Civil

Engineering
Society

Annual Report 2014/2015

Edited by: Dr. H.D. Yapa

 Civil Engineering Society (CES)
The Civil Engineering Society (CES) of the University of Peradeniya is one of the leading,
energetic societies in the University system, presently, it consists of well over 500 members.
The CES organises numerous attractive activities mainly to facilitate its students to gain
valuable knowledge and skills which are seldom conveyed to them over the academic
programme. Besides, the CES anticipates to enhance students’ passion towards Civil
Engineering and to encourage them to get involved in group/social activities.The prominent
event organised by the CES is the annual seminar and the other activities include talks,
seminars, field visits, workshops, and competitions.

Being one of the longest-service organizations within the university system in Sri Lanka, the
CES has survived and thrived through over 40 years of its history. The history of the CES
goes all the way back to year 1973. At that time the university was named as the University
of Ceylon. The CES was under the auspices of then Dean Prof. H.B De Silva and Prof A.
Thurairajah. The inaugural president of the society was Dr. K. Shanmuganthan. The first
event organized was a talk delivered on 15.02.1973 by Mr. D.G.L Rathnathunge of the
irrigation department, the talk was upon hydrology. The annual seminar of the CES was also
initiated in the same year.

In year 1974, Prof A. Thurairajah was appointed as the president of the CES. He held the
position for two years. During that time he did a great service towards the development of the
society. Over the years there were not many changes in the structure of the society, apart
from the addition of an editor in 1979 and several standing sub-committees. Much emphasis
was given to the Mahawali project during the latter part of the 70s and early 80s in the most
of the CES activities including the annual seminar. But due to the political turmoil in the
country during the late 80s, the activities and the progress of the CES were retarded.
However again in the early 90s, the CES immersed with a renewed spirit. The CES adopted
new strategies giving much concern to new frontiers, such as environmental engineering and
transportation engineering. Over the recent past, along with the boost in construction
industry, increase in student intake, and expansion in the academic crew; the CES has
become a well established, stable and effective society and its impact on the student life has
broadened significantly.

Vision
The Civil Engineering society will be a significant contributor to the Faculty of Engineering
in achieving its vision of becoming the centre of excellence in engineering education and
research in South Asia.

Mission
The mission of the Civil Engineering Society is to provide a common platform, through
various activities, for the civil engineering students, the staff and the industry to interact and
thereby, enrich their academic and professional lives.

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CONTENTS

Annual general meeting (AGM) minutes held on 2014 September ……………… 3

CES executive committee ………………………………………………………… 4

CES Annual Seminar- 2015 ……………………………………………………… 5

CES talk series ……………………………………………………………………. 7

Competitions ……………………………………………………………………… 11

LANWA Scholars Programme ………………..........…………………………… 15

Field visits ……………………………………………………………………….. 16

CES Lab cleaning campaign …………………………………………………….. 17

Get-together ……………………………………………………………………… 17

Other achievements ……………………………………………………………… 18

Vortex …………………………………………………………………………… 18

Annual general meeting (AGM) minutes held on 2015 September……………... 19

Annexe

2
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD ON 22.09.2014

The Civil Engineering Society (CES) Annual General Meeting 2014/15 was held on 22nd September
2014 at 5.15 p.m. in E.O.E Pereira theatre, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya. The
outgoing president Dr. (Mrs.) K.G.N.Nanayakkara welcomed the gathering to the AGM. She
described the activities carried out by the CES during the past year and thanked the sub-committee
members and all others for the support extended in organizing and carrying out various activities. In
the absence of secretary Dr.L.C.Kurukulasuriya, Joint-Secretary Mr. R.Senthooran read out the
minutes of the previous AGM held on 15th August 2013. He continued to present the activities of the
CES conducted during the past year. Statement of accounts of the CES for the financial year
2013/2014 was presented by senior Treasurer, Dr.H.D.Yapa. The head table was then handed over to
the Head of the Department, Prof.P.B.R. Dissanayake to conduct the AGM as the pro-tem
chairman.Prof. Dissanayake thanked the outgoing committee for the activities conducted during the
past year. He then called for nominations for the office bearers Secretary and President .Mr.D.D.Dias
and Dr.H.D.Yapa were unanimously elected for the above posts, respectively. Subsequently, pro-tem
chairman handed over the head table to the newly elected President. The nominations for the post of
Senior Treasurer were called by the President and Dr (Mrs.) C.K.Pathirana was unanimously
appointed for the post. Nominations were also called for the other posts of the executive committee
and the members for all these posts were unanimously elected.
The CES office bearers appointed for the academic year 2014/2015 were as follows.

