Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Technology Predictions for 2009

1. Windows 7 will bring tech out of the doldrums

When Microsoft delivers Windows 7 by Q3 (Quarter 3), it could catalyze the tech economy. This new OS (Operating System) will drive businesses and consumers to new PC and notebook purchases by Q4.

2. The tech industry will be the first to recover from the recession

While the real estate and auto markets will be very slow to come back, the tech industry will recover fastest and be moving forward again by Q3.

3. The unemployed will start small businesses to survive and will need PCs to make a living

Many of those laid off due to the global recession are professionals who could start specialty consulting services as well as new businesses of various types just to survive. PC technology and communications will most likely be at the heart of their new ventures.

4. Netbook sales will double in 2009

Manufacturers should sell 36 to 38 million netbooks worldwide in 2009.

5. Smart phones will gain market share

In the next 12 months, smart phones such as Apple's iPhone and the RIM BlackBerry will gain a stronger foothold in the United States and Europe. By 2015, smart phones will represent as much as 65 percent of all cell phones sold globally.

6. Android will expand its reach in 2009

By the end of 2009, Expect top see Android in set-top boxes, digital televisions, and Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), and perhaps even desktop terminals.

In fact, Android could emerge as the biggest threat to Linux's desire to make the mainstream, and within the next three years, Android could become a major OS in its own right.

7. Apple market share in PCs and smart phones will grow

Even in a downturn, Apple will grow its market share by at least 2 points in 2009. The ease-of-use message and the complete ecosystem are attracting more new customers to Apple stores, and the company will gain new Mac users at the expense of Windows vendors.

Also, Apple will continue to innovate around the iPhone and even add some models at lower prices to attract new customers worldwide.


8. Microsoft makes a play to purchase RIM
If the Apple iPhone makes any serious inroads into the enterprise, Microsoft will make a bid for RIM (Research in Motion) and use it to enhance and solidify the company's enterprise smart phone position.


http://specials.rediff.com/money/2008/dec/31sld8-top-8-tech-predictions-for-2009.htm

Top 10 technology breakthroughs of 2008

1. Apple's App Store

Apple's App Store has made creating and distributing mobile applications for cellphone users easy - jumpstarting the mobile-app development market and creating clones such as the Android Market.

It even forced Research in Motion to offer a BlackBerry Application Storefront.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/appstore/


2. Android

The T-Mobile HTC G1 phone scores with its operating system, Android, the free mobile operating system from Google. It's the first mobile OS to make its debut in years and the G1 is just the first of what will be many phones that use it.

http://code.google.com/android/documentation.html

3. USB 3.0

USB 3.0 will be 10 times faster than the current USB 2.0 standard, and will increase the amount of electrical current that can be delivered through a USB cable.

http://www.usb.org/developers/onthego/

4. Video-Capable SLRs

This year, two new cameras, the Nikon D90 and the Canon 5D Mark II not only capture top-notch still images, but let the photographer shoot high-definition videos as well.


5. The Memristor

The discovery of the "memristor," or memory transistor will make it possible to develop computer systems that remember what's stored in memory when they are turned off.

That means computers that don't need to be booted up and systems that are far more energy efficient than the current crop.

http://www.hpl.hp.com/news/2008/apr-jun/memristor.html

6. This year, the Global Positioning System (GPS) has been used in many new technologies, from the iPhone 3G and the T-Mobile G1 to notebooks such as Fujitsu's LifeBook series.

7. Flash memory is a mainstay of most consumer electronics products, from ultralight notebooks to digital cameras and media players.


8. Speedo LZR

Speedo's new LZR swimsuit blends new materials and a dose of NASA rocket science to boost the speeds of elite swimmers -- legally.

Image: Austria's Mirna Jukic prepares to swim in her LZR Speedo suit in the Women's 200m breaststroke at the world short course swimming championships in Manchester, northern England. | Photograph: REUTERS/Nigel Roddis



9. Edible Chips

Soon, tiny edible chips will track when patients take their pills (or don't) and monitor the effects of the drugs they're taking. Proteus, a Redwood City, California, company, has created tiny chips out of silicon grains that, once swallowed, activate in the stomach.

The chips send a signal to an external patch that monitors vital parameters such as heart rate, temperature, state of wakefulness or body angle.



10. Flexible Displays to be a reality by 2010 or 2011

For years, researchers have worked on thin, paperlike displays that can be folded, rolled or sewn into the sleeve of your hoodie.

Flexible displays could change the way we interact with the info-universe, creating new kinds of cellphones, portable computers, e-newspapers and electronic books.



http://specials.rediff.com/money/2008/dec/27sld10-top-19-technology-breakthroughs-of-2008.htm

Friday, October 24, 2008

Chandrayaan - 1

IIT Bombay alumni George Koshy (MTech '72 ME), a rocket scientist with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is the project director for Chandrayaan-1, India 's maiden unmanned moon mission.



The SHAR spent Rs.396 crore only on this moon as comparatively less amount with other countries.

One of the team members of the scientists’ team interestingly commented no technocrat from IIT’s or MIT’s not take part in this space mission launching. Annadurai the project director of Chandrayan -1 is also an engineer from regional engineering college and schooling from a backward rural village. (It is in contradiction to first item)(differnt sources of information).

http://mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?passfrom=enterprisestory&storyid=11782

Monday, September 1, 2008

Engineering Design Processes - Web Pages

Engineering Design Processes
http://www.iisme.org/etp/HS%20Engineering-%20Engineering.pdf

Engineering Design Processes, Problem Solving &Creativity
Don L. Dekker
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology


http://fie.engrng.pitt.edu/fie95/3a5/3a54/3a54.htm

The Engineering Design Process

http://www.design.engr.uvic.ca/uploads/engr400-designprocess.pdf

Usability Engineering Design Process
Brad Myers
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~bam/uicourse/1997spring/lecture04process.html

Engineering Design Process –An
Interdisciplinary Approach
Maureen MacGillivray, Tanya Domina , Terry Lerch, Patrick Kinnicutt
Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant MI 48849
http://icee2007.dei.uc.pt/proceedings/papers/495.pdf



Issues in Mechanical Engineering Design Management
http://www.sigmod.org/record/issues/0406/RR3.VIPER031.pdf

Engineering design management: an information structure approach
A. YASSINE, D. FALKENBURG and K. CHELST
http://www.iese.uiuc.edu/pdlab/Papers/IJPR.pdf



TEACHING ETHICS IN THE ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS:
A LEGAL SCHOLAR’S PERSPECTIVE
Vincent M. Brannigan*
http://ecow.engr.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/get/epd/155/ross/brannigan_ethics.pdf

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Automotive sector related stories

Electronics in the developments of car engines 0
Leaders in the automotive electronics domain are already working onstand alone intelligent sensors, which consume minimum power and comply safety and emission requirements. These initiatives are key to the next generation power train and vehicle management system?

Automotive technology is rapidly moving toward increasing safety through driver assist systems like auto pilot. These advancements in the automobile industry have been largely due to the increasing amount of electronics going into today's cars. Since the advent of electronics and software in cars from 1980 onwards, electronic con-tent inside the car has increased over the years.

Author's Details
The author is 'Practice Head' for Power train Practice at Wipro Technologies' Automotive Electronics Group. He has more than 19 years of industry experience in Embedded Software System Development, with more than six years of working experience in Automotive Electronics focusing on core powertrain domain.

http://www.industry20.com/ReadArticle.php?StoryId=1613

Manfacturing related Stories

Real-time collaborative manufacturing 0
With massive challenges confronting the factory floor operations across the extended enterprise, will real-time collaborative manufacturing technology fulfill the specific requirement

Spurred by the growth of e-commerce, a new manufacturing model has emerged in re-sponse to customers? needs for build-to-order products. The impact on shop-floor systems is compounded by the increasing need to outsource components or entire assemblies to external suppliers. To service their customers shop operations managers still need visibility and control of delivery, quality, and configuration records of outsourced components. Supply chain management is critical to the manufacturing process and new tools are necessary to keep pace with the needs of manufacturing.

Author's Details
Courtesy: Rockwell Automation


http://www.industry20.com/ReadArticle.php?StoryId=1586


Lean production basics

In the past, man in his quest for better standard and quality of life has allowed all other consideration to take a back seat and this accelerated the process of environmental degradation and began to threaten the earth's delicate ecological balance through which life on this planet survives. All manufacturing activities necessarily generate some form of waste. The manufacturing process does not consist of 100 per cent of conversion of material and energy inputs into usable final products; some portion of the material and energy inputs inevitably ends up as wastes. When the waste generated exceeds the maximum assimilative capacity of the environment it becomes pollution. Lean productions aims at elimination of wastes thereby reducing the environmental degradation.



Lean is about doing more with less: less time, inventory, space, people and money. Lean manufacturing (also known as the Toyota production system) is in its most basic form the systematic elimination of waste, over production, waiting, transportation, inventory, motion, over-processing, defective units and the implementation of the concepts of continuous flow and customer pull. Five areas of drive Lean manufacturing / production includes cost, quality, delivery, safety and morale.


Author's Details
S Ilangovan is Senior Lecturer and N Saravanan is Lecturer at Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Deemed University), Coimbatore.

http://www.industry20.com/ReadArticle.php?StoryId=119

Design Related Stories

The Autodesk Inventor 3D series helps Hardinge reduce design time by40 per cent to compete in the new low-price band

Like many companies in the manufacturing industry, Hardinge Inc. is affected by the new global economy where exchange rates, competition from foreign markets, the U.S. recession, and the ability to create inexpensive, yet high quality products are critical business challenges. The ma-chine tool industry in which Hardinge competes is highly competitive, particularly the Japanese and German markets. In addition, due to complex nature of the machine tool industry, design times can be long, making it difficult to quickly create a product in response to an immediate opportunity.

http://www.industry20.com/ReadArticle.php?StoryId=1614


The future of CAD driving revolution in three dimensions

3d CAd software will steadily improve engineering productivity by speeding the design process, suggesting options along the way, and identifying problems earlier...

We've witnessed dramatic advances in CAD usability, speed, graphics, 'intelligence,' and automation over the past few years, but even the best 3D mechanical design packages leave plenty of room for improvement. As with every area of computing, 3D mechanical design software still needs to be faster, easier to use, and more useful for communicating with non-engineers.

