Udaya Kumar is Professor at High Voltage Engineering
Department of Indian Institute Of Science, (IISc) Bengaluru.
Prof. UdayaKumar is our Family Member, close relative,
son-in law of brother B P Somayaji.
His wife Shyla is software Engineer (M.Tech)
They have two daughters, Anagha (Now B.Tech.
from IIT Madras) and Aditi, studying PUC.
The Indian Express Article about the achievement
Prof. Udayakumar
and his team at IISc.
IISc researchers develop model to study
impact of lightning strikes on aircraft
Udaya Kumar, a professor of electrical engineering, has
been studying lightning protection for the past few years.
Researchers at Bengaluru’s Indian Institute of Science (IISc) announced
Thursday that they had developed a model to study how lightning strikes
aircraft and that insights from the study would be used to design protective
measures for craft.Udaya Kumar, a professor at the IISC’s electrical engineering
department, said, “Lightning strikes can damage the aircraft surface and lead to
temporary disruptions in electrical and electronic systems or even cause
permanent damage, and in extreme cases, cause ignition of the fuel-air mixture
around the engine, leading to an explosion. Usually, an aircraft gets struck by
lightning once every 1,000 hours. There have been a lot of incidents
in the last century where things have been very catastrophic.”
Kumar’s lab has been studying lightning protection for the past few years.
“They have developed unique models that have addressed several
long-standing issues of lightning current evolution. In the past,
he was also involved in the design of a lightning protective system
for Indian satellite launch pads and conducted research on different
protective schemes. In the current study as well as in ongoing work,
they have focused on modelling how lightning impacts aircraft,
in order to develop suitable protective measures,” the IISc said in a media release.
In the usual downward cloud-to-ground lightning, a stepped leader
(initial lightning stroke) forms towards the ground. The researchers have
shown that aircraft at higher altitudes have a greater affinity for
lightning strikes. The model developed by the IISc team is applied
to two different aircraft geometries: a DC10 passenger aircraft and a
standard dynamics model (SDM) fighter aircraft.“Moreover, the aircraft
is not perfectly parallel to the ground during take-off and landing, and
the model is able to simulate how these changes in orientation can affect
the electric field. The role of atmospheric conditions such as humidity
and air pressure are also taken into account in the model.
In ongoing studies, the team is planning to investigate several related
issues including the local changes around the aircraft during the
lightning strike evolution,” the IISc said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM6xslYERyM&t=216s
In addition, they are investigating disruptions to the internal electrical
equipment when struck by lightning. “Kumar’s lab has also carried out
aa first-of-its-kind experiment on a small military aircraft by injecting
it with enormous amounts of current–intended to emulate lightning
discharge– and by collecting electric field data from inside the craft,” the IISc added.
Educational History
Ph.D. (High Voltage) IISc, Bangalore 1998
- M.E.(High Voltage) IISc, Bangalore 1991
- B.E.(Electrical) Bangalore University 1989ourses offered
- in the last five years
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