Marine Engineering Training in India -A Pedagogic Introspection

Indian marine engineers are renowned for employment globally due to their knowledge, skill and reliability. This praiseworthy status has been achieved mainly due to the systematic training imparted to marine engineering cadets. However, in an era of advancing technology, marine engineering training has to remain dynamic to imbibe latest technology as well as to meet the demands of the shipping industry. New subjects of studies have to be included in the curriculum in a timely manner taking into consideration the industry requirements and best practices in shipping. Technical competence of marine engineers also has to be subjected to changes depending upon the needs of the ever growing and over regulated shipping industry. Besides. certain soft skills are to be developed and improved amongst the marine engineers in order to alter or amend the personality traits leading to their career success.If timely corrective action is taken. Indian marine engineers can be in still greater demand for employment in global maritime field. In order to enhance the employability of our mmine engineers by improving their quality, a study of marine engineers in general and class IV marine engineers in particular was conducted based on three distinct surveys, viz., survey among senior marine engineers, survey among employers of marine engineers and survey of class IV marine engineers themselves.The surveys have been planned and questionnaires have been designed to focus the study of marine engineer officer class IV from the point of view of the three distinct groups of maritime personnels. As a result of this, the strength and weakness of class IV marine engineers are identified with regard to their performance on board ships, acquisition of necessary technical skills. employability and career success. The criteria of essential qualities of a marine engineer are classified as academic, technical, social, psychological. physical, mental, emergency responsive, communicative and leadership, and have been assessed for a practicing marine engineer by statistical analysis of data collected from surveys. These are assessed for class IV marine engineers from the point of view of senior marine engineers and employers separately. The Endings are delineated and graphically depicted in this thesis.Besides. six pertinent personality traits of a marine engineer viz. self esteem. learning style. decision making. motivation. team work and listening self inventory have been subjected to study and their correlation with career success have been established wherever possible. This is carried out to develop a theoretical framework to understand what leads a marine engineer to his career attainment. This enables the author to estimate the personality strengths and weaknesses of a serving marine engineer and eventually to deduce possible corrective measures or modifications in marine engineering training in India.Maritime training is largely based on International Conventions on Standard of Training. Certification and Watch keeping for Seafarers 1995. its associated Code and Merchant Shipping (STCW for Seafarers) Rules 1998. Further, Maritime Education, Training and Assessment (META) Manual was subjected to a critical scrutiny and relevant Endings of thc surveys arc superimposed on the existing rule requirement and curriculum. Views of senior marine engineers and executives of various shipping companies are taken into account before arriving at the revision of syllabus of marine engineering courses. Modifications in the pattern of workshop and sea service for graduate mechanical engineering trainees are recommended. Desirable age brackets of junior engineers and chief engineers. use of Training and Assessment Record book (TAR Book) during training etc. have also been evaluated.As a result of the pedagogic introspection of the existing system of marine engineering training in India. in this thesis, a revised pattern of workshop training of six months duration for graduate mechanical engineers. revised pattern of sea service training of one year duration and modified now diagram incorporating the above have been arrived at. Effects of various personality traits on career success have been established along with certain findings for improvement of desirable personality traits of marine engineers.

Investigations on Magnetic, Optical and Transport Properties of Magnetic Nanofluids for Engineering and Biomedical Applications

Department of Physics, Cochin University of Science & Technology

A Study of the Physical and Engineering Behaviour of Cochin Marine Clays

With the increase in population, housing and construction of various facilities have been a problem with urbanization. Having exhausted all the trouble free hand, man is nowon the lookout for techniques to improve areas which were originally considered uninhabitable. Thus this study is based on the nature and engineering behavior of soft clays covering long stretches of coastal line and methods to improve their geotechnical properties .The main aim of the present investigation is to study in detail the physical and engineering behavior of the marine clays of Cochin. While it is well known that the marine clays have been posing numerous problems to foundation engineers all along, the relevant literature reveals that no systematic and comprehensive study has been attempted to date. The: knowledge gained through the study is suitably used to improve these properties with appropriate additives.

