Chinese Engine Development

Some people question the credibility of GT But here is the same news reported by People Daily an organ of CCP

I think China's SOE has problem with mass producing turbine blade of consistent quality Here is where private company can help.
This report alluding to restriction of importation of highly purify Rhenium by US. Not sure about the reliability of this report any body can either dispute or confirm it ?
Can it be that the problem that China encounter is related to the availability of Rhenium?. I read sometime ago China did import large amount of Rhenium not sure about the quality though


China successfully purifies rare metal used to make aircraft engines
By Zhang Huan () 17:30, September 04, 2017


A Chinese private enterprise has successfully purified the rare metal rhenium to manufacture the single crystal blade, which is crucial for the production of aircraft engines, CCTV.com reported on Sept. 3.

The rare metal was purified after a year and a half effort by Chengdu Aerospace Superalloy Technology Co. Ltd. in cooperation with the Hunan Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals.

The company discovered a mine with about 176 tons of rhenium in Shaanxi province in 2010, accounting for 7 percent of the world’s total reserves of the metal.



A report released by the U.S. Geological Survey shows that the explored reserve of rhenium in the earth’s crust is only about 2,500 tons, even less than that of rare elements. The price for each gram is 200 to 300 RMB (about $31 to 46), which makes it as expensive as platinum.

The metal is the main material for producing the single crystal blade, which is crucial for manufacturing aircraft engines, and the technology directly affects the performance of the engine.

Zhang Zheng, chairman of the company, put together a professional team through the country’s talent recruitment program.

Verified results show that the single crystal blade met Europe and U.S quality standards in terms of tensile properties and endurance performance at high temperatures.

The success makes the company China’s first to achieve mass production of the single crystal blade for manufacturing aircraft engines.

Aircraft engines, as one of the most complicated mechanical systems, should be able to work under high temperatures, high pressures, high rotation speeds, and high load; and be high power, light weight, long lasting, and highly reliable.

China has been faced with a hurdle of self-developing aircraft engines, because the U.S. and some Western countries have blocked certain exports such as rhenium to China for many years.

Here is the report

US expert says China close to producing fighter engines

Staff Reporter 2014-06-15 16:06 (GMT+8)

China is close to volume production of aero-engines that will be used in advanced combat aircraft, according to Bradley Perrett, Asia-Pacific bureau chief of the Washington-based Aviation Week & Space Technology.

In his newest article published on June 16, Perrett said that China needs large supplies of rhenium — a rare metal that increases the temperature-resistance of turbine blades — to design and produce an engine that can handle higher internal temperatures, increasing performance and durability. He said that the production of the new or upgraded engine is unclear but may beginning around 2016, adding that the country will need to stockpile five metric tonnes of rhenium a year.

The volume is about 10% of the world production, Perrett said, and is comparable to the likely consumption of the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine program for the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter when it reaches full-rate production. "Rhenium has other purposes, notably for catalyzers for the petrochemical industry," said Perrett, "but Chinese officials have said that turbine production is behind their requirement, says a metals-market participant with close knowledge of negotiations."

Perrett claims that China is actually following the global pattern of rhenium consumption because around 80% of the figure is used to produce aviation turbines. The use of rhenium can imply two upward steps in turbine metallurgy, the expert said. It can be used to improve nickel-based superalloys, while those alloys can be formed as single-crystal blades. Both technologies allow a turbine, especially a high-pressure one, to operate at a greater temperatures, according to Perrett.

Meanwhile, a foreign engineer told Perrett that his Chinese counterparts admitted that only 10% of single-crystal blades produced in China are currently acceptable for service. It is thus uncertain that the Chinese industry can achieve consistent quality production. Perrett added however that the addition of rhenium to nickel-based superalloys increases the temperature at which turbine blades can operate even without making blades as a single crystal.

"Rhenium melts at 3,182C (5,759F), compared with 1,455C for nickel," said Perrett, "The improved superalloys are almost certainly earmarked for combat aircraft engines, such as the WS-10 Taihang, which powers the J-10 and J-11 fighters. Chinese production of high-bypass turbofans must be very low, and their performance is not so important." With the determination to develop its own aviation industry, Perrett said that the possibility for China to acquire rhenium will be extremely high.

