Import-Substituted SJ-100 Model with New Engine Pylons Tested at TsAGI
18 October 2023
Developing reliable civil aircraft technologies is a basis for Russia’s territorial coherence which is an essential prerequisite for sustainable economic development. Yakovlev PJSC is currently developing the SJ 100, a new-generation short-haul jet enhancement equipped with fully developed systems in Russia as part of the import substitution program. In late August, the test aircraft took its inaugural flight.
Next, flight tests will be carried out for the second test aircraft with PD-8 domestic engines. At the moment, the propulsion system is undergoing a series of bench and flight studies. Among them are tests of the SJ-100 half-plane model with nacelles and modified PD-8 engine pylons at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute named after Prof. N.E. Zhukovsky (a part of NRC “Zhukovsky Institute”).
During the first stage, the team headed by Aleksandr Lysenkov (Deputy Head for Propulsion Aerodynamics, TsAGI) designed a modification of SJ 100 engine pylon outer mold lines through numerical studies. The studies used the EWT‑TsAGI software package developed by the Institute. During the second stage, the pylon model was manufactured for TsAGI bench tests.
Experimental studies of the SJ-100 half-plane model were conducted in the T-128 transonic wind tunnel. TsAGI scientists compared several configurations of the “wing — nacelle — pylon” assembly: with the original one provided by PJSC Yakovlev and the engine pylon modified at the Institute.
During the tests, it was studied how the cruising aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft — lift, drag, and torque characteristics — change depending on the configuration of the propulsion system over a wide range of Mach numbers. Airflow visualization also helped to study the flow around its elements.
The tests confirmed the calculated aerodynamic characteristics of the modified PD-8 nacelle pylon.