NovemberDecember 2014 SLEN

The Newspaper of The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka Vol. 50, No 06, November/December 2014

Registered at the GPO as a Newspaper No. QD/48/News/2014

PRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNER

Established 1906

ENGINEERING NEWSSRI LANKA

IESL Rajarata ChapterCreates History

The IESL Rajarata Chapter became the first ever provincial branch of the IESL tohave its own building facility when IESL President, Eng. S.B.Wijekoon declaredopen its new office premises at No.55, Puttalam Road, Pandulagama,

Anuradhapura, completed under the first phase of construction, on Thursday, 20th No-vember, 2014. Construction work was begun in January, 2013 on a plot of land obtainedfrom the government. Members of the chapter provided the design and layout, while theIESL head office donated a sum of Rs 2 million towards the cost of the construction.Funds were also solicited by the chapter from sponsors.

The ceremony began with the unveiling of the plaque and ribbon cutting by the Presi-dent of IESL. This was followed by the lighting of the Traditional Oil Lamp and NationalAnthem. The large audience comprised of members, distinguished guests and inviteeswere welcomed by the Hony. Chairman of the chapter, Eng. Sujith Jayasuriya. This wasfollowed by the address by the Past President of IESL – Eng. Tilak De Silva. Thekeynote speech was delivered by Prof. Madduma Bandara – Former Vice Chancellor ofthe University of Peradeniya and Eng. Nihal Rupasinghe –Chairman CECB delivered theguest speech for the event. This was followed by the address by President of the IESL,Eng. S.B. Wijekoon. Thereafter Eng. (Ms.) Lalani Wijesekera – Hony. Secretary of thechapter proposed the Vote of Thanks before refreshments concluding the ceremony.

That the Rajarata chapter achieved this distinction is not surprising as it is a reflectionof the enduring pioneer spirit in the engineers of the North Central Province where thepredecessor of the IESL, the Engineering Association of Ceylon, was first establishedin 1906 by a few Government Officers serving in the province.Eng. Wimalasena Gamage–President Elect, Prof. (Mrs.) Niranjanie Ratnayake – Vice President, Eng. ArjunaManamperi – Council Member, Eng. (Ms.) Arundathi Wimalasuriya – Executive Secre-tary, IESL and Eng. (Mrs.) Badra Jayaweera – Deputy Executive Secretary, IESL alsograced the occasion with their presence.

Dear Members,

It’s with pleasure that I bring this message in the midst of hopes and expectations of yet another new year.

Looking back, year 2014 marked perhapsthe most significant achievement for theinstitution in the international arena, be-coming a signatory to the WashingtonAccord and successfully retaining itsmembership in the International Profes-sional Engineers Agreement which are two internationally rec-ognized agreements for mutual recognition of engineering edu-cation and practice respectively. Together they marked a giantstep for the institution in its mission to be the apex nationalbody of engineers in Sri Lanka which ensures internationallyrecognized and locally relevant standards in the professionalpractice and education in engineering, while actively support-ing national development and diligently serving its membersand the society at large.If achieving them were challenges ofthe year in 2014, maintaining those statuses would be a moredifficult challenge for the coming years, and especially in the2014 / 2015 session.

The year 2014 also saw the IESL extending its global reachestablishing overseas chapters in Western Australia, NewZealand and Qatar in quick succession responding to the de-mands of its globally dispersed membership. As you know theIESL NSW Chapter in Australia established in 2009 is alreadydoing yeoman service towards the professional development ofengineers of Sri Lankan origin domiciled in Australia.

In the local arena, during the year , due recognition has beengiven to IESL members along with the other professionals inthe recently passed Act on Construction Industry Developmentand the president of the IESL appointed as a member in theNational Advisory Council on Construction. Furthermore, theIESLeffort to make the Engineering Council Act passed in tolaw showed progress. The Final Draft of the Act had been pre-pared and the Hon. Minister of Construction, Engineering Ser-vices, Housing and Common Amenities along with Hon. Minis-ter of Power and Energy jointly submitted a cabinet paper forapproval and hopefully the related Act will be passed in thecoming months of the new year after the dust settles in thecurrent political situation.

Meanwhile strengthening its reach-out to its members withinSri Lanka the IESL Rajarata Chapter became the first of theeight provincial chapters of the IESL to have its own buildingfacility. I had the honour of declaring open its new office pre-mises at No.55, Puttalam Road, Pandulagama, Anuradhapura,completed under the first phase of construction. Further, twonew IESL District Centres, one in NuwaraEliya and the other inPuttalam were also established in the year.

The image boost that we received, both here and abroad throughthese achievements has raised expectations among all stake-

The Institution of EngineersSri Lanka

120/15, Wijerama MawathaColombo 7, Sri Lanka

Tel: 2685490,2698426, 2699210Fax: 2699202E.mail:[email protected]/[email protected]:http://www.iesl..lk

in this issue

Are You Ready? 2014.........2

Prevention of Disputes in ConstructionContracts.............................3

Editorial..................................4

CALL FOR PAPERS FORIESL ANNUAL SESSIONS 2015 GOES

DIGITALThe Call for Papers for the IESL Annual Sessions 2015 will be done through an online

submission and review system using the EasyChair conference management sys-

tem. The call for papers notice simultaneously carried in page 3 of this newsletter

gives details of deadlines for acceptance of abstracts, full papers, etc.of the process.

The adoption of this web based documentation management procedure is part of the

policy of productivity enhancement through introducing more and more ICT to the activi-

ties of the IESL Secretariat envisaged by the President of the IESL, Eng. (Dr.) S.B.

Wijekoon and is a direct result of the concerted efforts of Eng. (Dr.) K.E.D.Sumanasiri,

the Editor, Technical Papers for the Transactions of the IESL for the 2014/2015 session.

holders of very high level of perfor-mance, better or improved serviceand enhanced benefits from theIESL. It is to deliver these expec-tations that I have embarked onstrategies for service excellence,productivity improvements throughenhanced use of ICT and an out-reach drive to embrace senior en-gineers who are still outside the in-fluence of the IESL and whoseknowledge and expertise couldbenefit the IESL. The three TaskForces appointed to develop strat-egies are already on the job.Themembership management system

Contd. on page 4...

IESL NEWS2Sri Lanka Engineering News - November / December 2014

Event Dates♦Engineers Night Saturday-March 14, 2015

♦IESL Event Launch Friday-March 20, 2015

♦New Year Family Saturday-May 09, 2015 Get Together

♦National Engineering Saturday, July 04, 2015 Conference

♦Engineering Excellence Friday-August 14, 2015 Awards

♦Induction and Graduation Friday-August 28, 2015 Ceremony

♦Techno Exhibition Friday - Sunday, 09, 10, 11 October 2015♦Inauguration of the Friday-October 16, 2015Annual Sessions

♦Annual Sessions Seminar Saturday- October 17, 2015

♦Annual Sessions Site Visit Sunday- October 18, 2015

♦Annual General Meeting Saturday- October 24, 2015

♦Techno Awards Friday- October 30, 2015 Ceremony

TENTATIVEANNUAL EVENTS

CALENDAR2014 / 2015

ARE YOU READY? 2014

The Official Careers Fair of the University of Moratuwa, ‘Are You Ready?’, that washeld for the 19th consecutive time concluded on the 29th of December 2014. Thisevent that claims a prominent place in the university calendar, was organized by the

Career Guidance Unit in collaboration with the Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa andwas attended by an approximate 800 undergraduates and 60 companies with 80 interviewpanels. The prime objective of ‘Are You Ready?’ is to bridge the gap between the soon-to-be graduates and the corporate sector. While improving professionalism of the under-

The event spanned from the4th to the 29th of Decemberand was tailored to encom-pass all areas critical for thesuccess of an undergraduatethrough its five sessions; TheResume, The Careers Forum,YOUTM, The Exemplar andThe Dining Etiquette andGrooming Workshop. Thehighlight of the event was theFlagship Day held on the 19th

of December where an ap-proximate 800 final year un-dergraduates were inter-viewed by companies for re-cruitment.