India's Engineering Exports: Growth, Concentration and Diversification

The unprecedented increase in competition as well as protectionism in world markets makes it imperative for a country like India to get much more energetically involved in the export business and make the dictum "export and flourish" a really true proposition, as against a somewhat passive "export and perish" approach followed during the last three and a half decades. At present, India needs to evolve new export strategies to cope with the changing international scenario and to ensure a steady improvement in the otherwise sagging export performance. A search for such strategic measures becomes all the more important in view of the all-out efforts of the government for expanding the country's exports to tide over the crippling balance of payment deficits and to generate necessary foreign exchange to meet the import requirements for accelerating the tempo of economic development. The present study is an endeavour in this direction. Taking engineering exports as an example, the study demonstrates alternative ways of understanding indepth export performance analysis and learning lessons for better performance in future

Document Image Segmentation and Compression using Artificial Neural Networks and Evolutionary Methods

The work is intended to study the following important aspects of document image processing and develop new methods. (1) Segmentation ofdocument images using adaptive interval valued neuro-fuzzy method. (2) Improving the segmentation procedure using Simulated Annealing technique. (3) Development of optimized compression algorithms using Genetic Algorithm and parallel Genetic Algorithm (4) Feature extraction of document images (5) Development of IV fuzzy rules. This work also helps for feature extraction and foreground and background identification. The proposed work incorporates Evolutionary and hybrid methods for segmentation and compression of document images. A study of different neural networks used in image processing, the study of developments in the area of fuzzy logic etc is carried out in this work

Web Presence Of The Engineering College Libraries In Kerala: An Analysis Of Content

Websites of academic institutions are the prime source of information about the institution. Libraries, being the main provider of information for the academics, need to be represented in the respective homepages with due importance. Keeping this in mind, this study is an attempt to understand and analyze the presence and presentation of libraries of Engineering Colleges (EC) in Kerala in their respective websites. On the basis of the reviewed literature and an observation of libraries of nationally important institutions imparting technical education in India, a set of criteria were developed for analyzing the websites/web pages. Based on this an extensive survcy of the websites of ECs were done. The collected data was then analyzed using Microsoft Excel. The library websites were then ranked on the basis of this analysis. It was observed that majority of the websites of ECs in Kerala have least representation of their respective libraries. Another important observation is that even the highest scoring libraries satisfy only half of the criteria listed for analysis.

E-Resources in the Engineering College Libraries of Kerala: Problems towards Sustainable Collection Development

Electronic resources have become a vital part of an academic library especially in universities and higher education institutions. The availability of electronic resources and the acceptance of the fonnat among the academics are rising day by day. As far as engineering students are concerned, they are much techno-savy and are more used to electronic resources. So it has become necessary for the libraries of engineering institutions to subscribe and provide access to electronic resources to satisfy its user community. Many studies have identified that academics are much preferring online journals and databases than their print counter-parts

Polymer-Plastics Technology and Engineering

Fine (approximately 18 nm) particles of nickel ferrite were synthesized by the sol-gel technique, and their structural properties were evaluated by X-ray diffraction. Neoprene-based rubber ferrite composites were prepared by incorporating these nickel ferrite powders in the rubber matrix according to a specific recipe. The cure characteristics were analyzed, and the samples were molded into particular shapes whose properties were determined according to ASTM standards. Magnetization studies were carried out using a Vibrating Sample Magnetometer. This study indicates that neoprene rubber-based flexible magnets with desired magnetic properties and appropriate mechanical properties can be prepared by incorporating an adequate amount of nanoscale nickel ferrite particles within the rubber matrix

Integrating TPM and QFD for improving quality in maintenance engineering

To provide maintenance engineering community with a model named “Maintenance quality function deployment” (MQFD) for nourishing the synergy of quality function deployment (QFD) and total productive maintenance (TPM) and enhancing maintenance quality of products and equipment.The principles of QFD and TPM were studied. MQFD model was designed by coupling these two principles. The practical implementation feasibility of MQFD model was checked in an automobile service station.Both QFD and TPM are popular approaches and several benefits of implementing them have been reported worldwide. Yet the world has not nourished the synergic power of integrating them. The MQFD implementation study reported in this paper has revealed its practical validity

