Engineering:Kuznetsov NK-93

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Short description: 1980s Soviet propfan aircraft engine
NK-93
NK-93 turbofan back maks2009.JPG
NK-93 engine
Type Propfan
National origin Soviet Union
Manufacturer Kuznetsov Design Bureau
First run 1989[1]
Number built 11[2]
Developed from Kuznetsov NK-92[2]

The Kuznetsov NK-93 was a civilian aircraft engine, a hybrid between a turbofan and a turboprop known as a propfan. The engine was also unique in having a separate duct around the contra-rotating propellers, as most other propfans are unducted. Once described in a respected aviation encyclopedia as "potentially the most fuel-efficient aircraft jet engine ever to be tested",[3] the NK-93 was targeted for derivatives of Soviet/Russian airliners such as the Ilyushin Il-96, Tupolev Tu-204, and Tupolev Tu-330.[2] Five in-flight engine tests were conducted on the NK-93 from December 2006[4] to December 2008.[5][6][7][8]

Development

The NK-93 engine was developed beginning in the late 1980s,[6] although the design of the engine was allegedly envisioned as early as 1968.[5] Many of the design features were adopted from the Kuznetsov NK-92, the military complement to the NK-93.[2] The core of the NK-93 was to form the foundation of a family of direct-drive turbofans and geared propfans, ranging from 11,000 to 22,000 kilograms-force (24,000 to 49,000 pounds-force; 110 to 220 kilonewtons) in thrust.[9] It was the last major project of Kuznetsov Design Bureau founder Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kuznetsov.[10]

The NK-93 was originally scheduled for flight testing in late 1993/early 1994[11] and certification in 1997 so that it could be used on the Ilyushin Il-96M and Tupolev Tu-204M.[12] By May 1994, seven full-size versions of the engine had been built, with five of them close to the production configuration.[13] Due to the breakup of the Soviet Union, though, the schedule was repeatedly delayed because of severe funding shortages[14] and other issues. However, by October 2001, a tenth NK-93 engine neared completion, out of a total of 15 planned engine prototypes.[3]

The engine finally underwent flight testing on an Ilyushin Il-76LL testbed aircraft beginning on December 29, 2006, with a second flight occurring on May 3, 2007. A total of 50 flight test hours were planned.[2] Testing was suspended again in June 2007 because of funding troubles.[15] Airborne testing did not restart until October 2008,[16] with flights on October 2[17] and 6.[18] Another test flight occurred on December 15, 2008,[5] but the NK-93 was removed from the testbed by May 14, 2009.[4]

Supporters of the NK-93 claim that the amount of money needed to certify the engine is minuscule compared to the development costs of competing new Russian engines, which they regard as still inferior to the older NK-93.[19]

In April 2014, Kuznetsov announced that it would resume work on the NK-93 engine.[20]

Foreign interest

The advanced nature of the engine attracted the attention of airframers and engine manufacturers in other countries. By 1992, the NK-93 was already drawing interest from the Japanese aviation industry.[1] Investors from South Korea were among the groups discussing investment in the NK-93 at the 2001 MAKS air show.[21] In 2004, Airbus and the Kuznetsov Design Bureau studied the feasibility of using the engine to power Airbus commercial aircraft.[22] German engine maker MTU Aero Engines purchased a Kuznetsov report on the noise characteristics of the NK-93 engine for 600,000 Deutsche marks.[23] When the NK-93 was displayed on the Il-76LL demonstrator at the 2007 MAKS air show, Chinese aircraft manufacturers reportedly made a "tempting offer" to buy all of the NK-93's blueprints and documentation.[24] In October 2013, the European Commission gave a three-and-a-half year grant to study the Innovative Counter rOtating fan system for high Bypass Ratio Aircraft engine (COBRA). COBRA was a European Union-Russia cooperative program to study an ultra-high bypass ratio (UHBR) counter-rotating turbofan (CRTF) that was similar to the NK-93. Participating organizations included Kuznetsov, CIAM, Russian propeller manufacturer Aerosila, French engine maker Safran (Snecma), the French aerospace laboratory (ONERA), and the German Aerospace Center (DLR).[25]

Design

The NK-93 has a core that was developed from the NK-110, an unducted Kuznetsov propfan that was never built.[6] Its Aerosila SV-92 contra-rotating propellers are 2,900 millimetres (114 in) in diameter, have eight blades on the front propeller and ten blades on the back propeller. The engine has a rated thrust of 18,000 kgf (39,700 lbf; 177 kN),[26] a maximum thrust of 20,000 kgf (45,000 lbf; 200 kN), a cruise SFC of 0.49 kg/(kgf⋅h), and a takeoff SFC of 0.234 kg/(kgf⋅h). 13% of the thrust is produced directly by the gas generator, while the rest of the thrust is produced through the turning of the ducted fans.[6] The front and back fans are both variable-pitch propellers; by 1993, the coaxial fans could combine to produce 85% of the desired 4,000 kgf (8,800 lbf; 39 kN) maximum reverse thrust,[27] and by 1995, the reverse thrust capability was 3,800 kgf (8,300 lbf; 37 kN). The engine has a bypass ratio of 17 and is designed around a 22,000 kW (30,000 hp) planetary gearbox with seven satellites.[6]

Applications

The Kuznetsov NK-93 ducted propfan mounted on an Ilyushin Il-76LL testbed aircraft at the MAKS 2007 air show.

