Jintian New Material: Domestic production of nuclear power grade titanium welded pipes

With independent third-generation nuclear power“Hualong No. 1” as the national business card of China’s nuclear power going to the world, the localization rate of equipment has risen to88%, Behind this number are the upstream and downstream industry chains5000Collaborative research by multiple companies.Among them, Hunan Xiangtou Jintian New Materials Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Jintian New Materials”) successfully broke through the foreign technology monopoly and market blockade of titanium welded pipes for nuclear power condensers.2020year11Selected as a national specialization and special new “little giant” enterprise.Recently, the author walked into this average age39.5The age-old nuclear-grade titanium welded pipe localization team has a glimpse of the twists and turns of nuclear power plants as the world’s most complex energy system localization.

Stuck nuclear power equipment“Neck”Key material

Titanium welded pipe is the core material of nuclear power steam turbine condenser. It is mainly used in the cooling system of the conventional island of nuclear power plant. The operating principle is the same as that of the air conditioner, but the requirements for the medium are completely different.

1In Taiwan’s nuclear power plant, there are10More than 10,000 titanium welded pipes are waiting in a dense array.1Nuclear grade titanium welded pipe, length approximately18Meters, equivalent to6The height of the building, but only the diameter2.1Centimeters, like the size of a mineral water bottle cap, thick0.5Millimeters, equivalent to the thickness of a fingernail cover.If you connect these pipes, the length is close to2000kilometer.They are not allowed to have any defects and leaks, and the service life must be maintained at least30year.

Before leaving the factory, these titanium welded pipes have to undergo various strict inspections and tests, including chemical composition analysis, dimensional accuracy, mechanical properties, hardness, weld macroscopic, residual stress analysis, eddy current testing, ultrasonic testing, and surface copper ion concentration inspection , Water pressure testing, etc.In order to pass these stringent tests, upstream“Titanium Ore–Titanium Sponge–Smelt–forging–Hot rolled–Cold rolled–Coil forming–The entire production process such as “welded pipe welding” corresponds to various high-standard requirements.

“In short, all indexes of nuclear-grade titanium welded pipe are stricter than the standard of conventional titanium welded pipe.1More than twice, the quality requirements are very demanding, which should be the top of the pyramid in the industry. “Peng Dan, chairman of Jintian New Materials, told the author that if the titanium welded pipe has defects and cracks that cause leakage, the nuclear power equipment will be shut down, and the economic loss caused is calculated at tens of millions of yuan every day.

10Many years ago, China did not have titanium welded pipes with independent intellectual property rights. The United States, Japan, Europe and other developed countries and regions monopolize not only its key preparation technology, but also the upstream raw material-titanium coil. “Whether nuclear grade titanium welded pipe can succeed50%The factors depend on the raw materials. At that time, the raw materials sold to China were higher than the price of titanium welded pipes, and the price was upside down, restricting Chinese companies, even if they were made into titanium welded pipes, they would not have market competitiveness. “Peng Dan recalled that at that time, Japan’s titanium welded pipes were about80%The market is in the field of nuclear power in China, so the price is very high; while China’s imported titanium welded pipe is not only expensive, but the order cycle is at least2-3Over years, there will be delays in delivery time.

Olive branch+Dumping suppression Break through the international blockade

In order to break through the foreign technology monopoly on high-end titanium materials, Hunan Xiangtou Holding Group strives to give full play to the important role of state-owned capital in serving the real industry.10Over the past few years, it has invested a total of several billion yuan. Using the parent company of Jintian New Materials, Xiangtou Jintian Technology Group as a platform, it has been benchmarking against the world’s first-class standards, laying out the entire titanium industry chain, and focusing on overcoming the localization problems of titanium strip coils and titanium welded pipes. From2008When the titanium welded pipe project was approved in 2009, it aimed at the nuclear power market that was “stuck”.

2011year3In October, an accident occurred at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, and China’s nuclear power construction pressed the “pause button.” However, Jintian New Materials did not stagnate. Instead, it closely followed the Chinese nuclear power market and began to explore the localization of thermal power, seawater desalination, air cooling and other fields, from China’s first titanium welded pipe for thermal power generation to the first sea Ultra-thin titanium welded pipes for water desalination…breakthroughs have been achieved in many fields one after another. All of these are making technical reserves and strength accumulation for challenging nuclear power projects.

“Although it is imported production line equipment, Japan and developed countries in Europe and the United States have imposed a technical blockade on us, and will not sell us key technologies and the most advanced equipment. While we are familiar with the equipment, we immediately start independent research and development of key technologies. Independent innovation and technological transformation made the imported production line truly become the world’s first-class titanium welded pipe equipment.” Peng Dan recalled that after that, Japanese companies first threw an “olive branch” and tried to acquire Jintian New Materials, but after unsuccessful, they switched to dumping suppression.Price war all the way from40More than ten thousand yuan/Ton,38Ten thousand yuan/Tons to one-third of the original price. Fortunately, Jintian New Materials is actively pursuing a global strategic layout, and at the same time, it has been adhering to market-oriented competition from cost reduction and efficiency enhancement.

With the localization of titanium welded pipes, established Japanese and European companies have gradually withdrawn from the titanium welded pipe industry, which further enhances the international status of China’s titanium intensive processing industry. At present, Japan, the United States, and Europe all need to purchase high-performance titanium welded pipes from China, especially Jintian New Materials, and future nuclear power projects will gradually purchase from China.

