Information Pasteboard
Weekly reports of meetings at NAL, snippets of R&D activity, conference announcements and other features of popular interest
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News and Events #IP 832 25 - 31 Aug 2008 10th AeSI Annual CFD SymposiumThe 10th Annual Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Symposium, organised by the CFD Division of the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI), was held in the S. R. Valluri Auditorium during 11-12 August 2008. This annual event provides an opportunity for the CFD practitioners of the country to meet and discuss the latest developments in their field of work. In the inaugural function Dr. K. P. Singh, Chairman, CFD Division, AeSI, welcomed the gathering in his opening remarks, and Dr. A. R. Upadhya, Director, NAL, delivered the presidential address. Dr. Prahlada, Distinguished Scientist and CC R&D(SI), DRDO, the chief guest for the function, delivered the inaugural address and Mr. P. S. Subramanyam, Distinguished Scientist and Director, ADA, released the Book of Abstracts and also addressed the audience. The vote of thanks was given by Dr. P. S. Kulkarni, Honorary General Secretary of the CFD Division, AeSI. This year again there was a very good response to the symposium with 50 abstracts submitted, out of which 39 were accepted for presentation. In addition to these contributed papers, there was 1 invited keynote lecture, 6 invited talks, a special session on CFD from the designer’s perspective, and 1 valedictory talk. The invited talks dealt with a variety of topics including CFD applications to real problems, evolution of CFD codes, numerical simulations, computation of turbulent flows, and computational magneto-hydrodynamics. The invited speakers included Prof. G. R. Shevare and Prof. A. W. Date from IIT Bombay, Prof. J. Mathew from IISc, Bangalore, Dr. R. Krishnamurthy from DRDL, Hyderabad, Dr. S. K. Chakrabartty and Dr. S. Majumdar, retired scientists from NAL, and Dr. Yuval Levy from the Israeli CFD Centre. The contributed papers were presented in 10 parallel sessions and covered a wide range including grid generation, algorithms, internal flows, unsteady flows, high speed flows, and applications. In the special session, designers from HAL AR&DC, Bangalore; DRDL, Hyderabad; and VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram, gave their perspectives on the use of CFD in their design and development programmes. In the valedictory lecture, Dr. Alok Chatterjee, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA, talked about the future of space science from NASA’s perspective. The symposium was attended by a large number of participants from different research and academic organizations and proved to be a good opportunity for reviewing and assessing the present status of CFD in the country. J. S. Mathur 12.88M DIA MARK-II RADOME FOR THE DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR In response to an order placed by BEL, Ghaziabad for development of 12.88m dia radomes for the 9M dia Doppler Weather Radar developed by BEL-Ghaziabad (technology transferred from ISRAD-ISRO), NAL has successfully designed and built the country’s first state-of-the-art 12.88m dia MARK-II Radome, installed around the 9m dia DW Radar at BEL-Bangalore site. In continuation to the MARK-I Radome (146 panels) developed earlier for ISTRAC-ISRO, this MARK-II Radome was developed to get better EM performance, with increased panel size of approx 7 sq. m (against the 3sq m of MARK-I). This MARK-II radome has only 66 panels and is configured with randomized joints. Non-linear FEM analysis was carried out to establish factors of safety against buckling at wind speeds of 250 kmph (normal) and 300 kmph (gust). A totally new tooling system was exclusively developed for large panel fabrication and the panels were fabricated using the room temperature vacuum bag moulding technique (RTVBM). The Radome panels after inspection by BEL has been installed at BEL-Bangalore site, to carry out the Radar Antenna-Radome Assembly tests, as per the test procedure evolved by ISRAD (ISRO). The end users of the radome are ISRO / DRDO / IMD. Efforts are on to transfer of technology (TOT) to BEL (GAD) for productionisation of these MARK-II Radomes.
