R&D NewsletterIndian Institute of Technology Kanpur

April 2018Volume 6, Issue 2

www.iitk.ac.in/dord

Science &

Technology

for

Sustainable

Future

Highlight of the Issue

Advanced SPICE Model for Gan HEMT

Handover of SIIC

National Science Day Celebration

Success Stories

Page 2 - 6

National Science Day Celebration

ationalScienceDayiscelebratedinIndiaeveryyeartomarkNthe discovery of the Raman effect by Sir CV Raman.IITKanpurcelebratedNationalScienceDayonFebruary

28, 2018. A thematic workshop on ‘Science and technology for aSustainable Future’ had been organised by the Centre forEnvironmental Science and Engineering (CESE). Facultymembersfromthethematicareawereinvitedtogivepopulartalkontherelatedresearchareas.Highlightsofthosepresentationsarepresentedhere.

Linkage between Indian Summer Monsoon and Melting Himalayan GlaciersSoumita Baral and Indra Sekhar Sen

Department of Earth Sciences and

isen@iitk.ac.in

A Conceptual overview of the glacier body during pre-monsoon, after the rainfall impact during ISM

Himalayanglaciermeltwater,combinedwithIndianSummerMonsoon(ISM)precipitation,feedsmanylargeriversystemsthatprovidewatersecurityto~750millionpeopleinSouthAsia.However,the

role of the ISM rainfall on Himalayan deglaciation, and itseffectonstreamhydrologyispoorlyconstrained.Inthisstudy,

we use oxygen and hydrogen isotope fingerprintingtechniquetocharacterizethewatersourcesinthenineheadwatertributariesoftheGangesRiver.Riverwatersampleswerecollectedinthreeseasons(pre-monsoon,monsoon, post-monsoon) over various stages of theannual hydrologic cycle between 2014 and 2016. Inadditiontoriverwater,groundwater,snow,andglaciericesampleswerealsocollected.Isotopefingerprintingtechnique revealed that post-monsoon (October andNovember)dischargeconsistentlydeliversthehighestglaciermeltwaterproportionscompared todischarge

duringpre-monsoon(AprilandMay).

Thisobservationiscontrarytothenotionthatglaciermeltproportionsarehighestduringthepre-monsoonorsummermonths due to elevated temperatures leading to higherglaciermeltrunoff.ToexplaintheobservedhighglaciermeltproportionsinalltheheadwatertributariesofGangesduringpost-monsoon months, we propose that monsoon rainfallactsasatriggerforenhancedmeltingandhelpsdevelopinganefficientenglacialdrainagenetworkformeltwatertransport.The heat released by rainfall cooling and freezing withinglaciers causes enhanced melting, while opening of theenglacial conduits creates an efficient englacial drainagenetwork.Weestimatethatheatreleasedbyrainfallcoolingandfreezingcouldproduce3-12%oftotaldischargeattheglacier snout. Our findings indicate that ISM rainfall is animportant,yetunrecognizeddriverofelevatedglaciermeltrunoffintheHimalayanRivers.

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Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering

Topographic map of Ganges headwater basin (outlined in black). Sampling locations: white triangles and yellow circles are riverwater samples, red squares are ground water samples andgreen stars are glacier samples

Noble Photocatalytic Systems for Degradation of Organic Compounds towards Wastewater Treatment Applications

Waterpollutionisanemergingproblemacrosstheworldduetorapidpopulationgrowthandmodernindustrialization.Itnotonly affects human health, but also causes problems for

aquaticlifeandanimals.Wastewatercontainsorganic(suchasphenolicderivatives, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons etc.) and inorganiccompounds which can cause serious disorder. Photocatalysis is aprominentprocessforwaterpurificationutilizingsolarenergy.ZnOandTiO arewellknownphotocatalysts todegradeorganicand inorganic2

pollutants. However, these materials still require modifications withother nanomaterials because thesematerials absorb only ultravioletpartofsunlightduetowidebandgapandtheexcitonscreatedundertheUV lightrapidlyrecombine. Inourgroup,wehavedevelopedvariousnanostructured TiO based photocatalysts such as nanoparticles,2

nanofibers etc. and further enhanced theirphotocatalytic activity fordegradationoforganiccompoundsthroughsensitizationwithcarbondots/quantumdots,dopingwithtransitionmetalsandfunctionalizationwithcore-shellmetalnanoparticles.Enhancementinvisiblelightabsorptionaswellasinchargeseparationattheinterfacewasobtainedthroughthesemodifications.Thesemateri-alsarereusableandtheirnanostructuresdonotchangeafterrepetitiveusage.Thecurrentresearchfocusofthegroupistodevelopvisiblelightactivatedlow-costandscalablephotocatalyststotreateffluentwaterfromindustriesinparticular,pharma-ceuticalandtannery.

