Experimental Investigation on the Performance of a CI Engine Fueled with Waste Cooking Oil Biodiesel Blends

In this study, different performance parameters of a Compression Ignition (CI) engine fueled with waste cooking oil biodiesel blends with diesel in different percentage volumes of 5 % biodiesel and 95 % diesel (W5), 10 % biodiesel and 90 % diesel (W10), 15 % biodiesel and 85 % diesel (W15) and 20 % biodiesel and 80 % diesel (W20) were tested experimentally. First, biodiesel was produced from waste cooking oil by transesterification process. The physical-chemical properties of biodiesel and W20 were tested. The tested properties of W20 were found to American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards near to diesel fuel. Subsequently, test of diesel and biodiesel blended fuels were carried out using 15:1 compression ratio on Kirloskar Single Cylinder Compression Ignition Engine at 1500 rpm on varying loads. The engine performance parameters for biodiesel blends such as Indicated Power (IP), Brake Power (BP), Brake Mean Effective Pressure (BMEP), Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE), Specific Fuel Consumption (SFC) and Mechanical Efficiency (ME) against load in comparison to diesel fuel were obtained and verified those with diesel fuel. IP for diesel, W5, W10, W15 and W20 at load of 12 kg are 4.3 kW, 4.8 kW, 4.7 kW, 4.75 kW and 4.2 kW respectively. ME of W20 at 12 kg load is less by 4.1 % than diesel. The difference in SFC of diesel and W20 at 12 kg load was 0.27 kg/kWh. The experimental outcomes confirm that the IP and SFC of blended biodiesel were slightly superior. Correspondingly, BP and BMEP were also found comparable to diesel fuel.

Beautification of Pokhara City with a Special Focus on Phewa Lake and Lakeside Area

Pokhara is one of the rapidly growing cities of Nepal. It is the second-largest metropolitan city after Kathmandu. Because of the renowned temples, monasteries, lakes, adventure sports, and being close to the well-known Annapurna Range, it is considered as the tourism capital of Nepal. Millions of tourist visit this naturally gifted city every year contributing to considerable economic development. This economic prospect has attracted thousands of migrants every year leading to 67% growth in population in the last decade. The rapid population growth and urbanization without long-term planning and firm regulation have severely affected the development of sustainable infrastructure, preservation of the public space and natural resources. This has further impacted the tourism, economy, health and wellbeing, environment, and social aspect of the city. This article aims to generate strategies for retaining and improving the natural beauty of the city (focusing on the Phewa Lake area) by enhancing the economy and environment, rejuvenating social and cultural values, elevating the health and wellbeing of the people, and strengthening and promoting sustainable development. In this article, literature reviews, interviews, and field surveys were undertaken and four major improvements/developments are recommended for the beautification of Pokhara City. The recommendations are: preservation and development of open space into self-sustaining cohesive community parks, citizen-centred urban development, improvement of current transport infrastructure, and conservation of natural resources such as water, vegetation, and landscape.

Performance Characteristics of Pine Oil Mixed Diesel Fueled Single Cylinder Four Stroke Diesel Engine

In this study, biodiesel from the stem of Pinus roxburghii was prepared by steam distillation process. Consequently, the physical and thermal properties of pine biodiesel (P100), and 20 % pine-biodiesel and 80 % diesel (P20) were tested on American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. The test results confirmed that the thermophysical properties of pine biodiesel and its blend were suitable for the fuel in diesel engine without any modification in the test engine. Eventually, the engine performance and combustion parameters were evaluated for pine-biodiesel blend for 5 % biodiesel and 95 % diesel (P5), 10 % biodiesel and 90 % diesel (P10), 15 % biodiesel and 85 % diesel (P15) and P20, and compared with diesel on Kirloskar Single Cylinder Compression Ignition Engine for a compression ratio of 15:1. In the midst of those in different blends evaluated, P15 showed the better brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) i.e 18.75 % lower than diesel fuel particularly up to 50 % of the engine load. However, at higher load, decrease rate in BSFC of P15 fuel is lower than engine load up to 50 %. Similarly, brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of P15 increases to 13.5% mainly on 50 % loading condition of the engine. At above, increment rate of BTE of pine oil biodiesel compared to diesel decreases. The brake power (BP) and brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) of P15 also found nearer to diesel. However, the BP of P15 found higher compared to diesel in all loading conditions. Thus, from the experimental investigations, P15 blend of pine oil biodiesel was found to be amenable for its use in compression ignition (CI) engine without any modification, as the BTE and SFC were found to better and, BP, indicated power (IP) and BMEP were also found nearer to diesel fuel.

