The Newspaper of The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka Vol. 47, No 04, April 2012

Registered at the GPO as a Newspaper No. QD/86 /NEWS/2011

ENGINEERING NEWSSRI LANKA

Established 1906

English is not ourMother Tongue

Very often we write reports, letters and sometimesarticles even to press without realizing we need to beextremely careful in not making mistakes. A recent

article that appeared in a news paper caught the eye of ourpast president and senior Engineer Jayantha Ranatunga, hein his desire to correct some simple mistakes that appeareddrew our attention and suggested that we do something toassist our engineers to improve their writing and languageskills.

I thank Eng. Ranatunga for his comments. I along with himstrive to improve the knowledge and language skills of ourengineers. We both conduct sessions to those who aspireto face the Professional Review exam. We can not afford tocut a bad picture in front of non professionals, who may bebetter in English due to various reasons.

Please don’t get me wrong! I am neither an English teachernor perfect in my English.

None of us were born to English parents (at least that iswhat I think!). English is not our mother tongue. So unlikeour mother tongue to which we are introduced from the daywe were born, we have to learn English like any other subject.So it is not a shame to admit that we are sometimes weak incertain subjects. Now for me, I can never draw art, so I amnot ashamed, but may be I am better in English than someonewho can draw well, so what is the big deal? Both of us arenot perfect. So my friends, we have to learn English. Recentlywhen I took over a new assignment many of my engineersand even others were not perfect in English. So I made anoffer to sponsor them to learn English many (some were past55 years) opted and they enrolled for many courses someeven leading to diplomas. What was the result? You can asksome of them...(if you know them). Most of the contractualand other letters are written by them and I hardly correctthem...I am so proud of them. They now write reports which

Contd. on page 8....

are so perfect. Sometimesthey even correct myletters… It is perfectly true,please feel free to ask them.

I along with Eng Ranatungado some sessions to IESLmembers. My Presentationis titled “How to make sensewhen we talk and write”Once again I tell you I amnot an English teacher so ifyou want to learn Englishdon’t ask me please getyourself enrolled in anEnglish class. Now there aremany who profess to teach

IESL holds Panel Discussion on‘Approach to Coastal RailwayLine Evacuation Plan under a

Tsunami Warning’

A panel discussion onthe theme “Approachto Coastal Railway

Line Evacuation Plan undera Tsunami Warning”, washeld at the IESL Auditoriumon 29th March 2012 withparticipation from top levelstakeholders from theDisaster ManagementCentre, MeteorologicalDepartment, Sri LankaRailways, academics ofUniversities, etc.Organizedby the Civil EngineeringSectional Committee of theIESL, the event was a follow-up to a previouspresentation under thesame title done in June 2011by Eng.(Dr.) NamaliSirisoma based on thefindings of a post-doctoralresearch project donejointly by Eng. (Dr.) NamaliSirisoma and Prof. S.CWirasinghe in the Universityof Calgary, Canada. In thisstudy, the South-Westcoastal railway line in SriLanka is analyzed to identifythe operation and evacuationof trains under a Tsunamiwarning. Safe railwaystations are identifieddepending on the stationelevation with respect to themean sea level, the capacityto store trains and thenumber of tracks. . Thenearest “safe” and “unsafe”railway stations for eachtrain, and the travel time tothem, are determined withrespect to the location anddirection of each train at thewarning time. At its initialpresentation in June 2011there have been requestsfrom the audience toimplement the projectfindings andrecommendations inassociation with the SriLanka Railway, DisasterManagement Centre, theDepartment of Meteorologyand other relevant bodies.This panel discussion hasbeen organized as the initialstep towards arriving atdecisions for itsi m p l e m e n t a t i o nincorporating inputs fromother stakeholders as well.

Pre- Avurudu-Tsunami Scare adds credence tocall for disaster preparedness – Barely two weeks

had passed since the IESL held the panel discussion on the

above theme under disaster preparedness when the third and

the most serious of Tsunami alerts since the actual Tsunami

Disaster of 2004 was announced and came to pass, thankfully,

without a Tsunami, on 11th April 2012, the day prior to the

Sinhala and Tamil New Year. The jitters of the ordinary people

notwithstanding claims are made of success of disaster

prevention measures put into effect. However true test of

effectiveness of those measures could be adjudged only in the

face of the full force of a Tsunami and not by a nonevent.

Instead there is danger in the complacency it portends.

Born out of a backdrop of anencounter with a naturaldisaster and the fear of itsrevisit, the urge to put in placemechanisms to circumventevents as happened beforeoffers unique opportunitiesboth in fore and hindsightedness to theproponents. The Indian OceanTsunami of 26th December2004,triggered by anundersea earthquake,measuring more than 9 in theRichter scale,epicentred inthe seas off the coast ofSumatra, Indonesia, broughtdeath and devastation tomany countries that had a seafront to the Indian Ocean.SriLanka was the second mostaffected with a death tollexceeding 31,000 andeconomic losses amountingto about one bill ion USDollars.While the generaldeath and destruction thattheTsunami brought about inthe country was horrific theincidence where a train full ofpassengers got entangledwith the Tsunami and met theirwatery death entrapped withinthe southbound train wasparticularly gruesome.Issues that arose out of thetrain tragedy at Peraliya onthat fateful day when over1000 passengers are believedto have lost their lives led to alot of soul searching amongpolicy makers, publictransport authorities, railwayengineers and other relevantbodies. Many were thequestions asked as to why thetragedy couldn’t have beenaverted. The answers that

were forthcoming showedbeyond doubt that thecountry’s railway transportsystem was not geared toaverting tragedies of suchscale and complexity as wasgenerally the case with allother systems in the countryup to that time. This no doubtweighed in large measure on

by Eng. Shavindranath Fernando

Contd. on page 8...

In this Issue

The Institution of EngineersSri Lanka

120/15, Wijerama Mawatha,Colombo 7, Sri Lanka.

Tel: 2685490, 2698426, 2699210

Fax: 2699202

E.mail: ed@sltnet.lk / iesl@slt.lk

Website: http://www.iesl.lk

Editorial............................... 4Puzzle of the....................... 5monthDemand Side Management... 6

Australian AlumniExcellence Award

2012

Eng. (Prof.) Ranjith Dissanayake, Professor in CivilEngineering, Dept, of Civil Engineering, University ofPeradeniya, has been awarded Australian EndeavourAward Alumni in 2012 for the Category of “AEI AustraliaEndeavor Award."

forwarded by Eng. W R M U WickramasingheUniversity Liaisons Officer, University of Peradeniya

Sri Lanka Engineering News - April 2012IESL NEWS2

Event Dates

♦♦♦♦♦Induction and Graduation Ceremony Saturday – August 18, 2012♦♦♦♦♦Dr. Ray Wijewardene Memorial Lecture Monday – August 20, 2012

♦♦♦♦♦E O E Pereira Memorial Lecture Thursday – September 13, 2012

♦♦♦♦♦D J Wimalasurendra Monday – September 17, 2012 Memorial Lecture♦♦♦♦♦Techno Exhibition Friday–Sunday October12-14, 2012♦♦♦♦♦Inauguration of the Annual Sessions Friday – October 19, 2012

♦♦♦♦♦Annual Sessions Seminar Saturday – October 20, 2012

♦♦♦♦♦Annual Field Visit Sunday – October 21, 2012

♦♦♦♦♦Presentation of Technical papers Monday-WednesdayOctober 22, 23 & 24, 2012

♦♦♦♦♦Presentation of Technical Papers Thursday - October 25, 2012 by Young Members

♦♦♦♦♦Dr. A N S Kulasinghe Thursday – October 25, 2012 Memorial Lecture♦♦♦♦♦Techno Awards Ceremony Friday – November 02, 2012♦♦♦♦♦Annual General Meeting Saturday – October 27, 2012

Note:

Associate Members who wish to apply for the Professional Review,are strongly advised to attend all Memorial Lectures and keep a recordof the attendance for any future reference.

FORTHCOMING ANNUALEVENTS CALENDAR - 2012

THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS,SRI LANKACompetition

on

“Water Resources Development andFuture Challenges- Role of Engineering

meeting Future Challenges of WaterResources Development in Sri Lanka”

Session 2011 / 2012Sponsored by

International Water Management Institute(IWMI)

We are pleased to announce that arrangements are being made for theforthcoming Competition on Water Resources Development sponsoredby IWMI towards the Annual Sessions of IESL in October 2012. Theprizes will be given for the two best Technical Papers under the abovementioned theme prepared for this competition by Associate Members& Corporate Members of IESL. Jointly authored papers will be accepted,provided at least one of the authors satisfies the above criteria. Papersmust be original and demonstrate the author’s knowledge and experienceof the subject. The award winning articles will be published in the journal,“Engineer” of the IESL.