Specifications

General characteristics

  • Type: 3-shaft ducted propfan, with the 8-blade front fan absorbing 40% of the power and the 10-blade back fan absorbing 60% of the power[5]
  • Length: 5.972 m (19.59 ft; 597.2 cm; 235.1 in)[33]
  • Width:
  • Height:
  • Propeller diameter: 2.9 m (9.5 ft; 290 cm; 110 in)[2]
  • Diameter:
  • Dry weight: 3,650 kg (8,050 lb)[34]
  • Propeller weight: 1,000 kg (2,200 lb)[26]

Components

  • Compressor: 7-stage axial low-pressure compressor; 8-stage high-pressure compressor[2]
  • Combustors: annular[2]
  • Turbine: 1-stage high-pressure turbine, 1-stage low-pressure turbine, 3-stage propfan turbine[2]

Performance

See also

Related development

Comparable engines

Related lists

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Moxon, Julian (April 22–28, 1992). "Engines of recovery: Aero-engine manufacturers in the Commonwealth of Independent States must head off competition from the West while restructuring to compete in a market economy". Flight International 141 (4315): 19. ISSN 0015-3710. https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1992/1992%20-%201051.PDF. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 "NK-93 kicks off flight trials" (in en). Take-off: Russia's National Aerospace Magazine: 20. June 2007. https://issuu.com/aviationlive/docs/to07/22. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Jane's aero-engines". Jane's aero-engines. Jane's Information Group. November 27, 2011. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Drozdov, Sergey (2013). "С.В. Дроздов. Авиационный "спецназовец" Ил-76" (in ru). Kryl'ia Rodiny (3): 39–45. ISSN 0130-2701. http://kr-media.ru/news/samoletostroenie/s-v-drozdov/. Retrieved July 25, 2019. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 About the revolutionary NK-93 jet engine (Documentary) (English subtitles) (in русский) – via YouTube.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Velovich, Alexander (August 2–8, 1995). "Power struggle: It is a familiar story, but Russian engine makers are suffering from a shortage of funds". Flight International (Moscow, Russia) 148 (4483): 47–49. ISSN 0015-3710. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/power-struggle-25218/. 
  7. ↑ "NK-93 High-Bypass Turbofan". https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/nk-93.htm. 
  8. ↑ "Kuznetsov NK93" (in fr). http://avia.superforum.fr/t911-kuznetsov-nk93. 
  9. ↑ "Directory: Commercial engines". Flight International 162 (4860): p. 55. December 3–9, 2002. ISSN 0015-3710. https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/2002/2002%20-%203579.PDF. 
  10. ↑ "Obituary". Flight International: p. 61. August 30 – September 5, 1995. ISSN 0015-3710. https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1995/1995%20-%202587.PDF. 
  11. ↑ "Soviets working on big propfan for large transports --- Contra-rotating NK-93 should make first flight in 1993/1994". Aerospace Propulsion (McGraw-Hill) 2 (14): 2. July 11, 1991. ISSN 1050-5245. 
  12. ↑ Lenorovitz, Jeffrey (March 30, 1992). "Samara engineers plan flight tests for counter-rotating shrouded propfan". Aviation Week & Space Technology (Samara, Russia) 136 (13): 57–58. ISSN 0005-2175. https://archive.aviationweek.com/issue/19920330/#!&pid=57. 
  13. ↑ "Lack of funding prevents NK-93 propfan flight test". Aviation Week & Space Technology (Moscow, Russia) 140 (22): 80–81. May 30, 1994. ISSN 0005-2175. https://archive.aviationweek.com/issue/19940530/#!&pid=80. 
  14. ↑ "First propfan test flight postponed". Flight International 145 (4421): 6. May 18–24, 1994. ISSN 0015-3710. https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1994/1994%20-%201208.PDF. 
  15. ↑ "Летные испытания двигателя НК-93 приостановлены" (in ru). TV Samara. June 8, 2007. https://www.aviaport.ru/digest/2007/06/08/122467.html. 
  16. ↑ Leonov, Vladimir (October 9, 2008). "Хватит гробить авиапром! В подмосковном Жуковском приступили к летным испытаниям "скандально" известного авиадвигателя НК-93" (in ru). Argumenty Nedeli (Arguments of the Week) 41 (127). https://argumenti.ru/rassledovanie/n154/38894. 
