MwRYum
Major
I got the FWS-10 showcased in the museum outside Beijing
But, despite my crappy camera, the current pics of J-20 still won't do much good, not close enough to make comparison
Chinese Engine Development
- Thread starter jackbh
- Start date
I got the FWS-10 showcased in the museum outside Beijing
But, despite my crappy camera, the current pics of J-20 still won't do much good, not close enough to make comparison
At first, I don't think it is a WS-10"A". WS-10A is famous here because TG(that's what Chinese fanboys call China, it's the acronym of Chinese "Party's State") means you to know: You know WS-10A because it was showed in Juhai, and it was showed in Juhai because it is designated to power J-10 and is supposed to be exported with J-10 some day later, not because it is the latest achievement China has made so far.
As for the nozzles of J-20, they looks like ejector nozzles but not as the same as WS-10's. The outerwear petals of a WS-10's nozzle are short and wide, but the J-20's are short and thin.
An AL-31F/FN's nozzle is a convergent-divergent nozzle, the petals look like long and thin, they are divided into two sections and articulated together for the purpose of convergence and divergence of the exhaust gas.
Theoretically, you cannot directly use a 3G engine on a 4G bird because the stealth design is against aerodynamic performance. You need higher T/W ratio of engines to increase the thrust without increasing weight.
The engines might be two derivatives of WS-10 with T/W ratio of 8.5-9 or two WS-15s if 117s have been ruled out.
If the engines were WS-15s, I would think the chief designer was too bold and it was too risky. If the engines were AL-31s or WS-10A, the plane would be underpowered, though it would be no problem to use a pair of AL-31s or WS-10As for the maiden flight. But I couldn't explain why the nozzles looked like neither AL-31's nor WS-10A's if the engines were AL-31s or WS-10As.
If you wants photos, you can google the images by using keywords like "WS-10A", "AL-31FN", etc.
Last edited:
Quickie
Colonel
The nozzles of the J-20 engine may not look like the usual nozzles of the WS-10s and AL-31s but that doesn't mean the engine core can't be the same as that of these engines. While it may not be practical to do it on the Al-31, the WS-10s or an upgraded version of it shouldn't pose much problem. I'm not saying that the J-20 is using any of these engines, just that the engine core and nozzle can be quite independant.
Roger604
Senior Member
Earlier Maya said that FWS10A will power the J-20 before WS-15 is ready. FWS10A has higher thrust than F100's. I think it is around 117S class. So performance should not be embarrassing.
The timing also makes sense since we heard that FWS10A's production problems have been solved.
In fact, one might even think the reason the first flight was now is because FWS10A is now ready!
Last edited:
Can anyone tell if its true that china has completed full scale construction of ws-15 only last year (2010) ??? If so, it will take many years for the engine to enter service.
However, keep in mind that it is not only china that is having problems in this area. Russia too, also had/is having problems with the future T-50 engine. Thats why it had to equip T-50 so far with 117S engines, with no word on when the new engine will be available.
However, keep in mind that it is not only china that is having problems in this area. Russia too, also had/is having problems with the future T-50 engine. Thats why it had to equip T-50 so far with 117S engines, with no word on when the new engine will be available.
The mistake and hardship learn from WS-10a will definitely speed up the process of WS-15.
I do not believe WS-15 will take that long as many believe. It is only in last few years , significant amount of fund had pour into engine sector.