Kuznetsov NK-12MV

The Kuznetsov NK-12 is a Soviet turboprop engine of the 1950s, designed by the Kuznetsov design bureau. The NK-12 drives two large four-bladed contra-rotating propellers, diameter (NK-12MA), and diameter (NK-12MV). It is the most powerful turboprop engine to enter service.

Design and development

The design that eventually became the NK-12 turboprop was developed after World War II by a team of Soviet scientists and deported German engineers under Ferdinand Brandner, who had worked for Junkers previously; the design bureau was headed by chief engineer Nikolai D. Kuznetsov. Thus, the NK-12 design evolved from late-war German turboprop studies. This started with the postwar development of the wartime Jumo 022 turboprop design that was designed to develop , weighing . The effort continued with a , weighing , completed by 1947. Evolution to the TV-12 engine required extensive use of new Soviet-developed alloys and was completed in 1951.

The NK-12 is the most powerful turboprop engine to enter service, ahead of the Europrop TP400 (in 2005). Another engine of similar size, the Pratt & Whitney T57 with and jet thrust, ran 3,100 hours before being cancelled in 1957. The NK-12 powers the Tupolev Tu-95 bomber and its derivatives such as the Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft and the Tupolev Tu-114 airliner (with NK-12MV), which still holds the title of the world's fastest propeller-driven aircraft despite being retired from service in 1991. It also powered the Antonov An-22 Antei (with NK-12MA), the world's largest aircraft at the time, and several types of amphibious assault craft, such as the A-90 Orlyonok "Ekranoplan".

The engine has a 14-stage axial-flow compressor, producing pressure ratios between 9:1 and 13:1 depending on altitude, with variable inlet guide vanes and blow-off valves for engine operability. The combustion system used is a cannular-type: each flame tube is centrally mounted on a downstream injector that ends in an annular secondary region. The contra-rotating propellers and compressor are driven by the five-stage axial turbine. Mass flow is 65 kg (143 lb) per second.

Variants

Data from Alexandrov

;NK-12:, initial development model, used on the Tupolev Tu-95 and Tupolev Tu-116
;NK-12M:, used on the Tupolev Tu-114
;NK-12MV:, AV-60 propellers, used on the Tupolev Tu-95, Tupolev Tu-126, and Tupolev Tu-142
;NK-12MA:, AV-90 propellers, used on the Antonov An-22
;NK-12MK:, propellers, built with corrosion-resistant materials, used on the A-90 Orlyonok
;NK-12MP:, modernized version used on the Tupolev Tu-95MS and Tupolev Tu-142M
;NK-12MPM: Upgraded version of the NK-12MP that develops more power, produces half the vibration and is paired with the Aerosila AV-60T propeller; replaces the NK-12MP engine and AV-60K propeller on the Tupolev Tu-95MS

Applications

* A-90 Orlyonok
* Antonov An-22
* Tupolev Tu-95
* Tupolev Tu-114
* Tupolev Tu-116
* Tupolev Tu-126
* Tupolev Tu-142

Specifications (NK-12MV)

See also

References

External links

ciad.ssau.ru - Image

airventure.de - Image, finnish museum
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{{Kuznetsov aeroengines

NK-12
1950s turboprop engines