PLA's aero-engine development shows good momentum

"The Y-20 transport aircraft of the Air Force of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) will eventually be mounted with China's independently-developed engines," Chen Maozhang, expert of Chinese aero engines and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said in a recent interview.

"The research and manufacture project is currently going very well," Chen added. Chinese engineers and technicians are expected to develop and manufacture a new generation of "Taihang" engines.

In Chen Maozhang's viewpoint, "Taihang" bears landmark significance because it not only marks the transformation of Chinese aero-engine research and development from the turbojet engine to the turbofan engine, but also realizes the progress of Chinese aero-engine from medium thrust to high thrust. With the "Taihang" engines, the engine research and manufacture in related fields will move forward on this basis.

"Taihang" engines are the power units of Chinese military aircraft. The improved "Taihang" engines will be used to drive other major combat equipment of the Navy and the Air Force of the PLA. In the future, the improved thrust-augmented model with high by-pass ratio will be fitted to bombers while the non-thrust model with high by-pass ratio will be used for massive transport aircraft like Y-20 and others.

The gas turbines for ships derived from "Taihang" engines will be used as the main drive for large surface ships like destroyers. According to Zhang Enhe, chief designer of the "Taihang" engines, the "Taihang" has provided supports for China to take a path of independent development of aero engines and to realize the 3rd-generation power unit for China's fighter aircraft. It speeds up the leap forward of PLA's aviation weaponry and armament.

The "Taihang" engine has a thrust-weight ratio of 8, which means it can generate the thrust power 8 times of its own weight, which has reached the world's advanced level. Although the "Taihang" engine still has a large room for improvement when comparing with the U.S. F-119 engine with a thrust-weight ratio of 10, nevertheless, as Chen Maozhang put it, "the research and development of engine is a process of constant improvement. It usually requires more than a decade or even 2-plus decades to complete the process from the finalized design to maturity. The 'Taihang' is moving steadily ahead".

Overseas Edition of People's Daily

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