Faculty advisor: Dr. Murali Jagannathan, muralij@civil.iitm.ac.in, 

Description: 

One issue that repeatedly features in construction arbitration and litigation is the disputes due to differences in contract interpretation. A manual reading of lengthy and verbose contract documents to identify potential interpretation conflicts in the time-constrained tendering stage is impractical and therefore, issues are left unattended, leading to problems on a later date. In this study, the researcher is expected analyse the various possibilities of ambiguities and other contract drafting inefficiencies through an analysis of court cases and contract documents and site visits and develop a Natural Language Processing (NLP)-based assistive tool that can help parties to automatically identify potential interpretation issues, impact and mitigation measures.  

Keywords: 

Contract, Interpretation, AI, Claims, Disputes 

Pre-requisites, if any: 

Domain knowledge in Contracts and Claims Management and a keen interest in acquiring and updating data analysis skills, especially NLP. 

Faculty advisor: Dr. Murali Jagannathan, muralij@civil.iitm.ac.in, 

Description: 

When a contractual claim submitted by a party to a construction contract is meritorious, there should not be an issue in timely claim settlement. However, when submitted claims are frivolous, non-contractual, and (or) inflated, delayed settlement of claims and disputes from such opportunistic behaviour are inevitable. With dispute resolution already a time-consuming activity, opportunistic behaviour further increases the cost of dispute resolution, putting projects at stake. Therefore, the research question is, “What is the extent of opportunistic behaviour in contractual claims submission, and can it be measured so that mitigation mechanisms can be put in place to prevent delayed dispute resolution and unjust enrichment?” 

Keywords: 

Contract, Opportunistic Behaviour, Construction Industry, Claims, Disputes 

Pre-requisites, if any: 

Knowledge of statistical analysis tools and techniques 

Any other information: 

The research will involve a mixed methods approach wherein qualitative and quantitative techniques will be employed to answer the research question.

Faculty advisor: Dr. Murali Jagannathan, muralij@civil.iitm.ac.in,   

Description: 

Research on lean and sustainable construction is fast picking up, and researchers have shown results that can not only support the journey toward a sustainable future but also help increase construction productivity in an industry prone to time and cost overruns. Notwithstanding the developments, the construction practices at the site have not changed, and problems continue. The research question, therefore, is, ‘What does it take to implement sustainable construction practices at project sites practically?’ The researcher will be expected to explore various facets affecting implementing lean and sustainable construction practices and develop a validated framework to support implementation.  

Keywords: 

Lean, Sustainability, Construction Industry, productivity 

Pre-requisites, if any: 

Knowledge of statistical analysis tools and techniques 

Any other information: 

The research will involve a mixed methods approach wherein qualitative and quantitative techniques will be employed to develop the framework

Faculty advisor: Dr. Ashwin Mahalingam. Mash@civil.iitm.ac.in, 

Description: Companies tend to exhibit ‘institutionalized’ behaviours where they tend to use the same practices, organizational structures and contracts, over and over again. If the construction industry is to become more sustainable, firms need to change the way they work. This research will attempt to study ways in which engineering firms achieve ‘institutional change’. In addition firms today have a sustainability strategy. This project will also analyze these sustainability strategies to derive a blueprint for construction firms to transform their existing practices into sustainable ones 

Keywords: Sustainability, Institutions, Construction, Business Models 

Pre-requisites, if any: None 

Any other information: Independent thinking is required 

Faculty advisor: Dr. Ashwin Mahalingam. Mash@civil.iitm.ac.in, 

Description: In order to truly build low carbon buildings or infrastructure, architects, civil engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers, contract managers and others need to join hands and align their visions. This project will attempt to develop a framework for such coordination. The project will also attempt to design a measurement framework that will enable the measurement of the carbon footprint of a building at the design stage, and use this to guide the project team as to what strategies they can use in design, construction and operation, to minimize the carbon impact.  

Keywords: Sustainability, Low Carbon, Construction, coordination, Benchmarks and Metrics 

Pre-requisites, if any: None 

Any other information: Independent thinking is required

Faculty advisor: Dr. Nikhil Bugalia,. nbugalia@civil.iitm.ac.in  

Description: The construction sector in India, the second largest employment generator, faces significant challenges due to skill gaps, with 81% of the workforce considered poorly skilled. This leads to poor quality execution, safety issues, project delays, and cost overruns. The Indian government has recognized the potential of digital technologies like Virtual Reality (VR) in enhancing construction-related training for safety and quality. However, significant work is needed to scale the impact of VR technology, particularly in the Indian context. Key aspects include creating site-specific/trade-specific training programs, developing VR training scenarios that represent Indian conditions, and offering affordable training programs for small and medium construction companies. A hybrid training strategy, where VR complements existing industry training programs, needs to be developed and rigorously evaluated. 

