The baseline 14,000-kgf PD-14 is designed to power the Irkut MC-21-300 short/medium-haul airliner. The shortened variant of the airliner, the MC-21-200, is supposed to be fitted with 12,500-kgf PD-14A engines, while the stretch is to be furnished with the enhanced thrust PD-14M version capable of 15,600 kgf. According to the design data, the PD-14 is on a par with its foreign rivals (PW1400G, LEAP-X) in terms of specific fuel consumption, while having a somewhat lower bypass ratio.

The zest of the MFD 2014 international engine industry forum held in Moscow in April 2014 was the second PD-14 prototype engine (c/n 100-03) displayed by UEC. The engine has been in trials in the city of Perm since early this year. For its display during the forum, it was taken off the test bench and brought to Moscow and returned to Perm for continued tests right after MFD 2014 had been over.

Aviadvigatel Designer General Alexander Inozemtsev delivered a detailed report on the status of the PD-14 programme at the plenary session of the forum. He gave a recap, inter alia, on the milestones of the designing and testing prototype cores and engine demonstrators.

The trials of the first engine core demonstrator (100GG-01) under the PD-14 programme were launched in Perm in November 2010. A year later, in December 2011, the second core (100GG-02) entered the trials and was used for testing an alternative combustor from IvchenkoProgress in June 2013. According to Mr. Inozemtsev, the combustor has demonstrated somewhat higher performance than the one developed by Aviadvigatel itself - probably, owing to Ivchenko-Progress's wealth of experience in the development of annular combustors for gas turbine engines. The Aviadvigatel head remarked, however, that a choice has not been made, for everything depends on the outcome of the tests and, which is more, a political decision against the backdrop of the current turmoil in the Russian-Ukrainian relations.

In October 2013, the third PD-14 core (100GG-03) joined the tests. It is intended for enhancing the effectiveness of the high-pressure compressor. As of April 2014, the PD-14 core prototypes logged a total of about 120 operating hours.

Aviadvigatel started the rig tests of the first full-scale PD-14 engine demonstrator (c/n 100-01) in June 2012. By August of the same year, the first stage of the indoor test rig trials, during which the engine was tested in the basic operating modes, had been complete. A month later, in September 2012, the demonstrator passed the outdoor rig test stage, when its acoustic characteristics were gauged.

In February 2013, the 100-01 engine demonstrator tests of its thermodynamic parameters were completed, and in July, the third test stage took place, which included, among other things, the engine's first burn in the takeoff made.

By early this year, the second engine demonstrator (c/n 100-03) had been prepared for trials. Its rig test kicked off in January 2014. By the MFD 2014 forum, the third engine (c/n 100-04) had been in the final stages of assembly and preparations for tests, with the two engine demonstrators having logged a total of around 100 hours.

Later this year, Aviadvigatel will assemble and furnish for testing at least two more PD-14 prototypes - 100-05 (the first one with the fixed design) and 100-06. Both will be used as part of the certification tests. Overall, 22 prototypes, including four flying ones for MC-21 planes, are planned for manufacture.

The PD-14 is slated to begin its flight tests on the Il-76LL flying testbed in February 2015. The aircraft will carry the engine c/n 100-07.

The engine's certification under the Russian standards is supposed to be complete by April 2017, when Aviadvigatel expects the IAC Aircraft Register to issue the type certificate. The flight tests of two PD-14s as part of the powerplant of the MC-21-300 prototype are slated for July 2017, while EASA is expected to issue its type certificate in April 2018.

(Photo: Alexey Mikheyev)