International Journal of Geological and Geotechnical Engineering is concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials and mining. The journal also focuses on the dynamic behavior of the soil and rocks, earthquake mechanics and other important fields of civil engineering that deals with geological and geotechnical engineering

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4. International Journal of Geological and
Geotechnical Engineering
International Journal of Geological and Geotechnical Engineering is concerned with the engineering
behavior of earth materials and mining. The journal also focuses on the dynamic behavior of the soil and
rocks, earthquake mechanics and other important fields of civil engineering that deals with geological and
geotechnicalengineering.
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! Soil and rock engineering
! Offshore geotechnical engineering
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! Geo-environmental engineering
! Earthquake engineering
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6. EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
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Department of Civil Engineering
Orissa Engineering College
Bhubaneswar, India
Dr. Manoj Khandelwal
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India
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Kausar Ali
Department of Civil Engineering
Z.H. College of Engineering & Technology
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Dr. Dalchand Jhariya
Department of Applied Geology
National Institute of Technology, Raipur
(Chhattisgarh), India
Dr. Intha Srinivasa Reddy
Professor Department of Civil Engineering,
Kallam, Haranadhareddy Institute of
Technology, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India
Dr. Akshey Bhargava
Professor, Global Institute of Engineering and
Technology, A.P, India
Amarsinh Babanrao Landage
Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering
Department, Govt. College of Engineering,
Karad, Tal. Karad, Dist. Satara, Mahrashtra,
India
Sonal Jain
Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology,
Banasthali University, India
Prerna Sharma
Assistant Professor, School of Engineering, G
D Goenka University, India

7. From the Editor's Desk
Dear Readers,
We would like to present, with great pleasure, the inaugural volume of a new scholarly
journal, International Journal of Geological and Geotechnical Engineering. This journal
is part of the Engineering Sciences, and is devoted to the scope of present Geological and
Geotechnical Engineering from theoretical aspects to application-dependent studies and
thevalidationofemergingtechnologies.
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International Journal of Geological and Geotechnical Engineering focuses on original high-quality
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and GeotechnicalEngineeringand solutionsinthearea.
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supported the idea of creating an innovative platform. We are certain that this issue will be followed by many
others, reportingnewdevelopmentsinthefieldofGeologicaland GeotechnicalEngineering.
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PuneetMehrotra
ManagingDirector

8. 1. Effect of Varying Shear Velocity on the Mechanical Behavior of Jointed Rock
Subjected to Lower Normal Load
Sumit Maskey 1
2. Spatial and Temporal Variation of Bioaerosols with Meteorology at Different Land Sites
Sonal Jain, Ankit Sharma, Ankita Singh 12
3. A Case Study of the Krishna Bhir Slope Failure Disaster: Past and Present Scenario at a Glance
Sumit Maskey 21
4. Under Water Blasting for Rock Dredging and Protection of Structures: A Case Study
V. Rama Sastry, G. Raghu Chandra, C. Karthik 31
5. Analysis of Stability of Slope Subjected to Blast Vibrations: A Numerical Modelling Approach
V.R. Sastry, D. Venkat Reddy, S. Parvathy 39
Contents