Position Name Proposed by Seconded by

Dr. (Mrs.)
President Dr.H.D.Yapa Dr. (Mrs.) C.K.Pathirana
K.G.N.Nanayakkara
Dr. (Mrs.)
Secretary Mr. D. D. Dias Dr.H.D.Yapa
K.G.N.Nanayakkara
Dr. (Mrs.)
Senior Treasurer Dr (Mrs.) C.K.Pathirana Prof.P.B.R. Dissanayake
K.G.N.Nanayakkara
Vice-President Mr.R.M.A. Buddhika Miss.B.M.K.L.K.Basnayaka Mr.K.A.G.T.Niroshan
Junior Vice-
Mr.C.N.Liyanage Mr.D.M.P.L.Dissanayake Mr.P.G.K.S.C. Deshapriya
President
Joint Secretary Mr.S. Gawthaman Mr.K.Pratheeswaran Mr.S.Kajarathan
Assistant
Mr.B.Kokulraj Mr.K.Thiruwaran Mr.T. Jeyaharan
Secretary
Joint Treasurer Mr.A.S.T. Aberathne Mr.I.S.Dissanayake Mr.R.M.D.M.Sanjeewa
Mr.N.N.M.S.K.Gunawardha
Editor Mr.R.P.T.N.Sumathipala Mr.K.A.G.T. Niroshan
na
Student
Representative Mr.B.I.K.I.Basnayake Mr.C.N. Wathugedara Mr.W.U.I. Wijesuriya
(E/10)
Student
Representative Mr.T.B.C.H.Dissnayake Mr.T.D.U. Liyanage Mr.W.D.D.T. Fernando
(E/11)

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 Civil Engineering Society
Executive Committee Members

Academic year 2014/15

Head of Department : Prof. P.B.R. Dissanayake

President : Dr. H.D.Yapa

Secretary : Mr. D.D. Dias

Treasurer : Dr. (Mrs) C.K. Pathirana

Vice president : Mr. Achintha Buddhika

Junior vice president : Mr. Charith Liyanage

Joint secretary : Mr. Sivakumar Gawthaman

Assistant secretary : Mr. Kokularaj Baskaran

Editor : Mr. Kasun Gunawardhana

Joint treasure : Mr. Sandun Aberathne

Field representative : E/10 –Mr. Kavinda Basnayake

E/11 –Mr. Harshana Dissanayake

E/12 –Mr. Shamila Sudalshana

4
CES ANNUAL SEMINAR- 2015

The main event organised by the CES is its annual seminar. This year, the annual seminar
themed on High-rise Buildings was successfully held on July 4th 2015 at EOE Pereira
Theatre.

The event inaugurated with the presence of Dean Prof. L. Rajapaksha, Keynote speaker Prof.
W.P.S. Dias, Civil Engineering Department head Prof. P.B.R. Dissanayake. Then, the
sponsor’s message was delivered by the Ceylon Steel Corporation Ltd. and certificates were
awarded to the five LANWA scholars for 2015.

Senior Professor W.P.S. Dias (at University of Moratuwa) delivered the Keynote speech
exhibiting his enormous experience and knowledge over the subject. The talk was very much
fruitful and interesting, was highly appreciated by everybody. Meanwhile, Prof. Abayakoon
introduced Prof. Dias to the audience recalling many and unseen achievements and servings
to the society by Prof. Dias, the audience including Prof. Dias looked stunned with Prof.
Abayakoon’s vocal.

The speakers for the first technical session were Archt. Dananjana Amarasekara and Eng.
Indradeva Mendis, and Dr. A.L.M. Mauroof was the session chair. Archt. Amarasekara
talked into architectural aspects of high-rise buildings along with his distinct experience, the
presentation was highly illustrative and interesting. Eng. Mendis spoke of building services in
high-rise buildings, he inspired the whole audience, the talk illustrated his vast experience
and was nicely coupled with humour, so everybody enjoyed.
The afternoon technical session was addressed by Eng. Samitha Jayakody and Eng. Shiromal
Fernando and was chaired by Dr. U.I. Dissanayake. Eng. Jayakody shared his vast experience
in high-rise building construction, his presentation comprised exceptional technical details.
Eng. Fernando went into talk on design aspects of high-rise buildings, he summarised this
wide subject area into the given slot nicely.
The student participation for the event was impressive, 350 students from the CES, 55
visiting students from Civil Engineering Departments of Moratuwa University, Ruhuna

5
University and Jaffna University, 55 students from the Post-graduate programme currently
conducted at the Civil Engineering Department. However, CES student participation at the
afternoon session was rather low, it is a matter of concern. Besides, inviting the Civil
Engineering Departments of other state universities and getting a sound participation was a
great achievement and pleasure for the CES.

The role played by the CES students, especially by the student ex-co members and seminar
sub-committee of the CES was splendid. They took the responsibility on their shoulders, and
drag it towards the very end in a successful manner.

