Kaveri turbofan programme seeks extension
...As things stand, the Kaveri has completed close to 60 hours of flight-testing at the Gromov institute, the highlight of which was the use of a fully indigenous FADEC. However, the flight testing phase has also accentuated the engine's fundamental problems that have kept it in development for so long. Adding to a littany of woes, compounded by overall insufficient performance parameters, are problems in the turbine and fan assemblies, possibly structural issues as well...
...Negotiations on technology sharing and intellectual property have taken the better part of the two years, though a top official confirmed that a contract between DRDO and Snecma is likely to be signed within the year...
...DRDO sources confirm that Snecma will transfer several key technologies as part of the joint engine programme, which include single crystal blades, bladed disk and EBPVD (electron beam plasma vapour deposit coating), all critical areas that the Kaveri engine has failed to find solutions to within the country, though not for lack of trying. Programme managers believe single crystal blade technology will be a major solution to one of the Kaveri's biggest problems deformation of bladesduring testing as a result of high ambient temperatures. This has proved to be a severe limiting factor, considering that structurally solidified blades have structural integrity that comes nowhere close to single crystal structures...
...The tie up with Snecma will launch the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) into an all-new league, and will involve modern forging, welding and casting techniques for the first time. Unlike the Kaveri K9 programme, the K10 programme (the official designation for the proposed effort with Snecma) will be professionally monitored from the outset, with hard timelines and investments...