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The study's aim was to affirm the micro morphological diversity of sand grains and to uncover the relationship between morphological features of sand grains and sampling sites from various transportation environments, like wind (Aeolian), River, Lake, and beach sand samples, their surface micromorphology and geochemical analysis has been investigated using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDS/EDAX). Exoscopy of sand particles are very useful for knowing the dominant type and rate of sediment transportation. Four different environmental sand samples were collected in the Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Karnataka (KA) states in South India. Aeolian, River, and Beach sand samples were collected in the Anantapur, Nellore, and Vishakhapatnam districts of AP. Lake samples were collected in the Udupi district of KA. The importance of the study is to identify the rate of transportation of the sample in different environmental condition like water, and wind. The present study data can be utilized for special relevance to environmental scientists, research scholars, and planning agencies for monitoring geomorphological agents for the sustainable development of ecosystems in a well-organized way. Micro textures on sand grain surfaces show details about the past environment. Environmental processes such as wind and water produce distinctive micro textures on sand grain surfaces, which can be seen using a scanning electron microscope at high magnification. The analysis of quartz sand grains from various sedimentary environments using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that some sedimentary processes impose distinct surface textures on the grains.

Freshwater scarcity is a major issue in Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh (India). Groundwater is the primary source of drinking and irrigation water in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Therefore, it is important to identify areas having groundwater potential; however, the current methods of groundwater exploration consume a lot of time and money. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)-based spatial model is used to identify groundwater potential zones in Anantapur using remote sensing and GIS-based decision support system. Thematic layers considered in this study were geology, geomorphology, soils, land use land cover (LULC), lineament density (LD), drainage density (DD), slope, and rainfall. According to Saaty’s AHP, all these themes and individual features were weighted according to their relative importance in groundwater occurrence. Thematic layers were finally combined using ArcGIS to prepare a groundwater potential zone map. The high weighted value area was considered a groundwater prospecting region. Accordingly, the GWPZ map was classified into four categories: very good, good, moderate, and poor. The very good GWPZ area is 77.37 km2 (24.93%) of the total study area. The northeastern and southeastern sections of the study area, as well as some medium patches in the center and western regions, are covered by moderate GWPZs, which cover an area of 53.07 km2 (17.10%). However, the GWP in the study area’s central, southwestern, and northern portions is poor, encompassing an area of approximately 79.31 km2 (25.56%). Finally, RS and GIS techniques are highly effective and useful for identifying GWPZs.

This research proposes an integrated methodology for incorporating RS, GIS and AHP techniques for the assessment of agricultural land suitability. In Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh, India, study is being done on how to best promote agriculture as a source of income to boost the economy of the region. A combined RS, GIS and AHP techniques has been utilized that incorporates organizing AHP hierarchy, criteria specification, pairwise comparison, and criterion map preparation. Land suitability comparison showed that an area of 4.42 km2 (2.62%) is appropriate for irrigation, while an area of 54.39 km2 (32.33%) is appropriate moderately suitable for rainfed agriculture and 95.76 km2 (56.93%) is marginally suitable for agricultural productions. About 13.64 km2 (8.11%) land is currently not suitable for agricultural production. Additionally, the analysis clearly shows the necessity of a decrease in irrigated agricultural land and an increase in dry farm agricultural land. This application of RS, GIS and AHP based agricultural land suitability analysis is helpful in referring agricultural activities to the areas with good physical and environmental conditions, allowing maximum agricultural efficiency in the countryside, increasing non-agricultural uses in areas with low efficiency, and avoiding the construction and environmental pressures on suitable farmland.

The aim of the research is to delineate the host rock of uranium in the semi-arid regions of Andhra Pradesh, India. Uranium is one of India's major rich resources explored in recent decades, and many parts of the country in general and Tummalapalli, Andhra Pradesh and Jadughuda, Jharkhand in particular, are established locations at present. The present study location is situated in the crescent-shaped Proterozoic Cuddapah basin. The Cuddapah basin that occurs in Andhra Pradesh is a unique middle–upper Proterozoic basin with rich minerals of economic significance along with inter-strata uranium deposits along the non-conformity. Host rocks are dolomites of the Vempalli formation of the Cuddapah Supergroup, while granites of the Archaean basement are the source rocks for uranium mineralization, especially in the Cuddapah basin. The dolomites of the composition CaMg(CO3)2 belong to the formation of Vempalli particularly in this region and phosphatic contain silica and chert mineral inclusions; hence, they are called dolostones. It occurs primarily in the area of Thummalapalli in the YSR district of Andhra Pradesh. The present research is intended to analyze by integrating geochemistry using X-Ray Fluorescence, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry for major, minor, and trace elemental analyses along with the geospatial techniques of the host rock formations of uranium mineralization.

