Kaveri Engine development (original) (raw)

Kaveri Engine – Road so far

Aero-engine is considered as one of the key areas for India’s aspirations of achieving self-reliance in the defence sector. It is one of the most complex technologies to develop as it requires various metallurgical challenges that needs expertise as well as experience. The extremely high rotation of turbine blades & extreme temperature of the core tests the reliability of alloys. The GTRE’s Kavery Engine program was sanctioned in 1989 with objective to power the LCA Tejas fighter jet. The aim was to develop low bypass twin spool turbo fan engine of 80 kN thrust class with after burner. However, there were two challenges – due to lack of experience in the development of low bypass engine, the Kaveri was not ready on time. Further the power requirement of LCA was also increased due to its increased weight. GTRE Kaveri was officially delinked from the Tejas programme in September 2008. The programme was abandoned in 2014.

As per the CAG report of 2011 – “GTRE has been unable to deliver an engine that could power the LCA despite a cost overrun of 642 per cent and a delay of about 13 years”. GTRE defended the delays with non-availability of state-of-the-art wind tunnel in India, and US technology restrictions.

While GTRE was not able to achieve the increased thrust requirement, there has been significant learning in the first attempt of the development of low bypass turbo fan engine. Till now, 9 Full prototype engines and 4 core engines have been built. Total 3217 hours of engine testing has been conducted.

Status of Kaveri Engine program

As we have already reported before, the GTE Kaveri has been able to achieve wet thrust of 70.4 kN and dry thrust of 46kN against the desired ‘wet thrust’ of 81 kilo-newton (kN).

The core of the Kaveri engine without after burner section has been stable and various past issue related to the core of the engine has been fixed. It has met its dry thrust requirement of 46kN; however, it is yet to be certified.

GTRE has planned the Performance and operability of Kaveri engine across the flight envelop in altitude test facility in 2022. The initial flight release (IFR) certification of the engine is planned to be completed by 2024. Once the Dry Kaveri Engine is certified, GTRE may began the work on an upgraded Jet engine with a new afterburner.

High Altitude trials of Kaveri Engine

In October 2022 it was reported that the dry Kaveri engine has been sent to Russia for high altitude trials. Once the high-altitude trials are complete it will be integrated with a flying test bed based on IL-76 platform. These two steps are extremely crucial for the certification of Kaveri engine. Once the dry Kaveri engine is certified, it will be used to power Ghatak UCAV.

In February 2023, it was reported that the Kaveri Dry Engine has successfully completed high altitude trials at the Russian facility where it was tested for various speed, thrust and pressure. The engine was simulated to achieve 46kN of dry thrust and achieved the the dry thrust of 48.5 kN of thrust. This was an important achievement in the engine development program of dry Kavery to be followed by structural tests & certification.

#ReachDefence #EXCLUSIVE
Kaveri Dry Engine has successfully completed high altitude trials at the Russian facility, this is a milestone in engine development program

It was tested at various conditions of pressure, mach # and thrust,
Simulated – 46kN
Achieved – 48.5 kN pic.twitter.com/dXRAgFjLu1

— Reach Defence (@reach_defence) February 14, 2023

In February 2023, it was reported that Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd has won the contract from GTRE to manufacture all 8 modules of 6 Dry Kaveri engine. It will be the 1st Private firm to produce the jet engine modules for the Dry Kaveri Engine of the DRDO GTRE.

The good news is that on 17th April 2023, the GTRE Engine Parts Manufacturing at Godrej & Boyce has been inaugurated by Dr. Tessy Thomas who is Director General of Aeronautical Systems, DRDO . The first engine will be delivered by late 2024. All 6 engines are slated to be delivered by August 2025. These engines will further used for certification for its fly worthiness.

7th May 2024, Godrej Aerospace has announced that it is developing a high-temperature brazing process crucial for Aero Engine performance, marking a first for India. The successful development of this brazing process not only adds a crucial capability to India’s aerospace manufacturing ecosystem but also reduces dependency on foreign technologies.

The business is developing a high temperature brazing process for plugging the tip and root openings of the cast Turbine Rotor Blade of Aero Engine that support the ceramic core used for producing the serpentine cooling passage in the blade. These cooling passages are needed for flow of cooling air in the Turbine Rotor Blade. Godrej Aerospace’s successful development of this high-temperature brazing process will be another milestone in its ongoing journey of technological innovation.

Maneck Behramkamdin, Senior Vice President & Business Head, Godrej Aerospace, said, “This milestone represents a significant leap forward in India’s aerospace capabilities. By developing this process indigenously, we are not only meeting the stringent requirements of modern aerospace technology but also showcasing India’s potential in advanced manufacturing techniques.”

LCA as FTB for dry Kaveri engine

GTRE has also started working on using LCA Tejas as a FTB for dry Kaveri engine. In 2023, GTRE has issued a tender for upgrade of a unit of LCA Tejas engine starter unit which can be used as FTB. In Nov 2023, GTRE has issued another tender for the modification of LCA specific AMAGB (Aircraft Mounted Accessory Gearbox) again to test Kaveri Dry Engine. Going via these developments, it seems GTRE has planned the testing of DRY Kaveri engine from LCA.

DR S.K Jha, CMD of MIDHANI – a PSU specialized in metals and metal alloys manufacturing facility in India has told that all components of Dry Kaveri engine is using materials supplied by MIDHANI. This engine will be used for making certain number of strategic equipments. The one such equipment which we know of is Ghatak UCAV. He also said that the Kaveri engine is programmed for further steps. India is going to develop 110kn domestic engine for AMCA and MIDHANI is also going to develop material it.

80 kN Kaveri engine with afterburner

Combing back to Kaveri engine with after burner section development, the GTRE has started the work. In January 2024, GTRE has commenced the working on the after burner section of the Kaveri engine which will be able to generate thrust of 80 kN. If we look at the existing GE F404 engine which powers LCA Tejas, it generates dry thrust of 48.9kN and 78.7 kN with after burner. Therefore the development of Kaveri engine with afterburner section can very well power the fleet of LCA Mark-1 fighter jet and reduce dependency on US as unlike GE F414 engines, these engines are not made in India. To commence the development on 80 kN thrust class engine, GTRE has released an Expression of Interest inviting the Indian private sector firms for “Ready to fit” equiaxed nickel allow Low Pressure Turbine(LPT) rotor blades and Vane LPT Sub Assemblies. The delivery of these engine component will commence 24 months after the time of order.