The first session of ‘Are YouReady? 2014’, The Resume,was held on the 4th of Decem-ber, its objective being to of-fer proficiency in the prepara-tion of a CV that sets themapart from the crowd. Thesession was a huge successwith over 400 participants.The second session, TheCareers Forum, featured apanel discussion by two lead-ing figures of the corporatesector on the current trendsof the field of engineering. Thethird session YOUTM focussedon Personal Branding andProfessional Networking. TheExemplar is the session that

focussed on educating theparticipants on how to facean interview and profes-sional behaviour that is ex-pected of them once they’reinvolved in the corporatesector. The series of ses-sions concluded on the 29th

of December with the Din-ing Etiquette and GroomingWorkshop at the HiltonResidencies. The lastsession’s focus was on im-proving the professional im-age, poise and confidenceand consisted of a four-course dinner tutorial aswell as an illuminative ses-sion on professional groom-ing.

With the recognition of thecorporate sector, the ac-claim of the Rotaract Dis-trict and ten consecutivewinnings of the RotaractDistrict award for the ‘BestProfessional DevelopmentProject” to recommend it,‘Are You Ready?’, has nowreached a stage where it isa name synonymous withquality, effectiveness andprofessionalism.

by Ms. Radhya GamageCo-Editor, Rotaract Club of University of Moratuwa

graduates and preparing themfor recruitment in the indus-try, it also gives an opportu-nity for the corporate sectorto avail themselves of the tal-ent that the University ofMoratuwa has to offer.

IESL NEWS 3Sri Lanka Engineering News - November / December 2014

Prevention ofDisputes in

ConstructionContractsby Eng. G. H. Lawrence

(Chartered Engineer / Attorney-at-Law)

‘Prevention is better than cure’ is a premise of universalacknowledgement. Disputes are inherent in constructionsituations and the need for prevention of such cannot beover-emphasized. Express provisions in this regard are em-bodied in the ‘FIDIC Conditions of Contract-For Building andEngineering Works Designed by the Employer- 1999Edition’(FIDIC New Red Book) onwards.

Besides, when one examines the standard forms previouslypracticed, ICE/ FIDIC model for instance, it would be re-vealed that preventive measures were intrinsically availablethere within.

The following provisions in the FIDIC (Old Red Books) con-tribute towards prevention of disputes;

• Engineer is identified as the Professional ContractAdministrator, who has to inspect, examine, ap-prove/ disapprove the works, issue instructions,make determinations, initiate/ take measurements,certify payments etc.

• The Contractor should receive instructions only fromthe Engineer

• In case the Engineer has to obtain Employer’s ap-proval in exercising his functions, such have to bestated in the Particular Conditions.

• Engineer ought to consult both parties in makingdecisions/ determinations in view of securing theirmutual agreement (prominent in FIDIC 4)

• Engineer should act impartially when the mutualagreement is not reachable (prominent in FIDIC 4)

• Contractor is required to serve notifications to theEngineer in respect of entitlements for additionaltime and money (prominent in FIDIC 4).

• Engineer’s instructions are required to be in writ-ing; oral instructions are permissible but should beconfirmed in writing (prominent in FIDIC 4).

Express provisions for prevention of disputes have been in-troduced in the FIDIC New Red Book (1999) and in PinkBook (MDB Harmonized Edition- 2005) onwards. An impar-tial body named the Dispute Board has been introduced,and the following provisions serve in the direction of preven-tion of disputes.

• The Dispute Board (DB) should undertake periodi-cal site visits to get/ remain acquainted with theprogressing of the works and to endeavour to pre-vent potential problems or claims from becomingdisputes [Procedural Rule No. 2- MDB HarmonizedEdition]

• Parties may at any time jointly refer a matter to theDB for it to give its opinion. [Sub-clause 20.2; sev-enth paragraph]

• The DB member/s have to be available for givingadvice or opinions when requested by both the Em-ployer and Contractor [Sub-clause 4(k) of the GCCof the DB Agreement]

Hence, it is important that the Parties as well as the mem-bers of Dispute Boards recognize the role of the DisputeBoards in prevention of disputes. It is submitted that theSub-clause 20.2 which provides for the Parties to jointlyrefer any matter to the DB can be effectively used to avoiddisputes. The Procedural Rule No. 2 of the MDB Harmo-nized Edition provides that one of the objectives of under-taking sites visits is to prevent potential problems/ claimsbecoming disputes.

Accordingly, the Parties are well placed to submit jointly,any matters of difference to the DB at the Site Visits for itsopinion or advice. What is of prime importance is that theycan make such reference at any time: This can convenientlybe done, by making the reference to the DB by one Partythrough the other Party. The DBs will do good by giving itsopinion/ advice at its earliest convenience; and it will bealways prudent for the DBs to promptly acknowledge such

Contd. on page 10....

The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka

Call for Papers for the

Annual Sessions 2015Call for Papers

The Institution is pleased to call for technical papers to be presented at the AnnualSessions to be held in October 2015, which will provide a forum for engineers to sharetheir experiences and is aimed at general advancement of science and practice ofengineering in all disciplines.

Details of PapersThe papers are invited under the following categories to be presented at the AnnualSessions and published in the Volume I of the Annual Transactions of the Institution;

• Engineering theory/research (academic) oriented technical papers,

• Technical papers based on Engineering practice/design /projects/ techniques.

The paper should be of value and interest to Engineers and aimed at making a contributionto the advancement of the Profession of Engineering. It must be based on review of pastpractice, information of current interest, or probing into new fields of engineering activity.It should be a presentation of thought provoking study contributing to planning, analysis,design, construction/fabrication/production, management or maintenance of Engineeringworks. In this context, practical papers are strongly encouraged. Wherever possible,theoretical papers should include a section on practical application or additional researchareas to be pursued for effective technology transfer.

Submission of PapersIntention for submitting a paper under any category should be conveyed to the IESL on orbefore 16th March 2015 with an abstract of the proposed paper, not exceeding 300 words.The abstract can be submitted in electronic format at the URL https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ieslas2015 with a copy by email to [email protected]

This abstract will be used by the Editorial Board as a guide to take a decision on callingfor the proposed publication (full paper), which will be intimated to the correspondingauthor by 06th April 2015. Full technical paper/s with recommended modifications onthe accepted abstract, in the stipulated format for full papers* should be submitted on orbefore 15th May 2015. This shoud be in the form of a word-processed soft copy atURL https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=ieslas2015 in MS Word and pdf formats,to be subjected to the refereeing process. Authors are also required to give their agreementto present the technical paper at the Annual Sessions, by sending the duly completedagreement form*.

All full papers will be double blind refereed by at least two subject specialists. The decisionof the Editorial Board on the acceptance of the Paper for publication shall be final.

Please note that it is mandatory for the authors (at least one of whom should be a memberof the IESL) of all accepted papers to present them at the Annual Sessions of the Institution,held in the month of October 2015.

Schedule of Key DatesLast date for receipt of abstracts - 16th March 2015Notification of acceptance - 06th April 2015Last date of submission of full paper - 15th May 2015Proposed dates for Technical - 19th to 20th October 2015Paper presentation at the Annual Sessions

Best Paper AwardBest paper based on the marks given by referees and judges at the presentation, will beentitled to the prestigious Prof. E.O.E. Pereira Award.

MailingAll correspondences should be addressed to:

Eng. (Dr.) K.E.D. SumanasiriEditor, Technical Papers for Annual Sessions,The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka,120/15, Wijerama Mawatha,Colombo 7.

Tel: 011-2698426 Ext. 232, 207Fax: 011-2699202Email: [email protected]

[email protected]

* available at the IESL website: www.iesl.lk or can be obtained on request from Manager Publicity:[email protected]


Sri LankaEngineering News

Contd. from page 1....

PRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNER

introduced in 2012 / 2013 session has proved to be an effec-tive tool in boosting the capacities of many functions of theSecretariat and I have no doubt it will be even more effectivewith the technological enhancement I hope to introduce dur-ing my tenure.

