What Is a Propeller Fan?

Propeller fan technology (Propeller fan technology) is mainly used to manufacture propeller fan engines. It is a gas turbine engine that generates the main thrust (or pulling force) of the turbo propeller fan and the auxiliary thrust of the gas emitted from the nozzle. Referred to as a propeller fan engine.

A propeller fan engine is a type of engine between a turbofan engine and a turboprop engine. The goal is to combine the high speed performance of the former with the economy of the latter.

According to the presence or absence of the bypass, it can be divided into two types: open rotor and bypass rotor; according to the presence or absence of reducer, it can be divided into two types: with and without reducer;

HK-93 propeller fan engine

The HK-93 propeller fan engine manufacturer is Russia s state-owned Samara labor scientific research and production complex. The installed objects are Il-96M and Tu-204 passenger aircraft. HK-93 is the largest propeller fan engine in the world today. Its three-rotor geared counter-rotating ducted propeller fan solution is based on the participation of the Central Aviation Fluid Mechanics Research Institute, the Central Aviation Engine Research Institute, and some aircraft design bureaus. Based on a lot of research.

The study of engine parameters began in 1985. The results showed that the propulsion efficiency of the two-stage counter-rotating ducted propeller fan was 7% higher than that of the open-type propeller fan and the single-stage high ducted turbofan engine. Initial design began in 1988. In December 1989, the first engine (including gas generator and propeller fan) was put into trial. At this point, nearly 600 hours of high-pressure rotor and gas generator operation tests have been accumulated. As of August 1, 1991, a total of 1,300 hours of component and machine tests were accumulated, and in 1993 it reached 2,500 hours. Flight tests are scheduled to begin in 1994 with the installation of an HK-93 engine on the Il-76 aircraft. Engine batch production is scheduled to begin in 1997.

The development of the HK-93 engine draws on the technology and experience of many previous engines of the design bureau, such as the high-power reducer of the HK-12 turboprop engine. NK-321 afterburner turbofan engine fan drive solution, HK-62 open propeller fan, HK-63 ducted propeller fan and HK-110 open propeller fan verification machine and its AB-90 blade experience.

In order to meet the exhaust pollution and noise standards, a large number of tests were carried out in the development. The consortium conducted 920 tests on the combustion chamber from 1987 to 1992, using a dual-zone multi-nozzle combustion chamber scheme. In 1994, the nitrogen oxide emissions of HK-93 were 25% lower than the ICAO standard. In terms of sound attenuation, measures such as moderate blade tangential speed and step pressure ratio, wide-chord long saber-shaped blades, large blade-to-row axial distances, and sound-absorbing linings are adopted. Test results show that these measures are effective. ^[2]