THE AMERICAN SOCIETY
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 RADM Sargent presents the Solberg Award to Dr. Grandhi |
CITATION:
Dr. Ramana Grandhi's stellar achievements in multidisciplinary design and optimization (MDO) have generated original methodologies for new and efficient lightweight torpedo designs. Using innovative, reliability-based design optimization techniques, Dr. Grandhi has applied his methods to the creation of a variable shape cavitator for a supercavitating torpedo and to the development of a composite hull for a lightweight torpedo that withstands underwater explosions and reduces the acoustic signature. With remarkable insight, Dr. Grandhi formulated these methodologies for future undersea weapon systems by using computational modeling and reliability analysis to create a new generation of lightweight and supercavitating torpedoes.
Dr. Grandhi combines creative vision with unparalleled technical expertise in his approach to undersea weapons research. His use of finite element analysis for high-fidelity structural modeling, coupled with MDO, has presented new design concepts not previously considered. His forward-thinking approach applies shape optimization to design a variable shape cavitator to minimize drag at various speeds during the acceleration stage of the torpedo. By applying knowledge gained from a rich history of uncertainty-based design, Dr. Grandhi has formulated a new concept for handling interval variables using evidence theory and stochastic polynomial chaos expansion.
The work done by Dr. Grandhi and his research team at Wright State University
is breaking new ground and has garnered the attention of his peers. Dr. Grandhi
is always searching for new ways to implement the MDO techniques he has developed
and the Navy is a prime beneficiary of his creative vision. His remarkable research
contributions and his leadership within the field of naval engineering make
him truly most deserving of the ASNE Solberg Award for 2004.