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The Institute emphasizes excellence in research activities by harvesting the benefits of the academic foundations. A number of research laboratories with state-of-the-art facilities have been set up in the Institute by faculty members over the years to advance the frontiers of knowledge in science and technology. These advanced facilities across science and engineering disciplines support the novel and innovative research being carried out by the faculty members along with the students. The details of the advanced research facilities available at IIST are given here.
Advanced Propulsion and Laser Diagnostics (APLD) Facility is setup with an objective to perform propulsion research studies through laser diagnostic techniques. The laboratory has the capability to perform PIV and PLIF measurements, and is equipped with: (i) Double Pulsed Nd-YAG PIV Laser. (ii) Precision Dye Laser, (iii) Intensified CCD Camera, (iv) PIV CCD Camera (v) High Resolution Wavemeter (vi) Optical Tables, (vii) Optical Components and (viii) High Speed DAQ System. The lab would shortly be upgraded with a second dye laser for two line LIF thermometry measurements and particle size analyser for droplet size measurements.
The basic propulsion facilities established under APLD are;
Academic/project activities ongoing in this facility finds relevance to various ISRO activities such as (i) Evaluation of 'Mixing and Combustion' efficiency of the fuel-oxidiser jet for any real scale engines (ii) Injector design based on characterisation of jet at supercritical conditions (iii) investigations on combustion Instability etc.
Contact faculty: Dr. Aravind V., Aerospace Department, [email protected], +91-471-2568435
The Audio-Visual Lab in the Department of Humanities is utilized for creating audio and video modules, study materials, and also to generate contents for lectures (both online and offline), documentaries, etc. It has been used by the researcher scholars, B. Tech students as well as faculty members for documenting sociocultural research. The in-house AV Lab of this state of the art facilities is thoroughly explored make the following videos and documentaries like Homing the Pigeons, Interview Modules, and Tale of a Culinary Enchantress.
Following are the major facilities available in the AV Lab:
Contact faculty: Dr Babitha Justin., Humanities Department, [email protected], +91-471-2568671
The main activity of this lab is to carry research on gas sensor and biosensor. The facility is equipped with three gas calibration facility which is upgrading to multi gas calibration facility to calibrate the gas sensors in different environment. The facility is also having material synthesis unit (nano materials) to develop gas sensors. Similarly, the lab is well equipped to carry the research activity in the field of biosensor. At the moment it is looking to develop first prototype for liquid biopsy of cancer. The upgradation is going on to include the cell culture facility.
The lab has a facility to characterize the gas sensor for four gases together. Now, the lab is upgrading to handle eleven gases including explosive and toxic volatile compounds. It is also having a facility to develop electrochemical sensors for various applications. Bio sensor Lab is a cell culture research lab (for PhD) purpose of this lab is for continuous growth of cancer cells and their utilization for studying the properties of its contents (protein/DNA/RNA). a study of extra cellular vesicles (that are released by the cancer cells) can also be performed in this lab. Gas sensor lab is equipped with instruments like gas calibration system, spectrometer, furnace; microwave synthesizer etc., focuses on designing and characterization of gas sensors especially applicable for space missions.
Unidentified leakage of different toxic and explosive gases during the space missions can cause lot of harm to the space crew and flight and thus requires timely detection of such gases and immediate generation of warning. In gas sensor lab student works on optimization of the material for the sensors which will be used as the base for reaction between the sensor and the target gas. Secondly they also focus on designing of the sensors for maximum efficiency. Characterization of the sensor material done for detail and proper understanding of the physical and chemical properties.
Contact faculty: Dr.Palash Kumar Basu, Avionics Department, [email protected], +91-471-2568587
Advanced composites are in demand from Aerospace and other industries. Development of such composites requires determining normal stresses in fibres and shear stresses in the interface during normal loading as well as during the failure process. Experimentally, the stress distribution in fibres as small as 2-10 micrometre could be obtained using micro Raman spectroscopy, where a laser beam is focused onto the fibre. The extent of frequency changes of the scattered beam collected in the case of fibres is used to find the Raman shift; this shift varies with the stress in the fibre. Further, this stress-shift relationship may be used to find the stress in a fibre in the composite when subjected to a load. The micro tensile tester is used apply load to individual fibres as well as to the composite. The major facilities include (a) Raman spectrometer system for Raman spectral analysis integrated with free space microscope using visible excitation at 532 nm. with Laser polarization control and Polarization Analyzerkit and (b) Micro Tensile tester (136 x 83 x 37 mm, 1.9 Kg, 2kN and 650 N load cell)
Figure 1: Raman Spectrometer
Contact faculty: Dr.Anup S, Aerospace Department, [email protected], +91-471-2568430
The Flame Diagnostics Lab set up in the Aerospace Department is an experimental test facility for combustion diagnostics. In addition to using conventional measurement techniques, the lab also facilitates employing of state-of-the-art optical and laser diagnostic measurement techniques for combustion studies in subscale and standard burner flames. The lab is provided with a compressed air supply system and multiple fuel systems using which both reactive and non-reactive studies can be performed. The lab is used for developing advanced combustion and propulsion systems and for fundamental R&D in gaseous and liquid fuel systems. Current research focuses mainly on turbulent gaseous and liquid-fueled flames, and topics investigated include the different combustion phenomena like flame stabilization, fuel flexibility, instability, pollutant emissions, and the development of new standard burners and injectors for combustion/propulsion applications. The highly resolved experimental database from this lab will be extremely valuable for developing CFD-based reliable and predictive design tools in the future.
