Dry Kaveri Engine to Get New BrahMos-Designed Afterburner With 29kN Extra Thrust, Targeting 80kN Total Thrust

In a significant boost to India's indigenous engine development program, BrahMos Aerospace has designed a new afterburner section for the Dry Kaveri engine, aiming to achieve a total thrust of 80kN. This advanced afterburner, developed from scratch, marks a crucial step in optimizing the engine's performance for potential applications in advanced fighter aircraft and other platforms.

The new afterburner section is engineered to provide an extra 29kN of thrust when engaged, significantly enhancing the engine's power output. This development is part of ongoing efforts to refine the Dry Kaveri engine, a non-afterburning variant of the Kaveri engine family originally developed by the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) under DRDO.

BrahMos Aerospace designed the afterburner section indigenously, incorporating advanced materials and engineering techniques to withstand the extreme thermal and mechanical stresses involved. This achievement highlights India's growing capabilities in critical aerospace technologies.

With the additional 29kN thrust from the afterburner, the Dry Kaveri engine is expected to achieve its target of 80kN, making it competitive with international counterparts. The afterburner will undergo rigorous testing integrated with the Dry Kaveri engine to validate its performance and reliability under operational conditions.

This development is a key part of India's broader strategy to achieve self-reliance in critical aerospace technologies. Once proven, the enhanced Dry Kaveri engine could potentially power various indigenous platforms, including UAVs, future fighter aircraft, or even advanced cruise missiles.

BrahMos Aerospace, primarily known for its supersonic cruise missiles, is expanding its role in India's defence ecosystem with this foray into engine technology. The collaboration between BrahMos Aerospace, GTRE, and other stakeholders demonstrates a strong commitment to overcoming technical challenges and advancing indigenous capabilities in aerospace propulsion.

 

[sanket]

So it is in the design stage. I still think, as already said several times before, MIDHANI, GTRE, ISRO & BrahMos Aerospace should come together to refine the afterburner section for development of lightweight material which can withstand high temperatures, which can produce and exceed 35 to 40 kN, that will give Kaveri a whopping 85 to 90 kN thrust which will enhance the combat radius of Tejas MK1A. Also, after development of lightweight material, the weight of the Kaveri engine will fall down too.

 

[coke]

So now they r near, if this design with afterburner engaged achieves 80kn successfully then its just 4kn short of f404, they can uprate it also i believe

 

[sanket]

So now they r near, if this design with afterburner engaged achieves 80kn successfully then its just 4kn short of f404, they can uprate it also i believe

Flat Rated Tech already been developed by GTRE, even if it achieves 80 kN it will arrest further down fall of Thrust in Indian Condition unlike GE -engines tends to fall atleast 8% to 9% Thrust

 

[Ray]

So now they r near, if this design with afterburner engaged achieves 80kn successfully then its just 4kn short of f404, they can uprate it also i believe

It's not just thrust that matters. Compare the other factors like weight, dimensions and LRUs etc..
There's a long way for kaveri to go into production ready for Tejas.
Hope best for dry kaveri, if that would work perfact than we can expect something more valuable.
Right now kaveri is heavier than f-414 and producing very less thrust.

 

[Kailash]

So it is in the design stage. I still think, as already said several times before, MIDHANI, GTRE, ISRO & BrahMos Aerospace should come together to refine the afterburner section for development of lightweight material which can withstand high temperatures, which can produce and exceed 35 to 40 kN, that will give Kaveri a whopping 85 to 90 kN thrust which will enhance the combat radius of Tejas MK1A. Also, after development of lightweight material, the weight of the Kaveri engine will fall down too.

Dry to wet ratios of world beating engines give us a ratio of 1:1.6 - wishing anything above this will be just wishful thinking. At 50KN dry we can expect a max wet thrust of 80KN. Of couse we shouldn't settle for anything less.

Any more thrust, you need a redesign of the core and/or adding a fan and/or change in dimensions. All these adds weight. What is common minimum is spectacularly better materials which are lighter and affordable to mass produce. That brings the problem of forging, machining, manufacturing such new exotic alloys, all the while keeping costs low. Problem is cyclic and complicated - but can be surmounted with ten times the investment, the right people - only catch is the time it'll take. Should've started 15 years ago.

 

[Kailash]

So now they r near, if this design with afterburner engaged achieves 80kn successfully then its just 4kn short of f404, they can uprate it also i believe

Over 100 kg overweight. That's the only other problem. IAF is ok with a non-flat rated thrust numbers of f404, only after ge agreed to develop the higher thrust in20 variant. Kaveri at 80KN will still underperform (~90%) the f404-in20.

100kg extra weight at the hind quarter means equivalent change in dead weight in the nose cone(~85% perf), significant changes to control laws and software etc. But it's a worthy endeavour, if IAF doesn't want it, some African, South American and SEA countries might lap it up

 

[abhinav srivastava]

So as per them Kaveri dry thrust is 51 KN. That's great. Godrej mentions it as 48KN. Some weight reduction will be very good.

 

[Dipesh Debnath]

Elon used first principles to redesign the whole rocket, ending up with a self landing rocket. We should apply same and redesign kaveri to eliminate all challenges and get it working.if challenges are too difficult then scrap the challenge altogether and build new using first principles,the way Elon does.

 

[coke]

I m confused, is the afterburner developed or just designed? The article mentions both. Very confusing

 

[Foxxbats]

Oh! what a pleasant news, made my day.

 

[ASHOK CARROL]

On case the Engine with after burner produces 80+ kn with flat rating take consultancy from the French for weight reduction of over 150-200 kg to produce a Kaveri of Less than 1000 kg and tweak it to produce 57-60 kn dry and 95 + after burner thrust so as to use it in both Mk -1 and MK-2 aircraft.

 

[Manish Jha]

I m confused, is the afterburner developed or just designed? The article mentions both. Very confusing

Dont get confused, the afterburner has been designed by GTRE and has shared the technology with Brahmos, who then built it as per the configuration provided by GTRE. So one sample of it has been built which will be used for the futher testing.

 

[Buck]

Elon used first principles to redesign the whole rocket, ending up with a self landing rocket. We should apply same and redesign kaveri to eliminate all challenges and get it working.if challenges are too difficult then scrap the challenge altogether and build new using first principles,the way Elon does.

So you want them to scrap decades of research and development and start over again?

 

[Dipesh Debnath]

So you want them to scrap decades of research and development and start over again?

Yes..it could not make any plane fly satisfactorily by now, so it has low chance of making a plane fly tomorrow also. Just start again with all fresh mind and get an engine ready. I am sure fresh grads who joined has some good ideas and solution to this issue.

 

[Akshat]

So it will be made by Brahmos. Which means the tech would be coming from Russia, and we would be paying royalty to them for every engine made by us. DRDO at its finest once again.

 

[Bhupesh Desai]

You need 90 Kn thrust with afterburner for Tejas MK1A it is insufficient to have 80Kn engine. Than the engine needs to be modified for 100kn for Tejas MK2 and same engine for 125kn for AMCA. All engine derivatives can be done if SRDO, GTRE, ISRO, BHRAHMOS all agency work together to produce this engine rather then working in silo independently.