Therefore, while wishing our members and their families abright and prosperous new year I invite their cooperation andsupport to implement the strategies I have planned to intro-duce during the new year, that would enable the higher levelof performance, better or improved services and enhancedbenefits from the IESL. Happy New year to all. Thank you.

Eng. (Dr.) S. B. Wijekoon

President

HappyNew Year!

When you read this editorial, it is probable thatthe new year is already

born. You may have millions of targets to be achieved andhopefully few are there as realistic targets for the year2015.

Shall we reflect the things we had in the year 2014? Arewe in a position to celebrate the victories or in a disap-pointed mood as we could not achieve our tasks plannedin the last part of the previous year of 2013?As IESL, we all should be proud and be responsible forbeing a signatory of the Washington Accord. There werelot of achievements, but it was the icing on the cake. Moreactivities were completed and more to be done.

However, I was just thinking about our responsibilities asthe engineering community. Have we contributed enough?Sri Lanka has been receiving unusual heavy rains for fewmonths now. There was a devastating landslide inMeeriyabedda and lot of other areas are too unstable.Anuradhapura area was flooded and it was the severestflood since 1957. When I searched about our engineers’contribution in mitigating disasters, it was not that praise-worthy.

We, as engineers, must play a considerable role in thedisaster mitigation in the country. It has to be a wholehearted much enthusiastic holistic approach with all dis-ciplines in engineering. We rarely observe a joint effort byall the disciplines of engineering to solve a national prob-lem. I personally feel the disaster management is a na-tional commitment that everybody has to contribute. Havewe given our consent to use our expertise for engineeringpredictions? Are we in a position to assist the Meteorol-ogy Department with our expertise?

At the dawn of a new year, I urge the engineering commu-nity to form a joint group of expertise from all disciplinesto assist the government agencies in mitigating disasters.IESL can do this; I sincerely hope that the engineers whoare willing to form this group will write to me. I am waitingfor them in the dawn of the New Year.

I wish all the engineers a Very Happy New Year 2015!

Udeni [email protected]

Do you Use Credit Cards? Bemindful

by Eng. Thushara Dissanayake (M- 4943)

Department of Irrigation

According to the Wikipedia Edward Bellamy has introduced the concept of the credit

card in his novel “Looking Backward” in 1887. Today, it has become an indispens

able item in the wallet of most of us.There are approximately 2 billion credit cards in

use across the globe at present.The reasons for such popularity can be some or all of the

followings depending on the user.

1. We do not have to carry money with us and we are safe

2. Certain credit limit is available with credit cards and we can meet our expenses

during a financial difficulty

3. Some merchants offer discounts when purchasing with credit cards

4. Easy to pay bills with figures which are not rounded off as we do not need change

money

5. Credit cards help us to maintain high social status

Still, the question is whether most of those implied advantages work in favor of us. Can we

accept afore said reasons with a considerable level of objectivity? In fact, we should not take

the advantages of credit cards for granted. This article is about some blind spots associated

with the use of credit cards which can cause considerable loss to the user often without his

knowledge.

First, let us consider the available credit limit. The most important advantage of a credit card

is the availability of a certain limit of credit facility according to the opinions of most users.

No doubt, this should be the prime motivating factor for using the credit card by the public.

Suppose a certain card has got a monthly credit limit of Rupees fifty thousand. In this case

we may feel that its annual credit availability is Rupees six hundred thousand, i.e., the

multiplication of fifty thousand by twelve. What really happens is we come to conclusions

irrationally when we do this type of calculations. The fact we overlook while calculating above

figure is that we have to settle our credit card bill every month on a recurrent interval. There-

fore, the effective credit amount available for the whole year is only Rupees fifty thousand the

equivalent of monthly limit. If we can keep a balance of Rupees fifty thousand in our bank

account at the beginning of the year we really do not need to have a credit card, provided the

main purpose of using it is to utilize available credit facility.

I can remember a similar incident where a bank officer came to promote their loan schemes.

He presented all the calculations how we had to resettle the loan with monthly installments.

At the end he compared the loan value and paid value, and came to the conclusion that

obtaining a loan is financially advantageous. Most of the audience left the room happily after

the presentation might be with the idea of obtaining the loan. What really happened was that

the officer did not apply the appropriate time value of money for the calculations. As a result

of this mathematical manipulation the audience was misled.

Some credit card companies introduce many varieties of credit cards. The main varying

factor among them is none other than the credit limit. They give their credit cards specific

names like Gold, Platinum, Premier and so on. According to those firms having a credit card

is a prestige for the card holder. Not only that the different categories of cards associated

with different levels of social status. According to my personal experience one agent from a

credit card firm recommended me the type of the card to be used as an Engineer. Is there

any logic in this statement that it is a prestige to have a credit card? We purchase with a

credit card when we do not have sufficient money with us. Then by what means becoming a

debtor is prestigious?

Some merchants offer discounts for certain credit cards.However, there is a strategy fol-

lowed by each business firm when offering discounts. For instance, if we consider super

markets all supermarkets will not offer discounts for credit cards of bank “X”. When super-

market “A” offer discounts for credit cards of bank “X”, supermarket network “B” will offer

discounts for credit cards of bank “Y”. This strategy by those firms limits our freedom of

choice forcing us to purchase from a certain supermarket. Ultimately, we are unable to

compare the prices and may end up in paying higher prices than those prevailing in the

market.

According to the payment rules of credit card companies we have to make a monthly mini-mum payment unless the total outstanding balance is not settled on or before the due date.

Contd. on page 10...


ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

CENTRAL PROVINCE – CHAPTERby : C.D.Narasinghe

Editor, IESL Chapter - Central Province.

IESL Centre – Central Province Annual General Meeting was held in grand style with theparticipation of 300 Engineers on 26th September 2014 at Mahaweli Reach Hotel, Kandy.

The President of the IESL –Central Province, Eng. B M U S Bandara delivered the welcomeaddress, while the Chief Guest was Eng. Shavindranath Fernando, President IESL. He ad-dressed the gathering through Skype. The Guest of Honor was Eng. S B Wijekoon and thekey note address was done by Eng. R W R Premasiri, Secretary, Ministry of Highways,Ports & Shipping, Chairman RDA & NWSDB. Though four Technical sessions were planned

only two carried out due to time restriction.

•Assessment of Aged Cement Silos

By Dr. Ranjith Dissanayake, Chaminda S. Bandara, Suranga Karunanayake

•Investigation of lightning surges on public switched telephone network

By B.T. Hemamali, H.M.T.M. Kumari, D.G.A.R. Lakmali, M.A.R.M. Fernando, J.R.S.S.

Kumara.

•Disposal of Water Treatment Plant Waste Sludge : Trials in Brick Manufacture

By Eng. W.K. Ilangasinghe, Dr. D.R.I.B. Werellagama, Eng. S. Antony

•Landslide Disaster Protection Project of National Road Network in Sri- Lanka

By Project Director Landslide Disaster Protection Project – Eng. K.P. Kodituwakku

New office bearers for the Year 2014/15, Committee Members and representative memberswere elected and requested to under take the responsibility of maintaining & growing theIESL Centre – Central Province.

Eng. (Mrs.) W.K. Illangasinghe was elected as the President of IESL – Centre, CentralProvince for the year 2014/15.

At the end of the proceedings the event concluded with the buffet dinner.

IESL Qatar organized a Lecture onMetro Rail Systems

IESL Qatar chapter organized a CPD session for itsmembers on 31 October

2014 on metro rail systemspresented by Eng. ShanthaWeerasinghe B.Sc.Eng.,C.Eng. MIHT, AMIESL. He isan active member of IESLQatar and currently working asthe Principal Engineer, RailMEP at Hyder ConsultantsQatar.

After graduating in ElectricalEngineering from University ofMoratuwa in 1990, EngShantha has served in a pri-vate firm and CEB until leav-ing Sri Lanka for Hong Kongin 1994. His 20 years overseascareer since then has prima-rily been spent on mega trans-portation constructionprojects. In Hong Kong, he

has been working as a se-nior project engineer forBalfour Beatty in the NewHong Kong Airport projectand KCRC West RailProject.

