What this new IIT-Madras campus will help simulate – Times of India

Chennai News

CHENNAI: Aspiring sea captains may no longer have to travel abroad to train as IIT Madras will open a 360 degree bridge simulator at its satellite campus at Thaiyur by 2021-end. It will also have one of the largest shallow water basins in the world to study the effects of modification of ports, waterways, sedimentation, water currents and cyclones on ship navigation.
The 163-acre sprawling ‘discovery campus’ was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.
It will have 2 lakh square metres of built-up space with research facilities, academic blocks and hostels to be built at a cost of 1,000 crore in the first phase.
The bridge simulator will be housed in the National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways and Coasts, which is being built with the support of the Union ministry of shipping, ports and waterways.
“We can simulate various scenarios to study the behaviour of ships while entering or leaving harbour or berthing in a critical facility. We can also investigate accidents such as that of an oil tanker at Ennore port by simulating similar conditions to find out what went wrong and suggest improvements,” said professor K Murali, head, department of ocean engineering, IIT Madras.
The bridge simulator will help train officers in coastal navigation and approaching and berthing at harbours in different conditions – poor visibility, night time, strong winds and currents.
It will have a 95mX65m shallow water basin, which will be one of the largest in the world. “Before carrying out a modification at ports and harbours, we can test whether they will work or not in the lab,” said K Murali said.
For example, the researchers can simulate the entire Gulf of Kutch or river mouth of Hoogly river.
The second research centre to come up on the campus would be the ‘solid propellant combustion modelling facility’ of the Centre of Propulsion Technology, which is funded by Defence Research and Development Organisation.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/what-this-new-iit-madras-campus-will-help-simulate/articleshow/80916175.cms