On September 15th, HNZC Light Alloy Technology Group, a leading manufacturer of magnesium-aluminum alloy and magnesium-lithium alloy in China, successfully realized the commercial production of ultra-lightweight alloy material: aluminum-lithium alloy
The aluminum-lithium alloy will be used in China’s aerospace field. China has been blocked and restricted by the United States in this area. In particular, the aluminum-lithium alloy used in defense fields such as military aircraft, launch vehicles, and space vehicles is an embargo on China. of. “Central South University professor, aerospace structure expert, and general manager of HNZC Huang Cheng told Hay Think, “The only open channel that can be imported in small quantities is the aluminum-lithium alloy material used in the body of the Chinese domestic passenger aircraft C919, but it also faces The risk of the United States withdrawing supply. “
At present, although China has manufactured a rocket with a core stage diameter of five meters, it does not have the ability to manufacture heavy-duty launch vehicle structural parts with a diameter of ten meters; if aluminum-lithium alloy materials are used in the structure of a ten-meter-diameter heavy launch vehicle, and Realize the coordinated manufacturing of the shape and shape of the super-large diameter structure, reduce the weight of the rocket body with high level and high reliability, and greatly improve the ability to enter the space.
Lithium is the lightest metal element in nature. Studies have shown that adding 1% of lithium to aluminum alloy can reduce the density of aluminum alloy by 3% and increase the modulus by 6%. Compared with the high-performance 2 series and 7 series aluminum alloys commonly used in traditional aerospace, aluminum-lithium alloys have lighter weight and higher modulus, making it easier to achieve high reliability and lightweight manufacturing of aerospace equipment.
Research data shows that for every kilogram of spacecraft reduced, its launch cost can be saved about 20,000 US dollars. In the 1990s, the US Space Shuttle ultralight storage tank used 2195 aluminum-lithium alloy instead of 2219 alloy to achieve a weight reduction of 3.4 tons, which could save US$68 million in launch costs. According to the exchange rate at the time, it was equivalent to saving at least 550 million yuan.
Therefore, the application of aluminum-lithium alloys can bring considerable economic benefits in response to the urgent demand for weight reduction in aerospace, rail transit, ship transportation and other application fields.
As the most advanced aluminum alloy material in the world, aluminum-lithium alloy has developed to the fourth generation. However, due to the specific physical properties of lithium, such as high chemical activity and low density, the processing difficulty and technical complexity of each link of aluminum-lithium alloy from composition design, melting and casting, plastic forming to heat treatment are far greater than other aluminum alloy materials. Currently, only five companies in the world can produce aluminum-lithium alloys, including industrial giants Alcoa, Rusal, French Alcoa, Alcan and ZGLV Aluminum Technology Group.
CQXN Aluminum Technology Company under ZGLY has the most advanced R&D and production technology of aluminum-lithium alloy technology in China.
HNZC is the second company in China to realize the commercial production of aluminum-lithium alloys.
In recent years, led by the scientific research team of Academician Zhong Xie, the research capabilities of the Light Alloy Research Institute of Central South University in the field of light alloys have basically reached the international first-class level, especially the research on the entire manufacturing process of aluminum, magnesium, titanium and other light alloy materials. More than one hundred core patents and technology groups including new high-performance light alloy material design technology, high-efficiency melt purification technology, ultrasonic homogeneous ingot casting technology, new aluminum-lithium alloy melting and casting technology, integrated manufacturing technology and heat treatment technology for large-scale material components, etc. .
HNZC started the construction of a new production base in 2018. In the first phase of the project, the breakthrough and engineering of the manufacturing technology bottleneck of super large 2XXX series and 7XXX series aluminum materials was one of the main goals of production and operation. Five aluminum alloy, magnesium-lithium alloy, and aluminum-lithium alloy production lines have been built, including independent construction of high-performance aluminum alloy fusion-casting, large forging parts and ring-tube parts, large-scale high-precision thin-walled parts, large-size complex cross-section extrusion profiles, and other intelligent production lines .
Among them, the high-performance (2XXX series, 7XXX series) aluminum alloy ingot production line can produce ingots with a maximum diameter of 1.4 meters, providing raw materials for aerospace super-large construction.
The high-performance large-scale and complex section profile production line can realize high-quality ingot soaking, precise temperature control and heating of molds, and high-precision and high-performance heat treatment of profiles. The matching finishing equipment can realize the traction, quenching, cooling and conveying of extruded aluminum profiles. , Drawing, cutting, inspection, etc., mainly producing 2XXX series and 7XXX series aluminum alloy profiles for high-quality aerospace, military products and high-end civilian products.
Aluminum-lithium alloy ingot, precision aluminum-lithium alloy forging and casting production line.