She is known as “the pioneer of high-performance ceramic matrix composite materials in China”.
She smashed the problem of deformation of superalloy blades and successfully prepared China’s first blade without margin. At the age of 44, she won the first prize of National Science and Technology Progress Award;
She is rooted in aerospace high-temperature material technology and its application research, and was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering at the age of 57;
She presided over the “Application Technology of High Temperature and Long Life Antioxidant Ceramic Matrix Composite” project. At the age of 66, she won the “First Prize of National Technical Invention”, breaking the vacancy of this award for 6 consecutive years.
For fifty-nine years, she regarded the dream of China’s aviation as her own responsibility, adhering to the original aspiration and strict self-discipline, co-authored 2 monographs in the field of aerospace materials, authorized more than 50 national invention patents, and published 400 papers included in SCI and EI The remainder of the article is therefore honored as “female academician.”
Facing an interview with “Materials for Great Nation,” academician Zhang Litong, now 82 years old, always smiled and said that he was “lucky”. Every time he encountered problems in scientific research, he would always usher in unexpected opportunities. When it comes to solving the problem of deformation of superalloy blades and conquering the preparation technology of ceramic matrix composites, her eyes are eager and full of hope.
In 1989, with the vision of serving the aerospace and aviation of the motherland, Zhang Litong embarked on a research journey in a foreign country, went to research “Future Ceramic Matrix Composite Materials for International Large Space Stations”, and since then entered the field of ceramic matrix composite materials.
It is reported that ceramic matrix composites are composited with ceramics as the matrix and continuous ceramic fibers. They have metal-like fracture behavior, are insensitive to cracks, and will not cause catastrophic damage. They have high temperature resistance, high specific strength and high specific rigidity. performance. It has broad application prospects in aerospace and other defense fields, and is one of the cutting-edge materials in the field of advanced materials.
When the high-temperature performance of metal materials cannot meet the performance requirements, ceramic matrix composites are ideal materials to replace high-temperature alloys, and can be used as structural materials for hot-end components of high-temperature engines and spacecraft heat-resistant structural materials.
When Zhang Litong returned to XB University of Technology, he immediately organized a team to apply for the development of “continuous fiber reinforced silicon carbide ceramic matrix composites” for aero engines.
The team only took 8 months to prepare a small sample of “continuous fiber reinforced silicon carbide ceramic matrix composite.”
Later, after several process improvements, this new material won the first prize of National Technology Invention Award in 2004, breaking the vacancy of the award for 6 consecutive years, and aroused great repercussions abroad. International experts commented: “The development of ceramic fiber composite materials in China The speed is too fast, and In these field cannot be without China!”
According to GE’s forecast, by 2023, the demand for ceramic matrix composites in the aero engine market will increase by 10 times. At present, many domestic and foreign researchers are pushing ceramic matrix composites into the civilian market.
From the structural point of view, the continuous silicon carbide fiber reinforced silicon carbide ceramic matrix composite material is mainly composed of silicon carbide fiber, an interface layer and a silicon carbide ceramic matrix. “Fiber is equivalent to bone, matrix is equivalent to muscle, interface is equivalent to rib, and silicon carbide matrix is equivalent to muscle.” Zhang Litong introduced to Hay Think.
Silicon carbide fiber has excellent mechanical properties, oxidation resistance, high temperature stability, and excellent physical and chemical compatibility with the ceramic matrix. It is currently the most suitable high-quality reinforcement material for ceramic matrix composites in the fields of aeroengines.
In 2003, Zhang Litong established the Special Advanced Materials Laboratory of Xiamen University as a dual-employed academician, specializing in ceramic fiber research.
In 2006, Zhang Litong’s ceramic fiber team finally broke through the industrialized production technology. When planning to transform into the industry, he received strong support from Chinese entrepreneur Cai Mingtong and immediately began to invest in building factories and buying equipment to promote the industrialization of silicon carbide fibers and support China Research on engineering transformation of continuous fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composites.
Only by laying a solid foundation of ceramic fiber raw materials can an industrial chain of ceramic matrix composite materials be formed. In 2008, Zhang Litong’s team decided to establish XAXY Ceramic Composites Technology Corporation. with entrepreneur Cai Mingtong to develop “ceramic matrix composite component preparation technology” into “component mass production technology”, thereby forming batch production capacity. Today, this company is developing and growing to fully meet the global needs of ceramic matrix composites in the seven fields of aviation, aerospace, nuclear energy, satellite optical and mechanical structures, and brakes.