#IP 831 18 - 24 Aug 2008 Report on International Conference on Aerospace Science & Technology The National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), one of the premier and largest laboratories of CSIR and the only one in the area of aerospace sciences and technologies in the civilian sector, is celebrating its Golden Jubilee starting from 1st June 2008. The Laboratory was established in the year 1959 in Delhi and moved to Bangalore in 1960. As a part of its Golden Jubilee celebrations, NAL is organizing a number of events during the year to highlight its diverse achievements and contributions to the nation in the strategically important area of aerospace. The first in the series was the International Conference on Aerospace Science & Technology (this being the core competence of NAL) held at the National Science Seminar Complex, I I Sc premises , Bangalore during June 26–28, 2008. The objectives of the conference was to bring together the scientists working in the various sectors such as defence, space, civil aviation, academia, R&D, industry etc, bring out the advances made in the country and elsewhere in the world to the Indian aerospace community, and focus on the future S&T requirements in this critical area. The Conference provided a platform for International R&D organizations, academia and industrial agencies to present their latest achievements and to further explore the possibility of deriving synergies. The Conference was inaugurated on 26th June by Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, Honorable Former President of India and one of the most distinguished aerospace scientists in the country. The Inaugural function was presided over by Dr G Madhavan Nair, Chairman, Space Commission, Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, Research Council of NAL. Prof. R. Narasimha, former Director of NAL and Chairman, Engineering Mechanics, JNCASR, Bangalore released the Souvenir. The function began with Dr. Sajeer Ahmed, Chairman, Conference Organising Committee, welcoming the gathering. Dr. A R Upadhya , Director NAL introduced the Chief guest, Dr. AP J Abdul Kalam to the audience. Dr. M R Nayak, Adviser (M&A), NAL proposed the vote of thanks. The event also received extensive media coverage in the national press and TV. Greetings and Messages of Good Wishes were received from the Honorable President of India, Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Minister of Civil Aviation, Minister of Defence, Governer of Karnataka, PSA to Govt of India, Chairman, SAC to PM, Secretaries of DSIR, DST, DDR&D, DoS and DAE, Chairman,HAL, DGCA, Former DGs of CSIR, Former Directors of NAL, President,SIATI, Director,ADA and many other eminent persons. In his inaugural address, Dr. Kalam spoke about his long association with aerospace R&D in the country and informed the audience that the Golden Jubilee year of NAL also coincided with the 50th year of his association with aerospace. In his unique, informal style , he emphasized the need for effective leadership and enumerated the qualities of a good leader. He also recalled the rapid indigenous growth of aerospace in the last 2-3 decades and emphasized the need for further growth in aeronautics through development of transport aircraft. He hailed the efforts of NAL to develop a 70-seat transport aircraft RTA-70 incorporating advanced technologies with focus on reduced acquisition, operating and maintenance costs. Dr. G Madhavan Nair, in his presidential address, hailed the achievements of NAL in the aerospace sector and its efforts towards fostering design and development of passenger aircraft in the country through its Hansa and Saras aircraft and also its initiatives to design a 70-seat aircraft with latest technologies. Dr. Nair also mentioned about the activities of ISRO including the Chandrayan Mission which is expected to be launched soon. The conference had 6 plenary lectures by eminent scientists in the field and 30 invited papers including 17 from abroad in different areas of specialization. The conference had distinguished invitees from International Aerospace Industries - Boeing and Honeywell, International R&D Organizations - NASA from USA, DLR-German Aerospace Centre, ONERA from France and the International Academia to present the latest developments in the filed of aerospace. The conference also had participants from Netherlands, Canada, Israel and Brazil. About 117 contributory papers and 50 poster papers were presented in the conferences The areas discussed covered the broad disciplines of aerospace engineering, namely Aerodynamics, Structures, Materials, Aerospace Electronics, Flight Mechanics and Controls , Propulsion and Parallel Computing, including theoretical, computational and experimental aspects. The Plenary talk by Prof. Narasimha brought out the need for an Aeronautics Commission for accelerated growth of aeronautics in the country. He mentioned that though the country had witnessed a boom in the Civil Aviation in the recent years, the boom in Aeronautics was yet to be seen. He recalled the recommendation of the late Dr Vikram Sarabhai to the Government of India in 1970’s about the need for various Commissions including Space and Earth Commissions and added that only the Aeronautics Commission was yet to be realized. The Plenary talk by Dr. Alan Miller on