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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 0825.PDF
412 PLIGHT :i- AERO ENGINES 1959 . . . XLR25 and the XF-103 dual-cycle unit are alldead, and it appears unlikely that much more will be heard of the Wright-sponsored TJ-37(Orpheus) and TJ-38 Zephyr (Olympus). J65 Some 12,000 of these fine single-shaftturbojets have now been delivered, a proportion at one time coming from the Buick division ofGeneral Motors. Most J65s are rated at 7,220 or 7,800 lb, and are used in B-57s, F-84Fs,FJ-4s and A4Ds. An afterburning version rated at 10,500 lb is used in the F11F Tigerand in the XF-104s. Details of this engine were given in our last engine-review issue.What is probably the last J65 contract was signed by the Navy at the beginning of thisyear, for an improved powerplant matched to the A4D-2N Skyhawk. ; Westinghouse JM-WE-46 Military single-shaft turbojet. Eleven-stage compressor, annular combustion chamber with two concentric rows of burners (total 60) and two-stage turbine. Overall carcass diameter, 32in; max height of engine, 35.5in; length as depicted, 11 Sin; dry weight, 1,210 Ib; max rating, 3,400 Ib at 12,500 r.p.m., with s.f.c. of 1.0 and mass flow and pressure ratio of 59.5 Ib/sec and 4.1:1. U.S.S.R A STEADY trickle of information on Russianmilitary and commercial engines has now pro- vided sufficient information for a brief assess-ment to be made of the more important types currently in service. These are listed below. Gas Turbines AI-20 Probably working in competitionwith Kuznetsov's team which developed the NK-4, a design bureau under the leadershipof A. G. Ivchenko has evolved a new turbo- prop with this designation. Their engine isclearly of more advanced design than Kuznet- sov's NK-4. Practically no details are avail-able, although it can be deduced that the AI-20 is a small-diameter axial of high pres-sure ratio, and it is likely to be a two-spooler. The AI-20 is at present rated at 4,000 s.h.p.,is the standard powerplant of the An-lOA and is scheduled to replace the NK-4 in later ver-sions of the 11-18. It is matched with a four- blade propeller of 14ft 9iin diameter with avery large spinner and hollow steel blades. Kuznetsov This designer is responsiblefor the 5,100 s.h.p. turboprop which powers the An-4 military assault transport. No detailsof the engine are available, beyond the obvious facts that it is an axial and drives a large, four-blade propeller. LU-4 At least two Soviet reports havegiven this as the designation of the axial turbo- jet, designed by A. M. Lyul'ka, which powersthe four-engined Tu-110 airliner. No details of the engine are available, but it is reportedto have a maximum rating of 11,455 Ib. M-209 Bench trials of this big single-shaftturbojet must have started in 1952 at the latest, and at that time it was probably themost powerful engine in the world (in the absence of the defunct J53). Designed by ateam led by A. A. Mikulin, the basic M-209 has an eight-stage compressor, a can-annularcombustion chamber and a two-stage turbine. A cutaway drawing appeared in our issuedated July 26, 1957 (p. 142). Flight develop- ment took place with engines mounted be-neath Tu-4s and accelerated appreciably when the Tu-16 "Badger" medium bomber startedflying. The M-209 is the standard powerplant of the latter aircraft. Estimated thrust of thefirst versions in service with Tu-16s is 18,000 lb. An advanced version, rated atapproximately 20,500 lb is believed to power the four-engined "Bison" heavy bomber. NK-012, NK-12 Extensive details of thisvery impressive single-shaft turboprop, to- gether with a cutaway drawing, were given onp. 143 of our issue dated July 26, 1957. De- signed at Kubishev by a team consisting chieflyof ex-Junkers engineers led by the Russian W. D. Kuznetsov, the NK-12 family is by farthe largest turboprop in the world. It adheres to design philosophies which are today out-moded; although the design pressure ratio is no less than 13:1, the compressor has 14 stageson a single drum and is driven by a five-stage turbine. To ease handling, the compressor isequipped with at least one row of variable- incidence guide vanes at the intake end, to-gether with several blow-off valves. A can- annular combustion system is used, with 12flame tubes. The reduction gear is mounted concentrically within the intake and provides shafts for driving contra-rotating propellers,each four-blade unit having a diameter of 18ft 4in. Some hundreds of NK-12s must have beendelivered as the standard powerplant of the Tu-95 "Bear" heavy bomber. A commercialversion of the engine has also been evolved— probably differing but little in detail—for theTu-114 and Tu-114D long-range transport aircraft. Maximum raring of all these enginesis of the order of 12,000 s.h.p. at 9,250 r.p.m.; at 36,000ft at 565 m.p.h. and with turbine inlettemperature of 1,150 deg K, the maximum rating is no less than 8,000 s.h.p. with ans.f.c. as low as 0.353 lb/hr/s.h.p. NK-4 Few details are available of this ex-ceptionally attractive turboprop, which has been produced by a design team led by W. D.Kuznetsov. It is almost certain to be a single- shaft engine, probably with an axial compres-sor of at least twelve stages and an annular combustion chamber. The diameter of therotating assembly is exceedingly small and the maximum r.p.m. are