the announcement was made during a press conference, which was held on 29 July, the news Agency TASS in an online format. Journalists not only talked about how the work is going to create a fundamentally new blades for heavy duty gas turbines, but also showed the finished blade. She looked very elegant and even beautiful.
a number of reasons we are seriously lagging behind the world level in the development and production of engines of high power. And now trying to catch up. Judging by the start, all we can get.
Four years ago, work began on the engine PD-35. One of the most difficult challenges that had to be addressed to its creators, the design of the fan, the diameter of which exceeds three meters. It was clear that if the blades for him to do the Titan, even with the use of technology for their hollowness, the mass of the fan is too big. Special benefit from the added power will not. Came to the conclusion to do a fan made of composite materials, i.e., plastic. The decision is very bold and risky, but not original. In the West, fans for engines and wide-body long-haul aircraft only do composites. Mastered this technology for nearly twenty years, having spent in total several hundred billion dollars.
to go to such costs was necessary. The fact that the use of composites in the big fans of gas turbine engines reduces the weight of the motor for a few hundred pounds. And weight in aircraft is critical.
Today the secret of development and construction of plastic motors is owned by three countries – the UK, USA and France. Russia could become the fourth.
it Should be noted that the fan of a gas turbine is quite vulnerable against external influences. It first gets the entire airfield debris happens to fly birds. Brittle plastic can break down, which in turn can lead to stopping the engine, and even its fire. In order to avoid this, use different construction solutions. The developers of PD-35 they found and used.
To create a new engine is planned to allocate 180 billion rubles. Abroad, we will remind, has spent hundreds of billions of dollars, euros and pounds. Now begins the stage of bench tests of plastic blades. It is quite long and time-consuming. The main task is to obtain the confidence that to work the fan, is made from composites, can and in the air. To speed and cost made a pretty educated decision to create and test a composite fan in the same size, but titanium, which is on mass-produced PD-14. This will allow in the near future to be tested on a flying laboratory.
Flight tests are already full-size demonstrator PD-35 on schedule to begin in 2025. In a series of innovative motors is scheduled to launch at the end of the next decade.
the Developers expect that the PD-35 will be selected for installation on the future Russian-Chinese aircraft CR929. Will it be offered in the Il-96-400M. I should add that when creating a new motor must be taken into account all the most stringent international requirements for such engines. This means that the PD-35 will be able to obtain international certificates and free to enter the world market of heavy-duty engines.
