As reported by the web resource airport.Ru in the material Oleg Panteleev "Admirals" waited for the units",In November 2020, the United engine Corporation of rostec state Corporation shipped the first serial m55r diesel-gas turbine unit with M90FR engines to PJSC Severnaya Verf Shipbuilding plant for the project 22350 Admiral Golovko frigate under construction. The second unit is planned to be shipped in December. The potential of the new UEC segment of ship power plants is high: in the near future, it is expected to deliver several sets of m55r units, MA3 units for the promising 20386 corvettes, and units for the Zubr and Murena hovercraft. Plus-possible export orders and civilian use of m90fr engines and its modifications.
Frigate "Admiral of the fleet Kasatonov" project 22350 of the Northern fleet (C) "on guard of the Arctic"
Fast and furious import substitution
Project 22350 frigates were the first large surface warships designed and built in Russia during the post-Soviet period. With a standard displacement of 4,550 tons and a length of 135 meters, the ships carry powerful missile, anti-submarine and anti-aircraft weapons. Maximum speed - up to 29 knots. Autonomy up to 30 days. Achieving high performance became possible thanks to the use of the m55r diesel-gas turbine unit, which includes the m90fr afterburner gas turbine engine, the 10d49 main diesel engine, the RO55 gearbox and transmission. Two units are installed on the ship, which drive fixed-pitch propellers.
The lead ship of the project "Admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov" was laid down on February 1, 2006, launched at the end of October 2010, and its tests were completed only in mid-2018. The second ship of the project "Admiral of the fleet Kasatonov" was laid down at the end of November 2009, and entered service in July 2020. The third and fourth ships, laid down in 2012 and 2013, are under construction.
Initially, gas turbines and gearboxes for frigates were supplied by the Ukrainian enterprise "Zorya-Mashproekt", while the main contractor for the production of M55R units, their delivery, installation on the ship and commissioning was the joint Russian-Ukrainian enterprise CJSC"Turborus".
However, against the background of the complicated foreign policy situation, a ban was imposed on military-technical cooperation between Ukrainian enterprises and Russia, which also applied to the supply of gas turbines and gearboxes for project 22350 frigates. Only the first two ships of the project received imported gas turbine engines, and the further execution of the state order for the supply of frigates was under threat. Against this background, an import substitution project was urgently launched, under which the UEC JSC became the main contractor and supplier of m55r diesel-gas turbine units.
The main milestones of the project were the development of serial production of M90FR engines at the UEC enterprise, the development of production of RO55 reducers in St. Petersburg at the facilities of the Zvezda enterprise, the construction and commissioning of the Assembly and testing complex of ship units at the UEC enterprise. The delivery of the first M55R unit in November allows us to conclude that the import substitution project has been successfully implemented. "Rostec consistently implements programs for the development of modern engines of all types. The creation of marine gas turbine power plants and units is a high-tech process. Only a few manufacturers in the world have such competencies. We are ready to meet the demand of Russian shipbuilders for new gas turbine units. The second unit of this series is planned to be delivered in December 2020, " said Vladimir Artyakov, first Deputy General Director of rostec state Corporation. "Since 2014, we have been conducting development work and building a special test stand. Today I state that we are mass-producing marine gas turbine engines and units based on them," Viktor Polyakov, Deputy General Director and managing Director of the UEC enterprise, described the event. Speaking in General about the new competence for the United engine Corporation, V. Polyakov stressed that "today the United engine Corporation is able to develop, produce, test, install on ships and support in operation all gas turbine units", meaning not only the M55R, but also other products of the marine theme.
Reliable and economical
The task assigned to the UEC enterprise in terms of m90fr engines was to master serial production, repair and maintenance in operation of a previously developed engine, for which the enterprise had a set of documentation. According to the General designer of the UEC enterprise Roman Khramin, no significant additional work was carried out to improve the engine performance: the flow part was made without changes. However, due to the use of modern technological processes and the use of high-precision equipment in the production of parts, it was possible to increase the efficiency of the engine by about 2-2. 5%. "This is a more precise production [of parts - "AviaPort"], smaller radial clearances along the flow part, which results in increased efficiency, " said Roman Khramin. Ivan Belyaev, Deputy managing Director for industrial and marine gas turbine engine programs at UEC, also noted that a number of design changes were made during the development of the engine to improve reliability.
According to top managers of the UEC enterprise, the development of engine production in Russia allowed us to keep the cost of products at a competitive level. In comparison with the cost of imported engines, domestic products benefit, not least because of the impact of exchange rate differences. "Taking into account the current exchange rate, our units are winning in price. But I'll take the question to another level. You have seen the company yourself, you have seen new modern technologies. This is a completely different production culture, and therefore-high quality, " - said V. Polyakov.
