Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in sea water, aqua regia, and chlorine.
The National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) is India's first and largest aerospace research company established by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Delhi in 1959. The company closely operates with HAL, DRDO, and ISRO and has the primary responsibility of developing civilian aircraft in India. It concentrates on research in advanced topics in aerospace and related disciplines.
Inconel is a nickel-chromium-based superalloy often utilized in extreme environments where components are subjected to high temperature, pressure or mechanical loads. Inconel alloys are oxidation- and corrosion-resistant. When heated, Inconel forms a thick, stable, passivating oxide layer protecting the surface from further attack. Inconel retains strength over a wide temperature range, attractive for high-temperature applications where aluminum and steel would succumb to creep as a result of thermally-induced crystal vacancies. Inconel's high-temperature strength is developed by solid solution strengthening or precipitation hardening, depending on the alloy.
Titanium alloys are alloys that contain a mixture of titanium and other chemical elements. Such alloys have very high tensile strength and toughness. They are light in weight, have extraordinary corrosion resistance and the ability to withstand extreme temperatures. However, the high cost of processing limits their use to military applications, aircraft, spacecraft, bicycles, medical devices, jewelry, highly stressed components such as connecting rods on expensive sports cars and some premium sports equipment and consumer electronics.
The GTRE GTX-35VS Kaveri is an afterburning turbofan project under development by the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), a lab under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Bengaluru, India. An Indian design, the Kaveri was originally intended to power production models of the HAL Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. However, the Kaveri programme failed to satisfy the necessary technical requirements on time and was officially delinked from the Tejas programme in September 2008.
The Directorate of Ordnance is an authority under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India. Its primary work is to management, give instructions and make coordination of government Ordance production public companies. It is the main regulatory body of Indian Ordnance and its administration civil service, Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS). The DOO(C&S) earlier known as Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), consisting of the Indian Ordnance Factories. In 2021, Government having corporatise the functions of the 41 Indian Ordnance Factories into 7 Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), the Government is merging them again in 2024, as the output of one factory serves as the input of the other.
Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Located in Bengaluru, its primary function is research and development of aero gas-turbines for Military aircraft. As a spin-off effect, GTRE has been developing marine gas-turbines also.
Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL) is an Indian defence laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Located at Ambernath, in Thane district, Maharashtra. It develops materials and alloys for Naval use, and is a single-window agency for all materials requirement of the Indian Navy. NMRL is organized under the Naval Research & Development Directorate of DRDO. The present director of NMRL is Shri Prashant T Rojatkar.
Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited is a metals and metal alloys manufacturing facility in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It operates as a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the administrative control of Department of Defence Production Ministry of Defence, Government of India. MIDHANI is the only producer of titanium in India.
The HSTDV is an unmanned scramjet demonstration aircraft for hypersonic flight. It is being developed as a carrier vehicle for hypersonic and long-range cruise missiles, and will have multiple civilian applications including the launching of small satellites at low cost. The HSTDV program is being run by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Ti-6Al-4V, also sometimes called TC4, Ti64, or ASTM Grade 5, is an alpha-beta titanium alloy with a high specific strength and excellent corrosion resistance. It is one of the most commonly used titanium alloys and is applied in a wide range of applications where low density and excellent corrosion resistance are necessary such as e.g. aerospace industry and biomechanical applications.
Palle Rama Rao FREng is an Indian scientist noted for his contribution to the field of Physical and Mechanical Metallurgy. He has collaborated and conducted research activities for over dozen universities and associations all over India and abroad. He has been honoured with the titles of Padma Vibhushan in 2011 by president of India for his contributions to scientific community. He is acting as the chairman, Governing Council, International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad.
Brahm Prakash, was a metallurgist known for his work with nuclear materials in India.
Bal Raj Nijhawan, was an Indian metallurgist, author and the first Director of Indian origin of the National Metallurgical Laboratory, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He was a recipient of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, the highest Indian science award, which he received in 1964 in the Engineering sciences category. The Government of India honoured him in 1958, with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his services to the nation.
Titanium Sponge Plant of India is located at Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML), Chavara, Kollam district of Kerala. Titanium sponge plant is a manufacturing plant which produces titanium sponge, a material which has very useful applications in space programme and other strategic areas like aeronautics, light defence vehicles etc. The plant in India is the only one in the world which can undertake all the different activities of manufacturing aerospace grade titanium sponge under one roof. The material is an alloy product which is produced through Kroll process which includes leaching or heated vacuum distillation to make the metal almost 99.7% pure.
Kuppuswamy Anantha Padmanabhan is an Indian academician well known for his contributions in the field of materials & metallurgical science and engineering. In particular, he is well renowned for his contributions to superplasticity. He is currently professor of eminence (honorary), Anna University, Chennai; member, Research and Innovation Advisory Board, TCS and a research advisor to TCS and Aditya Birla S&T Company. He is a former director of Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and a former dean, academic research, IIT Madras, India. In 1994, he became the first Indian to receive the "Forschungspreis" of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany. For his research contributions, the University of Cambridge, UK, conferred on him the highest academic degree ‘Sc.D’ in 1998, and he is the first Indian engineer/ materials specialist to be conferred this honour. He also served as the Mercator Professor of DFG at the Institute of Materials Physics, University of Münster, Germany.
Dipankar Banerjee is an Indian physical metallurgist, materials engineer and a former chief controller of R&D at the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). Known for his studies on titanium alloys, Banerjee is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies namely Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and National Academy of Sciences, India as well as the Indian National Academy of Engineering. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Engineering Sciences in 1993. He received the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2005.
DRDO Young Scientist Laboratories (DYSLs) are five specialised research laboratories located in five different cities of India, inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India on 2 January 2020. Each laboratory deals with a focused area of science - artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, cognitive technologies, asymmetric technologies and smart materials. The labs are located in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. As per the norms laid out, everyone, including director, at the labs is under 35 years of age. DRDO Chairman G.Satheesh Reddy conveyed to The Hindu on 3 January 2020 that the laboratories are formally operational.
David Dye is a Professor of Metallurgy at Imperial College London. Dye specialises in fatigue and micromechanics of aerospace and nuclear materials, mainly Ni/Co superalloys, titanium, TWIP steel, and Zirconium alloys.