Water is a vital input in industrial, energy, tourism, recreational, navigation,agriculture, forestry, livestock and fishery sectors. As water scarcitygrows, competition among sectors and users, and between the humanneeds and the environment intensifies. Effective and efficient watermanagement is therefore a prerequisite for sustainable socio-economicdevelopment.

The paper can address extraction, storage, distribution, use and disposalissues in any economic sector. It should illustrate how engineering andtechnology is applied in increasing productivity, in balancing supply anddemand of water and/or in reducing water pollution and protectingfreshwater ecosystems.

Preference will be given to papers of an empirical and analytical naturebased on primary and/or secondary data although papers addressingtopical issues through conceptual development may also be forwarded.

AWARDS & PRIZES(A) Rs. 45,000.00 - For members of IESL

over 35 years of age on 01 October2012

(B) Rs. 30,000.00 - For engineering graduates holdingmembership of IESL and 35 years of age andbelow on 01 October 2012007

Intention to participate in this competition should beintimated to us along with your bio-data & the full TechnicalPapers on or before 30 May 2012. IESL form IWMI/1 shouldbe used for this purpose.

Further information could be obtained from the Chairman,Steering Committee on Water Resources Development of TheInstitution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, on Tel: 072- 3421493 orPublicity Officer-IESL 011-2685490, 011-2698426 or 011-2699210, ext-232, 207, E-mail: dir.pub@iesl.lk,ieslpub@gmail.com, Fax : 011-2699202

NOTICEUPDATING DIRECTORIES OF STRUCTURAL

ENGINEERS ANDARBITRATORS - ADJUDICATORS

Copies of the directories of Structural Engineers and Ar-bitrators – Adjudicators are available with the IESL re-ceptionist. Action is being taken by the IESL to publishnew directories. Hence kindly make changes, if any, tothe information given by you to publish those directoriesenabling us to include them in the new directories.

To the Reference Collection01. Materials Handbook -15th Edition/ George S Brady,Clauser,H.R.&

Vaccari,J.A

02. Land Development Handbook: Planning,Engineering &Surveying-3rd.Edition/ Dewberry

03. Handbook Of Chemical Engineering Calculations-3rd.Ed./Chopey,Nicholas P-editor

04. Geotechnical Engineer’s Portable Handbook/Robert W.DaY

05. Construction Codes & Inspection Handbook /Gil L Taylor

06. Construction Waterproofing Handbook-2nd Edition/Michael,T.Kubal

07. Universal Design Handbook -2nd Edition/ Wolfgang, F.E &Korydon,H.Smith

08. Manufacturing Engineering Handbook /Hwaiyu Geng

09. Handbook of Die Design -2nd Edition/Ivana Suchy

10. CNC Machining Handbook : Building, Programming &Implementation/Alan Overby

11. Residential Ventilation Handbook : Ventilation to ImproveIndoor Air Quality/Paul H Raymer

12. Semiconductor Manufacturing Handbook/Hwaiyu Geng

13. Harris’ Shock & Vibration Handbook: 6th Ed. /Allan G.Piersol &Thomas, L Paez

14. Synthetic Fuels Handbook : Properties, Process &Performance

15. Handbook of Energy Engineering Calculations/Tyler,G.,Hicks –Editor

16. Electrical Equipment Handbook : Troubleshooting &Maintenance /Philip Kiameh

17. Electric Motor Handbook/Wayne Beaty & James L.Kirtley

18. Printed Circuits Handbook-6th Ed./Clyde F.Coombs

19. WiMAX Handbook : Building 802.17 Wireless Networks /FrankOhrtman

20. Practical Antenna Handbook-5th Ed. / Joseph J.Carr & GeorgeW.Hippisley

21. Standard Handbook of Video & Television – 4th Ed./ Jerry ,C.Whitaker & K.Blair Benson

22. The Six Sigma Performance Handbook : A Statistical Guide toOptimizing Results /Praveen Gupta

23. Identity : The Sri Lanka Architect /SLIA

Library NewsNew Additions to the

Library

Sri Lanka Engineering News - April 2012IESL NEWS 3

THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS,SRI LANKACompetition

on

“Eco Efficient Water Infrastructure for SustainableDevelopment – Experiences gained from

Integrated Water Resources InfrastructureDevelopment in Sri Lanka”

Session 2011/2012Sponsored by

St. Anthony’s Industries Group (Private) Ltd.(MANUFACTURERS OF ANTON PVC PIPES AND FITTINGS)

Two competitions will be held this year for the award of certificates and cash prizes. Thecompetition soliciting original Technical Papers on research and case studies are acceptedfrom members of IESL who are above 35 years.

There will also be another competition for members who are 35 years and below on 01October 2012. This competition is open to members of IESL and final year students ofFaculties of Engineering of Universities in Sri Lanka who are student members of IESLor who obtain such membership before submitting their technical papers.

AWARDS & PRIZESABOVE 35 YEARS ON 2012.10.01 35 YEARS AND BELOW ON

2012.10.01First Prize - Rs. 50,000/= First Prize - Rs. 25,000/=Second Prize - Rs. 25,000/= Second Prize - Rs. 15,000/=Third Prize - Rs. 10,000/= Third Prize - Rs. 5,000/=

The members (Fellows, Members, Associate Members, Associates, Companions andStudents) who wish to participate must obtain the application forms from IESL and submitbio data & full Technical Papers to reach the Executive Secretary, Institution of EngineersSri Lanka, No. 120/15, Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 07 on or before 30 May 2012.

Further information could be obtained from the Chairman, Steering Committee onWater Resources Development of The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, on Tel: 072-3421493 or Publicity Officer-IESL 011-2685490, 011-2698426 or 011-2699210,ext- 232 , 207, E-mail: dir.pub@iesl.lk, ieslpub@gmail.com, Fax : 011-2699202

Calling Applications:Professional Review – August/

September 2012For IESL Corporate

Membership (Charter)Completed Applications are accepted from

10th May to 15th June 2012

1. The eligibility requirement of ‘one year completion after theAssociate membership’ has been removed only for Aug / Sep2012 PR.

2. IESL application form E “for election/transfer as aMember” can be downloaded from the membership area ofthe website www.iesl.lk

3. Fees applicable for Professional Review by that time(10th May 2012 onwards) will be charged.

4. In your “Training & Experience Report”, Signature + Sealof the certifying Engineers are necessary.

5. The Log Book and the record of CPD must be submittedtogether with the Application and ‘Training and ExperienceReport’ before 15th June 2012.

6. Design or Project Report (as required) has to besubmitted before 15th July 2012.

7. A power point presentation of 20 minutes by thecandidate on his/her training and experience and Design/Project is required at the Interview time. (Details will begiven later)

8 Please read the “Revised Professional review Rules” inthe website for further details.

Membership Division -IESL

Sri Lanka Engineering News - April 2012IESL NEWS4

Lakshitha Weerasinghe, Editorlakshitha@ieee.org

Sri LankaEngineering News New Skills for Engineers

by Eng Sarath Chandrasiri

There is no doubt that the requirements of engineering education and the knowledgeand skills required by practicing engineers have undergone vast changes since thetime of our student days. Availability of sophisticated software such as Matlab, Autocad

and Mathcad means that engineers need not have skills such as mathematical skills,engineering drawing etc. to the same extent as in the past.

However, skills of a different kind, such as communication skills have become important formodern engineers. In our student days no one thought that negotiating skills should be partof the curriculum. We had to try and acquire them in the hard way, when the need arose.Today things are different. There are theories, standard methodologies and a whole gamut ofthings associated with these fields and they have to be taught in a formal way same assubjects like thermodynamics and hydraulics are taught. This is why, such subjects havebeen included in engineering curricula in many countries, though that has still not happenedin Sri Lanka.

Negotiating and debating skills may be considered as parts of what we call communicationskills. Wandering away from the field of engineering, we find that in Tibet, Buddhist monksare taught debating skills from a very young age, which may be considered as an essentialskill if they were to go out in to the wide world and spread the doctrine they believe in. Lackof formal knowledge in areas such as negotiating, debating and handling question and answersessions could be a serious handicap for anyone. Let take the art of answering questions asan example.