Upon joining ParsonsBrinkerhoff International inTaiwan, he has providedMEP design support to Tai-wan High Speed RailProject for 4 years and laterjoined the Britishconsultancy W S Atkins inDubai to lead electrical de-signs of DubaiMetro,Makkah Metro,Kolkata Metro UG stations,Lusail LRT prelim designs,Etihad Rail, UAE’s Al AinMRO Aircraft MaintenanceFacility, Jeddah New Airport(KAIA) etc.

He presented a well versedlecture on ongoing megaproject, Doha Metro, per-haps the largest metroproject currently under con-struction in the region. Healso opened a discussionon the evolution of metrorail systems worldwide .

The Doha Metro is a rapidtransit system under con-struction in Doha, the capi-tal of Qatar, as well as someof its neighbouring munici-palities. Upon completion,it is expected to comprise211.9 kilometres (132 mi) ofroute across four lines serv-ing 85 stations. It will be anintegral component of thelarger Qatar Rail network,which will include long-dis-tance high-speed railacross Qatar, and local lightrail and people mover ser-vices within Doha.

Eng. Shantha also men-tioned on conceptualizedmetro rail projects in SriLanka and impressed onhis capacity to provide highlevel consultancy service forsuch projects on behalf ofIESL, if required.

A Public speechon

Northern Expressway(Link to Kandy

Colombo Expressway)by IESL Chapter - Central Province

IESL Chapter - Central Province organized a public speech

on Northern Expressway on 11th November at E.L.

Senanayake Children’s Library Hall in Kandy.

The target group included Engineers, other professional’s,

interested parties and general public of Kandy to let them be

aware about history, present status and outlook of the above

road construction project. Eng. L.V.S. Weerakoon, Project

Director (Northern Expressway) Road Development Author-

ity presented the proposal to the gathering.

Distinguished guests including Deputy Mayor of the Kandy

Municipal Council and Council Members, District Secretary,

High court Judge, University Lecturers, Organisational heads

of government as well as private companies, members of trad-

ers associations and dwellers of Kandy city have participated

in the programme. The total number of participants exceeded

the seating capacity of 300 available in the hall, necessitat-

ing many to stand for whole two hours to listen to the speech

and the discussion session.

It became a good forum of awareness creations aware, giv-

ing feedback, seeking clarifications and to voice the con-

cerns of participants regarding this proposed highway. The

discussion was very lively with lot of participants raising their

concerns about the forthcoming project, where it was evident

that people from very faraway villages like Galagedara,

Pothuhara and Aladeniya etc. are also present in the gather-

ing.

It was a great experience for all the Engineers to get the

feedback from the public on this kind of a mega project, as

well as a good platform for the public to have first hand infor-

mation and a stage to raise their concerns.


CONTROL OF MOISTURE DURING CONSTRUCTION OF ROADCONTROL OF MOISTURE DURING CONSTRUCTION OF ROADCONTROL OF MOISTURE DURING CONSTRUCTION OF ROADCONTROL OF MOISTURE DURING CONSTRUCTION OF ROADCONTROL OF MOISTURE DURING CONSTRUCTION OF ROAD

PAVEMENTSPAVEMENTSPAVEMENTSPAVEMENTSPAVEMENTS

(PREVENTS / MINIMISE EARLY PAVEMENT FAILURES! EXTENDS(PREVENTS / MINIMISE EARLY PAVEMENT FAILURES! EXTENDS(PREVENTS / MINIMISE EARLY PAVEMENT FAILURES! EXTENDS(PREVENTS / MINIMISE EARLY PAVEMENT FAILURES! EXTENDS(PREVENTS / MINIMISE EARLY PAVEMENT FAILURES! EXTENDS

DESIGN LIFE !)DESIGN LIFE !)DESIGN LIFE !)DESIGN LIFE !)DESIGN LIFE !)

by : Eng. Ratnasiri Rupasingheby : Eng. Ratnasiri Rupasingheby : Eng. Ratnasiri Rupasingheby : Eng. Ratnasiri Rupasingheby : Eng. Ratnasiri Rupasinghe

Eng. Ratnasiri Rupasinghe has worked with State Devel-

opment and Construction Corporation, Road Develop-

ment Authority, and Road Development Department,

Northern Region in Sri Lanka on road and bridge projects

nearly 13 years. He also worked with Main Roads West-

ern Australia over 17 years, and was instrumental in de-

sign & construction of over 200kms of National and State

major highways involving construction of pavements

using naturally occurring granular material, and manu-

factured crushed rock base (aggregate base course).

1. Introduction

With the increasing scarcityof locally available qualitynaturally occurring granularmaterial and suitable rocksources for manufacturing ag-gregate base course mate-

rial extensive research has

been undertaken in Austra-

lia with most significant

aspects to increase design

life of pavements at re-

duced pavement depths.

Another key factor for this

is to avoid huge environ-

mental damages done by

clearing natural vegetation

during borrowing and har-

vesting materials.

The current Engineering

Road Note 9 Procedure for

the Design of Road Pave-

ments specify that the per-

manent deformation of

flexible pavements must

have a minimum design

life of 40 years unless the

Principal specify other-

wise. This has been

achieved making improve-

ments to design concepts

(Appropriate longitudinal

slope, pavement height

and drain depths etc), the

quality of material (using

high quality crushed rock

base or improved material

such as stabilised and hy-

drated cement treated

crushed rock base), work-manship of construction

works (maintaining camber

from sub grade level, ap-

propriate compaction and

moisture control), quality

control tests during con-

struction (Improved test

methods and use of test

frequencies related to the

lots with traceability from

the resources to the finish

products, rather to quan-

tities.

2. Effect of Moisture2. Effect of Moisture2. Effect of Moisture2. Effect of Moisture2. Effect of Moisture

The stability of unbound

pavement materials gener-

ally decreases with in-

creasing moisture content

or the Degree of Saturation

(DOS). The DOS is a mea-

sure of the ratio of the vol-

ume of water to the com-

bined volume of air voids

and water within a mate-

(a) Allow time for the

pavement surface to dry

back

Ensure that the contract

duration and/or works

program has provision to

allow the pavement to dry

back to the specified

moisture requirement or a

stable state prior to bitu-

minous surfacing.

(b) Program the works to

minimise exposure to

rain

During the wet season,

fully construct short sec-

tions of pavement up to

and including the bitumi-

nous surfacing, rather

than the construction of

the whole of the sub-

base, then the whole of

the base and surfacing.

(c) Reduce the exposure

of pavement

material stockpiles to the

entry of water

Construct stockpiles on a

drained site with a mini-

mum grade of 1 in 20,

preferably with two-way

cross fall, and shape and

“track roll” stockpiles to

assist with shedding of

water.

(d) Minimise the period,

loose or not fully

compacted pavement

material is left in the

roadbed

Only sufficient pavement

material for each day’s

operation should be

spread out on the pave-

ment. Windrowed material

should not trap water on

the surface of the pave-

ment layer, and boxing

drains should always be

provided to remove sur-

face water.

(e) Reduce the moisture

content used for com-

paction

Construct the pavement

at the lowest moisture

content necessary to

achieve the specified

density. Main Roads

specify that Crushed rock

base shall be thoroughly

rial. A material with a DOS

of 100% is fully saturated

and has a very high pore

pressure and high instabil-

ity under load. As the DOS

reduces, the reduction in

pore water pressure also

reduces with a corre-

sponding increase in sta-

bility.

It has been shown that

high pore water pressures

will develop within pave-

ment materials where the

DOS exceeds 80%. The sta-

bility of the majority of

unbound pavement mate-

rials, significantly im-

proves when the pavement

is dried back to a DOS of

70% or 60% in the case of

very moisture sensitive

materials such as crushed

rock base.

The presence of excess

moisture in a pavement can

cause following failures by

the construction loading of

upper layers, bituminous

layer or traffic loads.

• Shearing or bearing

failure resulting in exten-

sive cracking and shape

loss;

• Premature rutting

due to the material becom-

ing unstable when too wet.