Keywords: construction, safety, VR, training, games 

Pre-requisites, if any: willingness to learn  

Faculty advisors: Dr. Keerthana Kirupakaran, keerthanak@civil.iitm.ac.in 

Description:  

Acoustic Emission (AE) is a real-time damage monitoring technique widely used in fracture studies of composites and in structural health monitoring. AE sensors capture signals generated by crack initiation and propagation, which are then analyzed to evaluate and characterize material damage. This research focuses on characterizing the fracture behaviour of concrete composites, such as fiber-reinforced and textile-reinforced concrete, through AE parametric and waveform analysis. Students will conduct mechanical testing in conjunction with AE monitoring and perform waveform analysis to investigate the micromechanical fracture behaviour of these concrete composites.
Keywords: Acoustic Emission, concrete, damage characterization

Pre-requisites, if any: Basic knowledge of reinforced concrete design, and finite element analysis. 
Any other information: Student should be interested in laboratory work. 

Faculty advisor(s): Dr. Manu Santhanam (manus@civil.iitm.ac.in) and Dr. Surender Singh (surender@civil.iitm.ac.in) 

Description: 

Rigid pavements are long-lasting and preferable. However, high-volume utilization of natural materials makes this choice unsustainable and expensive. The use of construction, demolition, and industrial wastes can induce sustainability and economic benefits in rigid pavements. This project explores the potential of locally sourced waste streams in India and Germany to be used as constituents in concrete replacing both Portland cement and natural aggregates in high volumes at the same time. Scientific knowledge on microstructure and properties of concrete with such high volume of waste materials will be developed to address key challenges such as processing of waste, activation of waste materials (carbon and thermal activation), dimensional stability (creep, shrinkage, and curling) and durability (Alkali-silica reaction, freeze-thaw, and leaching).  Mechanistic models will be developed to enable design of pavements utilizing such materials and a holistic machine learning based mix design framework which also considers life cycle assessment developed will help to maximize use of locally sourced waste streams. The final demonstrator will ensure the field applicability of the developed framework with an aim to reach TRL6 at the project end. The partnerships established in this project between academic institutions and industry in India and Germany will lead to a long-term impact on the practice of sustainable construction and also in drafting the policies to enable the same. 

Keywords: Pavement concrete, supplementary cementitious materials, recycled concrete aggregate, durability, life cycle assessment 

Note: This is a funded project from the Indo German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC)

Faculty advisor: Dr. Aslam Kunhi Mohamed (akm@civil.iitm.ac.in)  

Description: 

Chemical admixtures are added to concrete to bring about tailored properties which are very essential in modern day construction. These include a range of organic molecules ranging from small and commonly known sugars to polycarboxylate ether-based superplasticizers. With the urgent need to use more sustainable and low-carbon intensive cement systems in concrete, there is a greater demand to develop and understand the mechanisms of such chemical admixtures. Here, we use a combination of computational and experimental techniques to understand the interaction of the existing as well as emerging admixtures on  

Keywords: Chemical admixtures, low carbon, cement, calcined clays, molecular dynamics, density functional theory, polymer chemistry 

Pre-requisites, if any: Knowledge/experience on molecular dynamics and related methods are helpful. Familiarity with python or other programming languages.

Faculty advisor: Dr. Radhakrishna G Pillai, pillai@civil.iitm.ac.in,

https://civil.iitm.ac.in/faculty/pillai/  

Description:

Corrosion of steel in concrete structures is analogous to ‘cancer’ in humans and costs about 5 % of GDP. Galvanic cathodic protection can stop corrosion of steel, extend the service life, and reduce the carbon footprint and life cycle cost of concrete structures. This study will aim to make galvanic anodes with a zinc piece encapsulated in a special mortar with interconnected pores, activators, and humectants. I am looking for students who can perform analytical and experimental studies on the cement chemistry of mortar, electrochemistry/corrosion of zinc in mortar, time-variant clogging and evolution of pore structure of mortar, simultaneous transport of zinc corrosion products and various ions through porous mortar.  Aim would be to develop system designs to achieve various target service life extensions (say, 10, 25, 40, 50 years). 

