The construction industry relies heavily on concrete as a building material. The coarse aggregate makes up a substantial portion of the volume of concrete. However, the continued exploitation of granite rock for coarse aggregate results in an increase in the future generations’ demand for natural resources. In this investigation, coconut shell was used in the place of conventional aggregate to produce coconut shell lightweight concrete. Class F fly ash was used as a partial substitute for cement to reduce the high cement content of lightweight concrete. The impact of steel fiber addition on the compressive strength and flexural features of sustainable concrete was investigated. A 10% weight replacement of class F fly ash was used in the place of cement. Steel fiber was added at 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0% of the concrete volume. The results revealed that the addition of steel fibers enhanced the compressive strength by up to 39%. The addition of steel fiber to reinforced coconut shell concrete beams increased the ultimate moment capacity by 5–14%. Flexural toughness was increased by up to 45%. The span/deflection ratio of all fiber-reinforced coconut shell concrete beams met the IS456 and BS 8110 requirements. Branson’s and the finite element models developed in this study agreed well with the experimental results. As a result, coconut shell concrete with steel fiber could be considered as a viable and environmentally-friendly construction material.

The land use and land cover change dynamics is in par with the increasing growth of urban developments and associated sprawl. The objective of the study is to quantify such land cover changes caused due to the urban expansion along the outer ring road using Remote Sensing and GIS. The land cover maps are created for four segments namely Chikkarayapuram, Nazarathpettai, Meppur, and Perungalathur for the years of 2009, 2012, and 2016, respectively. The land cover maps are analyzed for changes among seven classes, namely agriculture, barren land, residential units, industry, water body, other vegetation, and marshland (swamp). Further, the land cover maps of the four segments are analyzed for changes in terms of spatiotemporal aspects (area-based land cover change), environmental aspects (green cover change), and economical factors. The urban growth of the Chikkarayapuram, Nazarathpettai, Meppur, and Perungalathur segment along the outer ring road corridor in the years 2009, 2012, and 2016 are (5.16%, 20.10%, 7.14%, and 12.63%), (14.31%, 30.62%, 13.9%, and 22.18%), and (19.67%, 33.1%, 23.22%, and 40.27%), respectively. The urban areas have increased from 2009 to 2016 by 20, 76,530 sq. m. The agriculture regions have been reduced from 2009 to 2016 by 12, 62,700 sq. m. Besides, using the MOLUSCE plugin in open-source GIS (QGIS), simulated maps for the year 2022 were created based on the land cover maps of the three years (2009, 2012, and 2016) which are then validated with the ground-truth points obtained from Google Earth. The scope of the study utilization of Google Earth Engine (GEE) and automated feature extraction algorithms for predictive analysis.

The steel-concrete composite column comprises a steel core and surrounding concrete. The purpose of the system is to provide analysis and design techniques for a newly invented class of laced steel-concrete composite short columns for cyclic axial loads. To minimize the increasing density issues associated with nominal strength concrete and in consideration of the depletion of natural resources required to produce concrete, factory-obtained lightweight sintered fly ash aggregates with and without basalt fiber are employed. The normal-weight concrete containing basalt fiber is shown to be more ductile than any other column. The axial deformation of columns LNA and LSA at failure was found to be 3.5 mm, whereas columns LNAF and LSAF reached an axial shortening of 4.5 mm at failure. The column LSAF was found to have 5.3% more energy absorption than the LSA and 11.5% less than the column LNAF. It was observed that the rigidity of these fabricated components had been enhanced. It was found that the section configuration with a lacing system had improved confinement effects and ductility. Comparing the finite element analysis to the experimental data revealed a strong connection with numerical modeling, with a variance of around 8.77%.

This research paper presents the structural design and comprehensive cost analysis of a proposed waste management plant in Sivagangai District, Tamil Nadu, India. The plant is designed to efficiently manage solid waste generated in the region, emphasizing sustainability, health, and environmental safety. The project is divided into seven phases, beginning with pre-construction activities and culminating in the operational handover. The design encompasses civil works, machinery, and equipment necessary for waste processing, including segregation, composting, and leachate treatment. A cost analysis based on reference projects highlights estimated expenses related to land acquisition, civil works, machinery procurement, and operational costs, with a total projected cost of Rs. 3.6 crores, factoring in contingencies for unforeseen delays and expenses. The approximate area required for a solid waste management plant can vary depending on the waste processing capacity and specific design. For a plant processing about 500 to 1,000 metric tonnes per day, the area typically ranges from 5 to 10 acres, which includes space for sorting facilities, composting, landfill, leachate treatment, and other necessary infrastructure. This study provides a region-specific integrated waste management model for medium-scale districts in Tamil Nadu, bridging the gap between conceptual policy guidelines and implementable engineering design. The findings offer a scalable framework that can be replicated in similar semi-urban districts across India. For the proposed plant processing 150 metric tonnes per day in Sivagangai District, the estimated area could be in the range of 8 to 12 acres, considering efficient land use and infrastructure integration.

Recent advances in sustainable building have made people more interested in fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) because it has better mechanical qualities and could be better for the environment. This study looks into how adding natural fibres like banana, jute, coir, hemp and sisal to M30 grade concrete can make it stronger and last longer. Fibres were added in amounts of 0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75%, and 1.0% by volume. Similarly, banana, coir, and jute fibre reinforced concretes showed respective strength gains of 9.89%, 12.79%, and 16.17% at 1% fibre addition. The inclusion of natural fibres also contributed to improved durability and reduced crack propagation. The findings of the experiment showed that sisal fibre concrete had the greatest gain in compressive strength, with a 13.27% improvement over regular concrete. These results show that incorporating agricultural waste fibres in concrete is a sustainable option that improves the strength of the concrete.