Industrial Visit to NTPC Energy Technology Research Alliance (NETRA)
An industrial visit was organized for the students of IVth and VIth semester, Electronics and Communication Department on 17th October 2016. The trip comprised of thirty-seven students and faculty members lead by our Director and Head of the Department, Electronics and Communication, Professor (Dr.) Neelam Sharma.
NTPC Limited (previously known as National Thermal Power Corporation Limited) is a Public Sector Undertaking, engaged in the business of generation of electricity and allied activities. NTPC's core business is generation and sale of electricity to state-owned power distribution companies and State Electricity Boards in India. The company also undertakes consultancy and turnkey project contracts that involve engineering, project management, construction management and operation and management of power plants. NETRA is the Research and Development laboratory of NTPC. Research is on to make the day-to-day operations of the Power Plants smoother with focus on renewable Technologies.
The students were first shown the Solar Thermal HVAC system. This system is used to generate AC cooling from solar energy. It consists of two pre-programmed solar dishes that heat up the coil in the centre of the dish using reflectors. This heated coil is used to boil the water. Then this water and steam combination is sent to the steam separator which gives out pure steam. This steam is passed through a Vapour Absorber Machine (VAM).This produces chilled water which is used to cool air. The Second project shown was the Na-S batteries. These batteries were made by NGK Insulators Limited. They are Grid level batteries and their possible applications are stabilizing the Grid due to varying frequency of electricity produced using non-renewable sources. They have power up to 12,000 KWh.
Students were then shown the Advanced Computing Laboratory which engages in application development for the NTPC. They have developed software like NePPS, NRES and software for CFD. Thereafter, the students were introduced to the various projects/experiments/studies being undertaken either in house or with collaboration with academic institutions like IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur, CSIR, IISc, NIT Warangal etc. The presentation highlighted various upcoming technologies such as nanofluids, nano coatings, Robotics, Automation, Electrical, CO2 capture, Waste water treatment, Fly ash treatment, Earthing etc.
The industrial visit was very informative and helped the students get up-to-date with the latest technologies and trends in the industry. It inspired the students to work hard and pursue research as an option.
