Enchanting Waves
Speaker: Gopalan Jagadeesh, Indian Institute of Science
Presentation
Abstract
The phenomenon of "Shock Waves" referred here, as "Enchanting Waves" is commonly associated with aerospace engineering/astronautics and in particular with supersonic flight. Shock waves appear in nature whenever the different elements in a fluid approach one another with a velocity larger than the local speed of sound. Dissipation of energy, retardation of the velocity, flow turning and information transfer in high-speed flows are some of the fundamental reasons behind the occurrence of shock waves in supersonic/hypersonic flows. A number of methodologies/facilities to generate shock waves of requisite strength have been designed and indigenously built in the Laboratory for Hypersonic and Shockwave Research (LHSR) in Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. Novel techniques such as retractable aero-spikes, smart coatings, forward facing jets and concentrated energy deposition have been developed for reducing the aerodynamic drag around vehicles flying at hypersonic speeds. Concurrently, utilizing the remarkable ability of shock waves to instantaneously enhance the pressure and temperature in the propagating medium, shock wave assisted non-intrusive needleless drug delivery system, gene gun, cell transformation device, sandal oil, polyphenol and caffeine extraction techniques from natural products, and wood preservative impregnation techniques have also been developed in IISc. A broad overview of the research and technology development activities in LHSR will be presented in this seminar.
Biography
Prof. Gopalan Jagadeesh is a Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, IISc Bangalore. He is the Founder Chairman of Centre of Excellence in Hypersonics, in IISc. He is also the Founder Director of Super-Wave Technology Pvt. Ltd—an Initiative with equity participation from IISc to commercialize his discoveries related to industrial applications of shock waves. He is also an honorary professor in the School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, UK. His research areas include Hypersonic Aerothermodynamics and shock wave propagation in complex fluids. He has published over 200 papers in peer reviewed International Journals, and conferences and edited 3 books. He has TWENTY PATENTS on various discoveries related to Shock Waves and hypersonic flow control. He is a Fellow of Royal Aeronautical Society, (UK), National Academy of Engineering (India) and An Associate Fellow of American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics. He actively works with voluntary organizations for popularizing science among high school/college students especially in rural India.