• “Lifting”, “blow-

outs” or delaminating of

the road surfacing due to

positive pore pressure.

• Embedment of the

cover aggregate of the chip

seal or aggregate primer

seal into the soft underly-

ing pavement base result-

ing in severe loss of sur-

face texture.

• Premature fatigue

cracking of any asphalt

surfacing due to inad-

equate pavement stiffness.

3. Preventative Mea-3. Preventative Mea-3. Preventative Mea-3. Preventative Mea-3. Preventative Mea-

suressuressuressuressures

To help prevent build up of

excessive moisture in a

pavement during construc-

tion, the following preven-

tative measures should be

undertaken:

mixed with water using a

pug mill to produce a ho-

mogeneous product

suitable for placement

into final position.

(f) Minimize the amount

of water required for

surface preparation

The addition of water to

a pavement after place-

ment should be just suf-

ficient to produce a tight

cohesive surface suitable

for bituminous surfacing.

(g) Seal off the pavement

surface as soon as pos-

sible

Prime or primer seal the

prepared surface as soon

as the pavement has

dried back.

h) Permeability and

moisture sensitivity

Materials used for the

shoulders and pavement

base should be relatively

impermeable to ensure

that most surface water

runs off rather than in-

filtrating into the pave-

ment. Further, use of very

moisture sensitive mate-

rials should be avoided in

wet environments. Mois-

ture sensitivity can be

checked by CBR, Re-

peated Load Triaxial or

wheel track testing at

varying DOSs to produce

plots showing the effect

of moisture on strength

and/or permanent defor-

mation. The latter tests

are preferred over the CBR

test, particularly for

crushed rocks.

(i) Consider in the design

providing appropriate sub-

surface/soil drains or

drainage layers.

4. Drying Back of4. Drying Back of4. Drying Back of4. Drying Back of4. Drying Back of

Pavements Prior toPavements Prior toPavements Prior toPavements Prior toPavements Prior to

SurfacingSurfacingSurfacingSurfacingSurfacing

Most construction specifi-

cations express the mois-

ture content of a pavement

material in terms of Mois-

ture Ratio (MR). MR is the

moisture content ex-

pressed as a percentage of

OMC. An Accelerated

Loading Facility (ALF) trial

(APRG Report 16) was un-

dertaken at Beerburrum,

Queensland in 1996. This

trial indicated that by dry-

ing back a pavement from

a MR of 75% to 70% (a DOS

of 85% for the material type

used), resulted in about a

400% increase in pavement

life under accelerated load-

ing. (See Figure below.)

Comparison of pavement life with relative moisturecontent (150mm crushed rock base on CTSB)

Contd. on page 9...

This difference may not be

as pronounced at lower

moisture contents but it

demonstrates the impor-

tance of allowing pave-

ments to dry back to

maximise the service life.

Also, observations indicate

that a pavement material

that has been allowed to dry

back will also tend to re-

main drier (thus stronger

and stiffer) in the long term

than a pavement material

that has never been allowed

to dry back.

Drying back also improves

the performance of the bi-

tuminous surfacing by al-

lowing satisfactory pen-

etration of the primer or

primer binder into the sur-

face.


The most convenient way to

measure the moisture con-

tent is with a nuclear

gauge although oven dry-

ing methods can also be

used for greater accuracy

for thicker layers. The

Characteristic MR is deter-

mined from 6 to 10 ran-

domly selected test sites in

a similar way to the Char-

acteristic Density Ratio.

5.2 Clegg Impact Value.2 Clegg Impact Value.2 Clegg Impact Value.2 Clegg Impact Value.2 Clegg Impact Value

(CIV)(CIV)(CIV)(CIV)(CIV)

5. Specification, Mea-5. Specification, Mea-5. Specification, Mea-5. Specification, Mea-5. Specification, Mea-

surement and Assess-surement and Assess-surement and Assess-surement and Assess-surement and Assess-

ment of Drying Backment of Drying Backment of Drying Backment of Drying Backment of Drying Back

To assess whether or not a

pavement base has been

dried back sufficiently prior

to bituminous surfacing,

one or more of the follow-

ing techniques can be used.

5.1 Moisture Content5.1 Moisture Content5.1 Moisture Content5.1 Moisture Content5.1 Moisture Content

at a Specified Degreeat a Specified Degreeat a Specified Degreeat a Specified Degreeat a Specified Degree

of Saturationof Saturationof Saturationof Saturationof Saturation

Specification and measure-

ment of the moisture con-

tent of the pavement base

is considered the most re-

liable way of ensuring that

the pavement surface has

been satisfactorily dried

back.

Some works specifications

include a maximum MR for

the pavement base prior to

sealing although this can be

misleading for some mate-

rials as the MR does not al-

ways provide a good indi-

cation of stability. For this

reason, it is preferable to

specify a maximum DOS

prior to surfacing. If the

material is relatively uni-

form, an equivalent maxi-

mum MR (or actual moisture

content) can be calculated

from the DOS to make

moisture assessment sim-

pler on site.

For major highways and

freeways with a traffic load-

ing in excess of 5x106 ESAs,

a maximum DOS of 60% for

the base pavement prior to

bituminous surfacing is rec-

ommended. For other roads

the maximum DOS may be

increased to 65%.

For any material, the DOS

for a given moisture content

or alternatively, the mois-

ture content for a given DOS

can be calculated by:

DOS = [1 / (ñw / ñ

d - 1/

APD)] x w, or

w = DOS x (ñw / ñ

d - 1/

APD)

where:

APD = Apparent

Particle Density (t/m3) as

determined by the AS

1289.3.5.1;

DOS = Degree of

Saturation (%);

w = moisture

content (%);

ñw

= 1.0 t/m3

(density of water); and

ñd

= Dry Den-

sity of the Material (t/m3).

Care should be taken when

determining the APD in

situations where the mate-

rial comprises blends of dif-

ferent materials or porous

aggregates.

In conjunction with check-

ing the dry back moisture

content, or, if weather con-

ditions do not permit the

pavement to be dried back

to the specified DOS prior

to bituminous surfacing,

the stability of the surface

can be checked with a 4.5

kg Clegg Impact Hammer.

This is a portable device

consisting of a drop ham-

mer fitted with an acceler-

ometer that has been suit-

ably calibrated to provide

an indication of the

strength at or near the sur-

face of the pavement.

If the Characteristic CIV

calculated from of 6 to 10

randomly-selected test

sites is 50 or greater, then

the pavement base should

have sufficient stability to

avoid delaminating of the

surfacing or excessive de-

formation shortly after

opening to traffic. The

Clegg Hammer can also be

used to detect isolated ar-

eas that may not have dried

back sufficiently. There are

other types of impact ham-

mers in the market place

but the Clegg Impact Ham-

mer is the most common

device used in Australia.

(Bouncing of a pickaxe

handle on the surface of

finished pavement layers

for a good bounce and a

metallic/drumming sound

is also an indication of

achieving drying back, and

widely used as a quick test

to locate wet patches.)

5.3 Test Rolling5.3 Test Rolling5.3 Test Rolling5.3 Test Rolling5.3 Test Rolling

In conjunction with the

suggestions in 5.1 and 5.2

above, a specified test roll-

ing procedure can also be

used to provide an indica-

tion of the stability of a

pavement prior to surfac-

ing. Assessment is made

on whether or not visible

movement of the pave-

ment.

5.4 THE SPECIFICATION5.4 THE SPECIFICATION5.4 THE SPECIFICATION5.4 THE SPECIFICATION5.4 THE SPECIFICATION

USED BY MAINROADSUSED BY MAINROADSUSED BY MAINROADSUSED BY MAINROADSUSED BY MAINROADS

WESTERN AUSTRALIA ISWESTERN AUSTRALIA ISWESTERN AUSTRALIA ISWESTERN AUSTRALIA ISWESTERN AUSTRALIA IS

GIVEN BELOW ANDGIVEN BELOW ANDGIVEN BELOW ANDGIVEN BELOW ANDGIVEN BELOW AND

SHOWN IN ITALICS.SHOWN IN ITALICS.SHOWN IN ITALICS.SHOWN IN ITALICS.SHOWN IN ITALICS.

