The United Engine Corporation (UEC) has manufactured three assemblies for the PD-8 advanced engine demonstrator. It is being developed for an import-substituted medium-haul passenger aircraft SSJ-NEW. According to Rostec, testing of the demonstrator with nodes will begin in March.
SSJ-100 is the first passenger aircraft developed in Russia after the collapse of the USSR. He first took to the sky in 2008. With a length of 29.9 meters, the wingspan of the Superjet 100 is 27.8 meters. The aircraft can fly up to 4.5 thousand kilometers at a speed of 830 kilometers per hour and carry from 87 to 108 passengers, depending on the version and configuration.
Now SSJ-100s are equipped with SaM146 turbofan engines, which were developed by UEC-Saturn and the French company Snecma in the noughties. With a length of 3.6 meters, a width of 1.9 meters and a height of 1.7 meters, the dry weight of SaM146 is 2.3 tons. In take-off mode, the engine develops thrust up to 75.9 kilonewtons.
SSJ-NEW is an import-substituted version of the Superjet 100. The main innovation in it is the promising Russian PD-8 engine, which is created on the basis of technologies obtained during the development of the PD-14 . Nevertheless, Kirill Kuznetsov, the chief designer of this program, recently said that SSJ-NEW will be certified without PD-8.
Last May, UEC assembled the first prototype gas generator of a promising aircraft engine. Now the gas generator is undergoing certification tests at the stand.
Rostec announced on February 22 that UEC had manufactured three nodes for the PD-8 demonstrator. They are designed to drive the elements of the power plant and provide a number of aircraft systems, such as an electric generator for the cabin and a hydraulic pump to control the mechanization of the wing. Each node consists of a central drive, a drive box of aggregates and an angular bevel gear.
The demonstrator of a promising engine with nodes will begin testing in March. Also this year, Rostec plans to assemble components for an experimental batch of PD-8 engines.
Earlier we wrote about the tests of the Russian detonation engine conducted by the UEC. The developers say that it will allow 1.3 - 1.5 times to increase the flight range and maximum payload mass of aircraft.
Anna Kachalova