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Link to SARAS PT-II Countdown


Summary of activities (June-Sep)

SARAS horizontal tail and the stub wing mounting activity

SARAS nacelle and engine installation

"Country Roads-Take Me Home..."

'These are a few of our favourite things... '

It's Time for an ECG ...

Significant Progress on Electrical Looming

'The Clamps That Can Read The Ohms.'

Light at the End of the Tunnel…’

‘Getting Decked Up for the New Year’

Progressing Ahead To Ensure A Safe Landing…

'The Noise Shielders’

‘Filling it up to the Brim…’

‘Deft Maneuvering with my FCS…’

”The Beauty(s) and the Beast(s)”

'The Crescendo, Aftermath and Back to Serious Business..'

"A Moment That Comes...But Rarely in History"

“On my way to my second home to accomplish a new milestone..”

“I’m Eager to get a Feel of the Runway”

“Limbering Up Before Final Take Off”

An odyssey called SARAS

“Gathering sufficient momentum to see my nose wheel lift”

SARAS PT2 Countdown to the First Flight

SARAS PT2 makes maiden flight

"Up Above the World so High.like a Diamond in the Sky"

 

Saga of SARAS

 

 

#IP 737 30 Oct - 5 Nov 2006

SARAS horizontal tail and the stub wing mounting activity

The SARAS horizontal tail assembly consists of the metallic horizontal stabilizer and the composite control surface 'elevator'. This is a very important structural module of the aircraft, which imparts the horizontal stability to the aircraft. The elevator is a primary control surface, which controls the pitch of the aircraft . The horizontal stabilizer is attached to the aircraft through the vertical tail by means of a fork and eye end attachment. The horizontal stabilizer has two fork type fittings attached to front and rear spars which engages into eye end fittings attached to rear and middle spars on the vertical tail through four 12mm dia high strength bolts. The safety of the joint is ensured by a self-locking nut and use of split pins. The location of the attachment fittings is strictly controlled in the jig during their assembly by use of ICY gauges. This ensures the proper matching of the fittings during integration.

The LH and RH elevators are attached to the horizontal stabilizer at two hinges (I/B and O/B) located in the aft box of the horizontal stabilizer by means of bolts and are also connected at the centre by a common torque shaft which ensures symmetry of movement of both the elevators.

The stub wing assembly is mounted at the aft fuselage at STA #29A and at STA #32 bulkheads. The attachment is by means of four 25mm dia high strength steel bolts. The fuselage side has an eye end fitting housing 25mm dia bearings and the stub wing side has a fork end, which is an integral part of the front and rear spars pressed with 25mm ID steel bushes. A small installation gap is provided between the eye and the fork fitting at the rear attachment. These are filled by a thrust washer and split spacer. This is to safeguard the bolts from very high shear loads.

The stub wings are loaded on the A-frame using belt rope and is maneuvered skillfully to align the fork end and with the fuselage eye end and bolts are engaged carefully and locked one after the other. The stub wing has a dihedral of 28 deg with respect to the fuselage, which is maintained through the design of the stub wing spars. This is measured after installation by use of dihedral boards.

The yoke assembly on which the engines of the aircraft are mounted is fitted to the stub wing yoke bracket by two 17mm dia high strength steel bolts. A common drill jig has been provided to ream the attachment holes of the yoke and the stub wing yoke bracket to ensure the matching of the attachment on aircraft. The reaming of these holes has to be done with a high degree of precision since these parts are subject to very high loads and vibration during the operation of the aircraft.

As I leave the SARAS Hangar admiring the aircraft, I am only remembered of this line of John Keats that 'a thing of beauty is a joy for ever' - (Endymion (1818)). And, how remarkably, SARAS symbolizes this.

R Guruprasad with Suju Thomas

SARAS horizontal tail mounting activity through the lens


Dr R Ramachandra Rao distinctions

The Sri Rama Satyanarayana Memorial Award 2006 was awarded to Dr R Ramachandra Rao, Materials Science Division, Scientist, NAL. The award is in recognition of Dr Rao's outstanding contribution to R&D in the field of advanced ceramics and popularizing the ceramic science in local language. The award carries a cash prize of Rs.5000 and a citation. Dr Rao was invited to deliver the 3rd Rama Satyanarayana Award Lecture. He spoke on "Ceramics in bone tissue engineering - materials and methods".



