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The WS-13 (Chinese: 涡扇-13), codename Taishan, is a turbofan engine designed and manufactured by Guizhou Aircraft Industry Corporation to power the CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder lightweight multirole fighter jointly developed by China and Pakistan, and in the near future the Shenyang FC-31 fifth-generation stealth fighter currently under development.

Design and development

China began development of the Taishan in 2000 to create a domestic engine for replacing the Klimov RD-93 turbofan, which had been selected in the 1990s to power the JF-17 lightweight fighter. It is designed to produce 86 kN (19,000 lb) of thrust with afterburner and have a life span of 2,200 hours; an improved version providing up to 93 kN (21,000 lb) of thrust with afterburner was also developed.

The WS-13 Taishan was certified in 2007 and serial production began in 2009. The 18 March 2010 edition of the HKB Report stated that a JF-17 equipped with the WS-13 completed its first successful runway taxi test.

Officials at the Farnborough International Airshow in August 2010 stated that a JF-17 was being test flown with a Chinese engine, likely the WS-13. In November 2012, Aviation Week & Space Technology reported that flight testing on the JF-17 was underway in China. It was reported at the 2015 Paris Air Show that testing was continuing.

Guizhou is developing a new engine, designated the WS-19 that fits in the same footprint as the WS-13 but is a wholly new design that incorporates the same technology as the Xian WS-15. The WS-19 is the intended engine for production versions of the Shenyang FC-31 medium-size stealth fighter such as the J-35 for aircraft carriers.

Variants

• WS-13 – 86 kilonewtons (19,000 lb_f) thrust with afterburner
• WS-13A – high bypass
• WS-13E/IPE – 92.16 kN (20,720 lb_f) thrust with afterburner
• WS-13X/WS-21 – 93.2 kN (21,000 lb_f) Further development of WS-13E.

Applications

• CAC/PAC JF-17 (WS-13)
• Shenyang FC-31 (WS-13E)
• Shenyang J-35 (WS-21)

Specifications (WS-13)

Data from China Times

General characteristics

• Type: afterburning turbofan
• Length: 4.14 m (163 in)
• Diameter: 1.02 m (40 in)
• Dry weight: 1,135 kg (2,502 lb)

Components

• Compressor: axial, 4-stage low pressure, 8-stage high pressure compressor
• Combustors: annular
• Turbine: counter-rotating 1-stage high pressure, 1-stage low pressure

Performance

• Maximum thrust: 56.75 kilonewtons (12,760 lb_f) dry; 86.37 kilonewtons (19,420 lb_f) with afterburner
• Bypass ratio: 0.57:1
• Turbine inlet temperature: 1650 K (1,377 °C (2,511 °F))
• Thrust-to-weight ratio: 7.8
• Lifespan: >3000 hours

See also

• Shenyang WS-10

Comparable engines

• Turbo-Union RB199
• Snecma M88 (M88-2 Standard)
• Klimov RD-93
• General Electric F404 (F404-GE-402 Standard)

Related lists

• List of aircraft engines
• List of Chinese aircraft engines

References

1. ^ Fisher, Richard Jr. (30 December 2009). "October Surprises In Chinese Aerospace". International Assessment and Strategy Center. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
2. ^ 曾品潔 (9 February 2023). "中國渦輪-19發動機進度提前！ 航發總師曝 : 未來殲-35會比殲-20更早換裝" (in Traditional Chinese). Newtalk新闻. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
3. Coatepeque (30 May 2010). "FC-1 equipped with WS-13 completed first successful runway taxi test". China Defense Blog. Retrieved 11 February 2023 – via Blogger.
4. Pocock, Chris (6 August 2010). "China and Pakistan Push Chengdu JF-17 Fighter for Export". AINonline. Archived from the original on 15 August 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
5. Sweetman, Bill (5 November 2012). "China's Warplane Industry Expands". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
6. Fisher, Richard D. Jr. (15 June 2015). "Paris Air Show 2015: JF-17 fighter flying with indigenous Chinese turbofan". Jane's Defence Weekly. Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
7. "中国涡扇系列 WS13" (in Chinese). Northwestern Polytechnical University. 19 April 2016. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
8. "WS-13IPE engine for FC-31 fighter mass-produced in 2020". China Arms. 26 January 2020.
9. "Our Best Look Yet At China's J-35 Carrier-Capable Stealth Fighter". 22 July 2022.
10. Waldron, Greg (1 August 2023). "Future Asia Pacific carrier air wings come into focus". FlightGlobal. Archived from the original on 6 August 2023.
11. Chiang, Fei-yu (10 February 2021). "大陸渦扇13引擎生產線就緒 可成為殲31心臟". China Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 11 February 2023.

External links

• WS13 / RD-33 / RD-93 at GlobalSecurity.org

• 2000s turbofan engines
• Low-bypass turbofan engines