9. IJGGE (2016) 1–11 © JournalsPub 2016. All Rights Reserved Page 1
International Journal of Geological and Geotechnical Engineering
Vol. 2: Issue 1
www.journalspub.com
Effect of Varying Shear Velocity on the Mechanical Behavior of
Jointed Rock Subjected to Lower Normal Load
Sumit Maskey*
Department of Earthquake Engineering Research and Training, National Society of Earthquake Technology,
Nepal (NSET), Kathmandu, Nepal
Abstract
This study investigates the effect of shearing velocity on the mechanical behavior of rock
joints, namely, the shear strength, residual strength, joint dilation, its surface roughness and
the shearing stiffness under the application of lower normal load. The slower rate of shearing
plays an important role in creep and the fatigue effect on jointed rock masses whereas,
higher rate of shearing is experienced in the cases of dynamic loadings such as earthquake
ground motion, blasting, drilling and traffic loading. In order to study the influence of shear
velocity on the mechanical behavior of joints, CNL direct shear test are conducted at the
geotechnical engineering laboratory of Kyoto University, Japan. The shear velocity effects
the degree of interaction between the joint wall and the change in the surface roughness,
which is brought upon by the asperity degradation during shearing. Finally, these
phenomena will have the significant effect on the overall mechanical properties of the joint.
However, under the lower normal load (<1.00 MPa) shear velocity has no serious effect on
the mechanical properties of the joint. Hence, based on the experimental results, its effect can
be neglected for the normal confining stress less than 1.00 MPa. Eventually, the results of
this work can help in studying the weak nature of jointed rock slopes under dynamic loading
conditions which would be the main focus of this research work in near future.
Keywords: mechanical behavior, shear velocity, shear strength, joint asperity
INTRODUCTION
Joints are the discontinuities that act as the
weakest planes in a rock mass with a
tendency towards sliding or shearing
during civil engineering constructions in,
over and under them.
Therefore, in the study about the joint
behavior, shear strength can be the staple
property because the stability of a rock
slope is mainly controlled by the shear
strength of the joints present within. In
turn, the shear strength of the joints is also
governed by other mechanical properties,
namely, dilation, surface roughness and
the shearing stiffness. These properties
depend upon some important parameters
such as normal confining stress, material
strength, surface roughness, the filling
material present between the joints and the
shearing velocity.
Earlier studies have focused on the
investigation of the shear strength of joints
considering the effect of normal loading
and surface roughness, but the influence of
shearing velocity in the entire mechanical
behavior of joints has not been reported till
now. Patton[1]
had presented the new shear
strength criteria and stated that the
undulations and asperities on a natural
joint surface, applied normal confining

10. IJGGE (2016) 12–20 © JournalsPub 2016. All Rights Reserved Page 12
International Journal of Geological and Geotechnical Engineering
Vol. 2: Issue 1
www.journalspub.com
Spatial and Temporal Variation of Bioaerosols With Meteorology
at Different Land Sites
Sonal Jain1*
, Ankit Sharma2
, Ankita Singh3
1
Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Banasthali University, Rajasthan, India
2
Mother Teresa Saket College of Physiotherapy, Haryana India
3
Department of Biotechnology, Amity University, India
Abstract
Air particulates associated with biological origins are termed as bioaerosols. These
bioaerosols consist of different species of bacteria, fungi, pollen and spores, etc. and can be
allergenic and infectious in nature. The study is an attempt to understand the seasonal
variation in bioaerosols concentration at three different land use sites: site I (commercial
site), site II (dumping site), Site III (vegetated site). Statistical correlation was applied to
infer the relation between bioaerosols concentration with meterological parameters (relative
humidity and temperature) at selected sites. The study showed that Site II (dumping site) has
high bioaerosols concentration (129 CFU) with high bacterial number (80 CFU) whereas the
site III (vegetated site) has highest fungal concentration (67.8 CFU). This shows that
different land use type and their micro habitat affect the type of biogenic agent that harbour.
The bacterial and fungal concentration shows anti-synergistic trends with RH and
temperature at different land use pattern. Contrastingly, at site II (dumping site) where the
RH (42.5%) is observed to be minimum and are accompanied with maximum bacterial count.
Study demonstrates the strong correlation between temperature and abundance of bacteria
indicated that temperature is one of the most important meteorological factors controlling
bacterial abundance whereas the humidity exceeds the fungal population. In winter season
the fungal concentration dominates the ambient environment whereas in summer season the
bacterial spores were contributing most.
Keywords: bioaerosols, colony forming unit, gram-negative and -positive bacteria,
monitoring, sampling, temperature, humidity, meteorology, bacteria, fungi
INTRODUCTION
The biological material present in the
atmosphere in the form of pollens, fungal
spores, bacteria, viruses and any fragments
from the plants and animals; they are
referred as biogenic aerosols or simply
known as bioaerosols.[1]
They are either
the suspension of air-borne particles
containing living organisms or released
from the living organisms ranging from 1
to 100 µm (Cox, 1995).[2]
The
predominant fraction of these biological
pollutants acts as an irritant which are
found responsible to exacerbate respiratory
illness.[3]
Srikant, 2008 reported that the
carrying and the colonization of a
bioaerosol is affected by its physical
properties and the meteorological
parameters that it encounters. The physical
characteristics are size, density, and shape
of droplets or particles, whereas the
meteorological factors include magnitude
of air currents, relative humidity and
temperature, which determine the

