How is the thin-walled structure of titanium alloy made?

Recently, a public report by a state-owned enterprise has aroused everyone's attention. According to the report, after receiving the R&D and manufacturing of the tail section of the S-shaped exhaust pipe for a certain project, a factory has overcome the large size, complex structure, high molding requirements of the inner tank and insufficient tooling rigidity, etc. Difficult, and finally successfully completed the scheduled task.

This is the first time that my country has successfully trial-produced such large-scale and complex parts. It not only completed the supporting tasks of a certain project, but also significantly improved my country's R&D and manufacturing capabilities in this field. The shape and structure of this part are roughly as shown in the figure below.

This is a typical S-shaped exhaust pipe

So how is such a large and complex thin-walled titanium alloy structure made? The report only mentioned in an inexplicable manner that "segments were first manufactured, and then joined into a finished product by laser welding", but did not mention how the segments were manufactured. However, as long as you read the public information a little, you can know that the most efficient and cheap way to produce such large and complex thin-walled titanium alloy parts is the "blower"-also It uses superplastic forming/diffusion bonding (hereinafter referred to as SPF/DB) technology.

The so-called superplastic forming (SPF) is a manufacturing technology that uses the superplasticity of the material to extrude the material with a mold to achieve cavity molding. As early as the 1920s, people discovered that certain alloy materials have unusual elongation at a certain temperature (that is, they can tolerate very large deformations without damage), while ordinary metal materials are not affected by this situation. Pulling off means that it has a significant necking effect and cannot be used. This is the so-called superplasticity.

In fact, for almost all metal materials, as long as they have a specific microstructure, and the temperature and deformation rate meet certain requirements, superplasticity is universal. But for most metals, the temperature range for superplasticity is too narrow for practical application. But titanium alloy is an exception, and it happens to be a material widely used in the aerospace industry. Therefore, since the 1960s, the superplastic forming technology of titanium alloy has begun to flourish.

Schematic diagram of superplastic forming principle

The so-called diffusion bonding (DB) refers to the local plastic deformation of the surfaces of the materials in contact with each other under the action of temperature and pressure, the atoms diffuse each other, and a diffusion layer is generated at the interface contact, so as to realize the connection technology. In layman's terms, the finishing work of making dumplings or buns is a typical diffusion connection. This feature of diffusion bonding makes it the best partner for superplastic forming technology. For example, when manufacturing multilayer structures, it can be superplasticized layer by layer, and then each layer can be fixed in place by diffusion bonding. At the same time, this can not only improve efficiency, but also effectively reduce the weight of the entire structure. (One of the key reasons why the aerospace products of one of our neighboring countries can't get rid of the image of silly and clumsy is because they do not master large and complex parts. SPF/DB technology, which can not greatly reduce the weight of the multilayer structure). Therefore, these two technologies are usually combined, and SPF/DB has become a proper term.

The reason why SPF/DB is described as a "sugar blowing man" is because the sugar blowing man can achieve it by using the superplasticity of maltose at a certain temperature, so that the operator can freely shape various images. And use the principle of diffusion bonding to glue the places that need to be connected.

Of course, the technology of "blowing sugar" of titanium alloy is definitely much more complicated than that of maltose, especially for the manufacture of large and complex parts. The technical problems that need to be overcome include but not limited to the design and manufacture of superplastic forming molds, and tooling. Design, dimensional accuracy control and surface quality control, etc.

Therefore, very few countries have truly mastered this technology. The United States and the United Kingdom have mastered this technology in the 1970s. Titanium alloy SPF/DB components are widely used in various types of aircraft such as F-15 and F-22. The United States and the United Kingdom have multiple advanced aircraft engines. Titanium alloy fan blades also use SPF/DB technology. my country has been committed to the research and development of SPF/DB technology and its industrialization since the 1970s. More than a dozen universities and scientific research institutions have participated in it. In the end, the SPF/DB technology of the Harbin Institute of Technology team was successfully industrialized. It has become an important promoter of my country's manufacturing technology progress.

Although it started a little later, after more than 40 years of rapid development, my country's SPF/DB technology has been among the world's advanced. For example, Hangxing Company, a subsidiary of Aerospace Technology Research Institute of Aerospace Science and Industry Group, has been able to achieve a production mode of one mold and two parts. In the case of doubling the production efficiency, the production cost has been reduced by more than 30%, and because of the SPF/DB molding time It is shorter and the heating time is shorter. Therefore, the product basically does not appear grain coarsening, and can effectively control the springback deformation. The dimensional accuracy of large thin-walled parts with a size of about 1500mm can be controlled within 0.3mm.

In order to meet the R&D and manufacturing requirements of a high-tech aircraft, Hangxing also took the lead in the research and development of China's first large-scale ultra-high temperature flexible CNC three-station superplastic forming equipment and achieved success in 2017.

The table size of this equipment is 3000mm×2000mm (the second in the world, after the USA's 3600×2400mm), the maximum working temperature is 1200℃, and the maximum forming force is 20MN. Previously, this type of large-scale core equipment was only controlled by the United States (the United Kingdom used American equipment), and it was embargoed on us. Therefore, the successful development of this equipment has enabled my country’s SPF/DB equipment to reach a world-class level, breaking the US monopoly in this field. .

Superplastic forming equipment independently developed by Hangxing Company (picture reprinted from the official WeChat public account of Aerospace Science and Industry Group Aerospace Technology Research Institute)

The successful manufacture of large-scale titanium alloy S-type nozzles this time indicates that my country's SPF/DB technology has reached a higher level and has the ability to process more complex parts.

What's more worth mentioning is that SPF/DB technology not only shines in the field of aerospace manufacturing, but also in the field of civilian manufacturing. The aluminum alloy "corrugated paper" three-layer structure of the high-speed rail car body in my country is the masterpiece of SPF/DB. Such a structure greatly reduces the structural weight while ensuring the strength, thereby achieving the lightweight of the entire car body. It should be pointed out here that the superplastic temperature range of aluminum alloy is much narrower than that of titanium alloy. Therefore, the SPF/DB technology of aluminum alloy has always been a difficult and painful point in the international industry. This is the reason why only my country in the world has the ability to manufacture such a lightweight high-speed rail car body.

In the project of customizing subway cars for the capital of a country along the “Belt and Road”, the other party proposed that the complex shape decorations in the carriages should be made of titanium alloy (to demonstrate the country's economic strength), and other bidding companies could not do anything about it. Only CRRC won the bid easily with SPF/DB technology and won this big order.

Today, from aviation to aerospace, from high-speed rail to automobiles, SPF/DB, the "sugar-blower" technology, is increasingly boosting my country's industrial upgrading. This series of major achievements makes us look forward to the day when my country's SPF/DB technology will develop from the world's advanced level to the world's leading level.

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