technology

L&T teams up with Mitsubishi

Larsen & Toubro has entered into a technological collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for manufacture of equipment for mega power projects being planned in the country.A joint venture with Mitsubishi resulting from this alliance is definitely on the cards, said Mr K. Venkataramanan, Wholetime Director and President, Engineering & Construction, at L&T. The companies will together invest Rs 450 crore in the venture, currently registered as L&T Boilers Ltd, Under the agreement, the Japanese company will transfer technology to L&T for manufacture of supercritical boilers that can meet the requirements of the domestic mega power projects being planned. Currently, there are few Indian companies in this space, the notable player being Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, said infrastructure analysts. L&T has expressed interest in bidding for two ultra mega power projects, those at Sasan in Madhya Pradesh and Mundra in Gujarat. The company is likely to pursue other mega power projects as well. The technology from Mitsubishi would also be used for L&T's work for National Thermal Power Corporation, he said. L&T's facility under this venture will either be located at its existing facility at Hazira or at a location more suited to service the destination power plants of its customers. Mitsubishi will grant an exclusive licence and transfer the know-how and technical information to the Power Business Unit of L&T. The areas covered under this agreement include design, engineering, manufacture, testing, inspection, erection, installation, commissioning, operation, repair, services and retrofitting of super critical boilers, including pulverisers. The licence that is for a period of 20 years would cover output range from 300 MW to 1,000 MW for nominal super critical coal fired thermal power plants. The use of supercritical parameters in large power plants leads to increase in operating efficiency. It also means reduced fuel consumption, said a statement from L&T. WHAT IS SUPERCRITICAL TECHNOLOGY The term "supercritical" refers to main steam operating conditions, being above the critical pressure of water (221.5 bar). The significance of the critical point is the difference in density between steam and water. Above the critical pressure there is no distinction between steam and water, i.e. above 221.5 bar, water is a fluid.

Supercritical steam cycle with one reheat. a b : Condensate cycle up to Deaerator c : Boiler feed pump discharge c d : Feed water heating d e : Main steam generation e f : Expansion in turbine f g : Reheat steam generation g h : Expansion in turbine In supercritical cycle, equipment is designed to operate above the critical pressure of water. Supercritical boilers are once-through where in the feedwater enters the economiser and flows through one path and main steam exits the circuit. Typically current supercritical units operate at 242 bar main steam pressure, 565C main steam temperature and 593C reheat steam temperature. HISTORY

Supercritical technology has evolved over the past 30 years. Advancements in metallurgy and design concepts have made supercritical technology units extremely reliable and highly efficient. Modern supercritical technology is largely available in Japan and Europe for Boilers & Turbines ranging upto 1000 MW. ADVANTAGES OF MODERN SUPERCRITICAL TECHNOLOGY HIGHER EFFICIENCY Supercritical steam conditions improve the turbine cycle heat rate significantly over subcritical steam conditions. The extent of improvement depends on the main steam and reheat steam temperature for the given supercritical pressure. A typical supercritical cycle having turbine throttle pressure of 242 bar with temperatures for main steam and reheat steam as 565C and 593C respectively, will improve station heat rate by more than 5%. This results in fuel savings to the extent of 5%. Overall supercritical power plant efficiency of 42% is achievable with current supercritical parameters.

EMISSIONS

Improved heat rate results in 5% reduction in fuel consumption and hence 5% reduction in CO2 emissions per MWh energy output. Typically for 800 MW supercritical unit the annual reduction in CO2 emission will be about 725,000 tonnes of CO2 with respect to baseline emission established by CEA for 2008 2009. Supercritical technology based thermal power project is a potential candidate to avail the benefits under Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) established by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY Supercritical technology units also offer flexibility of plant operation such as: Shorter start-up times Faster load change flexibility and better temperature control Better efficiency even at part load due to variable pressure operation and High reliability and availability of power plant