Author's Details
John J McEleney is the CEO of SolidWorks Corporation. SolidWorks Corporation (www. solidworks.com) develops and markets software for mechanical design, analysis, and product data management. Founded in 1993, SolidWorks' mission is to unleash the power of 3D for everyone in product development and foster a collaborative user community.

http://www.industry20.com/ReadArticle.php?StoryId=1598

Easy optimisation of design

Design Analysis with FEA is a technology that engineers use to simulate the physical behaviour of a design under specific operating conditions. in an exclusive interaction, Rajagopalan Varadarajan, technical Manager, Analysis Products, Asia Pacific Operations, solidWorks Corporation, explains its vital role to P K Chatterjee. Excerpts?

What is Finite Element Analysis or FEA?During the early 1990s, the product development process began evolving from the prototype-test approach to a new product development paradigm that is driven by comput-er-aided design (CAD) technology.

http://www.industry20.com/ReadArticle.php?StoryId=1560

Crossing The Design Challenge Chasm

The role of technology in the design process is increasing by the day. to ensure success, companies need to prioritise development of deep domain expertise and understand the pain areas?

The world of products is becoming increasingly complex. Succeeding in today's competitive product markets requires firms to respond more quickly to changing market demands, to differentiate more product variations for rapidly segmenting markets. Manufacturers have em-barked on continuous product improvement, delivering more features, more innovation, and better looking products all while meet-ing increasingly stringent product quality and supply chain cost targets.

Author's Details
Ajay Chamania Author: the author is senior Vice president, product engineering services, patni computer systems.


http://www.industry20.com/ReadArticle.php?StoryId=1549

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Mercedes-Benz ML320 Bluetec – Green Diesel Car

Mercedes Bluetec is diesel that is less polluting than petrol cars.

The special equipment used on the car includes a particulate emission trap as well as the oxidation catalyst. The bluetec car gets its name from the Adblue or urea tank in the rear of the car, which helps in reduction of NOx emission. Liquid urea is added into the exhaust tract and stored in the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) catalyst in the form of ammonia. This ammonia combines with the nitrogen oxide released by the engine to produce harmless nitrogen.

The Adblue tank needs to be topped at service intervals.

Mercedes has a diesel Bluetec Hybrid on the way to better the performance of this vehicle on environment as well as fuel efficiency issues.

Mercedes is not selling this vehicle in India as it needs ultra-low sulphur diesel.


http://www4.mercedes-benz.com/specials/scr/en/index_nocom_en.htm

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Machine Tool Installation or Consumption Across the World

The United States produced $3,578 million in its own machine tool factories; it brought in $4,254 million from Japan, Germany, Taiwan, et al., and it shipped out $1,660 million to customers in Mexico, Canada, China, et al. So the U.S. can be said to have consumed $6,172 million worth of products in 2007. That number, however, is down 3 percent from the previous year’s consumption.

Global output increased to $70,986 million in 2007, a percentage gain similar to that seen on the consumption side. That $71 billion, incidentally, was split into about 73 percent metalcutting machine tools including lathes and machining centers and 27 percent metalforming machine tools, such as presses.

Japan continues to lead the world in shipments of new machines, with Germany a not-so-far-behind second. Third-place producer, China, saw a tremendous surge in output last year as its domestic factories, which had been pressured by a ravenous local appetite, cranked up output more than 40 percent over the previous year. Italy, and Taiwan ar also in top ten.

The international statistics come from the 43rd “World Machine Tool Output & Consumption Survey” (“WMTO&CS”), conducted annually by Gardner Publications Inc., the publishers of Production Machining. The “WMTO&CS” measures shipments, trade and consumption from major industrialized nations.

Top ten countrie are:

1. Japan
2. Germany
3. China
4. Italy
5. South Korea
6. Taiwan
7. United States
8. Switzerland
9. Spain
10. Brazil

http://www.productionmachining.com/articles/gains-in-new-equipment-installations-vary-by-country.aspx

Recent advances in plasticity applications in metal machining

International Journal of Machining and Machinability of Materials
Issue: Volume 2, Number 3-4 / 2007
Pages: 347 - 360


Recent advances in plasticity applications in metal machining: slip-line models for machining with rounded cutting edge restricted contact grooved tools


Xiqun Wang and I.S. Jawahir

Xiqun Wang,TechSolve, Inc, 6705 Steger Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45237, USA.
I.S. Jawahir, UK Centre for Manufacturing, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Kentucky, USA


Abstract:

This paper presents a summary of new findings on plasticity applications in metal machining, primarily covering the recent efforts on developing new slip-line models for machining with restricted contact grooved tools which involve a finite cutting edge radius. Extended application of the initially developed plane-strain, rigid-plastic slip-line fields to take account of strain, strain-rate and temperature effects is shown to provide non-unique solutions for machining with grooved tools which most commonly incorporate geometric features such as a restricted contact and a rounded cutting edge. Predictions of cutting forces, chip thickness, chip up-curl radius, temperatures and flow stresses at the primary shear zone and at the tool-chip interface, etc. are made for a range of input conditions in orthogonal machining. The practical impact of these new findings on tool-wear and cutting tool design are emphasised in this paper.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

GM Focusing on Production Engineering of Fuel Cells

June 2007

GM Aligns Fuel Cell Researchers with Company's Core Engineering Organizations

DETROIT – General Motors Corp. is moving more than 500 fuel cell experts from advanced development laboratories to core engineering functions to prepare this technology for future production.

More than 400 fuel cell engineers will report to GM's Powertrain Group to begin production engineering of fuel cell systems. Another 100 will transfer to GM's Global Product Development organization to start integrating fuel cells into future company vehicles.


Finally, more than 150 fuel cell scientists and program support will remain as part of GM's Research and Development center to continue advanced research in hydrogen storage, fuel cells and program commercialization.

The transition is aimed at expediting the company's efforts to produce vehicles that displace petroleum through energy diversity.

Said Larry Burns, GM Vice President, Research and Development. "Today's announcement signals another important milestone as we move fuel cell vehicles closer to future production."

GM shared details about its fifth-generation fuel cell system technology when it unveiled the fuel cell-powered E-Flex version of the Chevrolet Volt at the Shanghai Auto Show in April. This latest system is half the size of its predecessor, yet provides the same power and performance.

GM's fourth-generation system currently powers the Chevrolet Sequel and Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles. The Sequel recently went into the record books as the first electrically-driven fuel cell vehicle to achieve more than 300 miles on one tank of hydrogen, in and out of traffic on public roads, while producing zero emissions. The Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell will be launched later this year as part of Project Driveway, which will place more than 100 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles with consumers in New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.

"Moving our fuel cell experts from advanced development laboratories to our core engineering organizations highlights our strong commitment to developing electrically-driven vehicles using diverse energy sources" said Tom Stephens, GM Group Vice President of Global Powertrain.

Leading the fuel cell engineering team is Dr. J. Byron McCormick, currently executive director, GM Fuel Cell Activities. He will report simultaneously to Dan Hancock, GM Powertrain Vice President, Global Engineering, and John Buttermore, GM Powertrain Vice President, Global Manufacturing. McCormick has been working on electric and fuel cell propulsion system research and development for more than 30 years. He was instrumental in the development of the EV-1 electric vehicle, and during the past 10 years, has led the GM fuel cell activities team.


This realignment is yet another initiative in GM's commitment to displace petroleum usage in the auto industry through a range of propulsion alternatives, including:


E85-capable biofuel vehicles – GM is a leading producer with more than 2 million on the road today

GM's 2-mode hybrid system for large city buses

GM's Hybrid System in the Saturn Vue Green Line and Saturn Aura Green Line Coming this fall,

GM's 2-mode hybrid system in the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon full-size SUVs, which provides a more than 25-percent improvement in fuel economy to what is already the industry's most fuel-efficient large SUVs, with no compromises in performance or towing capability

Due next year, a front-wheel-drive 2-mode Saturn Vue Green Line that is expected to deliver up to a 45-percent improvement in combined city and highway fuel economy compared with the current non-hybrid Vue, based on current federal test procedures

Plans to produce a plug-in version of the 2-mode hybrid Vue Green Line that has the potential to achieve double the fuel efficiency of any current SUV

Additionally, GM provides more vehicles that achieve 30 mpg on the highway than any other manufacturer in the U.S. market.

GM is also the first automotive member to join the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a group of global companies and non-governmental organizations formed to support an economy-wide, market-driven approach to reducing carbon emissions.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

America's Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Program Ranking 2008

2008 2007
1 1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2 2 Stanford University (CA)
3 3 University of California–Berkeley
4 5 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
6 6 Georgia Institute of Technology
7 7 Purdue University–West Lafayette (IN)
8 10 Cornell University (NY)
9 8 California Institute of Technology
10 15 Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
11 11 University of Texas–Austin
12 13 Penn State University–University Park
13 12 Princeton University (NJ)
14 22 Virginia Tech
15 18 Texas A&M University–College Station
16 9 University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
17 17 Northwestern University (IL)
18 16 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY)
19 14 University of Wisconsin–Madison
20 - Johns Hopkins University (MD)
21 19 Ohio State University–Columbus
22 - Lehigh University (PA)
22 - Mechigan Technological University
22 - University of California–San Diego
22 - University of California–Santa Babara

The 2008 International Conference of Mechanical Engineering

The 2008 International Conference of Mechanical Engineering (ICME'08) took take place in London, U.K., 2-4 July, 2008.

The conference ICME'08 was held under the World Congress on Engineering 2008. The WCE 2008 was organized by the International Association of Engineers (IAENG), and served as good platforms for the engineering community members to meet with each other and to exchange ideas.

The last IAENG conferences in 2007 has attracted a total of over seven hundred participants from over 30 countries. All accepted papers will be published in the conference proceeding (ISBN: 978-988-98671-9-5). The abstracts will be indexed and available at major academic databases. The accepted papers will also be considered for publication in the special issues of the journal Engineering Letters, in IAENG journals and in edited books.

