ISSN 0409-7467 CSIR News NEWSLETTER OF THE COUncIL OF SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH Volume 66 No. 13 & 14 website: http://www.csir.res.in July 2016 In This Issue In The News In The News CMERI-developed “Solar Tree” 145 • CMERI-developed “Solar Tree” Can Light Can Light Five Houses Five Houses • Technology Developed at CSIR-CIMFR Makes THE CSIR-Central Mechanical Pit Water Potable • CSIR-CFTRI Boosts Engineering Research Institute Returns of Banana (CSIR-CMERI) in Durgapur has Growers come up with a ‘Solar Power Tree’ • CSIR-NPL Implement- ing the Indian Standard that can be squeezed on rooftops Time and highways. The ‘tree’ design that takes up only four square feet of 149 R&D Highlights space enables production of three • CSIR-NAL Develops kilowatts (kW) of power – enough New Magnetic Sensor for Antilock Braking to power about five households. It System (ABS) resembles a tree with branches at • Bacillus subtilis and different tiers thus saving space. other Marine Bacteria as Potential Producers As per a rough estimate, five of Anticholinesterase acres of land is required to generate Compounds one MW of power. And one conventional solar photovoltaic 154 MoUs system of five kW requires 400 square feet of area. But the ‘tree’ 155 Lecture design that CSIR-CMERI scientists have come up with meets the 157 Training Programmes challenge of generating more solar power in less land space. 158 Laboratory Events The “Solar Tree” was inaugurated up the 30 photovoltaic panels and the recently by Union Science and system costs around Rs. 3 lakh with 163 Visits Technology Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan battery back-up. It has been decided during his maiden visit to the CMERI. to install one ‘Solar Power Tree’ at the Honours & Awards 166 The branches of the solar tree hold Ministry of Science and Technology. 167 Appointments In The News Technology Developed at CSIR-CIMFR Makes Pit Water Potable The CSIR-Central Institute of Fuel and different places to solve the drinking Mining Research (CSIR-CIMFR), water crisis. Dhanbad has developed technology that CSIR-CIMFR recently announced can make mining water potable. Pit water, another success in its “Coal dust abundant near mining sites, is not fit for collecting and briquetting system”. The drinking. The new technology treats this system uses a vehicle that moves around water and makes it potable, which can the mining area, sucks the coal dust and then be supplied to the villages near the turns it into briquette which can be later mining area. used for domestic and industrial The system has been successfully purposes. The system, which minimizes installed at Baliahar in Putki and handed wastage of coal dust and also brings over to Bharat Coking Coal Limited down pollution level, has already been (BCCL). Within the next two years, 25 sold to Tata Iron and Steel Company such projects would be completed at (TISCO). CSIR-CFTRI Boosts Returns of Banana Growers CSIR-Central Food Technological farmers’ cooperatives with support from Research Institute (CSIR-CFTRI), government and other agencies, transfer Mysuru is setting its sights on giving a of technology free-of-cost to such agri- boost to the banana processing industry. enterprises, and training and creating a With a range of technologies network amongst them for ensuring developed at the CSIR-CFTRI for proper returns to growers. making banana-based products such as At a workshop held at the CFTRI banana nectar, ready-to-serve (RTS) campus recently, Prof. Ram Rajasekharan, beverages, banana bar and so on, the Director, CSIR-CFTRI, unveiled a model Institute hopes to mitigate hardships of referred to as FRIG (Farmers, farmers in Karnataka, who were forced Government, R&D and Industry) for to sell plantains for a meagre Rs 2 per kg helping farmers. Prof. Rajasekharan also in December 2015. announced that the institute would be The institute has even planned to releasing a new plant variety which had establish a semi-processing unit through the potential to protect banana crop from spoilage. The plant can be grown as an intercrop along with other plantations. The workshop also included demonstration of value-added products from banana apart from some quantity of RTS beverage made from pulp, which was then made available through the CFTRI canteen for sale to staff and students of the institute. The workshop also involved interactions Prof. Ram Rajasekharan, Director, with farmers of Chamarajanagar CSIR-CFTRI, meeting banana farmers district. CSIR News 146 JULY 2016 CSIR-NPL — Implementing the Indian Standard Time CSIR-National Physical Laboratory electricity distribution networks have (NPL), the National Metrology Institute made it essential to use precise time of India, has the mandate to maintain synchronization. the Indian Standard Time (IST) as per Network synchronization requirement the act of Parliament (Govt. of India also applies to high-speed communication Gazette No. 589). With most up-to-date which facilitates voice over internet technologies being used, the National protocol (VOIP) calling and video Time, IST, is maintained by an ensemble conferencing. Another