Some of the measurement techniques that can be realised in this lab are:
Figure: (a) Flame Diagnostics Lab, (b) Flame stability and pollutant measurements in a non-premixed swirl stabilized burner, (c) Test rig for naturally excited thermo-acoustic instability studies, (d) Studies in liquid fuel burners & injectors.
For more details: -
Web (external site): https://sites.google.com/view/flamediagnosticslab/home
Contact faculty: Dr. Rajesh Sadanandan, Aerospace Department, [email protected], +91-471-2568411
RF and Microwave Research group of the department is equipped with high precision antenna and printed circuit board (PCB) facility. The facility prints the desired antenna or the PCB on a high frequency laminate with copper track width or separation up to 50 microns. The antennas or the PCBs are initially optimized, designed and simulated using CAD tools and saved in a compatible file format (Gerber/DXFs etc.) and fed to an interface software which drives the machine. This yields the printed copper pattern based on the requirement. The designed prototypes are then connected to RF connectors and characterized for S-parameter and/or radiation pattern.
Contact faculty: Dr.Chimoy Saha, Avionics Department, [email protected], +91-471-2568586
RF and Microwave Research group of the department is equipped with various facilities for design, fabrication and characterization of microwave and mm-wave devices/circuits and antennas. Microwave and mm-Wave Characterization Facility deals with the design, development and characterization of various types of antennas for microwave and mm-wave applications. The laboratory is equipped with various EM solvers, circuit simulators, antenna fabrication facility, computational facilities and advanced measuring instruments up to 40 GHz. The lab is currently getting equipped with an anechoic chamber up to 40 GHz.
Following are the major equipment available in these laboratories:
Contact faculty: Dr.Chimoy Saha, Avionics Department, [email protected], +91-471-2568586
Contact faculty: Dr.Seena.V, Avionics Department, [email protected], +91-471-2568579
Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is a technique used for visualising a flow field that does not scatter light. It is very effectively utilised in academic research and industrial research. It helps to measure the velocity field of a working fluid in motion. Velocity field provide information on local velocity, amount of turbulence, jet spreading rate, presence of recirculation zones, etc. This information will help in better the existing design of an engineering device like burner, nozzle, etc. In this technique, the working fluid is seeded with tracer particles, which are expected to faithfully follow the flow dynamics for sufficiently small particles (the Stokes number represents the degree to which the particles faithfully follow the flow). The fluid containing entrained particles is illuminated by a fast gating laser light source, results in MIE scattering emission from the particles, and hence the particles can be observed and also its motion shall be recorded in a camera. The flow's speed and direction are calculated using the seeding particles' motion (the velocity field).
A typical PIV rig includes a camera (CCD or CMOS type) preferably with double shutter, a double pulsed laser, and a sheet optics system for generating a collimated laser light beam which is essential for planar field measurement, a pulse generator to trigger and synchronize the lasers and the camera. Figure 1 shows an actual PIV rig. The laser energy, time delay between the lasers, camera resolution and exposure time are adjusted in tandem to record very sharp pictures of MIE scattering emissions from the particles at the desired plane. Then, the recorded Mie scattering images are post-processed in a commercial PIV software, to estimate the velocity fields.
Fig. 1. PIV rig at Flow engineering lab
Contact faculty: Dr. Prathap C, Aerospace Department, [email protected], +91-471-2568448
The optical diagnostic technique of planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) is frequently utilized for flow visualization and quantitative measurements. It has been demonstrated that PLIF can be used to monitor velocity, concentration, temperature, and pressure.
A PLIF setup includes a light source (a pulsed laser) as shown in Fig. 2, sheet optics to form a planar laser sheet using group of lenses, tracer particles or exciting radicals available in the flow regime to have emissions at the desired wavelength, camera or intensified camera is required based on the quantum of intensity scattered from the flowing medium to record the flow field. The laser's light (typically a beam) passes through a series of lenses and/or mirrors to create a sheet that is then utilized to illuminate the medium. Sometimes the media shall self generates the fluorescent material (like flame) that needs to be excited or it needs to be seeded with external fluorescent material (acetone, dyes, etc). As mentioned earlier, a normal or intensified camera is commonly utilized to capture the signal emitted from the plane of interest. To synchronize pulsed light sources with the cameras/ intensified cameras, synchronizers are frequently employed.
This kind of laser is often used for laser ignition purposes too along with a convex lens. This is another field of attraction, where lot of focus is there especially in the rocket applications.