ONE SHOULD NOTEONE SHOULD NOTEONE SHOULD NOTEONE SHOULD NOTEONE SHOULD NOTE

THAT SOME OF THETHAT SOME OF THETHAT SOME OF THETHAT SOME OF THETHAT SOME OF THE

TEST MATHODS ARE ASTEST MATHODS ARE ASTEST MATHODS ARE ASTEST MATHODS ARE ASTEST MATHODS ARE AS

PER WESTERN AUSTRA-PER WESTERN AUSTRA-PER WESTERN AUSTRA-PER WESTERN AUSTRA-PER WESTERN AUSTRA-

LIAN (WA) TEST METH-LIAN (WA) TEST METH-LIAN (WA) TEST METH-LIAN (WA) TEST METH-LIAN (WA) TEST METH-

ODS.ODS.ODS.ODS.ODS.

“CRUSHED ROCK“CRUSHED ROCK“CRUSHED ROCK“CRUSHED ROCK“CRUSHED ROCK

BASE BASECOURSEBASE BASECOURSEBASE BASECOURSEBASE BASECOURSEBASE BASECOURSE

FOR PAVEMENTFOR PAVEMENTFOR PAVEMENTFOR PAVEMENTFOR PAVEMENT

C O N S T R U C T I O N . "C O N S T R U C T I O N . "C O N S T R U C T I O N . "C O N S T R U C T I O N . "C O N S T R U C T I O N . "

GENERALGENERALGENERALGENERALGENERAL

1. All crushed rock

base shall consist of a

uniformly blended

mixture of coarse and

fine aggregate.

2. Coarse aggregateCoarse aggregateCoarse aggregateCoarse aggregateCoarse aggregate

(retained 4.75mm

sieve) shall consist of

clean, hard, durable,

angular fragments of

rock produced by

crushing sound

unweathered rock and

shall not include

materials which break

up when alternately

wetted and dried.

3. Fine aggregateFine aggregateFine aggregateFine aggregateFine aggregate

(passing 4.75mm

sieve) shall consist of

crushed rock

fragments or a

mixture of crushed

rock fragments with

natural sand or clayey

sand. Crushed rock

fine aggregate from

each source shall,

except as to size,

comply with all the

provisions specified

for coarse aggregate.

LIMITS OFLIMITS OFLIMITS OFLIMITS OFLIMITS OF

ACCEPTANCEACCEPTANCEACCEPTANCEACCEPTANCEACCEPTANCE

1. The mixture of fine

and coarse aggregate

forming the rock base

shall be free from

vegetable matter,

lumps of clay,

overburden, or any

other deleterious

matter.

2.The Particle SizeThe Particle SizeThe Particle SizeThe Particle SizeThe Particle Size

DistributionDistributionDistributionDistributionDistribution of the

crushed rock base

material when tested in

accordance with Test

Method WA 115.1 shall

comply with the

requirements shown in

Table 5A below. The

grading of material

passing the 37.5mm

sieve shall vary from

coarse to fine in a

uniform and

consistent manner.

The material shall not

be gap graded as

represented by the

grading crossing from

the maximum limit for

one sieve size to the

minimum limit for

another sieve size, and

shall conform as

closely as possible to

the specified target

grading.

AS 1152 % Passing % Passing by Mass

Sieve Size by Mass Minimum and

(mm) Target Grading Maximum Limits

General CRB

26.5 100

19.0 100 95 – 100

13.2 82 70 – 90

9.5 70 60 – 80

4.75 50 40 – 60

2.36 38 30 – 45

1.18 25 20 – 35

0.600 19 13 – 27

0.425 17 11 – 23

0.300 13 8 – 20

0.150 10 5 – 14

0.075 8 5 – 11

Contd. from page 8.......

CONTROL OFCONTROL OFCONTROL OFCONTROL OFCONTROL OF

MOISTURE ......MOISTURE ......MOISTURE ......MOISTURE ......MOISTURE ......

THE CRUSHED ROCK BASE BASECOURSE SHALLTHE CRUSHED ROCK BASE BASECOURSE SHALLTHE CRUSHED ROCK BASE BASECOURSE SHALLTHE CRUSHED ROCK BASE BASECOURSE SHALLTHE CRUSHED ROCK BASE BASECOURSE SHALL

ALSO MEET THE OTHER LIMITS AS SHOWN INALSO MEET THE OTHER LIMITS AS SHOWN INALSO MEET THE OTHER LIMITS AS SHOWN INALSO MEET THE OTHER LIMITS AS SHOWN INALSO MEET THE OTHER LIMITS AS SHOWN IN

TABLE 5B BELOW.TABLE 5B BELOW.TABLE 5B BELOW.TABLE 5B BELOW.TABLE 5B BELOW.

TABLE 5BTABLE 5BTABLE 5BTABLE 5BTABLE 5B

Test Limits Test Method

Liquid Limit 25.0% Max. WA120.2

(Cone

Penetrometer)

Linear 2.0% Max. WA123.1

Shrinkage 0.4% Min.

Flakiness 30% Max. WA 216.1

Index

Los Angeles 35% Max. WA 220.1

Abrasion

Value

Maximum Dry 1.7MPa Min. WA 140.1

Compressive

Strength

California Bearing100% Min. WA141.1

Ratio (Soaked

4 days) at

99% of MDD and

100% of OMC

Wet/Dry Strength 35% Max. AS1141.22

Variation

Secondary 25% Max. AS 1141.26

mineral content

in basic igneous

rock

Accelerated 94% Mini. AS 1141.29

soundness index

by reflux

TABLE 5ATABLE 5ATABLE 5ATABLE 5ATABLE 5A

3. The Dust

Ratio, defined as the

ratio of the

percentage passing

by mass the

0.075mm sieve to the

percentage passing

by mass the

0.425mm sieve, shall

be within the range

0.35 to 0.60.

Contd. on page 11...


The following article extracted from "The Nation" (www.nationalmultimedia.com) of Septem-

ber 30, 2014 have been sent to the SLEN by Eng. M.K. Chandrasekera for its relevance to

the article on "ManMade Disasters and the Way Out" authored by him and published in the

previous issue of the SLEN.

Overpopulation is everybody’ssin, isn’t it?

by Achara Deboonme

“In dangerous times, thereis no sin greater than inac-tion.”

This line from Italian poetDante’s 14th-century mas-terpiece “The Divine Com-edy” is used repeatedly byDan Brown in his latestnovel, “Inferno”. As theAmerican author points outin his novel, the quoteshould not be taken lightlyas it involves everyone onearth.

”Inferno”, named after one ofthree parts of Dante’s “DivineComedy”, takes as itstheme the world’s inces-santly-growing population.Apparently, Brown is con-cerned at the sharp growthin the past few centuries andwhat this might mean for ourfuture.

It is indeed alarming. Theworld is now home to over 7billion people, about seventimes more than in 1804,says the UN. By 2050, thatfigure is projected to sur-pass 9 billion.

Dig deeper into the globalstatistics and you discoverthere were about 19 birthsfor every eight deaths in2013, a mismatch fuelled byadvances in medical tech-nology.

In the character of BertrandZobrist, a geneticist, Browncomes up with a solution tosave mankind from over-population: the sterilizationof one third of the people onearth. Dante’s line crops upwhen Zobrist condemns glo-bal organizations for theirinaction in controlling thepopulation rise.

Brown’s theme is hardlynew. Released in cinemaslast year, “The Purge” de-picts a future world in whichpopulation is artificially con-trolled by declaring that onenight a year, all crime is le-gal - including murder. Thehorror ratchets up when,during one of these free-for-alls, a family is besieged intheir home.

Could overpopulation turnout to be that dreadful?

Maybe.

Nowadays, some of us (in-cluding me) refuse to visitshopping malls at the week-

end. Meanwhile, over long week-ends some opt to stay inBangkok rather than heading topopular destinations, knowingthey would have to fight for ev-erything from road space to a seatat a restaurant. The rising popu-lation also means today’s par-ents are making more effort toensure their kids have a goodeducation as competition for jobsintensifies.

