“Work out new technologies”: how the creation of the Russian aviation hybrid engine is progressing

The executive director of UEC-Klimov JSC (part of Rostec) Alexander Vatagin told reporters that research work (R&D) on the aviation hybrid power plant (GPU), which the company is creating, will be completed in 2024.

“So far, according to the GSU, we are working in the R&D format, which we plan to complete in two stages in 2024.

The task for the GSU is to work out new technologies that have not previously been used on traditional power plants, to determine the possible platforms on which this type of engine can be installed, ”Vatagin explained.

According to the top manager, the completion of the R&D will make it possible to form a specific terms of reference with the parameters of power, weight, dimensions and other characteristics of the hybrid engine.

GSU is a type of power unit that involves the use of electric traction along with the energy of a classic gas turbine engine.

Projects on this topic are supported at the state level - since 2018, a concept has been implemented in Russia aimed at the widespread introduction of electric propulsion systems into aviation.

In addition to UEC-Klimov, the Central Institute of Aviation Motors named after Baranov (CIAM) is working on the GSU in cooperation with other domestic enterprises.

However, CIAM specialists are creating a hybrid engine for short-haul aviation.

Now experiments with a promising power plant are being carried out on the Yak-40 aircraft with a passenger capacity of up to 40 people.

UEC-Klimov is developing HCS for smaller aircraft.

The expected power of the product will be less than 1.5 MW.

The company's engineers note that under such conditions, complex solutions for cryogenics, that is, cooling the components of a hybrid motor, are not required.

In August last year, at the Army-2021 international military-technical forum, UEC-Klimov for the first time presented a mock-up of a hybrid power plant for naval aviation vehicles.

As Vatagin explained then, the use of HCS in the aircraft of the Navy can increase their fuel efficiency, increase the power supply and flight safety.

"First Breaths"

As deputy director of the UEC-Klimov advanced engine program, Mikhail Shemet, told reporters, the GSU demonstrator, but in smaller weight and size characteristics, should be manufactured in mid-2022.

Currently, the company is preparing design documentation for this prototype product.

At the end of next year, it is planned to begin its first tests.

“The VK-100 for 100 horsepower will be used

as a drive (a control device that, together with the motor, forms a single power unit. -

At this stage, the task will be to check the correctness of the decisions made.

This will create a much larger and more powerful power plant,” Shemet said.

On the full-size demonstrator of the hybrid unit, the Klimovites are going to use the promising VK-650V helicopter unit with a take-off power of 650 hp as a drive.

With.

• Engine VK-650V

• © UEC

To date, this engine is undergoing ground (engineering) tests or, as they say at UEC-Klimov, it takes its “first breaths”.

The purpose of the ongoing tests is to verify the correctness of the implemented design solutions.

Tests are taking place in the newly built state-of-the-art Small Test Station (MIS).

All processes inside this ground stand are automated, the operator only launches the equipment and controls the progress of its work.

The computer installed on the MIS maintains an information protocol, fixing the parameters of the power unit.

Thus, the compliance of the VK-650V demonstrator with the characteristics declared in the terms of reference is checked.

Ground tests at MIS will be completed during 2022.

Certification, first flight and mass production are scheduled for 2023.

Anastasia Solovyova, the chief designer of the VK-650V, spoke about this in a commentary on RT.

“The VK-650V will become a participant in the program for the creation of a GSU, but initially it is being created for the Ansat-U and Ka-226T multi-purpose light helicopters.

At the stage of ground testing, it is important for us to check the reliability of each node, and we are close to completing this work, ”said Solovyova.

"Ansat-U" is a training modification of the basic version of the helicopter.

Since 2009, the operator of this machine is the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

The entire Ansat family is manufactured at the Kazan Helicopter Plant (KVZ) and is equipped with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW200 engines.

As Vladimir Popov, Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Aviapanorama magazine, noted in an interview with RT, the development of the VK-650V is carried out in accordance with the course of the Russian state for import substitution.

It took a long time to create Ansat, there were many difficulties in finding customers, but in the end the car turned out to be unpretentious, comfortable and, most importantly, in demand.

Its modernization potential has not yet been exhausted.

But in order to systematically develop this platform, a worthy domestic engine is needed, ”Popov explained.

Ka-226T is a different type of helicopter.

The machine is made according to the coaxial scheme traditional for the Kamov school (both propellers are load-bearing).

Now the platform is equipped with two Arrius 2G1 engines of the French company SAFRAN HE.

According to Solovieva, flight tests of the VK-650V will first be carried out on the Ka-226T.

For Ansat-U, a modification will be created with different fuel equipment and a gearbox, the “hot part” of the engine will remain unchanged.

• Chief Designer VK-650V Anastasia Solovyova

• © Rostec/Viktor Molodtsov

“VK-650V is more correct to consider as a platform on the basis of which new engines for specific types of machines will appear.

In its current form, the motor is being created for a twin-engine layout; for a single-engine layout, R&D will be required.

Also, in the future, it is planned to slightly reduce the mass due to the use of new materials, ”said Solovyova.

The designer is sure that as a drive in a hybrid power plant, the characteristics of the VK-650V will be similar to the best foreign models in this power class.

"Safety and Convenience"

As Mikhail Shemet explained to reporters, in addition to the VK-650V, the GSU developed by UEC-Klimov will include a battery pack, automatic control equipment, a cooling system and other components.

“The VK-650V gas turbine engine will drive the generator.

Together they form a single energy hub, that is, the main reservoir of energy.

An additional source of energy is put in the form of batteries.

The power electronics unit will be responsible for the interaction of these elements,” Shemet noted.

A potential carrier of the GSU will be a vertical takeoff and landing transport drone, adapted for cargo operation in hard-to-reach areas of the Russian Federation.

Installation of the engine on UAVs of this type is possible closer to 2035.

“Looking back at foreign experience and the specifics of Russia, our calculation is that transport drones are unlikely to be used within agglomerations.

But their exploitation will certainly become massive.

Another thing is that it will take a lot of time to draw up an appropriate legislative framework that will ensure the safety and convenience of using UAVs for cargo logistics,” says Shemet.

In an interview with RT, a columnist for the Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine, aviation expert Dmitry Drozdenko noted that GSU projects are being implemented quite widely throughout the world, and Russia is striving to be a leader in this segment of innovation.

According to him, an increase in the potential of electric traction will significantly improve the technical characteristics of aircraft engines and the flight qualities of their carriers.

“The electrification of aviation has a very great potential, but the appearance in operation of aircraft on the GSU is not a prospect for the near future.

Designers in Russia and around the world will have to carry out a huge amount of calculations, experiments, tests and, most importantly, create energy-intensive and relatively light power sources, ”concluded Drozdenko.