T-80U tank with gas turbine engine: fuel type and technical characteristics

It so happened that almost all the MBT (main battle tanks) in the world have a diesel engine. There are only two exceptions: T-80U and Abrams. What considerations guided Soviet specialists, creating the famous "eighty", and what are the prospects of this machine at the moment?

How it all began?

For the first time the domestic T-80U saw the light in 1976, and in 1980, Americans made their Abrams. Until now, only Russia and the United States have tanks with a gas-turbine power plant in service. Ukraine is not taken into account, because there are only T-80UDs in service, a diesel version of the famous "eighties".

And it all began in 1932, when the design bureau belonging to the Kirov plant was organized in the USSR. It was in his bowels that the idea arose to create a fundamentally new tank equipped with a gas turbine power plant. It was from this decision that the type of fuel for the T-80U tank would be used in the future: a conventional diesel or kerosene.

The famous designer J. Ya. Kotin, who worked on the layout of formidable ISs, at one time thought about creating even more powerful and better armed vehicles. Why did he turn his attention to the gas turbine engine? The fact that he intended to create a tank mass of 55-60 tons, for normal mobility of which required a motor capacity of at least 1000 liters. from. In those years, they had only to dream about such diesel engines. That is why the idea arose about the introduction of aircraft and shipbuilding technologies (that is, GDT) into tank building.

Already in 1955 work began, two promising models were created. But it turned out that the engineers of the Kirov plant, which before had only created engines for ships, did not fully understand the technological task. The work was curtailed, and then completely stopped, since NS Khrushchev completely "ruined" all the development of heavy tanks. So at that time a T-80U tank appeared, the engine of which is unique in its own way, was not destined.

However, indiscriminately accuse Nikita Sergeevich in this case is not worth it: in parallel, he was shown and promising diesel engines, against which the frankly crude GTE looked very promising. Yes, there to say, if the "registration" on the serial tanks, this engine was able to only by the 80-ies of the last century, and even today, for many military forces, this attitude is not the most encouraging. It should be noted that there are quite objective reasons for this.

Continuation of work

Everything changed after the creation of the world's first OBT, which became the T-64. Soon the designers realized that on its basis an even more advanced tank could be made ... But the difficulty lay in the stringent requirements put forward by the country's leadership: it should be maximally unified with existing machines, not exceeding their dimensions, but at the same time be able to be used as a means for "A breakthrough to the English Channel".

And then everyone again remembered the GDT, since the native power plant T-64 had already decisively failed to meet the requirements of the time. It was then that Ustinov decided to create the T-80U. The main fuel and engine of the new tank were to contribute to its maximum high-speed characteristics.

The difficulties that arose

The huge problem was that a new power plant with air purifiers needed to somehow be placed in a standard MTO T-64A. Moreover, the commission required a block system: in other words, it was necessary to make the engine so that during the overhaul it was possible to remove it entirely and replace it with a new one. Not spending, of course, a lot of time for this. And if everything was relatively simple with a relatively compact GTE, the air purification system delivered a lot of headaches to the engineers.

But this system is extremely important even for a diesel tank, not to mention its gas turbine counterpart to the T-80U. Whatever fuel is used, the turbine unit's blades will immediately cling to the slag and fall apart if the air entering the combustion chamber is not properly cleaned of impurities contaminating it.

It should be remembered that all engine designers strive to ensure that the air entering the cylinders or the turbine working chamber has been cleaned of dust by 100%. And to understand them is not difficult, since dust literally devours the insides of the motor. In fact, it acts like a fine emery.

Prototypes

In 1963, the well-known Morozov created a prototype T-64T, which was installed gas turbine engine, which has a very modest capacity of 700 liters. from. Already in 1964, designers from Tagil, who worked under the leadership of LN Kartsev, created a far more promising motor that could give out 800 "horses".

But the designers, both in Kharkov and Nizhny Tagil, faced a whole complex of the most complicated technical problems, because of which the first domestic tanks with GTE could appear only in the 80's. In the end, really good engine was only T-80U. The type of fuel used for its combat, also favorably distinguished this motor from early prototypes, since the tank could use all kinds of conventional diesel fuel.

We did not accidentally paint dust aspects above, since it was the problem of qualitative air purification that became the most difficult. The engineers had a lot of experience in the development of turbines for helicopters ... but the engines of helicopters worked in a constant mode, and the issue of dust contamination of air at the altitude of their work was not at all. In general, the work was continued (oddly enough) only with the submission of Khrushchev, raving the missile tanks.

