My
journey, area of work and passion in the field
of structural engineering and how I came about writing my book
"Handbook of Turbo Generator foundation"
By
Sukanta Adhikari
I
started my carrier as Assistant design Engineer in one of the leading
consultants in India since
2004.As a young aspirant in the field of Structural Engineering,
I tried to pursue knowledge diligently and honestly. My field of interest
include Reinforced concrete design, Structural Dynamics ,Earthquake
resistant design of structure and foundations for vibrating machines. I have
designed various types of Civil Engineering structures for Power Plant, Steel
plant, Defence project and space sector throughout our nation.
As a structural Engineer my passion is to unfold the unexplored
areas in the field of structural
Engineering, which in earlier days was difficult due to lack of technology and
resources. With the advent of powerful computational technique using software's
and the development of advanced Finite element technique, the field of
Structural Engineering has progressed in such a manner that the complicated structures
can be solved with ease.
My
first experience in writing was as a coauthor for a technical paper
"Review of critical seismic analysis provisions in IS 1893 part 4 for the
design of industrial structure " along with my
friends Shri Yogesh Pisal & Shri Prashant Ambulkar, which I presented in
14th Symposium of Earthquake Engineering (2010) at IIT Roorkee. Later we
authored one more technical paper "Sign assignment to Absolute Response
quantities from Response spectrum analysis" which was selected in 15th
World conference in Earthquake Engineering (2012) " held
at Lisbon.
My
zeal of learning the subject "Turbo Generator foundation
" developed when I started working with a leading Power Company in Pune.
I started collecting books, technical papers, but to my surprise could not
find a fully fledged book
exclusively on the above subject and in
many books the chapter of Turbo
Generator foundation was included as a routine topic. More I tried to learn the
subject, the subject was getting away from me, just
like the horizon. Appreciating my effort of learning my boss Shri Vijay S
Kanagi (my mentor) taught me the basic of the subject This is how the journey began.
The
textbooks" Dynamics of Bases and Foundations by D.D Barkan”, " Dynamics in Civil Engineering " by Alexander
Major and DIN 4024 have been valuable references in developing my concept.
Sooner there was paradigm shift, as I realized that a more holistic and interdisciplinary
approach is required in understanding the subject in totality. So I started
understanding the subject from Mechanical Engineer's point of view. Mechanical
Engineering is a vast ocean and therefore I concentrated on relevant areas
only. Knowing about turbine, generator, its working principles
and its accessories, my
understanding of the subject was getting better. During these nascent stage
of my career, I authored an article on Turbo Generator foundation, which I
uploaded in Structural Engineering forum of India (an epitome of learning for me).
So vociferous was the response, that my mail box was flooded with queries
exclusively on Turbo generator foundation from all over the globe. Solving their problems helped me in better understanding the subject
in detail and problem faced during practical design. I also guided a Mtech thesis of parametric study of Turbo Generator foundation.
My moral was boosted to an extent that I decided to write a full fledged book.
The book is also an outcome of stimulating
discussion, constructive
ideas and support received from friends and colleagues.
Help received from Shri Vijay S Kanagi,Shri Yogesh
Pisal,Shri Wriddhi Pratim Roy and Shri
Abhijit Bandyopadhyay were
especially useful. This kind of research sort of work ended with solutions and
methods of design which I followed in ongoing projects in different Power
Plants and Steel Plants. This was real application of my design approach in
many construction sites. At the end of the day I realize the more we learn, the
more will be our curiosity about newer things and learning never ends. An
inquisitive mind of an Structural Engineer always want to be assigned to the
challenging ,complex and unexplored areas of expertise.
It
took almost a decade to complete the book. Writing
a book involves lot of time,
patience and hard work, but publishing
technical book on offbeat topic
and author with unknown face is a herculean task especially in our country,
where publisher opts
to publish technical book that are syllabus focussed. Finally with no option
left, I published
my work with one I could find.
DETAILS OF BOOK
Publisher: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing (July 9,
2018)
Paperback: 224 pages
BLURB
"Handbook of Turbo generator foundation" is
developed for the learners having minimum background of the subject. The author
has attempted to keep a balance between fundamental theory, design procedure
and technical computation in a way that is accessible for every reader. The
mathematical illustration is limited to what is strictly necessary. Topic
covered includes model generation, loading ,dynamic
analysis procedure using computer aided design(CAD). The book brings the
subject fully up to date, including the latest trend & techniques.
Reference has been made to code of practice like DIN code, ACI code, Euro code,
IS code etc. Understanding of subject from Civil Engineering point of view,
albeit a good one, does not suffice for complete understanding of the subject . Keeping this aspect in mind ,
the author has introduced a chapter on " Know about Turbine, Generator,
its Auxiliaries and foundation" to provide better insight of the subject.
This book is primarily meant for designing table top foundation for
turbine-generator machinery. However the provision of the book can be suitably
used for design of foundation for other machines of similar types.