The Saturn AL-31 is a family of military turbofan engines. It was developed by
Lyulka, now NPO Saturn, of Soviet Union, originally for the Sukhoi Su-27 air
superiority fighter. It produces a total thrust of 123 kN with afterburning in
the AL-31F, 137 kN in the AL-31FM and 145 kN in the AL-37FU variants.
Currently it powers all Su-27 derivatives and the Chengdu J-10
multirole jet fighter which has been developed by China.
Variants = Summary=
The AL-31FP and AL-37FU variants have thrust vectoring. The former is used in
the Su-30MKI export version of the Su-30 for India & Sukhoi Su-30MKM for Malaysia
. The AL-31FP can deflect its nozzle to a maximum of ±15° at a rate of 30°/sec.
The vectoring nozzle is utilized primarily in the pitch plane. The
AL-31FP is built in India by HAL at the Koraput facility under a deep technology
transfer agreement. It has a reputation for having a
tremendous tolerance to severely disturbed air flow. In the twin-engined
Su-27, the engines are interchangeable between left and right. The Mean Time
Between Overhaul for the AL-31F is given at 1000 hours with a full-life span of
3000 hours. Some reports suggested that Russia was offering AL-31F to Iran to
re-engine its F-14 Tomcat air fleet in the late 1990s.
According to Saturn`s Victor Mihailovic Chepkin, chief designer of the 117 and
117S engines, the Chinese WS-10 was developed with the aid of the AL-31`s
maintenance technical documentation. China can domestically produce most
AL-31 parts for its own jet engine programs, but still import turbine
blades from Russia. = 117S=
Intended to power the Su-35BM, the izdeliye 117S is an upgrade of the
AL-31F that uses technology from the AL-41F. The engine produces 142 kN of
thrust in afterburner and 86.3 kN dry. It features a fan 3% larger in diameter
versus 905 millimetres), advanced high- and low-pressure turbines, an all-new
digital control system, and provisions for thrust-vectoring nozzles similar to
the AL-31FP. This engine will have an assigned life of 4,000 hours and an MTBO
of 1,000 hours. The first flight of this engine was completed in an Su-35BM on 20
February 2008. On 9 August 2010, Ufa-based company UMPO started supplying
117S engines intended for Su-35S fighters.
= 117= Related to the 117S is the izdeliye 117,
a highly improved AL-31F derivative designed for the Sukhoi T-50 fighter.
The engine features an increased diameter fan, new high and low pressure
turbines, and a digital control system. According to Sukhoi director Mikhail
Pogosyan, the 117 is a new fifth generation engine built specifically for
the PAK FA. Though the specifics of the 117 engine remain classified, the
engine's thrust was increased by 24.5 kN over the AL-31 while the engine weight
was reduced by 150 kg. The new engine produces 147 kN of thrust in afterburner
and has a dry weight of 1,420 kg and thrust-to-weight ratio of 10.5:1. Like
the AL-31F, the 117 has 4 low-pressure compressor and 9 high-pressure
compressor stages. Mikhail Pogosyan further mentioned that the 117 engine
meets the Russian Air Force requirements and will be installed in production
PAK-FA fighter which will be supplied to the Russian Air Force and prospective
foreign clients. The 117 is an interim engine meant for
prototype and initial production batches of the T-50. The definitive second stage
for the aircraft is designated izdeliye 30 and will eventually replace the 117
after 2020. The new engine has increased thrust and fuel efficiency as well as
improved reliability and lower costs. Bench testing of the new engine will
start in 2014 according to the general designer-director of the NPO Saturn
Eugeny Marchuk. Produced in Ufa.
Specifications Data from
General characteristics Type: Two-shaft afterburning turbofan
Length: 4,990 millimetres Diameter: 905 millimetres inlet; 1,280
millimetres maximum external Dry weight: 1,570 kilograms
Components Compressor: 4 fan and 9 compressor
stages Combustors: annular
Turbine: 2 single-staged turbines Performance
Maximum thrust:74.5 kilonewtons dry thrust
122.58 kilonewtons with afterburner Overall pressure ratio: 23
Bypass ratio: 0.59:1 Turbine inlet temperature: 1685 K)
Fuel consumption: 2.0 Kg/daN·h Specific fuel consumption:
Dry thrust: 24.6 g/(kN·s)Full afterburner: 54.3 g/(kN·s)
Thrust-to-weight ratio: 4.77:1, 7.87:1 See also
Comparable engines General Electric F110
Pratt & Whitney F100 Shenyang WS-10
Related lists List of aircraft engines
References Notes
External links Russian Military Analysis - AL-31 F
aircraft turbofan engine AL-31F on LeteckeMotory.cz
AL-41F1A on LeteckeMotory.cz