Larsen & Toubro and CASSIDIAN join forces in India to forge long term partnership Cassidian and Indian engineering giant, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), have joined forces in the field of defence electronics. The Indian authorities have now approved the formation of a joint venture (JV) company between L&T and Cassidian, the newly renamed Defence and Security Division of Europe's leading Aerospace and Defence Group - EADS. The JV, based in Talegaon near Pune and in Bengaluru, will be active in the defence electronics market. It aims to cover manufacturing, design, engineering, distribution and marketing in the fields of electronic warfare, radars, avionics and mobile systems (such as bridges) for military applications. L&T will hold 74 per cent in the JV whereas Cassidian's share will be at 26 per cent. The JV will cooperate closely with Cassidian's new engineering centre in Bengaluru where systems design and engineering activities will be carried out in the fields of electronic warfare, radars and avionics for military application. In addition to its other businesses, L&T has been a leading company in India for engineering, manufacture & integration of custom made technology-intensive equipment and systems. The coming together of L&T with Cassidian, the Defence, Electronics & Security arm of the European Defence & Aerospace Company EADS, is a major milestone in the area of defence electronics. It will not only serve the Indian armed forces with state-of-the art technology, but also provide a platform for making significant

contributions to the high-technology defence equipment global market. The new JV will deliver indigenous solutions for military requirements of Indian customers as well as the world market. Thus, the Indian JV company will provide the armed forces with locally produced high tech equipment and assured life-time support. Recognising L&T-IES' growing engineering engagements established with EADS Tier-1 suppliers, EADS Group Procurement signed a contract with L&T in January this year. This agreement will also enable L&T to be a part of EADS strategic programs. Since 2006, Cassidian has been working in a successful partnership with the Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE), a reputed DRDO (Defence Research & Development Organisation) laboratory based in Bengaluru, and cooperates with CABS (Centre for AirBorne Systems). L&T has played a leading role in Indias indigenisation efforts in defence equipment and systems. With an impressive track record that includes design, development and manufacture of integrated multi-disciplinary defence systems, L&T has matured into a trusted partner for the Indian Armed Forces and DRDO. No doubt, the most important programme Cassidian is bidding for is the MMRCA (Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft) programme (Eurofighter).

Eurofighter. -Design Features Eurofighter Typhoon has a foreplane/delta wing configuration that is aerodynamically unstable in the subsonic range. The "delta canard" design shape of the aircraft is driven by a need for: Subsonic/supersonic instantaneous and sustained turn rate performance Agility Lift and STOL (Short take-off and landing) Exceptional acceleration Reduced drag Combining this with a low wing loading, high thrust-to-weight ratio, excellent all-round vision and carefree handling results in a truly exceptional aircraft. Low observability technology is incorporated in the basic design. The combination of low visual detection; low radar reflection; use of passive, systems; defensive aids; secure communications and the capability of supercruise supported by a cockpit, that gives the pilot a clear tactical picture and continuous and instant control over the level of emissions from the aircraft, ensure that the Eurofighter Typhoon has high survivability and the ability to operate independently from ground and airborne control agencies in dense

