China has released its first ultra-large hot isostatic pressing (HIP) machine, a milestone in the country’s development of high-performance materials for use in industries like aerospace.
The new equipment – called HIPEX1850 – was announced on Friday by the China Iron and Steel Research Institute. It will increase Beijing’s global competitiveness in the field of materials preparation, according to state media reports.
HIP is a manufacturing process which compresses materials using high “isostatic” gas pressure – or pressure applied from all directions – combined with ultra-high temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Celsius (3,632 degrees Fahrenheit).
This process can reduce the porosity of metals and increase the density of ceramic materials, eliminating defects and increasing resistance to enable their use in an array of industries like aerospace, oil and gas operations, and manufacturing.
According to Qi Wen, project leader of the ultra-large HIP equipment at the institute’s affiliated company Gangyan Haopu Technology: “In simple terms, this equipment can make ordinary metals, ceramics and other materials stronger and capable of superior performance.”
“After undergoing the HIP process, the performance of the material will be greatly improved, and the fatigue life of the material can be increased by at least 10 times on average, which can meet the use requirements under extreme working conditions,” Qi told state broadcaster CCTV.
CCTV also hailed the feat as a milestone in China’s advancement in new material production.
China has doubled down on boosting advanced manufacturing and technological breakthroughs in areas such as new materials and semiconductors amid growing tech rivalry with the United States and its allies.
HIP technology “is an important means of preparing high-performance materials”, Gangyan Haopu chairman Lu Zhoujin told the Chinese version of nationalist tabloid Global Times.
The new ultra-large machinery will allow for the processing of larger and more complex materials.
The new machine is the largest in China and the second largest in the world, after the press owned by British company Bodycote and located in a US facility.
The technology was first created in the United States in the 1950s by researchers at the Battelle Memorial Institute in Ohio.
HIP is used on an array of materials including metals, ceramics and glass for use in aircraft, engine turbines, cutting tools, nuclear reactors, space shuttles, and more, according to Japanese manufacturer Kobe Steel.
Spacecraft require materials to be able to withstand high temperatures and pressure. Other industries like rail transport require materials with good wear resistance due to their high speeds.
HIP also plays a role in the oil and gas industry, which requires materials to have high corrosion resistance to withstand complex chemical environments, according to CCTV.
The technology differs from hot pressing, which also uses high temperature and gas to compress materials but does not use isostatic pressure.
Kobe Steel said that unlike hot pressing, HIP allows for materials to maintain a shape more similar to the original material.