Us is the largest producer or Rhenium follow by Chile
Commercial rhenium is extracted from molybdenum roaster-flue gas obtained from copper-sulfide ores. Some molybdenum ores contain 0.001% to 0.2% rhenium. and readily dissolve in water; they are leached from flue dusts and gasses and extracted by precipitating with or as the salts, and purified by . Total world production is between 40 and 50 tons/year; the main producers are in Chile, the United States, Peru, and Poland. Recycling of used Pt-Re catalyst and special alloys allow the recovery of another 10 tons per year. Prices for the metal rose rapidly in early 2008, from $1000–$2000 per in 2003–2006 to over $10,000 in February 2008. The metal form is prepared by reducing with at high temperatures:
2 NH4ReO4 + 7 H2 → 2 Re + 8 H2O + 2 NH3

Here is the use of Rhenium

The nickel-based have improved with the addition of rhenium. The alloys normally contain 3% or 6% of rhenium. Second-generation alloys contain 3%; these alloys were used in the engines for the , whereas the newer single-crystal third-generation alloys contain 6% of rhenium; they are used in the and engines.Rhenium is also used in the superalloys, such as CMSX-4 (2nd gen) and CMSX-10 (3rd gen) that are used in industrial engines like the GE 7FA. Rhenium can cause to become microstructurally unstable, forming undesirable TCP (topologically close packed) . In 4th- and 5th-generation , is used to avoid this effect. Among others the new are EPM-102 (with 3% Ru) and TMS-162 (with 6% Ru), as well as TMS-138 and TMS-174.


CFM International CFM56 jet engine still with blades made with 3% rhenium
For 2006, the consumption is given as 28% for , 28% and 12% , all for superalloys, whereas the use for catalysts only accounts for 14% and the remaining applications use 18%. In 2006, 77% of the rhenium consumption in the United States was in alloys. The rising demand for military jet engines and the constant supply made it necessary to develop superalloys with a lower rhenium content. For example, the newer high-pressure turbine (HPT) blades will use Rene N515 with a rhenium content of 1.5% instead of Rene N5 with 3%.

Curious as to how Russia is able to produce such powerful engines without being mentioned for Rhenium procurement/production.

Couldn't help myself from searching for some Rhenium content after your posts Henrick.

drunkmunky said:

Curious as to how Russia is able to produce such powerful engines without being mentioned for Rhenium procurement/production.

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Dunno but if I remember correctly, generally Russian engines have a lot shorter service life compared to Western engines.

Any updates on the WS-15's flight testing? Are we going to see it by 2019-2020 in a J-20? And what is the approximate thrust ... 160kN or 180kN? I know it's very secretive but there's gotta be at least a little information leaking out by now ...

Figaro said:

Any updates on the WS-15's flight testing? Are we going to see it by 2019-2020 in a J-20? And what is the approximate thrust ... 160kN or 180kN? I know it's very secretive but there's gotta be at least a little information leaking out by now ...

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Nothing definite right now till the officials announce it sometimes in a few years.

Interesting article from the Global Times (via China Military Online)

China's J-20 fighter jet may get homemade engine
Source : Global Times Editor : Zhang Tao Time : 2017-09-08

Most experts and netizens said they believe photos posted online of China's J-20 fighter jets show homemade Taihang engines have replaced their Russian-made counterparts.

A report released by thepaper.cn on Wednesday said the new engine is the Taihang based on its appearance on the online photos.

The J-20 used to be outfitted with the Russia-made AL-31F engine, according to the report, but the homemade engines could be mass-produced.

"It is necessary for the J-20 to use homemade engines. This way, the fighter jet will be completely developed and manufactured in China," Huang Jun, a professor at Beihang University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

According to the report, the insufficient supply of the Russian engines could have led to the change, since orders for the homemade engine also come from overseas, while the price of the Russian engine has been increased from $3 million to $ 5 million each.

"The Taihang engine's performance is nearly as good as the AL-31F. However, being new, the Taihang lacks the maturity of the Russian one," said Huang.

The report added it is much more complicated to change the engine of the fourth generation of J-20s than the second and the third one due to adjustments to the fourth generation's air inlet and engine compartment, among others.

The J-20 is expected to undergo another engine change with the homemade WS-15, which is currently being developed, said the report of thepaper.cn.

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What were those online photos? Would be interested to see them.