A New Generation of Chinese Engines Could Soon Be Powering Commercial Aircraft and Spaceships

A New Generation of Chinese Engines Could Soon Be Powering Commercial Aircraft and Spaceships

Until recently, the vast majority of the world's aircraft engines came from one source.chinese engine Developed by Western companies, they are used to propel everything from passenger jets to cargo carriers to military fighters and bombers. But China is aiming to change that with the launch of its own homegrown aerospace engine.

A new generation of Chinese-developed jet engines is undergoing flight testing that could soon see the powerplants flying on commercial flights and on military aircraft.chinese engine But it's a long road ahead to achieve a level of reliability that meets or exceeds current Western standards.

The WS-10 engine is a 30klbf military turbofan designed to power China's new military aircraft, such as the J-20 and the new bomber Xianglong B-1.chinese engine It was first tested in 1986, but it took until 2009 to reach a thrust-to-weight ratio that would allow the engine to replace the Klimov RD33 for local versions of the Mig-17 and Mig-21; the Tumansky RD-9 on locally produced copies of the Su-27 Flanker; and the Ivchenko-Progress/Motor Sich AL-31 on the Hongdu L-11 jet-trainer.

Developing such an engine is a huge task for China's aeroengine industry, which was once part of the larger machine building industry and has since split off.chinese engine In the 1990s, a number of Chinese aeroengine firms were created and became separate entities under major aircraft manufacturers such as AVIC. But they have struggled to develop their own designs or produce engines of sufficient quality to meet the requirements of their customers.

Now, a new generation of Chinese-developed engines is undergoing flight testing that could soon have them powering commercial aircraft and even spaceships.chinese engine The WS-18 engine is a high-thrust turbofan intended for heavy transport aircraft such as the Y-20, and it may also be used in future bomber and tanker aircraft. Its core is based on the CFM56 from the GE F-101, which was examined in 1986.

A paper published last year describes the WS-20 as the world's second full-flow staged-combustion-cycle methalox engine. This type of engine uses explosive detonation to convert fuel into kinetic energy and thrust. The WS-20 is smaller than the LEAP-1C engine that will power COMAC's single-aisle C919 and should offer comparable performance.

The engine is likely to be able to achieve the performance needed for large commercial aircraft, such as those from Airbus and Boeing, as well as for China's own wide-body and regional jets. But it's important to note that the WS-20 is a full decade behind the latest Western technology and it will take time to work out all the bugs in an actual production engine.

Tags:1140 engine | diy engine model