New problem with Chinese WS-15 aircraft engines: Fullerene membranes lead to excessive fuel consumption
A little more than a week has passed since the publication in the Chinese press of material that the fullerene coating created in the PRC "will solve the problems with engines for fifth generation fighters." Recall that, according to the Chinese media, scientists have developed a special membrane coating for turbines that can withstand temperatures up to 1,8 thousand degrees Celsius. This, it was stated, would allow the J-15 fighter's WS-20 engine to run smoothly. For these engines, a significant loss of thrust is recorded when reaching operating temperatures.
The PRC media noted that the new (fullerene) coating would overcome this problem and reach a service life of 2 hours.
However, in reality, as it turns out, the problem with the engines of the fifth generation J-20 fighters is far from being solved. And Chinese journalists were clearly in a hurry to pass off wishful thinking.
It turned out that when the temperature reaches 1200 degrees (close to the working temperature) in Celsius, the pressure in the aircraft engine chamber contributes to a sharp increase in the sorption properties of the used fullerene films. The film begins to either actively absorb the working substance (fuel mixture), or contribute to its thickening with the course of a chemical reaction. In both the first and second cases, the fuel efficiency in the WS-10 and WS-15 engines decreases. The reduction in thrust is no longer 25%, as it was before the use of fullerene films, but approximately 2 times lower. But in this case, excessive consumption of fuel was stated, which poses a new problem for Chinese engineers and scientists.
Recall that at the moment, the PLA Air Force supplies J-20 fighters mainly with Russian-made engines, which the PRC is trying to replace with its own - with suitable characteristics.
Information