Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

The bidding for equipment for a brand new automobile factory will naturally not result in a day or two.

Cao Yang personally took Li Shigui, Pan Jinxing and Zhang Sheng to visit the dock, so he, the boss, did not need to follow them for the rest of the work.

The final result will definitely not come out until next year, so don’t rush it.

However, even if he wanted to be in a hurry, he had no time.

Because the relevant departments specially came to visit Nanshan Special Steel, Xie Lingyun was reporting to Cao Yang about the visit.

"Mr. Cao, the superiors want us to cooperate with Anshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. to develop special steel plates used on aircraft carriers."

Xie Lingyun released a satellite for Cao Yang from the beginning.

Special steel plates for aircraft carriers?

If you think about it, you will know that this thing is not simple.

China is a major steel producer, but it has been lagging behind in the field of special steel for a long time.

In some civilian fields, my country can still rely on imports to meet the demand for special steel, but the steel used in aircraft carrier construction is very special. This kind of steel is a technology that is prohibited from export worldwide. China must first overcome this problem if it wants to complete the aircraft carrier reconstruction. Manufacturing of special steels.

Moreover, there is not only one kind of special steel plate used in building aircraft carriers. Depending on the location, the required steel thickness, type, etc. are different. Therefore, developing steel for aircraft carriers is a systematic and difficult task.

Even if Nanshan Special Steel is far ahead in the field of special steel in China, there are still many difficulties in getting special steel for aircraft carriers.

"Many of the special steels used in aircraft carriers are high-thickness plates. Our current equipment shouldn't be able to produce them, right?"

Cao Yang is not shirking responsibility, but he knows that Nanshan Special Steel, as a special steel processing factory that does not even smelt crude steel, does not have the ability to produce aircraft carrier steel plates.

Not to mention whether the quality can meet the standards, you just don’t even have the relevant equipment.

"Yes, large aircraft carriers require a wide variety of steel plates and specifications, which can generally be divided into three categories: hull plates, armor plates and structural plates."

"Among them, the most demanding steel plates for aircraft carriers are structural steel plates."

"Structural panels are mainly used for runways, that is, flight decks, as well as compartments and hull structures. Especially the flight deck has extremely high requirements."

"First of all, the flight deck is required to be able to withstand the strong impact and high friction during the takeoff and landing of a carrier-based aircraft weighing 20 to 30 tons."

"Secondly, you have to withstand the flames of jets that reach thousands of degrees."

"Also, as Mr. Cao said, the thickness of the flight deck is generally 40 to 50 mm, and the unevenness is required to be below 5 mm/meter, otherwise it will affect the quality of the aircraft's lifting. This is because we do not have the production capacity. Equipment to produce.”

"In particular, the steel plate surface of the tailor-welded flight deck should be as large as possible to minimize welds and increase strength. Our equipment is completely unsatisfactory."

"Relevant departments are also aware of this difficulty, so we hope that we can cooperate with Anshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. to develop aircraft carrier steel plates. They have the relevant equipment to produce them."

Xie Lingyun is also under great pressure now.

It turned out that he was just the chief engineer of a local steel company like Shaoguan Iron and Steel Company, and he was still a deputy.

Later, after joining Nanshan Special Steel, I made a leap in life.

But he has a clear understanding of his own level. He has no confidence in making aircraft carrier steel plates.

But he felt he didn't dare to refuse such a thing on his own initiative.

So as soon as the inspection team left, he immediately reported to Cao Yang.

"Everyone knows the importance of aircraft carrier steel plates."

"Now that the relevant departments have found us, we are naturally obliged to cooperate fully."

Cao Yang knew that since he had found Nanshan Special Steel for this kind of thing, there was actually no room for rejection.

Nanshan Group's position in China is becoming more and more special. Nanshan's high-end carbon fiber products are widely used in aerospace. Now Nanshan's special steel products are also used in the military industry.