The Buddhist text, Pan’na Sutta in Majjima Nikaya, categorizes Questions in a manner thatis equally useful and relevant today as it had been twenty five centuries ago. In it, questionsare divided in to 4 categories, each of which should be handled with a different strategy. (1)Questions that may be answered simply with a Yes/No or similar brief and direct way. (2)Questions that need more detailed answers with definitions, redefinitions and elaboration.(3) Questions that are best answered by a counter-question. (4) Questions for which thebest response is absolute silence.

In day to day life, categories 3 & 4 can be conveniently used to gain time when you are in anembarrassing position, though that is not the purpose of these according to the Sutta. Onething that should never be done is to humiliate the questioner. Any disagreement should behandled with mutual respect so that the other party will not feel offended. Finding the truthshould be the objective of any such exercise.

There are also rules on what should be said and what should not be said. Untruths shouldnot be uttered. However, there is a category of untruth known as ‘white lies’ that do moregood than harm, which I feel, may be used since we are concerned here with the lay life asengineers. Even a truth should not be told, just because it happens to be the truth, withoutconsidering its potential effect, which is usually a mix of good and bad. Both aspects shouldbe weighed before speaking out. Finally, there is a time and place even for speaking the truthand these should be selected in such a way that damage is minimized and benefits aremaximized.

Letters to the Editor

wms fkdokak wjiaÓ;s rduqwms fkdokak wjiaÓ;s rduqwms fkdokak wjiaÓ;s rduqwms fkdokak wjiaÓ;s rduqwms fkdokak wjiaÓ;s rduq

ksõfgdakSh hdka;% úoHdfõ

uq,slu ^od¾Yksl& .eg¿jlajkafka ksrfmalaIK wjiaÓ;srduq .eg¿jh' ksõgkag wkqjiuia; úYajfha ish¨u oE bj;al< miq 'ksrfmalaIK wjiaÓ;srduqj' hkak ,efí' tfy;a thlsisod w;aú¢h yels fkdfõ'whskai aghska ;u idOdrKidfmalaI;djdoh u.ska uq,sljYfhka ms<s;=re §ug W;aidy.kafka fï ksrfmalaIK wjiaÓ;srduq .eg¿jgh'

ksõgkag wkqj wjiaÓ;s rduq^Inertial frames& hkq p= mffhÈh yels rduqh' ksrfmalaIKwjiaÓ;s rduqfõ ^Absolute in-ertial frame& p= mf fhÈh yelsw;r fuysÈ fï rduqj mqrd me;srmj;sk .%y jia;+ka f.ka we;sjk.=re;ajdl¾IK n, Ndysr n,f,i .; hq;=h' fuys§ we;eï.%yjia;=kaf.a msysgqï weiqfrkaf.dvke.sh yels rduq ^fïjdksrfmalaIK wjiaÓ;s rduqfõp,kh fõ&' wdikak jYfhkawjiaÓ;s rduq f,i ie,lshyelsh' tkï fuu rduqj, Bgmsgia;r .%y jia;=kaf.ka we;sjkn, Ndysr n, f,i fkdi,ld^tajd ke;ehs i,ld& fï rduq ;=<p= mf fhÈh yel' ^wdikakjYfhka& ksrfmalaIK wjiaÓ;srduqfõ fï rduqj ;ajrKh ùu

u.ska msgia;r .%y jia;=kaf.kawe;s n, ksIam%Nd flf¾' fïwdldrhg wm okakd fyd|uwjiaÓ;s rduqj iq¾hd iy wE;rdYs ;drldj,g idfmalaIjksYap, rduqj^la&h'

wmg wjYH kï mdf¾ hknihlg fï rduqjg idfmalaIjp= mf fhÈh yel' fï i|ydwm okakd fyd|u rduqj thhs'tfy;a w;sYh ixlS¾Kh' wfklaw;g tmuK ksrjoH;djhlafujeks lghq;= i|yd wjYHke;' B<.g we; s fyd|uwjiaÓ;s rduqj fmdf<dfõflakaøh" flakaø lr.;a iq¾hflakaøh iy fmdf<dfõ flakaøhhdlrk f¾Ldj iq¾hd jfÜfmdf<dj iy k,fha msysá Bg,ïNl f¾Ldj iy fï folgu,ïNl f¾Ldj u.ska iukaú;rduqjls' pkaøsldj, p,s;h" iq,siq,x we;súu isg wfma mdf¾ hknihl p,s;h olajd fï rduqjgidfmalaIj p= mf wmg wjYHksrjoH;djh ;=< fhÈh yel'Bg miq we;s fyd|u wjiaÓ;srduqj fmdf<dj iu. iúù we;srduqjh' fujeks rduq u.skapkaøsldj, p,s;h" iq,s iq,xwe;súu wdÈh ú.%y l< fkdyel'tfy;a mdf¾ niaj, p,s;hi|yd p= mf fhÈug fï rduqfyd|gu m%udKj;ah' fuys

uq,skau i|yka l< wjiaÓ;srduqfõ isg fï wjidk rduqjolajd .=re;ajdl¾IK n, iywod, p,s; i,lñka iy wod,wdikak lsÍï yryd meñKSuTskEu fõ,djl idOkh l<yel' wfma tÈfkod bxðfkarelghq;= i|yd wm fmdf<dj wod,wjiaÓ;s rduqj ̂ Inertial frame&f,i .kafka fï wdldrhgh'fuys§ fmdf<dj iu;, úu^flat earth& wdÈh ukia.d;muKh'

bxðfkarejka f,i wm ;ju;alghq;= lrkafka ksõfgdakShrduqfõh' ta wkqj p= mf fh§ugwod, wjiaÓ;s rduq ms<sn|j wmuekúka o; hq;=h' wfma jevlghq;= i|yd whskaiaghskaf.aidfmalaI;djdo j, m%;sM,t;rï jeo.;a ke;' ta m%;sM,iy ksõfgdakSh m%;sM, w;rfjki wmg m % dfhd a. sljlsisfia;a jeo.;a ke;'

fufiau hdka;% úoHdj ̂Mechan-ics& ms<sn|jo wm ieu oek.;hq;=h' my; oelafjkafka iu;,ud¾.hl .uka lrk jdykhls'th ;ajrKh fõ ̂ f& fuys§ N%uKm%;sfrdaOh ̂Rolling Resistence&iy jd; m %; sfrd aOh ^airresistence& wu;l l<fyd;a tau; fhfok rEmfha mßÈ fõ'

7 jeks msgqjg'''''

jr,; a bxðfkare lm s, m Sßi a úi sk s 'jr,; a bxðfkare lm s, m Sßi a úi sk s 'jr,; a bxðfkare lm s, m Sßi a úi sk s 'jr,; a bxðfkare lm s, m Sßi a úi sk s 'jr,; a bxðfkare lm s, m Sßi a úi sk s '

Soft skills and smarttechnologies!

Two articles that appear in this issue of the

SLEN, emphasizes the need for

developing the non-engineering skills of

today's Engineers. The importance of striking a

proper balance between the engineering skills,

often termed as the “Hard Skills” possessed by

engineers and their non-engineering skills such

as communication skills, leadership skills,

personality traits, personal habits, termed as “Soft

Skills”, has been widely discussed among

academic circles for some time. Engineers with

soft skills are increasingly sought after by

employers of today. In this backdrop, the

universities too nowadays attempt to

accommodate more and more modules in their

curricular with a view to increasing the softer skill

component of their engineering graduates so as

to meet the growing demand from the industry.

Professional bodies too have been paying more

attention to the assessment of non-engineering

skills of their members when awarding

professional qualifications. Thus, the prominence

given to softer skills is quite obvious. On the other

hand, computers and the so called “smarter”

technologies prevent present day practicing

engineers from applying their knowledge of

fundamentals of engineering in their day to day

work to the same degree as did the engineers of

yesteryear.

This has a twofold effect. Young engineers

graduating from universities today come out with

a reduced proportion of taught hard engineering

knowledge and the opportunities they get in their

careers to expose themselves to core engineering

principals too are getting fewer. Thus we have to

be smart enough to ensure that Smart

Technologies of today will not be replacing the

smart engineers of tomorrow.

