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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Information Pasteboard |
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#IP 741 26 Nov - 3 Dec 2006 Dr Vishweshwaraiah Prakash will be the new DG Suvarna Karnataka Rajyothsava at NAL
Mr Belagere Krishna Shastry, the chief guest of the day released the 32nd issue of Kanaada and the Kannada version of Director’s report. He distributed prizes and mementos to the authors of the articles who included high school and The 88 year old Mr Krishna Shastry, a state and national award winning teacher, social worker and Dr A R Upadhya recalled the great strides of achievement of the state in various fields during the past 50 years after the unification. He wondered whether unification of people has really taken place. He pointed out that Karnataka is quite famous in the country and abroad and has become a model to be emulated for other states in various areas. He also urged to introspect and see if the goals and aspirations of the people who made great sacrifices for the unification has been met. He expressed his worries about the present day students not opting to go for basic sciences. He said that this can adversely affect the future of scientific research and development. He appreciated the Sangha for bringing out
K Anantha Rao Karnataka Rajyothsava Function Archives Vigilance Awareness Week -2006
Dr C K N Raja, former professor, Dean and faculty of the Department of Law, University of Mysore was the chief guest and
delivered the keynote lecture on "Eternal Vigilance -the Price of Liberty". Dr A R Upadhya, Director, NAL in his presidential address highlighted the importance of vigilance and said "Vigilance is within ourselves -one has to be honest". He emphasized that every citizen is responsible to eliminate corruption at all levels. The chief guest distributed the prizes. M Vimala Vigilance Awareness Week Archives
If ECGs aid in measuring the electrical activities of the human heart, my colleagues at the Structures Division tell me that GVTs (Ground Vibration Tests) are an absolutely mandatory exercise to be carried out on a newly developed aircraft to assess its dynamic characteristics before its first flight. This is more so because of the number of interesting modifications that SARAS PT-II has undergone in its engine type, stub wings, yoke, propellors, nacelle and finally the relocation of the line replaceable units (LRUs). Dr S Viswanath, tells me that 'our study is mainly focussed on how these modifications that have been integrated onto PT-II could in any way interfere with the dynamics of the aircraft. The results of the GVT would now be used to tune the mathematical (FEM) model of the aircraft to enable flutter prediction before the first flight of PT-II'. It's clear to me that the GVTs are a long drawn procedure. The aircraft is instrumented with about 120 accelerometers for studying critical responses. Four electrodynamic shakers provide the necessary excitation to the aircraft. A 64 channel SCADA-III system with CADAX software is used to give force input, acquire and analyze the data in MIMO mode. Typically, the aircraft is tested in two non-identical conditions (full fuel and zero fuel). The GVTs are on from 26 November 2006. 'The initial data generated indicates no major worries says Dr Viswanath'. However, detailed analysis and FEM correlation needs to be carried out soon to arrive at our flutter margins. Our colleagues at the Structures Division richly deserve our warm accolades for a job wonderfully completed, within a record time of four days. I leave the hangar with a happy and optimistic note that the 'big-bird' is maintaining a 'healthy condition' and a perfect 'heart rhythm'. R Guruprasad with Suju Thomas #IP 740 20-26 Nov 2006 Dr Raj Iyengar Seshadri – A tribute
Dr Seshadri joined Materials Science Division as Scientist A1 on 17 January 1973 and rose to the level of Scientist F. As a brilliant mechanical engineer, he had made significant contributions to different areas of materials science in his 34 years of dedicated service. In his early years he played a key role in the design of several mechanical systems for the Division. Actually he started the ceramic activity in the division in 1975 itself, when he developed spray drying process which was acclaimed by none other than the Nobel Laureate Peter Kapitza. Recently he had taken a major project from DRDL on developing high temperature ceramic inserts for applications in rocket thrusters. He was obsessively passionate about this project, which is his brainchild where in he developed a novel material processing technique to produce a high temperature material capable of withstanding temperatures up to 3000K. In