5TDF engine: specifications

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The 5TDF engine is one of the most unique inventions in the field of powertrains. It was invented back in the Soviet Union. A distinctive feature is that it was not designed for cars at all, but for a tank like the T-64. However, his unusual design brought him the most popularity.

General description of equipment

The 5TDF engine was a five-cylinder. That fact alone made it quite unusual. In addition, he had in his design 10 parts such as connecting rods and pistons. In addition, two crankshafts were used here at the same time. The pistons in the cylinders made unusual movements. They moved towards each other, then back, again towards each other, and so on. In this case, the power take-off was made from both crankshafts to make it as convenient as possible for driving the tank.

The principle of operation of the 5TDF engine is two-stroke. In this case, the pistons of this device played the role of spools. They opened both inlet and outlet windows. In other words, no valves or camshafts are in this caseused.

Due to all the features that were described above, it turned out that the design of the 5TDF engine was the most efficient and ingenious in some way. This was due to the fact that the two-stroke cycle of operation provided maximum liter power during engine operation, and its direct-flow purge ensured high quality cylinder filling.

Unit injection

The 5TDF engine was also distinguished by the fact that it was a diesel unit with direct injection. This means that fuel was supplied to the desired space between the pistons a few moments before they reached their closest approach. Another feature here was that, firstly, the injection itself was carried out by four nozzles, and, secondly, it passed along a rather tricky trajectory, which ensured the fastest possible mixture formation.

Other design tricks

The tricks and features of the 5TDF engine did not end at all with what was listed above. There was another highlight that was hidden in the turbocharger. The turbine itself was quite large and, together with the compressor, was located on the shaft. In addition, she had a mechanical connection with one of the crankshafts of the engine. This decision is considered ingenious. Firstly, during the acceleration of the tank, the compressor was slightly twisted due to the torque of the shaft, which eliminated such a disadvantage as a turbo lag. After being formeda sufficiently powerful flow of exhaust gases and the turbine spun up to significant speeds, then the power that it gained was transmitted, on the contrary, to the crankshaft. All this increased the efficiency of the power unit, and the turbine itself was called power.

One more important characteristic of the 5TDF engine should also be mentioned here - it was multi-fuel. In other words, it could run on diesel, gasoline, aviation fuel, and any mixture of these types.

In addition to the listed large design features, the overall design of the device included about fifty small tricks. This included pistons with heat-resistant steel inserts, dry sump lubrication systems, and much more.

Engine Targets

Naturally, after such a technical description of 5TDF, many may wonder why this power unit was created, what goals its creators pursued.

All these changes had only a few fairly well-defined goals. Firstly, the motor had to be as compact as possible, and secondly, it had to be economical. However, the most important thing is to get enough power to run a tool like a tank. The importance of these requirements is explained as follows. Compactness can greatly facilitate the layout of the tank, which means it can be assembled faster at the factory. Economy significantly affects the autonomy of the tank, that is, reduces the need for frequent refueling. Power for the power unittank is important in that it increased such an important parameter as maneuverability.

Work results

All the efforts of the designers and scientists who developed this engine model were not in vain, the result of the work was quite impressive. The working volume of the unit was only 13.6 liters, but in the most forced state it had a capacity of more than 1000 hp. Since this motor was operated back in the 60s, this result was considered beyond praise. In terms of its specific liter capacity, as well as overall capacity, this invention was several times superior to any other inventions of any army in the world. Due to its layout, this device was often referred to as a "suitcase".

Is the 5TDF engine currently being produced? It is fair to say that this power unit still did not take root, despite all its significant advantages. It was quite difficult to perform, and besides, it was very expensive.

Equipment operation

Since for some time this engine was still used, that is, there is a certain instruction for its use. Here, quite a lot of attention is paid to the materials, namely the fuel that needs to be filled. Although the device is multi-fuel, diesel has become the main type of its working fluid. Brand selection was based on ambient temperature. So, if the temperature was not lower than +5 degrees Celsius, then a brand of diesel fuel was used forhigh-speed diesel engines DL. With indicators from +5 to -30 degrees Celsius, another brand was used - DZ. If the temperature dropped below -30 degrees Celsius at the height of winter, then YES fuel was used.

It is worth adding separately that the brand of DZ fuel could also be used if the temperature exceeded +50 degrees. As with any other engine, this one used oil, which was allowed only two types. M16-IHP-3 was considered the main one, however, if it was not available or there was no possibility of topping it up at the right time, then it could be replaced with MT-16p liquid. However, when replacing one type of lubricant with another, it was necessary to completely drain the remainder of the previous one from the crankcase, and only then fill in a new one. The 5TDF boxer engines were also unique for these several reasons.

Operation of the unit on different fuels

In order for the tank to operate with different types of fuel, it was equipped with a special fuel control mechanism. He had only two positions that could be switched at the right time. The first position provided operation when refueling with diesel fuel for high-speed diesel engines, fuel for jet engines, as well as gasoline and mixtures of these three types of fuel in any proportions. The second provision implied switching the engine operation mode to use only gasoline as a working mixture.

There are several features thatoccur when switching to petrol. Firstly, it is necessary to turn on the BCN pump of the equipment no later than 2 minutes before the start of the tank operation, and then pump fuel at an intensive pace using a manual booster pump. Secondly, regardless of the ambient temperature, before starting, you need to double-inject the oil fluid into the cylinders.

Technical parameters

It is worth saying that the technical characteristics of the 5TDF engine are quite high, and in itself it is already the second modification, released in 1960. The first was 5TD, released in 1956. The power of the 5TDF power unit was 700 hp. The diameter of its cylinders was 120 mm. The piston stroke was 2 x 120 mm. The number of cylinders was 5, and the working volume, as mentioned earlier, was 13.6 liters. The rotation speed was 2800 rpm^-1. There is such a parameter as overall power, which for 5TDF is 895 hp/m^{3. The specific gravity of the power unit is 1.47 kg / hp. Liter power, which is characterized as hp / l, is 52. This is a brief technical description of the 5TDF engine.}