Impulse is needed for Iskander or S-400 to start working
Quite a lot has been written about the products of the enterprises that are part of the High-Precision Complexes holding. Not only experts and specialists, but also ordinary people not only know what "Pantsir", "Iskander", "Kornet", "Exhaust" are, but also have a good idea of what these models of weapons and military equipment are capable of.
But the holding's product line includes products that are not so well known to the general public, although operational-tactical missile systems, anti-aircraft missile systems, and even conventional tanks are useless without them.
Light in the tank
Iskander is a complex with a very high power consumption. OTRK is useless without normal power supply. This is a problem of all modern high-tech weapons systems - both "Pantsir", and the S-400, etc. there were no batteries, they will still be enough for a very short time, and it is expensive to idle the engine. The motor resource is knocked out, and most importantly, fuel is consumed, "an officer of the Main Armored Directorate told the Military-Industrial Courier.
A similar problem is with modern tanks, self-propelled artillery installations, whose systems and assemblies have become quite complex. “It was possible to manually rotate it into the Great Patriotic Tower of the T-34,” the tank officer recalls.
For the full functioning of the fire control system, stabilizer, automatic loader, etc., an electric current is required. When the engine is running, there are no electrical problems, of course. But what if, for example, a tank or self-propelled guns took a position, are in ambush?
To solve the problem of energy supply, the Chelyabinsk Special Design Bureau Turbina, part of the High-Precision Complexes holding, develops and produces small-sized gas turbine engines, as well as multifunctional gas turbine units, which have become part of the onboard equipment of Russian tanks of the T-80 family, self-propelled artillery units the MSTA family, S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, Iskander operational-tactical complexes and many other models.
In particular, gas turbine power units of the GTA-18 series, characterized by small dimensions and weight, are capable not only of providing electricity to the T-80 tank system all day units, they can also be installed on the fenders of tanks during their modernization.
It is noteworthy that as an auxiliary power unit (APU) of the American M1A2 Abrams tank, it is currently planned to use a 100-kilogram rotary engine with a capacity of 10 kilowatts. True, while there is no exact data on the completion of the tests of the new Armed Forces, the existing photographs of the Abrams (not only the US Army, but also the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces) show characteristic boxes with standard additional batteries installed in the rear of the tower.
German developers of armored vehicles on the most modern model of the main battle tank "Leopard 2A7" used a small-sized (weight - 115 kilograms) M12 diesel engine from "Steyr" as an auxiliary power plant.
So why did Russian engineers, in contrast to their Western colleagues, prefer gas turbine power units?
“They start up without any problems at low temperatures, even in arctic conditions. Neither a diesel engine, let alone a "lighter" (gasoline engines. - AR) can be compared with them ", - explains the GABTU officer.
Another feature of the units designed and manufactured by SKB “Turbina” is that diesel fuel in this power unit is used as the main one, and kerosene and gasoline are used as redundant ones.
“Of course, kerosene is optimal for a gas turbine engine. T-80 tanks with gas turbine engines use T-1, TS-1, RT fuel, that is, aviation kerosene. But in other tanks and self-propelled guns with diesel engines, it is irrational to use kerosene for the APU - these are unnecessary problems with fueling them, transporting them and separating stocks. Moreover, kerosene is not only fire hazardous, but also expensive. But our tank diesel engines are multi-fuel, they can even be refueled with gasoline. Therefore, the power units on our tanks are multi-fuel,”the source of the“Military-Industrial Courier”states.
Unlike Western foreign power plants, including the aforementioned American and German ones, located mainly in a separate armored box, fixed either in the rear of the tower or behind the transmission compartment, Russian gas turbine engines, which can be located on fenders inside the hull and are made with minimal dimensions in height, well protected from possible damage as a result of enemy fire.
Compared to the GTA-18, the AP-18DM power unit installed on the ACS 2s19 not only provides the on-board self-propelled vehicle network with DC electricity, but also maintains air conditioning of the habitable compartment in the parking lot and on the move. As with tank energy heaters, diesel fuel is chosen as the main fuel in the AP, and kerosene and gasoline are used as backup.
True, due to its large dimensions, the 2s19 power unit is already installed not in the armored hull of the gun mount, but in a special protected compartment in the rear of the tower. This option seems more vulnerable compared to the one implemented on the tank GTD-18, but for an ACS that fires at the enemy from closed positions for tens of kilometers, the choice is justified.
More powerful and sophisticated power units APK-40T and APK-40TM, designed for launchers of operational-tactical complexes "Iskander", no longer only power the on-board network and the air conditioning system, but also provide the drive of the facility's units, including hydraulic pumps, generators etc.
But installed on modern anti-aircraft missile systems, including the S-400, the NPP-40 power supply unit generates electric current not only from the gas turbine engine, but also from the chassis engine through a special power take-off box.
"Turbine" from the cold
As already mentioned, one of the important advantages of gas turbine engines is the ability to operate in Arctic conditions with the exclusion of such problems as hypothermia, freezing of the structure, etc. geological surveys, minerals are being mined, military units are deployed.
It is clear that complex infrastructure and various equipment require more electricity, which can only be obtained from mobile power units of various capacities. True, gasoline and diesel generators in extreme temperatures - often below minus 50 degrees Celsius, unlike gas turbine generators, are not always able to function normally.
Until recently, the leading designer and manufacturer of gas turbine power units in the world was the American company CAPstone, which produces a wide range of such products. But now it has a worthy competitor in the person of the Chelyabinsk Design Bureau "Turbina", which has created a micro-gas turbine unit MSTU-100 with a capacity of 100 kilowatts and running on natural fuel.
Presented this year at several international exhibitions, including Oil and Gas, as well as at the Moscow Aviation and Space Salon, the new MSTU has attracted potential buyers not only from the mining industry. The manufacturers plan to bring the new unit to the market as early as 2016. Turbina also plans to develop on the basis of MSTU-100 a line of power units designed to perform various tasks and differing not only in power, but also, most importantly, in size and weight.
Another promising development of the Chelyabinsk Special Design Bureau is the PZA-18 starting-loading unit, also designed to work in Arctic conditions. It provides electric starting of the engine and power supply of on-board electrical networks both on aircraft and ground vehicles. At the request of the customer, the composition of the starting-charging product can include a welding attachment and many other hydraulic and electrical equipment to ensure its operation in hard-to-reach places.
The products of the High-Precision Complexes holding company SKB Turbina are manufactured from domestic components and, in terms of their capabilities and characteristics, occupies leading positions not only in the domestic but also in the world market.
