Chinese Engine Development
- Thread starter jackbh
- Start date
Thank you so much. This means a lot.
Hyperwarp
Captain
If we include some of the figures given by @Interstellar, and the official thrust range given during Zhuhai (12,000 kgf to 14,000 kgf - ) the thrust value maybe more like the ones below (12,000 kgf to 14,000 kgf translates to 118 kN to 137 kN)
WS-10 original version with 132 kN had to be dialed down heavily
WS-10G probably never got beyond initial stages
WS-10 - 118 kN
WS-10A - 125 kN?
WS-10H - 125 kN - 128 kN?
WS-10B3 - 130 kN
WS-10C - 130 kN - 132 kN?
WS-10D - ???
WS-10IPE - 137 kN
EDIT: There doesn't appear to be a version of the WS-10 that goes over 140 kN, or at least not without ruining MTBO
manqiangrexue
Brigadier
I would hardly call 12,000-14,000 "official." It's more an obfuscation than anything else. But in any case, that image is dated 2014. To be honest, I didn't know Taihang had reached 137kN in 2014 (and it might not have). I wonder what it is in 2019...
While i'm pretty sure that no active-production variant would exceed 14000 kgf / 137 kN thrust rating (as of 2014) , I have some reservations about the situation after 5 years.
The J-20 LRIP variants used AL-41F-M2 variants (?) with around 14000 kgf thrust ( I'm going with the conservative AL-41F-1S for a ballpark figure ).But since WS-10 series has made an appearance on J-20, are you thinking that they went with an engine with alower Thrust or equal Thrust to the imported russian engine? What was the pressing concern that forced them to fix a WS-10 series engine on the J-20? Unless there has been some improvements in reliability or thrust perhaps ?
Dieno corrected me by putting a thrust range of 128 to 145 kN ! for the WS-10 series. I am in no position to cross him ( or you ftm). Let's just leave the thrust numbers as it is . I do want to add accurate thrust numbers though.
What are the MTBOs of the many variants of WS-10 series ? I excluded these very critical specs as I don't think any meaningful discussion or agreement has been made within this forum on those numbers for the past 3 years.
Hyperwarp
Captain
I think the AL-41F-M2 was Deino's hypothesis (He owns the patent
). Another one was that the J-20 LRIP used AL-31F modified locally (In China). For CAC to quickly move away from AL-31F to WS-10 suggest some serious reliability issue with the older engine. It shows how far the WS-10 has come from the problems it faced in the mid-2000s. The loss of some thrust in afterburner may be acceptible if reliability is much better. And remember, when it comes to supercruise, what is important is the dry-thrust. We don't know the dry-thrust of the WS-10. AL-41F1S dry thrust is 86 kN.
I doubt any updates on the thrust would appear after design certification was made. So I would leave the previous engines with the thrust provided by Hyperwarp. But longer MTBO totally possible in my opinion.