Keywords: Concrete, steel, corrosion, repair, cathodic protection, service life, durability 

Pre-requisites, if any: None  

Any other information: This project will lead to at least one MS thesis and one PhD thesis. I am looking for persons with good background in either civil engineering, material science, or applied mechanics. More importantly, I am looking for a person with a passion for research towards developing technologies for preserving and conserving the huge inventory of ageing/corroding concrete infrastructure. For more details, please visit my website or email me seeking an appointment for an online meeting.

Faculty advisor: Dr. Radhakrishna G Pillai, pillai@civil.iitm.ac.in,

https://civil.iitm.ac.in/faculty/pillai/  

Description:

Many prestressed concrete bridges, which are usually expensive and important infrastructure, have started showing distress well before their design life. Hence, the demand for their condition assessment and repair is growing.   Also, the corrosion of 7-wire prestressed steel strands in concrete is hidden/insidious in nature and does not provide signs of corrosion at the concrete surface.  This is because the corrosion products occupy the interstitial space between the 7 wires, do not ooze out through the concrete cover, and do not exert any pressure onto the surrounding concrete until the strands fail.  Hence, the corrosion propagation period for prestressed concrete should be considered negligible.  This project will develop methods (say, using sensors) to assess chloride profile, detect the chloride-induced corrosion at early stages, and develop durable repair strategies for prestressed concrete systems.  Generation of chemical and electrochemical data in the laboratory, its interpretation, and possible use of machine learning techniques to develop the needed tools for accelerated corrosion condition assessment and develop optimal repair strategies for large infrastructure will be explored. 

Keywords: prestressed concrete, steel, corrosion, condition assessment, repair, cathodic protection, concrete surface coatings, service life, durability 

Pre-requisites, if any: None 

Any other information: This project will lead to at least one MS thesis and one PhD thesis. I am looking for a person with a passion for research towards developing technologies for preserving and conserving the huge inventory of ageing/corroding concrete infrastructure. 

For more details, please visit my website or email me seeking an appointment for an online meeting.  

Faculty advisor: Dr. Aritra Pal, aritrapal@civil.iitm.ac.in,

https://sites.google.com/view/dice-iitm/home 

Description: 

Digital Twin technology is transforming construction management by providing real-time, data-driven insights through the creation of virtual replicas of physical construction sites. In this research, we plan to develop C’TWIN (Construction Twin), which uses digital twin technology to dynamically monitor construction projects, integrating data from vision sensors and Building Information Models (BIM). C’TWIN will enable real-time tracking of project progress and resource allocation, allowing for predictive analytics and automated alerts. By synchronising the digital and physical environments continuously, C’TWIN aims to enhance decision-making, improve productivity, and reduce project delays.  

Keywords: 

Digital twin, real-time monitoring, project control, productivity, resource allocation 

Pre-requisites, if any: 

Knowledge of basic computer programming, willingness to learn and explore new technologies 

Any other information: 

This will be a multidisciplinary research project. Collaboration with interdisciplinary researchers and the construction industry will be required.

Faculty advisor: Dr. Aritra Pal, aritrapal@civil.iitm.ac.in,

https://sites.google.com/view/dice-iitm/home 

Description: 

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has become a cornerstone of modern construction, offering enhanced visualisation, project planning, and data management. 5D BIM extends traditional 3D models by incorporating time (4D) and cost (5D) dimensions, enabling precise scheduling and cost estimation. Current methods require significant manual input to translate textual specifications into structured BIM data, leading to inefficiencies and inconsistencies. Advances in natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (AI) offer a promising solution for automating this process. This research aims to develop an automated system for generating 5D BIM models directly from construction specification documents. The system will convert unstructured text into detailed, multidimensional BIM models that integrate 3D geometry, scheduling, and cost data by employing AI and NLP techniques. 

Keywords: 

5D BIM, Construction specification, Natural language processing, Artificial intelligence 

Pre-requisites, if any: 

Knowledge of basic computer programming, willingness to learn and explore new technologies 

Any other information: 

This will be a multidisciplinary research project. Collaboration with interdisciplinary researchers and the construction industry will be required.