NAL celebrates Karnataka Rajyothsava Day

This year's Karnataka Rajyothsava celebrations had a very special significance. It is the golden jubilee year - "Suvarna Karnataka Rajyothsava". Celebrations at NAL had that grand and special touch.

Dr A R Upadhya, Director, NAL and the chief patron of Kannada Samskrithika Sangha started the celebrations by hoisting the Karnataka flag. The cultural programme depicted the rich cultural heritage of Karnataka.

An interesting part of the cultural events was a musical programme by Mr M S Kamaleshaiah. Little girls of Tamil and Malayalam mother tongue sang Kannada songs in a flawless diction.

A report about Karnataka Rajyothsava day celebrations at NAL in Kannada By K N Sanjeeva Rao


#IP 736 23-29Oct 2006

Inauguration of the Large Scale Rotating Rig (LSRR) for Compressor and Turbine Aerodynamics Research

The crisp and bright morning of 19 October 2006. Propulsion Division's new LSRR facility at NWTC, Belur was all decked up for the inauguration. Mr Prahlada, Chief Controller, R&D (SI), DRDO, MoD, Government of India, inaugurated the facility by cutting the traditional ribbon and switching on the rig along with Mr Paul Adams, Senior Vice President (Engg), Pratt & Whitney, USA. The LSSR instantly came to life with a smooth and reassuring swoosh.

Dr A R Upadhya, Director, NAL, welcomed the gathering with a remark "I hope LSRR facility will grow into NAL- Pratt & Whitney centre of excellence in turbomachinery and engines".

Dr V Krishnamoorthy, Deputy Head, Propulsion, gave a presentation with beautiful slides detailing the trials and tribulations of transporting the rig from East Hartford to NAL and erecting the rig. He explained the capabilities of the LSRR for both turbine and compressor research which has a unique feature where DC motor becomes a power generator.

Mr Prahlada in his inaugural address said that he was very happy to be among the aeronautics fraternity which is his first love. He said in jest "nobody believes CFD results except the one who did it but everybody believes experiments except the person who did it". He said "experiment promotes team work and simulation promotes individual work". He wished that lot of interesting experiments and results will come out of this new low speed facility.

Mr Paul Adams, the guest of honour, said he was delighted to see the pride and smile on the faces of engineers of NAL team. He opined that this is a wonderful opportunity for P&W and NAL to work together. He said "the partnering is important to us; I am excited to work with this team. This is a small step and we have a long journey ahead". He added that the "next generation gas turbine engines could be used for power generation and transport". He further said that R&D is absolutely driven by brain power; India could be a strategic partner and a source of next generation potential talent.

Dr J J Issac, Head, Propulsion Division, concluded the function by thanking P&W for their unstinting support and also thanked Dr V Krishnamoorthy and his team.

Ranjan and Anantha Rao


A Summary of events between June - September 2006

There has been significant progress on the SARAS PT-II developmental activities at the SARAS hangar.

The SARAS fuselage majestically occupies the centre-stage of the hangar, waiting impatiently to roll out in a couple of months to join the senior partner PT-I which has successfully logged 70 flights.

The wings have been mounted on the aircraft and the fuel system components are in place. Electrical cabling and looming activities are on to meet the stringent deadlines. The elevators, rudders and the landing gears are in place. Line replacement unit (LRUs') of fuel system, hydraulics and electrical system are being installed in the belly fairing. Environmental control systems (ECS) pack installation in the aft fuselage is on. Another group is working meticulously on the electrical and avionics system.

At an adjacent corner, the RH and LH nacelle assembly is in full progress. Mounting the SARAS PT-II engines inside the nacelle is going to be a very involved affair in the days to come as the related systems like the ECS bleed system, fuel supply lines, fire sensing and extinguishing and the electrical lines are also resident inside the nacelle.

At the HANSA hangar, M/s CADES is supporting the SARAS activity with their involvement in the stub wing assembly along with the assistance of our own technicians and supervisors. Stub wings are structures mounted at the aft end of the fuselage bridging the engine mount to the fuselage. The entire load generated from the engine mount is transferred to the fuselage structure through the stub wings.

