On September 12, a batch of 200 tons of yoke steel tailings from WHGT New Material Technology Group warehouse was packaged and sent out. This batch of steel plates will be used in the Wudongde Hydropower Station and installed in the core component of the world's largest hydropower unit that has been put into operation-the rotor. So far, WHGT's three-year supply of the Udonde project has all ended.
As early as 2011, WHGT began to research and approve the steel used in the Wudongde project. After more than 6 years of technical research, it developed an ultra-high-strength yoke steel plate, which is currently the flattest hot-rolled steel plate in the world.
"The strength, toughness and precision of this kind of steel plate are required to be the best, but the three are inherently contradictory and almost impossible to guarantee at the same time." Song Chang, the head of yoke steel research and development, said that the research and development team has to go through countless experiments to find The optimal ratio of steel plate components can achieve the desired performance.
Gao Zhiping, director of yoke steel varieties, introduced that yoke steel is a difficult-to-roll variety with extreme specifications. The process is twice that of conventional steel. Without the assistance of mature robots, it is a huge challenge and test for people. During trial production, the qualified rate of finished products was only 30%.
After process adjustment, the qualified rate of yoke steel products gradually increased to more than 70%. With its superior performance, WHGT defeated the world's leading high-strength steel manufacturer SSAB of Sweden, became the main supplier of the Udonde project, and realized the national production of yoke steel for large-scale hydropower stations in China.
On December 18, 2019, at the hoisting site of the first rotor of the Wudongde Hydropower Station, the project manager of Shanghai Voith Company praised WHGT's delivered products. "The steel plates are stacked tightly and the compensation plates are basically useless!"
Due to the demanding technical indicators of yoke steel and the complicated process, China has relied on imports for a long time. In order to break foreign monopolies, reduce costs, and not be controlled by others, WHGT took the lead in developing yoke steel independently in the country in the late 1990s. For more than 20 years, developers have explored this blank field one by one, and finally touched the tip of the pyramid of hot-rolled steel products.
With this product, WHGT has the long-term share of relevant domestic markets in China and has become the "first brand" to replace imports. At present, its magnetic yoke steel products have been used in batches in more than 100 large hydropower stations such as Xiluodu, Xiangjiaba, and Vietnam SONLA.