In the future, it will be related to aircraft carrier steel plates, which is not a bad thing.

At most, when it is sanctioned by the United States in the future, the sanctions will be more severe.

However, the relationship between everyone is pretty good now, and it is estimated that it will take a few years for the expansion of sanctions to happen.

Nanshan Group still has time to further improve the localization rate of products in each business division.

At that time, even if they are sanctioned, the normal operation of each enterprise can be guaranteed to the greatest extent.

"That's true. Then I'll invite people from Anshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. to come over for a meeting first?"

"Let them explain to us the basic requirements for aircraft carrier steel plates first, so that we can carry out coordinated development in a targeted manner?"

Although Nanshan Special Steel is a technological leader in the field of domestic special steel, it really doesn’t know much about aircraft carrier steel plates.

Unlike Anshan Iron and Steel, it has a relatively deep technical accumulation in marine steel plates.

"Arrange as soon as possible. We will first check the needs and then allocate personnel to carry out relevant research work."

For such a big job, Cao Yang must be personally involved.

Otherwise, I don’t know when the results will be available.

Anshan Iron and Steel Group also acted quickly. Two days later, the director of Anshan Iron and Steel Research Institute flew over with technical staff.

After a brief exchange of greetings, the two parties went directly to the topic without any formalities.

"Mr. Cao, there are many types of aircraft carrier steel plates, and the most difficult one is the flight deck steel. What we most hope Nanshan Special Steel can assist us in researching is the flight deck steel plate."

As the director of Anshan Iron and Steel Research Institute, Zhou Mulan would naturally not expect Nanshan Special Steel to help with all the aircraft carrier steel plates.

In his opinion, it would be good if Nanshan Special Steel could play some role in the flight deck, the most difficult steel plate.

After all, Nanshan Special Steel has excellent performance in bearing steel, gear steel, and various special steels used in high-speed rail, and it still has some secrets of its own.

"The flight deck is the heart of the aircraft carrier. It is the platform for carrier-based aircraft to take off and land, and it is also the place where the aircraft carrier is most vulnerable to attack. Therefore, the type, thickness and performance requirements of the flight deck steel are very high."

"There are many types of flight deck steel, but there are two main categories: high-strength low-alloy steel, also known as HSLA; and high-strength heat-resistant steel, also known as HSS."

"HSLA steel is a carbon steel containing a small amount of alloying elements and has high strength, high toughness, good welding performance and corrosion resistance."

"HSS steel is a carbon steel containing more alloy elements and has high strength, high heat resistance, high wear resistance and corrosion resistance."

“Both types of steel can be used to make flight decks, but each has its own advantages and disadvantages.”

When it comes to professional matters, Zhou Mulan is very excited and full of energy.

Before this meeting, Cao Yang also briefly learned about Zhou Mulan's situation.

She has been engaged in the research and development of steel for surface ships for 25 years and has rich experience.

Last year, it was even responsible for repairing the symmetrical spherical flat steel needed for the maintenance of the "Varyag".

He is definitely a big-shot figure in the field of marine special steel and deserves respect.

The main purpose of their coming here today is to educate Cao Yang, Xie Lingyun and others, so that everyone can have a basic understanding of special steel for aircraft carriers, and then they can start further work.

So Cao Yang honestly took a small notebook and recorded something from time to time.

After all, if Nanshan Special Steel suddenly comes up with a mature aircraft carrier deck steel, it will definitely be very eye-catching.

The intermediate learning and research process must naturally be completed.

Cao Yang was listening carefully, not to mention the others.

"The advantages of HSLA steel are low cost, light weight and good plasticity. It can be made into steel plates of different shapes and thicknesses as needed."

"But the disadvantage is that it is not strong enough and cannot withstand the impact of high temperatures and high speeds, and is easily damaged by the tail flames and catapults of carrier-based aircraft."

"Therefore, HSLA steel is generally used in non-critical parts of the flight deck, such as hangar decks, elevators, etc."