Sri Lanka Engineering News - April 2012IESL NEWS 5

Puzzle - 49 Solution for PuzzleNo. 45 A & BMagic Boxes of Planet X

Correct answer must be sent by email to cebos@ceb.lk with copies topuzzleguru.lk@gmail.com. Please indicate your name, membership number and dateof birth along with the answer. Also indicate the puzzle number in the subject line ofthe email. A list of readers who gave the correct answer along with the solution will bepublished in the May 2012 issue of the SLEN

Puzzle 45 A - The Easy OneCorrect solution: Count the number of approximate circlesin the 4 digits of the given numbers. Using this method theanswer for 2581 is 2.Correct solutions were sent by:Samiththamby Thileepan (A/M 11574)G.A. L. R. Perera. (AM 10750)Pubudu NiroshanMenaka DevarajaW.A.R. VinodaniM.H.A.R. P. Appuhamy (A/M 10476)Luxarius De Silva

Puzzle 45 B - The Hat Puzzle:Correct solutions were sent by:W.A.R. Vinodani (AM – 10364)Lanka PereraPubudu NiroshanS.P Gunasekara (AM12034)M.H.A.R. P. Appuhamy (A/M 10476)W.J.L. Dhanushka I. Wikramasinghe

Parity Check: The solution is based on what electronic andcommunication engineers know as ‘parity check’. Paritycheck is the simplest form error detection code that is usedfor verifying digital data is received without errors. I am surethat all engineers know about this technique irrespective oftheir disciplines. The technique involves sending an additionalbit (called the parity bit) to make the total number of 1’s inthe binary data word odd (or even). Depending on whetherthe choice is odd or even the parity check is called an oddparity system or an even parity system.

In the case of the hat color competition, the team adopts amethod similar to this to be used by the first one to answer(the last in the line). Let us say that they decide to apply aneven parity scheme based on the number of red hats, a redhat is similar to the binary digit ‘1’ and a black hat to a ‘0’.The first person to answer can see all of his other team matesin front of him. If the number of red hats he sees is odd, thenhe says RED, which is similar to adding an even parity bit toa binary number. If the number of red hats is even then hesays ‘Black’.

Once this is done, the others can work out their color one byprogressively without any ambiguity. For example if the firstanswer is ‘RED’, then the 15th competitor will know there arean odd number of red hats from 1 to 15. Thus if he also seesan odd number of hats in front of him, then his color must beBlack. On the other hand if he sees an even number of redhats, then his color must be Red. The same strategy is usedby the other competitors. It has to be noted that the answersthat competitors 1 to 15 give, contain parity information, inaddition to the correct color of the hat. All except the firstcompetitor give correct answers (100% accuracy). In addition,there is a 50% chance that the first answer is also correct.Thus your team would get at least 15 answers right and theprobability of the first answer being correct is 50%.

The Oldest Known Error Detection Code?: Islamicresearchers describe an interesting method that they claimhas been found for preventing the corruption of the contentsof the Holy Koran. What has been used is a prime numbermethod, 19 being the number that has been selected. Thiscould be one of the earliest, if not the earliest, method oferror checking code invented by man.

The number of Suras (A Sura being a chapter in the HolyKoran), the number of words in any Sura, the number of lettersin any Sura are all multiples of the prime number 19. The factthat is a rather high value prime number is what makes itwork so well. If any one adds or removes a word from a Suraor changes it to a word with a different number of letters, thechange would be immediately detectable. Any would becorruptor has to make the changes in multiples of 19, whiletrying to make sense, which would be an extremely difficulttask.

Note: As requested by some readers, we are publishingsolutions for two puzzles in this issue in order to catch upand avoid the solutions published being too old.

Puzzle Guru Sarath ChandrasiriPuzzle Guru Sarath ChandrasiriPuzzle Guru Sarath ChandrasiriPuzzle Guru Sarath ChandrasiriPuzzle Guru Sarath Chandrasiri

At the outset itself, I want to assure readers that, despite the presenceof switches and LED’s, this is not an electrical puzzle at all.Nevertheless, it is a puzzle of great importance as you will see at

solution time. The puzzle is about Earthan Magician Lahin, who claims that he had receivedsome magic boxes from Planet X. He showed me two sets of identical boxes (Let us call thetwo sets A & B) made of some strange opaque material. Each set was numbered from 1 to100. Each box has 3 switches marked 1, 2 and 3, which are normally in the OFF position.There are also 2 LED’s, one RED and the other GREEN, mounted on each box as shown inthe Fig.

The boxes are claimed to work like this:

i. Press any Switch K1 (K1= 1, 2 or 3) in Box N(N=1,2, …. or 100) of Set A: One of the LEDs inBox N flashes once randomly.

ii. Now press same switch K1 in Box N of Set B :The LED of opposite color to that of (i) above flashesonce. This is a predictable event. (i.e.) if Red flashedin (i) Green will flash in (ii) and vice versa.

Note: If you interchange A & B sets (i.e. Substitute A for Band B for A) in the above rules, they still work.

Lahin’s claims that the the boxes with the same number are connected in some mysteriousway through a fundamental force completely unknown to Earthlings, but of course well knownto Xans, he adds sarcastically.

My Theory: I checked several boxes myself and they followed the behaviour describedabove exactly. But whether it was due to a mysterious connection between same numberedboxes of the two sets, or due to the way the LED’s were wired to the switches, cannot beascertained. It was quite possible that the LED’s and Switches of boxes bearing the samenumber are wired internally in such a way that their LED’s light up in the way described. Mytheory is illustrated for Box 15 in the Fig below, assuming a R-R-G connection for Box 15 Aand the complementary G-G-R connection for 15 B:

The convention R-R-G means that the Switches 1, 2, 3 are connected to operate the R, Rand G LED’s respectively. Although I am assuming this particular pair of connections for thebox pair 15, any other complementary pairs such as (R-R-R & G-G-G), (R-G-R & G-R-G)etc. are equally valid. The single flash can be explained by assuming that the circuit fuseblows on the first operation.

Though Lahin claims that the first event of a pair of boxes is random, it cannot be proven tobe so, as a given box can produce only one flash. To check randomness, we should be ableto test a given box many times by operating a given switch repeatedly. Similarly, to testwhether a pair of events is related, we should be able to make them happen many times – inthis case using the same pair of boxes. Repetition is not possible in this case because thetested boxes lock up after the first flash.

Internals: Secondly, the internals cannot be examined because of the self destruct mechanismbuilt in to each box. If you try to open up any box the internals are destroyed and becomeunrecognizable. All external examinations are useless as the box material is opaque to allforms of fields, waves and vibrations known to us Earthans such as X-rays, Ultrasonics etc.

I was certain that the whole thing was a hoax. But there was no way I could conclusivelyprove that it was so under the constraints mentioned above.

On the other hand, neither could Lahin prove that it was genuine. There the matter rests atpresent in a complete stalemate. It was like someone claiming that the color of his eyes isblue, when no one is looking at them, and black when they are being looked at. Here too, wecannot prove that the conjecture is either right or wrong.

The fact that I could not think of a way of proving or disproving Lahin’s claim does not meanthat it cannot be done. Perhaps our readers may find a way of doing it. The fact that you have100 pairs of boxes to play with offers a way to solve the problem. Have a go at it. It is goingto be very interesting. Don’t worry about how many boxes you use or destroy. Planet X hasenough magic boxes to burn.

Happy Puzzling to ALL!!!

Puzzle Guru Sarath ChandrasiriPuzzle Guru Sarath ChandrasiriPuzzle Guru Sarath ChandrasiriPuzzle Guru Sarath ChandrasiriPuzzle Guru Sarath Chandrasiri

Sri Lanka Engineering News - April 2012IESL NEWS6

Demand Side Management Options for the next two decadesby Eng. Bandula S. Tilakasena

Additional General Manager (Corporate Strategy)CEYLON ELECTRICITY BOARD

Introduction

The world was very muchdifferent from ours,when Thomas Alva

Edison patented his ElectricityDistribution Network in 1880.As opposed to those times,we do not have clean air tobreath; we do not have acid-free downpours; we also do nothave the protection of theozone cover that Edison had.One of the prime causes ofatmospheric pollution is theelectricity production of theaffluent countries. Then, we donot work adequately to burnthe kilo Calories we eat, maybe due to many electricconveniences we have in ourlives; we take no care ofwastage, be it electricity or anyother thing or resource. Thisprogressive series of humanactivity and inactivity goes onand on.

Two years after Edison’sPatent, which was in 1882, theCeylonese had seen theelectric light for the first time,from SS Helios, a GermanShip sailed in to the ColomboHarbour in June that year.

Twenty years later in 1902,Boustead Brotherscommenced operating aprivate scheme ofelectrification in Colombo, witha 3 MW Power Station atPettah. Subsequently, thelocal authorities in Kandy,Veyangoda, Gampaha, Jaelaand few other towns alsostarted their own electricitysupply schemes.

