On 9th November’19, the students of class XI had the honor and pride to interact with an eminent personality from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at IIT, Bombay – Prof. R.K. Pant. He was warmly welcomed and introduced by the Director Vyankatesh Prabhudesai, who said that he had been privileged to be a student of Prof. Pant and it was because of his motivation, he spent almost 15 years in the field of Aircraft Design. Interestingly, VPD Sir was also his first B.Tech student nearly 30 years ago! Prof. Pant is an alumnus of IIT Chennai and also completed his PhD from the renowned Cranfield Institute of Technology, U.K. in Aerospace Engineering.Excitement filled the air and ignited as his lecture began. He mentioned that nowadays, students in IIT are increasingly those who have somehow cracked the entrance examination. Thus it is his “selfish” purpose to induce a passion about the subject among the students. He hoped to inspire the spark among us -“That’s the place where teachers like Prof. Pant teach and that is where I should be”. I’m sure that it was accomplished after his 4hour session, as we all were highly inspired and interested in Aerodynamics.
His presentation was divided into two sessions. His first session dealt with “Aerodynamics of Birds and Insects”. He began with questioning us why we are supposed to be interested in this; Aerodynamics of birds seemed quite obvious but why insects? Interestingly insects can fly breaking the rules of aerodynamics! According to classical Aerodynamics, it is impossible for the bumblebee to fly, yet it flies! He mentioned that we are trying to mimic the nature and innovate in technologies such as making robust UAVs etc.
He played a video from the internet highlighting the belief of how birds fly due to the typically ‘airfoil shaped cross section of the wings’ and concluded that this is a fallacy, explaining the mistake and the actual concept. He stressed that it is important in a scientific outlook to doubt, go deeper into the concept in quest of the truth and not succumb to such fallacies on the internet.
He put forth a choice of choosing first among four presentations and the unanimous response of the class was to know about Wing Morphing. The NASA, inspired by the American Bald Eagle is promoting this concept.The body features of the American Bald Eagle that inspires this technology were lucidly explained by him and references like aerodynamic ‘Jhadu’ ( broom ) enhanced our understanding and interest in the topic.The eager students hung onto his every word as he went on to describe morphing material, how it is achieved, advantages and glimpses of ongoing research. Interesting robustness improving technologies in UAVs, inspired by the pigeons was also put forth.
However the question arises that why such a useful technique has not yet been implemented largely? He answered this issue rhetorically mentioning “cost, weight and complexity” are the three key factors that decide the fate of any technology. He emphasized that achieving success in these three things differentiates between a painter and an engineer.
The second presentation was regarding the Swifts and Bats. He mentioned that the spine tailed swift has a level flight speed of close to 170 km/h and the Peregrine Falcon has a diving speed closed to 400km/h. We were dumbstruck after witnessing the evidence of their lightening speed through a video played! The reasons behind achieving such speeds were explained through elucidating the science of creatingvortices, in this case leading edge vortex and pressure difference, etc. Simulations showing the science behind twirling of maple seeds spinning like miniature helicopter, aerodynamics of slow flying bat, dual vortices in mosquitoes, motion of dandelion seeds, flight of the Bumblebee, etc. were shown and explained beautifully! The possibilities of upcoming aerodynamic structures such as the ‘Com-Bat’, ‘Progress Eagle’, ‘ RoboswiftSkywhale’, were also shown, but the latter of which was regarded a ‘crap’; the reason being non confirmation with the criteria of cost, weight and complexity. However he optimistically quoted Eddie Rickenbacker: ‘Aviation is proof that given, the will, we have the capacity to achieve the impossible’.
The third presentation was regarding the wandering Albatross. Interestingly, as mentioned, the Albatross can fly 10,000 miles or circumnavigate the globe in 46 days in a single flight. A simulation video illustrated the 4 phases of albatross’s flight close to the oceans’ surface to conserve energy. He also mentioned that a bird has been found to fly for 10 out of 12 months! The question was- when does the bird sleep? Interestingly, it was found that the bird flies to a very high altitude and sleeps while diving from that height! There is lots to learn from nature and we are well behind !!
The fourth presentation was on the fastest insect- Dragonflies! The characteristic that makes it special- it can’t fold its wings against the body was highlighted.The morphology of the dragonflies to suit the flight was also explained. During his presentation, he also explained how these wonders of the nature are minutely observed and researched on to understand and put into application. He added that the nature has evolved over 40 million years and the humans are trying to mimic the nature to achieve expertise!
After a brief break, he conducted the second session, which was a more technical one- The Range Payload Diagram. He commenced by explaining a few technical terms, highlighting long flight performances of some airlines, effect of closure of Pakistan airspace on India as well as Pakistan in terms of money loss, fuel consumption and flight duration. After this warm-up, he explained some formulae and calculations followed by making us plot the Range Payload Diagram in groups of 2-3 students. The exercise was definitely enjoyed by us. He went on to further explain the 3 types of ranges considered in airlines and a few other related technical intricacies.
The two sessions were followed by an extremely intellectualand enthusiastic question-answersession which was entirely coordinated by the Director Shri Vyankatesh Prabhudesai. All questions asked by the students, faculty and by VPD sir were answered by the speaker with ease…
The session ended with a vibrant vote of thanks by our student, Soham Khandeparker. It was indeed a fruitful and motivational session. We are extremely thankful to Prof. Pant for creating such an impact on us, and also to our dearest VPD sir for giving us such a golden opportunity!!
-Prepared by ShravaniWaigaonkar, Class XI, MAHSS