Helicopter engines: overview, specifications

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

Today, people have invented many different types of equipment that can not only move along the roads, but also fly. Planes, helicopters and other aircraft made it possible to explore the airspace. Helicopter engines, which were required for the normal operation of the respective machines, are of high power.

General description of the device

Currently, there are two types of such aggregates. The first type is piston or internal combustion engines. The second type is air-jet engines. In addition, a rocket engine can also act as a helicopter engine. However, it is usually not used as the main one, but is briefly included in the operation of the machine when additional power is needed, for example, during landing or take-off of equipment.

Previously, turboprop engines were used quite often for installation on helicopters. They had a single-shaft scheme, but they began to be displaced by other types of equipment quite strongly. This became especially noticeable on multi-engine helicopters. On such equipment, twin-shaft turboprop helicopter engines with the so-called free turbine are most widely used.

Two-shaft units

A distinctive feature of such devices was that the turbocharger did not have a direct mechanical connection with the main rotor. The use of twin-shaft turboprop units was considered quite effective, since they made it possible to use the power device of the helicopter to the fullest extent. The thing is that in this case, the rotational speed of the main rotor of the equipment did not depend on the rotational speed of the turbocharger, which, in turn, made it possible to select the optimal frequency for each flight mode separately. In other words, the twin-shaft turboprop helicopter engine ensured efficient and reliable operation of the power plant.

Reactive propeller drive

Helicopters also use jet propeller drive. In this case, the circumferential force will be applied directly to the propeller blades themselves, without using a heavy and complex mechanical transmission that would make the entire propeller rotate. To create such a circumferential force, either autonomous jet engines are used, which are located on the rotor blades, or they resort to the outflow of gas (compressed air). In this case, the gas will exit through special nozzle holes, which are located at the end of eachblades.

As for the economical operation of the jet drive, here it will be inferior to the mechanical one. If you choose the most economical option only among jet devices, then the best is a turbojet engine, which is located on the propeller blades. However, constructively creating such a device turned out to be too difficult, which is why such devices have not received wide practical application. Because of this, helicopter engine factories did not mass-produce it.

First models of turboshafts

The first turboshaft engines were created back in the 60s-70s. It should be mentioned that at that time such equipment fully met all the requirements of not only civil aviation, but also military aviation. Such units were able to provide parity, and in some cases superiority, over the inventions of competitors. The most mass production of turboshaft-type helicopter engines was provided by assembling the TV3-117 model. It is worth noting that this device had several different modifications.

Besides him, the D-136 model also received good distribution. Before the release of these two models, D-25V and TV2-117 were produced, but at that time they could no longer compete with new engines, and therefore their production was stopped. However, it is fair to say that quite a lot of them were produced, and they are still installed on those types of air transport that were released a long time ago.

Equipment gradation

In the mid-80s, it became necessary to unify the design of the helicopter engine. To solve the problem, it was decided to bring all turboshaft and turboprop engines available at that time to a common size range. This proposal was accepted at the government level, and therefore there was a division into 4 categories.

The first category is devices with a capacity of 400 hp. s., the second - 800 l. s., the third - 1600 l. With. and the fourth - 3200 liters. With. In addition, the creation of two more models of a helicopter gas turbine engine was allowed. Their power was 250 liters. With. (category 0) and 6000 l. With. (category 5). In addition, it was assumed that each category of these devices would be able to generate power by 15-25%.

Further development

In order to fully ensure the development and construction of new models, CIAM has carried out a fairly extensive research work. This made it possible to obtain a scientific and technical reserve (NTZ), along which the development of this direction will proceed.

This NTZ stated that the principle of operation of future generations of helicopter engines should be based on the simple principle of Brayton's thermodynamic cycle. In this case, the development and construction of new units will be promising. As for the design of new models, they should be with a single-shaft gas generator, and the power turbine with the output of the power shaft forward through this gas generator. In addition, in the designmust include an inline reducer.

In accordance with all the requirements of the scientific and technical reserve, the Omsk Design Bureau began work on the manufacture of such a model of an engine for a helicopter as the TV GDT TV-0-100, the power of this unit was to be 720 hp. s., and it was decided to use it on a machine such as the Ka-126. However, in the 90s, all work was stopped, despite the fact that at that time the device was quite perfect, and also had the ability to boost power to such indicators as 800–850 hp. s.

Production at OAO Rybinsk Motors

At the same time Rybinsk Motors JSC was working on fine-tuning such an engine model as TV GDT RD-600V. The power of the device was 1300 liters. s., and it was planned to use it for such a type of helicopter as the Ka-60. The gas generator for such a unit was made according to a fairly compact scheme, which included a four-stage centrifugal compressor. It had 3 axial stages and 1 centrifugal. The rotational speed provided by such a unit reached 6000 rpm. An excellent addition was the fact that such an engine was additionally supplied with protection from dust and dirt, as well as from the ingress of other foreign objects. This type of engine has gone through a wide variety of tests, and its final certification was completed in 2001.

Further, it is worth noting that in parallel with the refinement of this engine, specialists were working on the creation of a turboprop engine TVD-1500B, which was planned to be used on An-38 model helicopters. The power of this model is only 100 hp. With. higher and, thus, amounted to 1400 liters. With. As for the gas generator, its scheme and equipment were the same as on the RD-600V model. During their development, creation and assembly, it was planned that they would form the basis for a family of such engines as turboshaft, turboprop.

Helicopter powered motorcycle

To date, the production of various kinds of equipment has advanced quite widely. This is true for almost all industries, including the motorcycle industry. Each manufacturer has always tried to make its new model more unique and original than its competitors. Because of this desire, not so long ago, Marine Turbine Technologies released the first motorcycle, the design of which included a helicopter engine. Naturally, this change greatly affected both the structural part of the machine and its technical characteristics.

Technique parameters

Naturally, the characteristics of a motorcycle, which has at its disposal an engine from a helicopter, also has unique technical parameters. In addition to the fact that such an innovation allowed to accelerate the motorcycle to an almost unthinkable 400 km / h, there are other features that are also worth paying attention to.

Firstly, the volume of the fuel tank in this model is 34 liters. Secondly, the weight of the equipment has increased quite a lot and is 208.7 kg. The power of such a motorcycle is 320 horsepower. The maximum possible speed that was possibleto develop on such a device - 420 km / h, and the size of its rims is 17 inches. The last thing worth mentioning is that the operation of the helicopter engine also greatly affected the acceleration process, due to which the technique reaches its limit in a matter of seconds.

The first such creation that Marine Turbine Technologies showed to the world was called Y2K. Here you can add that the exact acceleration time to 100 km / h takes only one and a half seconds.

Summarizing all of the above, we can say that the helicopter engine industry has come a long way, and the current development of technology has allowed products to be used even in vehicles such as motorcycles.