Peng Dan said, according to1According to the calculation of one million-kilowatt nuclear power unit, the demand for corrosion-resistant titanium heat exchange tubes is about230Tons, compared to when the import price peaked,1One million kilowatt unit can save investment1More than 100 million yuan, full localization can save billions of yuan, and can drive the development of upstream and downstream related supporting industries. From this calculation, Jintian New Material sprints into the world’s largest professional manufacturer of titanium welded pipes, and is within easy reach.

Ingenuity of Huxiang Spirit Overcome the difficulties in the production of domestic nuclear-grade titanium welded pipes

“You can’t say you like it, it should be said that you love it.” Liu Wentao said when someone asked if he liked the job.Liu Wentao30In his early years, he was the deputy line chief of the Jintian New Material Production Department. In his hearty and fresh laughter, I could feel his love for machinery manufacturing. According to his colleagues, no matter how late it is, whether it is in the factory, or if there is a problem in production, Liu Wentao will be the first to rush to the scene with a phone call. In fact, without love and perseverance, it is difficult to persevere in the production of excellence.

since2015Received the national major special project “Large Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor and High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor Nuclear Power Plant” and “China Nuclear Power Heat Exchanger Localization Development and Industrialization Demonstration of High Performance Corrosion-resistant Heat Exchange Tubes” from the National Energy Administration. Jintian New Materials was established as soon as possible. The “Hualong No. 1 Condenser Localization Project of Titanium Welded Pipes” team is divided into three groups, namely roll and forming, welding and testing, and materials and heat transfer research teams to coordinate research.

“When I first learned that the titanium welded pipes for nuclear power projects were arranged on the production line I was in charge of, my first impression was that the pressure was huge and the pipes produced must not have any quality problems. Both my team and I must show their spirit. Use everyone’s best ability to do a good job of the pipe.” Liu Wentao recalled the nervousness at the time in this way. The team conducted a comprehensive investigation and maintenance of the production line at the first time.During production, each operation will form a production record, which is kept in the book like the life of the pipe30Over years, the quality can be traced permanently.

The material, mechanical properties, elastic modulus, etc. of nuclear-grade titanium welded pipe are completely different from those of ordinary titanium welded pipe, and the preparation process needs to be explored again to find the best state.Step by step, level after level, the R&D team spent two years digging down the roll forming technology“Tough bones.”

Zhang Wangcheng, deputy manager of the technical department, is the only one in this team90After the master’s degree, he talked about nuclear-grade titanium welded pipes. He told the author that in order to clarify and solve the technical difficulties, colleagues often still fight in the workshop at two or three in the morning. “One day when we were making the pipe, the pipe suddenly cracked. It was because the welding parameters were wrong, the welding current was high, or the raw materials were mixed, and the molding was not well formed…” Zhang Wangcheng remembered clearly. In order to trace the root cause, the three teams worked together. It is very cumbersome to have a meeting to study, and then verify one by one, repeatedly adjust the parameters and rolls, and then study the properties of the materials. After many attempts and experiments, this problem was solved.

this15The hard-working young people are united, not discussing conditions, working side by side, conquering and optimizing technical indicators one by one. In this year’s Hunan Province celebrating the “May 1st” International Labor Day and the Advanced Collective and Advanced Individual Commendation Conference, this team was awarded the honor of “Hunan Provincial Worker Pioneer”.

Central and Die hand in hand to overcome difficulties Climbing to the peak of nuclear power grade titanium welded pipe

2019In 2015, Jintian New Materials was recognized by many parties to carry out the research and development and production of the “Hualong No. 1” high-performance corrosion-resistant titanium welded pipe project.2020In 2009, Jintian New Material became the manufacturer of the first high-performance titanium welded pipe product for the “Hualong No. 1” condenser. At this point, China’s third-generation nuclear power mainstream reactor-type steam condensers have begun to be fully localized, and Jintian New Materials has helped China’s nuclear power power to go abroad.

At present, the nuclear-grade titanium welded pipe project has applied for a national patenttwenty twoItem, national technical standards for related industries in the field of nuclear power9The key core processes have formed proprietary intellectual property rights.

“As a local state-owned enterprise, Jintian New Materials has a sense of responsibility and mission, and it has solved the problem of the key materials used in high-end nuclear power equipment in our country. Milestone event in China.”2020year11moon,80Ye Qizhen, a multi-year-old academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and an expert in nuclear reactor and nuclear power engineering, pointed out at the witness meeting for the localization of the first set of high-performance titanium welded pipes for the “Hualong No. 1” condenser.

It is understood that Jintian New Materials will follow-up through technological transformation and upgrading to improve efficiency, and strive to achieve a leading position in the international market on the road to become more refined and stronger.

Climbing to the peak of nuclear-grade titanium welded pipes, Xiangtou Jintian Technology Group is not satisfied with this.“In the next step, we will strive to break the monopoly of the titanium plate strip for nuclear power plate heat exchangers by foreign companies and long-term dependence on imports.” According to Peng Dan, plate heat exchangers are not only used in the conventional islands of nuclear power plants, but also in nuclear islands. , The safety requirements are higher. At present, high-performance titanium coils for nuclear power panels are still mainly monopolized by Japan and the United States.Hunan Xiangtou Jintian Titanium Metal Co., Ltd., China Nuclear Power Engineering Company and Lanzhou Lanshi Heat Exchange Equipment Company, etc.2019Collaborated to carry out scientific research in the year. At present, a number of core technological researches have been completed. The high-performance titanium strips for nuclear power plate heat exchangers produced have passed the inspection and installation application verification of composition, performance, corrosion resistance, and erosion resistance, and passed The nuclear power industry has passed the expert appraisal of “Development of High-Performance Titanium Plates and Strips for Nuclear Power Plate Heat Exchangers”, and it is expected that the first order will be realized within this year.