We try to restore the original capacity of the structure with the help of a technology known as FRP composites.

Dr. Gopal Rai,
Chief Executive Officer
Dhirendra Group of Companies

Dr. Gopal Rai tells B2B Purchase about the Dhirendra Group and the industry

How is the construction chemical market going on right now?
The construction chemical market is doing well. People need to be educated in this field for better knowledge; otherwise there would be more success and less failure. The construction chemical industry is growing Year-on-Year at a rate of 15 to 20 per cent. In order to increase growth, people need to be educated about the technology. The Chryso event, organized by IIT Bombay is an important step towards educating people.

What is your role in this industry?
At Dhirendra Group of Companies, we take up rehabilitation of projects, which involves structural rehabilitation of major projects like airports-bridges, road-bridges etc. We increase the capacity of the structure, because every time a structure cannot be demolished. We try to restore the original capacity of the structure with the help of a technology known as FRP composites. My PhD at the IIT Bombay was based on this. Now, this research has been carried forward by the industry and one of the company’s ventures recently achieved the ‘Vishwakarma’ award for the same.

What are your future plans?
Right now, we are working with railways and they have a lot of structures which have to be retained for the next 20 to 30 years. Using this technology we give a boost. Now, we try to repair everything in 20 to 30 days, what used to earlier take about 6 to 7 months. It is 7 times faster now and we save time without disturbing the road traffic or air traffic. This technology is growing and can become a landmark technology.
Are there any technology to get a view of a construction site from far?
Yes, there is the new technology wherein cameras are used for capturing images of construction sites. Nowadays, the bridges are so far that the amount of sensors can’t be measured and cannot be noticed by bare eyes. The new technology, known as photo-screening will help click pictures. From a long distance, we have to focus on the specimen which has to be checked. So when you focus the camera in a static state, you take one film and take another image under a distressed state when a truck or any vehicle is moving. Once the picture is clicked and there you have a different pattern. By observing the change in pattern, one can understand the difference between what deflection is and what is distressed. So it has improved the understanding and the study of what is deflection and distressed.

Could you share the Year-on -Year growth the industry should achieve to grow up?
The industry needs to grow up with knowledge. If the people of the industry do not catch up with the industry growth have no knowledge, the industry will suffer. Therefore, we need to have more applications and more trained people. We should now embrace the Indian code, as till today we being Indians are not using any Indian code. The ACI are still silent about the Indian codes. So according to me, we should go through our guidelines. This is the seventh year I am practicing but till date, with the existing BIS code we are not able to meet our code. We need some guidelines as, if we do not get the guidelines, there could be misuse of this technology.