Ceylon Steel Corporation Ltd, the sponsor for the event provided their maximum support
over the whole course of the event. The full sponsorship, Rs. 300,000 was paid to the CES
more than a month ahead, which made the CES greatly convenient with organising
everything. The sponsor was highly flexible with fixing dates, agenda, etc. A delegate panel
including DGM (sales) Mr. Nimal Yapa attended the seminar.

The total expenditure for the seminar was Rs. 348,000, which included Rs. 258,000 for
meals, Rs. 55,000 for printing proceedings, and Rs. 35,000 for souvenirs, banners,
decorations, etc. Meanwhile, Rs. 39,000 is to be reimbursed from the Post-graduate
programme to cover the expenses for Post-graduate participants. Thus, the CES has spent Rs.
8,000 extra to the available sponsorship upon the CES annual seminar, 2015.

An electronic copy of the seminar proceedings and some slide presentations are found in the
DVD attached.

6
CES TALK SERIES
Talk 1: January 29, 2015

Speaker: Dr. (Mrs). Achela Fernando, Senior Lecturer, Griffith University

Topic: Assessment of environmental impacts of sewer overflows into water bodies-
some case studies of modelling of impacts

Abstract:
In most well-established cities, the waste water systems have been in operation for
over 100 years. Typically, older parts of a city are likely to still have a combined
system, while new developments tend to be separate system. When combined sewer
overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) occur from the collection
system, untreated waste water is discharged into the environment. Overflows are not
just unsightly but also pose major public concern due to their environmental and
health impacts.

Talk 2: February 25, 2015

Speaker: Dr. Ryo Honda, Assistant professor, Kanazawa University

Topic: Towards sustainable pollution control in urban development

Abstract:
Severe deterioration of environment is often caused by rapid urbanization.
Environment which one severely damaged is hardly recovered as it was. One of the
major difficulties in protection of environment under urbanization is time lag between
expansion of people’s settlement and coverage of environmental infrastructure
services, such as waste water treatment and solid waste management. Moreover, in
the early stage of urbanization, people’s awareness on environmental protection is
weak. Therefore, installation of such infrastructure tends to delayed even more.
Ideally, the countermeasures should be planned and implemented in advance, to
recover those challenges. To realize such advanced measures, we need good
prediction of environmental burdens in the area where urbanization is about to
happen.

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Talk 3: March 4, 2015

Speaker: Dr. Priyantha Gunaratna, Senior Coastal Modeling Specialist, Dubai

Municipality

Topic: Monitoring the Complex Coastal Zone of Dubai

Abstract:
The Dubai coastal zone is one of the most complex coastal zone in the world,
although it is only 72 km in length. It is interspersed with massive reclamations such
as Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and the worlds Islands, which is conglomerate of
200 offshore islands taking the shape of the world. In addition several medium to
small scale reclaimed island resorts, commercial and fishery harbours, marinas
cooling water intakes and outlets do exist are growing day by day. The Dubai Creek,
which is a 14 km long natural waterway has been dredged to facilitate inland
navigation for good transport and leisure boating. The development of a network of
canal system connected to the Dubai Creek is already in progress. However, these
coastal development in Dubai have created complex coastal problems due to resulting
alternations in coastal processes, and therefore monitoring of Dubai coastal zone and
the canal system is considered as a high priority issue.

Talk 4: April 1, 2015

Speaker: Dr. Haran Arampamoorthy, Principal researcg engineer at Opus

International Consultants Ltd.

Topic: Micro behaviour of granular pavement during road construction face and
service time

Abstract:
This talk is into pavement construction techniques used in Australia. There are a lot of
problems faced in current situation at the construction of the pavement for various
purposes. The porous pavement and its durability are the key factors in pavement
construction in the present.

Talk 5: June 16, 2015

Speaker: Mr. K.A.C.P. Bandara, GM, Access Projects (Pvt) Ltd.

Topic: Qualities need to be improved by young engineers

Abstract:
The talk is to explore very basics that every civil engineer should process.

