IIT Madras Collaborates with ISRO for Research on Thermal Management in Space Exploration

IIT Madras has teamed up with ISRO to set up a Centre of Excellence in Fluid and Thermal Sciences, serving as a key hub for ISRO's research on spacecraft and launch vehicle thermal management.

IIT Madras Collaborates with ISRO

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has partnered with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to establish a Centre of Excellence in ‘Fluid and Thermal Sciences’. ISRO has committed INR 1.84 Crore in seed funding to establish this centre, which will serve as a focal point for research on spacecraft and launch vehicle thermal management. The collaboration will leverage the expertise of IIT Madras faculty to address thermal challenges related to the design, analysis, and testing of various components.

An MoU for this collaboration was signed at IIT Madras by Prof. Manu Santhanam, Dean (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research), IIT Madras, and Victor Joseph T, Director, Directorate of Technology Development & Innovation (DTDI), ISRO. The signing was attended by Project Coordinator Prof. Arvind Pattamatta from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, along with other key representatives from both IIT Madras and ISRO.

Outcomes from IITM & ISRO Collaboration

The collaboration will include the following:

• Thermal Management Research Hub: The Centre will function as a central research hub for ISRO, addressing thermal management challenges in spacecraft and launch vehicles.
• Funding: ISRO will provide an initial seed funding of INR 1.84 Crore to establish the Centre, covering infrastructure, equipment, and additional funding for consumables, maintenance, and future fluid-thermal science projects.
• Advanced Research Projects: Key research areas will include spacecraft thermal management, combustion instability in hybrid rockets, and cryo-tank thermodynamics.
• Industry-Academia Collaboration: The Centre will foster enhanced collaboration between ISRO scientists and IIT Madras faculty, driving innovation in fluid and thermal sciences.

Elaborating further, Prof. Arvind Pattamatta, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “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. 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”

This proposal was assessed by ISRO and found that the proposed facility can support ISRO’s R&D activities in studies related to spacecraft thermal management, combustion instability in hybrid rockets and cryo-tank thermodynamics studies, among other fields. Hence, the proposed facility can be utilized for expanding the research activities of the Department of Space and ISRO in Fluid and Thermal Sciences.

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