Today, 110 years later,navigating through manysocial, political and economiccross roads, we have anintegrated electricity networkcovering 92% of thehouseholds of Sri Lanka; aninstalled generating capacityover 3,100 MW; and, about250,000 km of transmissionand distribution lines. Verysoon, these wires would runacross the Palk Strait. Thereare over 4.7 million electricityconsumers in Sri Lanka today,who collectively consumemore than 32 million units ofelectricity on an average day,and their annual demand in2011 reached 10,000 millionunits, for the first time in thehistory.

Focus on Consumer andNon-finance Aspects

For the certain, 100% of SriLanka’s households will havean electricity connection wellbefore 2020. In the backdrop

of Sri Lanka’s 100%electrification, the toppriority for the utilities wouldshift to the reliability ofsupply. The utilities arelikely to address thereliability issues throughautomation of distributionnetwork control and bydevelopment ofinterconnected networktopologies. In essence,electricity consumers willexperience lesser andlesser interruptions, andhopefully it would comedown in order soon tominutes per annum, fromthe present hours perannum.

We now have the Sri LankaElectricity Act No. 20 of2009. This act, for the firsttime, has recognized therights of the electricityconsumers. In the light ofthese technical andlegislative developments,rights and obligations of theconsumers are given duefocus without solelyfocusing on the financialaspects of the industry.This undue focus had beengiven to financial aspects ofthe industry, at the cost ofconsumer services andinnovation. Now,environment has alsobecome a business factor,not only to the utilities, butalso for many otherbusinesses. Carbon Tradeand Green Certificateswould be a factor of SriLanka’s commercial activitysoon. The initiatives takenby the Electricity Utilities inthese directions are likelyto bear fruits by 2020, orearlier.

Future Generation Mix

Today we begin to see achange to the mix ofelectricity generatingsources. From the hydrop o w e r - d o m i n a t e dgeneration mix of the1980’s, we passed an eraof oil-dominated generationmix, and since 2011, weaccommodated coal in ourgeneration mix. The annualshare of hydro powergeneration has reduced to57%. But what has goneunnoticed is the increasingshare of wind power in thesystem. Today, we have 33MW of wind powergeneration and annuallythey contribute about 90GWh to the network.Though it constitutes amere 0.8% of the annualdemand, in the light ofgenerous incentives

provided and with the impendingremoval of the interconnectivityrestrictions, by 2020, windpower will have a larger shareof generation mix.

We are also beginning to seeenergy efficiency as analternative “fuel” for thegeneration mix. So far, energyefficiency has come at a largepremium. But now,technologies are emerging tomanage the response of theconsumer demand.

Generally response of thedemand could be managed by:

• Overall demandreduction - which refers tomeasures which reduce energyconsumption, the typical targetof many efficiencyprogrammes;

• Static peak reduction -which encompasses measureswhich enable changes to bemade to the profile of demandto alleviate system peaks.Obvious examples of this arestatic time-of-use tariffs andinterruption contracts; and

• Flexible measureswhich allow demand, or load,to be shifted in response tosystem condition on the day,such as dynamic time-of-usetariffs and system operatorinterruption contracts

Managing DemandResponse in the Future

Smart Meters with time-basedmeasurements and two-waycommunication allows frequentdata exchange between theMeter and the Utility, whileallowing the customers to havetimely and easily accessibleinformation on their usage.

Today, all Domestic ElectricityCustomers are on flat averagetariffs. Their tariffs do not varyby the time-of-use or season,no matter how much it costs to

generate and deliverelectricity. These costsand the reliability of thegrid fluctuate as thedemand on system risesand falls. All of Sri Lanka’sIndustrial and high-endGeneral Purposecustomers are alreadyprovided with metershaving time-basedmeasurement, many withremote reading capability.These customers can nowtake advantage of tariffoptions that reduce theirbills. These options arenow available for themthrough the mandatorystatic time-of-use tariff. Inthe future, we will seedynamic time-of-use tariff,through smart meteringoptions. Smart meterswith communicationcapability in the future,would manage thedemand response fromthe customer base.

These Smart Meters willhave the capability for thesystem operator tointervene in managementof the consumer demand,so that overall cost ofelectricity delivery isreduced. By this, thesystem operator would beenabled to dispatch hislow-cost generating plantor deploy renewableenergy plants optimally.This would overcome thepresent issue withintermittent renewableresources that theiravailability does notaccord with the customerdemand.

Self-management ofdemand by theConsumer

On the other hand, thedomestic consumers aremore sensitive to pricesignals, but have lessdiscretionary electricityuse that could be shifted

about. But the price signalsthrough dynamic time-of-usetariff can be effective tomanage the demand of theselow-end consumers as well.These consumers shouldhave the option to choosetime-based pricing rather thanproviding fully-fledged SmartMeters to all of them.However, the economics ofproviding such Meters to allcustomers would be arelevant factor, although thepresent road map envisagesproviding static time-of-usetariff to all by 2016.

Such self-management ofdemand and electricity costsby the Consumer will bring awhole host of timers, sensorsetc. into normal householdwiring in the future. Tofacilitate this self-management process, allenergy-intensive appliancesmust be made to havemandatory Energy EfficiencyLabels, to arm the electricityconsumers with energyefficiency information on theappliances they use. Thepresent Energy EfficiencyLabelling would soon extendto Domestic Refrigerators.And commercial AirConditioners must followsoon. In the near future, allelectrical appliances withstand-by operational optionwill have a limit on stand-bypower they consume.

New means of usingelectricity

There are new means of usingelectricity emerging today, atleast for Sri Lankans. Wenow have hybrid cars on theroad. We will soon have plug-in versions of electric vehicleson road, which would presentan entirely different operatingequation for the utilities anddomestic consumers. Use ofelectricity for BatteryCharging is therefore

Contd. on page 7...

Generation mix 2011

Sri Lanka Engineering News - April 2012IESL NEWS 7

expected to rise at least for thepurposes of electric vehicles.That will be the time formanaging demand response ofthe domestic customers. I amoptimistic that time wouldcome to Sri Lanka before2020.

However, we need todiscourage the use ofconventional UPS, where theefficiency of conversion ofelectrical energy to chemicalenergy and back is a highlyinefficient process. We shouldstrive to achieve anuninterrupted public electricityservice, thus avoiding resort tothis inefficient process.

Another new use of electricity,as far as Sri Lanka isconcerned, is electrification ofrailway and mass urbantransport. This demand wouldheavily contribute to the day-time demand. This activityshould commence with energyefficiency as a prime feasibilityconsideration.

Consumer attitudes towardsenergy efficiency

Currently, the consumerdemand responsemanagement is effectivelydone only through pricesignals. Even in 2030, this isunlikely to change. Publicity isimportant for targetinghouseholds, but it is observedthat the effect of advertising initself is short-lived. Othermeans are usually required inorder to maintain consumers’interest. Under many programsit has been found that smalland medium sized enterprisesdo not have the appropriateresources, or did not seeenergy consumption assufficiently high priority toparticipate in conservationschemes.

NEW CPD COURSESNEW CPD COURSESNEW CPD COURSESNEW CPD COURSESNEW CPD COURSESScheduled Courses

COURSEON “SAFETY & HEALTH

MANAGEMENT – May 2012

Proposed New Courses

1. Mechanical Engineering Stream:

1. Advanced Rotating EquipmentManagement

2. Sustainable Design Innovations in VerticalTransportation

3. Natural Ventilation of buildings as a factortowards reduction of Greenhouse

emissions4. HVAC system design for humid climates

2. Civil Engineering Stream:

Concrete Technology - Prof Anura Nanayakkara -

12th May 2012

3. IT Engineering stream: New-Generation Internet Services - by Varuna

Gamage

4. Course on Green Building Technology

For registration and details, contactthe Education & Training Division.

DIRECTOR (EE&T)Tel. 0112 698426, Ext. 209/210/211

E-Mail. deetiesl@sltnet.lk; Fax : 0112 699202

Contd. from page 6...

Demand Side ...

Energy-efficient buildingdesigns

However, the futureconsumer would havemany options at hisdisposal to respond to theprice signals. One of mainoptions the consumerswould have would bethrough the knowhow ofthe energy efficientbuildings. The futureelectricity consumer wouldbe more knowledgeable onhow to design comfortablebuildings without airconditioning, how naturallight could be usedeffectively, about energyefficient lighting sourcesand luminaires. In addition,the commercial buildingswould be more inclinedtowards having buildingenergy managementsystems. They also will findit cost-effective to switchover from electricity toother renewable sources ofenergy.

