Dr. S. Karmakar’s primary research interests are droplet and spray combustion, alternative aviation fuels, combustion of solid fuels, energetic particles, and propellants, and development of green propellants. He pursues experimental research to understand the combustion characteristics of conventional and non-conventional (renewable biofuels) liquid fuels for their better utilization in practical combustion devices. His research group at IIT Kharagpur is majorly involved in the investigation of the feasibility of incorporating the high energy metal fuels into liquid and solid fuels for propulsion applications. The research group is trying to find ways to harness the high energy potential of metal particles (particularly boron) during the combustion of liquid or solid fuels. The progress made in this area by Dr. Karmakar's group has been reported in the top quality combustion and propulsion journals such as Combustion and Flame, Progress in Aerospace Sciences, Combustion Science and Technology, Energy and Fuels, and so on. The research has direct relevance to the development of high energy and high-density fuels for air-breathing propulsion systems.
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Ballistic performance of boron-HTPB fuelled hybrid gas generator-based ducted rockets (HGDR) by Mandal S., Divvela R. , Karmakar S. , Roy A. Aerospace Science and Technology 170 111583-111583 (2026)
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Synthesis, property characterization and combustion study of fried cooking oil methyl ester for potential additive to aviation fuel by Singh S., Karmakar S. Fuel 424 139359-139359 (2026)
Principal Investigator
- Ducted Rocket Propulsion System (Platinum Jubilee Innovation Challenge IoE Grant) SRIC, IIT KHARAGPUR
- Performance Characterization of Boron-loaded Gel Fuel for Ramjet Propulsion Systems ARDB, DRDO
- Twin-Combustor Hybrid Rocket Motor with Energetic Fuel Compositions Directorate of Futuristic Technology Management (DFTM), Defence Research and Development Organisation, Ministry of Defence
- Waste Cooking Oil to Biodiesel-Pilot Unit (IoE Grant) Dean (CCD) Office (Round 1) IIT KHARAGPUR
Ph. D. Students
Bhuvaneshwari M
Area of Research: Rocket Propulsion
Jayashri Sehajpal
Area of Research: Combustion
Rakesh Divvela
Area of Research: Rocket Propulsion
Ritesh Dubey
Area of Research: Rocket Propulsion
Saugata Mandal
Area of Research: Combustion of solid fuels/propellants
Saurabh Singh
Area of Research: Combustion of Nanofuel/Slurry Fuel
Sumit Kumar Gupta
Area of Research: Atomization and combustion of slurry fuels