"The advantages of HSS steel are high strength, good heat resistance, and good wear resistance. It can withstand high temperature and high-speed impact and is not easily damaged by the tail flames and catapults of carrier-based aircraft."

"But the disadvantages are high cost, heavy weight, poor plasticity, and cannot be made into complex shapes and thicknesses."

"So, HSS steel is generally used in key parts of the flight deck, such as take-off areas, landing areas, etc."

Obviously, although Anshan Iron and Steel has not yet completed the aircraft carrier steel plate, it has also conducted a relatively in-depth analysis and research on the aircraft carrier steel plate.

Otherwise, Zhou Mulan would not be able to quickly talk about various performance data without even looking at the PPT.

"General steel has a certain degree of magnetism."

"Since the earth itself has a magnetic field, generally ships made of low-magnetic steel will be magnetized by the earth's magnetic field and produce magnetic force after being used for a long time. Magnetism is very detrimental to warships."

"Because it is easily detected by enemy magnetic detectors or attacked by enemy magnetic mines and other weapons."

"Therefore, when it comes to steel for aircraft carriers, the smaller the magnetic force, the better..."

"Taken together, aircraft carrier special steel not only requires thickness, strength, hardness, high temperature resistance, low temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, antimagnetic and other properties, but also requires ensuring quality and stability during the production process to avoid cracks and pores. , inclusions and other defects.”

"Currently, there are only two countries in the world that have mastered the steel technology for aircraft carrier decks. Neither of them will export it to us, and even if they are willing to sell it to us, we dare not buy it."

When Zhou Mulan said this, her expression became a little sad.

China's steel output exceeds that of the next N countries, but it has not yet been able to produce steel for aircraft carriers.

This greatly limits future development.

After all, China's demand for aircraft carriers will be increasing in the future, and the number of aircraft carriers produced is expected to be high.

If the steel plate problem cannot be solved, there will be no way to start.

"Is there any specific target for our next research?"

Cao Yang didn't think that Anshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. would want to become fat in one go and directly research a new type of steel plate innovatively.

Therefore, the most reasonable and fastest way is to use the technical solutions of the Americans or the technical solutions of the North to see if we can develop steel plates with similar performance.

"Of course there is!"

Zhou Mulan gave the answer without any hesitation.

"I have written a special article before, discussing the historical development of high-strength structural steel for U.S. aircraft carriers, and conducted a comparative analysis of the performance characteristics, application locations, mechanical properties, chemical composition, etc. of U.S. aircraft carrier structural steels."

"The next step we have to do is to benchmark American aircraft carrier steel plates and produce products with performance no less than theirs."

Zhou Mulan's answer did not surprise Cao Yang.

Whether you admit it or not, the most advanced aircraft carrier now is in the United States.

Our aircraft carriers have been developed for so many years and have accumulated very deep technology.

The special steel used in aircraft carriers has also undergone several generations of development.

It would be a very good result if Anshan Iron and Steel and Nanshan Special Steel can work together to produce the aircraft carrier steel plates currently used by the Americans.

Anyway, the Americans have not registered a patent for this thing, and they will not register a patent.

As long as China develops it, it is China's technology.

"Since we are about to start research on American aircraft carrier steel plates, it is also necessary to have some understanding of the situation of American aircraft carriers."

"Then let me share with you the steel usage of typical American aircraft carriers."

At this time, Zhou Mulan began to focus on the PPT.

"The high-strength structural steel of the American aircraft carrier has developed from the initial HTS steel and HY steel to the current HSLA steel, with a yield strength value of 5 grades from 352 MPa to 903 MPa."

"There are currently four varieties of HSLA steel: HSLA-65, HSLA-80, HSLA-100 and HSLA-115, with yield strengths of 449 MPa, 549 MPa, 689 MPa and 795 MPa respectively."