11. IJGGE (2016) 21–30 © JournalsPub 2016. All Rights Reserved Page 21
International Journal of Geological and Geotechnical Engineering
Vol. 2: Issue 1
www.journalspub.com
A Case Study of the Krishna Bhir Slope Failure Disaster: Past
and Present Scenario at a Glance
Sumit Maskey*
Department of Earthquake Engineering Research and Training, National Society of Earthquake Technology –
Nepal (NSET), Kathmandu, Nepal
Abstract
The massive landslide disaster of Krishna bhir has been infamous for its dreadful
consequences. This huge landslide in the region led to serious socio-economic and
environmental disorders in the vicinity of the region, whose negative impacts were reflected
soon in the capital city. In addition to the feeble geology, the blasting and drilling activities,
rampant deforestation, heavy monsoon rain and the poor drainage are the engenders for
weakening the natural slope resulting the perpetual slope failure of Krishna bhir. The
concept of bio-engineering cum civil engineering was implemented by the Department of
Road – Nepal to strengthen the hill slope and manage the mass movement. This has been a
very effective solution, since it has managed to sustain the slope from more than past decade.
However, Krishna bhir has managed to revert to its volatile state once again. Hence, this
study investigates about the past and the present condition of the slope with the future
recommendations to prevent the impending landslide.
Keywords: bio-engineering, geotechnical infrastructures, highway slope, Krishna bhir,
landslide
INTRODUCTION
Nepal is a poor country where most of the
people live under the threshold of poverty.
Therefore, the country has a very fragile
base in terms of its trade and economy.
Moreover, being an underdeveloped
nation, roadways are the most efficient
option for travel, trade and economy. So,
the development of road networks is
foremost mission to improve the trade and
economy of the country.
Krishna bhir (‘hill slope’ termed as ‘bhir’
in Nepali) is located 83 km west from the
capital city of Kathmandu in Dhading
district and lies along the major highway
of Nepal, the Prithivi highway. In 1974,
this highway was made the major route for
trade and commerce from India to the
capital and other parts of the nation
through the aid of Chinese government.
This major highway, since its construction
has contributed towards gradual rise in the
economic condition of Nepal. By the time
when this road network had already started
to gain more attention, the natural hill
slope along the Prithivi highway started to
get affected by the dynamic and cyclic
traffic loadings, and encroachment to the
natural environment via deforestation. This
ensued to the first minor-scale landslide in
the upper two slopes of the terrain in the
year 1999 AD, as presented in Figure 1.
By the year May, 2000, deforestation and
the heavy monsoon rain badly eroded the
slope. The consequences was reflected in
mid-scale landslide which led to 13 hours
of road closer in the day and nearly 20

12. IJGGE (2016) 31–38 © JournalsPub 2016. All Rights Reserved Page 31
International Journal of Geological and Geotechnical Engineering
Vol. 2: Issue 1
www.journalspub.com
Under Water Blasting for Rock Dredging and Protection of
Structures: A Case Study
V. Rama Sastry*, G. Raghu Chandra, C. Karthik
Department of Mining Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, Mangalore, India
Abstract
Rock dredging in ports involves under water blasting for the pretreatment of hard sea bed. A
rock dredging project covering an area of about 257,058 m2
involving 400,000 cu.m of hard
Khondalite rock mass was taken up in a port in the east coast of Southern India, for
deepening of Turning Circle and Inner Harbour Channel. Pre-blast survey was carried out to
assess type and condition of various structures standing on different distances from the
dredging area and safe Peak Particle Velocities (PPV) were assigned. STADDPro analysis
was carried out for determining the natural frequency of some marine structures with pile
foundation. Under water blasts were planned with varying blast configurations at different
locations from the structures in order to maintain the vibration levels to within prescribed
threshold values. In total, 1150 under water blasts were conducted till date, consuming about
425 t of explosives. Down the hole initiation was implemented for protecting nearby
structures from blast vibrations. The paper gives details of the methodology of underwater
blasting and related studies carried out.
Keywords: blast vibrations, pre-blast survey, protective design, rock dredging, under water
blasts
INTRODUCTION
India is having 12 major sea ports and
about 185 minor ports, along a coastline
spreading over 7000 km. The
Vishakhapatnam Port is one of the major
ports operating under government sector
on east coast. In order to enhance the cargo
handling capacity, in tune with the
increasing market demands, a project of
deepening the draught has been taken up to
dredge Inner Harbour Channel and
Turning Circle area for a length of over
1.37 km, from the existing draught of 8
to 16.1 m. Sea bed in this port consists of
hard Khondalite rock formation overlain
by soil, clay, sand, etc. It is planned to
dredge the softer overburden material
initially, followed by rock dredging after
exposing the rock mass layer. The pre-
treatment of hard sea bed was planned by
adopting under water blasting
methodology, as it is the cheapest method
of fragmenting the hard rock mass.
Rock dredging involving under water
blasting operation requires meticulous
planning, to begin with for designing the
floating drilling barge, finalizing the
blasthole array like Burden and Spacing in
order to fix the Drill machines on the
floating barge, for locating the blastholes,
achieving good fragmentation, minimizing
impact of ground vibrations and water
borne shock waves on nearby structures,
etc. Economy of any rock dredging project
depends on the fragmentation results