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Talk 6: July 15, 2015
Speaker: Dr. Ravi Jayaratne, Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering, School of
Architecture, Computing and Engineering
Topic: Postgraduate prospects in the UK

Talk 7: July 21, 2015

Speaker: Dr. Upul Attanayake, Associate Professor of Civil and Construction
Engineering at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Topic: Performance of typical low-rise reinforced concrete commercial buildings
under seismic loads

Abstract:
In many part of the world, typical low-rise reinforced concrete commercial buildings
are designed and constructed without any consideration of seismic loading. Generally,
these structures possess several earthquake vulnerable features, such as weak/soft
story, strong beam/ weak column, torsion, excessive mass on upper floors, short
column effects, P-effects, etc. Sometimes, these structures may possess certain level
of lateral load capacity due minimum member size requirements, avoidance of strict
optimization of materials because of practical consideration, strain hardening of steel,
presence of masonry infill, architectural requirements, etc. According to earthquake
damages occurred in several other countries, a large number of buildings that
collapsed or suffered severe damages was low-rise buildings and the consequences of
those very large in terms of destructions and suffering. The most common failure
mode of typical low-rise reinforced concrete commercial buildings is the weak and /
or soft story mechanisms. Due to various purposes, the first floor of most buildings in
this type is either taller than the other floors or has relatively less number of infill
panels and partition walls. Hence evaluation of seismic load capacity of such
structures is justified.

Talk 8: August 13, 2015

Speaker: Eng. Ranjan Fernando

Topic: Piling work

Abstract: Pile is the foundation that uses widely to provide a firm foundation to any
type of buildings as well as structures. The construction of the pile is very necessary
to consider at this situation. Also, the duty of the engineer is to identify the problems
arrives and provide the proper solutions at the construction of Pile foundations. This
talk represents, all the construction works regarding the piling work and problems at
the construction stage.

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Talk 9: August 26, 2015

Speaker: Mr. Suranga Jayasena, Senior Lecturer, University of Moratuwa

Topic: Introduction into BIM software

Abstract: In the modernizing world, everything is going to conduct and relate with
computerized. When the work load increases, man share his works to computerized
systems. In such way, at the construction field, BIM is one of the major thing
developing now. BIM is Building Modelling Software that uses to coordinate the
work in digital explanation to make the work easy, smooth and less conflict. This talk
represents such kind of achievement of BIM software.

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COMPETITIONS
1. Concrete mix design competition
Holcim Lanka Ltd. conducted the inter-University mix design competition for the
consecutive second year. The CES organized all the activities pertaining to the event on
behalf of the Civil Engineering department of the University of Peradeniya. The task of the
competition was to produce a concrete mix having the highest strength/cost ratio. The
arrangement was to conduct intra-university level competitions at Peradeniya, Moratuwa and
Ruhuna universities and select the best 5 groups from each university to compete in the inter-
university competition. The competition was open to any group comprising three final year
civil undergraduates and one 3rd year undergraduate.
The CES called on proposals in late July 2015, fifteen groups had submitted their proposals
by the deadline. The anticipation was also to select 15 groups through screening, so all were
accepted. The proposals were examined, comments were given to let the contesters to work
on improve their designs. Cube casting was carried out on 13.08.2015 at the Materials
Laboratory. The groups were asked to cast 3 cubes with the intension of testing the cubes at
14 days. Thus, the specimens were tested on 27.08.2015 with the presence of Mr. D.D. Dias
and Dr. D. Abekoon as examiners. Based on the strength/cost ratio, five groups were selected
through to the final round. It of note that there was a guideline stipulated by the Holcim that
there should be at least 80 mm slump, when a group is unable to make so, they are offered a
second chance of mixing. However, owing to time limitations, such a second chance was not
offered but instead a 5% penalty was imposed on the resulting strength/cost ratio. Holcim
Lanka Ltd. held a award ceremony in regard of this selection round, all the participants were
awarded certificates and T-shirts. Furthermore, the Holcim awarded T-shirts to all the
laboratory staff who gave hands for the event, and all the academics present at the ceremony
were also gifted with T-shirts.
The inter-university competition was held on 09.10.2015, with the presence of five teams
from each three universities, at the Holcim I & A centre, Colombo 3. Civil Engineering
department head Prof. P.B.R Dissanayaka and Dr. H.D. Yapa were also attended from the
Peradeniya University. It was a great achievement by the CES that one of Peradeniya group
won the competition, the group comprised of: Mr. M.M.S.B. Rathnayake, Mr. R.M.A.
Buddhika, Mr. P.N.M Madushanka, and Mr. K.A.T.M. Abesiriwardana. They were awarded
a visit to Lafarge-Holcim center of excellence in Singapore and one of its cement plants in
Malaysia. Meanwhile, one academic who contributed towards the competition from each
university were also awarded to join in with the foreign tour, Civil Engineering HOD named
Dr. H.D. Yapa as the representative from Peradeniya. The trip took place on November 17-
21, 2015.
The Holcim Lanka Ltd. had put together the whole event outstandingly, the entire process
comprised of several well organised stages took place over two months. In addition to
rewarding the winning group with an overseas trip, all the participants were awarded with
certificates and valuable gift packs. On top of everything, the peak value of the event was that
the students gained an incomparable experience over high performance concrete production.

