Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur

Small‐scale multirotor drones often require careful consideration of many aspects including the selection of structural parameters and the propulsion system. Double‐layer staggered octocopters (DLSOs) are a type of arrangement with advantages in structural layout and aerodynamic performance compared with other configurations, which can conserve structural space and restrict the aerodynamic interaction between the rotors. For the purpose of increasing thrust, reducing weight, and maximizing power efficiency, DLSOs are designed with the optimal combination of structural parameters and propulsion systems using noncustomized products. The optimization process is divided into two steps. First, utilizing the simulation results from Latin hypercube design‐guided sample points, a surrogate model is established by the radial basis function (RBF)–based neural network to forecast the thrust of the staggered rotors. An optimal structural configuration of the DLSO is then obtained by applying the adaptive geometry estimation–based multiobjective evolutionary algorithm (AGE‐MOEA). Second, based on an improved propulsion system sizing method, the propulsion system, including motors, electronic speed controllers (ESCs), and batteries, is further optimized using standard methods and noncustomized propulsion system product data, to minimize weight and maximize power efficiency. The optimized DLSO has greatly enhanced its total thrust and power efficiency when compared to some well‐known market products.

The occurrence of multiple generations of annealing twins (MGAT) in low stacking fault energy (SFE) materials leads to significant texture weakening with the evolution of some new prominent texture components. However, the exact correlation between MGAT and texture evolution is a long-standing enigma. In the current research, the presence of MGAT was confirmed by transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) and high resolution electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) in partially (700 °C/5 min) and fully (700 °C/1 h) recrystallized specimens of equiatomic CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloy, respectively. Further, the twin clusters in the vicinity of the potential nucleation sites (Brass, Goss and S orientations) were investigated to gain insights on the contribution of MGAT on texture development. The newly developed (φ1 = 90°, Φ=30°, φ2 = 45°) orientation showed its roots originating from 2nd generation twin of the Brass orientation while Cube orientation was evolved from the 1st and 5th generation twins of the S orientation.

While renewable energy is growing in terms of its production and usage, the oil & gas industry is still the major contributor to world energy production. The rapid decline in oil & gas demand is not foreseeable in the near future unless there is a drastic shift in current policies. Hence, considering its impact on the world, it becomes crucial that the oil & gas sector functions efficiently. However, the execution of oil & gas projects, particularly Large Oil and Gas Projects (LOGPs) have a sluggish track record of execution in terms of time and cost. The execution of LOGPs within the allocated time frame and budget is of paramount importance to keep the investors' faith for receiving budget allocations in future investments and remain a prime target to attract investment expected as per world energy outlook, 2020. Project management tools such as identification of Success Factors/Critical Success Factors (CSFs) help the project management team in the successful implementation of a project. This study aims to find out and enumerate success factors for different phases of project life cycle specific to oil & gas projects.

The GRAPES-3 experiment is designed to perform precision studies of gamma-ray sources in the TeV-PeV energy region. It consists of 400 plastic scintillator detectors spanning an effective area of 25000 m2 and a large area (560 m2) muon telescope which records ∼ 4 x 109 muons every day. With the recent installation of an improved triggerless data acquisition (DAQ) system, the information related to every muon is recorded with a timing resolution of 10 ns. The angular resolution and pointing accuracy of the upgraded muon telescope has been validated by characterizing the shadow of the moon among recorded muons. Here, the details of the analysis and results, as well as the simulation studies to account for the deflection of the particles in the Earth’s magnetic field will be presented.

Audio has become an increasingly crucial biometric modality due to its ability to provide an intuitive way for humans to interact with machines. It is currently being used for a range of applications including person authentication to banking to virtual assistants. Research has shown that these systems are also susceptible to spoofing and attacks. Therefore, protecting audio processing systems against fraudulent activities such as identity theft, financial fraud, and spreading misinformation, is of paramount importance. This paper reviews the current state-of-the-art techniques for detecting audio spoofing and discusses the current challenges along with open research problems. The paper further highlights the importance of considering the ethical and privacy implications of audio spoofing detection systems. Lastly, the work aims to accentuate the need for building more robust and generalizable methods, the integration of automatic speaker verification and countermeasure systems, and better evaluation protocols.