This study aims to define the changing pattern of land use and its geo-environmental impacts on the semi-arid region of Anantapur district of AP state, India. Satellite imageries were analysed to perceive the variations in land use and land cover in the past 9 years from 2010 to 2019. RS and GIS modelling has helped in the mapping of land use and land cover changes. The study has assumed five characteristic features, they are (i) Waterbodies, (ii) Vegetation, (iii) Fallow land, (iv) Cultivation lands, and (v) Degraded lands. The results reveal that, from 2010 to 2019, there is a decrease in water bodies, vegetation and fallow lands of 6.75 km2, 42.96 km2 and 105.45 km2 respectively. While cultivation lands and degraded lands increased to 4.7 km2 and 105.45 km2 respectively. The environmental ecosystem is disturbed due to the increase in degraded lands, thus making the study area turn into a desert. Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) are very useful for the accuracy assessment of vegetation, cultivation land and waterbodies in this LULC change detection studies.

In this study, mechanical and corrosion behaviour of aluminium 2024 (Al-2024) alloy reinforced with varying weight percentage (0, 2, 4 and 6%) of ZrO2 nanoparticles have been investigated. The composite was prepared through stir casting route. The composite samples were subjected to indentation measurement. The electrochemical polarization test was carried out in 3.5% NaCl solution (seawater environment) to evaluate the corrosion resistance of the composites in comparison with alloy. The corrosion resistance of the composites is significantly increased in a seawater environment due to the addition of ZrO2 nanoparticles. The corrosion morphology of the samples after corrosion was examined using the scanning electron microscope.

Composites are the most widely used engineering materials. Composites find more applications due to their special properties compared to others materials. In this work, polypropylene fibre reinforced epoxy composite filled with silicon carbide particulates were investigated to improve the mechanical properties of material with different compositions. The composites were prepared by vacuum bag moulding technique under high pressure with varying concentrations of fibre, matrix and silicon carbide particulates (filler material). The mechanical properties like tensile strength, percentage of elongation, flexural strength and hardness were evaluated and analysed by comparing with the different compositions. The results showed that, better mechanical behaviours were found in the composite specimen with 50% fibre and 40% of epoxy filled with 10% of filler material. The microstructure and surface morphology analysis was carried out on Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).

Browntop millet (Urochloa ramose L.) known as ‘korale’ in Karnataka is an annual warm-season grass often used as a forage crop gaining importance because of its nutritional qualities. Very fewer researches have been done so far on the millet. The research was conducted to determine the physical properties of the browntop millet. The physical properties were determined at moisture content 11.2 ± 0.16 (w.b). The mean values of length, width and thickness of the browntop millet were found to be 3.00 ± 0.21, 1.79 ± 0.10 and 1.15 ± 0.09 mm, respectively. The geometric mean diameter and arithmetic mean diameter were 1.82 ± 0.09 and 1.99 ± 0.1 mm, respectively. The mean weight of 1000 browntop millet seeds was 3.42 ± 0.14 g. The bulk density and true density were 601.17 ± 4.08 and 1305.47±95.5 kg/m3, respectively. The mean porosity, aspect ratio and sphericity were found to be 53.74 ± 3.23, 58.58 ± 3.84 and 59.82 ± 2.60%, respectively. The shape of the browntop millet was oval. The angle of repose was 27°47' ± 0.21 and the coefficient of friction for the three surfaces namely, Glass, Aluminum and Wooden Sheets were 0.62 ± 0.0009, 0.59 ± 0.0051 and 0.6 ± 0.0063, respectively. The terminal velocity was 7.2 m/sec. The tristimulous colour values (L*, a* and b*) were found to be 60.45 ± 0.44, 3.78 ± 0.06 and 14.71 ± 0.33, respectively. Hence this study helps agricultural and food engineers, designers, scientists and processors towards design of equipment and efficient process for browntop millet grain processing.

