Engineers at the Rybinsk enterprise UEC-Saturn have developed a device to protect gas turbine engines, which shuts off fuel supply even before a dangerous turbine spin-up begins. This prevents the destruction of the power plant in an accident, when every second counts. The official documentation was published in the FIPS database in March 2026.
A critical situation arises when the shaft breaks. The compressor stops drawing power, and the turbine begins to accelerate sharply, exceeding the permissible speed. In such modes, the engine can be destroyed almost instantly.
The new scheme solves this problem at an earlier stage. When the compressor rotor is displaced, its disk touches a current conductor built into the structure. The electrical circuit opens, and the system sends a command for an instant fuel cutoff.
Unlike traditional solutions, where protection is triggered after the spin-up has already begun, here the shutdown occurs in advance—even before the development of an emergency mode.
Additionally, there is a mechanical braking effect: when the rotor is displaced, friction against the stator increases, which reduces the turbine's rotational speed.
The developers at UEC-Saturn emphasize that the device does not require a major redesign of the engine and can be integrated into existing gas turbine installations.
UEC-Saturn is one of the key enterprises of UEC, producing sought-after PD-8 aircraft engines for the import-substituted "Superjet."
In December 2025, the engine successfully passed one of the key stages—fan blade failure tests, confirming the strength of the housing.