11
The final round results were as follows.

Average Strength
Group Cost
Strength cost ratio Rank
University No per 1m3
(MPa) kPa/LKR
UOP 2 17004 70.47 4.14 1
UOR 2 18588 76.57 4.12 2
UOR 5 18890 75.07 3.97 3
UOP 5 19140 74.25 3.88 4
UOM 4 18017 69.33 3.85 5
UOM 1 16918 64.80 3.83 6
UOR 3 18851 71.03 3.77 7
UOR 4 18147 67.40 3.71 8
UOP 4 18150 65.87 3.63 9
UOM 2 17555 59.07 3.36 10
UOP 1 17415 58.30 3.35 11
UOM 5 20940 68.97 3.29 12
UOP 3 19209 62.80 3.27 13
UOM 3 18563 60.63 3.27 14
UOR 1 19248 57.33 2.98 15

Guidelines pertaining to the competition are found in the annexe.

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2. Spaghetti Bridge Competition

The Spaghetti Bridge Competition was put

together by the CES for the consecutive 5th
year and held on 17th September, 2015 at the
EOE Pereira Theatre. The competition was
open to groups comprising six Civil
Engineering undergraduates. After calling on
proposals, 30 submissions were received,
through screening 16 groups were selected
through to compete. The winners and all the
participants were awarded with certificates.
The CES highly appreciates the support provided by Dr. K.K. Wijesundara to conduct the
event.

The event guidelines are found in the DVD annexed.

3. Visual Production Competition

Visual production competition was conducted by the CES for the consecutive second time.
The competition was open to final year civil undergraduates, group or individual, and the
candidates were to submit a video (of less than 10 m) based on their exclusive experiences
over 3rd year industrial training. Seven submissions were received by the CES and the videos
were screened on 14.09.2015 at Seminar Room 1. The judge panel comprised Prof. H.N.
Seneviratne and Dr. L.C. Kurukulasooriya declared the winner and the runner-up. All the
participants were awarded with certificates.
The competition guidelines are included in the annex and all seven visual productions are
found in the DVD annexed.

4. Quiz competition
At the great enthusiasm had by the students towards CES competitions, the CES took a step
forward to organise a Quiz Competition for the civil engineering undergraduates. The
primary objective was to test students’ skills to solve problems related with IQ alongside
problems related with practical issues associated with civil engineering. The Quiz was
planned as a two round competition, a screening round and a final round held at a large
audience, and to award medals and certificates to the winners. It was open to six member
groups comprising two undergraduate from each batch.

The screening round was conducted on 7th April 2015 at the Materials Laboratory.
Participation was from 12 groups. At the end, three groups were selected through to the final
round. However, owing to numerous hardships, the CES was unable to conclude the

13
competition. Nevertheless all the participants were awarded with certificates. The CES highly
appreciates the support given by Dr. D. Abekoon towards this endeavour.

5. T-Shirt design competition

This competition was initiated in May, 2015, having objectives of obtaining good designs to
be used for the next CES T-shirt production and to encourage CES students to get on with
these kind of non-technical designs. Three proposals were received and the best was selected
for the next set of T-shirts. The winner was awarded with a certificate.

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LANWA SCHOLARS PROGRAMME 2015/2016
The CES called on applications for the Lanwa Scholars Programme 2015/2016 sponsored by
the Ceylon Steel Corporation. The scholarship is offered to five 3rd year (currently) civil
engineering students who possess exceptional all-round performance at the university. Any
student who have gained above 3.3 GPA at the end of 5th semester is eligible to put an
application.

The CES received 15 applications, the selections was carried out by the Lanwa Scholars
Programme Administration Committee (LSPAC) appointed by the HOD. This year, the
committee comprised of Prof. S.B.S. Abayakoon, Dr. (Mrs) K.G.N. Nanayakkara and Dr.
H.D. Yapa. The LSPAC shortlisted the applications and called on eight candidates for
interview, and finally the following five students were selected as Lanwa Scholars
2015/2016.

1. Ms. P.A.S.R. Jayatilake

2. Ms. H.C.Egodagamage
3. Mr. D.I.D. Abeysinghe
4. Ms. K.P.S.T.Pathirana
5. Ms. R.M.A.De.S. Thanapathy

A copy of the announcement calling on applications is found in the annexe.

15
FIELD VISITS

1. Visit to State Engineering Corporation (SEC) and National Engineeirng Research &
Development Center (NERDC) on 17.02.2015 by the final year students.
The field visit was arranged through discussions between the CES, Mr. A.A.
Piyadasa: DGM (construction components) of SEC and, Mr. G.K.K.A. de Silva DDG
(R&D) of NERDC.

2. Visit to Sanken Lanka High rise building construction site at Katugasthota on

01.04.2015 by the final year students.

