SNECMA M53

The M53 is an afterburning turbofan engine developed for the Dassault Mirage 2000 fighter by Snecma.

The engine is in service in 8 different air forces, powering the whole Mirage 2000 family of airplanes, including the latest Mirage 2000-5 and 2000-9 multirole fighters. Although an entirely new design, the M53 is very similar in concept with the previous family of SNECMA military engines, the ATAR 9C and 9K, in that it has a single shaft driving both the fan and the high pressure compressor. Although this made it rather “dated” in comparison to other engines of the same generation, this gave the M53 some very desirable traits for a military engine: It allows for carefree operation, whereas a two-spool engine of the same generation required much more care during its operation; its maintenance is vastly simplified, being of modular construction (subassemblies or modules do not require calibration when exchanged), and engine parts are changed “on condition”, that is, they do not expire after a given amount of hours of operation or time since installed, but rather on the general condition of the part or subassembly at the moment of inspection, which cuts down on maintenance costs. It is a simple engine in general, having no variable stators and less moving parts, it is reliable and pilot friendly, free of operational restrictions (extremely important in combat).

All these characteristics come at a price; its single spool construction limits the level of compression due to the very high rotational speeds attained by the fan. A two spool engine is able to attain much higher compression ratios, with the advantage of better specific fuel consumption and higher thrust. For example, the M53-P2 has a dry thrust (without afterburner) sfc of 0.90, high compared to the sfc of 0.68 and 0.76 of military turbofan engines of the same generation. Compression ratio for the M53 is 9.8:1, while the General Electric F110 and Pratt & Whitney F100 have a much higher compression ratio of 30:1. This allows the GE F110 and PW F100 obtain much higher thrust levels. For example the F100-PW-200 generates 10,800-kg of thrust (23,770-lb) with after burner, while the F110-GE-100 generates 13,150-kg of thrust (28,984-lb), figures that make the M53-P2 pale in comparison.

pecifications (M53-P2)

jetspecs

type=Afterburning single-shaft turbofan
length=5,070 mm (199.60 in)
diameter=796 mm (31.33 in) inlet
weight=1,515 kg (3,340 lb)
compressor=8-stage axial compressor

Bypass ratio: 0.36:1
combustion=
turbine=2-stage axial turbine
fueltype=
oilsystem=
power=
thrust=
*64 kN (14,300 lbf) military thrust
*95 kN (21,384 lbf) with afterburner
compression=9.8:1
aircon=
turbinetemp=
fuelcon=
specfuelcon=
*0.90 lb/(lbf•h) military thrust
power/weight=
thrust/weight=

External links

* [http://www.snecma.com manufacturer website]
* [http://www.snecma.com/fichiers/t_pdf/14/pdf_doc_fr_pdf_M53_P2_Francais.pdf manufacturer specification sheet (pdf), in French]