The most "viable" project was the "Dragon". For him, the engine of increased power was vital.

Experienced objects

In general, nothing surprising in this was not, because for such machines was important increased mobility, compactness and reduced silhouette. In 1966, the designers decided to go the other way and presented to the public an experienced project, the heart of which were immediately two GTD-350, which, as it is not difficult to understand, give 700 liters. from. Power plant was created in the NGO them. V. Ya. Klimova, where by that time there were enough experienced specialists engaged in the development of turbines for aircraft and ships. It was they who, by and large, created the T-80U, whose engine for its time was really a unique development.

But it soon became clear that even one GTD - a piece of complicated and rather capricious, and even their spar and absolutely does not have any advantages over the usual monoblock scheme. Therefore, by 1968, an official resolution was issued by the government and the Ministry of Defense of the USSR on the resumption of work on a single option. By the mid-70s a tank was ready, which later became known to the whole world under the designation T-80U.

Main characteristics

The layout (as in the case of the T-64 and T-72) is classic, with the rear layout of the logistics, the crew is three people. Unlike the previous models, here the mechanic was given three triplexes at once, which greatly improved the review. Even such an incredible luxury for domestic tanks, as the heating of the workplace, was provided here.

Fortunately, the heat from the red-hot turbine was in abundance. So the T-80U with a gas turbine engine is justifiably the favorite of tank crews, as the crew's working conditions are much more comfortable there if you compare this car with the T-64/72.

The body is made by welding, the cast tower, the angle of inclination of the sheets is 68 degrees. As in the T-64, here was used a combined armor made up of armored steel and ceramics. Thanks to rational angles of inclination and thickness, the T-80U tank provides increased chances of survival of the crew in the most difficult combat conditions.

There is also a developed system for protecting the crew from weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. The layout of the combat compartment is almost exactly the same as that of the T-64B.

Engine compartment specifications

Designers still had to locate the GTE in the MTO longitudinally, which automatically resulted in a slight increase in the dimensions of the machine compared to the T-64. GTE was made in the form of a monoblock weighing 1050 kg. Its feature was the presence of a special gearbox, which allows you to shoot the maximum possible from the motor, as well as just two gearboxes.

For the supply, four tanks in the MTO were used, the total volume of which is 1140 liters. It should be noted that the T-80U with a gas turbine engine, the fuel for which is stored in such volumes, is a rather "voracious" tank, which consumes 1.5-2 times more fuel than the T-72. And because the size of the tanks are appropriate.

GTD-1000T is designed using a three-shaft scheme, it has one turbine and two independent compressor units. The pride of engineers is the adjustable nozzle assembly, which allows smoothly controlling the turbine turns and significantly increases its service life of the T-80U. What kind of fuel is it recommended to use to prolong the life of the power unit? The developers themselves say that the most optimal for this purpose is quality aviation kerosene.

Since there is simply no power connection between the compressors and the turbine, the tank can confidently move along the ground even with very poor load-bearing capacity, and the engine will not stall even with a sudden stop of the car. And what does the T-80U eat? The fuel for its engine can be different ...

Turbine installation

The main advantage of the domestic gas turbine engine is its fuel omnivorousness. Can work on aviation fuel, any type of solar oil, low-octane gasoline, designed for cars. But! T-80U, fuel for which should only have a tolerable fluidity, is still very sensitive to "unlicensed" fuel. Refueling with non-recommended fuels is possible only under conditions of combat situation, since it entails a significant decrease in engine life and turbine blades.

The motor is started at the expense of unscrewing compressors, for which two autonomous electric motors are responsible. The acoustic visibility of the T-80U tank is much lower than its diesel counterparts, both due to the characteristics of the turbine itself, and due to the special arrangement of the exhaust system. In addition, the car is unique in that when braking, both hydraulic brakes and the engine are used, due to which the heavy tank stops almost instantly.

How is this done? The fact is that when the brake pedal is pressed alone, the turbine blades begin to rotate in the opposite direction. This process gives a huge load on the material of the blades and the entire turbine, and therefore it is controlled by electronics. Because of this, if you need a sharp braking, you should immediately heat the gas pedal completely. In this case, hydraulic brakes are activated immediately.

As for the other qualities of the tank, it has comparatively low fuel "appetites". It was not immediately possible to achieve this design. To reduce the amount of fuel consumed, engineers had to create an automatic turbine revolution control system (SAUR). It includes temperature sensors and regulators, as well as switches that are physically connected to the fuel supply system.

