1. KVPY Batch 2004
KVPY Batch 2004
KVPY Summer camp 2004's batch that came to the LTA lab, Aerospace department consisted of four invitees. The projects were completed in the period 12th June 2004 to 11th July 2004. Here are their details:
1. Design and Fabrication of airship envelope for indoor remote controlled airship
By:-Mr. Rahul Sangole
Status: KVPY Summer camp Invitee 2004
Educational Qualification: IInd Year Mechanical Engineering,
College: Pune Vidyarthi Griha's College of Engineering and Technology, Pune
University.
KVPY Project Title: All sky camera with tracking mount
Interests: Astronomy, Automobile engineering, Photography
Project Summary
The task assigned was to design and fabricate the
envelope of a small indoor airship to be operated by remote control. Problem
definition demanded a small (not exceeding 2 m diameter) airship that would fly
at around 1 to 1.5 m/s operating at an altitude of about 10 m. The scope of this
project included selecting the best possible design for the indoor airship,
designing the envelope for the airship fabrication of the envelope, and
documentation of the problems faced and lessons learnt.
For the indoor airship, the lenticular profile of the envelope was selected.
This has several inherent advantages over the conventional airship considering
indoor flight. Maneuverability in all directions was one of them, especially
when combined with a thrust vectoring system with differential thrust control.
Material selection for the envelope was both limited as well as disheartening. A
market search was done for possible choices of materials. Very few materials
were found. Those that were found, were inherently heavy and this inturn
necessitated the increase of the dimensions of the airship. Adhering to the
space and volume constraints given in the problem, as well as maintaing the
lenticular profile of the hull proved to be a challenge in itself. Further
analysis was done, and the final dimensions were decided upon.
Fabrication of the hull was done at a Jogeshwari toy manufacturer who had the
required High Frequency welding machines. The airship hull was manufactured
successfully. There were no leakages or pinholes present.
After further inspection of the hull, and a trial inflation with air, the
envelope was inflated with Hydrogen. Lift obtained was more than theoretically
calculated. This made the project a partial success. Further work needs to be
done in maintaining the shape of the hull after inflation.
You can contact Mr. Rahul Sangole here.
2. A Propulsion System consisting of electric motors to be used on remote controlled airships and a thrust measurement rig
By:- Ms. Kshitija
Deshpande
Status: KVPY Fellow 2003
Educational Qualification: Ist Year Electronics Engineering,
College: Pune Institude of Engineering and Technology (PIET),
Formerly Govt. College of Engg and Technology (GCOEP).
KVPY Project Title: Stereo imaging using a web CCD device
Interests: Astronomy, Photography, Sketching
Project Summary
This project discusses possible use of electric motors as a propulsion system for a remotely controlled airship and gives technical evaluation of various electrical DC brushed motors on the basis of an extensive net search, market search. It also includes Design, Fabrication and Testing of a test rig for measurement of Thrust of propulsion system. Further it consists of procurement of a control system for controlling direction and speed of electric motors and operating it on the same. The propulsion system consisting of electric motors giving desired thrust has been successfully used to drive a Lenticular airship. The propulsion system with electric motors and a thrust measurement rig are prepared according to the requirement and within prescribed duration. The added advantage is that the project was completed with lesser expenditure as compared to the estimated cost. The conclusion is that the DC electric motors available in the market can be used successfully for a remote controlled airship. The thrust with propeller mounted can be estimated by using the thrust measurement rig. The author is now working on the speed and direction control circuit for the DC motors.
You can contact Ms. Kshitija Deshpande here.
3.Design and fabrication of thrust vectoring system
By:- Mr. Rohit Belapurkar Status: KVPY Summer camp Invitee 2004 Educational Qualification: IInd Year Mechanical Engineering, College: Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Pune University. KVPY Project Title: Epoxy casting of mirror Interests: Astronomy, Aerospace, Photography |
Project Summary
One of the perennial problems of the airships has
been their lack of control power, especially at low speeds In order to alleviate
this shortcoming, airship control by thrust vectoring was considered. Given
below are the main advantages of thrust vectoring.
Vertical / Short Takeoff:The thrust of the airship can be directed up by
90 degrees. This enables the airship to have vertical takeoff or short take off.
The optimum angle of thrust vectoring from the horizontal would be determined
from exhaustive flight tests.
Vertical / Short Landing: The thrust of the airship can be directed down
by 90 degrees. This enables the airship to have vertical / short landing. This
enables to land the airship in smaller area than would be possible with fixed
thrust line and with a greater range of static heaviness.
Maximum weight available for gondola was taken from Mr. Rahul Sangole while Ms.
Kshitija Deshpande gave the available thrust of different motors and the
required thrust. Suitable motor was selected along with mobile phone battery as
the power supply. Different mechanisms were conceived and the final one was
selected on the basis of their advantages and disadvantages. A market search was
done to find servo motors which were light but having maximum torque. A 4
channel fm transmitter and receiver kit was obtained along with servos. Also
suitable plastic gears were explored having ratio of 1:3. A prototype of gondola
was made using thermocole to test the mechanism. On its success, the final
gondola was made using balsa wood, plastic jar and a pair of steel rods. The
mechanism was tested before fitting it to the envelope. After inflating the
envelope with hydrogen, testing was carried out of the airship. It was found
that the thrust vectoring gave an airship more maneuverability. Future
developments to be carried out include use of thrust bearings to reduce the
friction and use of a better gondola attaching system to the envelope.
You can contact Mr. Rohit Belapurkar
here.
Click here to download PDF file of the report (size 330 Kb ) Download
Click here to read report of the Second Prize won at Pragyan at NIT - Trichi Report
4. Mr. Sachin Aggarwal
Status: KVPY Summer camp Invitee 2004
Educational Qualification: IInd Year Btech
College: IIT-BHU
KVPY Project Title: Variable Chain Driving System
Interests: Aerospace
Email address:
sachina@aero.iitb.ac.in
Click to view the Photo Gallery
Rohit Belapurkar, Rahul Sangole and Kshitija Deshpande participated in Pragyan 2005 and won second prize. The report of the event is presented here. Click to view Report
The Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana is an ongoing programme initiated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, to encourage students of Basic Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to take up research careers in these areas. The aim of the programme is to identify and encourage talented students with aptitude for research. This programme strives to assist the students to realise their potential and to ensure that the best scientific talent is tapped for research and development in the country. Generous scholarships will be provided (up to the pre-PhD. level) to the selected students. In addition, summer programmes in prestigious research and educational institutions in the country will be organized.
For further information, please visit : http://www.iisc.ernet.in/kvpy