More importantly, natural re-sources are being depleted at afaster rate. By one estimate, thecurrent global population is al-ready two to three times greaterthan the sustainable level. If Eu-ropean standards of living areapplied, the earth’s resourcescould only sustain about 2 billionpeople. Imagine if all 9 billion hadmobile phones - which needed tobe recharged every day. Howmany new power plants would weneed?

There’s no doubt that technologyneeds time to catch up with de-mand. Scientists recentlybrought us good news with thepossibility that nuclear fusion(rather than fission) could pro-duce clean and plentiful electric-ity sooner than we think. Yet theyconceded that a safe fusionmethod is still at least 50 yearsaway. Fossil fuels and conven-tional nuclear, topped up with al-ternative energy, are still whatpowers the planet.

And in this scenario of limitedresources, what is the existingpopulation doing? Individually, webreathe and eat, struggle throughour daily lives and dream of bet-tering ourselves. Thais are oftenconsidered a kind and helpfulpeople, but it was only recentlythat a spirit of social responsibil-ity was systematically intro-duced in Thai society. After pub-lic pressure plus measures bythe authorities, some Thai com-panies are being more respon-sible for society and the environ-ment. Thai governments mean-while send mixed signals, withpolicies focused on promotingconsumption, but too little doneto tackle problems like overpopu-lation.

One glaring problem is unin-tended pregnancies.

Each year an estimated 123 mil-lion women give birth afterplanned pregnancies, says theWorld Health Organization. Butabout 87 million more becomepregnant unintentionally.Thailand’s problem is compli-cated by the high rate of teenag-ers becoming pregnant. Of every

1,000 births in Thailand,about 54 are to mothersaged 15-19. This rate isamong the highest in theworld, and 10 times higherthan Singapore’s.

Many pregnant Thai teensend up at abortion clinics.If they do decide to havethe baby, the child’s careoften becomes a problem.Ever visit an orphanage?Most operate through gov-ernment funding and do-nations, offering basiccare. Needless to say,few orphans ever make itto university. Handi-capped from the begin-ning, they find themselvescompeting with wealthierand better-educated peersin the fight for a slice ofprecious resources.

Thais have actively criti-cized governments forspending poorly on educa-tion, but they have put littlepressure on targetingspending directly at stu-dents. The Revenue De-partment has also con-ceded that despite a 200-per-cent tax deduction ondonations for educationpurposes, few Thais doso.

Most of us would agreethat improving educationis the priority in tacklingproblems like income in-equality and uneven ac-cess to information andopportunity. What’s block-ing agreement on action isthat, in arguing over thisissue, people are relyingsolely on the words of oth-ers. Instead, we need todo our own research andfind verifiable information -then, maybe, Thailandcould tackle the issueand become a role modelfor the entire world.

Everybody can do his orher own bit to make theirsociety and the world abetter place to live. A goodreminder is that we are notthe last generation. Ourchildren will live on afterus, and they shouldn’thave to fight for everything,when our actions todaycould make their liveseasier.

We shouldn’t wait. AsDante said: “There is nogreater sorrow than to re-call our times of joy inwretchedness.”

As it seems, it can be a mea-sure to prevent card owner’sdebt getting bigger beyond hispaying capacity. However, ac-cording to new research thiscompulsory minimum paymenthas lead card holders to payoff less of their due balancethan they would have done.Thus, the card holders have topay more interest being longterm debtors. By the way,credit card interest rates aremuch higher than averagelending rates of financial insti-tutions. The researchers saythat this behavior is caused bythe psychological bias knownas “anchoring”. The effect ofminimum payment informationacts as a psychological an-chor and the card holder’smonthly repayments de-crease.

There is another powerful rea-son, often most of us are un-aware, that motivate us to usecredit cards. In psychology itis known as “pain of paying”.Suppose you had the lunch ina restaurant with your family.When you pay the bill you willfeel the pain of paying.If youcan settle the bill either withcash or credit card which oneyou will feel worse. Accordingto the findings of researchthose who pay cash will feelworse than those who usecredit cards. As it hurts usmore to pay cash for the thingswe purchase most of us preferto use credit cards. Generally,we settle the credit card bill atthe end of the month andonlyduring that moment we feel thepain of paying. In the mean-time, if we are predeterminedto pay with credit card whenwe purchase something thiscan prompt us even to over-spend. Thus, using the creditcard more often will make itdifficult for you to control theexpenditures.

There are some positive sidesof paying with credit cards aswell. If we pay cash after hav-ing meals from a restaurant theagony of parting with ourmoney will reduce the enjoy-ment we had with the meals.In situations like this if we wantto keep our enjoyment undi-minished we can go for the op-tion of paying with the creditcard.

The objective of this article isnot to discourage you from us-ing credit cards. As busy indi-viduals we may lack objectivereasoning and often get usedto spending behaviors whichare detrimental to us. Beingaware of the facts already dis-cussed relevant to credit cardswill help you touse this tech-nological innovation prudently.

Contd. from page 4..

Do you use credit

cards?references and indicate thetime required for giving itsresponse. It is suggestedthat electronic communi-cations can well be usedto add efficacy to thesetransactions.

It is pertinent to mentionthat the preventive mea-sures are only possiblewith the standing DisputeBoards that are specifiedin the FIDIC New RedBook/ Pink Book. It is ob-served that the YellowBook (Plant and Design-Build), and Silver Book(EPC/ Turnkey Contracts)specify Ad-hoc DBs, envis-aging the possibility of sub-stantial fabrication andmanufacturing works whichare carried out away fromactual construction sites.

However, it is found thatthere are instances wherethe contractual provisionsfor standing DisputeBoards have been alteredin the Particular Condi-tions, adopting the provi-sions for Ad-hoc DisputeBoards. This militatesagainst the object of pre-vention of disputes andalso disturbs the mood andregime of the FIDIC NewRed/ Pink Book.It is re-spectfully submitted thatmodifications to industrystandard forms must beattempted with extremecare and cautiononly:Although such mightbe effectuated in negoti-ated contracts, shouldbest be avoided in con-tracts secured throughcompetitive bidding.

Last but not the least, it isto be stated that the FIDICNew Red Book/ Pink Bookdoes not displace any ofthe avenues of preventionthat were hitherto availableto the Engineer. The Con-ditions require that the En-gineer should consult bothParties and act fairly inmaking determinations.These are the basic re-quirements of Natural Jus-tice. It is paramount thatany administrative function-ary who decides uponrights and obligations ofothers must observe theprinciples of natural justice,act reasonably, in good faithand in accordance with thelaw. Therefore, it is prudentfor the personnel in theEngineer’s Organizationsto direct their minds to thepossibilities for preventionof disputes and actrighteouslyas the party ofthe Professional ContractAdministrator.

Contd. from page 3....

Prevention ofDisputes...


MOISTURE CONTENTMOISTURE CONTENTMOISTURE CONTENTMOISTURE CONTENTMOISTURE CONTENT

1. Crushed rock base shall

be thoroughly mixed with

water using a pug mill to

produce a homogeneous

product suitable for

placement into final

position

2. Crushed rock base shall

be pre-wet to greater than

95% of the Optimum Mois-

ture Content as deter-

mined by Test Method WA

133.1.

CONSTRUCTIONCONSTRUCTIONCONSTRUCTIONCONSTRUCTIONCONSTRUCTION

DRYBACKDRYBACKDRYBACKDRYBACKDRYBACK

REQUIREMENTSREQUIREMENTSREQUIREMENTSREQUIREMENTSREQUIREMENTS

SUBGRADESUBGRADESUBGRADESUBGRADESUBGRADE

1. Pavement construction

shall not commence until

the layer 150mm below

the subgrade surface has

dried back such that the

Dryback Characteristic

Moisture content (dmc) is

equal to or less than the

proportion of the

optimum moisture

content as shown in the

Table 5C below as

determined by test method

wa 133.1 or test method

wa 133.2 as appropriate.

SUB-BASESUB-BASESUB-BASESUB-BASESUB-BASE

1 . B a s e c o u r s e

construction shall not

commence until the sub-

base has dried back such

that the Dryback

Characteristic Moisture

Content (DMc) is equal to

or less than the

proportion of Optimum

Moisture Content as

shown in the Table 5C

below as determined by

WA 133.1 or 133.2.

BASECOURSEBASECOURSEBASECOURSEBASECOURSEBASECOURSE

1.No binder shall be

applied to a basecourse

lot until it has dried back

such that the Dryback

Characteristic Moisture

Content of both the upper

half and lower half of the

basecourse layer is less

than or equal to the

proportion of the

Optimum Moisture

Content (OMC) as shown

in the Table below as

determined by WA 133.1

or 133.2. Where no such

proportion of OMC is

shown in TABLE 5C below,

the Dryback Characteristic

Moisture Content of the

basecourse shall be dried

back to 85% of OMC or

less.

ACCEPTANCEACCEPTANCEACCEPTANCEACCEPTANCEACCEPTANCE

COMPACTION AND DRYCOMPACTION AND DRYCOMPACTION AND DRYCOMPACTION AND DRYCOMPACTION AND DRY

BACKBACKBACKBACKBACK

1. Each pavement layer

shall be constructed to the

dimensions and details

shown on the Drawings

and to the requirements of

the Specification and shall

be compacted to the

Characteristic Dry Density

Ratio shown in Table 5D or

greater. Each pavement layer

shall be dried back to the

Dryback Characteristic

Moisture Content shown in

TABLE 5C or lower.

MAINTENANCESUBGRADE, SUB BASE ANDBASECOURSE

1. Completed subgrade,

Sub-base and basecourse

construction shall be main-

tained to the specified stan-

dards of surface shape, level,

and dryback and compaction

up to the time of construc-

tion of the overlying sub-

base, basecourse, and time of

application of bituminous

layer.

2. Watering shall be

continued as necessary to

prevent, dusting or loosen-

ing of the surface of each

layer.

Subgrade or Maximum

pavement Layers Dryback

Moisture

Content (DMc) as

a % of OMC

Layer 150mm below 85%Subgrade surface

Sub-Base 85%

Basecourse (final 85%

surfacing – sprayed

seal)

Basecourse (final 70%

surfacing – asphalt)

Crushed Rock Base 60%

(all surfacing types)

TABLE 5DTABLE 5DTABLE 5DTABLE 5DTABLE 5D

Pavement LayerPavement LayerPavement LayerPavement LayerPavement Layer MinimumMinimumMinimumMinimumMinimum

Characteristic DryCharacteristic DryCharacteristic DryCharacteristic DryCharacteristic Dry

Density Ratio %(Rc)Density Ratio %(Rc)Density Ratio %(Rc)Density Ratio %(Rc)Density Ratio %(Rc)

Sub-Base 94%

Basecourse 96% or 98%

(final surfacing –

sprayed seal) (Select appropriately)

Basecourse 98% or 99%

(final surfacing (Select

– asphalt) appropriately)

Crushed Rock Base 99%

Basecourse

6.0 Conclusion6.0 Conclusion6.0 Conclusion6.0 Conclusion6.0 Conclusion

Application of dry back re-

quirements in general speci-

fication for road construction

in low level pavements where

external water ingress in the

pavement may require further

considerations depending on

climatic and geographical

conditions prevailing in Sri

Lanka and its cost implica-

tions.

However application of dry

back requirements in road

sub grade and pavement

construction of ex-

pressways and other

highways on high em-

bankments, which will

not be affected by in-

gress of external water

will remain drier (thus

stronger and stiffer) in

the long term, and have

significant benefits in

the current design, con-

struction and mainte-

nance strategies for the

National road network

and lead to more cost-

effective pavement de-

signs and increased

pavement life reducing

the life cycle costs, per-

haps more than 50%.

6.0 References6.0 References6.0 References6.0 References6.0 References

· Austroads Pave-

ment Research Group

(APRG) Report No 16/

June 1996, Performance

of unbound and

stabilised pavement

materials under acceler-

ated loading.

Dear Sir / Madam / Colleague,

As briefly conversed with some of you some time ago, Iwas always contemplating myself that I have a duty andresponsibility to contribute for improvements to work pro-cedures and practices in Sri Lanka with the knowledge andexperience I accumulated during working with Main RoadsWestern Australia more than 17 years. I am pleased I couldbe instrumental, when I was the Bridge/Structural Consult-ant Engineer of Outer Circular Highway in Sri Lanka, tointroduce need for CONTROL OF HYDRATION HEAT INMASS CONCRETE CONSTRUCTIONS to avoid DEF for-mation in concrete.

Observing and hearing early deformation on newly con-structed road sections at early stages of its construction,CONTROL OF MOISTURE DURING CONSTRUCTION OFROAD PAVEMENTS was also another requirement thatwas in my mind.

I had the opportunity to be instrumental in investigation offailures, involve in study of remedies, and then implement-ing in National and State Highway projects in Western Aus-tralia. The attached Article, I composed includes firsthandexperience and knowledge I gained, and merits and suc-cesses of its applications. The facts given in the Articlehave been extracted from the published authenticatedsources in Australia. With the blessings of the executivecommittee of Highway Engineering Society, Sri Lanka ashorter version of this Article was published in the NewsLetter August 2014 Volume 4 Issue 2 (http://hesoc.lk/Default.aspx)

Control of moisture during construction of the pavementwas a key factor among other quality control measurestaken that resulted in the road section to be one of the best30km segment of the National Eyre Highway constructedwithin Goldfields Esperance Region preventing early pave-ment failures incurred in adjoining similar 20km road sec-tion constructed using similar design and material.

I disseminate this to you expecting teaming up to collatethe details of known early pavement failures and to investi-gate the merits of the facts, aiming appropriate applicationto our road construction works.

You may contribute with your experience and knowledgeto improve the work practices and Specification within yourinstitutions or to a forum of discussions to be organizedappropriately.

Data may be collected and collated to verify demerits andmerits where moisture may have contributed to pavementfailures or satisfactory performance. If excessive moisturehad been in the pavement it remains there for a longer pe-riod and moisture content can be tested even some timeafter construction. Testing could be done in failed and sat-isfactory sections where similar material and work pro-cesses had been used for comparison and elimination.Collection of following parameters also will be useful.

1.Locations of road sections affected by early pavementfailure.2.Design details of the sectiona.Thickness of subgrade, sub base and base courseb.Quality of above materialc.Depth of drains and level of water expected in drains inrelation to sub grade level.d.Possibility of water ingress in to the pavement from thesurrounding3.Construction Detailsa.Particle size distribution and other properties of pave-ment materials,b.Possibilities that pavement construction was subjectedto rain or high moisture.4.Any other appropriate data.

Best RegardsEng. Ratnasiri Rupasinghe. (Mobile: 071 111 5149, 077391 6547, email:[email protected])

Contd. from page 9...

CONTROL OFCONTROL OFCONTROL OFCONTROL OFCONTROL OF

MOISTURE ......MOISTURE ......MOISTURE ......MOISTURE ......MOISTURE ......

(http://

www.arrb.com.au/

admin/file/content13/

c6/ARR%20286%20Performance%20of%20

unbound.pdf)

· Austroads Pave-

ment Research Group

(APRG) Technical Note

13/November 2003,

Control of Moisture in

Pavements During Con-

struction.

· Road Construc-

tion Technical Specifi-

cation, Main Roads

Western Australia.

TABLE DRYBACK ON SUBGRADE ORTABLE DRYBACK ON SUBGRADE ORTABLE DRYBACK ON SUBGRADE ORTABLE DRYBACK ON SUBGRADE ORTABLE DRYBACK ON SUBGRADE OR

SUBBASE LAYERSSUBBASE LAYERSSUBBASE LAYERSSUBBASE LAYERSSUBBASE LAYERS

TABLE 5CTABLE 5CTABLE 5CTABLE 5CTABLE 5C

Author's Note


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