Quartz fiber has high temperature resistance, wave transmission, and excellent strength. It is widely used in key components of the aerospace field.
Quartz fiber is widely used in the aerospace field. Quartz fiber is a special glass fiber with a SiO2 content of more than 99.9% and a wire diameter of 1-15 μm. It has high strength, low dielectric constant and dielectric loss, high temperature resistance, small expansion coefficient, corrosion resistance, and good design performance. The advantages of the series are indispensable strategic materials in the aerospace field. Quartz fiber applications include: missiles, aircraft, satellite radomes, satellites, warship antennas, electromagnetic windows (interference, anti-jamming equipment), structural materials for stealth technology (aircraft, warships, submarines), various high-temperature environmental insulation: aircraft Engine environment, airframe fire barriers, thermal protection of space launch vehicles, thermal insulation of rocket thrusters, etc.
In the aviation field, quartz materials are mainly used to make wave-transmitting reinforced materials, including airborne radomes, missile radomes, and interference electromagnetic emission windows. The radome is used as a structural component. It is necessary to ensure that: 1) the radar antenna system is not interfered to prevent the radar antenna from being damaged in a harsh flying environment; 2) the electromagnetic wave is used to ensure the operation of the radar antenna; therefore, the mechanics of the radome on the material Performance and dielectric performance requirements are high. Quartz fiber is the most commonly used reinforcing fiber for high-performance airborne radomes. For example, the US F-15 and F-22 use quartz fiber or composite materials containing quartz fiber.
In the aerospace industry, quartz products can be used as insulation and high temperature resistant materials. Quartz has excellent heat resistance and has become an important thermal insulation material for space vehicles and missiles. The softening temperature of quartz fiber is 1700 ℃, and the general quartz fiber can be used for a long time at 600 ~ 1050 ℃. Utilizing this property, quartz fiber is widely used as a cauterizing material for spacecraft and intercontinental missiles to return to the atmosphere to prevent aircraft from overheating.
Quartz fiber is difficult to manufacture and the technology is complicated. Only a few companies in the world can produce it. Quartz fiber is used in the aerospace industry, with high barriers to industry entry, a good market structure, and strong product profitability. With the development of domestic aerospace in the past two years, we expect that the procurement demand for quartz fiber is expected to gradually increase.
Quartz fiber preparation method: (1) Quartz rod or tube is melted and drawn with an oxyhydrogen flame, and then blown with an oxyhydrogen flame to produce a quartz cotton with a diameter of 0.7-1 μm; (2) Quartz is formed by high-speed airflow after flame melting Staple fibers and their felts; (3) Pass quartz filaments or rods through a hydrogen-oxygen flame or a gas flame at a constant speed and soften and stretch into filaments. They are mainly used as reinforcements for electrical insulation materials, heat insulation materials and composite materials. Used to manufacture aircraft nose radomes, rocket tail nozzles, and ablative materials for space vehicles.
China's aerospace industry development will drive quartz fiber demand
During the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" period, national defense construction has grown rapidly, and the "military-civilian integration" strategy will bring about major developments in the military industry. According to the 2016 China Aerospace White Paper, 2016-2020 China will continue to implement major projects such as manned spaceflight, lunar exploration, Beidou satellite navigation system, high-resolution ground observation system, and new-generation carrier rockets, and start to implement a number of new Major scientific and technological projects and major projects. According to data from the Ministry of Finance's "Report on the Implementation of the 2017 Central and Local Budgets and the 2018 Central and Local Budget Drafts", China's defense spending in 2018 will increase by 8.1% to 1106.951 billion yuan, the first recovery in the past five years. According to the Huatai Military Industry Team's 2019 annual strategy report, "Always Wait, Welcome the Spring of Reform and Growth", under the medium- and long-term background and pressure of deteriorating geography, it is necessary to accelerate military reform and equipment construction as needed. It will bring mid-to-long-term institutional dividends to the military high-end industry; the high-end equipment industry represented by the military aircraft industry chain is moving from a technological inflection point to a financial inflection point. It is measuring, new materials, high-precision navigation, and chip localization on military aircraft 20 series models Under the background of gradual technology maturity, it is recommended to focus on investment in military high-end manufacturing industry opportunities.
In the aviation field, China ’s demand for military aircraft is increasing, and the demand for upgrading and pulling quartz radome is increased. At present, the size of China's military aircraft is still far behind that of the United States. According to World Air Force 2018, the number of China's military aircraft is about 1/4; the number of transport aircraft is about 1/9; and the number of armed helicopters is less than 1 / 10; the number of trainers is about 1/6; the total number of fighters is about 3/4, but it contains more than 500 second-generation fighters, which is significantly different from the US military in terms of number and structure, only the number of fighters has increased and old equipment Renewal needs are more than a thousand. With the development of world-class military construction goals and the acceleration of the deployment of new generation military aircraft such as J-20 and Y-20, the prosperity of the aviation equipment industry chain is expected to further increase. As an important part of the military aircraft structure, the radome needs to grow rapidly as the demand for military aircraft grows. The Huatai military team's 2019 strategy believes that the aviation equipment main plant directly benefits from the release of equipment orders. The performance of the first three quarters fully reflects the strong state of military aircraft delivery. Following the transmission of the industrial chain, the performance of core supporting enterprises is also expected to welcome To accelerate growth.
In the aerospace field, major national science and technology and engineering projects have generated demand for quartz thermal insulation components. NASA estimates that the total global aerospace industry market will reach 485 billion U.S. dollars by 2020; the domestic market includes launch vehicles, satellite applications, and space broadband Internet. It reached 800 billion yuan annually. In the next five years, China will continue to advance major projects such as manned spaceflight, lunar exploration, Beidou satellite navigation system, high-resolution ground observation system, and next-generation carrier rocket, and start a number of new major scientific and technological projects and engineering projects. In recent years, the number of China's space launches has steadily increased. Quartz cotton, quartz cloth, and quartz yarn are important raw materials for thermal insulation and high temperature resistant parts of spacecraft. We expect that future demand will maintain stable growth with the development of China's space industry.