"Among them, the first application of HSLA-65 steel on an aircraft carrier was the USS Bush, while the first application of HSLA-115 will be on the future aircraft carrier USS Ford."

"In addition to these two basic aircraft carriers, I have to mention the 'Nimitz' class aircraft carrier. It is currently the most advanced large aircraft carrier in the world and is also the main component of the active aircraft carriers of the U.S. Navy. A total of 10 ships have been built."

"It has been 40 years since the first ship was built. During this period, the hull structure materials of aircraft carriers have developed rapidly. From the initial HY series to the HSLA-80 and HSLA-100 steel materials that now have mature technologies, these hulls The development of materials can be fully reflected on the 'Nimitz' class aircraft carrier."

Cao Yang couldn't help but straighten up after hearing Zhou Mulan introduce these contents that he had never been exposed to before.

If these background information are not properly understood, it may also have an adverse impact on subsequent research on aircraft carrier steel plates.

So he listened very carefully.

Fortunately, men all have a certain interest in the military. Listening to this seemingly boring thing is actually a bit interesting.

"The flight deck of the 'Nimitz' class aircraft carrier is composed of 20 to 50 mm thick steel plates and composite armor materials."

"In order to reduce the weight of the aircraft carrier itself, the hull of the early 'Nimitz' class mainly used HY-80 high-strength steel with a yield strength of 549 MPa, and the armor structure used HY-100 ultra-high-strength steel with a yield strength of 689 MPa. "

"The main structural materials of the 'Nimitz' class aircraft carriers built after the mid-1980s were changed to HSLA-80 and HSLA-100 high-strength low alloy steel."

"HSLA-100 steel is the steel we focus on research and study. It can be used not only on aircraft carriers, but also on the non-pressure hulls of nuclear submarines."

"This kind of steel is a low-carbon copper precipitation-strengthened steel. Its strength performance has reached the level of HY-100 steel. The plate thickness can reach 100 mm. The welding materials are the same as those of HY100 steel."

“Compared with HY100 steel, the difference is that welding can be performed at lower welding preheat and interpass temperatures, thus reducing construction costs.”

"Of course, for the United States, the most advanced aircraft carrier steel plate is HSLA-115, which is expected to be used on Ford-class aircraft carriers, but we know relatively little information about this steel."

"Basically from the naming rules, it should have better performance than HSLA-110 in terms of yield strength and other aspects."

Although Zhou Mulan's introduction was not very fast, the information was relatively new to Cao Yang, so it really took some time to digest it.

"According to my understanding, to produce HSLA-100 or HSLA-115, the most important thing is the alloy element ratio and processing technology. Is this understanding correct?"

Although Cao Yang had participated in some special steel research at Nanshan Special Steel before, he did not dare to do anything he could in front of Zhou Mulan.

Otherwise, "Fake Li Kui" meets "Real Li Kui".

"It's no problem to say so."

“The carbon and carbon equivalent in HSLA series steel are very low, and together with its internal non-martensitic structure, it ensures the high strength and toughening level of this steel and its excellent resistance to hydrogen-induced cracking.”

"In HSLA steel, copper and nickel are the main alloying elements."

"The addition of copper can cause HSLA to form a copper-rich phase after solution treatment and aging. The copper-rich precipitated phase hinders dislocation movement, increases the yield strength, and produces precipitation hardening."

"It also improves the corrosion resistance of steel in seawater and improves the wear resistance of steel."

“The addition of nickel fully prevents the thermal embrittlement caused by copper and also improves hardenability.”

"Niobium is also an important element, with a content of about 0.02% to 0.06%. It can refine the grains. The fine-grained structure produced by adding niobium is conducive to the strengthening and toughening of HSLA steel."

"In addition, compared with HY steel, HSLA steel has enhanced toughness, which has a direct benefit to the ship body in that it improves the bulletproof effect."

"When welded with HY type welding materials, the hot cracking resistance and cold cracking resistance of HSLA steel are better than HY steel, and the preheating cost is lower, and the welding cost can be reduced by 50%."