This field visit was put together through discussions between the CES and Mr.
Mervyn Fenando: DGM (construction) Sanken Lanka. The primary intension o fthe
visit was to look at post-tensioned slab construction techniques.

3. Visit to Holcim Lanka Ltd. Puttlam cement plant on 23.04.2015 by the final year
students.
The visit was sponsored by the Holcim Lanka Ltd. Lunch and refreshments were also
provided. The support given by Mr. Thushara Priyadarshana from the Holcim Lanka
is highly appreciated.

4. Visit to Ceylon Steel Corporation (LANWA) on June 20, 27 and July 11 by the
second year students
The visit was organised as a part of the MOU exists between the civil engineering
department and the steel corporation. Three visits (comprising about 50 students each)
were organised. LANWA had put a lot of effort to make these visits successful, lunch
and refreshments were also provided.

5. Visit to Randenigala, Rantambe in July 2015 by the third year students.

The visit was organised by Prof. K.P.P. Pathirana in order to expose the students to
hydraulic applications and hydraulic structures in the field.

16
CES LAB CLEANING CAMPAIGN
The Civil Engineering Society (CES), for the first time, launched a laboratory cleaning half-
day campaign on September 13, 2015. The Civil Engineering Department comprises of four
main laboratories. These have not been cleaned and tidied up for a while besides the
laboratories are used for the academic programme throughout the year. Hence, the CES
decided to put together this sort of effort.
The voluntary group comprised of civil engineering undergraduates, civil engineering
academics, laboratory staff and a group of university maintenance division. The cleaning-up
initiated at 8.30 a.m. at all the four laboratories simultaneously. Rubbish was dumped as
much as possible, apparatus and furniture were cleaned, windows washed up, files were
stacked, bushes in courtyards were pruned, floors washed down, etc. At noon, the campaign
was supplemented with manioc prepared by the CES, after the break, the job was carried on.
By 2 p.m., most of targets had been achieved, so, along with cleaning-up of corridors the
campaign was finished off. Everybody worked hard and looked tired after the tough
endeavour, but all the smiling faces reflected happiness over the job.

GET-TOGETHER

An event was conducted by the CES students in January 2015 to welcome the fresh entrants
(2nd years) to the civil engineering department. All the civil engineering students and
academics were invited. It was conducted as a get-together which comprised of nice songs,
verity shows, short competitions etc. All the expenses were handled by the 3rd year students.

17
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

Winning of the ‘Paper Presentation’ event at Nirmaan ICESS 2015

A group of two final year Civil Engineering

Students of the University of Peradeniya, Mr.
K.A.T.M. Abesiriwardana and Mr. R.M.A.
Buddika, won the 1st place of the ‘Paper
Presentation’ event at the Nirmaan ICESS
2015 conference. The forum was held on
Octorber17-18, 2015 at BMS college of
Engineering, Bangalore, India, with the
participation of 27 engineering institutes. The
winning group presented their final year research project on ‘Seismic Assessment of School
Building in Sri Lanka using Fragility Curves’ supervised by Dr.K.K. Wijesundara. It is of
note that the Peradeniya Civil Engineering students have been able to secure the 1st place in
this annual event consecutively for 3 years.

VORTEX

The concluding event of the CES year, the VORTEX, was held on 25.09.2015 night. The
students had put together a wonderful function comprised nice songs, attractive verity shows,
an astonishing poster presentation. In the end, dinner was provided.

Compared to the recent years, higher participation of the academics was highlighted. The
VORTEX was sponsored by the RN Construction Ltd. The total expenditure for the event
was about Rs. 280000.

18
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD ON 22.09.2015

The Civil Engineering Society (CES) Annual General Meeting 2015/16 was held on 22nd September
2015 at 5 p.m. in Lecture Room 10, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya. The outgoing
President Dr. H.D. Yapa welcomed the gathering. He described the activities carried out by the CES
during the past year and thanked the sub-committee members and all others for the support extended
in organizing and carrying out various activities. Mr. D.D. Dias, the Secretary read out the minutes of
the previous AGM held on 22nd September 2014. He continued to present the activities of the CES
conducted during the past year. Statement of accounts of the CES for the financial year 2014/2015
was presented by Senior Treasurer, Dr (Mrs.) C.K. Pathirana. The head table was then handed over to
the Head of the Department, Prof. P.B.R. Dissanayake to conduct the AGM as the pro-tem chairman.
Prof. Dissanayake thanked the outgoing committee for the activities conducted during the past year.
He then called for nominations for the office bearers President and Secretary. Dr. K.K.
Wijesundaraand Dr. (Ms.) W.C.T.K. Gunawardanawere unanimously elected for the above posts,
respectively. Subsequently, pro-tem chairman handed over the head table to the newly elected
President. The nominations for the post of Senior Treasurer were called by the President and Dr. C.S.
Bandara was unanimously appointed for the post. Nominations were also called for the other posts of
the executive committee and members for all these posts were unanimously elected.
The CES office bearers appointed for the academic year 2015/2016 were as follows.