  17. ↑ "PhotoID: 58476; Type: IL-76LL; Onboard: 76492" (in ru). October 2, 2008. https://russianplanes.net/id58476. 
  18. ↑ "Испытание нового самарского авиационного двигателя НК-93" (in ru). TV Samara. October 6, 2008. http://tvsamara.ru/news/2008/10/06/11477. 
  19. ↑ Falichev, Oleg (October 16, 2018). "Тормозной путь НК-93: Российский двигатель пятого поколения, о чем только мечтают на Западе, объявлен устаревшим" (in ru). Voyenno-promyshlennyy kur'yer (Military Industrial Courier) 40 (753). https://vpk-news.ru/articles/45659. 
  20. ↑ "Russian air forces to take delivery of 10 upgraded Tu-160 bombers". Russian Aviation. June 18, 2014. https://www.ruaviation.com/news/2014/6/18/2377/. 
  21. ↑ Karnazov, Vladimir (July 31, 2001). "MAKS 2001 - Moscow on show". Flight International (Moscow, Russia). ISSN 0015-3710. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/maks-2001-moscow-on-show-134022/. 
  22. ↑ "Дмитрий Федорченко: Конструкторский бизнес может быть высокорентабельным" (in ru). Samara Review. October 4, 2004. https://www.aviaport.ru/digest/2004/10/04/84270.html. 
  23. ↑ Tetekin, Vyacheslav; Donkovtsev, Nikolay; Kulakov, Anatoly; Korovin, Boris; Fedorchenko, Dmitry (March 26, 2013). "НК-93 – затянувшийся проект: Как демонстратор передовых технологий не пошел в серию" (in ru). Voyenno-promyshlennyy kur'yer (Military Industrial Courier). https://www.vpk-news.ru/articles/15106. 
  24. ↑ Afanasiev, Oleg (November 28, 2007). (in ru)Argumenty Nedeli (48): p. 48. https://argumenti.ru/society/n109/36271. 
  25. ↑ "Project overview - context and challenges". https://w3.onera.fr/cobra/node/2. 
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Propfans: Thrust class > 10000 kgf: Technical characteristics". http://aerosila.ru/en/products/vozdushnye-vinty-ivintoventilyatory-dlya-samoletov/vintoventilyatory-klass-tyagi-10000-kgs. 
  27. ↑ "Trud's NK-93 reaches better than 45,000 lbst. --- Propfan seen making its first flight next year". Aerospace Propulsion (McGraw-Hill) 4 (20): 3. September 30, 1993. ISSN 1050-5245. 
  28. ↑ "Ilyushin arrives, but Antonov...who knows". Flight Daily News. June 16, 1997. ISSN 0015-3710. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/ilyushin-arrives-but-antonovwho-knows-4488/. 
  29. ↑ Velovich, Alexander (April 30 – May 6, 1997). "Volga-Dnepr considers propfan for An-124". Flight International (Moscow, Russia) 151 (4572): 11. ISSN 0015-3710. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/volga-dnepr-considers-propfan-for-an-124-2294/. 
  30. ↑ Norris, Guy (July 10–16, 1991). "Soviets team up on 550-seater". Flight International 140 (4275): 6. ISSN 0015-3710. https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1991/1991%20-%201844.PDF. 
  31. ↑ "World airliners: Part 2". Flight International 160 (4796): 72. September 4–10, 2001. ISSN 0015-3710. https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/2001/2001%20-%203076.PDF. 
  32. ↑ Drozdov, Sergey Valerievich (2019). "МЕЖДУ Як-42Д И "СУПЕРДЖЕТОМ" (работы в Российской Федерации по созданию самолетов и вертолетов гражданского и двойного назначения в 1992-2011 гг.)" (in ru). Kryl'ia Rodiny (Wings of the Motherland) (5–6): 106–118. ISSN 0130-2701. http://kr-magazine.ru/upload/iblock/004/KR_-5_6_2019_.pdf.  Alt URL
  33. ↑ "NK-93" (in ru). 2005. pp. 49–50. http://www.uvauga-dvig.narod.ru/nk-93.pdf. 
  34. ↑ "Directory: Military engines". Flight International 163 (4879): 51. April 22–28, 2003. ISSN 0015-3710. https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/2003/2003%20-%200878.PDF. 
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 "NK-93". http://motor-s.ru/NK93_en.htm. 
  36. ↑ Alexandrov, Nikolay (2008). "ТОТ САМЫЙ 'НК' - 2" (in ru). Dvigatel (Engine) 3 (57): 32+(57). http://engine.aviaport.ru/issues/57/page32.html. 

Bibliography



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