Study of Seismic Response Demands of Different L-shaped Buildings

The present study evaluates the effect of plan configuration irregularity of different L shaped models. For this, one regular and six different L-shaped RC building frames were modeled for numerical analysis. The analysis was done through an equivalent static lateral force method and response spectrum analysis (dynamic analysis). The seismic response demands were measured in terms of story displacement, inter-story drift ratio, torsional irregularity ratio, and torsional diaphragm rotation. In addition, fundamental time period of structure, vibration mode shapes and modal participating mass ratios were also studied. The study shows that the fundamental time period of structure based on standard code shows a lower value as compared to a finite element approach. It is concluded that to account for the irregularities present within the buildings, current code provisions are insufficient and should be amended.

Analysis of Climate Change Trend in the Lower Kaski District of Nepal

Climate change is considered as the most critical global challenge of the century. Unusual precipitation pattern and outflanking of hydraulic structures frequently reported these days in the Kaski district of Nepal. This research aimed to analyze the trend of climate change in the lower Kaski using annual and seasonal weather data (2001-2017) of five meteorological stations out of which three on the upper tropical region, one on the sub-tropical region and the other one on the temperate region. Individual trend analysis was performed for rainfall and temperature patterns using Mann-Kendell test. Trend analysis for seasonal average precipitation shows an increasing trend for winter and pre-monsoon seasons and a decreasing trend for monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. In contrast, overall annual precipitation shows a decreasing trend. An increasing trend was found for maximum seasonal temperature for all seasons except pre-monsoon season. The seasonal minimum temperature shows a growing trend and overall annual trends for both the maximum and minimum temperatures were also increasing. All of these trends are the evidence of climatic changes that are happening over time. Additionally, a comparative study was conducted between a meteorological station and a locally established manual station. The differences in the numeric values of cumulative rainfall with comparable precipitation readings suggest the need to take into account local station data for design, construction, and planning of hydraulic structures.

Evaluation of Response Reduction Factor of Existing Masonry Infilled RC-Buildings in Pokhara

Most of the structural designer do not consider masonry infill walls during design process due to a lack of modeling guidelines in design standards and are treated as non-structural elements. In fact, the interaction effect between bounding frames and infill masonry is a complicated issue in nonlinearity of structures. The current seismic codes indirectly incorporate the nonlinear response of structure through linear elastic approach by considering the response reduction factor ‘R’ without comprising infill. In this context, this study evaluates the response reduction factor of existing engineered designed RC frame structures that are designed based on Indian standard codes. For this, three existing RC buildings were selected and performed non-linear pushover analysis. The structural response was examined in terms of natural period, base shear, strength, stiffness, ductility and response reduction factor. The results specify that the buildings with infill walls significantly influence on ‘R’ value of structures. Additionally, study shows that the variation of ‘R’ value mainly depends on the percentage of infill inclusion.

Seismic Fragility Analysis of Institutional Building of Pokhara University

Fragility curves are derived from fragility function that indicates the probability of damage of structure due to earthquake as a function of ground motion parameter. It helps to predict the level of structural damage and consequently reduce the seismic risk in specific ground motion. In this scenario, this study is focused on the construction of fragility curve of institutional reinforced concrete (RC) building of Pokhara University. For this, the building of School of Health and Allied Science (SHAS) is considered as a guiding case study. For the numerical analysis, the study building blocks are modelled in finite element-based software. The non-linear static and linear dynamic analyses are employed for numerical analysis. In dynamic analysis, building models are subjected to the synthetic accelerograms of the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. Based on the analyses, the analytical fragility curves are plotted in terms of probability of failure at every 0.1 g interval of peak ground acceleration (PGA) with log normal distribution. Finally, the results are highlighted for different seismic performance level in buildings: slight damage, moderate damage, extensive damage and complete damage for the earthquake of 475 years return period.

Performance Assessment of Selected Farmer Managed Irrigation System in Kaski District, Nepal

The performance of three Irrigation System (IS); Arva Ghari, Tirkang Kimbesi and Hemja Sinchai Pranali was assessed using the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and structured interview. The IS situated in the Kaski district were managed by users committee which were mainly formed by the election. The water availability is sufficient in upstream and decreases towards downstream leading to tail end deprivation, however, there was no dominance of influential person in water allocation. Proper distribution system minimizes the conflict among the users which depends on the condition of the canal along with regulating structures. The deposits of silt on bed and vegetation on banks have reduced the discharge capacity which needs the regular maintenance for the better performance of the IS. Separate fund should be raised for the repair and maintenance of canal. FMIS should be supported to strengthen its capacity as these are yet to be institutionalized and genuine farmers should be encouraged to participate for the management of the IS.