The Shenyang WS-10, codename Taihang, is a turbofan engine designed and built by the People's Republic of China. The WS-10A reportedly powers the J-11B the J-16, and the Shenyang J-15. Unconfirmed reports claim the WS-10A powers some J-10Bs. Unconfirmed reports also claim an improved WS-10A powers the J-11D. Chinese media said 266 engines were manufactured from 2010 to 2012 for the J-11 program. Unofficial estimates placed production at more than 300 units by May 2015.
The WS-10 is derived from the CFM56 with the experience gained from the Woshan WS-6turbofan project, which was abandoned at the start of the 1980s. The WS-10 project was reportedly started by Deng Xiaoping in 1986 to produce an engine comparable to the Saturn AL-31. The work was given to the Shenyang Aeroengine Research Institute of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China. The WS-10 may have been based on the core of the CFM-56II ; China purchased two CFM-56IIs in the 1980s before the arms embargo. After being unable to purchase source code from Salyut, China spent nearly 20 years developing its own source code for the WS-10 engine. The WS-10A, targeted for of thrust, was already in development in 2002. An early version was flown on an J-8II in 2002. In 2004, Russian sources familiar with project reported problems meeting the thrust target; in 2005, they reported problems reducing the weight of the primary and secondary compressors, in addition to problems meeting thrust requirements. Engine testing on the J-11 had already started by 2004, and testing using one engine on the J-11 may have occurred as early as 2002. A full-scale WS-10A engine was first seen at the 2008 China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition. In 2009, Western media claim that the WS-10A approached the performance of the AL-31, but took much longer than the AL-31 to develop thrust. Furthermore, the engine reportedly only generated of thrust. In April 2009,, head of AVIC, reported that the engine's quality was unsatisfactory. In 2010, it was reported that reliability was also poor; the WS-10A lasted only 30 hours, while the AL-31 needed refurbishing after 400 hours. The quality problems encountered with the WS-10A reflected the state of the Chinese aerospace industry. AVIC initiated a general effort to improve quality control throughout its production chain in 2011. The WS-10A reportedly matured enough after 2009 to power the J-11B Block 02 aircraft. A WS-10A-powered J-10B was seen in July 2011, but the engine did not power the initial J-10B production batch, possibly because of production or performance issues. In 2018 it was reported in Chinese state media that the increased heat resistance of new third-generation single-crystal turbine blades had increased the engine lifespan from 800 to 1,500 hours. Unconfirmed reports claimed the first flight of the J-11D was powered by a new WS-10 variant; the variant reportedly had improved reliability, with a thrust of more than 13t, but less than that of the AL-31F-M1. The flight was revealed in early May 2015.
The Shenyang WS-20 is a high-bypass engine reportedly producing 13.8 tons of thrust. It is believed to be based on the core of the WS-10A. The Shenyang WS-20 was first seen in January 2014 while being tested on an Il-76, and is believed to be intended for the Y-20strategic airlifter.
WS-10 TVC
A testbed J-10B powered by a WS-10 with thrust vectoring was demonstrated at the 2018 China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition. The TVC nozzle uses actuator-assisted moving petals, similar in concept to General Electric's axisymmetric vectoring exhaust nozzle and Pratt & Whitney's pitch-yaw balance beam nozzle.
Variants
WS-10
WS-10A – improved variant; advertised to have of thrust
WS-10B – improved variant with greater reliability; based on the WS-10A
WS-10G – thrust vectoring variant for the J-20; generated of thrust during testing
WS-20 – high-bypass derivative for the Y-20 transport; of thrust
QD70 – 7MW class gas turbine engine developed from WS-10 for industrial & naval applications
