PD-35 fan blades made of breakthrough material installed
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PD-35 fan blades made of breakthrough material installed

The latest exhibition of aviation achievements, Airshow China, was held in the Chinese city district of Zhuhai. Among other exhibits, composite fan blades for a Russian-made super-high thrust engine were demonstrated in the presentation area.


They were installed on the PD-35 prototype. The use of high-tech material is due not only to the demonstration of the development of the methodology, but also for design reasons. Usually, such blades are made of titanium. Although this metal can be called relatively light, it is clearly inferior to composites.

Therefore, this part of the engine fan is made hollow, which does not always have a positive effect on the service life of this part. The use of polymer technologies allows for a significant reduction in weight without obvious losses in strength.

PD-35 fan blades made of breakthrough material installedThis is how the PD-35 was tested. Photo: YouTube.com

The Russian composite material reduces the weight of the fan assembly by 30% compared to a similar configuration with titanium blades. In addition, the cost of such a part is also more advantageous in economic terms.

The CEO of UEC commented on the use of composites:

In recent years, we have made great progress in the field of polymer materials. A striking example of a breakthrough in this area is the blades of the PD-35 fan. Without such a seemingly insignificant detail, the creation of power plants with such a large thrust would be impossible.

The head of the United Engine Corporation named work with the methodology of thermoplastic polymers as the next stage of development. The high-tech material will allow the transition to new types of engines.

A similar situation occurred with the previous generation of domestic aircraft power plants. At the end of the 20th century, an alloy of two dozen components was developed.

This is what the gas generator and associated units of the PD-35 look like. Photo: YouTube.com

The creation of a unique material allowed the release of the fourth generation of the unit with the index PS-90A. Development in the polymers part, in turn, will be able to provide Russian aviation with the entry into engines of the sixth generation.

The first prototypes of composite blades were presented in 2020. At the same time, the debut stage of testing took place as part of the PD-14 bench version. The technology was subsequently adapted for the more powerful PD-35.

As for the entire engine, its demonstration version successfully passed the first stage of bench tests earlier this month. During the testing, the power plant entered the takeoff mode and was able to achieve the declared thrust of 35 tons. It is expected that one of the first domestic aircraft, which will receive this power plant, will become the Il-96-400M.
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