India gets its first ‘Cold Spray’ SMART lab with IIT Madras-GE collaboration

On April 5, IIT Madras in collaboration with General Electric (GE) established India’s first ‘Cold Spray’ SMART (Surface Modification and Additive Research Technologies) Laboratory. With this, IIT Madras is now the only academic institution in India, which has a first-of-its-kind High-Pressure Cold Spray (HPCS) facility.

The High-Pressure Cold Spray equipment has been imported from Plasma Giken, Japan.

In the presence of students, researchers and GE officials, the laboratory was inaugurated by Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT-Madras, and Alok Nanda, Chief Executive Officer, GE India Technology Centre, and Chief Technology Officer – GE South Asia.

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The lab has been set up with the Government of India’s support under its ‘Uchchatar Avishkar Yojana’ (UYAY).

Prof. M Kamaraj, Prof G Sundararajan, and Dr. Srinivasa R. Bakshi, from the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT-Madras will work as principal investigators in the laboratory.

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Explaining about the cold spray technology, Prof Kamraj said,

It is different from other widely used thermal spray processes in that there is no melting and oxidation of powders. Thus, high-quality coatings can be produced. Moreover, the deposition rates are very high leading to less powder wastage and it can be used for additive manufacturing and repair of components.

Dr. Srinivasa Rao Bakshi, Co-principal Investigator, and Associate Professor, elaborated:

High-pressure cold spray has huge potential for depositing protective coatings and repair of components. The technology is already being used for repair of worn out components for defence applications.

The institute will develop advanced coatings meeting specifications of aerospace standards as a part of its collaboration with GE.

For the past decade, IIT-Madras and GE have been collaborating on various technologies. This recent inauguration of the lab also aligns with the vision of initiatives such as ‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India’ and to promote advanced manufacturing.

Speaking on how the initiative will help the country, Alok said,

India’s Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) market for civilian aircraft is expected to grow at 7 percent CAGR from its current value of Rs. 4,800 crore. Currently, 90 percent of the MRO needs of Indian carriers are done outside India. This program will enable strengthening the MRO ecosystem in the country, help develop advanced technical expertise in the country and skill development of our engineers in additive technology.

Cold Spray is an emerging technology for advanced manufacturing and services and will be utilised to co-develop processes for aero-engine applications.

This smart technology has application temperatures that are much lower than other thermal-spray and welding processes, which means the distortion and stresses associated with those repair techniques are avoided; leading to longer asset life.

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