Position Name Proposed by Seconded by

President Dr. K.K. Wijesundara Mr. D.D. Dias Dr. I.M.S. Sathyaprasad
Dr. (Mrs) W.C.T.K.
Secretary Gunawardana Dr. Lashitha Rathnayake Dr. C.K. Pathirana
Senior Treasurer Dr. C.S. Bandara Dr. H.D. Yapa Dr. M. C. M. Nasvi
Mr. C N Liyanage Mr. D.M.P.L. Dissanayake Mr. R.J.D.S. Chinthaka
Vice-President (E/11/2410) (E/11/092) (E/11/062)
Mr. R.M.P.D. Rathnayaka Mr. S.M. Gajanayake Mr. K.K. Gayashan
Junior Vice-President (E/12/291) (E/12/091) (E/12/095)
Mr.U. Vijeeth Mr. K.M. Muhammadh Mr. M.R.S.P. Weerasekare
Joint- Secretary (E/11/422) (E/11/266) (E/11/434)
Mr. N. Janaluxshan Mr.U. Vijeeth Mr. H.M.S.S. Herath
Assistant Secretary (E/12/138) (E/11/422) (E/12/122)
Mr. H.P.K.C. Pathirana Mr.A.D.Jayasundara Mr. B.G.A.S. Bandara
Joint Treasurer (E/12/247) (E/12/154) (E/12/029)
Mr. R.M. Sanjeewa Mr. K.M.P.L. Wijesinghe Mr. A.M.D.L.S. Abesekara
Editor (E/11/361) (E/11/455) (E/11/005)
Student
Representative Mr. L.K.D. Madhushan Mr. S.M.S.B. Samarakoon Mr. A.A.I.N. Abeysinghe
(E/11) (E/11/247) (E/11/351) (E/11/008)
Student
Representative Mr. M.S.N.N. Premathilaka Mr. V.D. Athuraliya Mr. E.M.N. Chamara
(E/12) (E/12/273) (E/12/024) (E/12/037)

19
ANNEXE

20
Annexe 1

Inter University Concrete Mix Design Competition 2015

Guidelines

1. The competition will be open to the student groups that won the competition at University
level and groups should be consist the same number of participants as at university level.
2. The contest will be based on the highest average 28 day compressive strength with cost
effective manner generated from three 150 mm × 150 mm × 150 mm cubes.
3. Candidates are allowed to use any potential mix design method to carry out the design.
4. Available materials would be cement, coarse aggregate, and fine aggregate, a super
plasticizer, silica fume and water. All the materials that will be given with the same quality and
grading. The cost of all the materials will be informed at the time of announcing the
competition based on the market price prevailing at the time. Same brand and manufacturer
of the products will be maintained during all stages of the competitions.
o Cement =
o Fine aggregate =
o Coarse aggregate =
o Silica fume =
o Super plasticizer =
5. The contestant groups are allowed choose any material combination that they wish from the
above list. The maximum allowable cementitious materials (Cement + supplementary
cementitious materials) content is 550 kg/m3.
6. Workability of the concrete will be measured using the slump cone. The minimum slump
should be 80mm. Groups failing to achieve the required slump, would be given one more
trial to upgrade their concrete mix to achieve 80 mm slump requirement. Cubes should be
cast using the provided moulds and compacted using the vibrating table in the Holcim I&A
Centre in RCW Galle Plant
7. Material will be mixed using the concrete mixer available in the Holcim I &A Centre RCW
Galle Plant .
8. A type written design proposal should be submitted by the candidate groups elaborating
target concrete properties, design criterion, cost, assumptions, etc.
9. The composition of the mix design should be declared on the day of the competition.
10. The wining group will be selected based on the strength to cost ratio (Strength/Cost) from
among the mixes that have achieved the minimum slump requirement of 80 mm during
casting. Compressive strength will be determined in N/mm2. Cost per m3 of concrete will be
established based fresh density of the concrete determined by BS EN 12350-6:2009 or similar
appropriate standard/method and the actual weights and hence the cost of the material used
for the cast. In the case of a tie, identical strength to cost ratio
N/mm2/Rs., the group that records the higher workability will be
considered the winners.
Annexe 2

Visual Production Competition -2015

The Civil Engineering Society (CES) would like to invite its student members, who would soon
commence the second segment of the Industrial Training Programme, to participate in the ‘Visual
Production’ competition-2015. The potential applicantsshould come up with a visual production,
producedusing power point slides, video clips or a combination of the both,along with one page
synopsis elaborates the content of the visual production. The production should be based on
exclusive experiences you summon at your training establishments.

