After the demonstration of the Russian fifth-generation fighter PAK FA at the public premiere in the air, parity again appears to be maintained. Nevertheless, according to the creators of the aircraft, the PAK FA demonstrated only thirty percent of its aerobatic capabilities. According to the developers, the potential of the fighter's flight qualities and its engines and its engines was not fully revealed. The "heart" of the fighter is the fifth generation engine, which was developed and manufactured by NPO Saturn. The association is part of Oboronprom, Russian Technologies.
In the aviation world, the roar of fighter turbines made a lot of noise. In the dispute between the Russian T-50 and the American F-22, the majority gives preference to our fighter. According to experts, the potential of the aircraft and innovative engines is inexhaustible. Engine developers are confident that if you do not create an engine now, which will be the best in a decade, then it is safe to say that the lag will no longer be able to catch up.
Yuri Shmotin, General Designer of NPO Saturn says: “What is the uniqueness of the engine? So this is a monowheel of a rather large diameter, with a very high compression ratio and with the highest characteristics not only at the operating point, but also in all lines of origin of gas-dynamic processes. This is what is unique. And I can say that the domestic industry has never made propellers with such characteristics before."
The working name of this engine is "Product 129". Its design and characteristics are still being improved, for the impossibility of detecting the aircraft by enemy radars, a flat nozzle is being developed. It is strictly forbidden to demonstrate the PAK FA engine, especially its structural elements. Everything is classified. But already a lot of the latest developments are being carried over to civil projects. The flagship here will be the SaM146 power unit for the Sukhoi Superjet-100. The serial production of these engines was launched last year. And already last summer, the first airliners took off from the runways of the airfields.
Ilya Fedorov, Managing Director of NPO Saturn, says: “We are especially pleased that the plane is quiet and comfortable. Feelings are comparable to the 320-series and the Boeing-737, even better, quieter, and the speed is quite decent. They even told me that these cars managed to overtake planes that flew lower or higher in echelons."
Excellent design solutions of the engine are laid in the Rybinsk Design Bureau. The main pride of the designers is the original compressor blades.
Pavel Chupin, head of the NPO Saturn Design Bureau says: “There are practically no secrets in it, all secret developments are inside. We carefully protect them with our patents”.
It's all about the intra-scapular special channels through which the air moves.
Further Pavel Chupin explains: “This model of a blade is grown with the introduction of special plastics on special machines that are irradiated with a laser. You will be able to see a lot of these channels. They are called ribbing. Air passes through the channels along the blade and thus ensures heat exchange and cooling of the metal surface of the blade."
It is due to this cooling of the blade surface that it is possible to increase the combustion temperature of the fuel and, consequently, the engine thrust. It is for her that all engine developers are fighting in the first place. In order to establish the production of such delicate parts, the entire production was re-equipped at the plant. The finest holes and channels in titanium parts up to 0.3 mm are made on EDM machines.
“Four blades and 37 holes are made at the same time. Not such an impossible task is to drill two holes at the same time. But all 37, and in the appropriate coordinates, according to the pilots, is already "aerobatics", - is convinced the deputy head of shop №34 Roman Lobyrev.
Such engines are obliged to raise the Russian aircraft industry to a new peak. Plans are already underway to install SaM146 on the Be-200 amphibians and regional An-158s. In Russia, no one produces better engines for aircraft of this size. Right there, in Rybinsk itself, engines for the forefather of the Sukhoi Superjet 100, the famous Tu-154, were also produced. But "SaM146" is one of the first Russian aircraft engines manufactured in accordance with international standards.
Ilya Fedorov, Managing Director of NPO Saturn, says: “Everything is going on schedule and everything is going like LEGO. Full interchangeability is meant. Any engine is not considered unique, as in the Soviet Union. Then almost every detail was made by hand. Now everything is automated. Robot machines never have a bad mood, and marriage is a rare exception rather than a rule."
Further, Mr. Fedorov continued: “This is a completely different reliability, different possibilities, initially the resource is twice as high on the SaMe and, of course, the approach is completely different. That is, working with SaM during operation is much faster and easier. The time spent on the plane's downtime is an order of magnitude less than during the operation of the TU-154 and Il-76 engines”.
Mikhail Sasarin, head of the shop for serial assembly of SaM146 # 80 engine, explains: “You can change a module in the engine if something has happened in it or the required resource has been exhausted. You can simply change such a module without returning the entire engine to the assembly shop, and continue its further operation."
After the engine is assembled, it is sent to bench tests. The SaM's run-in takes place on the ground. The assembly itself is trusted, as is customary throughout the world, in human hands.
Roman Lyubimov, head of test building No. 7, believes: “The value of tests at stands cannot be overestimated. This is a prerequisite for an aircraft engine for a civil aircraft to be installed on a given airliner. Of course, the test result must only be positive. Provided that the result is negative, then the engine immediately returns to the assembly shop for the elimination of comments or repairs."
Kerosene will run through the arteries of this SaM146. Its blades will already begin their work in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, when the next serial "Superjet" will go from the plant to the airline. Once even the "Saturn" engines prevented a tragedy on regular flights.
Yuri Shmotin, General Designer of NPO Saturn, says: “There was such an incident. During the flight, the plane collided with a flock of birds. And not one, but several birds were in the engine. After the engine was tested, no defects were found. This case is unique and once again proved the reliability of the equipment produced at NPO Saturn.
I found myself in a similar situation two years ago. The engines of the "A-320" failed. Then the airliner had to land on the Hudson Bay. It was only thanks to the skill of the pilots that the disaster was avoided.
Back in 2010, the SaM146 engine was tested for birds flying into it. Then, proceeding from the strict European generally recognized norms, he simultaneously "dined" on four ducks at once. And also successfully survived the hit of ice and hail.
Roman Lyubimov, head of test building No. 7, says: “This did not lead to the loss of engine controllability, to the loss of the main characteristics below the permissible limits. This is, in fact, the result that was confirmed by certification tests at an open test stand in Poluevo."
This booth will work again soon. Tests of the newest Russian aircraft engine are planned here. Saturn took part in the work on the PD-14 breakthrough engine, which is being developed for the MS-21 mainline aircraft.
Yuri Shmotin, General Designer of NPO Saturn, believes: “This will be a completely new design of the propeller blade - hollow titanium. It should be noted that today, as the use of a hollow blade, the use of composite materials must also be considered. We are here obliged to follow the favorites in the field of engine building - General Electrical Engineering. They are already using composite propeller blades in their engines."
Efficiency and environmental friendliness are the main components for which engineers and aircraft designers around the world are fighting. However, the most important criterion for an aircraft passenger will be speed, comfort and silence in the cabin. Will flight be like this in the future? We will see.