spite of his ill health he took it as a challenge and completed this work successfully, made live tests at DRDL about a month back. This significant achievement was well appreciated from the user agency DRDL, where the tests were done. This was the moment he was waiting for and shared his excitement with all of us. Taking this project to its logical conclusion was upper most in his mind and he shared his feelings with some of us just before the inevitable happened. As a person, Dr Seshadri was always willing to help others whenever his expertise was sought. He was a well-known cricketer and sportsman in his yester years. The laboratory has really lost an individual scientist par excellance and a wonderful human being and the best tribute, we in the division can pay to his memory is to complete the unfinished task with the same dedication. T G Ramesh Inauguration of ERBA Smart Lab
Director Dr A RUpadhya formally inaugurated the machine in
D Amarnarayan
'These are a few of our favourite things... ' Amidst this boisterous group of Team SARAS, I notice that there have been rapid strides made in the SARAS activity this week. The equipping activities this week centered around the engine equipping where the ejector system, SG exhaust, fuel & torque sensor system have been finalised. All cockpit looms have been positioned. The belly fairing LRU access covers have been completed. The path ahead looks herculean, but these 'brave men' will take us to the summit. It is well past 7 pm when I leave the hangar. The fast approaching 'silent night' will seamlessly transform into the wee hours of the morning. The 'clanking' and 'riveting' will not stop, but will continue to ring in your ears. In a few minutes from now, the baton will change hand to ensure that 'Team SARAS' will not come to a stand. R Guruprasad with Suju Thomas DG's mother no more Ms Anjani Mashelkar, mother of Dr R A Mashelkar, Director General, CSIR passed away at 11.30 PM on 17 November, 2006. She was about 84 years old. All of us at NAL offer our heart felt condolences to our DG and pray to God to give him strength to overcome this irreparable loss. On behalf of NAL family, Dr Upadhya , Director, NAL has sent a condolence message to Dr Mashelkar#IP 739 13-19 Nov 2006 Dr M R Nayak, Adviser (M&A) and Head, ALSD, has been invited by the RAeS (Royal Aeronautical Society) to become Associate Editor of the Aeronautical Journal.
Dr M R Nayak invited to be Associate Editor of IJSS
CSIR represented by NAL and Plexion Technologies (India) Private Limited signed an agreement on 8 Nov 2006 for Joint development and commercial production and marketing of a 4-seater aircraft.
Congratulations to our colleagues on their promotion to Scientist F
"Country Roads-Take Me Home..."
As I reach the hangar overcoming nature's hurdles, I notice that the looming activity is progressing rapidly and the routing to the forward bay has been completed through the LH side of the belly chute. The belly chute doors have been fixed with the hinges & camlocs. The installation of the hydraulic LRUs in the RH belly fairing have been completed. Swaging of all the pipelines has been completed and pressure tested. The air data boom tube has been fixed on the aircraft with the assistance of the metrology staff and assembled. The MLG door assemblies have been completed on both the LH and RH side. As I begin packing my digital camera, another arduous drive awaits me - "Country Roads. . . take me home... to the place I belong". R Guruprasad with Suju Thomas #IP 738 6 - 12 Nov 2006 CSIR Programme on Youth for Leadership in Science
This year 35 top ranking school children spent two full days at NAL on 9-10 November 2006. These two days were spent attending special lectures by eminent scientists on science related subjects (this year’s speakers included Dr K T Madhavan and Dr S Viswanath of NAL) and visiting NAL’s major R&D facilities. The inauguration programme opened with a welcome speech by Dr Ranjan Moodithaya, Head, KTMD. While introducing the distinguished chief guest Prof Sarala Upadhya, (Chairperson, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UVCE, Bangalore). Dr Ranjan said that the topic of the day’s lecture "Which came first – Seed or Tree?" is both philosophical and intriguing. Dr A R Upadhya, Director, NAL. in his opening remarks said that he was delighted to be with youngsters. Dr Upadhya said that in today’s world, the opportunities being plenty, students should spot a niche area for leadership and work towards that. He further added that youth is a time when one has a lot of strength and energy which can go astray due to weaknesses. Parents and teachers should channelise the energies in the correct path and build youth power for the nation's advantage.
