IIT Gandhinagar Develops Indigenous High-Strength Aluminium Alloy for Defence and Aerospace
PhD scholar Sagar Kumar Deb, working with Prof Amit Arora in IIT Gandhinagar's Department of Materials Engineering, has computationally designed a new copper- and zinc-free Al-Mg-Si aluminium alloy that outperforms the widely-used AA6082 — currently heavily imported for defence, aerospace and strategic infrastructure uses — on strength, while keeping its corrosion resistance and ductility. The alloy was designed virtually using CALPHAD simulation methods before being manufactured and validated experimentally, reaching Technology Readiness Level 4 with a provisional Indian patent already filed. The three-year project, funded by the Ministry of Mines, is now moving toward industrial-scale validation in partnership with JNARDDC (Nagpur) and Siddhi Engineers (Ahmedabad), aiming to reduce India's reliance on imported alloys under the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. Deb's work also earned him the 2026 Larry Kaufman Scholarship — awarded to roughly 20 researchers worldwide each year — making him the first IITGN PhD scholar to receive it.
