall models (rigid, flexible, or porous), models of force acting on particles, relevant governing equations, discussions on parameters of interest and their effects on drug delivery efficacy. Finally, the article briefly outlines common trends observed in magnetic driven TDD problems and their underlying physical principles.