2008 ASME International Mechanical Engineering

October 31 - November 6, 2008 at Boston, Massachusetts

Final Paper Submission
Deadline: August 18, 2008


THE TECHNICAL PROGRAM

Learn more about and browse through the extensive program with over 1900 papers across 20 topics including:

Design and Manufacturing
Micro and Nano Systems
Advances in Aerospace
Heat Transfer, Fluid Flows and Thermal Systems
Electronics and Photonics
Simulation Methods and Software
Biomedical and Biotechnology Engineering
Electronics and Photonics

Friday, July 25, 2008

Engineering Course Material from IITs

Go to the site


http://nptel.iitg.ernet.in/indexHome.php

register and download course materials for various courses prepared by IIT faculty.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Automoblie Component Manufacturing Processes

1. Korean Hwashin and Swedish AP&T in successful partnership
A unique press hardening process
for the automotive industry

http://www.apt-usa.com/uploads/Hot%20Stamping%20Line.pdf


2.Advanced manufacturing system for automotive
components production
Pacifico Marcello Pelagagge
Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp;jsessionid=A2776326F42DAB9E984864B8A7CDC497?Filename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/0290970806.pdf


3. http://www.virtek.ca/indsol.asp?industry=Automotive

VIRTEK OFFERS AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURERS, including first and second tier suppliers, easy-to-use laser systems that focus on their particular manufacturing needs. We work with you every step of the way to integrate our products into your processes to save you time and money, increase your throughput and improve quality.

Marking and Engraving: FOBA Laser Systems
FOBA Laser Systems are available for integration into machinery and manufacturing lines or as stand-alone turnkey units. FOBA systems offer advanced laser technology for any type of marking, engraving, cutting or micro-machining applications requiring speed, accuracy, permanence and the highest quality. FOBA lasers are used widely for lacquer removal (day/night marking).

2D and 3D Laser Templating: Virtek LaserEdge®
Virtek LaserEdge is used to manufacture composite parts for high performance automobiles. The system accurately projects a sequence of composite plies directly onto a 2D or 3D tool in the manufacturing process and projects the exact location and 2D or 3D outline of part placements in an assembly process.

2D and 3D Laser Templating: LaserEdge Planner
PLANNER is a stand-alone software package that works as a CAM package with LaserEdge projection systems to enable your manufacturing engineers to visualize, create, and edit data directly from native CAD models in a virtual 3D environment. This means seeing the designs and editing them in a 3D environment before they go to production. It saves significant time and eliminates errors in automotive production by removing the need for time-consuming shop floor tests.

Laser Inspection: LaserQC®
LaserQC can speed quality control of flat parts that are later formed into components for the automotive industry. It has multiple capabilities:
- 2D Inspection - first article, random sample and 100% inspection
- Inspection Documentation - meet ISO, QS, customer and internal quality reporting requirements
- Statistical Process Control - analyze the inspection results of a series of parts or the performance of machine tools over a specific period of time
- Reverse Engineering - quickly create a CAD file by scanning a part or template


4.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Michelin Challenge Design

Michelin North America, Inc. (“Michelin”) created the annual Michelin Challenge Design™ to celebrate, promote, publicize and give visibility to original creative thinking and innovation in vehicle design.

By embracing and supporting design, Michelin aims to establish a closer relationship with the design community, combining technical innovation with transportation design to create vehicles that consumers want to buy and will enjoy driving.

Michelin Challenge Design is a collection of events and activities reflecting Michelin North America’s interest in and commitment to innovative design. Michelin’s corporate culture places a high value on design and innovation as important to consumer satisfaction and maintaining Michelin’s role as the industry leader.

This year marks the eighth year for the international competition. Individual designers, teams, studios, and companies from over 45 countries have submitted full-size vehicles, scale models and renderings in support of the central theme 'BRAVE+BOLD', America's Next Iconic Vehicle. The designs will be evaluated for uniqueness, emotional appeal, design courage and technical execution.

The Michelin Challenge Design 2009 Jury includes:

- Chuck Jordan, Retired, Vice President of Design, General Motors
- Geza Loczi, Director of Design, Volvo Monitoring Concept Center
- Dave Marek, Chief Designer & Sr. Manager, Automotive Styling Group, Honda R&D-Americas
- Stewart Reed; Chair, Transportation Design Department, Art Center College of Design, Consultant and Jury Chairman, Michelin Challenge Design
- Frank Saucedo, Director, General Motors Advanced Design Studio
- John (Jack) J. Telnack, Retired, Global Vice President, Design, Ford Motor Company
- Freeman Thomas, Director, Strategic Design, Ford Motor Company
- Geoff Wardle, Director of Mobility, Industrial Design, Art Center College of Design

"The panel of judges we have assembled this year is truly outstanding," said Tom Chubb, vice president of marketing for Michelin Automotive Industry Division. "Their dedication and willingness to participate reinforces the quality and importance of the Michelin Challenge Design program."

Complete information on the Michelin Challenge Design, including themes, news and details, is available at www.michelinchallengedesign.com

Monday, July 14, 2008

IIT Bombay to Spearhead Solar power Initiative

IIT-Bombay now proposes to build solar thermal power plants in India in a demonstration-cum-research facility, which would help in developing indigenous capability and serve as a national resource centre and testing facility.

The idea is to build the country’s first consortium of industries and research organisations in this area.



As a first step, DESE organised a workshop to discuss details and identify consortium partners. The workshop, sponsored by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, also reviewed the status of various solar thermal power routes in the Indian context.

Three approaches were decided upon — medium temperature power generation, high temperature solar tower concept and distributed (smaller range) power generation.

While IIT-Bombay is likely to take the lead in medium temperature power generation, it will facilitate the other two. The Maharashtra Energy Development Agency has also committed to support the venture and will provide the land in Maharashtra, said Banerjee, head, Department of Energy Science and Engineering (DESE), IIT-Bombay.



http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?queryed=9&querypage=5&eddate=4/29/2008&view=nw

Solar Power in India in Numbers

1. 5 lakhs solar laterns. cost of solar intern is Rs.3,600. subsidy 50%.

2. 3.42 home-lighting systems

3. 6,482 villages are using solar power units

4. 6000 solar power pumping water systems

5. 54,000 streetlights and traffic signals.

6. 17 grid solar photovoltaics in eight states generate more than 1,400 MW of power.

7. 2.3 million squaremetres of solar waterheating systems installed in India. Whilethe world has 180 million squaremetres.China has 100 million square metres.

8. Solar water heaters are being used y hotels, hospitals, cooperative societies, and guest houses.

9. Thane is commended for good progress in solar water heating systems installation in buildings.

1. About 7000 homes in Pune housing complex will use solar heating technologies.

Hindustan Times 7th July 2008 page 19

http://www.karmayog.org/solarenergy/solarenergy_16368.htm

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology

http://www.me.gatech.edu/research/index.shtml


At its core, Mechanical Engineering is about thermal systems and mechanical systems, and the design, manufacture, and operation of these systems.

Georgia Tech has a strong program in manufacturing. Mechanical Engineering’s contribution to this activity is major, including design, controls, precision manufacturing, rapid prototyping, polymer processing, and electronic packaging. Environmentally conscious design and “green engineering” is also addressed.

University of Santa Barbara - Mech Engg Department

http://www.me.ucsb.edu/dept_site/research/meeresearch.html

Research Areas:

Computational Science and Engineering
Dynamic Systems, Control, and Robotics
Environmental, Ocean, and Risk and Safety Engineering
Fluid Mechanics/Thermal Sciences
Micro/Nano Technology
Solid Mechanics, Materials, and Structures


Research Centers:

Center for Control, Dynamical Systems and Computation (CCDC)
Materials Research Laboratory
Center for Risk Studies and Safety
Institute for Theoretical Physics
California Nanosystems Institute
Technology Management Program

Mechanical Engineering Basic Research

Benchmarking the Competitiveness of the United
States in Mechanical Engineering Basic Research
October 2007

http://dels.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/benchmarking_mechE_brief_final.pdf

Mechanical engineering is critical to the design, manufacture, and operation of small
and large mechanical systems throughout the U.S. economy. It is often called upon
to provide scientific and technological solutions for national problems, playing a key role in the transportation, power generation, advanced manufacturing, and aviation industries, to mention a few.

In 2006 Chinese mech engineers are published as many papers as US engineeers in reputed journals.

Friday, July 4, 2008

How Stuff Works - Automobiles

Visit the site for interesting information

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/



Information available under categories


Auto Basics
Trucks
Buying & Selling
Fuel & Alternative Fuel Technologies
Car Models
Motorcycles
Driving & Safety
Under the Hood


Catalytic converter
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/catalytic-converter1.htm

The science channel http://science.howstuffworks.com/

has information under the following categories



Aviation
Buildings & Structures
Devices
Internal Combustion
Materials Science
Robotics
Transportation
Infrastructure
Vehicles & Equipment

Friday, June 27, 2008

Ford Designed a Hydrogen Engine in 2004

Media release of Ford

DEARBORN, Mich., Sept. 13, 2004 -- Ford engineers and researchers have successfully designed a 6.8-liter V-10 engine that burns hydrogen, further strengthening the company's role as a leader in hydrogen internal combustion engine (H2 ICE) development and possibly moving the technology one step closer to production.
Powering a Ford F-350 pickup, the V-10 H-ICE follows on the heels of the 2.3-liter I-4 H-ICE previously introduced in Ford's Model U and Hydrogen Hybrid Research Vehicle (H2 RV) -- a specially built Ford Focus wagon, two of which are logging tens of thousands of test miles in southeastern Michigan.

"The V-10 H2 ICE demonstrates our ability to produce hydrogen-burning engines in varied displacements, "said Bob Natkin, group and technical leader, Ford hydrogen internal combustion engine applications. "In fact, Ford could manufacture an H2 ICE today -- in any displacement."

Aside from the lack of a hydrogen infrastructure, on-board storage looms as the largest technical hurdle. At 5,000 psi, it takes about 12 gallons of volume to contain one kilogram of hydrogen, which has the same amount of energy as one gallon of gasoline. The H2 ICE F-350 is equipped with two large 5,000 psi hydrogen storage tanks in the truck bed that hold the equivalent of eight gallons of gasoline.

"The tanks take up quite a bit of room, but we think that with 10,000 psi tanks -- which are still very safe to use -- we can reduce the space necessary," said Natkin.

Ford views hydrogen internal combustion engines as the second phase in the company's three-pronged strategy for future automotive propulsion. Sandwiched between gasoline hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles -- the latter believed to be at least 10-15 years from large-scale production – H2 ICEs offer near zero emissions, including CO2, and are considerably less expensive than fuel cells.

"A hydrogen IC engine is up to 25 percent more fuel efficient than a gasoline IC engine and emits very little carbon dioxide, which is a harmful greenhouse gas," explained Natkin. "Hydrogen-burning engines are a bridge to fuel cells and will help develop a hydrogen fueling infrastructure and ancillary technologies, such as on-board fuel storage, H2 safety technology, and dispensing technology."

