Journalism of Courage
Combat aircraft crash caused by uncontrolled spinning owing to design faults may be prevented at the design stage using a software a city start-up,Researchers at Idea Research and Development Pvt Ltd,run by IITians,has come up with. Spin is a common problem in fighter aircraft at particular speeds or angles of attack and has caused crashes across the globe. The software helps detect possibility of spin. Subsequent actions by the user can eliminate faults to prevent spin at the design stage itself, said Nitin Gupta,IITian and CEO,Idea Research.
Based on bifurcation theory that mathematically analyses non-linear dynamics,the software is inspired by a research paper,Analytical Criterion for Aircraft Spin Susceptibility,by Dr Ananth Krishnan,former professor,IIT,Mumbai and US- based Aditya Paranjape published in the Journal of Aircraft (US) in September. Currently,the methods used to determine spin characteristics are based on physical tests and experiments. This means the aircraft is flown at different permutations of speed,flying conditions,angle of attack and so on,based on which conditions at which spin might occur are determined. This method is not only expensive but also involves risk of life and consumption of time. Also,faults detected by this method can be corrected only by modifications in the actual aircraft that in no way ensures elimination of spin completely. The software detects them at the design stage increasing probability of a foolproof design, said Dr Krishnan.
The company plans to approach private aircraft manufacturers with the software soon.
