25-May-2022: Smart material which responds to light stimulus can harness solar energy for applications in soft robotics
Scientists have developed a smart material which responds to light stimulus easily by converting light into thermal energy. This can be helpful for harnessing solar energy for applications in soft robotics and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) devices.
Many smart materials have successfully replicated stimuli-responsive behavior seen in abundance in nature like in Venus flytrap, pine cone, leaf of Mimosa pudica ('touch me not' plant), or a sunflower always trying to face the Sun. Venus flytrap closes its ciliated leaves when prey is in the vicinity. Liquid crystal polymer networks (LCNs) is one of such smart material. On application of heat, a uniformly aligned LCN film undergoes a reversible 2- or 3-dimensional shape change caused by the LC- liquid phase transition. By manipulating the average orientation of the rod-shaped LC molecules, various shape deformations like bending, curling, and even the formation of spiral ribbons have been attained in the past.
However, previously known devices needed additional layers to the photo-responding film to achieve bi-directional actuation—converting external energy to motion. As a solution to this problem, in a collaborative study, researchers at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bengaluru, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, have fabricated spatially splay-deformed (spread out) LCN films, by crosslinking a mixture of mono-functional and bi-functional liquid crystal mesogens (a chemical compound). The two types of liquid crystal mesogens comprise one and two molecular units to absorb light, respectively, and incorporate near-infra-red (NIR)-active dye into the system. The NIR laser beam impinging on the film causes a significant rise in the local temperature, and the ensuing order-disorder transition leads to a change in the macroscopic shape or, in other words, thermo-mechanical actuation. The research has been published in the journal Soft Matter.
Dr. Divya Jayoti (currently at IIT Madras) and Prof. S. Krishna Prasad opined that large, fast, and bidirectional actuation could be achieved by carefully tuning the film’s geometric and material parameters. Dr. Ratna Kumar Annabattula and Mr. Akhil R. Peeketi at IIT Madras performed modelling and simulation of the thermal actuation. A further extension of the work demonstrated that the films also perform exceptionally well under solar stimulation, suggesting that they could be employed to harness solar energy for applications in soft robotics and MEMS devices.
24-Feb-2022: Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and IT and Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State in Electronics and IT release “National Strategy on Additive Manufacturing”
To cater next-generation digital manufacturing and mitigate immediate disabilities of local industries, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, Communications & Railways and Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship released a “National Strategy on Additive Manufacturing” on Thursday 24th February 2022. Shri Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) and Shri Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Departments of Industry & Commerce and Information Technology, Telangana Government attended the event along with senior officials from MeitY.
On this occasion Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, Communications & Railways, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, stated “We have taken some very clearly defined goals in this strategy and I think that this is a very important characteristic of many programmes which have been defined in the last seven years. We are targeting 50 India specific technologies, 100 new start-ups, 500 products, 10 existing & new manufacturing sectors & 1 Lakh new skilled manpower. With this kind of goal-making approach & collaboration among Centre, State, Industry & other stakeholders, I am sure that we will achieve a lot of success through this policy. My colleague, Mr. Chandrashekar is also holding the portfolio for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship & is doing a fantastic work there, which brings synergies between the two ministries.” Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar stated “I am pleased that after several public consultations, consultation with stakeholders & internal discussions within the ministry, we are going to launch this very important document, which I believe is a leap into a very strategic area for the nation & indeed the economy, which is Additive Manufacturing. Manufacturing sector is an important part of our Prime Minister’s vision for $1 trillion Digital Economy. Additive Manufacturing is next generation of digital manufacturing allows the intersection of Computing Electronics, Imaging & the emerging areas of Artificial Intelligence, Pattern Recognition & will create Intellectual Property & export opportunities. Next wave of startups will emerge in this area”.
Additive Manufacturing (AM) has immense potential to revolutionize India’s manufacturing and industrial production landscape through digital processes, communication, imaging, architecture and engineering. With the release of the Strategy by Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Innovation and R&D ecosystem will be encouraged in PPP mode to transform existing research knowledgebase to develop Additive Manufacturing grade materials, 3D printer machines and printed indigenous products for vast domestic and international market in various sectors including electronics, photonics, medical device, agro and food processing etc.
The national strategy would postulate the tenets of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ that advocate self-reliance through technological transformation of the production paradigm, which will be realized through a dedicated National Centre with the participation of all stakeholders. This centre will act as an aggregator of knowledge and resources to accelerate technology adoption and advancement. The sector specific Centres will also be created to infuse indigenous AM technology to offer Indian manufactures an edge over global peers.
The Strategy aspires to achieve 5% of Global AM market share and thereto add nearly US$ 1Bn to the GDP by 2025. This will create eco-system for creation of nearly 100 new Start-ups, 10 AM sectors and 1 lakh new skilled manpower, besides, development of 500 AM products and 50 Indian AM technologies on material, machine, process and software. In addition, awareness for adoption of AM products to facilitate this growth will be created.
18-Feb-2022: New technology can autonomously repair & restore high-value components such as moulds, turbine blades & aerospace components
An Indian Scientist has developed a completely autonomous technology for the repair and restoration of high-value components such as moulds, turbine blades, and other aerospace components that require minimal human intervention. It is expected that this technology will leap-frog the restoration and repair industry to the next level and help in nucleation of a viable cutting-edge laser manufacturing ecosystem for Atmanirbhar Bharat.
The existing repair techniques like welding and thermal spraying are ad hoc and do not provide accuracy and precision. Moreover, all the existing technologies are manual, and the quality of repair depends upon the skill set of the person.
Prof. Ramesh Kumar Singh, Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, IIT Bombay, has developed a novel technology that uses a laser for excellent process control and is completely autonomous with minimal to zero human intervention. This ensures restoration with enhanced quality and repeatability.
The technology developed with support from the Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Program of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, has undergone validation and testing.
With the help of the technology, the defective component which requires repair will be scanned autonomously for damage detection via a laser scanner, and the deposition path will be determined based on certain algorithms. The laser-directed energy deposition (LDED) technique will be used to deposit the material, followed by finishing and automated inspection of the restored product.
The developed system consists of a robotic restoration system and is designed to function autonomously for all key activities, namely, scanning path planning, damage detection, deposition, finishing, and inspection. In addition, the process parameters will be obtained from physics-based models to induce favourable residual stress, which is one of the key limitations in restoration via additive manufacturing. This paves the way for the development of ‘science enabled technology’ solutions, which according to Prof. Ramesh Kumar Singh, are not available for restoration of high-value components.
The final integration of the two systems-- the laser-directed energy deposition and the defect scanning systems, is underway, and the project is at 7th stage of the Technology Readiness Level. Prof. Ramesh has allied with Bharat Forge, Aditya Birla Science and Technology Company and Interface Design Associates for its industrial uptake.
“The developed technology is very impactful, and a game-changer for the restoration and repair segment of the manufacturing industry and has huge market potential. The components which can be reconditioned via this technology are very high-value. The level of accuracy and precision, which is possible through this technology, is phenomenal and is far ahead of the current state-of-the-art methods,” mentioned Prof. Ramesh.
According to Prof. Ramesh, it is expected that the pay-off from the technology would include the entire machine cost with around repair of twenty-odd components.