Energy-efficient buildingdesigns are nowadaysbecoming a theme even tothe Architects, who were

earlier mainly focussed onaesthetics of buildingdesign. The building-integrated Photo VoltaicPanels on roofs, walls,even on window glasseswould increasingly be usedin building designs of thefuture. Similarly, micro-scale wind powergeneration or bio massenergy will bring down thedemand for electricity orfossil fuels for domesticuse in the future.

Smart Grids

A Smart Grid is a type ofelectrical grid whichattempts to predict andintelligently respond to thebehaviour and actions of allparties connected to it -Generators, consumersand those that do both–inorder to efficiently deliverreliable, economic, andsustainable electricityservices.

We had small embeddedgenerators in the DistributionNetwork since 1995. Now wehave Net Metering facilitiesoffered to the customers todeliver even smallerquantities of generation tothe network. This was foundto be a better option formicro-level renewablesources, and, the distributionnetwork would soon becomea collection grid for suchdistributed micro generation,and would eventually becomeSmart Grids.

Since the future tendency ofmeeting the domesticelectricity demand is throughdistributed networks, theenergy storage optionsassociated with smart gridswould also be relevant. Theadvances taking place inenergy storage technologieswould also be utilized here.Another storage optionactively pursued nowadaysfor domestic use is recycledEV (electric vehicle)batteries. With the advent ofelectric vehicles, this wouldalso supplement the micro-generation at distributedlevels.

In these distributednetworks, there will be morescope for efficient lightingtechnologies, thus improvingthe efficiency of the overalldistributed network.

Electricity deliverynetwork in 2030

The electricity deliverynetwork in 2030 would berequired to cater for anestimated customer peakdemand of 7,300 MW and32,000 GWh. The Grid wouldhave to have an installedcapacity of at least 8,000MW. We may also see400kV transmission Voltagein the network. Also we wouldhave a 500 kV HVDCconnection made betweenAnuradhapura and Maduraiin India. This connectionwould provide a first-timeexperience of constructionand operation of a HVDCsubmarine connection for theEngineers of Sri Lanka andIndia.

4 jeks msgqfjka''' wms fkdokak''''wms fkdokak''''wms fkdokak''''wms fkdokak''''wms fkdokak''''

F

F

wa

бR1R2

INDUCTION AND GRADUATIONCEREMONY – 2012

will be held on

August 18, 2012 (Saturday) at 5.00 p.m.

At the Waters Edge, Battaramulla.

=ialkaO flakaøh

m = jdykfha ialkaOhF =m%l¾Yk n,h(Fraction force)

R1, R2 bÈßmi iy m sg qmi frd ao u; m %; sl % shdfuu jdykh ksYap, úg jvd th ;ajrKh jk úg R1 wvqjkR2 jeä fõ' fufia jkafka F n,h ialkaO flakaøh olajdm%;sia:dmkh flrefï§ we;sjk F a hq.auh ksid kï fkdfõ'

fuu uk#l,ams; n, m%;sia:dmkh ksid jia;=j u; wuq;=fjkalsisjla isÿfkdfõ' tfia jkafka kï tu m%;sia:dmkh jerÈh'

tfy;a fuf,i R1 wvq ù R2 jeä jkafka ;ajrKh ùfï§ wod<wjiaÓ;s n,h ̂mf& ialkaO flakaøh yryd msgqmig l%shd;aul jkksidh'

hdka;% úoHdj ksjerÈj fkdoek kkafovúu w;sYh nrm;<h'

Sri Lanka Engineering News - April 2012IESL NEWS8

SOLUTION FOR PUZZLE-44(PIRATE PROBLEM)

3 correct solutions were received from readers out of whichone was from a non-member and hence it cannot be considered.However, the fact that non-members sending in solutions issomething we can be happy about. The following is the writeup sent by the Dewmini Gamlath, presenter of this puzzle.

Solution No. 1 - Nissanka Rajapaksa (M – 1679)Solution No. 2 - Buddhika De Silva (AM – 10556) Date of Birth:08.08.1970

However, both Solution No. 1 and Solution No. 2 are identical,as they follow the same logic. Still, it is slightly different frommy version of the solution. I can compare the logic as follows:

Therefore, in my opinion, this solution CAN BE ACCEPTEDAS AN ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION. However, my version of thesolution is as follows:1st – 98, 3rd – 1, 5th – 1

In fact, this logic is reflected in Solution No. 3. However, althoughthe contributor (who is a non-member) has figured out the logiccorrectly, he has not been able to provide an acceptable finalsolution.

Eng Dewmini GamlathEng Dewmini GamlathEng Dewmini GamlathEng Dewmini GamlathEng Dewmini GamlathContd. from page 1...English and I have sometimes heard them in Television andradio advertising themselves, some of them are real humbugs.Once I was listening to an advertisement and he very comfortablysaid “I am going to go” and said the meaning in Sinhala “I amabout to go!!” alas I pity those who learn from such a humbug.

I also do a session on “What is our role as an engineer.” Wesenior engineers criticise young engineers. We tell they areselfish, they are irresponsible, they lack basic engineering skillsetc etc. Do we realise that they have been brought up in a differentenvironment than us. In a highly competitive environment if youshare the solution to a math tutorial in the advance level class,you may lose a seat in the university… it is sad but true, so canwe blame them if they are selfish? We have to instill in themvalues of a good engineer it is our duty as senior engineers.

“ Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’sgrowth without destroying his roots”

I trust I just did that.

the authors’ decision totake up the above studyand the interest shown bystake holders to carry itfurther towardsdevelopment of apracticable preventive andsafety mechanism asevidenced by theirattendance at this paneldiscussion.

Chairman of the CivilEngineering SectionalCommittee of the IESL,Eng. WasalaBandara in hisopening address tracedthe activities that hadpreceded the current paneldiscussion and the valuablesupport received to takeforward the idea to thiscurrent stage. President,IESL, Eng. (Dr.) AnandaRanasinghe in his addressstressed the importance ofthe subject matter to bediscussed at the paneldiscussion mentioning thatit’s difficult to have allfacilit ies for disasterprevention in one place andhence the significance ofcommunicating among theoperators of themechanism.

English is not....

Those participated as panelmembers in the paneldiscussion were Eng.(Dr.)Namali Sirisoma –Aerodrome Engineer, CivilAviation Authority of Sri Lanka,Major General GaminiHettiarachchi (Retd) —Director General, DisasterManagement Centre, Mr.G,H,P Dharmaratne – FormerDirector General, Departmentof Meteorology, Sri Lanka, Mr.D.J.A Weerawardana —Deputy Director, Departmentof Meteorology, Sri Lanka, Dr.J.J Wijethunga, Dept. of CivilEngineering, University ofPeradeniya, Mr.A.T.L.P.Samarasinghe, Deputy ChiefEngineer, Sri Lanka Railways.Professor T. Hettiarachii –Former Vice Chancellor,University of Colomboperformed the role of thefacilitator of the paneldiscussion and the Q & ASession that followed.Invited to make a 30 minuteintroduction of the study andits findings Eng. (Dr.) NamaliSirisoma began with astatement referring to theJapanese earthquake of 11th

March 2011 that the JapaneseTrains were able to be shutdown within a few minutes ofreceiving news of anearthquake occurring in theseas off the coasts of Japan.The loss of lives due to theearthquake and the Tsunami

that followed were thus ableto be restricted to a greatextent due to thepreparedness of theauthorities and the peoplein Japan as awhole.Whether intended ornot the statement was asubtle reminder thatperhaps more could havebeen done to avert the localtrain disaster and its heavycost of lives. It set the tonefor the professional andfocused panel discussionthat followed. While therewas a happy confluence ofopinion towards theimplementation of thefindings andrecommendations of thestudy the discussionsfocused on modalities andrefinement that would beneeded for its success.Thus,utilization of newtechnologies for moreupdated inundation maps,creation of awareness ofemergency proceduresamong passengers throughsign / notice boards in allstations, possibilities forpublic address systems,Driver - guardcommunication, CentralElectronic RailwayTracking, Evacuation PlanRehearsal, ExtremeSituation etc. were thesubject of discussions withtheir current status and theneed for improvements.

Contd. from page 1...

IESL holds ....

THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, SRI LANKA

PREPARATION OF A DIRECTORYOF ENGINEERS

The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL) considering the statutory requirements ofthe authorities and the current needs of the industry has already taken steps to preparethe following Directories of Engineers who are Members of the IESL:1) Directory of Structural Engineers (already prepared to fulfill a part of the requirements

of the Urban Development Authority Law No. 41 of 1987)

2) Directory of Adjudicators and Arbitrators (under preparation on the initiative of IESL)

3) Directory of Building Services Engineers (under preparation to fulfill a part of therequirements of the Urban Development Authority Law No. 41 of 1987)

4) Directory of Information Technology and Communication Engineers (under preparation

on the initiative of IESL)

IESL has also decided to prepare a Directory of Engineers who are not included

under the above disciplines and the applications are hereby called for

registration.

Notice to Applicants1. Duly filled applications would be referred to a Panel of Senior Engineers consisting

of experts in the relevant discipline for evaluation. The Members of the Panel during

their evaluation will take into consideration about the Applicant’s knowledge and

experience in each area of expertise he has applied for.

2. If necessary the applicant would be called for a discussion with the panel.

3. The IESL will maintain confidentiality of your information and shall not transfer any

such information to a third party without your consent.

4. The application and other documents submitted will not be returned to you.

5. Registration of your name in the Directory does not amount to any commitment or

assurance on the part of IESL to deploy you in a particular assignment

6. The application form could be collected from the reception desk at the Institution or

by sending an email request to des.edu@iesl.lk.

Sri Lanka Engineering News - April 2012IESL NEWS 9

Mechanical Engineering Sectional Committee Field Visit toYugadanavi Power Plant – 300MW CCPP at Kerawalapitiya

On 3rd March 2012, twenty three members of IESL, including Eng.Madhawa Perera (Fellow IESL) and Mechanical Engineering SectionalCommittee(MESC) Office bearers; Eng.Asantha Sumanarathna(Chairman), Eng.Ganesh Dahanayake(Vice Chairman), Eng.JanakaRathnakumara(Secretary), Eng.Janitha Ekanayake(Assistant Secretary), Eng.Sudath Pathmal(Social Secretary) participated in the field visit to

Yugadanavi Power Plant followed, by a Presentation sponsored by McLarens Lubricants Ltd.

At Yugadanavi, all the members were warmly welcome by power plant officials & thereafter aninformative presentation about Power Plant basics & performance was delivered by the PlantManager; Eng.Indika Keerthirathna. Then, members visited the Power Plant premises underthe guidance of Power Plant Operations Engineers. All the key areas/equipments which includes;Fuel Unloading & Storage Yard, Fuel Treatment Plant, Sea Water Treatment Plant, Heat Re-covery Steam Generators, Gas Turbine Generators, Step-up Transformers, Steam TurbineGenerator, Sea Water Cooling Tower & Central Control Room were visited while operationsengineers comprehensively explained each component & its’ function.

Yugadanavi is a CombinedCycle Power Plant with 2+2+1configuration & Multi Shaft De-sign. Which means, the powerplant consists of Two Gas Tur-bines with their own directlycoupled generators [GTGs],Two Heat Recovery Steam Gen-erators [HRSGs] & OneSteam Turbine with its’ owndirectly coupled generator[STG]. The Prime Movers of thepower plant; Gas Turbines[GTs] from GE, France, are ofHeavy Duty Design with multifuel burning capability. Theycan be operated either withGas fuel or with Liquid Fuel.Natural Gas [NG] is used asGas Fuel while Heavy Fuel Oil[HFO] is used as primary Liq-uid Fuel. Distillate Oil [DO] isused as a secondary/back upLiquid Fuel. At present GTs areoperated with HFO. All the nec-essary auxiliaries are readilyinstalled to accept NG, once itis available in Sri Lanka. TheHRSGs use the heat energyof the GTs exhaust gas to pro-duce steam at elevated pres-sure with superheated tem-perature, & the Steam TurbineGenerator [STG] is driven byso generated steam. EachGas Turbine Generator pro-duces 100MW while SteamTurbine Generator produceslittle higher than 100MW ofelectrical power. Thereby, thetotal generation of this powerplant exceeds 300MW of elec-trical power. Yugadanavi PowerPlant has been engineered,procured & constructed (EPC)by Lakdhanavi Ltd.; the lead-ing power sector engineeringcompany steered by local tal-ents. It has been commis-sioned & connected to nationalgrid in two stages namely“simple cycle” & “combinedcycle” in year 2008 & 2010 re-spectively. Since then, this isoperated & maintained in su-perb condition by the samecompany; Lakdhanavi Ltd.

by Eng. Janaka RathnakumaraHonorary Secretary Mechanical Engineering Sectional Committee

This visit revealed that; thisis the first & only HFO firedCombined Cycle PowerPlant in Sri Lanka. Due tothe fact it generates elec-trical energy at a muchlower cost compared to theother combined cyclepower plants in the coun-try. Further, this is the first& only Power Plantequipped with sea watercooling tower & sea waterdesalination plant (the larg-est in the country).

Yugadanavi being the larg-est combined cycle powerplant propped up by its’higher availability & reliabil-ity, delivers more than 15%of daily energy demand ofthe country. Considering allthese facts, we shouldmention with no hesitationthat; the Yugadanavi is amaster-piece of engineer-ing in this era which hasbeen perfectly engineered,constructed & operated bytalented local engineers at

Lakdhanavi Ltd. as per thetimely energy requirements ofthe Sri Lanka in her way to-wards development.

After enjoying the tastyrefreshment offered by powerplant personnel, all themembers proceeded towardsthe Presentation byMcLarens Lubricants Ltd.held at Palm Village Hotel.The presentation titled as“Introduction to Lubricants”,was an interactive sessiondelivered by the Director of

McLarens Lubricants;Mr.Hemantha Varnasooriyatogether with his colleagueMr.Ranga Disanayake(Distributor Lube Engineer).

The key objective of the semi-nar was to present a brief re-garding the fundamentals ofGrease and Lubrication oil. Itexplained in detail; how thelubricants are produced, thebasic types of lubricants,functions of lubricants, de-sired properties of lubricants,

how these properties areachieved, classification oflubricants, selection ofmost suitable lubricant asper various application re-quirements & testing of lu-bricants etc. McLarens Lu-bricants Ltd. is a subsidiaryof diversified conglomerate,

McLarens Group, whichhas firmly anchored its’ op-erations across shipping,logistic, manufacturing,trading, property develop-ment and the hotel indus-try. McLarens Lubricants isthe sole distributor for theforemost oil majorExxonMobil Corporation. Atthe completion of the veryenlightening interactiveseminar session, participa-tion Certificates & Mobilbranded gifts were pre-sented to all participants byMcLarens. After the vote ofthanks by Chairman ofMESC, the gathering pro-ceeded towards lunch tablesponsored by the samecompany.

As the ultimate outcome ofthis visit, all participantswere able to gain valuableknowledge and experienceon combined cycle power

plants & lubricants, whichcannot be acquired by referringtext books or magazines.Further it was an opportunityfor members to get introducedto experts in the fields ofpower generation &lubrication. All engineers &officials attached to the

Yugadanavi Power Plant &McLarens Lubricants werevery cooperative and friendly.Hereby we should convey ourearnest thanks especially toEng.U.D.Jayawardana (CEOof Lakdhanavi Ltd.), Eng.Nuhuman Marikkar (COO ofLakdhanavi Ltd.), Eng.Dammika Nanayakkara (CTOof Lakdhanavi Ltd.), Eng.Indika Keerthiratna (PM ofYugadanavi PP),Mr.Hemantha Warnasooriya(MD of McLarens Lubricants),Mr.Lalith De Silva (GM ofMcLarens Lubricants),Mr.Ranga Disanayake(Distributor Lube Engineer ofMcLarens Lubricants) and tothe rest of staff of bothorganizations, for their greatsupport & hospitalityextended towards us, inconquering the fruitfulness ofthis visit/event.

Sri Lanka Engineering News - April 2012IESL NEWS10

An Alternate Routeby Eng. V.M.Karunaratne,

C.Eng., M.I.E.(SL) (HLM – 285)

The above is areproduction of anews item that

appeared in the‘Lankadeepa’ newspaper of20th. April 2009, regardingthe proposed extension ofthe Baseline Road from,Kriil lapone to MalibanJunction, Ratmalana.According to this newsitem, since the proposedextension is to be overdensely populated primeland within the City ofColombo, more than 550dwelling houses will have tobe demolished.

As the Head of the State, HE the President after givinga sympathetic hearing to thegrievances of the affectedresidents, quite correctlyordered to suspend thework, with a suggestion,“Find an alternate route.” I,personally consider this asan open challenge by H.E.to the technocrats in SriLanka.

