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The Ivchenko AI-20 is a
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...
engine developed by the Ivchenko design bureau in the 1950s. It has been built in large numbers, serving as the powerplant for both the
Antonov An-12 The Antonov An-12 ( Russian: Антонов Ан-12; NATO reporting name: Cub) is a four-engined turboprop transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10 and has many variants. For more than thr ...
transport and the
Ilyushin Il-18 The Ilyushin Il-18 (; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades and wa ...
airliner.


Design and development

The AI-20 was the first
gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...
engine developed by the design bureau led by Oleksandr Heorhiiovych Ivchenko based at
Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...
,
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, which had previously concentrated on small piston engines such as the
Ivchenko AI-14 The Ivchenko AI-14 is a nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine, radial piston engine designed in the Soviet Union to power aircraft. A variant known as the M462 was produced under Licensed production, license by Avia Motors, Avia. Variants ;AI ...
and AI-26 radials. It was designed as a prospective powerplant for the new, large
Ilyushin Il-18 The Ilyushin Il-18 (; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades and wa ...
airliner and the
Antonov An-10 The Antonov An-10 Ukraina (; NATO reporting name: Cat) is a four-engined turboprop passenger transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Design and development Development of a four-engined airliner intended for use on routes from began ...
, to be powered by four
turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...
s, in competition with the Kuznetsov NK-4 engines. Both engines were tested on the preproduction batch of 20 Il-18s, but the Ivchenko engine was chosen for full production, possibly due to a crash caused by an inflight failure of an NK-4 engine, and possibly due to the desire for the engines of the Ukrainian An-10 to also be built in Ukraine. The Il-18B was powered by four Ivchenko AI-20A Series 1 turboprops, each providing a takeoff power of 2,985 kW (4,000 shp) and sustained power of 2,090 kW (2,800 shp) at cruise altitude. Early Il-18A production had initially been fitted with Kuznetsov NK-4 engines, but they were soon exchanged for AI-20s. Later Il-18B production featured AI-20A Series 2 engines, with the same power ratings, but with technical improvements, thus older machines were updated with the Series 2 powerplants. The AI-20s drove four-bladed variable pitch reversible props with a diameter of 4.5 meters (14 feet 9 inches), featuring prominent propeller spinners, and hydraulic actuation for prop pitch. The engines were mounted above the wing and featured integrated fire extinguishers. The engines were started with electric motors, the power for the motors being provided by a ground cart. The AI-20 is a single-shaft turboprop with a ten-stage axial compressor and a three-stage power turbine, and is designed to run at a constant speed. A big problem with early production engines was the poor reliability of the AI-20 engines, which had a time between overhauls (TBO) in the range of 600 to 750 hours. The AI-20K engine variant was finally introduced, with a TBO of 2,000 hours – unimpressive by modern standards, but a big improvement. One issue that was never addressed was noise; turboprops are relatively noisy and high noise levels were a problem for the passengers. As mentioned, the overhaul life of the engine was initially poor compared with contemporary western engines, being reported as 600–750 hours in 1964, but was later improved by continuous development to 8,000 hours, with a service life of 22,000 hours in the AI-20D series 5M. Serial production was carried out at Zaporizhzhia (
Motor Sich The Motor Sich, Joint Stock Company () is a Ukrainian aircraft engine manufacturer headquartered in Zaporizhzhia. The company manufactures engines for airplanes and helicopters as well as industrial marine gas turbines and installations. Ov ...
) and at Perm Engine Plant (
UEC-Perm Engines JSC UEC-Perm Engines () is a company based in Perm, Russia, Perm, Russia. It is part of United Engine Corporation. Perm Engine Plant, one of the leading aircraft engine plants in the former USSR, produces a wide range of airplane and helicopter e ...
), USSR in 1958, also being built under licence in China as the WJ-6. About 14,000 AI-20s have been built in total.