Boeing 787 aircraft was very informative and showed some of the new technologies adopted in the design of the aircraft. Prof. Inderjit Chopra, University of Maryland reviewed the state-of-the art in the rather complex nonlinear rotorcraft aeromechanics and indicated the future trends in R&D and applications. Importance of Aero acoustics and development of CFD codes and the need to bring out the underlying physics was highlighted by Prof. Sanjiv Lele from Stanford University. The Plenary talk by Dr. A R Upadhya, Director NAL, traced the rapid and remarkable growth of the Laboratory under different Directors during in the last 5 decades and the diversity of its activities and contributions. He concluded with a remark that the NAL will continue to meet the future advanced S&T requirements and needs of national programs while continuing its efforts in the civil aircraft sector. Dr. Kota Harinarayana, Raja Ramanna Fellow at NAL, in his plenary talk, explained the need for mid size turbo prop aircraft for the country and briefed on the various technologies involved in the RTA-70. The 117 contributory papers were presented in 32 Technical Sessions and the 50 poster papers in 7 Poster sessions. Most of the technical sessions had invited speakers providing the state of art in the area. About 450 delegates attended the conference including about 80 students. A workshop in collaboration with DLR, Braunschweig, Germany on ’Aerodynamics Database Validation and Update from Flight Data’, was organized during the conference. An exhibition was also organized to display technologies and products in the areas of interest to the conference. The conference concluded with a Valedictory Function on the 28th Evening. Dr. Sajeer Ahmed, Chairman, Conference Organising Committee summed up the events and presentations over the 3 days. He said that efforts were needed to be initiated to develop collaborations in advanced areas to bring synergy and to economize on time and cost. Dr. A R Upadhya, Director and Chairman of Golden Jubilee Celebrations said that Golden Jubilee Celebrations had started off well with the successful conduct of this Seminar. He thanked all the speakers and delegates for their active participation, the sponsors for their support, and the Organising Committee and others involved on their committed and enthusiastic efforts. Sajeer Ahmed NAL Golden Jubilee Celebration(GJC) Website
#IP 830 11-17 Aug 2008 NAL team visits Park college of Engineering and Technology A team comprising of Dr J J Isaac, Head, Propulsion Division, Dr M N Sathyanarayana, Joint Head, KTMD, and Mr C V Giri Raj, Group Head, MPM Group visited Park College of Engineering and Technology (PCET) on 8 August 2008. The team had preliminary discussions with PCET Team for organising a Mobile Science Exhibitions and one day knowledge exchange workshop and HANSA flights at PARK College. The chairman of PCET assured NAL team full support for conducting the event planned in December 2008. Dr. J J Isaac delivered an invited talk on “Wind Turbine Development: An India-Specific Approach”. Around 600 students along with faculties and invitees attended the lecture. An umbrella MoU was signed between NAL and Infra Polytech (Lohia Group), Kanpur on 25 July 2008 for providing NAL assistance to Infra Polytech in various areas of mutual interest. Patent Granted An Indian Patent No. 221407 dated August 1,2008 was granted to Patent Application “A PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF SUB-DENIER FIBRES” invented by Sridhar M K, P Kanaklatha, Ajay Chandra, Murli Mohan, Krishnaswamy Rangarajan” Scientists of IFRF, Material Science Division. Invention relates to a process for the preparation of sub-denier fibres of polymetaphenylene isophtalamide with denier per filament of less than 1, having high yield strength and high tensile modulus. #IP 829 4 - 10 Aug 2008 Course on Computer Hardware, Software, Internet and E-mail As part of NAL’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations, NAL is organising a number of International conferences, events, workshops etc. Computer Support and Service Division of NAL has taken the initiative to conduct a 10 day course on Computer Hardware, Software, Internet and E-mail for the children of NAL staff who have passed X standard. The aim of the course is to have the students get familiarized with basic computer skills and gather hands on experience. The course was inaugurated by Dr J J Isaac on 6 August 2008. The function started with a melodious invocation by Dr Girija Gopalrathnam, Deputy Head, Flight Mechanics & Control Division. Dr Dinah Geethalathi, Head CSS, welcomed the gathering and gave a brief outline of the course. She further said, Mr Gururaja, the course co-ordinator will be taking them on a guided tour to the world of computers. She advised the youngsters to ask questions and make the sessions interesting and interactive. Dr J J Isaac, Head, WED and Propulsion Division, in his inaugural speech said today it is impossible to imagine a world without computers and added in today’s world all contacts and communications are through internet whether it is in the area of e-commerce, ATMS, bookings etc Mr Gururaja proposed vote of thanks and the programme was compered by Ms Gayathri. GiriRaj and Shailaja
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