Helicopter engine

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Wright R-1820 radial engine in the bow of a Sikorsky H-34
General Electric T64 shaft turbine of a Sikorsky CH-53G

Helicopter engines are used to drive helicopters and cover a power range from 40 kW (the Ivchenko AI-4W in the Kamow Ka-10 ) to 8,270 kW (the Lotarjow D-136 in the Mil Mi-26 ).

The basic designs can be divided into piston engines , blade tip drives and shaft turbines.

Piston engines

These were widespread from the first helicopter designs until the 1950s and 1970s, with radial engines being mainly used later . Today you can only find them in small helicopters, for example the Robinson R22 or R44 .

Blade tip drive

Here the air compressed by a central compressor from nozzles on the blade tips is used to drive the rotor. This means that the gearbox can be omitted, especially since no torque compensation is necessary. However, due to the high noise level and very high fuel consumption, this construction method has not caught on.

Wave turbines

One speaks here of wave turbines, because unlike turbine jet engines, the (heated, accelerated) air flow is not used for propulsion, but only the shaft power of a power turbine is used via a gearbox to drive the rotor. The main advantage compared to piston engines is the lower power-to-weight ratio , which is more important for helicopters than for fixed-wing aircraft, as the weight of the engine must always be lifted vertically when taking off. In addition, turbines cool themselves (even when hovering ), while piston engines always require forced cooling.

The first turbine helicopter with satisfactory flight performance was the Aérospatiale SA-318 with the Turboméca Artouste IIC6 engine , which took off for the first time in 1955. Twenty years later, the world's largest serial helicopter, the Mil Mi-26 , was flying with two Ivchenko Progress D-136 turbines of 8,270 kW each .

Web link

literature

  • New generation of helicopter engines. In: Flug Revue No. 3/2018, pp. 60–65; with an overview of the most important shaft turbines for helicopters
  • Helicopter engines. In: Francis Crosby: The world encyclopedia of military helicopters , ISBN 978-0-7548-2386-5 , pp. 62-63