Natkin says that Ford is the clear leader in H2 ICE development among OEMs in North America and believes the same is true among all global automakers.

"BMW is the only other auto manufacturer to state publicly that they are developing hydrogen engine technology, but, in my opinion, we are further along than they are, said Natkin. "'We use a combination of lean combustion and supercharging that yields improved fuel economy without sacrificing performance. BMW does not supercharge their hydrogen engine."

The H2 ICE F-350 will serve as what is called an "engineering mule" outfitted with testing equipment that allows engineers to tweak the vehicle's unique systems.

"There is a slight discernible whine of the supercharger, but the NVH team will be able to improve that," said Natkin. "Other than that, the truck performs just like a gasoline-powered F-350."

The next step is to demonstrate this technology in fleet applications in order to gain valuable real-world data on the V-10 H2 ICE. Stay tuned

27 June 2008 (by NRao)

Presently Ford is not in news for hydrogen cars. BMW is in news. GM and Honda are news. GM and Honda are using fuel cell route to hydrogen cars. BMW is using burning of hydrogen in an IC engine route.

Running a Gasoline Engine on Hydrogen Using Water - 1

June 2003

Running a Gasoline Engine on Hydrogen Using Water

President Bush has made a challenge to the American people to begin running our cars on hydrogen as soon as possible, and has allocated over one billion dollars for research to find out how to do that.

In a suburb of Toronto, Canada, a small company called Rothman Technologies, Inc., has in fact discovered not one but two viable methods for breaking down ordinary water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Instant Hydrogen Gas

The first process shown to us by Rothman Technologies uses water, salt, and an extremely inexpensive metal alloy. The gas that results from this process is pure hydrogen, a fuel that burns without the need for external oxygen — and gives off no pollution whatsoever.

On behalf of Spirit of Ma'at, I visited Rothman Technologies last February (2003) in order to witness first-hand what several people had told us was true: This company was running a 12-horsepower, gasoline-powered electrical generator using water as "fuel." The generator was a gasoline combustion engine exactly like the one in your car.

This engine was mounted on a lab bench in a garage area, with the door open for ventilation. On the floor were thirteen half-gallon containers linked together with tubes, all connected to a central, larger tube that ran directly to the carburetor of the motor.

In the containers was ordinary water plus an electrolyte (i.e., some type of salt).

When a piece of metal alloy was dropped into the electrolyte mixture, hydrogen instantly began to form at an amazing rate. The hydrogen gas traveled to a main tube, and from there straight to the carburetor.

We watched the motor run for twenty minutes or so (it was really cold, with the doors open in the Toronto January winter, so we decided that twenty minutes was enough "proof of concept"). This engine, using water and salt as the primary fuel, and metal alloy as a catalyst, was definitely running!


Rothman Technologies, Inc., also has another method of converting water to fuel. It's called electrolysis. This method breaks water down into Brown's gas, which also is a perfect fuel for gasoline engines,

See for more details

http://www.spiritofmaat.com/archive/watercar/h20car2.htm

Thursday, June 26, 2008

General Motors Hydrogen Car

January 9, 2005

General Motors' latest hydrogen car prototype, called the Sequel, will be unveiled today at a press preview of the North American International Auto Show here. It is a car unlike any other and a glimpse of a possible, very different, automotive future. Most important, it runs on a hydrogen fuel cell, so its only tailpipe emission is water vapor, not the smog-forming pollutants and greenhouse gases that come out of gasoline-powered cars.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/09/business/yourmoney/09auto.html

BMW Hydrogen Car

A Dedication to Cleaner Mobility
BMWs are engineered to be clean. They must embody cleanliness in the manufacturing process that brings them to life, in the design that makes them moving works of art and in the systems that power them. But some BMWs go further in this last pursuit for cleanliness. With the CleanEnergy program, BMW is bringing vehicles to the streets of the world that are powered by renewable resources.

At the heart of this initiative is a bivalent 12-cylinder engine that can run on both gasoline and liquid hydrogen. BMW has fitted a fleet of 7-series with these innovative power plants to show the world just how effective renewable fuels are and how they will change mobility forever. The Zentrum pays tribute to this technology with an exhibit featuring one of these incredible vehicles.

http://www.bmwzentrum.com/exhibits/hydrogen_car.asp

Honda's Hydrogen Car

July 2007

Honda readies sleek hydrogen car for sale next year

The two FCXs Honda brought to Washington D.C. for journalists to drive represent the next-generation model. Honda says it will be producing and leasing these to consumers in some quantity next year.
Honda won't say, yet, how many it will build, but it's enough that this FCX will be manufactured on an assembly line, not one-by-one as the current model is.

Honda also isn't saying how much it will cost to lease one. The two current FCXs that are being leased to consumers cost $500 a month. Since each of those cars cost about $1 million to build, Honda's clearly not making money on that deal.

It cost less than that to build the two new FCXs that now exist and, presumably, will cost even less to make the mass-produced ones. Still, hydrogen fuel cell cars are far from cheap to make no matter how you do it.

Honda is leasing the cars rather than lending them to people free of charge - as GM will be doing with a fleet of 100 hydrogen fuel cell powered Chevrolet Equinoxes later this year - because Honda wants its users to have the same expectations any customer would have of their family car.

The cars will be leased only in areas that have some hydrogen filling stations. At-home hydrogen filling devices might also be made available, Honda said.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/autos/0705/gallery.honda_fcx/2.html


Honda begins production of hydrogen car

Mon Jun 16, 2008

Japanese manufacturer Honda has started the first commercial production of a hydrogen-powered car.

The medium-sized four seater is called the FCX Clarity and has a top speed of 160 kilometres per hour.

The car runs on an electric motor powered by hydrogen fuel cells and only emits water vapour.

Honda will start leasing some of the cars to people living in southern California by the end of August.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/16/2276538.htm

Tata-ISRO team to launch hydrogen car in 2008

November 22, 2007

Automobile major Tata Motors and space agency Indian Space Research Organisation are gearing up to launch the prototype of the car that will run on hydrogen and emit a mere wispy trail of water vapour.


Nair of ISRO said that an agreement for the pilot project to see whether hydrogen can be used as fuel for automobiles had been signed and work had already commenced on the project. He said that ISRO is working with the Tatas and, if all goes well, the car will be rolled out in early 2008.

A recent survey by the World Health Organization states that at least 10 per cent of the people in India suffer from respiratory problems due to the increase in the number of automobiles in the country.

The WHO report also said that in the next 15 years, if petrol and diesel vehicles are not phased out there is every chance of an asthma epidemic breaking out in India.


The Tatas had said in 2005 that in the next three to four years, hydrogen vehicles will be rolled out on Indian roads. The group said that by 2020, at least 1 million such cars will be rolled out in the Indian market.

Delhi is better geared for introduction of hydrogen cars due to the CNG revolution that took place there. For vehicles running on CNG there would not be any major modification required as 10 per cent blend and the hydrogen could be stored in the CNG cylinder.


http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/nov/22tata.htm

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

INVENTION AWARD FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN (CDJIA-2008)

SEVENTH CSIR DIAMOND JUBILEE INVENTION
AWARD FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN (CDJIA-2008)

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) is the premier Industrial R&D
Organisation in India. On the occasion of its Diamond Jubilee in 2002, CSIR initiated
Invention Awards for school children to create awareness, interest and motivation for
Intellectual Property amongst children.

On the occasion of the World Intellectual Property Day which is celebrated through out the world on 26th April, CSIR invites applications for the ‘Seventh CSIR Diamond Jubilee Invention Award(CDJIA) for School Children-2008’.

The first prize winner would also become eligible for WIPO’s Young Inventor’s Award carrying a medal and a certificate.

Applicant must provide the details of the invention submitted for the award in not more than 5000 words in English/Hindi including an abstract (in not more than 100 words),authenticated (by giving seal and date) and sent through the Principal/ Head of the School where the student is enrolled and personal details on a separate page as follows:
Name, date of birth, school and residential address, class, telephone no. (residence/school),e-mail address.

In case of proposals already selected for state, national, international or equivalent awards,only the subject matter covering the improvements need to be submitted for consideration of CDJIA-2008. Published inventions would be considered as per the provisions of the Patent Act.

The applications for the award not exceeding 5000 words in English/Hindi with requisite drawings will be considered. The write-up must describe the subject matter in a problem - solution mode and highlighting the novel and non-obviousness feature of the invention and its advantages.

Any Indian student enrolled in an India n school below the age of 18 years as on 31st July 2008 can apply.

The invention submitted should be one that is globally novel, non-obvious and utilitarian. It could be a new concept or idea or a solution to an existing problem or completely a new method/ process/ device/ utility. It is not essential/ necessary that the invention should have been worked, only the concept of the invention should have been proved through a model, a prototype or experimental data. Details of any assistance/ guidance provided by teachers/parents/friends or others must be appropriately mentioned and acknowledged.

Typed applications to be sent by Registered Post/Courier to: Head, Intellectual Property Management Division, CSIR, NISCAIR Building, 14 Satsang Vihar Marg, Special
Institutional Area, New Delhi - 110 067 with the envelope marked on top left hand corner 'CDJIA-2008'.

You may also send application through addressed to
head.ipmd@niscair.res.in. However, a hard copy should also follow through post with
Principal’s authentication.

Applications received on or before 30th September 2008 will be considered for the Award.

Prizes : There are in all 60 prizes. Besides a certificate, the cash awards are:
First Prize (1 No.) Rs. 50,000/-
Second Prize (2 Nos.) Rs. 25,000/- each
Third Prize (3 Nos.) Rs. 15,000/- each
Fourth Prize (4 Nos.) Rs. 10,000/ - each
Fifth Prize (50 nos.) Rs. 5,000/- each

The awardees will be selected by a high level Awards Selection Committee. If required, the short listed candidates may be called for Interview at Delhi or at any other appropriate place. The decision of the Awards Selection Committee / CSIR will be final and binding on the applicants and no enquiries/correspondence in this regard will be entertained.

The Awards will be announced on January 1,2009, at New Delhi and would be communicated to the Awardees only.

