JSC UEC - Perm Motors is a member of the United Engine-Building Corporation JSC. This enterprise with a full technological cycle of production of gas turbine engines. Its main production capabilities are casting blanks (aluminum, magnesium, titanium, high-temperature alloys, etc.), hot and cold punching, machining, welding, assembling, also testing, warranty and post-warranty maintenance of aircraft engines and gas turbine units in operation, implementation all types of repair, training of personnel of operating organisations.

Founded in 1934, in the 1930s-50s the enterprise produced piston-type aircraft engines M-25, M-62, M-63, ASh-62Ir, ASh-82F, ASh-82FN, ASh-73TK and a number of others in mass series. In 1950-80-s the plant produced turbojet engines AI-20, D-20P, D-30 (for Tu-134 aircraft, etc.); D-30F6 (for MiG-31 interceptor fighters); D-25V / VF, TV2-117 (for Mi-6 and Mi-8 helicopters). In the early 1990's, the Perm engine developed the production of the fourth-generation aircraft engine PS-90A. Its modifications are installed on IL-96-300 / 400, Tu-204/214, IL-76MF, IL-76MD-90A aircraft used in domestic and foreign airlines. On the basis of PS-90A and D-30 gas turbine units for oil and gas enterprises are produced. In particular, they work as part of compressor stations on Gazprom's strategic gas mains Bovanenkovo-Ukhta, Ukhta-Torzhok, Nord Stream, and the Power of Siberia.

Today, many years of experience in large-scale production and modernisation of D-30 and PS-90A engines allow the company to move step by step to the development of the fifth-generation PD-14 engine for the MC-21 aircraft. PD-14 is the basic turbofan engine, which is created in the wide cooperation of the enterprises of the UEC with the use of the latest technologies and materials, including composite ones. The head performer under the PD-14 program is JSC "UEC", the lead developer is JSC UEC - Aviadvigatel, the parent manufacturer is JSC UEC-Perm Motors. This is the first fully Russian power plant for passenger airliners, created in Russia in recent decades.

The assembly shop for aircraft engines - this aircraft building assembles the PS-90A and PD-14 aircraft engines. In the right part of the workshop, PS-90A engines are assembled, which are used on Tu-204/214, Il-96-300 / 400, Il-76MD-90A and its modifications. On the left side there is a section for assembling the perspective engine PD-14 for the MC-21 aircraft. The plant began to develop this motor in 2015. The product is new and approaches to its production are more modern. Even the technological equipment was painted in a bright orange color to emphasise the peculiarity of the engine.

The guide was made by the chief of the aircraft engine assembly department Ivan Bogdanov: "In our section there are two shifts, 375 people work five days a week. When assembling the motor, the responsibility is enormous. Specialists working on the PD-14 assembly have the highest discharges and considerable experience in assembling engines of the PS-90 family. The collectors bear individual responsibility for each installed system, for each fastener. Here, a digital version of the technological process is realised, according to which the collector can directly use 3D models.

In the online mode, we receive all the necessary information about the engine from the developer of JSC UEC - Aviadvigatel, all changes in the design, specifications, refinements based on the test results at the stands. A worker can load a model of a full-sized motor, can load one system, the second, a gas generator-in a word, absolutely any engine element, get all the names, the entire specification. In the shop, a stream assembly method is organised. All nodes are assembled in certain workplaces, then docked, and the finished aircraft engine goes for testing.

In addition to assembling new motors, we produce a bulkhead of PD-14 engines after various types of certification tests. Now on the bulkhead there is an engine that has passed two stages of flight tests and then will go to the stand to protect the reliability program. Another engine that is currently assembled in the workshop is also designed for a reliability program. Both engines will be handed over for testing in March. Now the assembly cycle PD-14 is about 23 working shifts - that is, a half engine in two months.

When PD-14 will be assembled serially, the assembly cycle of one engine will be not ten days, as for PS-90A, but seven. Since 2015, only 13 PD-14 engines have been assembled. This year, 3 new engines will be produced at the UEC-PM, which will already go for flight tests directly on the wing of the MC-21. In May the first production engine will be assembled and will go to the test for a new stand.

UEC-Perm Motors is not only an assembly production. Here, a complete cycle of manufacturing gas turbine plants, from casting of alloys and stamping of blanks, to machining, assembling and testing of engines is carried out. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to visit the foundry during the allotted period of time, but we managed to visit the mechanical assembly shop, the production of industrial gas turbine plants and the testing station.