Pertaining to the nature of the training, the participants should select an appropriatecategory for the
visual production from the below list.

i) Category A – Innovative construction methods

ii) Category B – Project planning and/or design
iii) Category C – Safety first
iv) Category D – Construction malpracticesof practitioners

The following rules are applicable for the competition.

(1) Submission can be done as an individual or as a group consisting of not more than 3
members. An individual should be associated with only one submission. A registration
number should be requested by email (daham.dias@gmail.com) by providing:

(a) category;
(b) title;
(c) name/s of members with student registration numbers;and
(d) contact details of the convener of the group

The right to change the category is reserved by the President, CES after reviewing the
submission.

(2) The maximum duration of the submission is 10 minutes. Inclusion of sounds to the power-
point and/or video production is optional. An executable file with the registration number as
the file name should be submitted within two weeks after the commencement of the next
academic programme, along with the duly signed information provided under (1) above as a
hardcopy.

(3) Only the file name along with the title should be included as the first slide. No individual or
group member should appear in any slide or video clip, by name or by person.

(4) The submission shall become the property of the CES and the Department of Civil
Engineering. The Head of the Department of Civil Engineering reserves the right to use the
submission for departmental matters without revealing the name/s of the members
individually.

(5) Use of visuals from existing resources will lead to disqualification from the competition.

The submission is evaluated based on the following.

 (a) Importance or uniqueness of the feature selected for the submission.
(b) Clarity of the feature explained.
(c) Relation of the feature explained to the fundamental principles.
(d) Attractiveness.
(e) Adherence to the rules given.

Certificates of competence will be awarded to a maximum of best five (5) submissions under each
category, selected by a panel of judges ratified by the Head of the Department of Civil Engineering.

Further information can be obtained by the following persons.

Advisor: Visual Production Competition

Dr. (Mrs). K.G.N. Nanayakkara
081 2393574
nadee173@yahoo.com

Coordinator: Visual Production Competition; CES Joint Secretary

Mr. D.D. Dias
081 2393575
daham.dias@gmail.com

Civil Engineering Society

26thSeptember 2014
 Visual Production Competition 2015 
Evaluation Form

Evaluation Criterion
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Total
Importance or  Relation of the 
Student/
No. Topic Adherence uniqueness of the  Clarity of the  feature explained to the   Attractiveness 
Group
to rules feature selected for the  feature explained fundamental 
submission      principles 
100%
15% 40%                     20%  25% 
E/10/240 Water Proofing in 
1 Yes/no
E/10/167 High rise Buildings

E/10/15
2 E/10/52 Know safety no accident Yes/no

E/10/137
3 E/10/153 Void Filling Yes/no
E/10/273
4 Project Planning Yes/no
E/10/295
E/10/008
5 E/10/336 Safety first Yes/no

E/10/374
E/10/304
Construction mal‐practices 
6 E/10/358 Yes/no
of practitioners
E/10/161
E/10/215 Construction mal‐practices of 
7 Yes/no
E/10/239 practitioners
Annexe 3
SCHOLARSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Peradeniya

&
Ceylon Steel Corporation Limited
Announce

“LANWA SCHOLARS PROGRAMME”

1. Lanwa Scholars Programme is an innovative partnership between the Department of Civil

Engineering, Peradeniya University and the Ceylon Steel Corporation to promote students
of exceptional all-around promise and help them fulfill their leadership potential. Lanwa
Scholars shall be selected considering academic merit, participation in extra-curricular
activities and other relevant factors. The programme will help them grow academically
while bringing out the innovative potential of these individuals so that they can become
future research and industry leaders and change agents.

2. Each academic year five students selected from those who are majoring in civil engineering
at the Faculty of Engineering and who have successfully completed five semesters of the
degree programme shall be inducted as Lanwa Scholars to the programme. They shall be
entitled to the benefits accorded as Lanwa Scholars and a stipend of Rs. 5,000 per month
will be provided to each of the selected scholar during their 7th and 8th semesters for a total
of 12 months.
3. Head of the Department of Civil Engineering shall constitute a 3-member committee
named the Lanwa Scholars Programme Administration Committee (LSPAC) within the
department for administering the programme. The President of the Civil Engineering
Society shall be the Chairman of the committee and two more members shall be appointed
from among the academic staff members of the department of civil engineering by the
Head of the department.
4. Any student who has attained GPA of 3.3 or higher at the end of 5th Semester will be
eligible to submit an application to be selected as Lanwa Scholars. Applicants may be
required to face an interview conducted by the LSPAC.
5. Any form of canvassing will be a reason for disqualification.

Application forms are available at Civil office by 31st August 2015

Submit the duly completed applications to Civil office on or before
9th September 2015