The d eve l opmen t a nd l a bperformanceofahighvolume(Q=950LPM),multipleslitnozzle-

based PM (particle aerodynamic2.5

diameter < 2.5 µm) inertial impactorwas highlighted in the presentation.Lab experiments were performed onvarious slit-based nozzle impactorsusingpolydispersedolomitepowderastestaerosol.Aftercarryingoutrigorousparametricevaluation,theoptimumslitnozzle-based impactor configurationselected had cutoff size of 2.51 µm(aerodynamicdiameter)at anoperat-ingflowrateof215LPM(mediumflow)withapressuredropof0.35kPaacrosstheimpactorstage.Thelengthoftheslitofthisoptimummediumflowimpactorwasextrapolatedtoaflowrateof950LPMtoobtainthehighvolumemultiple

slitnozzle-basedPM inertialimpactor2.5

assembly. This novel impactor assem-bly was fabricated from brass andchrome-platedandthenretrofittedinahighvolumedustsampler(ModelAAS217NL, Ecotech Instruments, India)downstream of the PM cyclone10

separator.Highvacuumsiliconegreasewasusedastheimpactionsubstrate.Afield study was performed as part ofM.Tech. (EEM) thesis of Mr. AnandKumar with co-located novel highvolumeimpactorassembly(HVIA)andsingle stage low flow rate PM 2 . 5

impactor,tonotonlycomparethePM 2.5

mass concentrations but elemental,anionandwatersolubleorganiccarbon(WSOC)/water soluble inorganiccarbon (WSIC) concentrations aswellinordertovalidatetheHVIAdeveloped

in the present study. This study wasfundedbyBRNSandaftercompletionthreesuchhighvolumeretrofittedPM 2.5

samplers were installed at BARC andthis technology was successfullytransferredtoBARC,Mumbai.

Development and Performance Evaluation of a HighVolume Indigenous Fine Particle Sampler

Raju Kumar Gupta,

Department of Chemical Engineering and

Tarun Gupta and Anand Kumar

Department of Civil Engineering and

Figure 1. Indian Patent filed for Multiple Slit Nozzle-based High Volume PM2.5 Impactor Assembly developed in this study

tarun@iitk.ac.in

guptark@iitk.ac.in

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Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering

Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering

National Science Day Celebration

Theageoffossilfuelsisslowlycomingtoanendandresearchonalternateenergysourceshastakencentrestage.Entire"hydrogeneconomies"havebeenenvisagedandstorageofhydrogenisanimportantcomponenttowardstheuseofhydro-genasanalternate"cleanfuel".Storageofhydrogeninmaterialshasreceivedtremendousthrustinthepastfewdecades,

givenitsadvantageslikesafetyandhighenergydensity.

Ahydrogenstoragesystemhasthreeimportantcomponents: Material, Storage&Retrieval, Safetyfeatures.

Importantclassesofmaterialsdevelopedforhydrogenstorageinclude:(i)metalsandalloys(intermetallics),(ii)carbonaceousmaterials,(iii)metalorganicframeworks,(iv)zeolites&(v)clatherates.Intheresearchworkinprogress,thehorizonsofthesematerialsarebeingenhancedviaconceptslike"microstructurallyengineerednano-hybrids"and"multi-modehydrogenstorage".Oneofthethrustareasunderthethemeisgreenrefrigerationtechnology;whereinwasteheatofanICengineisusedtodriveametalhydridebasedhydrogenstoragesystem.

