IIT Madras and the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) signed an MoU on Monday to establish a Centre of Excellence for research in “Fluid and Thermal Sciences”. It aims to be a nodal centre for spacecraft and launch vehicle-related thermal management research activities of Isro, which has provided a seed funding of ₹1.83 crore.
Thermal problems regarding design, analysis and testing of various components could be performed by leveraging the expertise of IIT Madras faculty, according to a statement from the institute.
Manu Santhanam, dean (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research), IIT Madras and Victor Joseph T, director, Directorate of Technology Development & Innovation (DTDI), Isro, in the presence of Project coordinator Professor Arvind Pattamatta, department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, and other stakeholders from IIT Madras and Isro.
The statement said: “The centre will serve as a key research hub for Isro, focusing on spacecraft and launch vehicle thermal management challenges. The fund for the centre will also cover essential infrastructure and equipment, and for future projects in fluid-thermal sciences.” The projects will cover critical areas, including spacecraft thermal management, combustion instability in hybrid rockets, and cryo-tank thermodynamics. The centre will also enhance collaboration between ISRO scientists and IIT Madras faculty, in innovation in fluid and thermal sciences, the statement stated.
“This Centre of Excellence will foster a unique industry-academia interface, allowing Isro scientists and IIT Madras faculty and students to collaboratively advance research in critical areas of thermal science,” Pattamatta said. “By addressing complex thermal engineering challenges, we aim to contribute significantly to the nation’s space program and strengthen India’s self-reliance in space technologies”
{{/usCountry}}“This Centre of Excellence will foster a unique industry-academia interface, allowing Isro scientists and IIT Madras faculty and students to collaboratively advance research in critical areas of thermal science,” Pattamatta said. “By addressing complex thermal engineering challenges, we aim to contribute significantly to the nation’s space program and strengthen India’s self-reliance in space technologies”
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