It was a calm afternoon in Kolkata. Yesterday it rained. The weather was muggy. There was silence everywhere.... only a few crows were making sound.
Before going to school, my son Ridit suggested that we must give a try to KDevelop for our C++ projects. So I installed the KDevelop using the apt command.
As I am planning to do a deep dive in openFoam source code, the first thing I did was to navigate to the openFoam source directory and opened the project in KDevelop.
I then built it...
And voila.... my dev environment is ready.
As I shut my laptop, I realized I found a new favorite IDE—one that struck a perfect balance between simplicity and power.
Both ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) and DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) heavily rely on CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and fluid simulations for aerospace, defense, and hypersonic vehicle design. They use high-performance computing (HPC), indigenous CFD solvers, and experimental validation for these applications.
1️⃣ ISRO: CFD Applications in Space Science 🚀
ISRO uses CFD simulations in various projects related to rocketry, re-entry vehicles, aerodynamics, and propulsion systems.
✅ Key CFD Applications in ISRO
Rocket Aerodynamics & Re-entry Simulation
CFD is used to analyze airflow, pressure, and heating effects on launch vehicles like PSLV, GSLV, and LVM3.
Re-entry vehicles (Gaganyaan Crew Module) undergo hypersonic flow simulations to predict shock waves and thermal loads.
Propulsion & Combustion Analysis
CFD helps in designing cryogenic, semi-cryogenic, and solid rocket engines.
Combustion chamber simulations predict fuel mixing efficiency and pressure variations in engines like Vikas and CE-20.
Hypersonic Vehicle Simulations
Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV) and Scramjets require CFD to analyze Mach 5+ speeds.
ISRO’s Scramjet Engine Test Flight (ATV) used CFD to predict shock interaction and fuel-air mixing.
Satellite Thermal & Fluid Analysis
Thermal control systems use CFD to analyze fluid movement inside heat pipes.
Cryogenic fuel behavior inside tanks is simulated for fuel sloshing and vapor formation.
🖥️ Software & Tools Used in ISRO
OpenFOAM & Fluent – Used for general CFD analysis.
ISRO’s In-house CFD Solvers – Developed for hypersonic flow and propulsion studies.
ParaView & Tecplot – Used for visualizing simulation results.
HPC Clusters – "SAGA" supercomputer is used for large-scale simulations.
💡 Example: ISRO used CFD to analyze the Gaganyaan Crew Module’s re-entry heating, ensuring astronauts survive high temperatures.
2️⃣ DRDO: CFD in Defense & Hypersonic Research 🛡️
DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) applies fluid simulations in missiles, hypersonic systems, naval hydrodynamics, and UAVs.
✅ Key CFD Applications in DRDO
Missile Aerodynamics & Guidance
CFD is used to simulate airflows around missiles like Agni, BrahMos, and Astra.
Studies include drag reduction, shock waves, and stability analysis.
Hypersonic Weapons & Scramjet Engines
Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) used CFD for shockwave & heat analysis.
Scramjet CFD simulations analyze airflow and combustion at Mach 6+ speeds.
Naval Hydrodynamics & Submarine CFD
DRDO’s naval research (NSTL, Visakhapatnam) uses CFD for submarine stealth, torpedo movement, and cavitation studies.
Underwater explosions and sonar signal behavior are simulated.
Tank & Aircraft Aerodynamics
Arjun & T-90 tanks use CFD for dust flow, heat dissipation, and armor cooling.
Tejas Fighter Jet & AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft) use CFD for stealth & aerodynamics optimization.
🖥️ Software & Tools Used in DRDO
ANSYS Fluent & CFX – Used for general missile & aerodynamics analysis.
OpenFOAM & SU2 – Open-source solvers for research & academic collaboration.
DRDO In-house CFD Codes – Special codes for hypersonic & naval simulations.
HPC Supercomputers – "Dhruva" & "Aditya" supercomputers for high-speed calculations.
Many IITs, IISc, and DRDO labs collaborate on CFD-based aerospace & defense research:
🔹 ISRO’s VSSC (Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre) – CFD for rockets & re-entry.
🔹 DRDO’s ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency) – CFD for Tejas & AMCA jets.
🔹 DRDL (Defence Research & Development Laboratory) – Missile CFD research.
🔹 NSTL (Naval Science & Technological Laboratory) – Naval hydrodynamics & submarine CFD.
🔹 IISc Bangalore & IIT Madras – Hypersonics & scramjet simulations using OpenFOAM.
Conclusion
✅ CFD is a critical technology in ISRO & DRDO for aerospace and defense applications.
✅ ISRO uses CFD for rockets, re-entry vehicles, combustion, and thermal analysis.
✅ DRDO applies CFD in missiles, hypersonic weapons, submarines, and UAVs.
✅ India has strong research in CFD, with IITs, IISc, and DRDO labs leading innovation.
