The creation of the new PD-8 aircraft engine took half the time usually required for gas turbine units of a similar class. On average, the development of such engines takes at least ten years, whereas the PD-8 was prepared much faster due to several factors. This was reported by UEC.
First, the designers at UEC-Saturn used groundwork created during the development of the PD-14 engine, which reduced the design time for key units, including the gas generator.
Second, the design process was carried out with the active use of modern digital methods: the creation of a digital twin and computer modeling made it possible to assess the effectiveness of various solutions in advance and speed up the testing process.
In addition, the acceleration of development became possible thanks to cooperation between UEC-Saturn and other enterprises of Rostec's United Engine Corporation, which ensured comprehensive integration of components and technical solutions at all stages of engine creation.
The Russian PD-8 engine for the "Superjet" has logged more than 4,000 hours. One of the main tests will be flights in natural icing conditions in Arkhangelsk.