On 7 September 2006 the horizontal tail mounting activity took place. The horizontal tail is a very important structural module of the aircraft, which imparts the horizontal stability to the aircraft. The elevator is a primary control surface, mounted on the horizontal stabilizer which controls the pitch of the aircraft (up & down movements). The horizontal stabilizer is attached to the aircraft through the vertical tail by means of a fork & eye end attachment. All the critical fittings on the horizontal tail are fitted with the 12mm dia high strength bolts. The safety of the joint is ensured by a self-locking nut & use of split pins.

Progress on flight control systems (FCS) equipping is another important activity worth mentioning. The FCS equipping in cockpit is almost complete and all the installation pertaining to the brackets, quadrants and levers below the cockpit floor are completed. Very soon we are going to witness another milestone of SARAS PT-II to take off to the skies.

R Guruprasad with Suju Thomas

Summary of activities through the lens


NAL colony basketball team distinction

In the recently concluded M C Srinivasa Memorial 'B' Division League Basketball Championship 2006, NAL colony basketball team emerged as winners.

Mr K Narasimhaiah, Secretary, Basketball club received the prize from Dr Ramachandra Gowda, Minister for Science and Technology on 18 October 2006.

 

 


#IP 735 16- 22 Oct 2006

NAL bags 1st IETE - Corporate Award

The council of the Institution of Electronics and elecommunication Engineers (IETE) has awarded the 1st IETE – Corporate Award to NAL in a glittering function in New Delhi. The award is for performance excellence in the field of electronic instruments and instrumentation. This
outstanding work related to the thermophysical instrumentation was carried out by Dr V Shubha and Dr T G Ramesh, Materials Science Division.

Dr A R Upadhya, Director, NAL, Dr T G Ramesh and Dr V Shubha received the award from Mr D S Mathur, Secretary, Department of Telecommunication and Chairman, Telecom Commission.

NAL and Director Dr A R Upadhya complimented Dr Ramesh and Dr Shubha for bringing laurels to NAL and honoured them with a citation.

K Anantha Rao



S S Bhatnagar memorial indoor tournaments 2006

The second zonal of the biennial S S Bhatnagar memorial indoor tournaments
2006 was held at CSIO Chandigarh between 9 Oct 2006 to 11 Oct 2006. The NAL team participated in all the five events namely, chess, bridge, men’s
and women’s table tennis, men’s and women’s shuttle badminton, men’s and
women’s carroms and the individual events in shuttle, table tennis and carroms.

NAL teams have qualified from their zonal to play in the finals which will be held
in New Delhi between 1 Dec 2006 to 3 Dec 2006 in the following events.



Chess : Mr R Ravindran ( defending champion) of Engineering ervices.
Men’s Carrom (Team) : Mr P S R Murthy,Hindi Officer and Mr V Srinivas, ACD.
Men’s Carrom (Individual): Mr V Srinivas V, ACD
Ladies’ Shuttle Badminton (Team): Ms Preme (defending champion) , ALD and
Ms S C Uma, ADK.
Ladies’Shuttle Badminton(Individual): Ms Preme, ALD (runner up)
Ladies’ Table tennis(Team): Ms Preme, ALD and Ms S C Uma, ADK
Ladies’ Table tennis(Individual): Ms Preme, ALD (defending champion)

NAL colleagues congratulate the winners.

D Amarnarayan


#IP 734 9-15 Oct 2006

CSIR Outstanding Performance Award

The CSIR Outstanding Performance Award for 2006 were handed over by Dr J Narayana Das at the CSIR Foundation Day function held on 26.9.06 .

AROGYA software team consisting of Dr D Amaranarayan, Medical Officer, Heath Centre, Mr R Balamurugan, Scientist- C, IMD and Mr M A Khan, Technical officer C, IMD got for the development of “Arogya” software for management of out patient health records.

Ms Susy B Raj, Assistant (Gen.), Gr. I, Recruitment & Assessment Section, Administration - for her contribution in time bound completion of recruitment of 42 Gr. IV posts held in 2004 as also recruitment of 88 Gr. IV posts in 2006.