Let us allow ourselves a slight digression from the topic of PD-14. In the 1990s, the products of Perm Motors went down to earth, opening a new niche for the industrial application of gas turbine engines in the oil and gas industry. The product line was replenished with new samples of gas turbine equipment intended for operation as part of gas compressor units of compressor stations of main gas pipelines and gas turbine power stations, which made it possible to ensure the country's energy security. Today, JSC UEC-Perm Motors produces more than 10 types of GTIs from 2.5 to 25 MW.

We also looked into one of the machine-assembly shops. Here, the stator parts are manufactured and assembled - the stationary part of the engine: the body and parts with guide blades.

But let's return to the air. PD-14 has a proven modern design of a turbofan engine: a compact two-shaft scheme, direct fan drive, an optimal degree of double circuit, an efficient gas generator, a digital ACS with full responsibility (type FADEC); all this allows achieving high reliability and manufacturability and lowering costs. The modular design of the engine in conjunction with the digital ACS, integrated diagnostics system and the organisation of the software system ensure the successful application of the engine operation concept according to the technical state.

Currently, the JDC is conducting the third stage of flight tests PD-14. They are held with the participation of representatives of certifying bodies and must officially confirm the results of the first two "pre-certification" ("engineering") stages. Next comes the receipt of a Certificate of the type of the Federal Air Transport Agency. At the same time, an engine made according to a standard design (serial appearance) is tested in the IL-76LL. During the period 2015-2017. The 1st and 2nd stages of flight tests of the engine as part of a flying laboratory in the whole range of altitudes, flight speeds and engine operating modes were carried out. Based on the results of the tests, the performance of the engine and its systems in conditions of approximate operation was confirmed.

About the work on the development of engine production, we were told by the managing director of the JSC UEC-Perm Motors Sergei Popov: "At the moment, there is a stage of certification of the engine PD-14. In production there are 3 engines for flight tests in the composition of the aircraft MC-21. The delivery time is the end of 2018. Then there will be a system check, a compatibility check for the engine and the aircraft, debugging. Only after this - the first flight in the second quarter of 2019. The engines of the same serial delivery will go after the completion of certification in 2021.

In the process of certification flight tests of an aircraft with a PD-14 engine, there may be some comments that need to be eliminated. It may be necessary to slightly adjust the engine design, taking into account all the comments that may arise. This is for 2-3 years. The European certification of engine design is also expected, and an application has already been submitted to the European Agency for the certification of the production of this engine. By the beginning of the batch production we have to get these certificates. This will make it possible to sell these engines in the aircraft on the European market and to other countries.

Certification tests of the engine are on schedule. There are several serious types of tests. Cyclic tests, tests for aerodynamics - when the engine has to work out a certain number of hours at untypical for it high temperatures. Tests for casting birds, hail, ice, to blow the side wind. They will be held at an open test stand in Rybinsk at the UEC-Saturn. Within the framework of the certification testing program, the blade break test was successfully carried out. Now it is planned to conduct a test for a shaft break. And a very serious program related to the preparation of each engine for testing, with a bulkhead after them, with an analysis of what happened, what characteristics and parameters were obtained.

There are also testing the flying laboratory. This laboratory on the basis of the Il-76 was created specifically for testing PD-14. The aircraft is equipped with equipment that allows in real time to remove from the engine 2000 parameters, and it is immediately processed by engineers, designers in order to understand what is happening, how the motor behaves in different modes and heights. And engineers are on board the aircraft, and have the ability to remotely receive information in real time and immediately analyse it.

We do not doubt that the motor, from the point of view of technology, we will succeed. Russia has a rich experience in creating gas turbine engines, civil, military, land, sea ... The question, first of all, is what we have yet to learn. And this is a matter of after-sales service. First of all, it is necessary to clearly understand when they talk about the software, it's all laid down at the design stage of the engine. From what the technical solutions of the designer lay, the service itself depends. Will this engine be modular, will it be possible to quickly replace these modules in operation with minimal time and labor, or will it have a larger single structure that can not be disassembled, and in the event of failure, drive the entire engine to the plant?