For more information, please visit our site at www.csir.res.in

You can download document of the annoucement from

http://www.cmeri.res.in/oth/docs/ipmd08.pdf

Engineers of CMERI

Director, CMERI

Dr. Gopal P. Sinha, who took over as Director, CMERI, Durgapur w.e.f. 10th Dec, 2001 was born on 17th July, 1946 and was Head, Operations Research Group, TATA STEEL. He did his B.Sc (Engg) in Mechanical Engineering in 1967 and obtained PGDBM from XLRI in 1975 and then Ph.D in Industrial Engineering from IIT, Kharagpur in 1983.

He joined TATA STEEL in 1970 and served there in various capacities till he attained the post of Head, Operational and Cost Research, dealing with Business Planning and Cost Competitiveness. During 1994 he received the Franz Edelman Award for best OR/MS work in the world jointly from the TATA Institute of Management Sciences (TIMS) and the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA) at Boston, USA.

Earlier in 1993, he received the IFORS (International Federation of Operations Research) award for the best OR work in third world. He received the SAIL Gold Medal in 2000 for his work on competitivess of Indian Steel Industry. He is also the recipient of the Distinguished Engineer Award from the Institution of Engineers, Jamshedpur Chapter in 2000.













Condition Monitoring




R K Biswas, Scientist EII Group Head


Tapan Kumar Paul, Scientist EII


Kamalakishor J Uke, Scientist C

Design and Development of Mechanical System



S Majumder, Scientist F



G BALA MURUGAN, Scientist E1


R W Lanjewar, Scientist C


R K Jain, Scientist C


R K Bharilya, Scientist C


U. S. Patkar, Scientist C








Manufacturing Technology Group


Amit Jyoti Banerjee, Scientist EII Group Head


Ashok Kr. Prasad, Scientist C


B. Sampat Kumar, Scientist C


Rajpal Singh, Scientist C


Sankar Karmakar, Scientist C

CMERI - Research Papers - Conference Presentations

CONFERENCE PUBLLICATIONS DURING THE PERIOD 2000-2004
1. .A finite element approach for residual stress determination in rollerstraightened
rail; Dr. S.L. Srimani, Dr. J. Basu, D.S. Gupta. Accepted for
presentation in the Second International Conference on Theoretical,
Applied, Computational & Experimental Mechanics (ICTACEM) 2001 held
during December 2001.
2. A novel device for filling frames with splints for the manufacture of
safety matches; G. Balamurugan, N.P. Mukherjee, Avijit Singha
3. A practical approach to assess the damage process of heat resistant
materials for power engineering, B.B. Jha, ‘Feedback’ journal published by
BHEL.
4. A practical approach to residual life assessment of power plant
components in service; B.B. Jha, S. Roy, Proceedings of the International
Symposium on materials ageing and life assessment, October 3-6, 2000,
Kalpakkam, India, Allied Publishers Limited, Chennai, Volume 3, pp 1188 -
1193.
5. An ingenious machine for the manufacture of globoidal cam, G.
Balamurugan & N.P. Mukherjee, Proceedings of the 10th. National
Conference on Machines & Mechanisms, IIT, Kharagpur, pp 343-350.
6. An unsuccessful story of an ID fan balancing - a case study; R.K. Biswas,
Dr. R. Sen, Dr. A. Mukhopadhyay, Proceedings of the National Seminar on
‘Maintenance Engineering – the Recent Trends’ pp 171-178.
7. Analysis of heat transfer from a moving surface due to impinging
laminar jets; H. Chattopadhyay, Sujay K. Saha; January 3-5, 2002,
Proceedings of the 5th. ISHME-ASME Heat & Mass Transfer Conference,
pp 289-294, Tata McGraw Hill.
8. Application of design tools with computer simulation in solving foundry
problems – a case study; B Sampath Kumar, MK Jas & SK Samanta.
Presented in the CARTM 2003, Kalyani Government Engineering College,
November 2003.
9. Automated system for card generation for a Jacquard loom used in the
production of Baluchari sarees; Partha Bhattacharjee, Anjali Chatterjee,
Proceedings of the TIMA 2001.
10. Bridge tooling as a rapid injection mould tooling process; K.P.
Roysarkar, A. Sinha, Proceedings of the 19th AIMTDR Conference 2000,
Narosa Publishing House, pp 715 – 721.
11. CFD- A tool for engineering analysis; H. Chattopadhyay, Proceedings of
the 36th. Annual Convention of Computer Society of India, November 2001, pp
C-1 to C-6.
12. CFD studies on enhanced transport using vectored jets; H.
Chattopadhyay; Presented in the International Seminar on Grain Drying in
South Asia.
13. CO2-free hydrogen from hydrocarbon for fuel cell applications, A.B.
Datta, P.K. Chatterjee & K.M. Kundu, CD Proceedings of the Two Day
Conference on Fuel Cell Technology – Emerging Trends, Gurgaon.

4. Collision-free, near-optimal path planning of a manipulator using a GAFuzzy
approach, Shibendu Sekhar Roy, Scientist, CMERI, D.K. Pratihar &
Arnab Mukherjee, R.E. College, Durgapur, Proceedings of the 10th. National
Conference on Machines & Mechanisms, IIT, Kharagpur, pp 201-208.
15. Combustion of a single coal particle - an analysis; Dr. K. M. Kundu, Dr. R.
Das, Dr. A.B. Datta & Dr. P.K. Chatterjee. January 3-5, 2002, Proceedings of
the 5th. ISHMT-ASME Heat & Mass Transfer Conference, pp 964-970, Tata
McGraw Hill.
16. Continuous spouted bed drying of paddy; A.B. Dutta, P.K. Chatterjee, K.M.
Kundu, S.S. Nandi & B. Chaudhury; Presented in the International Seminar on
Grain Drying in South Asia.
17. Design & development of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV); G.
Purakayastha, S. Datta, S. Nandy, S.N. Shome
18. Design & development of underwater thruster for 1000m depth at sea; S.
Nandy, D. Banerjee, S.N. Shome
19. Development of a 60kg payload 4-axes SCARA configuration
manipulator; G. Purakayastha, S. Datta, S.N. Nandy, S.N. Shome
20. Development of process technology and manufacturing of austempered
ductile iron components for engineering applications; AC Ganguly, MK
Jas, SK Samanta. Presented in the National Conference on Investment
Casting 2003.
21. Development of single-chip microcontroller based position control
system for stitching cricket/hockey balls; J. Roychoudhury, U. Datta, G.
Balamurugan, Dr. N.P. Mukherjee, Proceedings of the TIMA 2001.
22. Diagnostics in maintenance of equipment; Dr. S. Dasgupta, P.
Bhattacharjee, Presented in the National Seminar on ‘Maintenance
Engineering – the Recent Trends’.
23. Direct Metal Casting from RP mould using QuickCast technique - CMERI
experience; P.S. Banerjee, M.K. Banerjee, Palash Maji, Proceedings of the
19th AIMTDR Conference 2000, Narosa Publishing House, pp 707 – 713.
24. Effect of plating on torque load bearing capacity of shrink fitted
assemblies, by D. Ramesh Rajakumar, B. Ramamoorthy & S. Natarajan,
Proceedings of the National Conference on Recent Advances in Materials
Processing, September 2001, Annamalai University, pp 116-121.
25. Efficient performance appraisal and optimal use of crossflow
evaporative multi cell water cooling tower; Dr. M. Prasad. January 3-5,
2002, Proceedings of the 5th. ISHMT-ASME Heat & Mass Transfer
Conference, pp 1364-1369, Tata McGraw Hill.
26. Emerging technologies for development of pressure die casting dies &
injection moulds, Nagahanumaiah, B. Ravi, N.P. Mukherjee & T. Mahata,
Proceedings of the Symposium on Manufacturing Excellence, January 7-8
2002, IIT, Madras, pp 85-86.
27. Epoxy concrete – an alternative material for development of machine
tool structures, K.P. Roysarkar, Proceedings of the 10th. National
Conference on Machines & Mechanisms, IIT, Kharagpur, pp 297-304.
28. Evaluation of process parameters of epoxy concrete: a structural
material for precision machines, K.P. Roysarkar, Proceedings of the 2nd.
National Conference on Precision Engineering, PSG College of
Technology, pp 41-49.

29. Exploration of colour removal from waste water through adsorption and
photocatalysis using flyash and sunlight, by Debabrata Chatterjee,
Biswajit Ruj, Anima Mahata and SK Maulick, Proceedings of the International
Congress of Chemistry & Environment, December 16-18, 2001, Indore, pp
42.
30. Failure analysis of HP turbine casing stud; A Saha, D Ghosh & AK Shukla.
Presented in the National Symposium on ‘Towards Self Reliance in Power’,
April 2003.
31. Fluidised bed drying; K.M. Kundu, R. Das, A.B. Dutta & P.K. Chatterjee;
Presented in the International Seminar on Grain Drying in South Asia.
32. Improvement of engineering system through quality assurance, FMCEA
and reliability approach; T Sarkar, TK Paul & TK Chatterjee. Presented in
the International Symposium on Emerging Strategies for Improving
Productivity, Quality & Reliability, December 12-14 2003.
33. Innovation and competitiveness; G.P. Sinha
34. Intelligent comfort level sensing through multi-sensor integration using
embedded fuzzy approximation technique; J. Roy Chaudhuri
35. Investigation into platen superheater tube failure of a power boiler;
D.Ghosh, P. Roy & B.N. Singh. Presented in the National Symposium on
‘Towards Self Reliance in Power’, April 2003, CMERI, Durgapur.
36. Investigation on effective sensing space for different sensor locations
inside the barbette; S. Nandy, D. Banerjee, S.N. Shome.
37. Investment casting: world overview; BN Mandal, GS Reddy. Presented in
the National Conference on Investment Casting 2003.
38. Issues associated with conventional tooling applications in investment
casting; A Mantry, Nagahanumaiah, RK Padhi, BRK Ventakapathy.
Presented in the National Conference on Investment Casting 2003.
39. Metal casting process optimization through computer simulation; MK
Jas, SK Samanta, DP Chattopadhyay. Presented in the National Conference
on Investment Casting 2003.
40. Microwave drying; M.K. Karmakar, K.M. Kundu, A.B. Dutta, P.K. Chatterjee
& S.S. Nandi; Presented in the International Seminar on Grain Drying in South
Asia.
41. Numerical simulation based on turbulence closure for two-phase gas
particle transport in confined systems & certain experimental studies; A.
Mitter, J.P. Malhotra, H.T. Jadeja, Proceedings of the Second International
Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Power, I.I.T., Roorkee, 12-14
December 2002.
42. On the drying kinetics in drying process, K.M. Kundu, R. Das, A.B. Datta &
P.K. Chatterjee, Proceedings of the Asia-Oceania Drying Conference
(ADC-01), pp 657-659, ed. Daud et. Al., The Institution of Chemical
Engineers.
43. On the energy aspects in drying; Dipak Verma, K.M. Kundu, A.B. Dutta &
P.K. Chatterjee; Presented in the International Seminar on Grain Drying in
South Asia.
44. Optimum design of railway wheel profile; Dr. G.S. Roy, Dr. S.L. Srimani,
Dr. J. Basu, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on
Theoretical, Applied, Computational & Experimental Mechanics
(ICTACEM) 2001 to be held during December 2001.