Summing up, she wished "some of you may answer the question like "which came first..." but at least grow like a tree, spreading branches into space..." She said that the answer to the question "Which came first - the seed or tree" is not important but the attitude of questioning is. The quest for knowledge is the backbone of science and humanity. The programme ended with a well articulated vote of thanks by Dr M N Sathyanarayana, Joint Head, KTMD. Ranjan and Shailaja Menon CPYLS Archives SARAS nacelle and engine installation
The nacelle on the aircraft is attached to the stub wing through the L & M inboard frames. An integral part of the stub wing. Inboard L frame is attached to the root rib at #3, front spar, skins and tie rod brackets by 5mm diameter bolts and nuts. Inboard M frame is attached to End Rib at #3, machined spacers and the skins by 5mm diameter bolts and nuts. The L & M inboard frames are attached to the O/B and bottom L & M frames of the nacelle through the longerons and splice boxes by 5mm diameter bolts and anchor nuts. The SARAS PT-II is now powered by two 'PT6-67A' engines. These are attached to the engine mount yoke I/B & O/B through shock mounts mounted on engine mounting pads. The shock mounts are attached to the yoke cup brackets by bolts and self locking nuts. The engine is also attached to the stub wing tie rod bracket by tie rods attached to the top and bottom ends of the inboard yoke. Engine installation is definitely a delicate process involving deft maneuvering. It is first maneuvered in position to the inboard yoke and then the outboard yoke is locked to the inboard yoke with 10mm diameter bolts and nuts at the top and bottom flanges. In its installed condition, it has a pitch up of 2 deg and a toe-in of 1.5 deg with respect to the aircraft axis. On the integration and equipping side, it is seen that the assembly of the windshields-front and side and the assembly of the pax cabin windows have been completed. Fitment of antennas atop the top skin of the fuselage are completed. Swaging and load testing of all the FCS cables have been completed and have been taken up for final installation. Installation of distribution box1 in cockpit has been completed. R Guruprasad with Suju Thomas Recent issues of NAL Information Pasteboard Prev To
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Dr V Prakash, an eminent food technologist from Mysore and the present Director of the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) has been appointed as the new Director-General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Secretary, DSIR. Dr Prakash succeeds Dr R A Mashelkar, one of the longest-serving CSIR Director-Generals. He will formally take charge from 1 January 2007. NAL congratulates Dr Prakash on this occasion and assures him all support.
Fiftieth year of Karnataka Rajyothsava celebrated at NAL on 23 November 2006 had that golden sheen.
college students, invited authors and authors from NAL’s fraternity. Dr A R Upadhya, Director of NAL and Chief Patron of the Sangha felicitated Mr Krishna Shastry.
poet, built schools and hospitals in the villages wherever he was posted as a teacher. He has established a school and a hostel for the children of poor farmers in his native village, Belegere. He humbly mentioned that he is from the village and not educated. But he spoke scholarly with interesting fables about the wonderful achievements made in the country since independence and also expressed his agony about the pathetic state of the eroding value system. Mr Shastry, a true gandhian, deplored the endless wants of mankind. He said that those who practice ‘want’ are poor and those who practice ‘enough’ is rich. He wished ‘Kanaada’ magazine a great success in the future.
Kanaada, the science magazine since the past 32 years.
Cultural programme of Rajyothsava celebrations were held in the evening with felicitations to Mr Avinash, well known kannada cine, theatre and TV artiste. Dr J J Issac presided over the evening function. A comedy play “Shri Krishna Sandhana” written and directed by Mr V N Ashwath, presented by Bhava Tharanga troupe, gave more than an hour of side-splitting laughter to the audience.
The valedictory function of the 2006 Vigilance Awareness Week was held in NAL on 13 November 2006.
It is with extreme grief that I have to write about Dr R Seshadri, a senior scientist of Materials Science Division and a very dear friend, who left us on 11 November 2006.
The NAL Health Center has now acquired ERBA Smart Lab: a fully automatic biochemistry analyzer to replace its previous semiautomatic analyzer. This colorimeter-based equipment is used to measure many sensitive biochemical parameters in the human blood vital to gauge the functions of kidneys, liver, pancreas etc.
the newly refurbished clinical laboratory on 16 Nov 2006. 
The CSIR Programme on Youth for Leadership in Science (CPYLS) is an initiative to expose the young minds to the exciting world of science. The programme helps in building a scientific temper in students at an early age and instilling a sense of pride in the achievements of Indian science.
Prof Sarala Upadhya, was this year’s chief guest to give the inaugural address. Who could be a better choice than Prof Upadhya to give an inspiring talk to the toppers? Prof Upadhya, an engineer from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Masters from Cranfield Institute of Technology, UK has been teaching since 1985. With her vast experience in interacting with a large number of student community as a professor she could do full justice in igniting the minds of young achievers to take up research in science for constructive purpose. She spoke at large about certain issues in science that does not have answers like, what was before the big bang? what is time? what is number? etc.... She gave an insight into science, youth and leadership in a well laid out presentation. 