Contact faculty: Dr.Prathap C, Aerospace Department, [email protected], +91-471-2568448
IIST has established a Climate Observatory at its Ponmudi Campus on the hilltop of the Western Ghats (PCO, 8.76°N, 77.12°E, 1 km, AMSL). It is equipped with state-of-the-art field instrumentation for measuring aerosol and cloud microphysics along with meteorological variables. Over the years, many observational campaigns covering greenhouse gases (GHG), meteorology, boundary layer, aerosol-cloud interactions, and radiation balance studies have been carried out by the faculty of IIST. These instruments are also extensively used for lab and teaching courses at IIST.
IIST Ponmudi Climate Observatory (IIST-PCO)
IIST-PCO is located within the cloud for about 100 days during summer monsoon season and under the cloud for the rest of the seasons. The unique location of IIST-PCO offers a natural laboratory to continuously measure the physical, chemical and optical properties of aerosol particles and clouds along with meteorological variables to understand the mixing state of aerosols and important processes associated with aerosol-cloud interactions and to develop robust aerosol models for air quality and climate research. We welcome Academia and industries research collaboration from national and international research institutions/Labs/organizations for aerosol-cloud interaction studies from IIST-PCO.
Aerosol-Cloud Interaction
Atmospheric research is one of the strongholds of IIST, with a fully owned and dedicated research facility at PCO. The observatory is one of its kind in the country, with provisions for balloon-borne measurements from near-surface to stratosphere (35 km) in the frontiers of Atmospheric Sciences, Astronomy, Astrobiology, high energy Physics, and space technology development. Students/faculty at IIST may be encouraged to build and quickly test payloads and conduct high quality research in the lower Earth's atmosphere.
A new collaborative program on the measurement of vertical profile of ozone along with meteorological parameters at multiple sites (Ponmudi, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Jodhpur) has been initiated under the coordination and support of the Earth & Climate Area (ECSA) of the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC/ISRO). As part of this study, coordinated monthly launches are undertaken at four sites.
Balloon launch from Ponmudi Climate Observatory
Tethered balloons of volume 9.0 m3 capable of carrying 1.0-3.0 kg payload weight up to an altitude of about 1 km are also available for conducting various scientific experiments
Photograph showing the hoisting of a Tethered balloon (Kytoon). Optical particle counter (OPC) is seen tied to the belly strings.
A frequent access to space for university groups like IIST to make small autonomous payloads that will perform high-quality scientific investigations has become available with the maturing of the ISRO launch capabilities. This, in turn, requires training of graduate students, young scientists and engineers in “hands-on” research techniques used in space experiments. Student satellite (Studentsat) program (SSP), which is a balloon-based interdisciplinary program, provides an educational experience to students, young scientists, and engineers in the design and data analysis of a space experiment (up to 35 km). Studentsat can have a compendium of lightweight payloads (sensors) for remote sensing, atmospheric sciences, biology, chemistry, and astronomy designed by students within the mass and power constraints. It offers opportunities to have hands-on experience on complex processes of design, development, testing, and integration of state-of-the-art sensors to probe the space environment and data analysis. It provides an affordable way to acquire the basic knowledge and many challenges in building a payload for space research and technological development. It offers an opportunity to the space scientist to gain the first experience of the real space mission program, starting with design, testing, integration, launching, data analysis, and presentation of results. It offers the students (undergraduate and postgraduate students and Ph.D.) to design and build a small scientific satellite payload to gain first-hand experience of the actual space mission program /planetary exploration and nurture future space scientists and engineers in the country.
Student satellite (Studentsat) program
Contact faculty: Dr. P R Sinha, Earth and Space Sciences Department, [email protected],+91-471-2568523 , 9490422829
Small-spacecraft Systems and PAyload CEntre (SSPACE) is an interdisciplinary centre involved in the development of satellite systems and mainly driven by students and faculty of IIST. The SSPACE center is involved in realisation of payloads, related electronics, small satellites, assembly, integration, testing and ground station to carryout mission operations. SSPACE at the moment is involved in the following missions
InspireSat1 team during Launch // InspireSat1 Setup at IIST
InspireSat1 team during Launch // InspireSat1 Setup at IIST
Contact faculty: Dr.Priyadarshnam, Avionics Department [email protected], +91-471-2568426
Systems and Networks Lab (SNL) is one of the major research labs of the Department of Avionics, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology. SNL focuses on research activities in the broader area of computer and communication networks. Major research areas include multihop wireless communication networks (e.g., Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs), Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs), and sensor networks), Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs), Software Defined Networks (SDNs), Satellite Networks, Internet of Things (IoT), network security, complex networks, graph signal processing, and quantum computing. As part of the research, a WMN testbed “IIST MeshNet” was set up to analyze the behavioural characteristics of multihop wireless networks.
At present, the advanced networking techniques such as SDN is integrated to wireless environments in order to analyze network control at finer levels. As far as Internet of Things (IoT) is concerned, the lab includes different sensors specially to develop the concept of smart homes. The lab also equipped with an enterprise level network testbed to simulate different malware behaviours and, thereby, developing solution to detect and prevent them.
The resources available in SNL include:
Network testbeds
Hardware
Contact faculty: Dr.Manoj B.S., Avionics Department, [email protected], +91-471-2568609