TSAGI Scientific Director Sergey Chernyshev — about supersonic technology demonstrator and breakthrough developments in domestic aviation
A supersonic aircraft technology demonstrator is being created in Russia. It will help to work out flight modes for a passenger liner that will travel from Moscow to Vladivostok in two to three hours. In addition, scientists have patented a helicopter design that transforms into an airplane in the air. This was stated in an exclusive interview with Izvestia by the scientific director of the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute named after Professor N.E. Zhukovsky (TsAGI), Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician Sergey Chernyshev. He also reported on the "flying wing", electric motors, plasma aerodynamics and other breakthrough developments in domestic aviation.
"A supersonic technology demonstrator aircraft is being created"
— Sergey Leonidovich, when will our country catch up with the world leaders in flight intensity?
— I must say that the number of flights in Russia has increased in recent years. According to the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, in 2023, Russian airlines transported 105 million passengers. New air routes are emerging, new air harbors are being commissioned annually, and domestic tourism is developing. Freight traffic is also growing, due to the popularity of marketplaces.
The development of air transport in our country is being solved at the level of national projects. At the same time, it is important to ensure the aviation mobility of people in the most remote corners of the country. The industry enterprises are actively working in this direction.
— One of TSAGI's projects is the development of a new generation supersonic passenger aircraft. What is the current stage of the project?
— Now it is a comprehensive scientific and technical project, which is being implemented with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Trade as part of a cooperation of scientific and educational organizations, where the N.E. Zhukovsky Institute performs an integrating and leading role in relation to all project participants, including TsAGI.
Photo: TASS/Mikhail Tereshchenko
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It is assumed that a civilian supersonic aircraft will fly at a cruising speed corresponding to Mach 1.8, which at an altitude of 14-16 km will be about 2200 km/h. Most of the technologies within the framework of the project have been developed at the level of digital modeling and ground experiments. This includes purging smaller aircraft models in wind tunnels.
— At what stage is the project?
— A supersonic technology demonstrator aircraft is currently being created for field experiments. It will allow you to test flight modes (takeoff, landing, overcoming the sound barrier) and work out the most important technologies, such as reducing sonic boom and noise, check the elastic properties of the airframe structure and its strength, and evaluate other characteristics of the future aircraft.
A technology demonstrator is an important source of information. It will help us move on to creating a full-size prototype of a supersonic passenger aircraft.
— For what purposes are supersonic aircraft being created?
— To significantly reduce the time of air travel. For example, such a liner can cover the distance from Moscow to Vladivostok in two to three hours. This will allow you to travel from the capital to the Far East (or in the opposite direction) within one day. This format saves people time and effort. Eventually, supersonic airliners will increase the connectivity of our country. In addition, new opportunities for intercontinental flights are opening up.
It is assumed that supersonic flights will first be in demand in business aviation. Therefore, the first aircraft of this class will carry a small number of passengers. As demand develops, cars with a larger capacity will appear. The goal is to provide a ticket price comparable to the price of business class flights on subsonic aircraft.
"The Russian scientific school in the field of management processes and AI is one of the strongest in the world"
— Tell us, which projects can provide technological leadership?
— The tasks of today do not cancel out the work for the future. At the same time, the Russian aviation scientific and engineering school takes into account global trends in its work. First of all, we are talking about flight safety and the elimination of the human factor as the cause of accidents due to the deep automation of processes on board the aircraft and the use of highly intelligent control systems. I would like to note that the Russian scientific school in the field of control processes and artificial intelligence is one of the strongest in the world.
Photo: TASS/Mikhail Tereshchenko
Image source: iz.ru
Another direction is to reduce engine emissions due to optimal fuel consumption, reduce jet and airframe noise, increase the aerodynamic efficiency of the aircraft, reduce the specific gravity of the structure, optimal integration of the engine and airframe, and a number of other areas.
Improving the aerodynamics of an aircraft, in turn, can be achieved through the use of non-traditional aerodynamic layouts (such as a "flying wing"), optimal integration of engines and airframe, flow control of the aircraft, the use of distributed power plants, etc.
To "refine" the flow around the aircraft, which leads to a decrease in aerodynamic drag, various methods are being developed: exposure to tear-off zones in order to reduce them, the use of natural or artificial lamination.
— Can you give examples of breakthrough developments?
— Innovative research projects have been launched in all these areas. They should provide a whole range of technological solutions, some of which have no analogues in the world.