45. Prediction of grinding power using a GA-Fuzzy approach, A.K. Nandi,
D.K. Pratihar & M.K. Banerjee, Proceedings of the 16th. National Conference
on Emerging Trends in Manufacturing, January 19-20, 2002, pp 75-81.
46. Quality evaluation of rolling element bearings, S.C. Nidhi & Ranjan Sen,
Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Industrial Tribology.
47. Rapid tooling for producing plastic prototype through vacuum casting
technology - a case study; M.K. Banerjee, K.P. Roysarkar, Proceedings of
the 19th AIMTDR Conference 2000, Narosa Publishing House, pp 693 – 697.
48. Remedial measure for removal of iron from groundwater; A.K.
Bandopadhyay, B. Ruj, S.K. Chatterjee
49. Removal of iron from drinking water – an easy and appropriate
technology; A.K. Bandopadhyay, B. Ruj, S.K. Chatterjee
50. Residual life estimation of the superheater & reheater tubes based on
oxide scale thickness measurement; B.B. Jha, S.C. Nidhi
51. Reverse engineering for art castings – preliminary investigations with
case study by B. Sampath Kumar, S.M. Sutar and Nagahanumaiah,
Scientists, CMERI, Proceedings of the 50th Indian Foundry Congress 2002.
52. Role of CFD in today’s context; H. Chattopadhyay
53. Simulation of joint position response of 60 kg payload 4-axes SCARA
configuration manipulator taking dynamical effects into consideration,
by G. Purakayastha, S. Datta, S.N. Nandy & S.N. Shome, Scientists, CMERI.
Proceedings of the WSEAS International Conference, Cancun, Mexico.
54. Solar beam energy input effectiveness of intermittently tracking flat
plate collector with south facing reflector; Dr. M. Prasad, S.K. Majumdar,
Proceedings of the 24th National Renewable Energy Convention 2000,
Allied Publishers Limited, pp 26 – 32.
55. Solid modeling as a driving tool in compression of development time - a
case study of an impeller; B. Sampath Kumar, Anupam Sinha, M.K.
Banerjee. Proceedings of the SDRC Users Meet.
56. Stepper motor driven micro-indexing mechanism using microcontroller,
by U. Datta, J. Roychaudhuri, N.P. Mukherjee & G. Balamurugan,
Proceedings of the Symposium on Manufacturing Excellence, January 7-8
2002, IIT, Madras, pp 69-70.
57. Study on development of cast components through rapid prototype soft
tooling process by B. Mondal, A.K. Lohar, S.K. Samanta and M.K. Jas,
Scientists, CMERI, Proceedings of the 50th Indian Foundry Congress 2002.
58. Study on strength and warpage of stereolithography models; P.S.
Banerjee, P.K. Maji, M.K. Banerjee, R.N. Banerjee, T.K. Chatterjee
59. Synthetic composite: a non-conventional material for machine tool
structures; K.P. Roysarkar, M.K. Banerjee
60. Technological aspects of particulates reinforced investment cast
composites; AK Lohar, SK Das, D Chakraborty, BN Mandal. Presented in the
National Conference on Investment Casting 2003.
61. Terrain aided autonomous navigation of subsea robots using natural
features; Somjyoti Majumder
62. Three-fold periodic tracking of flat plate solar collector with specular
reflector at top edge; M. Prasad
63. Tool path planning for investment casting functional prototypes /
production moulds; Nagahanumaiah, NP Mukherjee. Presented in the
National Conference on Investment Casting 2003.

64. Torque-load prediction in shrink fitted assemblies using artificial neural
network, D. Ramesh Raja Kumar, B. Ramamoorthy, S. Natarajan,
Proceedings of the 2nd. National Conference on Precision Engineering,
PSG College of Technology, pp 237-244.
65. Towards self reliance in power; GP Sinha & SK Neogi. Presented in the
National Symposium on ‘Towards Self Reliance in Power’, April 2003.
66. Trend prediction from steam turbine responses of vibration &
eccentricity; Dr. B.K. Sinha. Journal of Power & Energy.
67. Turbulence modelling using large-eddy simulation; H. Chattopadhyay
68. Turbulent flow structure due to a jet impinging on a moving plate; H.
Chattopadhyay
69. Viewing the IP Domain of Food Processing, K.K. Sanyal, Invention
Intelligence, March-April 2001.

CMERI - Published Research Papers

JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS DURING THE PERIOD 2000-2004 (Those
shown in red are SCI Publications)
1. Adsorption and photocatalysis of colour removal from waste water
using flyash and sunlight; by Debabrata Chatterjee, B. Ruj & Anima
Mahata, Catal.Commun. , 2 , (2001) , 113-117.

2. Ambient air quality status in Ranigunj-Asansol area, India; G.S. Reddy &
Biswajit Ruj; Environmental Engineering & Assessment, Volume 89, pp 153-
163, December 2003.

3. An investigation for control of residual stress in roller-straightened rails;
SL Srimani & J Basu; Journal of Strain Analysis for Engineering Design,
Volume 38, No. 3, pp 261-268, IMechE 2003.

4. Application of a dynamic subgrid scale model in prediction of heat
transfer from impinging knife jets; Chattopadhyay H, Cziesla T, Biswas G
& Mitra NK ; J. Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, Volume 3, 22-31,
2003.

5. Application of a dynamic subgrid scale model in prediction of heat
transfer from impinging knife jets; Chattopadhyay H, Cziesla T, Biswas G &
Mitra NK; J. Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, Volume 3, 22-31,
2003.

6. Computer aided design and automated system for card generation for a
Jacquard Loom used in the production of Baluchari saree; Partha
Bhattacharjee & Anjali Chatterjee; IE(I) Journal –TX, Volume 83, February
2003, pp. 34-40.

7. Deminelarization of organic pollutants on the dye modified TiO2
semiconductor particulate system using visible light; by Debabrata
Chatterjee & Anima Mahata, Appl.Catal. B: Environmental , 33, (2001), 119-
125.

8. Dirunal variation of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide in Ranigunj Asansol
area; G.S. Reddy, B. Ruj

9. Electron transfer reaction of [RuIII(edta)(pyz)]- with sulfite in aqueous
solution, Dr. D. Chatterjee, Trans. Metal Chem. , 25, (2000), 227-230.

10. Epoxidation of olefins with hypochloride catalysed by new Nickel(II)-
Schiff base complexes, Dr. D. Chatterjee, Sanghamitra Mukherjee &
Anannya Mitra, J. Mol. Catal(A), 154, (2000), 5-8.

11. Formation of mixed-valence R(IV)-Fe(II)- binuclear complex via the
reaction of [RuIII(edta)(H2O)] and [FeIII(CN)6]3- in a aqueous solution; M.S.
Ward, Dr. D. Chatterjee, Rex E. Shephed, Polyhedron, 19, (2000), pp 1339 -
46.

12. Homogeneous catalysis of C-H bond activation by novel Ruthenium(III) -
complexes; Dr. D. Chatterjee, Annanya Mitra, B.C. Roy, React. Kinet. Catal.
Lett. , 70, (2000), pp 147 - 151.

13. Interaction of rutheniumIII-edta with amino acids in aqua solution.
Equilibrium kinetic & protease inhibition studies; D. Chatterjee, M.S.A.
Hamza, Annanya Mitra, M.N. Shoukry, Sreerupa Desmukh, Rudi Van Eldik; J.
Chem. Soc. Dalton Transactions, 2003, 203-209*

14. Olefin epoxidation catalyzed by novel nickel(II)- complexes containing
tridentate Schiff-base ligands; by Debabrata Chatterjee and Sanghamitra
Mukherjee, Ind.J.Chem(A). 2002, 41(A), pp 1406-1409.

15. Oxidation of benzene with tert-butylhydroperoxide catalyzed by a novel
[RuIII(amp)(bipy)(H2O)]+ complex: First Report of homogeneously
catalyzed oxo-transfer reaction in benzene oxidation; by Debabrata
Chatterjee Anannya Mitra, Sanghamitra Mukherjee J.Mol.Catal(A) 165 (2001)
295-298.

16. Oxidation of organic substrates catalysed by a novel mixed-ligand
Rutheium(III) complex; Dr. D. Chatterjee, Annanya Mitra, B.C. Roy, Journal
of Molecular Catalysis (A), 161, (2000), pp 17 - 21.

17. Oxidation of organic substrates catalysed by a novel mixed-ligand
[RuIII(app)(pic)(H2O)]+ complex; Dr. D. Chatterjee, Annanya Mitra, Inorg.
Chem. Commun., 3, (2000), pp 640 - 644.

18. Oxidation of organic substrates catalysed by novel mixed-ligand
Chromium(III) complexes; Dr. D. Chatterjee, Sanghamitra Mukherjee, B.C.
Roy. React. Kinet. Catal. Lett., 71, (2000), 217-222.

19. Oxidation of organic substrates catalyzed by novel mixed-ligand
manganese(III) complexes; by Debabrata Chatterjee, Sanghamitra
Mukherjeea, and B.C.Roy J.Mol.Catal(A) , 169, (2001), 41-45.

20. Photoassisted detoxification of organic pollutants on the surface
modified TiO2 semiconductor particulate system; by Debabrata Chatterjee
& Anima Mahata, Catal.Commun. , 2, (2001), 1-3.

21. Photocatalytic reduction of hydrazine to ammonia catalysed by
[RuIII(edta)(H2O)]- complex in a Pt/TiO2 semiconductor particulate
system, Dr, D. Chatterjee, J. Mol. Catal(A), 154, (2000), 1-3.

22. Photodegradation of surfactant on the dye modified TiO2 surface using
visible light; Debabrata Chatterjee & Anima Mahata, Ind. J. Chem (A) 42A,
2003, 1627-1631.