example is of of five Cesium atomic clocks, one satellite-based navigation system where hydrogen maser connected to the global the spatial resolution is decided by precise navigation satellite system for inter- synchronization of the clocks embedded comparison with the Universal in the end user’s device with clocks in the Coordinated Time (UTC). satellites. The accuracy of satellite IST needs to be disseminated to one navigation systems depends critically on and all in the country. It is imminent for the proper synchronization of onboard everyone to synchronize the time to a clocks e.g. a difference of just ten common standard in order to reduce nanoseconds can lead to a positioning confusion and legal troubles. On a error of 3 m. national level, time synchronization is So, it is important to have time essential for all kinds of financial synchronization to a common reference transactions, stock handling, digital for the nation which is IST. CSIR-NPL archiving, time stamping, international is disseminating IST to the various users trade, national security and so on. in the country. The dissemination Synchronization of all the computers techniques currently available with and telecommunication networks is CSIR-NPL are depicted in Fig. 1. essential for preventing cyber-crimes. All Internet time service is readily available banking facilities also rely on precise time to the users having computer with synchronization. The smart grids for internet connectivity. The settings Fig. 1. Techniques to disseminate Indian Standard Time (IST) CSIR News JULY 2016 147 required for IST synchronization are service is already operational and In The News described in Fig. 2. In order to access Fonoclock service is currently being this service, users need to query at CSIR- developed. For availing these services, NPL’s domain from their computer at users need to have a receiver attached to the address “time.nplindia.org” and their a telephone line. The receiver will call the computers will get synchronized to IST transmitter hosted at CSIR-NPL and with ±100 ms uncertainty. connected to dedicated phone line. On Users can also get synchronization call set-up, the time data will be to IST via telephone line and there are transferred to the receiver via the two services in this category. Teleclock telephone line. On setting up the call for Fig. 2. Steps to follow in a Windows-based computer system to synchronize the computer time to IST. User needs to change the date and time settings as shown. Fonoclock service, the transmitter will calculate the loop time delay automatically and transfer the delay compensated time (IST) along with day and date to the receiver. The receiver module will display the corrected time after synchroni- zation. The teleclock service provides time synchronization with ± 1 second uncertainty while Fonoclock is a new and upgraded technology (using communication delay compensation) which provides time synchronization with ± 10 ms uncertainty. A prototype of Fonoclock is shown Fig. 3. Fonoclock prototype in operation in Fig. 3. CSIR News 148 JULY 2016 R&D Highlights CSIR-NAL Develops New Magnetic Sensor for Antilock Braking System Digital technology has rejuvenated the therefore, the greatest challenge is to era of magnetic sensors by introducing make magnetic sensors with reliable new sensors in the market such as Hall- signal conditioning interface as per the Effect sensors, Magnetoresistive (AMR, automotive standard with affordable GMR, TMR) sensors and many more. price. The magnetic sensors offer the contactless CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories and consequently wear-free measurement (NAL) Bangaluru, has developed a series of physical quantities such as angle of of Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR) based rotation, angular speed, linear position, magnetic field sensing chips for rotary linear speed, current, etc. and linear position sensing applications. According to a global market survey, in The sensor has the following features : the year 2016, it is predicted that 7143 The sensor is now integrated with million units of magnetic sensors will be CMOS-based automotive grade required for various sectors, for which programmable ZSC31150 (ZMDI, the market revenue is around $2.0 billion. Germany) signal conditioning chip. The The Indian automotive sensors market is product was tested for speed segmented on the basis of types of measurements with commercially sensors (Temperature, Pressure, Speed, available different types of ABS toner Level/Position, MEMS, Magnetic, wheel used in the automobile sector. The Oxygen and Inertia) and the overall maximum air gap was achieved in the market is expected to grow to $1.51 range of 3-4 mm which is significantly billion by 2018 at a CAGR of 11.64% larger than existing Hall sensor. over the period 2015-2020. CSIR-NAL has already sent sensor To capture such huge automotive boards to TVS Motor Company limited, market, there is a requirement for Hosur, Tamilnadu for performance indigenous development of magnetic testing as ABS toner wheel and Gear sensors with higher sensitivity, low transmission speed sensors.