AsapartoftheNationalScienceDaycelebrationsthehydrogenenergyrelatedactivitiesattheHydrogenEnergySystemLab,CentreforEnvironmentalSciences(CESE)washighlighted.I.I.T.Kanpur(coordinatedbyDeanResearch&Development)wasthenodalagencyforthenationwideTechnologySystemsDevelopmentprogramofDST.Tenorganizationsacrossthecountryparticipatedintheresearchproject,whichnotonlyestablishedIITKasamajorplayerintheareaofhydrogenresearch,butalsogaveconsiderableimpetustothefieldinthecountry.Theseinitiativesareexpectedtocontributetoenvironmentalandenergysustainability.

Green Energy: Hydrogen Storage Systems Anandh Subramaniam

Materials Sciences & Engineering and

Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering

anandh@iitk.ac.in

home.iitk.ac.in/~anandh

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National Science Day Celebration

Restoring National Air Resources: Challenges to Solutions

Airpollutionposesamajorrisktohuman

health,andbyreducingairpollution,we

can significantly reduce the burden of

manydiseasessuchasstroke,heartdisease,lung

cancer and respiratory diseases. Many Indian

citiesshowextremepollutionlevels,attimes,5to

7 times higher than the national air quality

standards. The first twoweeks of November in

2016 and 2017 witnessed high air pollution

episodesintheCityofDelhiandmanyothercities

in north India; most of the Indo-Gangetic Plain

looked hazy, and people complained burning

sensationineyes.Ordinarycitizensarepuzzledas

towhatisbeingdonetomitigateairpollutionand

where are the results? The problem is multi-

dimensional, where scientists and decision-

makers will have to work in tandem. Solutions

require soundscientificbasis, rightpoliciesand

financialresources.Thereareanthropogenicand

natural causes for bad air quality; large-scale

urbanization,industrialization,landusechanges,biomassandfossilfuelburning,constraineddispersionduetogeographical

featureslikevalleysandlackofyear-roundrains.Thecomplicatedlarge-scalephenomenamaketheproblemchallenging.Before

onedecidesonengineeringsolutions,thefundamentaltaskistodevelopacausallinkagebetweenemittingsourcesandtheir

relativeimpactsonairqualityatareceptor.

Emission reduction at source is fundamental as pollutants once in the atmosphere; there is very little that one can do.

Mathematicalmodels,on-fieldmeasurementsandchemicalcompositionofpollutantsarefrequentlyusedtoidentifyandto

adopttheemissionreductionstrategies.Therearetwomodelingapproaches:(i)dispersionand(ii)receptor-source.While

dispersionmodelingsolvestheadvection-diffusionmassbalanceequation,receptormodelingstartswithobservedambient

airbornepollutantconcentrationsatareceptor.Thereceptormodelseekstoapportiontheobservedconcentrationsamong

severalsourcesbasedontheknowledgeofthechemicalandphysicalcompositionoftheemissions,andbycomparingitwiththe

chemicalcompositionobtainedatareceptor.Thereceptor-sourcemodel,employingChemicalMassBalance(CMB)approach

(e.g.USEPACMBv8.2),hasbeenappliedtomanyairqualityproblems,whichdelineatesthecontributionofvarioussourcesata

receptor.

Toprovidetechnicalsupporttopolicymakers,aframeworkincludingairqualitymonitoring,detailedpollutantcharacteriza-

tion,identificationofsourcesandtheircontributionstoambientairpollutionwasdevelopedandimplementedfortheCityof

Delhi.ThefigureaboveshowschemicalcompositionandaverageCMB-computedsourcecontributionstoPM (particlesofa2.5

sizeoflessthanorequalto2.5micron-meter)attworeceptorlocations.Thereareexcitingfindings;inadditiontovehicles,

secondary inorganicaerosol (SIA;aerosol formed in theatmosphere through the interactionofprecursorgases),biomass

burning(BMBincludingcropresidue),municipalsolidwaste(MSW)burning,dustandconstructionactivitiesareimportant

sources.Thesesourcesoftengetignored,andemissionreductionsonpre-perceivedsourcesdonotnecessarilytranslatein

improvedairquality.TheabovefindingsandinputsfromotherinstitutionswereseminalindrawingtheactionplansforCleanTransport,CleanFuel,

andBiomassManagementunderCII-NITIAayog-led,'CleanerAirBetterLifeInitiative'.Theimplementationoftheseplanswill

ensurecleanandhealthyairformanyyearstocome.Thisresearchisaprimeexampleofhowsoundscience-basedinvestigations

couldimpactpolicyinameaningfulway.

