Micro-level Drought Vulnerability Assessment in Peddavagu basin, a Tributary of Krishna River, Andhra Pradesh, India

Agriculture in India, or “gambling with monsoons,” as it’s often called, is dependent on such weather. A monsoon failure leads to droughts and the rural Indian farmers are the worst affected, making drought identification, monitoring and characterization at the village level crucial for drought proofing in rural areas. The Mahabubnagar region of Andhra Pradesh State, in South Central India, is prone to recurrent droughts and has frequently been in the news due to the suicide attempts of the farmers in this region. If droughts could be predicted, or at least monitored and assessed scientifically, attempts could be made to mitigate the ill effects and plan for ample food and drinking water. Other relief measures could help minimize the disastrous consequences of drought, thereby minimizing the plight of farmers. A study assessed the micro-level spatial drought vulnerability with the expectation this will assist in drought-coping measures in the region. Different thematic maps including rainfall, elevation, drainage density, soils and surface water area were integrated and analyzed using the weighted overlay analysis in GIS to derive the village level drought vulnerability map

New Method of Experimentally Determining Heat Transfer Coefficients in Direct-Contact Bubble Evaporation.

A measurement technique is presented that uses a new dilatometer measuring device to determine the instantaneous bubble volume and thereby calculate the instantaneous heat transfer coefficients for vaporizing bubbles in an immiscible liquid. Data were taken on single droplets of refrigerant-114 evaporating in water with a nominal initial diameter of 0. 8 mm at a temperature difference of 4 K. The results indicate that the heat transfer data for R-114 may be different in the region at the end of evaporation where the vaporization ratio is greater than 50%. The technique used is consistent, accurate and the experimental method is easy to perform