Faculty advisor: Dr. Aritra Pal, aritrapal@civil.iitm.ac.in,

https://sites.google.com/view/dice-iitm/home 

Description: 

This research aims to explore the potential of generative design in advancing circular construction, a sustainable approach that promotes resource efficiency, reuse, and minimal waste. By leveraging AI-driven generative design, architects and engineers can create building designs optimised for material reuse, modular construction, and disassembly at the end of the building’s life cycle. The research will focus on developing algorithms that prioritise the use of low-carbon materials, enable flexible and modular designs, and facilitate the circular economy principles of “design for deconstruction.” The study aims to demonstrate how generative design can enhance sustainability and reduce environmental impacts in construction. 

Keywords: 

Circular construction, Sustainability, Generative-design, Artificial intelligence 

Pre-requisites, if any: 

Knowledge of basic computer programming, willingness to learn and explore new technologies 

Any other information: 

Independent thinking 

Faculty advisor: Murali Jagannathan
E-mail: muralij@civil.iitm.ac.in 

Description: 

One issue that repeatedly features in construction arbitration and litigation is the disputes due to differences in contract interpretation. A manual reading of lengthy and verbose contract documents to identify potential interpretation conflicts in the time-constrained tendering stage is impractical and therefore, issues are left unattended, leading to problems on a later date. In this study, the researcher is expected analyse the various possibilities of ambiguities and other contract drafting inefficiencies through an analysis of court cases and contract documents and site visits and develop a Natural Language Processing (NLP)-based assistive tool that can help parties to automatically identify potential interpretation issues, impact and mitigation measures.

Keywords:  

Contract, Interpretation, AI, Claims, Disputes

Pre-requisites, if any:

Domain knowledge in Contracts and Claims Management and a keen interest in acquiring and updating data analysis skills, especially NLP.

Faculty advisor: Murali Jagannathan
E-mail: muralij@civil.iitm.ac.in 

Description: 

When a contractual claim submitted by a party to a construction contract is meritorious, there should not be an issue in timely claim settlement. However, when submitted claims are frivolous, non-contractual, and (or) inflated, delayed settlement of claims and disputes from such opportunistic behaviour are inevitable. With dispute resolution already a time-consuming activity, opportunistic behaviour further increases the cost of dispute resolution, putting projects at stake. Therefore, the research question is, “What is the extent of opportunistic behaviour in contractual claims submission, and can it be measured so that mitigation mechanisms can be put in place to prevent delayed dispute resolution and unjust enrichment?”

Keywords: 

Contract, Opportunistic Behaviour, Construction Industry, Claims, Disputes

Pre-requisites, if any:

Knowledge of statistical analysis tools and techniques

Any other information:

The research will involve a mixed methods approach wherein qualitative and quantitative techniques will be employed to answer the research question.

Faculty advisor: Murali Jagannathan
E-mail: muralij@civil.iitm.ac.in 

Description:

Research on lean and sustainable construction is fast picking up, and researchers have shown results that can not only support the journey toward a sustainable future but also help increase construction productivity in an industry prone to time and cost overruns. Notwithstanding the developments, the construction practices at the site have not changed, and problems continue. The research question, therefore, is, ‘What does it take to implement sustainable construction practices at project sites practically?’ The researcher will be expected to explore various facets affecting implementing lean and sustainable construction practices and develop a validated framework to support implementation.

Keywords:

Lean, Sustainability, Construction Industry, productivity

Pre-requisites, if any:

Knowledge of statistical analysis tools and techniques

Any other information:

The research will involve a mixed methods approach wherein qualitative and quantitative techniques will be employed to develop the framework.

Faculty advisor: Ashwin Mahalingam
E-mail: mash@civil.iitm.ac.in 

Description : 

Companies tend to exhibit ‘institutionalized’ behaviours where they tend to use the same practices, organizational structures and contracts, over and over again. If the construction industry is to become more sustainable, firms need to change the way they work. This research will attempt to study ways in which engineering firms achieve ‘institutional change’. In addition firms today have a sustainability strategy. This project will also analyze these sustainability strategies to derive a blueprint for construction firms to transform their existing practices into sustainable ones

Keywords: 

Sustainability, Institutions, Construction, Business Models

Pre-requisites, if any: None

Any other information: Independent thinking is required

Faculty advisor: Ashwin Mahalingam
E-mail: mash@civil.iitm.ac.in 

Description: 

In order to truly build low carbon buildings or infrastructure, architects, civil engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers, contract managers and others need to join hands and align their visions. This project will attempt to develop a framework for such coordination. The project will also attempt to design a measurement framework that will enable the measurement of the carbon footprint of a building at the design stage, and use this to guide the project team as to what strategies they can use in design, construction and operation, to minimize the carbon impact.

