AERDC is a R&D wing of Design Complex, HAL playing a vital role in the design and development of Gas Turbine Engines in India. It has successfully designed, developed, produced and type certified small aero engines which are in operation with the defence services. Patents have been issued by Patent Office, Govt. of India. Copyrights and Industrial Design have also been obtained for certain critical technologies.

 AERDC started functioning in the year 1960 as a hub of engine research and development with the aim of achieving self-reliance in design and development of aircraft engines.

 The Hindustan Jet Engine (HJE-2500) project was the first jet engine design and development program of the country taken up by the Centre. A prototype engine was successfully developed and proven on the test bed in 1965 and was proposed for the HJT-16 aircraft. The centre also designed and type certified piston engines and other engine accessories including a pneumatic starter and hydraulic pump in its early days. The centre has the unique distinction of being the only design house which has developed test beds for both Western as well as Russian origin gas turbine engines.  AERDC has successfully established several test beds including production test beds and mobile test stands.

PTAE-7 engine powering Lakhsya (Unmannned Aerial Vehicle) has been successfully developed and type certified by the Centre. The centre has to its credit as the only engine design house in India providing the entire gamut of starter engines viz. GTSU-110 and its improved versions GTSU-110M1 & GTSU-110M2 for starting the main engine of indigenously developed LCA (Tejas), Gas Turbine Electric Generator (GTEG-60) GTEG-60 for starting AI-20D engine of An-32 Aircraft, Air Producer engine for starting ADOUR-811 engine of Jaguar Aircraft and APU for starting the main engines of FGFA class of Aircraft.

Currently, the centre is working on GTDE-117MO engine for starting AL-31FP of Su-30 Aircraft, derivative of GTSU for LCA-MK2 i.e GTSU-127E, APUs for starting the main engines of IMRH / DBMRH / AMCA and UAV engines PTAE-W / H engines for powering the UAVs of HAL CATS-W/H.

AERDC has embarked on design and development of two prestigious projects, HTFE-25 engine, a turbo fan engine for powering medium thrust class aircraft and HTSE-1200 engine, a turboshaft engine for powering helicopters. Various critical technologies are incorporated in these engine development programmes.

DESIGN CAPABILITIES

Complete solutions for designing and testing of aero-engine components are provided

• Aerodynamic design of components for aerospace application with state-of-the-art advanced aerodynamic capabilities.
• Product range – Compressor (axial, radial, mixed flow), turbines (axial, radial), combustor (can, straight annular and reverse flow annular), air intakes and exhaust nozzles.
• Product designed for high reliability satiating the designed output over a wide operating range.

Design process using state-of-the-art high end analyses and design system.

STRUCTURAL DESIGN

Well established Structural design group exists which is equipped with the latest FEA software (ANSYS, LS Dyna, DyRoBeS), capable of carrying out the following structural analysis to validate mechanical integrity and to optimize the structural designs.

Implicit analysis Linear / Non-linear static analysis Dynamic analysis like Transient, modal & harmonic analysis. Other analysis like Spectral analysis, Random vibrations, Buckling analysis Fatigue analysis (LCF& HCF), Creep
Explicit Dynamic analysis Analysis is done to simulate impact, blade out, bird hit scenarios.
Rotor dynamics Prediction of critical speeds of Rotor-Bearing systems. Response to unbalance due to residual unbalance after Balancing
Other areas The structural design group also carries out defect analysis, weight optimization and life extension studies for engines which are manufactured by HAL.

MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEM DESIGN

The Centre has attained adequate competence in Gas Turbine engine design through rich experience gained in successful execution of various projects.