It is necessary to develop appropriate rigging, fixtures to perform modular or other repairs without removing the engine from the wing. These are intelligent sensors that will allow you to take information in flight, process it and send it to the ground in real time. Designers are faced with the task and the maximum reduction in the time of checks. This is an operational response, and the creation of a network of representatives, spare parts stores ... Personally for me the success of the project is obvious. With technology, everything is fine with us, and we will make excellent after-sales service.

Nikolai Andreev, Infrastructure Director of the UEC-Perm Motors met us at the testing station in Novye Lyady, "We are located on the territory of the countryside testing station UEC - Perm Motors. There are two operating stands, where we test the engines that fly. Last year, the reconstruction of the test stand was completed. This is the new and most modern universal adapter in Russia. Its versatility lies in the fact that we can test different types of engines on it, both PS-90A and PD-14.

This bench will test all the serial engines PD-14. In June, the first such tests will be held. Last year, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of the founder of gas turbine engine construction in the USSR, Pavel Aleksandrovich Solovyov. He is the founder of the Perm School of Jet Propulsion. All our engines were created by Pavel Soloviev, including PS-90A. Therefore, we named the new stand his name.

The universality of the stand is provided by such technology as the adapter. Here you see here three workstations with adapters. What does adapter technology do? Due to the adapter, we do not have to build our stand for each type of engine. Different models of engines have their own wiring diagrams, their attachment points, their connection systems. Now the engine is first connected to its adapter, and only then it is installed on the stand, where it is connected by means of quick-connect couplers, almost like a "plug into the socket".

Due to this we also significantly reduce the test time, all routine processes are transferred to the training hall, and the time of the engine's stay at the stand itself is practically reduced to the test process itself. Previously, every motor for 9 hours was mounted on the stand itself. Then the test team made the installation of systems: control, fuel, air, measuring ... Now it happens for half an hour.

The main bench equipment (measuring equipment and the portal itself) was designed and supplied by the Canadian company MDS Aero Support Corporation. This is one of the world leaders in the creation of test benches. Everything else - building solutions, engineering solutions, auxiliary technological equipment was made by our Russian companies. The testing station is not only the stand itself, but also a lot of engineering and technological systems. Here is located a whole pumping fuel station, which provides the work of this stand. All this equipment of Russian manufacturers and designers, including our company. Now pass the certification work. Our task is to ensure the receipt of the certificate of this stand in April this year.

In conclusion, I would like to note that PD-14 is the basic engine. On the basis of its gas generator, UEC is ready to develop engines for the range of thrust from 9 to 18 tons, in particular for short-, medium-haul passenger and transport aircraft, for specific customer requirements. At the same time, due to the use of an already developed gas generator, the timing of the creation of new engines is significantly reduced.

Also in parallel with the work on PD-14, the UEC began to develop a civil engine of large thrust PD-35 for perspective wide-body long-haul aircraft. But we are planning to devote a separate material to this topic. For now, some data for specialists in innovation and technology PD-14:

Fan

    3D aerodynamic design

    Wide-chord hollow titanium blades

High-pressure compressor

    3D aerodynamic design

    Blanks made of titanium alloy at 1, 2 and 5 levels

    Disks 6 ... 8th stage of a new generation of nickel granule alloy

The combustion chamber

    3D aerodynamic design

    Details of the combustion zone of a heat-resistant inter-metallic alloy

    Low-emission combustion, nozzles with a pneumatic spray

    Ceramic heat-shielding coating of the 2nd generation

High-pressure turbine

    3D aerodynamic design

    Working and nozzle blades made of single-crystal alloys of the new generation

    Ceramic heat-shielding coating of the 2nd generation

    Disks of nickel alloy of new generation

    Active Clearance Management

Low pressure turbine

    3D aerodynamic design

    Hollow workers and nozzle blades 1 ... 6th stage

    Active Clearance Management

Engine nacelle

    Reversible lattice-type device with electromechanical drive

    Composite materials (~ 65% by weight)

Compliance with current and future market requirements:

    High fuel efficiency: a reduction in the specific fuel consumption by cruising mode by 12-16% *;

    High reliability: reliability of departure according to the schedule, connected with the engine ≥ 0.9996;

    Decrease in the cost of flying hours by ≥ 15% *;

    Noise margin in relation to the requirements of ICAO Chapter 4

    15 ... 20 EpNdB;

    The stock of NOx emissions in relation to the requirements of CAEP 6 ICAO 30 is 45%.

* - in comparison with the engines in operation.

photo: Yulia Kuzmina