With the launch of the first domestic aircraft carrier in service, and the second domestic aircraft carrier is under intense construction, the displacement, tonnage and shipborne equipment of the aircraft carrier have become increasingly hot topics. However, there is also a critical part in the carrier and even many types of ships. This is the key part to provide power-the propeller. Although the shape of the propeller seems simple and clear, it is full of scientific and technological content when it is designed and manufactured. From the application to the most basic materials science, engineering to professional fluid mechanics, to the most difficult processing technology in practice, the propeller that is always immersed in the sea is not as easy to manufacture as we imagined.
The large propeller used by the US aircraft carrier Nimitz weighs up to 150 tons
Different ships are equipped with different types of propellers, among which the propeller design and manufacturing process used by aircraft carriers are the highest. According to the US aircraft carrier Nimitz's propeller data, its propeller diameter up to 6.4 meters is made of bronze alloy as a whole. The aircraft carrier has a total of four propellers, and the weight of a single propeller is as high as 150 tons. The manufacturing process of this giant propeller is extremely rigorous, from the curved surface of the propeller, the efficiency of open water to the finish of the propeller, etc., all adopt extremely high standard designs. In a country's complete aircraft carrier manufacturing system, aircraft carrier propellers are a very important aspect. Without strong manufacturing as the basis, it is difficult to create propellers with excellent performance.
Large propeller manufacturing technology mastered by China Zhenjiang China Shipbuilding Wärtsilä Propeller Company
However, few countries in the world have the ability to build large propellers. China's breakthrough in large-scale propellers started from Zhenjiang Zhongchuan Wärtsilä Propeller Company. The new seven-axis five-link CNC machine tool developed by it has laid the foundation for the manufacture of domestic aircraft carrier propellers. After more than 1,000 days and nights of research, China Shipbuilding Wärtsilä Propeller Co., Ltd. finally mastered the manufacturing technology of large propellers. The maximum diameter of propellers that can be manufactured by this machine tool is up to 12.5 meters, which is equivalent to Nimitz in the United States. The aircraft carrier's propeller is twice the diameter and the weight of a single propeller exceeds 400 tons. Since then, the manufacturing technology of China's large propellers is no longer limited to foreign countries.
New 7-axis 5-link CNC machine tool doubles efficiency when processing large propellers
In the United States on the other side of the ocean, artificial propellers are still used in the manufacture of large propellers. In China, because a new type of seven-axis, five-link CNC machine tool is used, when large propellers are manufactured, only computer programming is required to automatically process them to ensure the performance and accuracy of the final propeller. Not only that, in the material processing technology of ship propellers, China has been steadily advancing in the research and development and manufacturing of materials from the brass zinc-tin alloy used in the 1970s to the global mainstream nickel-aluminum-bronze alloy. . It can be said that China has the ability to independently produce any type of propeller.
United propeller manufacturing giant China is no longer constrained by large propeller manufacturing technology
The breakthrough of China's large-scale propeller manufacturing technology contributed to Zhenjiang China Shipbuilding Wärtsilä Propeller Company. As China's largest propeller design and manufacturing enterprise, Zhenjiang China Shipbuilding Wärtsilä Propeller was jointly established by China Shipbuilding Equipment Corporation and global propeller manufacturing giant Wärtsilä Finland. In this large-scale propeller manufacturing technology research, Wärtsilä's contributions also contributed indelible. The Chinese also use their own methods to make the manufacture of domestic large-scale propellers no longer restricted by people, and can fully master this technology, laying a solid foundation for the development of Chinese propellers.