23. Rail behaviour during cooling after hot rolling; J. Basu, S.L. Srimani and
D.S. Gupta; J. Strain Analysis, Volume 39, No. 1, pp 15-24, January 2004.

24. Reaction of cis-diaquo-bis(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) with glycylglycine
in aqueous solution. Kinetic and mechanistic investigation; by Debabrata
Chatterjee, and Biswajit Ruj, Ind.J.Chem(A). 41(A), pp 1195-1198, 2002.

25. Reaction of cis-diaquo-bis(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) with glycylglycine
in aqueous solution. Kinetic and mechanistic investigation; by Debabrata
Chatterjee, and Biswajit Ruj, Ind.J.Chem(A). 2002.

26. Response surface exploration for elastic modulus of epoxy concrete by
multi component mixture design; KP Roysarkar & MK Banerjee; JSME
International Journal, Volume 46, No. 4, December 2003, pp 1554-1562.

27. [Ru(hpsd)(bpy)]+ that completely hydroxylate benzene (hpsd(2-) = (2-
hydroxyphenyl)salicyldiminato); Scott Lujan, Joseph M. Slocik, Debabrata
Chatterjee, Annanya Mitra & Rex E. Shepherd, Inorg. Chim. Acta, 357, 2004,
785-796.

28. Simulation of laminar slot jets impinging on a moving surface; H.
Chattopadhyay & S.K. Saha; ASME Journal of Heat Transfer, Volume 124, pp
1049-1055, December 2002.

29. The substitution mechanism of [RuIII(edta)(H2O)]- with DNA bases,
nucleoside and nucleotides in aqueous solution revisited; by Debabrata
Chatterjee, Anannya Mitra , M.S.A. Hamza and Rudi van Eldik , J. Chem.
Soc. Dalton. Transc. 2002, 962-965.

30. The two-fluid modelling of gas particle turbulent transport phenomenon
in confined systems considering interparticle collision effects; A. Mitter,
A. Malhotra & H.T. Jadeja, Int.Jour.Num.Methods.Ht.&.Fld.Flow.; accepted,
September 2003./

31. Turbulent flow and heat transfer from a slot jet impinging on a moving
plate; Chattopadhyay H, Saha SK; Int. J. Heat Fluid Flow, Volume 24, 685-
697, 2003.

32. Visible light induced photodegradation of organic pollutants on dye
adsorbed TiO2 surface; D. Chatterjee, A. Mahata, Journal of Photochemistry
& Photobiology, (153), 2002, 199-204*

CMERI - Publications and Copyrights

Sl.No. Subject of Copy Right Application
filing
Copy Right
1. Drawings for cricket ball throwing machine Apr 2004
2. Course material on Engineering tolerancing May 2004
3. Drawings for circular wedge locking system for
a composite roll
May 2004
4. CMERI Ready reference Software Jun 2004
5. Mathematical Model for Determining Optimal
Production of Hot Metal in an Integrated Steel
Plant
Jul 2004
6. Gearing Sep 2004
7. Management Information System Software Sep 2004
8. Variables affecting the coke rate Sep 2004
9. Influence diagram for blast furnace fuel rate Sep 2004
10. Optimum capacity utilization by understanding
the characteristic marginal contribution graph
Sep 2004
11. Navigational algorithm and software for indoor
mobile robot Sep 2004
12. Rule based manufacturing process sequencing
software Oct 2004
13. Graph on general Nature of Marginal
Contribution & Net prifit Dec 2004
14. RIB Point V3.0 Software Jan 2005
15. Course material on Gear Manufacturing and
Inspection Feb 2005
16. Dawings for improved cricket bowling machine Mar 2005

CMERI Patents

PATENTS FILED DURING 2004-05
(March 2004 to Feb 2005)


Sl.No.--- Subject of Patent--- Date of filing
1. Fabric Bag Making Machine Jul 2004
2. Counter Gravity Casting Apparatus Aug 2004
3. An Orientation unit for fruit processing and
grading machine
Dec 2004
4. An improved Machine for Decorative Stitching of
Cricket Balls
Jan 2005
5. An automatic Machine for Chasing and Milling
of CTC Tea rollers
Feb 2005
6. An improved Cricket Bowling Machine Feb 2005

CMERI - Ongoing Projects - 2008 June

Generation of Hydrogen through Thermo-Chemical Gasification of Biomass
Drying Systems to improve Grain Quality in North East India
Indigenous Technology Development For Offshore Placer Mining
Design And Development Of A Steel-Based Bullock Cart
Design And Development Of A Plant For Making Parchment ?Like Leather Material From Chrome Shavings
AUTOMATIC MACHINE FOR SHARPENING / RESHARPENING OF CTC TEA ROLLERS
AUTOMATIC FRUIT SORTING AND GRADING MACHINE
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATIC JUTE BAG MAKING MACHINE
DEVELOPMENT OF AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLE
DEVELOPMENT OF ENHANCED ROV FOR OPERATING UPTO A DEPTH OF 300M
DEVELOPMENT OF RFQ HALF SCALE (1.7 M) & ACTUAL (3.2 M) MODEL PH-II
DEVELOPMENT OF RFQ HALF SCALE (1.7 M) & ACTUAL (3.2 M) MODEL PH-III
DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATIC PARALLEL SIDE STITCHED MOUTH HAMMED BAG STITCHING MACHINE
DEVELOPMENT OF AUTO-MATED ROLLING ELEMENT BEARING TEST STAND
DEVELOPMENT OF NON-CONVENTIONAL METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING OF LIGHT ENGG. COMPONENTS OF NEAR-NET SHAPE
REDUCTION OF RESIDUAL STRESS AND IMPROVEMENT IN END STRAIGHTNESS OF RAILS
NEAR NET SHAPE MANUFACTURING OF AL-ALLOY BASED CERAMIC REINFORCED METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES THROUGH INVESTMENT CASTING
DEVELOPMENT OF PROCESS TECHNOLOGY & MANUFAC-TURING OF AUSTEMPERED DUCTILE IRON COMPONENTS FOR ENGG. APPLICATIONS
DEVELOPMENT OF CRANKSHAFT FOR 35HP THREE CYLINDER SONALIKA TRACTOR ENGINE
APPLICATION OF PHOTO CATALYSIS FOR UTILIZATION OF SOLAR ENERGY IN DESTRUCTION OF WATER BOUND POLLUTANT
CRICKET BOWLING MACHINE

CMERI - Thrust Areas - 2008

Robotics & Mechatronics
Mechanical Design & Manufacturing Technology
Rapid Prototyping & Tooling
Farm Machinery & Post Harvest Technology
Energy & Process Plant
Residual Life Enhancement Services

Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute - India

In India, mechanical engineering technology has accounted for nearly half of the total technology imported. In terms of products, nearly one third of the value of total imports is for mechanical engineering equipment.

In order to develop indigenously mechanical engineering technology for the industries so that R&D can play a key role in self-reliance, the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute at Durgapur, West Bengal was established in February 1958 with the specific task of development of mechanical engineering technology.

The Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) is the apex R&D institute for mechanical engineering under the aegis of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR ). Being the only national level research institute in this field, CMERI's mandate is to serve industry and develop mechanical engineering technology so that India's dependence on foreign collaboration is substantially reduced in strategic and economy sectors.

Besides, the institute is facilitating innovations and inventions for establishing the claims of Indian talent in international fields where Indian products shall ultimately compete.

Girish Wagh, Tata Motor sLtd

Girish Wagh
Head (Tata Nano project team), Tata Motors Ltd
Education: BE (mechanical), Pune University, 1992; postgraduate in manufacturing management from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, 1997
Joined current company: July 1992
First job: Tata Motors. Hired through campus recruitment process
Professional experience: With Tata Motors throughout

Claim to fame: Design and development of the Tata Ace mini truck and the Tata Nano

M Natraj - ED - Development -Ashok Leyland

M Natraj
Executive director (product development, advanced engineering & design services), Ashok Leyland Ltd

Education: BE (mechanical engineering), PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, 1964
Joined current company: In 1965 as a graduate trainee
First job: Service engineer with Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (M&M) for 15 months
Professional experience: After M&M, joined the engineering division at Ashok Leyland in 1968 after three years of training. Left to join Amalgamations Repco Ltd in late 1969 and worked in Australia for nine months. Returned to India and worked with Amalgamations Repco again. Was chief engineer when he left in 1977 to join group company Bimetal Bearings Ltd. Worked for a year there, and then returned to Ashok Leyland in 1978 as manager (development). Became executive director at Ashok Leyland in 1995
Significant achievements: “What has made me really proud is the engine development at Ashok Leyland. The H-series engine was originally made through collaboration, but we, along with some consultants, took it from Euro I (compliant) to comply with Euro II and Euro III fuel -efficiency norms.”
Claim to fame: Developing the first Indian heavy-duty common-rail engine—which produces lower engine noise and lower emissions— and the semi-low floor buses running in Mumbai, Chennai, Pune and other cities

Vinay Harne, Senior vice-president (R&D), TVS Motor Co

Vinay Harne
Senior vice-president (R&D), TVS Motor Co

Education: MTech (engine design), Indian Institute Technology, Madras, 1982
Joined current company: 1982
First job: TVS Motor. Hired by M.N. Muralikrishna, head of research and development
Professional experience: With TVS throughout
Significant achievements: “When we first designed and developed a local TVS bike, the Victor. We also worked to make the moped more reliable and also the first fuel injection two-stroke engine in the country. I also worked in racing for four years and TVS has won 85% of road racing and motorcross races in the past many years.”
Claim to fame: Led the team that developed the Victor, Apache, Flame and TVS Scooty, with the first variomatic engine (which does not require changing gears)

R & D Team at Bajaj Auto

The R&D Team Comes Of Age In 1995, when Abraham Joseph, Bajaj Auto's R&D head, put the engine of the new 4-stroke Legend on a ten-hour endurance test, it shut down after some time. When he opened the mill, Joseph saw the inside of the block and crankshaft bearings had worn out.

Today, eight years later, Joseph and his team enjoy the fact that while developing the Eterno, Honda engineers had stripped down six Legend scooters to study them.