And Late B Chandrasekar, Assistant (F & A), Gr. II, Finance & Accounts Section – for his contribution in maintenance of accounts under IMPACT and Accrual system of accounting.



D Amaranarayan


Mr R Balamurugan and Mr M A Khan


Ms Susy B Raj


Ms B Chandrasekar

CSIR Foundation Day
List of CSIR Foundation Day Lectures


KTMD

Knowledge and Technology Management Division is formed merging Technical Secretariat (TS), Project Monitoring and Evaluation Division (PMED) and Information Management Division (IMD).  Dr Ranjan Moodithaya is appointed Head of this new division with Dr M N Sathyanarayana as Joint Head.



Shylaja Srihari, Ph.D

Ms Shylaja Srihari Scientist, FRP Division has been awarded the Ph.D degree in the faculty of Engineering, Bangalore University for her Ph.D thesis entitled "Studies on Hygrothermal, Saline and Fuel Environments on Polymeric Composites used in Aerospace Applications". She has carried out her research work under the guidance of Dr. RMVGK Rao, Scientist G, Head, FRP Division.




#IP 733 2 - 8 Oct 2006

Dr Srinivas Bhogle calls it a day

‘Loss of another rare talent’ was an often repeated title in these columns in the recent past, due to the high attrition rate of both voluntary and superannuation retirements. Today it is sad that the author of many such articles himself is a victim, loss of rarest of rare talent! 

Dr Srinivas Bhogle, known to most of NAL’s colleagues as Dr Bhogle was the last ‘anmol khoj’ of the talent hunter - Dr S R Valluri. Dr Valluri, who brought many pool officers to NAL and India, sighted this rare talent in Paris in 1983 and persuaded him to join NAL to serve this great nation. Dr Bhogle joined the then Project Monitoring Cell of NAL in 1984.

Dr Bhogle was always ahead of his time. He introduced the concepts of PERT and CPM in management, right in 1984 at NAL, but unfortunately NAL was not ready for this! He moved on to documentation which is his greatest strength. He created Documentation Cell which became Information Services and later blossomed to become Information Management Division.

His penchant for writing was phenomenal. IMD under his leadership brought out a few beautiful publications like Glimpses of Flora and Fauna, History of  NAL – A Pictorial Account, Sadhana – NAL showcase and Flosolver – Twenty Years of Parallel Computing  these were appreciated not only in NAL and CSIR but by other organization too!

He was a visionary and an artist. He was instrumental in the creation of NAL’s intranet and internet web pages. The contents of these are so beautifully organized that it has become NAL’s window to the outside world. His contributions to NAL are aplenty. The web based payroll system is very popular as the staff can see the payslips the day it is created.

The leave management module was another excellent contribution to the staff. It was so user friendly that the staff always admired the thoughts behind the whole implementation. Another feather in his cap was the successful implementation of the online purchase indent. Summing up, Dr Bhogle introduced NAL to an excellent computerized management information system.

Dr B R Pai during his tenure as Director asked him to design and develop an online recruitment process which he readily accepted as he is of the view that the recruitment process should be completed within a shortest possible time to catch talent. Since last two years, NAL is recruiting through the software developed for this purpose popularly known as ‘Khoj’.

All these attracted attention of other CSIR labs - NCL, Pune, CFRI, Dhanbad, and RRL, Jorhat have requested NAL to implement these MIS in their labs.

His best weapon is his pen. He can write on anything within shortest possible time. He is loved by his staff for his simplicity and free and frank speaking. He is the only Head in NAL and probably in the whole of CSIR who did not have a separate room. He always liked to be with his staff. He was the guiding force behind each and every successful project that IMD had undertaken. NAL in general and IMD in particular will miss him and his services for ever.

It was these accolades, that got him the praise of being a pillar of NAL (Dr Prahlad, former Director, NAL, during the farewell function spoke … Dr Bhogle is one of the strong pillars of NAL …). Dr Bhogle was a man passionate and compassionate, always thinking of NAL and its future.

The Information Pasteboard was his most coveted creation, popular in NAL and outside. (refer previous weeks IP). It is through this NAL salutes and bids adieu to the great Dr Srinivas Bhogle.

Ranjan Moodithaya with M A Khan

Time to sign off


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