Re-Engineering Towed Arrays for Quality Enhancement - Network Based Towed Array

The Towed Array electronics is a multi-channel simultaneous real time high speed data acquisition system. Since its assembly is highly manpower intensive, the costs of arrays are prohibitive and therefore any attempt to reduce the manufacturing, assembly, testing and maintenance costs is a welcome proposition. The Network Based Towed Array is an innovative concept and its implementation has remarkably simplified the fabrication, assembly and testing and revolutionised the Towed Array scenario. The focus of this paper is to give a good insight into the Reliability aspects of Network Based Towed Array. A case study of the comparison between the conventional array and the network based towed array is also dealt with

Gender Bias and Caste Exclusion in Engineering Admission: Inferences from the Engineering Entrance Examination in Kerala

The major problem of the engineering entrance examination is the exclusion of certain sections of the society in social, economic, regional and gender dimensions. This has seldom been taken for analysis towards policy correction. To lessen this problem a minor policy shift was prepared in the year 2011 with a 50–50 proportion in academic marks and entrance marks. The impact of this change is yet to be scrutinized. The data for the study is obtained from the Nodal Centre of Kerala functioning at Cochin University of Science and Technology under the National Technical Manpower Information System and also estimated from the Centralized Allotment Process. The article focuses on two aspects of exclusion based on engineering entrance examination; gender centred as well as caste-linked. Rank order spectral density and Lorenz ratio are used to cognize the exclusion and inequality in community and gender levels in various performance scales. The article unfolds the fact that social status in society coupled with economic affordability to quality education seems to have significant influence in the performance of students in the Kerala engineering entrance examinations. But it also shows that there is wide gender disparity with respect to performance in the high ranking levels irrespective of social groups

Resource Sharing Among Engineering College Libraries Affiliated To Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala: A Proposed Model

There are around 150 engineering colleges (ECs) in Kerala under the government, aided and self financing (S.F.) sectors. While the college libraries in the government and aided sectors receive several grants, the libraries of S.F. colleges are solely run by their own funds. The rising costs of scholarly publications and strict AICTE stipulations regarding libraries and their collection, pose great difficulties to the libraries in all sectors in finding adequate budgets to provide quality services. Library cooperation/resource sharing helps to overcome this problem to a considerable extent. The present study analysed the facilities and services of the ECs affiliated to M.G.University, Kerala to identify whether there is a need for resource sharing (RS) among these libraries. The satisfaction of the users with their library resources and services were also ascertained. The study put forward a model for RS and the opinion of the librarians and users regarding the same were collected. Structured questionnaires were used to collect the required data. The study revealed that a wide gap exist between the libraries with respect to their facilities and services and many of the S.F. libraries have better infrastructure when compared to the government and aided college libraries. Majority of the respondents opined that RS is necessary to satisfy their information needs. The model of RS proposed by the study was widely accepted by the librarians and users. Based on the opinions and suggestions of the respondents, the study developed the potential model for resource sharing- the Virtual Resource Sharing Centre (VRSC).

Low-Cost Micromechanically Tunable Optical Devices: Strained Resonator Engineering, Technological Implementation and Characterization

The rapid growth of the optical communication branches and the enormous demand for more bandwidth require novel networks such as dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM). These networks enable higher bitrate transmission using the existing optical fibers. Micromechanically tunable optical microcavity devices like VCSELs, Fabry-Pérot filters and photodetectors are core components of these novel DWDM systems. Several air-gap based tunable devices were successfully implemented in the last years. Even though these concepts are very promising, two main disadvantages are still remaining. On the one hand, the high fabrication and integration cost and on the other hand the undesired adverse buckling of the suspended membranes. This thesis addresses these two problems and consists of two main parts: • PECVD dielectric material investigation and stress control resulting in membranes shape engineering. • Implementation and characterization of novel tunable optical devices with tailored shapes of the suspended membranes. For this purposes, low-cost PECVD technology is investigated and developed in detail. The macro- and microstress of silicon nitride and silicon dioxide are controlled over a wide range. Furthermore, the effect of stress on the optical and mechanical properties of the suspended membranes and on the microcavities is evaluated. Various membrane shapes (concave, convex and planar) with several radii of curvature are fabricated. Using this resonator shape engineering, microcavity devices such as non tunable and tunable Fabry-Pérot filters, VCSELs and PIN photodetectors are succesfully implemented. The fabricated Fabry-Pérot filters cover a spectral range of over 200nm and show resonance linewidths down to 1.5nm. By varying the stress distribution across the vertical direction within a DBR, the shape and the radius of curvature of the top membrane are explicitely tailored. By adjusting the incoming light beam waist to the curvature, the fundamental resonant mode is supported and the higher order ones are suppressed. For instance, a tunable VCSEL with 26 nm tuning range, 400µW maximal output power, 47nm free spectral range and over 57dB side mode suppresion ratio (SMSR) is demonstrated. Other technologies, such as introducing light emitting organic materials in microcavities are also investigated.

