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| Volume 2 No.6 | November 1999 |
Department Profile
Department of Aerospace Engineering
Department of Aerospace Engineering, inaugurated in 1964, is a premier teaching and research centre today with unique facilities. Its flight laboratory with three powered aircrafts, three gliders and a 1000-m long runway is a one-of-a-kind facility used for in-flight research and for instructions in flight testing for Aerospace Engineering students of all the institutions in the country.
The Department also is the home of the National Wind Tunnel Facility, a state-of-the-art very low-turbulence wind tunnel with a 90m/s 3.0m x 2.25m x 8.75m test section. The recently commissioned tunnel has been designed completely in-house. The Department also houses the AR&DB's Centre of excellence for Composite Structures Technology and Associate Centre of Excellence for Computational Fluid Mechanics.
The Department has completed a large number of sponsored and consultancy projects for the Aeronautics R&D Board, ISRO, DST, AICTE and ADA. Its faculty has undertaken design and development of high- and low-speed wind tunnels, of measurement methods using hot-wire and laser Doppler anemometry, and has completed projects in industrial and wind energy aerodynamics, subsonic and transonic flow computations, hypersonic flow computations for re-entry vehicles, and design and optimization of the fibre-reinforced composite structures for static, dynamic and random loadings.
Over the years, the Department has developed excellent collaborative relationship leading to work on several advanced projects of national importance with a large number of aeronautical establishments including NAL, ASTE, GRTE, HAL, DRDL, ADE, ARDE, ADA and ISRO.
The gliding and soaring centre attached to the Department has significantly contributed to the aviation awareness amongst the young through its glider pilot training programme.
Academic Programmes
The Department of Aerospace Engineering offers programmes of study towards B.Tech, M.Tech and Ph.D degrees. Its B.Tech programme is well known for the all-round preparation it gives to the student for pursuing a career in Aerospace Engineering. The M.Tech programme is designed to acquaint the student with the various aspects of Aerospace Engineering through several courses, both general and specialized, followed by research leading to a thesis. The Ph.D program is aimed at helping the student acquire proficiency in a chosen area through course work, followed by doctoral research.
The professionals working in the national R&D organizations with adequate laboratory/research facilities can join the Ph.D programme under a specially designed external registration programme. The locally employed professionals can also join the M.Tech and Ph.D programmes on a part-time basis.
The Department has gained considerable experience over the years in offering specially designed short-term courses and programmes catering to the specific requirements of various industries and R&D establishments.
Areas of Research
Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics including CFD: supersonic, transonic and subsonic aerodynamics; boundary-layer flows; high-speed jets; drag reduction, wakes; transition and turbulent flows; hypersonic flows; wind tunnels.
Aircrafts Structure: Random vibrations; linear and nonlinear vibrations; optimization; stress analysis; composite materials and structures; buckling; structural dynamics; helicopter dynamics; and aeroelasticity.
Flight Mechanics: Dynamics, guidance and control of aircrafts, spacecrafts and rockets; preliminary orbit determination; trajectory optimization for rockets and missiles; state estimation and parametric identification of aerospace vehicles; aeroservoelasticity.
Propulsion and Combustion: Gas turbines and turbomachinery; combustion of rocket propellants; laminar and turbulent combustion.
Other Related Areas of Research: Bio-fluid mechanics; industrial noise control; industrial aerodynamics; wind engineering; wind energy.
Thrust Areas
Facilities Available
Research Projects
The Department has made significant contributions towards the national aerospace R&D efforts through numerous sponsored projects. Some of the recent ones are as follows:
Industrial Projects / consultancy
Over the years, the Department has successfully completed a large number of consultancy projects for industrial and R&D establishments. Some are listed here.
Conference/Symposia Proceedings from Aerospace Engineering Rathakrishnan, E.,ed., Experiments in Fluids, Proceedings of National Symposium, December 1992. Kapoor, M.P., Iyengar, N.G.R. and M.Choudhri, eds., Technical education and the Environment, Allied Publishers, New Delhi, 1994. Krishna Kumar and Iyengar N.G.R. eds., Ground Testing of Aerospace Vehicles including Engines, Proceedings of the National Convention of Aerospace Engineers, Allied Publishers, New Delhi, 1995. |
Products / Technology Developed
Wind Dial: The wind dial has been designed for simple low cost measurements of atmosphere wind velocities and easy maintenance.
Sponsored M.Tech / Ph.D Projects
• Application of finite element method in analyzing flow fields of solid propellant air breathing rockets. (VSSC, Trivandrum)
• Dynamics of bodies separating from launch vehicles (VSSC, Trivandrum)
• Nonlinear bending, Vibration and Buckling of Composite Beams and Plates (VSSC, Trivandrum)
Continuing Education Programme
The Department has actively contributed to the continuing education programme by conducting short courses in various aerospace related fields. Some of these are as follows:
Books from Aerospace Engineering
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Other Possible Areas in which courses can be offered are:
For further information:
Professor N.G.R. Iyengar
Head, Department of Aerospace Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology
Kanpur - 208016
Phone: (0512) 59756
e-mail: ngri@iitk.ac.in