electronic warfare environments. The Eurofighter Typhoon is, by any standard, a low observability aircraft with a fleet effectiveness superior to any other competitor. The airframe is constructed mainly from Carbon Fibre Composites (CFCs), lightweight alloys, titanium and Glass Reinforced Plastics (GRP). Research & development The mission of R&D department is to translate technological development into design and process innovations that will not only answer but also exceed customer expectations. The Product Development Department has introduced several products which combine indigenous design and international technological features. L&T was the first switchgear manufacturer in the private sector to build a full-fledged short circuit test station in India. LTCRTC (L&T Construction Research and Testing Centre) handles testing services and R&D on construction materials, and construction methods. It has a full fledged laboratory with sophisticated equipments to test all construction materials such as prestressed strands, reinforcement rods up to 50mm diameter., flat steel plates, bolts etc upto 100T capacity in compression, tension and bending. The 10T UTM can simulate variety of fatigue loading on asphalt mixtures, concrete and granular materials to determine mechanical parameters like resilient modulus, poisons ratio, etc., . The basic construction materials like cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, concrete blocks, bricks, plywood, water, chemical admixtures, geotextiles, soil, rock and asphalt can be evaluated as per national as well as international standards. LTCRTC laboratory has acquired NABL (National accreditation board for testing and calibration laboratories) certification for mechanical and chemical testing of construction materials. About 112 tests were approved under this accreditation. It is the first major testing centre got accredited by NABL for testing on wide varieties of construction materials by a construction company in India. LTCRTC focuses its study on innovation of new construction materials and techniques of construction. The center also conducts prototype testing, field investigation on structures by NDT techniques. This center also undertakes research and development works in the areas of concrete technology, Geotechnical engineering and pavement and runway engineering. The solutions developed at laboratory scale have been transformed and implemented at site. Many of the technical papers from this center have won the best technical paper award for innovative solution applicable to the construction industry R&D in telecom
L&T

Infotech is a preferred R&D Engineering Services partner for global telecom vendors. Our expertise on Telecom Infrastructure spans across:

Access (wireless, wireline) Transport Core Networks Services Layer

4G is beginning to be considered for deployment seriously by all operators. WiMAX and LTE are considered the initial building blocks to build a fully ubiquitous, mobile and packet based Wireless Network. L&T Infotech provides services to Telecom Equipment Vendors and Operators in the emerging 4G technologies (WiMAX and LTE) as well as currently deployed technologies like cdma2000 1x, UMTS etc., L&T Infotech's expertise is in the areas of CDMA [2000, 1X, EVDO], UMTS, xGPHS,WiMAX and LTEnetwork infrastructure development, ranges from system engineering, protocol stack development to product re-engineering and field support services. L&T Infotech also offer customers with hardware board design, ASIC, FGPA, SoC and Custom Design Manufacturing. L&T Infotech's Product Engineering Services help its clients realize core outsourcing benefits by Developing Radio Access Network Elements spanning across technologies such as CDMA, UMTS/WCDMA, WiMAX, LTE and xG-PHS Developing Solution Accelerators and Frameworks for Wireless Infrastructure Providing whole gamut of services under one roof - from System Engineering to Technical Assistance Center

L&T Infotech offers verification and validation services, simulator development, test automation,functional and regression testing, functional interoperability / inter networking of various network elements. We also provide field support services covering multiple geographic locations. In the past, L&T Infotech has taken ownership of various products from a couple of telecommunication majors and is responsible for maintenance and new feature additions. These services include new feature development and bug fixing of the product. L&T Infotech help its customers to address newer markets by providing platform and country dependent engineering services and Technical Assistance Center(level 3/4 support services).

L&T Infotech to set up dev center in Belfast (R & D)

L&T Infotech, a global provider of IT services and solutions has announced that it will invest in the setting up of a European software development and maintenance center in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The new Belfast Center will be located in the Northern Ireland

Science Park and will act as a right shore center for L&T Infotech to help it enhance its presence in the European market. The investment is supported by Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI) and is expected to help create 85 new jobs in Northern Ireland within the next one year. The center will be involved in development work for all of the companys services and products. "We see tremendous opportunities in providing leading companies in the UK and Europe with our world-class solutions and will be looking to grow our business rapidly in the coming years," said Sudip Banerjee, CEO, L&T Infotech. He added, "This new Center will support both European and other global clients." Alastair Hamilton, Chief Executive of Invest NI, said, "L&T Infotech is now the latest globally respected IT company to choose Northern Ireland as the location from which to expand international operations. With Belfast recently surveyed as the second most popular city for inward investment in the UK, todays announcement further demonstrates the strength of our skills base and IT infrastructure to other potential international investors."