Air-gap based vertical cavity micro-opto-electro-mechanical Fabry-Perot filters

Mikrooptische Filter sind heutzutage in vielen Bereichen in der Telekommunikation unersetzlich. Wichtige Einsatzgebiete sind aber auch spektroskopische Systeme in der Medizin-, Prozess- und Umwelttechnik. Diese Arbeit befasst sich mit der Technologieentwicklung und Herstellung von luftspaltbasierenden, vertikal auf einem Substrat angeordneten, oberflächenmikromechanisch hergestellten Fabry-Perot-Filtern. Es werden zwei verschiedene Filtervarianten, basierend auf zwei verschiedenen Materialsystemen, ausführlich untersucht. Zum einen handelt es sich dabei um die Weiterentwicklung von kontinuierlich mikromechanisch durchstimmbaren InP / Luftspaltfiltern; zum anderen werden neuartige, kostengünstige Siliziumnitrid / Luftspaltfilter wissenschaftlich behandelt. Der Inhalt der Arbeit ist so gegliedert, dass nach einer Einleitung mit Vergleichen zu Arbeiten und Ergebnissen anderer Forschergruppen weltweit, zunächst einige theoretische Grundlagen zur Berechnung der spektralen Reflektivität und Transmission von beliebigen optischen Schichtanordnungen aufgezeigt werden. Auß erdem wird ein kurzer theoretischer Ü berblick zu wichtigen Eigenschaften von Fabry-Perot-Filtern sowie der Möglichkeit einer mikromechanischen Durchstimmbarkeit gegeben. Daran anschließ end folgt ein Kapitel, welches sich den grundlegenden technologischen Aspekten der Herstellung von luftspaltbasierenden Filtern widmet. Es wird ein Zusammenhang zu wichtigen Referenzarbeiten hergestellt, auf denen diverse Weiterentwicklungen dieser Arbeit basieren. Die beiden folgenden Kapitel erläutern dann ausführlich das Design, die Herstellung und die Charakterisierung der beiden oben erwähnten Filtervarianten. Abgesehen von der vorangehenden Epitaxie von InP / GaInAs Schichten, ist die Herstellung der InP / Luftspaltfilter komplett im Institut durchgeführt worden. Die Herstellungsschritte sind ausführlich in der Arbeit erläutert, wobei ein Schwerpunktthema das trockenchemische Ä tzen von InP sowie GaInAs, welches als Opferschichtmaterial für die Herstellung der Luftspalte genutzt wurde, behandelt. Im Verlauf der wissenschaftlichen Arbeit konnten sehr wichtige technische Verbesserungen entwickelt und eingesetzt werden, welche zu einer effizienteren technologischen Herstellung der Filter führten und in der vorliegenden Niederschrift ausführlich dokumentiert sind. Die hergestellten, für einen Einsatz in der optischen Telekommunikation entworfenen, elektrostatisch aktuierbaren Filter sind aus zwei luftspaltbasierenden Braggspiegeln aufgebaut, welche wiederum jeweils 3 InP-Schichten von (je nach Design) 357nm bzw. 367nm Dicke aufweisen. Die Filter bestehen aus im definierten Abstand parallel übereinander angeordneten Membranen, die über Verbindungsbrücken unterschiedlicher Anzahl und Länge an Haltepfosten befestigt sind. Da die mit 357nm bzw. 367nm vergleichsweise sehr dünnen Schichten freitragende Konstrukte mit bis zu 140 nm Länge bilden, aber trotzdem Positionsgenauigkeiten im nm-Bereich einhalten müssen, handelt es sich hierbei um sehr anspruchsvolle mikromechanische Bauelemente. Um den Einfluss der zahlreichen geometrischen Strukturparameter studieren zu können, wurden verschiedene laterale Filterdesigns implementiert. Mit den realisierten Filter konnte ein enorm weiter spektraler