Sponsored Research

Under the Sponsored Research Programme (RESPOND), DOS supports research and
developmental projects, educational programmes and other scientific activities at the academic institutions and autonomous R and D laboratories in the country. The focus is in space technology, science and applications which are directly relevant to Indian space programme. RESPOND also supports basic research, which will have futuristic linkages with Indian space programme. Advanced technology research in the areas of space technology and science is also carried out in five Space Technology Cells (STC) established at premiere institutions like Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) at Mumbai, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Chennai and Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Joint research is also being undertaken with University of Pune in areas of core competence of the University which are of relevance to Indian space programme. RESPOND also supports educational promotion programmes to enthuse youngsters to pursue space science and technology. The prime objective is to strengthen the space-academia interaction for generation of a wider infrastructure and research base and developing quality scientific/technical human resources.

During the year, ten sponsored projects have culminated with meaningful conclusions. They are related to (1) magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling (2) structural optimisation of launch vehicle components, (3) study of vector plasma drift at the equatorial ionsophere (4) development of ultra high temperature sensor, (5) study of faunal bio-diversity at Sriharikota island and its surroundings, (6) urban environmental issues, (7) improvement in image quality and classification, (8) cadastral level information for natural assessment using remote sensing data, (9) soft computing approaches to image analysis and (10) integrating remote sensing data, GIS and hydrological modeling for assessment of rural water supplies.

Forty new projects at 35 academic institutions were initiated during the year. The projects iniated in space science are related to (1) advanced studies in atmospheric sciences, (2) temperature anomaly and midnight temperature maximum in low latitude thermosphere, (3) development of artificial neural network scheme to TAUVEX, (4) study on the variability of total electron content near the crest of the equatorial anomaly in the indian zone, (5) analytical modeling and numerical simulations of the quasi periodic oscillations of black hole candidates, (6) study of grain chemistry in relation to the formation of complex molecules in collapsing molecular clouds, (7) anomalous phenomena C3H and C3D cyclic molecules and (8) spectral and temporal analysis of the observed data from to black hole candidates.

The projects in space technology are related to: (1) fabrication and characterisation of organic solar cells, (2) elastomer-based polymer nano composites for control system bladders, (3) development of multi-frequency solar temperature profile measurement, (4) numerical and experimental analysis of carbon phenollic composite shells under impact, (5) finite element model updating based on experimental test results, (6) development radiation resistance polymides, (7) stress corosion studies on A1-alloys, (8) development of emulsion polymersisation process for aerylonitrile-methyl acrylate iraconic acid terpolymers, (9) conversion of light to electricity by the photosensitization of nano-crystalline TiO2 by light havesting metallodendritic supramolecular assemblies, (10) theoretical and experimental investigation of thermal contact resistance at the interfaces of thermal insulation systems and structural assemblies, (11) Laser Assisted Disposition (LAD) of thermal barrier coatings for space shuttle applications, (12) toughening studies of epoxy resins, (13) development of polymer wovenglass based low permitivity and low weight microwave substrate, (14) segmented polyurethane based nano-composites from functionalised nano-clays with special reference to fire and flammability properties, (15) safe and effective water harvesting site selection model based on critical slope analysis using remote sensing, (16)development of EMI shielding/static charge dissipating materials from electrically conducting PANICNs for space applications, (17) inverse heat conduction, (18) effect of processing on properties of polymer composites by microwave curing, (19) synthesis and characterisation of organophilic nano clays, (20) development of nano-linear membrane elements with wrinkles and slack regions for design/analysis of inflatable structures and (21) development of plus tube cryocooler.

The project supported in space applications are: (1) monitoring of post tsunami malariogenic conditions in Car-Nicobar Island using satellite remote sensing, (2) development of a simulator for airborne altimetric LIDAR, (3) precision farming techniques in sugarcane cultivation, (4) mapping and exploration of low-grade iron ore deposits in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu, (5) cost effective smart antenna for mobile broadband applications, (6) analysis of errors made by operators during digital mapping from cognitive style perspective, (7) bioremediation of water contaminated with industrial effluents, (8) development of photocol for vector borne schistosimiasis using remote sensing and GIS, (9) control or flexible and reconfigurable parabolic antenna using smart actuations and (10) quantitative study of evolution of mesoscale convective system by doppler weather radar and its application.

ISRO has established six Space Technology Cells at IISc, Bangalore, IIT, Madras, IIT, Bombay, IIT, Kanpur and IIT, Kharagpur to carry out advanced research and development activities in selected space technology areas of direct relevance to space programme. The projects are guided jointly by academicians and DOS experts in the filed and are periodically reviewed by joint policy committees consisting of DOS experts and Academicians.

