Pranav Lad
Ph.D. Student
Pranav Lad is a research assistant, pursuing a dual degree M. Tech + Ph.D. in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. His research interest lies in the areas of dynamics, vibrations and machine learning, with specific interests in stability of continuous systems. His doctoral research work investigates – analytically and numerically – the transverse vibrations of an axially-moving string that is subjected to a distributed follower force. This work is motivated by the several physical and engineering systems such as pipes conveying fluid, aerial or marine towing, and silicon wafer cutting, in which a relatively long flexible structure is dragged through fluid. Even such a seemingly simple model exhibits complex dynamic phenomena. His work provides an insight into the effect that the follower force and damping can have on the dynamics of such an axially-moving string. Stability analysis using the characteristic polynomial is used to examine the effect of different parameters on the dynamics. An unusual transition of the dynamic behavior from stable to overdamped and then to unstable regimes is observed. The techniques and the results obtained from his work, can aid in a better understanding of the dynamics of physical systems where moving flexible, continuous elements are subjected to fluid interaction. He further investigates the stability of such systems when those are parametrically excited due to geometric or manufacturing constraints.
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Fig. 1: Time responses of a traveling string when it is subjected to different components of the follower force |
Fig. 2: Critical curves demarcating overdamped and underdamped regions
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Fig. 3: (a) Experimental characterization of a linear vibratory feeder. (b) Schematic representation of an inclined vibratory feeder. |
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Fig. 4: Regions within which a particle remains stationary, slides forwards, or backward relative to a tray. (a) angular positions, (b) time instants in the cycle. |
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Fig. 5: Correlation between parameters extracted from a sensor, and the nature of the tablet (intact vs. broken) using support vector machine.
He has also worked on characterizing inclined vibratory feeders for improving the throughput of tablet counting machines, and the development of machine learning techniques, with applications to broken tablet identification in high-throughput pharmaceutical packaging lines.
Publications
Pranav Lad and V. Kartik, “Stability Transitions of an Axially Moving String Subjected to a Distributed Follower Force”, Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 474:20170779, 2018.
Pranav Lad and V. Kartik, “Modeling and Dynamic Analysis of Neutrally Buoyant Towed Flexible SONAR Array Cables”, National Symposium and Exhibition on Aerospace and Related Mechanisms (ARMS 2016), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, November 2016
Pranav Lad, Abhijeet Somani, K. Eswara Krishnan, Abhishek Gupta, V. Kartik, "High-Throughput Shape Classification using Support Vector Machine", Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT-2016), Taipei, Taiwan, 14th-17th March 2016.(upcoming)
Pranav Lad and V. Kartik, "Stability Analysis of an Axially-Moving String with Fluctuating Winding Tension", International Conference on Vibration Problems, IIT Guwahati, Assam, India, December 2015.
Pranav Lad and V. Kartik, "Dynamics and Stability of a Travelling String Subjected to an Axial Follower Force", ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Houston, Texas, USA, November 2015.
Biography
Pranav Lad is a research assistant and a member of the Advanced Dynamics Lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Bombay, working with Prof. V. Kartik.
He received his Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pune in 2013, where he worked on the ‘Development of a Framework for B-Spline Curves and Surfaces’. His research interests primarily lie in the areas of dynamics, vibration and machine learning.