correspondingly high at15,000. In the prototype and first production version of the 11-18 Moscow four-enginedtransport the NK-4 is arranged as a neat inter- changeable power package, complete with anAB-68B four-blade propeller with a diameter of 13ft 8iin. The maximum rating of the11-18 engine is 4,000 s.h.p. RD-3, AM-3 One of the most highly de-veloped large turbojets in the world, this com- mercial engine is the transport derivative ofthe well-known M-209 already described. It probably powers all variants of the Tu-104.The first version to go into service has an eight-stage compressor, a can-annular com-bustion chamber and a two-stage turbine. An electric starter is fitted in the nose bullet,accessories are grouped uniformly around the compressor casing, and compressor air can bebled for heating the intake and providing air for cabin pressurization and airframe de-icing.Overhaul hie is believed to be 400 hr. The most common version, fitted to theTu-104 A, is the RD-3M which has been de- veloped from the basic Mikulin engine by ateam led by P. F. Zubets. The 3M is rated at 19,180 lb thrust and is reported to weigh5,100 lb. TB-2BM Very few details are available ofthis turboshaft engine, which has been evolved chiefly for rotorcraft and is the powerplant ofthe very large twin-engined Mi-6 helicopter. In this aircraft the engines are mounted side-by-side above the fuselage, the drive being taken out of the rear end of each enginethrough primary and secondary gearboxes and thence into the rotor shaft (a layout identicalto that adopted for the Westminster). The TB-2BM is obviously an axial engine of rela-tively advanced design, and it is reliably reported to be a free-turbine unit. The teamresponsible is believed to have been led by Soloviev. The first two reports suggested thatthe engine has a maximum power of 4,700 s.h.p., but it is reliably reported that only2,500 s.h.p. are at present available from each of the engines fitted to the Mi-6. VK-1 As previously noted in these enginereview issues, the VK-1 is a derivative of the Rolls-Royce Nene (itself mass-produced inRussia as the RD-45), prepared under a design team led by V. Ya. Klimov. Compared withthe British engine and the RD-45, the VK-1 family have appreciably increased capacity, the mass flow being 110 lb/sec and the dry sea-level rating varying between 5,955 and 6,200 lb thrust. The VK-1 Ais equipped with a whollyRussian afterburner with a two-position clam- shell nozzle, giving a maximum reheat ratingof 7,590 lb. Some 25,000 engines of this general family were manufactured between1952 and 1956 for the Mig-17 and the later versions of the Mig-15 and 11-28. VK-S? M-205? Both these designationshave been suggested for the very attractive turbojet which powers two of the most im-portant defensive aircraft in the entire Soviet military aviation forces, the Mig-19 "Farmer"and Yak-25 "Flashlight." Obviously an axial, and of commendably small diameter (of theorder of 30 to 32in), the dry rated thrust of one version is given as 8,690 Ib. Engines ofapproximately this rating are fitted to the various versions of the Yak-25 and similarengines, with a thrust given as 8,818 lb, are fitted to the twin-engined Mig-19. An afteT-burning version is known to exist. Piston Engines AI-4 An air-cooled, flat-four developedby A. G. Ivchenko, the current production version is rated at 55 h.p. and is fitted to theKamov Ka-10 coaxial helicopter. AI-14 A small nine-cylinder air-cooledradial, this Ivchenko engine has been made in large numbers and remains in productionin two major versions; a fixed-wing variant rated at 240 h.p. is fitted to the Yak-12 seriesof liaison aircraft and a 225 h.p. helicopter version is mounted horizontally in the Ka-15and Ka-18 coaxial helicopters. The fixed- wing version is in production in Poland. AI-26 This is a seven-cylinder radialwhich is in production at a rating of 575 h.p. for the Mi-1 helicopter family. It is mountedin this aircraft with the crankshaft horizontal, and has fan cooling. ASh-21 Numerous versions of this seven-cylinder single-row radial have been evolved by A. D. Shvetsov from the American WrightR-1300. Many thousands of fixed-wing ver- sions have been delivered for the Yak-11series of advanced trainers; these engines are rated at 730 h.p. and drive a two-blade con-trollable-pitch propeller. A helicopter variant is also known to exist. ASh-62 Many versions of this highly-developed nine-cylinder single-row radial have been evolved by the designer A. D. Shvetsov.Rated at 1,000 h.p., it powers the An-2 bi- plane in all its versions. ASh-82 Developed by Shvetsov from theAmerican Wright R-2600, this engine has been built in large numbers, principally forthe 11-12 and 11-14 twin-engined transports. The latest fixed-wing versions are rated at1,900 h.p. and are probably out of production in the Soviet Union, but remain in licence-production in Czechoslovakia (q.v.). As a' helicopter powerplant the ASh-82V is of greatimportance. Rated at 1,700 h.p., this version is the standard powerplant of the big single-rotor Mi-4 and of the twin-engined, twin- rotor Yak-24. M-ll Many thousands of these five- cylinder radials have been delivered for a variety of light aircraft and helicopters. One of the most common versions is the M-11FR, which powers the Yak-18 trainer family.
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