“Power Machines” Preparing Prototype of GTE-65.1 Gas Turbine with 3D Printed Parts

PJSC Power Machines has started to create a model 16-stage compressor and a prototype combustion chamber of the GTE-65.1 gas turbine. The combustion chamber will be manufactured using 3D printing technologies. Inspection can be completed with the use of laser 3D scanning (see examples here).

According to the press service of PJSC Power Machines, the creation of a model compressor and its subsequent tests are necessary to confirm the compressor design parameters, including gas-dynamic stability, strength, and vibration characteristics. After confirming the correctness of the adopted design solutions for the flow path of the compressor, Power Machines will start manufacturing the compressor units for the head sample of the GTE-65.1 gas turbine.

The company also completed the technical design phase of the GTE-65.1 combustion chamber and began to create a prototype. The parameters of the combustion chamber assembly, environmental characteristics, and resource of the main elements specified in the technical task have been confirmed by calculation. Three-dimensional models of the product have been made to organize the prototype production by means of 3D printing. The prototype of the combustion chamber will be tested on full-scale parameters at the firing stand. During bench tests, the ignition processes and the main characteristics of the chamber will be confirmed in the entire range of operational parameters.

The GTE-65.0 gas turbine designed and manufactured by the company in 2005–2008 became the prototype for the GTE-65.1. In the new version, the cold and hot parts of the turbine are completely redesigned taking into account modern approaches to the development and operation of gas turbines, industry practices, and the operating experience of similar foreign-made turbines. As a result, the new flow path of the compressor will increase its efficiency and compression ratio. Shipping of the GTE-65.1 is scheduled for the spring of 2025.

Last summer, the company announced its intention to manufacture and test a pilot batch of 3D printed blades for the modernized GTE-65 gas turbines with new gas-dynamic surfaces. Changing the blade profiles should lead to an increase in the efficiency of the turbine flow path in order to achieve the target parameters of the GTE-65.1 project.