Land degradation and desertification has been graded as a foremost environmental dispute for the coming eras. Thus, the surveillance and early detection of degradation is a major objectives for a number of scientific and policy organizations, with RS and GIS techniques being a candidate choice for the development of monitoring systems. This study was carried out as an attempt to develop a new modeling approach for identification of desertified hotspots based on normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in semiarid region of Anantapur district, Southern India. A supervised classification was carried out on the six reflective bands for the past 28 years, i.e., from 1990 to 2018 individually with the aid of ground truth data. Ground truth information collected during field data and land cover map of 2005–2006 was used to assess the accuracy of the classification results. Using ancillary data, visual interpretation and expert knowledge of the area through GIS further refined the classification results. Post-classification change detection technique was used to produce change image through cross-tabulation. Changes among different NDVI classes such as water bodies, agricultural fields, vegetation, degraded lands, desertified lands were assessed. During the study period, a very severe land degradation has taken place as a results reveals that 31.93% of the land in this region is facing the land degradation and desertification conditions; in that 17.34% of the land face the severe land degradation and 14.59% of the land have been desertified. These changes in land cover led to vegetation degradation and water logging in part of the study area.

Desertification is one of the foremost environmental and social-economic problems facing the world. Thus, the observation and early detection of desertification is primary objective for scientific and policy organizations, with geospatial techniques as similar as Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) being a candidate choice for the enlargement of monitoring systems. The present study purposes to assess the desertification caused by Aeolian sand deposits near Vedavathi River in a semi-arid region of Anantapur district, aided by temporal data of satellite imageries of past 28 years (1990 to 2018), were collected and processed. The extent of desertified land for the years 1990, 2000, 2010 and, 2018 is assessed, respectively about 28.22 Km2, 33.86 Km2, 46.30 Km2 and, 58.62 Km2. For the past 28 years, the Aeolian sand desertification is increased into the alarming rates with the land extent of 30.4 Km2.

A research study was conducted for studying the storage of Madras and Kolkata varieties of betel leaves under ambient temperature with different diffusion storage systems were observed for different treatments. In the treatment T1, the concentration of oxygen, O2 reduced to a minimum of 14.27 per cent and carbon dioxide, CO2 concentration increased to 4.80 per cent on the 14th day of storage in ambient condition (28°C). It was also reported that by the 14th day, betel leaves stored at ambient condition maintained satisfactory quality in the entire diffusion channel chambers. For the Kolkatta leaves the treatment T2, the concentration of O2 was reduced to 12.0 per cent and CO2 concentration increased to 7.87 per cent on the 18th day of storage. Compared to other treatments, the O2 concentration was found to be very low and CO2 concentration was high on the 18th day of storage in T2 diffusion channel. Similarly, on the 18th day, betel leaves stored at ambient condition maintained satisfactory quality in all the treatments. Hence, it is clear that from this present study, different varieties of betel leaves will have different rates of respiration for a particular size of the diffusion channel and temperature. In other words, varietal variation occurs concerning respiration rate under identical condition.

In the present study, an experimental investigation is conducted to determine the effect of process parameters on the depth of penetration and surface integrity in AZ91-metal matrix composite containing 1, 1.5, and 2 wt% of Al2O3 nano-particles through abrasive water jet cutting. Mixed level L18 orthogonal array is employed to conduct linear cutting experiments for both base alloy and nano-composites. Stir casting method is used to produce metal matrix nano-composites. The micro-mechanisms involved in material removal process are analyzed using SEM. Surface integrity of cut surfaces has been characterized using surface topography and 2D roughness profile observations. Water pressure and traverse speed are found to be the most significant factors in deciding depth of penetration. Penetration ability of nano-composites is decreased with increase in wt% of nano-Al2O3 particles. Two cutting regime, i.e., cutting wear and deformation wear, are observed from the SEM analysis and these mechanisms are found similar to the material removal mechanism in Mg alloys and other ductile materials. Contribution of high speed water jet to material removal process is also discussed. Embedment of sharp edged and spherical abrasive particles is observed in the micro-cutting and deformation regions. Surface quality produced by abrasive water jet in nano-composites found increased with increase in wt% of Al2O3 when compared to base alloy. Traverse speed, water pressure, and garnet size showed significant effect on surface quality produced by abrasive water jet. Micro-melting was observed in a few regions of the cut surfaces in nano-composites and melted region is affected by oxidation. Formation of short continuous ribbon type chips was also observed in some regions of cut surfaces, indicating the shear mechanism is also involved in the cutting process.

