Klimov RD-500
Encyclopedia
The Klimov RD-500 was an unlicensed Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
copy of the Rolls-Royce Derwent Mk.V turbojet that was sold to the Soviet Union in 1947. The Klimov
Klimov
The Kirill Klimov Experimental Design Bureau under the direction of Vladimir Yakovlevich Klimov designed engines for Soviet aircraft. The OKB was formed in the early 1930s to produce and improve upon the liquid-cooled Hispano-Suiza 12Y V-12 piston engine for which the USSR had acquired a license...
OKB
OKB
OKB is a transliteration of the Russian acronym for "Опытное конструкторское бюро" - Opytnoe Konstructorskoe Byuro, meaning Experimental Design Bureau...
adapted it for Soviet production methods and materials.
Development
Producing metric drawings and analyzing the materials used in the Derwent went fairly quickly, but find a substitute for the high-temperature, creepCreep (deformation)
In materials science, creep is the tendency of a solid material to slowly move or deform permanently under the influence of stresses. It occurs as a result of long term exposure to high levels of stress that are below the yield strength of the material....
-resistant Nimonic 80
Nimonic
Nimonic is a registered trademark of Special Metals Corporation that refers to a family of nickel-based superalloys. Nimonic alloys typically consist of more than 50% nickel and 20% chromium with additives such as titanium and aluminium. The main use is in gas turbine components and extremely high...
steel alloy was a more difficult challenge. Eventually an alloy that matched Nimonic 80's high-temperature properties was found in KhN 80T, but it was not creep-resistant. The first Derwent copy, designated as the RD-500 (Reaktivnyy Dvigatel — jet engine) after the Factory No. 500 where the engine was first produced, was being tested on 31 December 1947, but problems cropped up quickly. Combustion was uneven and this cracked the combustion chambers. This may have had something to do with the modifications made by the Soviets to the fuel, speed and starter systems. But these problems were resolved by September 1948 when the engine passed its 100-hour State acceptance test.
RD-500 was a close copy of the Derwent with a single-stage centrifugal compressor
Centrifugal compressor
Centrifugal compressors, sometimes termed radial compressors, are a sub-class of dynamic axisymmetric work-absorbing turbomachinery.The idealized compressive dynamic turbo-machine achieves a pressure rise by adding kinetic energy/velocity to a continuous flow of fluid through the rotor or impeller...
, nine combustion chamber
Combustion chamber
A combustion chamber is the part of an engine in which fuel is burned.-Internal combustion engine:The hot gases produced by the combustion occupy a far greater volume than the original fuel, thus creating an increase in pressure within the limited volume of the chamber...
s and a single-stage turbine
Turbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...
. It matched the Derwent's thrust of 15.9 kN (3,506 lbf) and was only 13.7 kg (30.2 lb) heavier. The main problem with the engine in service were with its turbine blades, 30% of which failed inspection due to recrystallization after casting. The poor creep resistance of the KhN 80T alloy resulted in dangerous elongation of the turbine blades. Up to 40% of the early production RD-500s had to be individually adjusted before delivery and the service life of the engine never approached the 100 hours demonstrated in the acceptance test.
The Soviets had enormous problems building the engines to standard as demonstrated in the 20,000 man-hours required to build a single engine in 1947. This figure dropped to a more reasonable 7,900 man-hours by November 1948 and declined further still to 4,734 man-hours by 1 March 1949, close to the target of 4,000 man-hours. Production by Factory No. 500 totaled 97 in 1948 and 462 in 1949. Factory No. 16 in Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
was brought in to the program and built 300 engines in 1949. Production was canceled around 1950 in favor of the superior Klimov VK-1
Klimov VK-1
-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9-External links:* *...
turbojet based on the Rolls-Royce Nene
Rolls-Royce Nene
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bridgman, L, Jane's fighting aircraft of World War II. Crescent. ISBN 0-517-67964-7-External links:* *...
.
The RD-500 was used in a number of early Soviet jet fighters including the Lavochkin La-15
Lavochkin La-15
-See also:-Bibliography:*Gordon,Yefim. Lavochkin's Last Jets. Midland Publishing. Hinkley. 2007. ISBN 1 85780 253 3-Further reading:*Gunston, Bill. The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875-1995. London:Osprey, 1995. ISBN 1-85532-405-9....
, the Yakovlev Yak-25
Yakovlev Yak-25 (1947)
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gordon, Yefim. "Early Soviet Jet Fighters". Hinkley: Midland. 2002. ISBN 1-85780-139-3* Green, William & Swanborough, Gordon. "The Complete Book of Fighters". London: Salamander Books. 1994. ISBN 1-85833-777-1...
, and the Yakovlev Yak-30
Yakovlev Yak-30 (1948)
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. Yakovlev Aircraft since 1924. London, UK: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1997. ISBN 1-55750-978-6.-External links:*...
, but only the Yakovlev Yak-23
Yakovlev Yak-23
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gordon, Yefim. "Early Soviet Jet Fighters". Hinkley: Midland. 2002. ISBN 1-85780-139-3* Green, William & Swanborough, Gordon. "The Complete Book of Fighters". London: Salamander Books. 1994. ISBN 1-85833-777-1...
was accepted for service, albeit in small numbers.
Applications
- Lavochkin La-15Lavochkin La-15-See also:-Bibliography:*Gordon,Yefim. Lavochkin's Last Jets. Midland Publishing. Hinkley. 2007. ISBN 1 85780 253 3-Further reading:*Gunston, Bill. The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875-1995. London:Osprey, 1995. ISBN 1-85532-405-9....
- Yakovlev Yak-23Yakovlev Yak-23|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gordon, Yefim. "Early Soviet Jet Fighters". Hinkley: Midland. 2002. ISBN 1-85780-139-3* Green, William & Swanborough, Gordon. "The Complete Book of Fighters". London: Salamander Books. 1994. ISBN 1-85833-777-1...
- Yakovlev Yak-25Yakovlev Yak-25 (1947)|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gordon, Yefim. "Early Soviet Jet Fighters". Hinkley: Midland. 2002. ISBN 1-85780-139-3* Green, William & Swanborough, Gordon. "The Complete Book of Fighters". London: Salamander Books. 1994. ISBN 1-85833-777-1...
- Yakovlev Yak-30Yakovlev Yak-30 (1948)|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. Yakovlev Aircraft since 1924. London, UK: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1997. ISBN 1-55750-978-6.-External links:*...