Author: Dr. N. Subramanian
Published by Oxford University Press
ISBN 10: 0199497214 ISBN 13: 9780199497218
Review by PC Sharma, Chief Editor, NBM&CW and Retd. Head Material Sciences, Structural Engg. Research Centre, Roorkee and Ghaziabad

Building Materials, Testing & Sustainability
This comprehensive textbook by well-known and award-winning author, design consultant, and researcher, Dr, N Subramanian, is an invaluable source of knowledge for engineering students, architects, consultants, researchers, teachers, and all those engaged in design & construction of buildings.

25 chapters in well written and easy to understand English language cover materials and their specifications, construction equipment and their applications, and describe the various tests that need to be conducted on some of the materials to evaluate their performance. The book covers various aspects of building materials such as their properties and characteristics, manufacturing and energy requirements, environmental friendliness such as recyclability and sustainability, etc. Several Indian codes on building materials, and an abstract of all the important codes have been provided, along with an introduction on the green building rating system.

Building Materials covered include stones, bricks and brick substitutes, cement and cementitious materials, aggregates, mortars and plasters, concrete and RCC, SPL Structural concrete, gypsum wood and wood products, ferrous metals other than steel, steel, non-ferrous metals and alloys, glass, clay and ceramic products, plastics & rubbers, paints & varnishes, asphalt bitumen & tar, and thermal and sound insulating materials, waterproofing and damp proofing materials and more.

30 case studies, 750 review questions, and 440 multiple choice questions, make this book a rich source of information on the construction industry.

The book reflects the author’s experience in teaching, in-depth research, and writing skill.

On a scale of 1-5, I would like to rate it 5.
Need For Construction Safety Measures in Modern Day Constructions
The various accident causation models outline the importance and need for scientific preventive methods. An accident is caused by a combination of a series of factors and gives sufficient warning signals before one actually occurs. Workers and people

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Cement, Steel, Paint Companies on Expansion Overdrive
Riding on the strong demand from infrastructure, construction, and housing sectors, building material companies like cement, steel, and paints, are charting fast-faced expansion plans, especially as the pre-election year of 2023 is seeing higher fund

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Nurturing Future Leaders of Indian Construction Industry
There is a big gap in meeting industry demand through formal skill training programs for construction workmen and practical training for students pursuing engineering courses. This status quo can be changed by replicating successful global models

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Uncovering the Hidden Profit for EPC Companies
Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) companies engaged in development of power infrastructure networks, very often find that their realized margin at the end of a project is significantly lower than the budgeted margin envisaged

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Engineering Design Consultancy Fees
Vivek G. Abhyankar, Structural Engineer, elaborates on the various aspects of Engineering Design Consultancy Fees, the agreements, do’s and don’ts, Indian as well as foreign consultancy practices, along with case studies, for the benefit of

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How to Save Construction Cost
If the homebuilding exercise is carried out with proper planning and smart execution, it would lead to a significant reduction in cost. Nidhi Aggarwal, Founder, SpaceMantra, offers 7 tips to save costs while constructing a house.

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Bhavan Domes Technology
This Innovative and economical Construction System of Geodesic Domes minimizes the geometrical complexities of construction and engineering difficulties. N G Bhagavan, Retired Scientist, Center for Innovative Building Technologies (CIBTech)

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C-PC Polymer Composites Based Civil & Structural Engineering Applications
The construction industry is always evolving with new techniques and methodologies. With the global industrial communities setting their sustainability goals for a better future, any new trends and technological advancements appearing within the construction

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Safety, Ownership & Leadership in Industrial Workplaces
The Workshop on creating Ownership of Safety and Safety Leadership for safety culture transformation is designed to address the ‘ought to be’ and ‘ought not to be’ factors associated with the promotion and improvement of safety performance

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Professional Engineer Certification Practices in India vis-à-vis USA
G. Venkata Prasad, Director of Operations, Deep Foundations of India, & Dr. Putcha Sastry, Vice President, Smart Structures, Florida, USA, compare a Professional Engineer’s practices in India with that in the USA, and highlight

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Accident Or Accidental
Should one set safety priorities by Choice or by Chance? In my opinion, fatalities ought to be classified as ‘by chance’ which can be controlled or contained by proactive planning. On the other hand, safety cannot happen by accident

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Building Bridges: Shaping the Future
‘Building Bridges’ is a technical book that reads like a novel, and acts like a reference point and a guide, with its systematic compilation of information on bridges across India. It presents the world’s first fully digitalized bridge

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Earthquake-Resistant Construction
It is now an accepted fact that all the countries on the earth are liable to earthquakes. Lands can only be grouped into 5 zones (Zone I where the event is active at its highest to Zone V where it is the least active) depending upon the frequency

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EPS Geofoam Blocks for Light Weight Steps
Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Geofoam blocks are normally used with soil in the applications of slope utilization, lateral load reduction in retaining structures, and buried utility protection etc. In buildings, the blocks can be used in stairs

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Smart, Automated Car Parking System
Despite the fact that in the last few decades India’s Automobile sector grew at an unprecedented pace, the Indian mobility system has turned a blind eye to the critical issue of automotive parking systems.

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Planting Trees Precautions and Care
Trees form an integral part of our ecological system and are a god-given gift to humanity. Trees or plants can’t move but still are the most dynamic and self-dependent systems. Often civil engineers learn about concrete

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Retrofitting RCC Grid by Jacketing
Retrofitting of RCC structural members is carried out to regain the strength of deteriorated structural concrete elements and to prevent further distress in concrete. This case study gives a quick and easy reference on the effective

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Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) of Flat Slab Structures
A new methodology is essential to understand the response of structure when subjected to nonlinear dynamic loadings like earthquake, tsunami, hurricanes etc. Incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) is the powerful tool which will enable

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Intelligent Fire Alarm Systems for New Age Smart Buildings
Fire alarm systems are only effective if they can generate reliable and fast fire alerts with exact location of fire. There is a direct correlation between the amount of damage caused by fire and interventions

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Future of Thermal Power Plants
In India, the major source of power generation is thermal energy. Over 65% of electric power is made by thermal plants in India. The country has a huge store of coal (about 170 billion tons) – the fifth largest in the world

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