Present study is carried out for delineation of Groundwater Potential Zones (GWPZ) in Western part of Cuddapah basin, Southern India using Remote Sensing (RS), Geographical Information System (GIS) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Various categorized thematic maps: geology, geomorphology (GM), slope, soils, lineament density (LD), drainage density (DD) and gorundwater levels fluctuations (GWLF) were used for mapping and delineation of GWPZs. Suitable and normalized weights were assigned based on AHP to identify GWPZ. The GWPZ map was categorized into five GWPZs types: very poor, poor, moderate, good and very good. About 1.48% (6.05 km2) area is classified in ‘very good’, 25.95% (106.07 km2) in ‘good’, 47.11% (192.53 km2) in ‘moderate’, 22.12% (90.38 km2) in ‘poor’ and 3.34% (13.66 km2) in ‘very poor’ category. The acquired outcomes were validated with water levels fluctuations in pre- and post-monsoon seasons. GIS-based multi-criteria decision making approach is useful for preparation of precise and reliable data. The AHP approach, with the aptitudes of the geospatial data, various data bases can be combined to create conceptual model for identification and estimation of GWPZs.

The conservation and sustainable advancement of soil and water assets is one of the fundamental standards for improvement of arid and semi-arid regions of India. The present study is underway to evaluate the Artificial Groundwater Recharge Zones (AGRZ) in the semi-arid region of Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India using Remote Sensing (RS), Geographical Information System (GIS) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique. The comparative weights were assigned to different thematic layers with the help of the decision making tool of AHP. A set of eight thematic layers influence groundwater potential (GWP) is determined based on their corresponding weights, which depend on a Saaty’s 9 points scale. These weights are normalized using AHP technique to identify the AGRZs. Five AGRZs were recognized as very low, low, moderate, good and very good, depending on its suitability to identify the sites for groundwater recharge. About 4.29 % (8.96km2) and 17.70 % (36.95km2) area in the region show very good and good potentials of artificial groundwater recharge, respectively. On the other hand 61.59% (128.60km2), 11.94% (24.94km2) and 4.48 % (9.35km2) area showed moderate, poor and very poor potentials. Overall accuracy of AGRZ map is 82.05%. 92 check dams, 19 percolation tanks and 7 check walls were found suitable in the region. The effectiveness and prediction ability of the method depends on integrity of the criterion used. AHP based methodology can be useful for precise and reliable analysis and predictions of groundwater in semi-arid regions of India.

Land degradation (LD) and desertification is a serious ecological, environmental, and social-economic threat in the world, and there is a demanding need to develop accountable and reproducible techniques to assess it at different scales. In this study to assess LD and desertification with the help of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) in the study region for the period of past 29 years i.e., from 1990 to 2019. The severity of LD and desertification was assessed quantitatively by collecting twelve soil samples in the study region, and analyzing the eleven soil Physico-chemical parameters and these values have made correlated with Digital Number (DN) values with LANDSAT 8 satellite image. The land cover analysis of LANDSAT imagery revealed that the water body slightly increased from 0.29% in 1990 to 0.46% in 2019, and built-up-land increased from 2.87% in 1990 to 5.31% in 2019. Vegetation is decreased from 52.03% in 1990 to 28.57%. Fallow land, degraded land, and desertified lands are increased at alarming rates, respectively 13.71% to 26.35, 18.57% to 22.31%, and 12.53% to 17.00%. It is also established that the multi-temporal analysis of change detection data can provide a sophisticated measure of ecosystem health and variation, and that, over the last 29 years, considerable progress has been made in the respective research.

The Neoarchaean Dharwar Supergroup of rocks in the Chitradurga area unconformably overlie the Mesoarchaean Peninsular Gneissic Complex in the west and are tectonically juxtaposed with Javagondanahalli Schist Belt in the east. The rocks of the supergroup have been divided into older Bababudan and younger Chitradurga Groups. We support the recent division of the Bababudan rocks into a lower conglomerate–sandstone facies association and an upper sandstone–mudstone facies association indicating tidal flat depositional environment. The Talya Conglomerate sequence at the base of the Chitradurga Group is inferred to represent a fault-controlled debris flow deposit. The basin opens out to the east where sedimentation and volcanism took place on an uneven basement surface. The Vanivilas and Ingaldhal Formations likely represent contemporaneous and overlapping sequences indicative of facies variation in space. The KM Kere Conglomerate at the base of the Hiriyur Formation represents a facies series comprising a sequence of volcanic–pyroclastic–volcaniclastic–epiclast association. We propose a four-fold stratigraphic classification with introduction of a new ‘Kantaramanahalli Formation’, placed above the Vanivilas and Ingaldhal Formations and below the Hiriyur Formation. The interpretation of multiple deformed nature of Dharwar Supergroup of rocks and the dominance of the second deformation (D2) is supported. The initial irregularities on basement surface and the F1 folds have significant role in fold superposition and outcrop patterns. The intra- and inter-formational ductile shear zones have dominant sinistral transcurrent component. Structural studies are conclusive of simple shear (D2b) superposed on intense pure shear (D2a) indicative of an overall transpressional type of horizontal tectonics.