"Based on these advantages, it has a tendency to gradually replace HY steel for surface ships."

It has to be said that Zhou Mulan's professionalism is still very deep, and she can get all kinds of information at her fingertips.

"As for the processing technology of these steels, it is generally completed by a combination of electric furnace smelting, argon-chlorine decarburization and refining, vacuum deoxidation, and calcium addition to control the formation of inclusions."

"The heat treatment process is the most core content, and it is also where we need Nanshan Special Steel's full assistance next."

Nanshan Special Steel's advanced heat treatment technology is also well-known in the industry.

Otherwise, there would be no way to process the ordinary crude steel bought from Shaogang into the most advanced special steels in the industry.

Special steels such as high-speed rail bearings may not be as difficult as aircraft carrier steel plates, but they are not much easier either.

Nanshan Special Steel, which has rich experience in this field, and Anshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. are joining forces, and there is really hope that the problem of aircraft carrier steel plates can be solved as soon as possible.

Otherwise, the superiors would not have specifically asked Nanshan Special Steel to cooperate with Anshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. to jointly tackle aircraft carrier steel plates.

"As long as Nanshan Special Steel can help, we will do our best and we are duty-bound!"

At this time, you must express your stance, and the conditions also depend on the occasion and the timing.

Nanshan Special Steel can be selected as an assisting unit in aircraft carrier steel plate research, which is also a recognition of its strength.

There are so many steel companies in the country, but none of them are interested in other steel manufacturers.

Companies such as Baosteel and Hegang are completely incomparable with Nanshan Special Steel in the field of special steel.

"Some early work can be carried out within Nanshan Special Steel. The two of us will set up a joint project team and conduct various experiments and tests in groups."

"One year later, after completing theoretical research and some basic tests, our ultra-wide rolling mill has almost been installed."

"At that time, we can try to make some formal samples, and then continuously adjust the formula and processing technology, and strive to complete the research and development and project acceptance of aircraft carrier steel plates by 2012."

Although it seems that there are still three years left, Zhou Mulan does not feel that there is enough time at all.

Conducting materials research requires many basic experiments.

Even if you do a lot of experiments, you may not be able to get the results you want.

This is a very wasteful matter of manpower and material resources.

Moreover, in order to produce high-thickness and large-size aircraft carrier deck steel, Anshan Iron and Steel also needs to specially order extra-wide rolling mills, which also takes some time.

According to Anshan Iron and Steel's design plan, this rolling mill can weigh up to 760 tons, consists of about 40 single-machine equipment, covers an area of ​​about 200 meters, and has about 100,000 parts.

When the equipment is in operation, the downward rolling force of up to 100,000 tons can roll steel plates with a width of 5.5 meters and a rolling length of more than 40 meters.

At that time, it will be the wide and heavy plate rolling mill with the largest specifications, the highest installed capacity, the strongest rolling capacity, and the largest single equipment tonnage in the world.

These are all necessary conditions to ensure that aircraft carrier special steel can be successfully developed.

This project is definitely a big job!

“No problem, I personally serve as the research leader of Nanshan Special Steel, and together with Mr. Xie, I will lead the team to participate in the formulation of relevant test plans, striving to complete the setting of the material formula and process plan in advance, so that our aircraft carrier steel plates can be released as soon as possible. "

Although without Cao Yang's help, Anshan Iron and Steel could eventually develop aircraft carrier steel plates, but that would have to wait until five or six years later.

In order to complete this task before 2012, Cao Yang felt that he had to take action at the appropriate time.

Of course, the confidentiality of this project must be relatively high.

Cao Yang also signed a bunch of confidentiality agreements.

If Nanshan Special Steel wants to use this project for publicity, it is definitely inappropriate now.

Fortunately, Nanshan Group and Nanshan Special Steel do not need these technical bonuses to improve their status.