Thanks to SAUR, the wear of the blades was reduced by at least 10%, and when the brake pedal and gear change are properly operated, the driver can reduce fuel consumption by 5-7%. By the way, what is the main fuel for this tank? T-80U in ideal conditions should be filled with aviation kerosene, but qualitative diesel fuel will do.

Air Purification Systems

A cyclone air purifier was used, providing 97% removal of dust and other foreign impurities from the intake air. By the way, at "Abrams" (due to normal two-stage cleaning), this indicator is close to 100%. It is for this reason that fuel for the T-80U tank is a sick subject, since it consumes considerably more if we compare the tank to its American competitor.

The remaining 3% of dust settles on the turbine blades in the form of baked slag. To remove it, designers have provided an automatic program of vibration cleaning. It should be noted that special equipment for underwater driving can be connected to the air intakes. It allows you to cross rivers with depths of up to five meters.

Transmission of the tank is standard - mechanical, planetary type. Includes two boxes, two gearboxes, two hydraulic drives. There are four forward speeds and one backward. Support rollers rubberized. Caterpillars also have an internal rubber track. Because of this, the T-80U has a very expensive chassis.

The tension is carried out by means of worm-type mechanisms. Suspension combined, it includes both torsion bars and hydraulic shock absorbers on three rollers.

Armament Characteristics

The main gun is the 2A46M-1 gun, the caliber of which is 125 mm. Exactly the same guns were put on T-64/72 tanks, as well as the notorious self-propelled anti-tank gun "Sprut".

Armament (as on T-64) was completely stabilized in two planes. Experienced tankmen say that the range of a direct shot on a visually observable target can reach 2100 m. Standard ammunition: high-explosive fragmentation, subcaliber and cumulative projectiles. A loading machine at one time can be up to 28 shots, several more can be located in the fighting compartment.

The auxiliary weapon was the 12.7 mm "Utes" machine gun, but the Ukrainians have long been putting up any similar armament, being guided by the customer's requirements. A huge shortcoming of the machine gun installation is the fact that only the tank commander can shoot it, and for this he must in any case leave the machine's zabronevoe space. Since the initial ballistics of the bullet 12.7 mm is very similar to that of the projectile, the most important purpose of the machine gun is also the gunfighting without the costs of the main ammunition.

Boeukladka

Mechanized combat laying was placed by designers around the perimeter of the tank's habitable volume. Since a large part of the entire MTO tank T-80 is occupied by tanks with fuel, the designers for the sake of volume conservation were forced to place horizontally only the projectiles themselves, while propellant charges stand in the drum vertically. This is a very noticeable difference between the "eighties" of the T-64/72 tanks, in which shells with crushing charges are located horizontally, at the level of the rinks.

Principle of operation of the main gun and the charging device

When the corresponding command is received, the drum starts to rotate, incidentally bringing the selected type of projectile to the loading plane. After this, the mechanism is locked, the projectile and the blowout charge are sent to the gun with the aid of a fixed sender at one point. After the shot, the sleeve is automatically grasped by a special mechanism and placed in the released cell of the drum.

"Carousel" loading provides a rate of fire no lower than six or eight rounds per minute. If the automatic loader fails, you can load the gun manually, but the tankmen themselves consider this development unrealistic (too difficult, dreary and long). The tank uses the sight of the TPD-2-49 model, independent of the gun stabilized in the vertical plane, which allows to determine the distance and is aimed at the target at distances of 1000-4000 m.

Some modifications

In 1978, the T-80U tank with a gas turbine engine was slightly upgraded. The main innovation was the emergence of the 9K112-1 "Cobra" missile complex, which was fired with 9M112 missiles. The missile could hit the armored target at a distance of up to 4 kilometers, with the probability of this being from 0.8 to 1 depending on the characteristics of the terrain and the speed of the target's movement.

Since the rocket completely repeats the dimensions of the standard 125-mm projectile, it can be located in any tray of the charging mechanism. This ammunition is "imprisoned" solely against armored vehicles, the warhead is only cumulative. Like an ordinary shot, the missile is structurally composed of two parts, which are combined during the standard operation of the loading mechanism. It is guided in a semi-automatic mode: the gunner first seconds must firmly hold the grip frame on the target being attacked.

Guidance either optical or on a directed radio signal. To maximize the probability of target damage, the gunner can choose one of the three flight modes of the missile, focusing on the combat situation and the surrounding terrain. As practice has shown, this is useful when attacking armored vehicles protected by active countermeasures systems.