Vladimir Karnozov

Russian civil aviation authority Rosaviatsiya has issued type certification for an indigenous engine alternative for the Irkut MC-21 narrowbody known as the PD-14, the country’s Ministry for Industry and Trade announced Thursday. A pair of MC-21 prototypes powered by Pratt &amp; Whitney PW1431G geared turbofans now engage in flight testing, but PD-14 certification marks an important advance for the Kremlin-ordered Import Substitution program, aimed at achieving Russian independence in the commercial aviation domain.

 


“In fact, the PD-14 winning the type certificate means that this engine is ready for delivery and commercial operation,” said minister for industry and trade Denis Manturov in a statement. “This enables us to assert that the first turbofan engine for commercial jets in the history of modern Russia&nbsp;has successfully been created.”

 


Next, schedules call for the PD-14 program to gain validation with the European Air Safety Agency next year.&nbsp;Manturov expressed a hope that the MC-21 will soon commence testing with the indigenous powerplant following the planned shipment of three operable engines by the end of this year. The minister insisted that the PD-14 and MC-21 schedules “had been synchronized.”

 


Compared with previous-generation Russian commercial turbofans, the PD-14 offers a fuel burn decrease at typical cruise of 15 percent, while featuring a bypass ratio of 8.5:1 as opposed to more commonly achieved ratios of 5:1 or 6:1. Its specifications call for fuel consumption comparable to that of the Pratt &amp; Whitney PW1000G series and CFM International’s Leap family. Given that, the PD-14 claims its place as the world’s third engine purposely designed and certified for use on next-generation narrowbody jets. &nbsp;

 


Preliminary studies into a next-generation turbofan began in Russia&nbsp;at the turn of the century. In 2008 Vladimir Putin made the&nbsp;decision to provide state funding for the project. Bench testing began in 2012 and flight trials in 2015 on an Il-76 testbed. Developed under the framework of the federal program dubbed “Development of Russian Aviation Industry 2025,” the PD-14 program started with a budget of 80 billion roubles ($1.22 billion) covering development and production setup. Perm-based ODK-Aviadvigatel leads the development effort while ODK-Perm Motors performs final assembly line in the city of Perm.

 


The PD-14 marks the first commercial engine project executed under the umbrella of the United Engine Corporation (Russian acronym ODK), a&nbsp;government-controlled organization formed by the merger of Russian companies involved in powerplants, gearboxes, and other subsystems for applications in commercial and military aviation.

 


As a result, the government distributed work packages to ODK members to cut development and production preparation cycles. In terms of technology as well, the PD-14 represents a drastic departure from the previous generation PS-90A. Using hollow wide-chord blades for the fan and blisks in the compressor, the newer engine weighs about three tons and develops 14 tons of thrust at takeoff. &nbsp;Engineers designed the baseline engine specifically for the 180-seat MC-21-300, but its derivatives can power both larger and smaller airplanes. The developer announced three versions of the PD-14—the PD-14A, PD-14,&nbsp;and PD-14M--featuring the same 1900 millimeter fan diameter. Intended for the 150-seat MC-21-200 “shrink” variant, the PD-14A produces 11 percent less thrust and&nbsp;resembles the baseline model but with a compressor pressure ratio of 38:1 rather than 41:1 for higher thermal margins. The PD-14M for the Il-96-400M and MC-21-400 develops 12 percent more maximum thrust. It features an additional stage in the compressor, resulting in an increase in pressure ratio to 46:1 and a drop in bypass ratio from 8.5:1 to 7.2:1. The developer also plans a higher-thrust derivative, known as the PD-18, incorporating a geared fan for maximum thrust of 18- to 20 tons; smaller versions designated PD-7 and PD-10 feature a reduced fan diameter for various Sukhoi Superjet variants. Meanwhile, plans call for&nbsp;use of the PD-14’s core in the PD-12 turboshaft, and for a larger PD-35 intended to power the Sino-Russian CR929 widebody.

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