In the present study, the influence of dynamic process parameters such as water pressure, traverse speed and abrasive mass flow rate on depth of penetration and surface topography in high strength AZ91 magnesium alloy were investigated using Abrasive Water Jet (AWJ) cutting technology. Process parameters were varied at 3 levels and influences of each parameter on penetration ability were identified using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Contribution of water pressure and traverse speed on jet penetration found higher compared to abrasive mass flow rate. Profile projector was used to measure depth of penetration. Microstructural features and topography of cut surfaces were examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Micro cutting and ploughing were observed on the top and bottom portion of the cut which were similar to that of modes of deformation in other ductile materials like aluminium and steel. Surface roughness of cut surfaces was measured using Taylor Hobson surface roughness tester. Surface roughness found higher at higher traverse speeds and lower at lower traverse speeds. This study also highlights the suitability of AWJ cutting technology for cutting magnesium and its alloys. Keywords: AZ91 magnesium alloy, Depth of penetration, Profile projector, Topography

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) are of great interest in industrial applications for lighter materials with high specific strength, stiffness and heat resistance. The processing of MMCs by casting process is a very promising way of manufacturing near net shape composites at relatively low cost. The liquid metallurgy squeeze casting technique has characteristics such as fine microstructure as a result of rapid cooling, low porosity and good bonding between the particles and base alloy. In this study, the effect of hardness, tensile, compression and impact properties as well as density have been investigated. The Al-4.5wt%Cu alloy was chosen as base matrix casted by both stir and squeeze casting. Fly ash is one of the most inexpensive and low density reinforcement available in large quantities as solid waste is used as reinforcement. The Al-4.5wt%Cu reinforced 3, 6, 9 and 12wt%fly ash composite was squeeze casted with an applied pressure of 120MPa. The results showed that hardness tensile compression and impact values were increased by increasing weight percentage of fly ash reinforcements during squeeze casting. Porosity and other casting defects such as shrinkage cavities were minimised due to pressure applied during solidification. Increase in weight percentage of fly ash composites caused to increase porosity even in squeeze casting but lesser than gravity cast matrix alloy. Microstructure shows the absence of micro porosity, and grain refinement interfacial bond between matrix and reinforcement.Keywords: Metal matrix composite, squeeze casting and fly ash

A solitary thyroid nodule (STN) is dened as a palpable discreet swelling in an other wise normal thyroid gland. Found to affect 4-7% of total population with female to male ratio being 4:1. majority of STN are benign. Benign causes include colloid goiter. and dominant nodule of multi nodular goiter. Incidence of malignancies is around 5- 10%. A systemic approach is needed to evaluate and treat STN.

Squeeze casting is one of the processes in liquid metallurgy in which a molten metal is poured into a metallic die and is solidified under the action of a relatively high external pressure. The primary objective of this paper is to study the influence of the process parameters on wear resistance and hardness of squeeze cast LM6 Al-flyash composite. In this investigation Aluminium metal matrix composites, reinforced with flyash (from 5% to 12.5%wt.) was synthesized using stir-squeeze casting route. The influence of parameters like reinforcement content and squeeze pressure on the hardness and wear rate has been studied. The experimental results of the hardness and wear rate of the composites are compared with base alloy produced by squeeze casting. The results have shown that the wear resistance of the composites is very much superior to that of the base alloy produced by squeeze casting method. The abrasion tests were carried out by using a dry sand-rubber wheel abrasion wear testing machine. The test was carried-out at three different speeds (250, 300 & 350 rpm) and loads (2kg, 3kg & 4kg). The hardness test was conducted using Brinnel’s hardness tester. The macrostructural and microstructural studies of the MMCs were made using the TESCAN – VEGA3 scanning electron microscope in order to investigate the distribution of flyash particles in the matrix and on observation it was found that there is a reasonable uniform distribution of flyash in the matrix without any voids and discontinuities.