Resources

Expertise

Civil and Structural Engineering
Mechanical Engineering and Rolling Stock Fabrication
Shipbuilding and Offshore
Aircraft Construction

CIVIL AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

The civil/structural division of a general engineering consultancy practise in India would do well to follow the model that firms such as WS Atkins used during the 1970s and 80s.

The format keeps disciplines separate and discrete. Thus there are structural and transport departments, which need direct input from steel designers. Other departments include environmental control engineering (waste, pollution control and water supply) etc etc..

Within each department there are specialist subdivisions such as steel structures for industry, steel structures for building construction etc..

Each department should have its own specialist software library, trade catalogues and library of relevant specifications and design standards. Trade catalogues from companies such as Angle Benders or Barnshaws are ideal and should be introduced in India. These manuals show, for example, how elegant curvilinear shapes can be imparted to steel sections resulting in graceful and aesthetically-pleasing structures.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AND ROLLING STOCK FABRICATION

Mechanical engineering is a vast subject and for the moment we will confine our attention to the design and fabrication of rolling stock. This includes electric tramcars and electric underground transport.

A thorough understanding of subjects such as the vibration and dynamics of rolling stock is necessary; some work has already been done on this at Kharagpur.

Further assistance could be sought from the inheritors of the European Rail Research Institute at Utrecht in the Netherlands or from the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) at the office of Indian railways office at Lucknow.

SHIPBUILDING AND OFFSHORE

Planning a shipbuilding dry dock is not something to be taken lightly. International standard dry docks are frequently covered by vast steelwork sheds; often there are travelling cranes that can lift a whole submarine section eg. at the BAE Systems naval yard in Barrow-in-Furness in the UK.

The Indian shipbuilding industry has become overloaded due to demand from the Navy. At the same time, ships are being imported from abroad.

In the view of the 100m TPA steel production proposed for the near future, there will be enough steel to supply six or seven shipyards, some of which could be big enough to construct super tankers and container vessels.

Peninsular India is seismically stable but the coastal areas adjoining Bengal are prone to cyclones. Nevertheless, modern engineering can resist natural forces such as this.

The Subarnarekha estuary is close to the steel producing areas, and a new set of dry docks could be built there.

There are also many ‘sick’ small shipyards in Calcutta and Bombay. They could be relocated from the congested Hooghly river and rehabilitated under modern management in the Subarnarekha estuary or Paradeep.

AIRCRAFT CONSTRUCTION

At the moment, every civil aircraft is imported. Some military aircraft are built under licence, but there are no facilities (apart from Sarus in the private sector) that can build civil aircraft.

Companies like Boeing and Airbus have a lot of experience behind them – there is no point in India competing with these. However, the internal flight market is booming and therefore aluminium producers and airlines should get together and consider the potential for making regional airlines indigenously.

There is the scope to establish three or four integrated aircraft factories within the country, again perhaps starting in the Subarnekha valley in the common ground near Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal.