Exciting Times for Chinese Aircraft Engines!

SexyChineseLady

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WS-13 -- China's current medium-sized engine for JF-17 and J-35. Development began in late 1990s and limited serial production began in 2009. Testing on FC-1, JF-17, FC-31 and J-35 prototypes began from 2010 onward.

Mass production line for 100 kN WS-13E established in 2021.

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SexyChineseLady

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SexyChineseLady

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Manned aircraft turbofan projects:
EngineLatest VariantTop Thrust
(all variants)
Status
WS-10WS-10C155 kNProduction: J-10C, J-11BG, J-15, J-20A
WS-13WS-13E100 kNProduction Line ready:
JF-17 test, FC-31 prototype,J-35 prototype
WS-15--180 kNJ-20 test
WS-19--110 kNIl-76 flight testbed
WS-11--17 kNProduction: JL-11 (K-8 variant)
WS-17--49 kNL-15 test
WS-18--120 kNProduction: Y-20, H-6 variants
WS-20--160 kNProduction: Y-20B
CJ1000--196 kNIl-76 flight testbed
CJ2000--340 kNcore successfully ignited
 

SexyChineseLady

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Manned aircraft turbofan projects:
EngineLatest VariantTop Thrust
(all variants)
Status
WS-10WS-10C155 kNProduction: J-10C, J-11BG, J-15, J-20A
WS-13WS-13E100 kNProduction Line ready:
JF-17 test, FC-31 prototype,J-35 prototype
WS-15--180 kNJ-20 test
WS-19--110 kNIl-76 flight testbed
WS-11--17 kNProduction: JL-11 (K-8 variant)
WS-17--49 kNL-15 test
WS-18--120 kNProduction: Y-20, H-6 variants
WS-20--160 kNProduction: Y-20B
CJ1000--196 kNIl-76 flight testbed
CJ2000--340 kNcore successfully ignited

There are also:
WS-13A (high bypass of WS-13 series)
CJ500
SF-A
AEF1300

We can add those to the list in the future once we get more clarity.

Just the manned aircraft turbofan sector (not including turbofans for UAV/UCAV and nevermind the myriad turbojets, turboprops and pistons!) involves over a dozen projects. I don't think any other country is tackling so many aircraft engine projects at once. The industry is very deep and broad.
 

SexyChineseLady

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You can buy the WP-13 and KunLun (developed successfully as WP-14 but never put in service as PLAAF had moved to turbofans) turbojet series from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce website!!!


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You can still use them to power fighters like the F-7 and MiG-21!
 

SexyChineseLady

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Pentagon observes progress with Chinese fighter engines

By Greg Waldron
29 November 2022

Beijing’s efforts to improve domestic aircraft engines are bearing fruit, according to the Pentagon’s most recent report about Beijing’s military.


In its annual report to Congress, the US Department of Defence (DoD) notes that both the Chengdu J-10 and J-20 fighters are switching to the domestically produced WS-10.
 

SexyChineseLady

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Just a matter of time! Confirmed by a famous academician from Chinese Academy of Engineering who specializes in turbofan engines.


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SexyChineseLady

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Speaker is Liu Daxiang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He detailed the step by step maturation of China. WS-15 represents only the "second stage" with Thrust to Weight Ratio of 9. Third step is the combined engine (variable cycle) that give TWR of 12-15.

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SexyChineseLady

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Chinese materials science has reached a point that critical engine parts can last 50,000 hours compared to global standard of 20,000 hours!

Zhao Zhenye is academic who led the development of China's 3rd generation of "anti-fatigue" manufacturing technology solving the biggest headache in the field of mechanical engineering manufacturing.
 

SexyChineseLady

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Liu Daxiang confirms the flight test of the WS-15. Next step is induction and mass production for the J-20 replacing WS-10C.

The materials news explains why the WS-10 is now replacing the AL-31 across the board from the J-10 to J-20 to J-15. The reliability and longevity of the WS-10 has matured and this will mean much less teething issues for the production of WS-15 and WS-19 than it was for the early production models of the WS-10.

EngineLatest VariantTop Thrust
(all variants)
Status
WS-10WS-10C155 kNProduction: J-10C, J-11BG, J-15, J-20A
WS-13WS-13E100 kNProduction Line ready:
JF-17 test, FC-31 prototype,J-35 prototype
WS-15--180 kNJ-20 test
WS-19--110 kNIl-76 flight testbed
WS-11--17 kNProduction: JL-11 (K-8 variant)
WS-17--49 kNL-15 test
WS-18--120 kNProduction: Y-20, H-6 variants
WS-20--160 kNProduction: Y-20B
CJ1000--196 kNIl-76 flight testbed
CJ2000--340 kNcore successfully ignited
 
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SexyChineseLady

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In hindsight, this engine on the J-20 testbed (post in Jan. 2022 in this thread) was probably the WS-15!


This is the J-20 testbed! A different engine in each nacelle!

View attachment 132623
View attachment 132624

The question is whether the new engine here is a WS-10 TVC or the WS-15?

WS-10TVC has 15 petals ...
 

SexyChineseLady

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Wow! This deal just put an exclamation point on the maturity of China's material science in the engine space.



Longda’s Shares Gain After Chinese Alloy Firm Inks Deal to Supply French Jet Engine Maker

(Yicai Global) Dec. 13 -- Shares of Jiangsu Longda Superalloy rose after a unit of the Chinese alloy producer signed a 10-year supply deal with a French airplane engine manufacturer.

Longda’s stock price [SHA: 688231] closed up 2 percent at CNY37.45 (USD5.37) today, after rising by as much as 3.2 percent in the morning.

Safran Aircraft Engines will buy high-temperature alloys used in making key aviation and aerospace parts from Jiangsu Longda Superalloy Material, according to an agreement they signed on Dec. 9, its Wuxi-based parent firm said yesterday, without disclosing any other details.


Longda’s annual production capacity of high-temperature alloys, the cornerstone of advanced plane engine manufacture, will increase to 8,000 tons from 6,000 tons by the end of the year after new capacity comes on stream, the firm told visiting institutional investors last month. The products have already been used in aircraft engines, gas turbines, and other equipment, it said.
 

SexyChineseLady

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More on AVIC conference keynote after translation:

In the seminar, Professor Liu Daxiang touched on these major milestones! The WS-15 official test acknowledgement was only just one of them and not the biggest news!!!

1) 3rd generation low-bypass turbofans (WS-10, WS-13, etc.) can be supplied completely with domestic models (least surprising since we've seen conversion to WS-10 with J-10C and J-20A and now J-15),

2) China's 4th-generation low-bypass turbofan engine WS-15 with TWR of above 10 has flown,

3) Next generation (5th-gen) low-bypass military turbofan engine projects have started for TWR of 12-15; next gen turboshaft engine for helis will have PWR of 11-12,

4) Turbine-based combined cycle engine/Turboramjet engine (TBCC) -- Chinese name for variable-cycle -- R&D has made major breakthroughs!

This is really the first official acknowledgement of a variable-cycle or combined engine project!
 
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SexyChineseLady

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Thrust vectoring has a long history in China :D

WP-6 turbojet 2D TVC nozzle from the 1970s -- that engine was used on J-6 and target drones:

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