Abstimmbereich erzielt werden. Je nach lateralem Design wurden internationale Bestwerte für durchstimmbare Fabry-Perot-Filter von mehr als 140nm erreicht. Die Abstimmung konnte dabei kontinuierlich mit einer angelegten Spannung von nur wenigen Volt durchgeführt werden. Im Vergleich zu früher berichteten Ergebnissen konnten damit sowohl die Wellenlängenabstimmung als auch die dafür benötigte Abstimmungsspannung signifikant verbessert werden. Durch den hohen Brechungsindexkontrast und die geringe Schichtdicke zeigen die Filter ein vorteilhaftes, extrem weites Stopband in der Größ enordnung um 550nm. Die gewählten, sehr kurzen Kavitätslängen ermöglichen einen freien Spektralbereich des Filters welcher ebenfalls in diesen Größ enordnungen liegt, so dass ein weiter spektraler Einsatzbereich ermöglicht wird. Während der Arbeit zeigte sich, dass Verspannungen in den freitragenden InPSchichten die Funktionsweise der mikrooptischen Filter stark beeinflussen bzw. behindern. Insbesondere eine Unterätzung der Haltepfosten und die daraus resultierende Verbiegung der Ecken an denen sich die Verbindungsbrücken befinden, führte zu enormen vertikalen Membranverschiebungen, welche die Filtereigenschaften verändern. Um optimale Ergebnisse zu erreichen, muss eine weitere Verbesserung der Epitaxie erfolgen. Jedoch konnten durch den zusätzlichen Einsatz einer speziellen Schutzmaske die Unterätzung der Haltepfosten und damit starke vertikale Verformungen reduziert werden. Die aus der Verspannung resultierenden Verformungen und die Reaktion einzelner freistehender InP Schichten auf eine angelegte Gleich- oder Wechselspannung wurde detailliert untersucht. Mittels Weisslichtinterferometrie wurden lateral identische Strukturen verglichen, die aus unterschiedlich dicken InP-Schichten (357nm bzw. 1065nm) bestehen. Einen weiteren Hauptteil der Arbeit stellen Siliziumnitrid / Luftspaltfilter dar, welche auf einem neuen, im Rahmen dieser Dissertation entwickelten, technologischen Ansatz basieren. Die Filter bestehen aus zwei Braggspiegeln, die jeweils aus fünf 590nm dicken, freistehenden Siliziumnitridschichten aufgebaut sind und einem Abstand von 390nm untereinander aufweisen. Die Filter wurden auf Glassubstraten hergestellt. Der Herstellungsprozess ist jedoch auch mit vielen anderen Materialien oder Prozessen kompatibel, so dass z.B. eine Integration mit anderen Bauelemente relativ leicht möglich ist. Die Prozesse dieser ebenfalls oberflächenmikromechanisch hergestellten Filter wurden konsequent auf niedrige Herstellungskosten optimiert. Als Opferschichtmaterial wurde hier amorph abgeschiedenes Silizium verwendet. Der Herstellungsprozess beinhaltet die Abscheidung verspannungsoptimierter Schichten (Silizium und Siliziumnitrid) mittels PECVD, die laterale Strukturierung per reaktiven Ionenätzen mit den Gasen SF6 / CHF3 / Ar sowie Fotolack als Maske, die nasschemische Unterätzung der Opferschichten mittels KOH und das Kritisch-Punkt-Trocken der Proben. Die Ergebnisse der optischen Charakterisierung der Filter zeigen eine hohe Ü bereinstimmung zwischen den experimentell ermittelten Daten und den korrespondierenden theoretischen Modellrechnungen. Weisslichtinterferometermessungen der freigeätzten Strukturen zeigen ebene Filterschichten und bestätigen die hohe vertikale Positioniergenauigkeit, die mit diesem technologischen Ansatz erreicht werden kann.