I will give an example from the field of non-traditional methods of laminating the flow through the use of "cold" plasma. The physics of this process can be explained as follows: jets of ionized gas, which are formed due to the action of high-frequency electric discharges of low power, are directed into the zone of a wall-mounted thin boundary layer to give the flow a laminar character. This, in turn, leads to a decrease in the friction of the airflow on the streamlined surface.
Photo: TASS/Stanislav Krasilnikov
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That is, artificially created jets of ionized gas adjust the flow movement in the boundary layer and reduce the resistance by a quarter. This effect has been confirmed experimentally in studies conducted by TsAGI and the Institute of Electrophysics and Electric Power Engineering of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This is still a fundamental result, but the use of "cold" plasma can give rise to a new technological direction — plasma aerodynamics.
"The flying wing type design can improve aerodynamic performance by 25%"
— What promising aircraft designs are scientists considering?
— If we talk about long-haul aircraft, then the designers have reached the limit of the effectiveness of classical forms. Therefore, non-traditional solutions are being sought. One of the promising options is the configuration of the "flying wing" type with a large elongation. It is shown that the "flying wing" type design can improve the aerodynamic characteristics of an aircraft by 25%.
Arrangements with a distributed power plant are also being discussed. It is a jet engine in which the "cold" compressor part is divided into several input devices. They repeatedly compress the air and feed it into a single gas generator.
This powerplant design, when integrated with the airframe, provides additional flexibility to the designer and has less aerodynamic drag. A large number of engines can solve the problem of failure of one or more of them during flight.
— Are hybrid engine systems promising?
For small aircraft, both in Russia and around the world, systems are being explored that combine thermal (for example, turbojet) and electric engines. The former also recharge the batteries during operation. Then the accumulated energy is directed to electric motors, which are turned on both in take—off and climb mode and in cruising flight. A large number of electric motors (up to a dozen) can solve the problem of safe failure of one or more of them during flight.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Sergey Mamontov
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The advantage of a multi-engine scheme is that when designing an aircraft, the designer can optimally fit the engines into the airframe design in order to minimize drag. The lack of compact and lightweight batteries is hindering the implementation of these projects at this stage. But work in this direction is underway, and in the near future, the application of the principles of electric propulsion in aviation will become commonplace.
— Are there any devices in the development of TsAGI, relatively speaking, based on new physical principles?
— Yes, testing the feasibility of innovative designs is one of the core activities of the institute. For example, TsAGI is developing a helicopter that turns into an airplane in flight.
This device is equipped with a main rotor, which is fixed in certain flight modes and becomes just a wing. At the same time, the thrusters continue to work, and the aircraft flies like an airplane. That is, the machine combines the advantages of vertical takeoff (like helicopters) and high horizontal movement speed, which is provided by the aircraft layout.
We have patented this technological innovation. However, not all ideas translate into reality. After confirming the operability of a particular concept, a long journey begins to create working technologies that ensure flight safety and high aerodynamic efficiency and reliability of the aircraft.
"TsAGI has a group that studies airships and their flight mechanics in depth"
— How do you feel about the prospect of airships built using modern technologies and materials?
— TsAGI has a group that studies airships and the mechanics of their flight in depth. The main problem of such devices is sailability. For example, with a strong crosswind, loads may occur that the engines will not be able to react to quickly, which is fraught with an accident.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Ramil Sitdikov
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This is the main deterrent to the development of airships. However, such devices can be used for various special purposes — remote sensing of the Earth or providing communication and navigation in remote areas, carrying navigation devices. They can also be used to deliver goods and mail to remote areas, if necessary.
— How does unmanned aircraft affect manned aircraft now?
— Drones cannot compete with manned aircraft in the field of mainline passenger transportation yet. Nevertheless, in the next 10-15 years, the aircraft industry will develop unmanned vehicles for individual use. For example, air taxis.
This is the most logical option, but it requires careful consideration to ensure flight safety. In particular, it is necessary to prescribe a regulatory framework and create an infrastructure for low-flying vehicles. This is especially important in urban agglomerations.
In some countries, air taxi options are being considered, which fly in unmanned mode along preset routes, guided by stationary navigation stations. That is, they will fly through the air, like trams on rails. Such devices will be able to cruise at an altitude of several tens or hundreds of meters from the earth's surface. At the same time, it is necessary to exclude the intersection of the flight paths of unmanned and manned vessels.
Andrey Korshunov