13. IJGGE (2016) 39–47 © JournalsPub 2016. All Rights Reserved Page 39
International Journal of Geological and Geotechnical Engineering
Vol. 2: Issue 1
www.journalspub.com
Analysis of Stability of Slope Subjected to Blast Vibrations: A
Numerical Modelling Approach
V.R. Sastry1*
, D. Venkat Reddy2
, S. Parvathy2
1
–Department of Mining Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Surathkal, Mangalore, India
2
Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Surathkal, Mangalore, India
Abstract
Numerical simulation was employed to estimate the dynamic behaviour of the canal slope
under blasting load based on the blast vibration field test of Yanakandla Mine, Kurnool
District of Andhra Pradesh. Blast vibrations were monitored at different distances and based
on the data obtained a regression curve was generated. The study consisted of slope stability
analysis of the canal near the mine using Distinct Element Modelling technique in 3DEC
software. To simulate the explosion, a simplified triangular blasting load was adopted. The
velocity and displacement fields of the slope under blasting were analysed and the PPV
values obtained from numerical modelling showed close approximation to the field
investigation results. As a parametric study, a vertical joint was incorporated into the model
and analysis was undertaken to determine the influence of joint in rock mass.
Keywords: 3DEC, numerical modelling, numerical simulation, triangular blasting load
INTRODUCTION
Slope stability analysis is becoming a
major concern, as open cast mining
contributes maximum of the total
production in mining industry. Hence, it is
very crucial to evaluate various potential
failure mechanisms occurring in the slope
and to take economically feasible steps to
reduce, remove and mitigate the risk
associated with slope stability. In order to
tackle the problems related to stability,
numerical modelling software is needed.
Yang et al. (2012)[1]
conducted a study on
dynamic behaviour of road high cutting
rock slope under the influence of blasting
for excavation and numerical simulation
by FLAC-3D was employed. They found
that the particle vibration velocity
simulated was consistent with that by field
tests. Singh et al. (2010)[2]
carried out a
study on effect of blast vibration on
damage of surface structures, focusing the
study on determination of safe levels of
ground vibration for residential structures
and other buildings in the mining area. Xu
et al. (2006)[3]
discussed in their studies on
numerical simulation on the influence of
excavation and blasting vibration on
stability of mined out area, dynamic
analysis steps and general flow of fast
lagrangian analysis of continua in FLAC
3D. Griffiths et al. (1999)[4]
conducted a
study on the slope stability by FEM and
described several examples of finite
element stability analysis with comparison
against other stability analysis methods.
From the study, it was found that the FE
method in conjunction with an elastic-
perfectly plastic stress strain method is a
reliable and robust method for assessing
the factor of safety of slopes. Singh
(2002)[5]
conducted a study on blast
vibration damage to underground coal

14. Mechanical Engineering
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¬ International Journal of Thermal Energy and
Applications
¬ International Journal of Production Engineering
¬ International Journal of Industrial Engineering
and Design
¬ International Journal of Manufacturing and
Materials Processing
¬ International Journal of Mechanical Handling and
Automation
« International Journal of Radio Frequency Design
« International Journal of VLSI Design and Technology
« International Journal of Embedded Systems and Emerging
Technologies
« International Journal of Digital Electronics
« International Journal of Digital Communication and Analog
Signals
« International Journal of Housing and Human Settlement
Planning
« International Journal of Architecture and Infrastructure
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