Mukesh Sharma,

Department of Civil Engineering and

mukesh@iitk.ac.in

EC: elemental carbon, OM: organic matter

Chemical composition and source contributions to PM in Delhi at Rohini and Dwarka 2.5

(numbers in parenthesis show PM concentration; National standard: 60 µg/m3)2.5

1. Rohini (380 g/m³) 2. Dwarka (297 g/m³)

Boundary

Roads

Rail Line

Settlement

Agriculture

Airport

Forest

Open

Sand

Water Body

Legend

Centre for Environmental Science & Engineering

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National Science Day Celebration

Processes Governing the Fate and Transport of Inorganic Pollutants in Groundwater and their Remediation

Groundwater is currently the largest source of

freshwater for the rural (~80%) and urban (~50%)

Indian population. The availability and purity of

this resource has been limited by past anthropogenic

activities such as mining, processing, and waste disposal

that have left a legacy of severely contaminated ground-

water and soil. Research at the Environmental

Geochemistry Lab (EGL) in the Centre for Environmental

Science and Engineering (CESE) involves quantifying the

extent and forms of hazardous pollutants like arsenic,

chromium, fluoride or uranium in typical groundwater of

Indo-Gangetic basin and identifying the likely sources of

pollution – chromium has industrial origin while fluoride

has geogenic origin. This knowledge is helpful to under-

stand the contaminant fate and transport of these

materials and develop in situ methodologies to remediate

the contaminated zones. A part of this remediation effort

also involves characterization and stabilization of hazard-

ous wastes to find ways to recycle and reuse them gain-

fully in Civil Engineering applications.

Broadly, the research focuses on developing meaningful

interfaces between fundamental science and applied

research and engineering to develop solutions that

ultimately could be translated to the field. At a fundamen-

tal level, we are interested in investigating the physical and

chemical processes occurring at the mineral-water

interfaces such as adsorption, precipitation, and reduc-

tion-oxidation (Figure below), to gain a clear understand-

ing of the geochemical factors for contaminant uptake,

their stability and conditions for remobilization.

Specifically, experimental and associated modelling

approaches for remediation of excessive fluoride, chro-

mium and other heavy metals in Indo-Gangetic groundwa-

ter are being attempted.

Abhas Singh,

Department of Civil Engineering and

abhas@iitk.ac.in

Immobilization mechanisms and remobilization processes for a divalent contaminant, M. 1) Adsorption as monodentate, bidentate, and ternary surface complexes; 2) Precipitation of discrete phases at the surface, which may become occluded within the substrate; 3) Co-precipitation to form a solid solution or occluded phases; 4) Bulk precipitation. Chemical and physical remobilization processes are determined by the immobilization mechanism.

ironoxyhydroxide

Dissolved Species

RemobilizationProcess

desorption

3) Co- Precipitation

2) SurfacePrecipitation

Solid

So

luti

on

BulkPrecipitation

M-pptM-ppt

metal ion andhydrolysis species

Fe(OH)3(s)

M(OH)2(s)

Occlusion

FePO4(s)

M (PO )3 4 2(s)

{ {

{

{

+Fe - 0 - M

Fe - 0

Fe - 0

Fe - 0 - MC03

Fe 0 - M

M

1) Absorption

dessolution

M-p

pt

Surface- or transportcontrolled dissolution

iron oxyhydroxide dissolutionor solid-state diffusion

2+ +M , M0H ,M(0H) ,...2(aq)

inorganic complexes

M C02 3(aq),

M P0 , ...4

organic complexes

M - EDTA,M - citrate, ...

-

-0- P - 0H0H

0

-

Centre for Environmental Science Engineering

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National Science Day Celebration

he SPICE model (Titled: ASM-THEMT) developed by Prof.

Yogesh Chauhan, Department

of Electrical Engineering and his

collaborator has been selected as the

world's first industry standardmodel

for Gallium Nitride High Electron

Mobility Transistor (GaN HEMT) by

SiliconIntegrationInitiative'sCompact

Model Coalition (CMC). Industry

standard models are selected after

rigorous evaluation and validation on

multipletechnologiesbythesemicon-

ductor industry. This work is an

outcomeofthelastsixyears'effortof

Prof.Chauhan'sgroup.Themodelwill

nowbe available in ElectronicDesign

Automationsoftwareanditwillbeused

by major semiconductor and EDA

companies worldwide. GaN HEMT is

widelyusedinRFpoweramplifiersand

power electronics applications. GaN

HEMTs will be key to design power

amplifiersforfuture5Gtechnology.