Variants

;AI-20A series 1: :Initial production variant for early version of IL-18 producing 2,985 kW (4,000 shp). TBO was horrendous at 200–400 hrs. ;AI-20A series 2: :Improved production variant with same power ratings but technical improvements; older airplanes were updated with the Series 2 engines. TBO was still poor (600–750 hrs) ;AI-20K: :Reliability and durability was addressed with this much improved variant. TBO went up to 2,000 hours. This became the standard production variant. ;AI-20M: :This variant was a significant improvement over the earlier engine variants in all respects. The AI-20M raised takeoff power from 2,985 kW (4,000 shp) to 3,169 kW (4,250 shp), improving takeoff performance under "hot and high" conditions and permitting higher takeoff weights. Higher continuous power ratings were also attained (2700 shp) which made for more efficient cruise. Beyond these, the AI-20M also had good reliability, was lighter, and in particular featured much improved SFC. ;AI-20D: :This variant saw significant improvement in power output. Fuel economy was also marginally improved. AI-20D is also often referred to as AI-20D series 4. Power was uprated to a massive 5,180 shp. ;AI-20D series 5: :This variant builds on the previous success of the series 4 variant. Most performance parameters remained the same with the only major improvement being in the area of reliability and durability. The TBO/Service life was improved to 6000 hrs / 20,000 hrs respectively. ;AI-20D series 5M or AI-20DM: :This is the final variant developed. The AI-20DM is essentially the same with the AI-20D series 5, the only difference being in the power setting. The AI-20DM is derated to 4,750 shp (take-off power) which allows the engine to have extended life and increased TBO. The Time before overhaul (TBO) is consequently increased to 8000 hrs with a Service life of 22,000 hrs.


Applications


AI-20

*
Antonov An-8 The Antonov An-8 (NATO reporting name: Camp) is a Soviet-designed twin-turboprop, high-wing light military transport aircraft. Development In December 1951, OKB-153 initiated the design of a twin-engined assault transport aircraft, designated D ...
*
Antonov An-10 The Antonov An-10 Ukraina (; NATO reporting name: Cat) is a four-engined turboprop passenger transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Design and development Development of a four-engined airliner intended for use on routes from began ...
*
Antonov An-12 The Antonov An-12 ( Russian: Антонов Ан-12; NATO reporting name: Cub) is a four-engined turboprop transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10 and has many variants. For more than thr ...
* Antonov An-32 *
Beriev Be-12 The Beriev Be-12 ''Chayka'' (, NATO reporting name: Mail) is a Soviet turboprop-powered amphibious aircraft designed in the 1950s for anti-submarine and maritime patrol duties. Design and development The Beriev Be-12 was a successor to the B ...
*
Ilyushin Il-18 The Ilyushin Il-18 (; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades and wa ...
* Ilyushin Il-38 *
Tupolev Tu-4 The Tupolev Tu-4 (; NATO reporting name: Bull) is a piston-engined Soviet Union, Soviet strategic bomber that served the Soviet Air Force from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s. The aircraft was a copy of the American Boeing B-29 Superfortress, ha ...
( KJ-1 AEWC)


WJ-6

*
Shaanxi Y-8 The Shaanxi Y-8 or Yunshuji-8 ( zh, c=运-8, p=Yùn Bā) aircraft is a medium-size, medium-range transport aircraft produced by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation in People's Republic of China, China, based on the Soviet Antonov An-12. It has become on ...
* Shaanxi Y-9 * Qing-6 (Chinese upgraded Be-6 airframe) * AVIC AG600
amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...
* Xi'an KJ-600
carrier onboard delivery Carrier onboard delivery (COD) is the use of aircraft to ferry personnel, mail, supplies, and high-priority cargo, such as spare part, replacement parts, from shore bases to an aircraft carrier at sea. Several types of aircraft, including helico ...


Specifications (AI-20D series 5)


See also


References


External links


Motorsich
{{Ivchenko aeroengines 1950s turboprop engines Ivchenko-Progress aircraft engines