Desenvolvimento de Turbinas Militares

[Penguin]

Artigo muito interessante sobre o desenvolvimento chinês no setor:


Jet Engine Development in China: Indigenous high-performance turbofans are a final step toward fully independent fighter production

Posted: 26. Jun, 2011 Last update: 30. Jul, 2011

Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, “Jet Engine Development in China: Indigenous high-performance turbofans are a final step toward fully independent fighter production,” China SignPost™, No. 39 (26 June 2011)

China SignPost™ -“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©

Deep Dive—Special In-Depth Report #2

Executive Summary:

–Engines commonly used in Chinese and other modern aircraft may be divided into several major categories: (1) low-bypass turbofans typically power military jets; (2) high-bypass turbofans typically power jet airliners; (3) turboprops typically power more fuel-efficient, usually lower-speed aircraft, including civilian commuter aircraft and military transports and surveillance and battle management aircraft; and (4) turboshafts typically power helicopters. This study will address the first category, low-bypass turbofan engines; other categories will be addressed in follow-on China SignPost™ reports.

–China’s inability to domestically mass-produce modern high-performance jet engines at a consistently high-quality standard is an enduring Achilles heel of the Chinese military aerospace sector and is likely a headwind that has slowed development and production of the J-15, J-20, and other late-generation tactical aircraft.

–The Chinese aerospace industry is driven by four key strategic imperatives as it pursues the ability to manufacture large volumes of high-performance tactical aircraft[1] engines: (1) parts dependence avoidance, (2) Russian supply unwillingness, (3) aircraft sales autonomy, and (4) poor Russian after-sales service.

–To address these shortcomings, AVIC is treating engine development as a high priority and plans to invest 10 billion RMB (US$1.53 billion) into jet engine research and development over the next 5 years.

–However, evidence still suggests that AVIC’s engine makers are having trouble maintaining consistent quality control as they scale up production of the WS-10, causing problems with reliability and keeping China’s tactical aircraft heavily reliant on imported Russian engines.

–Key weak points of the Chinese military jet engine industry include: turbine blade production and process standardization.

–Standardization and integration may be the one area in which the costs of China’s ad hoc, eclectic approach to strategic technology development truly manifest themselves. The Soviet defense industrial base failed in precisely this area: talented designers and technicians presided over balkanized design bureaus and irregularly-linked production facilities; lack of standardization and quality control rendered it “less than the sum of the parts.”

–We estimate that based on current knowledge and assuming no major setbacks or loss of mission focus, China will need ~2-3 years before it achieves comprehensive capabilities commensurate with the aggregate inputs in the jet engine sector and ~5-10 years before it is able to consistently mass produce top-notch turbofan engines for a 5th generation-type fighter.

–If China’s engine makers can attain the technical capability level that U.S. manufacturers had 20 years ago, China will be able to power its 4th generation and 5th-generation aircraft with domestically made engines (3rd and 4th-generation in Chinese nomenclature, respectively). These developments would be vital in cementing China as a formidable regional air power and deserve close attention from policymakers.

China has a clear strategic interest in developing indigenous high-performance aeroengines to power its military aircraft. This is one of the greatest aerospace engineering challenges, however, one that only a small handful of corporations worldwide have truly mastered. This should not be surprising: an engine is effectively an aircraft’s cardiovascular system; it can be transplanted but not easily modified. Unlike a human system, it can be designed and developed independently, but faces temperature, pressure, and G-force challenges that only the most advanced materials, properly machined and operated as an efficient system, can handle. While China has made progress in recent years with materials and fabrication, it appears to remain limited with respect to components and systems design, integration, and management—the keys to optimizing engine performance in practice—and to making logistical and operational plans at the force level based on reliable estimates thereof.

Based on available open source evidence, Chinese progress in this critical area remains uneven and the whole remains “less than the some of the parts.” Given the overall capabilities inherent in China’s defense industrial base and the resources likely being applied to this problem, we expect that China will make significant strides, but barring major setbacks or loss of mission focus, it will take ~2-3 years before it achieves comprehensive capabilities commensurate with the aggregate inputs in this sector and ~5-10 years before it is able to consistently mass produce top-notch turbofan engines for a 5th generation-type fighter. When it does, however, the results will have profound strategic significance, as China will have entered an exclusive club of top producers in this area and eliminated one of the few remaining areas in which it relies on Russia technologically.

Link para o resto do artigo: http://www.chinasignpost.com/2011/06/je ... roduction/

[Boss]

Poderiam propor para a Weg uma parceria em um projeto de P&D a longo prazo para desenvolver turbinas. Acho que ela é a única empresa brasileira em um setor próximo das turbinas para poder surgir um investimento.

Mas são só idéias, assim como "poderíamos estar no PAK FA", "poderíamos ter um CC nacional", "poderíamos comprar S-300", "poderíamos ser uma potência militar", etc.

[Centurião]

Poderiam propor para a Weg uma parceria em um projeto de P&D a longo prazo para desenvolver turbinas. Acho que ela é a única empresa brasileira em um setor próximo das turbinas para poder surgir um investimento.

Mas são só idéias, assim como "poderíamos estar no PAK FA", "poderíamos ter um CC nacional", "poderíamos comprar S-300", "poderíamos ser uma potência militar", etc.

Tem a TGM que trabalha com turbinas. Inclusive e parceira do CTA no desenvolvimento da TAPP 5000.

http://www.grupotgm.com.br/home/index.php

[Boss]

Interessante, então fica até mais fácil. Nem conhecia essa empresa.

Parece que o Eike tem interesse em tecnologia de turbinas também, como falaram em notícia sobre o encontro dele com empresários alemães.

Vamos ver se sai alguma coisa.