The projects initiated at STC, IISc, Bangalore are related to: (1) study on optimization of friction stir welding parameters for welding aluminum alloy, (2) robust optimization approaches for two-class classification problem when data has missing values, (3) measurement of convective surface heat transfer rates in the base region of a re-entry capsule at hypersonic mach number, (4) an exploratory study on micro-machined micro-strip patch antennas on semiconductor substrates, (5) active clamped DC to DC converters for high efficiency, (6) studies on high energy density super-capacitors, (7) finite element-based techniques for nonlinear analyses of membranes with wrinkles under dynamic conditions, (8) studies on damage mechanics and residual strength evaluation of composite structures for reuse, (9) effect of inertia on macroscopic response of layered composites, (10) optimal design of axially symmetrical stiffened thin shell structures under buckling criteria, (11) analysis and design of stewart platform based force-torque sensor, (12) trajectory optimization with path constrained high index differential algebraic equations and application to reusable launch vehicle.

The projects initiated at IIT, Kharagpur are: (1) lunar gravity model and topography determination using ground based observations and laser altimetry data, (2) design and fabrication of high sensitivity micromachined silicon tunneling accelerometer with micro-g resolution, (3) design development of integrated porous silicon based pressure sensor,
(4) design of an optimal control strategy for GSLV-MK III, (5) development of advanced electromagnetic interference shielding materials from carbon nanotube filled polymer composites, (6) design and development of analog to digital and digital to analog converter, (7) design of hardware accelerator for Gabor filter bank based image processor and its implementation, (8) antenna patterns on satellite in orbit model and (9) development and characterisation of A-D converters and application of chaos in dc–dc converters for reduction of EMI.

The projects initiated at STC, IIT, Madras are: (1) impedance tube technique for the measurement of driving provided by solid propellants during combustion instabilities, (2) stability analysis of large solid rocket motors, (3) development of high strength ultra fine grain aluminium alloys through cryo-rolling, (4) investigation of microstructure and mechanical properties of beta titanium alloys(15-3) weldments, (5) development of MEMS based micro valves, (6) modeling of kerosene combustion in a strut based SCRAMJET combustor and study of cavity assisted mixing combustion, (7) software libraries for planners and schedulers, (8) turbulent mixing of multiple round jets, (9) development of an efficient global swe model coupled with a short wave model, (10) water energy dynamics of a space capsule, (11) design of knowledge management system architecture, (12) micro-lidar studies on tropospheric aerosols and clouds.

The projects initiated at STC, IIT, Bombay are: (1) identification and control of slosh phenomenon, (2) nonlinear control strategies for launch vehicles, (3) processing, fracture toughness and damage mechanics studies on metal matrix composites for space and launch vehicle applications, (4) analytical and experimental investigation of boiling heat transfer in micro-channels and microtubes, (5) development of a plasma atomic layer deposition system for growing high-k metal oxide nanolaminates and (6) content based image retrieval, remote sensing, image matching pyramidal and tiled data structures, multi-resolution search.

The project initiated at STC, IIT, Kanpur are: (a) electromagnetic modeling of beam forming network for high power application, (b) design and fabrication of organic semi conductors and potential application in solar cells, (c) a computational investigation into the enhanced damping behavior of polymer nano tube and nano particle composites, (d) of transitional and turbulent flow over cone cylinder configuration, (e) fabrication characterisation and damage tolerance of thermoplastic nano composites blades for structural applications at adverse atmosphere, (f) droplet flow interaction in recirculating turbulent flow, (g) development of a hybrid pulsed plasma jet micro thruster and (h) nonlinear optimal guidance and control of a lifting re-entry vehicle.

The projects initiated by STC at University of Pune are: (1) nano-particle polymer resistive composites, (2) plasma sprayed stabilized zirconia functionally graded thermal barrier coatings, (3) nanoparticles as sensors for pollutant gases, (4) simulation of optical properties of metal nanoparticles polymer composites, (5) theoretical and experimental investigations on residual stress in aerospace structures induced due to various manufacturing processes like welding case hardening etc, (6) feasibility study for fabrication of sensitive hand held magnetometer and its use for surveying near Pune geomagnetic rock system,
(7) development of teaching learning material for computer programming, integrated with its mathematical and linguistic foundations, (8) application of artificial neural networks for non-destructive fault detection and (9) protyping microwave network analyser attachment for the non-destructive microwave complex permitivity measurement of materials.

In addition to the research and development, DOS has supported five Chairs at: Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, IIT Kharagpur, Pune University and Bangalore University. During the year, DOS has supported 107 scientific activities, which included conferences, symposia, educational and promotional activities in space science, application and technology areas of importance to space.