A STUDY ON A NEW MECHANICAL MODEL FOR FOUNDATIONS AND ITS ELASTIC SETTLEMENT RESPONSE

In the present paper, a new foundation model has been proposed by introducing a stretched rough elastic membrane in the Pasternak shear layer sandwiched between two spring layers which is an extension of Kerr model. Considering the equilibrium of different elements, the equations governing the elastic settlement response of the model are derived. Finite difference scheme has been employed to solve the governing equations. The parametric studies carried out show the effect of several parameters on the elastic settlement response of the model. The proposed model is well suited for idealizing the behavior of geosynthetic-reinforced granular fill—soft soil system besides other applications.     

Partial drought conditions in Nepal / Les conditions de sécheresse partielle en Nepal

Abstract

In a mountainous country like Nepal, where precipitation from the monsoon (July) and the westerlies (January) occurs yearly, it is surprising to find partial drought conditions in space and time. This paper deals with the partial drought conditions and also the measures to combat them.     

Rb–Sr and Sm–Nd study of granite–charnockite association in the Pudukkottai region and the link between metamorphism and magmatism in the Madurai Block

Pudukkottai region in the northeastern part of the Madurai Block exposes the garnetiferous pink granite that intruded the biotite gneiss. Charnockite patches are associated with both the rock types. Rb–Sr biotite and Sm–Nd whole-rock isochron ages indicate a regional uplift and cooling at ～550 Ma. The initial Nd isotope ratios (\(\varepsilon _{\text {Nd}}^{\mathrm {t}}=-20\) to ?22) and Nd depleted-mantle model ages (T_DM = 2.25 to 2.79 Ga) indicate a common crustal source for the pink-granite and associated charnockite, while the biotite gneiss and the charnockite within it represent an older crustal source (\(\varepsilon _{\text {Nd}}^{\mathrm {t}}= -29\) and T_DM = > 3.2 Ga). The Rb–Sr whole-rock data and initial Sr–Nd isotope ratios also help demonstrate the partial but systematic equilibration of Sr isotope and Rb/Sr ratios during metamorphic mineral-reactions resulting in an ‘apparent whole-rock isochron’. The available geochronological results from the Madurai Block indicate four major periods of magmatism and metamorphism: Neoarchaean–Paleoproterozoic, Mesoproterozoic, mid-Neoproterozoic and late-Neoproterozoic. We suggest that the high-grade and ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism was preceded by magmatism which ‘prepared’ the residual crust to sustain the high P–T conditions. There also appears to be cyclicity in the tectono-magmatic events and an evolutionary model for the Madurai Block should account for the cyclicity in the preserved records.     

GEOGRAPHY AS MELODY IN MUTTUSVAMI DIKSHITA'sINDIAN MUSICAL WORKS*

ABSTRACT. The life and works of Muttusvami Dikshita (1775–1834), a luminary of South Indian Karnatak classical music, abound in spatiocultural symbolisms of integration and harmony. Dikshita'speregrinations symbolize a cultural circuit of Hindu pilgrimage. His studies of North Indian Hindustani music at Varanasi (formerly Benares), and his transplantation of them throughout South India, make him an active agent of cultural diffusion, harmonizing cultural traditions through spatiosymbolic anchors. The religious expression of his musical genius, his songs, and his melodies contributed to linking linguistically and politically disparate regions of eighteenth‐ and nineteenth‐century India. The works of Dikshita affirm India'scultural continuity and underscore its enduring cultural empathies and similarities.