TheGaNHEMTtechnologyisofspecial

significance to India. Government of

India is considering to setup a GaN

foundry near Bengaluru. DRDO and

ISRO are also actively working on

developingthistechnologyfordefence

andspaceapplications.Prof.Chauhan

isworkingwithbothoftheseagencies

indevelopingSPICEmodelsforcircuit

designusingGaNHEMTs.

ASM-HEMT: Advanced SPICE Model for Gan HEMTs

Success News

Prof. Sathesh Mariappan, Department of Aerospace Engineering has been jointly awarded anInternational Exchanges award by the Royal Society as overseas collaborator with his principlecollaboratorandInvestigatorProf.MariaHeckl,KeeleUniversityUK.ThisisenvisagedtoenhanceUK-Indiaresearchcollaboration.

|7

Dean, Research & Development

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Kanpur 208016

dord@iitk.ac.in

Phone: +91-512-259 7578

Address for Correspondence

Feedback/Suggestions

dord@iitk.ac.inchitrab@iitk.ac.in

Online form for seeking technology/ research solutions

Search expertize by Technology Domain and/or by PhD/ M.Tech. Thesis Title

Short term Industry Oriented Courses

http://www.iitk.ac.in/dord/query-form

https://www.iitk.ac.in/dord/industry-oriented-courses

Industry-Academia Collaboration

http://www.iitk.ac.in/dord/search-faculty-expertise/

O n e i n c u b a t e es t a r t u p De lmo sResearch have beenchosen winners inAgri sector of theVillgroiPitchcontesta t a n e v e n t i nHyderabad today.Delmosaremanufac-tures of fabric stripsfortestingadulterationinmilk.Theywereselectedafterseveralroundsofpitchingandduediligence.

The incubation and innovation ecosystem at IIT Kanpur goes for a majormakeover.Anot-for-profitcompany,F.I.R.S.T.,FoundationforInnovationandResearch in Science and Technology, has been created to run the SIDBI

InnovationandIncubationCenterfromApril01,2018.

F.I.R.S.T.isenvisionedasabridgebetweentechnologystart-ups&Micro,SmallandMediumEnterprises(MSME)andtheincubationecosystematIITKanpurcomprisingof around eleven incubators and five prototype and testing labs. The Board ofDirectorsconsistsofnotedentrepreneurs,industrialists,industryleadersandtwoInstituteNominees.TherewillalsobeahighlyqualifiedBoardofMentors,identifiedbytheBoardofDirectors,andthe ChiefOperatingOfficer(COO),whowillactasabridgetoconnecteachentrepreneurialventurewiththesuitablementor(s)fromthisgroup.Mr.RajarshiMukhopadhyay,analumnusofIITKanpur,hasbeenappointedastheCOOofF.I.R.S.T.

S IDB I I nnova t i on andIncubation Centre , I ITKanpu r won t h e I SGFInnovation Award 2018underthecategorypfSmartIncubator of the Year. Theaward was given by IndiaSmart Grid Forum (ISGF).

ISGGF is a Public Private Partnership initiative ofMinistry ofPower(MoP),GovernmentofIndiaforaccelerateddevelopmentofsmartgridtechnologiesintheIndianpowersector.

IITKanpur inpartnershipwiththeofficeofDistrict InspectorofSchools(DIOS),KanpurorganizedanopenhouseattheInstitute’sFlightLabforsecondaryschoolstudentsofKanpurNagaronMarch24,2018.Prof.SGanesh,DeanofResearchand

Development,andMr.VipulMathur,ChiefEngineer,FlightLab,IITKanpurcoordinatedtheevent.Variousdemonstrationsweregiventothestudents,explainingtheworkingmechanismofaircrafts,UnmannedAerialVehiclesandtheracecarbySAEClubofIITK.Around650studentsfromdifferentschools,alongwiththeirprincipalsandteachershadbeenpresentatthisevent.

Open House Organized by IIT Kanpur for Secondary School Students in Kanpur

Foundation for Innovation and Research in Science and Technology (F.I.R.S.T.)