Bengaluru student wins national design award, twice in a row
Interestingly, Omkar had won the gold medal in the same category last year too.
Bengaluru: An engineering student from the city, who has won several laurels, added to the list by winning the national design competition recently.
Omkar Shriram Lawate, a final-year student of MVJ College of Engineering (MVJCE), secured the first place in aerospace engineering at the All-India Student Design Competition conducted recently by the National Design and Research Forum (NDRF) of The Institution of Engineers (India).
The aspiring engineer, who competed with students from top-notch institutes like Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and International Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), conceptualised his design to improve the aerodynamic performance at various stages of flight of transport aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by encompassing adaptive slotted winglets using shape memory alloy-based actuators.
Interestingly, Omkar had won the gold medal in the same category last year too. “Consistency and hard work are behind my success. I was determined to better my own work, trying to learn from events like these. The idea was challenging to conceptualise, but my interest in the subject kept me motivated,” he said.
“The conventional static winglets are currently used for a particular point which is between performance at low and high speeds. Improved winglet design is worked out with morphing capabilities so that performance can be obtained over a wider range of flight conditions. Slotted winglets with morphing capabilities are the key feature of this design. It reduces sound, winglet twisting and gives better performance over a wider flight envelope.”
He will be conferred with the award at the 26th IEI Convocation and Technicians’/Students’ Convention scheduled to be held at Ranchi, Jharkhand on November 4.