Product Design

• Engine Layout design
• Conceptual design
• 3D Solid Modelling
• Component design
• Assembly design
• Tolerance analysis for components and assemblies
• Generating production drawings & assembly layout drawings as per standards

System Design

• Engine Starting systems m Air starting system Cartridge starting system Jet Fuel starter
• Engine Fuel system Hydro mechanical and electronic
• Engine Lubrication systems Total Loss Mist Lubrication Closed Loop Oil Lubrication system
• Engine Electrical and Control systems Engine Harness and routing Power generator Digital Electronic Control Unit Integration

 

Accessories Design

The Centre has designed and developed several accessory systems such as

• HFES Pneumatic starter(to start Orpheus engine)
• Hydro-Mechanical Fuel Systems
• Oil cooling system
• Filter housing unit
• Pipelines and brackets

COMPUTER FACILITIES

• Dedicated Data Management Servers. • High End Windows Workstations. • High Performance Computing (HPC) facilities. • PLM software Teamcenter • Mechanical CAD Software Unigraphics NX9 CATIA R21 AutoCAD Mechanical 2012 AutoCAD Inventor 2012 • System Simulation Software MATLAB-Simulink AMEsim

• Aerodynamic Analysis Software ANSYS CFX 16 Concepts NREC – Compal, Axial, Axcent 7.12 GasTurb 11.0 • Structural Analysis Software ANSYS 16 LS Dyna 14.0 DyRoBeS 15.0 SAMCEF 14 • Gear Design software         KISSsoft 03-2016

 

TEST FACILITIES

VIBRATION TESTING OF BLADES & ENGINE SYSTEMS Vibration test set ups of varying ranges to cater to vibration tests on compressor blades of gas turbine engines.
DYNAMIC BALANCING MACHINE Dynamic Balancing Machine where high-speed rotors can be dynamically balanced.
OVERSPEED TEST RIG The Division has an Over speed Test Rig where high speed rotors can be run in vacuum for over speed testing.
CYCLIC SPIN TEST RIG AERDC, HAL has successfully designed and developed a cyclic spin test rig to carry out structural integrity testing of gas turbine engine rotor components. This rig is designed to cater for over speed testing, burst speed testing and cyclic spin testing.

OTHER TEST FACILITIES

• Pump test rigs.  
• Burner test rigs. 
• G load test rig.   
• Flow meter calibration rig
• Power generation unit test rig etc.

HIGH SPEED GEAR BOX TEST RIG UP TO 250 KW

• High speed gear box test rig up to 250 kW drive to test Internal Gear Box (IGB) of aero engines with bevel gears

 

LP and HP Fuel Pump Test Rig up to 50 lpm

OTHER EQUIPMENTS
OPTICAL EMISSION SPECTROMETER Features: Works on the principle of Optical emission spectrometry. Capable of checking 20 metal elements with high precision and accuracy.	CO-ORDINATE MEASURING MACHINE (CMM) Measurement window : 1200 mm L x 900 mm W x 650 mm H Integrated with Rotatory table and Probe stand to measure complex aero foil profiles Capabilities : Inspection of complex  parts Gear Metrology Accuracy level: 0.9 +L/350 mmat 19-21°C
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Well established quality assurance procedure in conformance with military and civil airworthiness requirements.
3D Flexible CMM cum Laser Scanner A versatile equipment has been acquired that allows easy verification of product quality by performing 3D inspection, tool certifications, CAD comparison, dimensional analysis, reverse engineering and more.	AS9100 Rev-C Quality Management system Well-equipped test facilities for carrying out the following tests Calibration of Transducers (Pressure and Vibration) Calibration of pressure gauges up to 450 bar Calibration of Thermocouples Calibration of RPM indicators Hot and Cold bath for thermocouple, RTD sensor checks Mobile Spectro for instant chemical analysis of various materials. Universal Hardness testers for metal hardness measurement CMM Inspection Cleanliness of fuel and oil to NAS 1638 standard Millipore filtration unit to filter Metal Chips from liquid for further analysis
DIRECT METAL LASER SINTERING (DMLS)-3D PRINTING
DMLS is an additive metal fabrication technology. Machine supplied by EOS of Munich, Germany. In this technology component is produced by continuous repetition of layers of metal powder under the exposure of laser. This fabrication technology uses appropriately prepared CAD data containing 3D Geometries.
Bed capacity: 400mm X 400mm X 400mm Supported materials: Ni base alloys, Ti alloys, Al alloys, Steels. Uses 3D Geometry in STL format. Complex parts manufacturing in reduced time and cost. Minimum Layer thickness of 0.01mm Automated auxiliary supports for complex internal or external features. Better accuracy and precision.	EOSINT M 400

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

We provide technical / maintenance support for the products supplied to the customers as stated below.

• AMC of Test beds
• Flight trials
• Defect Investigation