In terms of number of people or facilities, Bajaj R&D team is not much bigger than that of any other company (it has 100 people in R&D, 400 in product engineering, and has some of the best equipment), but it is qualitatively different now. As emotional attributes (like style) gain importance over rational attributes (like fuel efficiency) for evolving customers, Rajiv Bajaj has tried to put together a team that understands them. "We have a young bunch of people, many of whom are motorcycle riders. They are crazy about bikes and understand the customers requirements as users," adds Joseph, who himself joined in 1989. There are others like Ravi Darad, Bajaj Auto's stylist who is an engineer from IIT-Bombay. Bajaj has been hiring 30-40 engineers from the best colleges in India every year.Structural changes in the organisation have also improved response time. "The cycle time for design has come down from 3-5 years to less than two years today," says Joseph. The Pulsar took 22 months to develop; the K-60 will take 21. Way to go!

Abraham Joseph -VP (R&D) Bajaj Auto

Abraham Joseph

Vice President (Research & Development)
Mr. Joseph started his tenure in Bajaj in July 1989 as a Graduate Trainee Engineer, took over as General Manager (R&D) in April 2005 and is currently the Vice President (R&D) since April 2007 . He is a Mechanical Engineer from the National Institute of Technology, Bhopal.

Bajaj Auto unveils revolutionary DTS-Si engine

Pune, 9thAugust 2007

Bajaj Auto, has achieved another breakthrough with the launch of new ‘Digital Twin Spark - Swirl induction’ (DTS-Si) engine. The new 125cc engine with DTS-Si technology will give an amazing mileage of 109 kilometers per liter under ideal test conditions surpassing the mileage of all current 100cc motorcycles.

Designed and developed completely by ‘**Ahead’, Bajaj Auto’s R&D, the technology promises to revolutionalise the industry with India’s most fuel-efficient two-wheeler engine.

Bajaj had first dramatically improved on existing engine technology in 2003 when it launched the DTS-i (Digital Twin Spark-ignition) engine with two Spark plugs located at opposite ends of the combustion chamber (as compared to a single spark plug in conventional 4-stroke engines) to achieve faster and more efficient combustion. The DTS-i technology offered better performance, improved fuel efficiency with lower emissions and helped establish the Bajaj Pulsar and then the Bajaj Discover as leaders in their respective segments.

The DTS-i Engine can be further engineered to deliver either exceptional performance or exceptional mileage. Bajaj Auto worked on the mother DTS-i technology to design the DTS-Si engine to deliver outstanding mileage. The DTS-Si technology gives the highest possible fuel efficiency by introducing ‘Swirl induction’ to the DTS-i engine to create turbulence in order to achieve extremely efficient combustion.

The DTS-Si engine is far superior to the conventional 4-stroke engines, which dominate the 100cc segment at present. With the new DTS-Si engine the consumer now would not have to compromise between power and mileage - he gets the best of both.


DTS-Si (DIGITAL TWIN SPARK - SWIRL induction)


Introduction
In a conventional single spark plug equipped combustion chamber, the rate of combustion is slow. The spark plug situated at one end of the combustion chamber, ignites the air-fuel mixture and the ensuing flame front spreads like a slowly inflating balloon. There is an inevitable delay for this inflating balloon to reach the furthest part of the combustion chamber. Thus, the combustion is slow and inefficient.

Digital Twin Spark ignition (DTS-i system)

The Digital Twin Spark – ignition, equipped combustion chamber takes care of the slow rate of combustion in a simple but novel way. The cylinder head is equipped with two spark plugs, instead of the conventional single spark plug. By generating two sparks at either ends of the combustion chamber, (approximately 90° to the valve axis) the Air-Fuel mixture gets ignited such that, there are 2 flame fronts created and therefore a reduction in flame travel of the order of 40% is achieved. A fast rate of combustion is achieved leading to a fast rate of pressure rise. The obvious outcome of this is more torque, better fuel efficiency and lower emissions.

Digital Twin Spark – Swirl induction (DTS-Si system)

The Digital Twin Spark - ignition or DTS- i is the mother technology for the latest Digital Twin Spark – Swirl induction or DTS-Si technology.

Thanks to DTS- i, a fast rate of combustion and therefore the resulting fast rate of pressure rise is harnessed, by optimally positioning this pressure, to deliver maximum possible work and hence obtain more torque, better fuel efficiency and lower emissions.

When burning lean Air-Fuel mixtures, the two plugs provide rapid combustion, but at light loads, opportunity exists to improve the combustion further.

Combustion efficiency in lean Air-Fuel mixture conditions can be further improved by generating high turbulence in the combustion chamber.

Combustion chambers having low turbulence give rise to propagation of a flame front, which is akin to that of a gradually expanding balloon. This results in a slower rate of combustion and thus slower rate of pressure rise. End result is lower efficiency.

When high turbulence is generated and combustion takes place, the surface of the ballooning flame front fragments itself, with projection like fingers, which increases its surface area, thereby improving combustion further.

The straight ports used in conventional engines have limitations in generating high swirl values due to their geometry. One of the ways to generate more swirl is to have a port configuration that promotes this phenomena. An offset port configuration was arrived upon and optimised to generate the required swirl numbers.

Incorporated in the new engine, this results in a swirling motion of the incoming charge, which decays itself into turbulence as the piston moves in the Induction and Compression strokes. This results in the Air-Fuel mixture being more thoroughly mixed and spread around the combustion chamber. Sparks provided by the twin spark plugs ignite this highly turbulent and compressed Air-Fuel mixture, leading to a flame front with high surface area, resulting in a rapid rise of pressure due to rapid combustion. The values of turbulence achieved now, are substantially higher than that of a straight port cylinder head, such as in Pulsar. A combination of DTS-i and Swirl induction thus provides extremely rapid combustion, resulting in high efficiency.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Bajaj Auto Limited - Achievements in Research and Development

During the last few years, the company’s R&D has been able to set new trends, crack new technology platforms and develop new, segment-defining bikes.

Bajaj owes quite a bit of the success of the two bikes to its in-house R&D’s Digital Twin Spark Ignition (DTS-i) technology. DTS-i technology, was patented.

Bajaj is taking the DTS-i technology to the next level by coupling swirl induction with the digital twin spark ignition system.
The company’s well-accepted twin-spark-plug technology engine now gets offset intake ports and other changes to also incorporate swirl induction that enables better performance during lean air mixture conditions in the combustion chamber.
The DTS-Si engine is likely to be the new technology showcase for Bajaj and could find its way into many more Bajaj bikes of the future.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/iw/2007/09/23/stories/2007092350761700.htm

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Arun Jaura -Chief Technology Officer - Mahindra and Mahindra

He is the man behind India’s first hybrid car.

The country’s first locally developed hybrid vehicle will be rolling out under his supervision from the utility maker’s stable.


He is taking and wants to take another challenge. It is about putting all the available knowledge out there for all to see. He wants to make people believe that if I hide knowledge and we fail, we all fail together. My hiding knowledge could be responsible for failure of my team and my company and my society.

Arun Jaura completed his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from NIT Srinagar with a gold medal and joined DRDO. He credits DRDO for making him a good researcher and developing ability in him to meld different technologies together.

After seven years in DRDO, Jaura did his post-graduation in Precision Engineering from IIT Madras. He rejoined DRDO but moved quickly to Concordia University, Montreal Canada to do Ph.d. He completed his research work in 1996 and joined Ford.

At Ford, he got into a team with the mandate to make world/s first hydrogen engine. In 2004 the engine work was complete and Jaura had won the Henry Ford Technology award for his achievement.

In May 2005, he returned to India and took up the job in M&M.

References

Arun Jaura: A patent genius hooked to machines, Mint, 21 June 2008,

www.livemint.com/2008/06/21010718/Arun-Jaura--A-patent-genius-h.html

http://www.vicky.in/straightfrmtheheart/vahan-show-interview-with-mrarun-jaura-sr-vp-rd-and-global-developement-mahindra-and-mahindra/

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Tools - Welding - 1

Oxy-acetylene welding blow-pipe

Oxy acetylene cutting-tool holder or burner

Electric welding electrode holder

Books

Welding: Principles and Applications By Larry Jeffus

http://books.google.co.in/books?id=zeRiW7en7HAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=welding&sig=AZ1chN35fLzytQiuc8secEfJHO0

Welding Processes Handbook By Klas Weman, Weman, Inc NetLibrary

http://books.google.co.in/books?id=AsdSkxgM5dEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=welding&sig=3zJxcOahHMPCWO3IaVKnVz9rWGI

THE BEGINNERS GUIDE TO OXY-ACETYLENE WELDING EQUIPMENT

By Bruce Bauerlein

http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/weld/weld.html

Miscellaneous Tools and Appliances - 1

Wet grindstone

Emery wheel grinder

Engineer's oil can

Pump-type grease gun

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Potential pedal-power could aid Third World

In Rowan University's mechanical engineering department, students' project resulted in the development of a pedal-powered grain crusher. Recently, Heather Klein and Josh Bonzella, senior civil engineers, along with Kevin McGarvey, a senior mechanical engineering major, have teamed with Dr. Beena Sukumaran, a civil and environmental engineering professor to create a pedal-powered grain crusher.

The grain crusher project has been offered to students for the past three semesters, culminating in a completion of a prototype that is expected to be finished during the fall of 2008.

At present villagers either do it by hand or have to walk several miles to get it ground in a mill, where the costs are quite high. A grain crusher helps to grind any grain to flour so that folks can use it for various purposes. The grain crusher that the students have designed can crush barley, rice, wheat, and corn.
By using the crusher, the women who are grinding grain all day by hand, or walking miles away to use a community machine would get a much needed break and would be available to do other things throughout their day.

The professors are now planning to make it popular in developing countries. They said "Bigger plans are expected for the grain crusher, which includes figuring out a way to get the product to other countries. "Well I think if we can get this crusher distributed on a large scale, it will really help these people get the grain they need without straining themselves," McGarvey said. "Plus we are hoping that it will be kind of fun for kids to ride, and just give them something fun to do that is also beneficial to the community," he added.

By doing such projects, students feel as a student itself, I could actually make a difference for someone who actually needs a change in everyday life. It is quite gratifying to be able to make a difference," Bonzella said. If it is successful, the grain crusher can help produce food for residents of Third World countries and enable some people to generate an income as they travel from community to community.

http://media.www.thewhitonline.com/media/storage/paper291/news/2008/04/03/News/Potential.PedalPower.Could.Aid.Third.World-3301285.shtml

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/03/bike-grain-crusher.php