The specialists of Aviadvigatel design bureau have successfully completed testing of the technology demonstrator-engine in early September. This is the pilot version of the PD-14 baseline engine intended for the MS-21 aircraft family. The planned test program has been completed in full.
“Over the last 25 years the gap of the Russian aircraft engine-building industry in introducing advanced technologies in the area of design and engineering techniques, creating new materials and developing techniques of manufacturing parts and components has become notable”, - the company noted.
In the network of implementation of the “Development of the Russian Civil Aircraft for 2002 - 2010 and for the period until 2015” federal target program, Aviadvigatel must bridge this gap during development of the advanced PD-14 engine for the MS-21 short/medium-haul aircraft in a very short time.
Development of the technology demonstrator-engine was preceded by the following stages:
- elaboration of design and production documentation,
- preparation of the production, test rigs and laboratories,
- carrying out multiple tests and preliminary refinement of each engine’s component,
- assembly and testing of the engine’s core.
All specified works have been completed in time due to broad co-operation of Russian engine-building enterprises, precise analysis of manufacturability, strict performance control and quick response to any unforeseen circumstances. Taking into account the complexity of work and the scale of the project, almost all the Russian engine-building enterprises and sectoral research institutes were involved in the implementation of the project for the first time in the history of Russian aircraft industry.
The specialists of Aviadvigatel have been constantly controlling the manufacturing of parts and components visiting co-operation enterprises. They held regular meetings in the video-conference mode and solved problems related to the manufacture and acceptance of products on-line. Each member of the co-operation has proven production and control technologies, its own processing equipment as well as organizational and regulatory documentation. The project demanded great efforts from the specialists of Aviadvigatel in the area of integration and synchronization of technologies and production standards.
In addition, open and enclosed test benches were reconstructed and refitted. The testing of the new engine has been carried out in accordance with the current standards and using the most advanced measurement and recording systems, which allow controlling the test process in real-time.
“This engine has a brand-new design, which differs from the previous products of the Perm-based design bureau. Therefore a unique assembly technique was required. Additional difficulties were caused by a great number of instrumentation; in total, about 2000 special sensors were mounted. However, in spite of all the difficulties and wrinkles the engine was assembled on time and passed all the tests successfully. The operability of parts and components was confirmed (including those manufactured using ‘critical technologies' (the ‘hollow' titan fan rotor blade, turbine blades made of single-crystal superalloys and intermetallides, compressor blisks, etc.). The engine’s performance complies with the simulation model.
