IIT-Madras ties up with General Electric (GE) to set up India’s first Cold Spray SMART Lab

IIT-Madras has recently collaborated with American conglomerate General Electric (GE) to set up India’s first ‘Cold Spray’ SMART (Surface Modification and Additive Research Technologies) Laboratory, which will develop advanced services technology for aircraft engine components. This is the first of its kind High-Pressure Cold Spray (HPCS) facility that is being installed in any academic institute in India. The laboratory consists of a state-of-the-art HPCS equipment has been imported from the famous company Plasma Giken of Japan. The project is funded under ‘Uchchatar Avishkar Yojana’ (UAY) of the Government of India, which is intended to boost collaboration between academia and private sector. The Union Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD) was the key investor along with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), IIT Madras and GE. The 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.