Keywords: 

Sustainability, Low Carbon, Construction, coordination, Benchmarks and Metrics

Pre-requisites, if any: None

Any other information: Independent thinking is required

Faculty advisor: Nikhil Bugalia
E-mail: nbugalia@civil.iitm.ac.in 

Description: 

The construction sector in India, the second largest employment generator, faces significant challenges due to skill gaps, with 81% of the workforce considered poorly skilled. This leads to poor quality execution, safety issues, project delays, and cost overruns. The Indian government has recognized the potential of digital technologies like Virtual Reality (VR) in enhancing construction-related training for safety and quality. However, significant work is needed to scale the impact of VR technology, particularly in the Indian context. Key aspects include creating site-specific/trade-specific training programs, developing VR training scenarios that represent Indian conditions, and offering affordable training programs for small and medium construction companies. A hybrid training strategy, where VR complements existing industry training programs, needs to be developed and rigorously evaluated.

Keywords:

construction, safety, VR, training, games

Pre-requisites, if any: willingness to learn

Faculty advisor: Keerthana Kirupakaran

E-mail: keerthanak@civil.iitm.ac.in

Description: 

Textile reinforced concrete (TRC) is a composite material reinforced with non-metallic textile that enhances the tensile capacity and fracture toughness of the material. TRC applications span from strengthening existing structures to free-form lightweight structures and facades. This study will focus on the thermo-mechanical performance of TRC. Work involves experimental investigation of TRC specimens under fatigue cycles and temperature variations and subsequently modelling the thermo-mechanical behaviour.

Keywords:

Textile reinforced concrete, Fatigue, temperature, Thermo-mechanical

Pre-requisites, if any: Basic knowledge of reinforced concrete design, and finite element analysis.
Any other information: Student should be interested in laboratory work.

Faculty advisor: Manu Santhanam & Surender Singh

E-mail: manus@civil.iitm.ac.in & surender@civil.iitm.ac.in

Description: 

Rigid pavements are long-lasting and preferable. However, high-volume utilization of natural materials makes this choice unsustainable and expensive. The use of construction, demolition, and industrial wastes can induce sustainability and economic benefits in rigid pavements. This project explores the potential of locally sourced waste streams in India and Germany to be used as constituents in concrete replacing both Portland cement and natural aggregates in high volumes at the same time. Scientific knowledge on microstructure and properties of concrete with such high volume of waste materials will be developed to address key challenges such as processing of waste, activation of waste materials (carbon and thermal activation), dimensional stability (creep, shrinkage, and curling) and durability (Alkali-silica reaction, freeze-thaw, and leaching).  Mechanistic models will be developed to enable design of pavements utilizing such materials and a holistic machine learning based mix design framework which also considers life cycle assessment developed will help to maximize use of locally sourced waste streams. The final demonstrator will ensure the field applicability of the developed framework with an aim to reach TRL6 at the project end. The partnerships established in this project between academic institutions and industry in India and Germany will lead to a long-term impact on the practice of sustainable construction and also in drafting the policies to enable the same.

Keywords:

Pavement concrete, supplementary cementitious materials, recycled concrete aggregate, durability, life cycle assessment

Note: This is a funded project from the Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC).

Faculty advisor: Aslam Kunhi Mohamed

E-mail: akm@civil.iitm.ac.in 

Description: 

Chemical admixtures are added to concrete to bring about tailored properties which are very essential in modern day construction. These include a range of organic molecules ranging from small and commonly known sugars to polycarboxylate ether-based superplasticizers. With the urgent need to use more sustainable and low-carbon intensive cement systems in concrete, there is a greater demand to develop and understand the mechanisms of such chemical admixtures. Here, we use a combination of computational and experimental techniques to understand the interaction of the existing as well as emerging admixtures on

Keywords: 

Chemical admixtures, low carbon, cement, calcined clays, molecular dynamics, density functional theory, polymer chemistry.

Pre-requisites, if any: Knowledge/experience on molecular dynamics and related methods are helpful. Familiarity with python or other programming languages.