Aircraft engine tech making huge advances

Engineers at Aero Engine Corp of China, the nation's leading manufacturer of aircraft engines, are pushing ahead with the development of world-class aircraft engines, and they have made remarkable strides in many fields.

In fuel control systems — a critical technology underpinning jet engine performance and safety — Guizhou Honglin Aero Engine Control Technology, the State-owned conglomerate's leading manufacturer in the field, has secured major breakthroughs after decades of independent research, and is now advancing next-generation technologies to meet future engine demands.

Tang Qing, chief engineer of Guizhou Honglin, described the fuel control system as the "heart" of an aircraft engine, explaining that it precisely regulates fuel delivery to the combustion chamber throughout all flight phases, from takeoff to cruising and landing.

"Its precision and reliability directly shape thrust output, fuel efficiency, flight safety and service life. Even microscopic flaws in internal components can cause unstable performance or in-flight failures," Tang told reporters at the company's headquarters in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, during a recent media tour.

He said the core challenge lies in manufacturing compact and ultraprecise parts.

The clearance between valve spools and sleeves, the most critical components in a fuel control system, is only a few microns — far thinner than a human hair, the engineer said.

"A wider gap causes fuel leakage and unstable supply, while an overly tight gap risks jamming as parts expand or contract under extreme temperature fluctuations. Tiny flaws in narrow internal fuel passages can also trigger malfunctions," Tang said.

He said that mass production of such precision parts had previously been inconsistent. Engineers also lacked dedicated testing facilities to verify fuel supply accuracy and dynamic response, and had to map out internal fluid dynamics through a slow and repetitive process of trial and error.

After decades of continuous research and repeated testing, Tang said that Guizhou Honglin has mastered core technologies, including precision matching grinding of mating parts, micro-channel deburring, high-cleanliness assembly and dynamic performance simulation. Its simulation capabilities have advanced from one-dimensional analysis to multidimensional and multicomponent analysis, while testing protocols have expanded from single-performance trials to comprehensive multi-environment assessments, he added.

In recent years, the company has steadily upgraded its product portfolio to support wider temperature ranges, higher rotational speeds, greater pressure, and improved efficiency, precision and reliability.

Tang noted that thanks to the use of additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, engineers have achieved weight reduction of more than 30 percent in key components — a meaningful gain for the thrust-to-weight ratio and fuel efficiency of aircraft engines.

To underpin its research and development work, the company has built a 100-trillion-operations-per-second supercomputing center to accelerate simulation modeling and reduce reliance on costly physical prototypes. It has also obtained 11 national laboratory accreditations, ensuring that product testing meets rigorous quality standards.

Zhang Xiaodong, general manager of Guizhou Honglin, said the company will target remaining technical bottlenecks such as extreme environment adaptability, further efficiency improvements, multi-field coupling simulation and transmission wear.