Averaging about 5 personsliving in one such dwellinghouse, the number ofpersons who will bedisplaced by thedemolishing process will bearound 2750. Some of thesehouses may have beenconstructed by theancestors of the presentowners, some residentsmay have constructed thehouses utilizing their lifetimesavings/earnings and thebalance may havepurchased houses that hadbeen constructed by others,by utilizing their lifetimesavings/earnings. The onlyincome of some of the

residents may be the rent theycollect from borders or tenantsresiding in those houses. Tosome, the house/land in whichthey live at the moment, may bethe only asset they posses whichcould be given as dowries to theirchildren.

There is no doubt that roads areand will be the economic arteriesof a country. Hence, as a nationdevelops, it becomes anecessity to construct newroads, widen existing roads, etc.When existing roads arewidened, it will no doubt involvedemolition of dwelling houses,business establishment such asshops and places of formal andinformal employment, relocatingpeople, etc. The question is,whether acquisition of developedland, demolishing dwellinghouses, businessestablishments, etc., andcutting down trees is, the onlyway of constructing new roadsor widening existing roads?Therefore, we as engineers,should question ourselvesregarding alternate possibilitiesof achieving the desiredobjective(s) with the leastdestruction to property, to theliving conditions of the residents,the environment and above all,the pain of mind of those whohave to forego their properties.

A questioning mind expands thefrontiers of science andengineering that leads toinventions and discoveries. It isthe power of questioning thatmade Thomas Alva Edison,(1847 – 1931), one of the world’sgreatest inventors holding over1000 patents worldwide. Eachone of us is blessed with thepower of questioning, which weshould use wisely for the benefitof mankind.

At this stage, I would liketo quote the first item in theCode of Ethics of theInstitution of Engineers, SriLanka.

“Engineers shall holdparamount the safety,health and welfare of thepublic and properutilization of funds in theperformance of theirprofessional duties. Itshall take precedenceover their responsibilityto the profession, tosectional or privateinterests, employers or toother engineers".

The Code of Ethics of theInstitution of Engineers,Australia is reproducedbelow to show that such anethical requirement is notsomething that is peculiaronly to Sri Lanka.

"The responsibility ofengineers for the welfare,health and safety of thecommunity shall at alltimes come before theirresponsibility to theprofession, to sectionalor private interests, or toother engineers".

Apart from the abovequoted ethicalresponsibility, we shouldnot forget what the worldrenowned physicist andintellect, Master of theUniverse, Albert Einstein(picture 1) said,

“ Concern for man himselfand his fate must alwaysform the chief interest of alltechnical endeavour.Never forget this in themidst of your diagrams andequations.”

Picture 1 - Albert Einstein

motorable road was alsorequired as an access tothe Matale District fromHasalaka in the KandyDistrict.

Although land was not ascarcity or a problemaround that area during thattime, the Department ofIrrigation responsible for all

Picture 2 - shows the water inflow into the conduit-cum-bridge

over Heenganga. (viewed from Hasalaka end of the structure)

Picture 3

shows

the

outflow of

water

from the

structure.

(viewed

fromHettipolaend of thestructure)

We engineers should givemore serious thought to theseethical responsibilities tied toour profession whenever we areperforming our professionalduties. Further, whatever thedisciplines may be, weengineers should not forgetthe fact that, we are connectedwith the society every secondof the day.

With the renovation andextension of the ancientMInIpe Yoda Ela (MYE) to takethe waters of Mahaveli Gangaover Heenganga to Hettipola inthe Matale District, a troughwas required since the contourof MYE was well above thelevel of the bed of Heenganga.Further, an all weather

Picture 4 -is an enlarged view of the board shown on

picture 3. Particulars of the conduit-cum-bridge are

indicated on this board.

irrigation works in Sri Lankahad to economize the fundsallocated by the Parliamentto the MYE project.Probably, that may havebeen the constraint thatmooted the idea ofconstructing a large scalecombined structure ratherthan two independentstructures. The cost of thecombined structure mayhave been very muchlesser, than the cost of twoindependent structures.

The photographs to followare those of the conduit-cum-bridge that wasconstructed to spanHeenganga.

Contd. on page 11....

Sri Lanka Engineering News - April 2012IESL NEWS 11

This elevated roadway over the canals should have an overpass over High Level Road (A4) at

Kirulapone Junction and an overpass over Horana Road (B5) at Pamankade Junction. No exits/

egresses will be necessary to the High Level Road, since ground level roads are available from

Polhengoda to reach the High Level Road. However, exits /egresses will be necessary to the

Horana Road at Pamankade Junction. At the point of commencement this elevated roadway

should be in level with the deck of the bridge. However, since this elevated roadway is over

canals, its elevation could be kept as low as possible other than at the overpasses in order to

reduce the cost of construction and maintenance.

Construction of this elevated dual carriage roadway will not involve,

• any acquisition of private land,

• demolition of buildings,

• cutting down trees other than cutting a few branches of two Bo trees,

• problems of drainage of rain water – since provisions could be provided on the deck, forsuch waters to drain into the canal below.

The cost of constructing an elevated roadway as suggested will not be more than the value of,

• the present market value of the land that need to be acquired,

• the realistic cost of constructing similar houses etc., that need to be demolished,

• the realistic value of the land, etc., to resettle the displaced residents,

• and the immeasurable pain of mind of those who have to forego their land or theirancestral land.

Once this elevated roadway reaches Galle Road, an elevated roadway above the existing Galle

Road could be constructed to reach Ratmalana or any other place to the south and if necessary

to Kollupitiya and beyond.Flyovers at congested road intersections (not over railroads) will only

reduce the traffic congestion at that particular intersection and transfer the congestion to road

intersections beyond. Although, 2-level roadways and roadways over waterways could be costlier,

it will be a total solution to the existing traffic congestion along the main roads in the cities and

their suburbs.

Constructing elevated roadways above the existing surface roads while easing off traffic flow will

eliminate, if not minimize, the destruction and the inconvenience caused by endless widening of

the existing surface roads.In view of the foregoing factors enumerated, I suggest the higher-ups

of the IESL, as a professional body, review them and forward a proposal to H.E the President.

Finally, I sincerely thank Mr. D. G. P. Lasantha, B.Sc.(Eng.), M.Sc.(IWRM), C.Eng,.,M.I.E.(SL),

Irrigation Engineer, Hssalaka, for providing the photographs to reproduce Pictures 2 to 9, and my

son, Vijith Karunaratne, for formatting this script.

Picture 5 -

shows the

Hettipola

end of the

conduit-

cum-bridge.

Picture 7- shows the complete view of the deck of the bridge,

– as seen from Hettipola end of the structure.

Picture 8 -shows the downstream side of the structure,

— as seen from it’s Hettipola end.

Picture 9 - shows the upstream side of the structure, —

as seen from it’s Hettipola end.

Ground investigations, designing, constructing andcommissioning of the entire conduit-cum-bridge was carriedout by the employees (big and small) of the Department ofIrrigation. No work was outsourced. Our engineers are notsecond to anyone. What they need Is the opportunity toshow their capabilities. It is high time the country changes the

present culture to a ‘do-it-ourselves’ culture.

The foregoing was an illustrious instance of an ‘alternate

solution’ constructed with the objective of reducing the cost of

construction. What is to follow is an ‘alternate route’ as a solution to the problem encountered by

the residents referred to in the newspaper extract reproduced at the beginning.

What came to my mind as an ‘alternate route’ of extending Baseline Road (Edmonton Road)

from Kirulapone to Maliban Junction in Ratmalana with a view of eliminating the destruction of

dwelling houses, acquisition of private land, etc. is as follows.

This suggestion, in short, is to construct an elevated dual carriage roadway commencing from

Polhengoda Bridge to the west of it. (see Picture 10 ). This dual carriage roadway will be above

and along Wellawatte Canal and Dehiiwala Canal up to the point where the Dehiwala Canal

flows under Galle Road between Wellawatte and Dehiwala.

Contd. from page 10.... An Alternate...

Picture 6 -

The

enlarged

view of the

plaque in

picture 5

Picture 10Source: Google Maps

Sri Lanka Engineering News - April 2012IESL NEWS12

Printed by Karunaratne & Sons (Pvt) Ltd., No. 67, UDA Industrial Estate, Katuwana Road, Homagama

IESL UVA PROVINCE♦♦♦♦♦ Computer Literacy Program for School Children -

Section of the audience

EVENT PHOTOS IESL EASTERN PROVINCE

♦♦♦♦♦ A field trip to Unnichchai Tank, Water TreatmentPlant at Vavunathivu

IESL NORTHERN PROVINCE ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Improving Education in Northern Province

Officials from the Education Sector and Engineersexpressing ideas at a discussion

IESL EASTERN PROVINCE ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Distribution of School books to poorest students

in remote areas of Batticaloa District