Speaking about the work on the creation of the DTA M55R, representatives of the UEC company did not ignore other participants in the cooperation. For example, the 10d49 main engine with a capacity of 5200 HP is produced by JSC Kolomenskiy Zavod (Kolomna), the ro55 gear transmission by PJSC Zvezda, the Metel-55 control system and the Sheksna-90 local control system by JSC Concern NPO Aurora, and the VDA-56 vibration diagnostic equipment by JSC Technical Systems and Technologies (all three in Saint Petersburg). Also participating in the cooperation are the Perm plant "UEC-STAR" (Perm), "Agat" (Gavrilov-Yam), and other enterprises.
Meanwhile, third-and fourth-generation structures should not be perceived as the finale of the marine gas turbine construction program in this power class. Earlier, the media announced plans to create a frigate project 22350M, which will receive significantly more powerful weapons. But, in addition to the impact power, its displacement will also increase. Therefore, it may be necessary to use a new power plant to maintain or improve the speed characteristics.
UEC sees the possibility of creating a new 25 MW engine based on the M90FR. "Regarding the further development of the GTE family of higher power based on this engine, we know how to do this, and we can bring this machine from 20 to 25 MW. We have such proposals, and we have sent them to interested organizations and government agencies. Currently, these proposals are being considered, " the Corporation stressed.
In support for the further development of marine engines JDC jointly with FSUE "CRISM "Prometey" is working to create new corrosion resistant high-temperature alloys. Creating new materials will raise the gas temperature in front of the turbine, while improving the resource characteristics.
New horizons-marine
The largest project in the field of marine gas turbine construction today for the UEC is seen as equipping the DTA M55R frigates of the project 22350. According to the Deputy General Director of the UEC enterprise, 8-10 sets of units are expected to be loaded in the coming years.
The second ship based on the m90fr engine is the project 20386 Corvette. According to UEC-Saturn, the MA3 unit for the Corvette has already been developed, and the material part, with the exception of the Zvezda gearbox complex, has been produced and is in safe storage at the UEC enterprise. "We are waiting for the gearbox, it should be manufactured by PJSC Zvezda in June [2021-AviaPort], after which the unit will be shipped to the customer," said the Deputy managing Director for industrial and marine gas turbine engine programs. Directly m90fr engine for corvettes differs from the engine for frigates in the presence of a hood. The ship's gear complex is distinguished by the presence of an inter-gear transmission. In General, the ship's power plant will receive, in addition to gas turbine engines, a pair of main electric motors ADR-1600-developed by Power machines JSC.
Motor builders are confident that the M90FR engines have prospects both in terms of export and in terms of application in the civil sector. "I believe that we have huge tasks to develop offshore fields in the Arctic. This, above all, offshore drilling platform, with the use of "maracena" engines, able to work in harsh salt environment. These are large gas carriers for transporting liquefied gas. Of course, the civil application is very wide. We are waiting for orders, " V. Polyakov said. As for the execution of existing and future contracts, the manufacturer has no problems with the production of the required number of engines. "The capacity of the UEC enterprise allows you to fulfill any orders," he says.
During the press conference, issues related to the construction of marine gas turbine engines of the M70 family were also discussed. Thus, as part of the import substitution program under a contract with the Ministry of industry and trade, development work was carried out to create modifications of the m70fru-2 and M70FRU-R engines with a reversible power turbine. "These ocds have been successfully completed. According to the results of state tests, the design documentation for engines was assigned the letter O1. As for the m70fru-2 engine, we have manufactured and are in storage, which are planned for the lead ships "Zubr" and "Murena", - said I. Belyaev.
"Russia cannot exist without the Navy"
At the end of the press conference, Viktor Polyakov answered questions from the Aviport correspondent regarding the development of the Corporation's new competence.
- How was the development of new products?
- The competencies we have gained have allowed us to quickly master the production of offshore installations. Production of gas turbine engines is a familiar thing for us. The challenge was to configure the entire ship's Assembly. But the competence of our people, with the involvement of specialized institutions, allowed us to quickly complete the project.
- How much load will the new business segment give the company?
- The fact that there is an additional download is good, but you can see what orders are currently available. In the total volume of the enterprise, they do not exceed 10% yet. However, these are significant aggregates. When we do a couple of them a year, it will be significant. And we are ready to do more, from the point of view of throughput we have no critical places. But everything in this case depends on the co-operators. And from orders.
- In your opinion, how to solve the problems of co-operators?
- I think that the situation at Zvezda has already become better, they have started to work systematically. But in order to solve the problem, we need to create a national center for heavy gearboxes on the basis of the enterprise. They should be made in Russia. We are doomed to be a sea power, and Russia cannot exist without a fleet.
