China relies on imported aluminum

 

Along with our country large-scale infrastructure investment and rapid advance of industrialization, China aluminum industry has been to develop rapidly, consumption scope, improve production quality from time to time, the industry's rapid growth in both production and consumption. As a result, the number of aluminum imports began to decrease, but remained high.

 

According to the analysis of varieties, the import of aluminum sheet, sheet and belt in January 2017 was the largest, accounting for 64.8% of the total import of aluminum material.

 

It is dominated by Alcoa of America, alcan of Canada, corus of Germany and light metals of Japan.

 

Take aviation aluminum for example, China's aluminum technology is relatively thin. At present, the amount of aluminum-lithium alloy mainly used in the domestic C919 aircraft accounts for about 65% of the total aircraft data, while the domestic data account for a relatively low proportion, mainly relying on imports.

 

Overall, China imports about 24 metals, 17 of which are supplied by Japanese companies, or 70.8 per cent.

 

Why is high performance aluminum so important?

 

High-performance aluminum plate with large size usually refers to the appearance quality, dimensional accuracy, version type and performance request arrives at higher specification aluminum deep processing products, widely used in transportation, subway, high-speed rail, etc.), aerospace, Marine, packing and so on the national economy and defense to establish key foundation information category need.

 

1. Car lightweight

 

Aluminum alloy is widely used in various parts of automobiles, such as instrument panel and engine stand, aluminum alloy wheel, suspension system parts, bumper anti-collision beam, cylinder, door and heat exchanger, etc.

 

Aluminum replaces steel to make cars, which can reduce the weight of both the starter and wheel by about 30%, the aluminum radiator (compared with copper products) by 20% to 40%, and the weight of the whole car by 30% to 40%. This greatly improves the speed and control of the car.

 

2. High-speed train body data

 

High-speed rail is a "large user of aluminum". More than 85% of the data of a series of high-speed trains are extruded aluminum profiles. The whole body is welded from profiles, plates, castings and forgings. High - speed railway carriage not only has high request for rigid strength, but also has restrictions on its own weight. The density of aluminum alloy only accounts for 1/3 of the density of steel, but the strength is higher than that of steel alloy after certain elements are added.

 

Industry experts also pointed out that high-speed trains with speeds of more than 300 kilometers per hour must use aluminum materials, and train cars with speeds of more than 350 kilometers per hour must use aluminum materials except chassis.

 

3. One of the most important metal materials for aviation equipment manufacturing

 

Under the same strength, aluminum alloy can provide the data of thicker section and better anti-buckling ability when subjected to pressure, becoming the classic aircraft structure data. For example, high strength aluminum alloy thick plate as the main bearing component, the application proportion accounts for 30%~35% of the total amount of aluminum material used on the aircraft.

 

Third, under the high technical blockade domestic aluminum broke the heavy siege

 

At present, 90% of high performance aluminum materials in China are imported, which has a lot to do with the backward manufacturing technology of high performance aluminum alloy in China.

 

First, the aluminum processing industry as a whole lack of technical innovation ability. According to statistics, there are more than 300 international brands of aluminum and aluminum alloy in the world. China only has one international brand until March 2007, and it is China's only international brand.

 

Second, lack of independent center technology and independent brand. China aluminum industry independent development of new materials is not much, in regard to the development of new alloy is tracking foreign products, self-developed is blank, especially high technology content, to carry out the strategic significance of aluminum aerospace and other high-tech materials, the local also rely on imports.

 

High-strength Gao Ren aluminium alloy 7050, for example, the alloy is the world of aerospace aircraft, air and sea transport in the manufacturing engineering can not be short of the key data, prominent feature is the asymmetry of pre-stretching plate after processing, can still insist on the overall flat, deformation.

 

However, this key consumer technology of high-tech content and high value-added products has been regarded as a central technology secret by the United States, Europe and other industrial prosperous countries and kept strictly closed to the outside world.

 

But that has changed!

 

In December 2016, after nearly 10 years of discussion and development and special efforts, chinalco southwest aluminum finally became the first enterprise in China to fully control the consumption technology of high strength, high toughness and 7050 aluminum alloy prestretched thick plate. The victory of this technology research and development and application of comprehensive breakthrough of western countries for a long time to our country key category of manufacturing technology blockade, make water related manufacturing technology of our country has entered into the first stop.

 

Zhongwang group also actively stopped the exploration of aluminum for aerospace, and launched the r&d project of "7075 aerospace extruded bar" according to the specification, characteristics and strict quality requirements of aluminum profiles.

 

At present, the domestic high performance aluminum processing has a prominent advantage in the following enterprises.

 

1. Chinalco southwest aluminum corporation

 

Southwest aluminum was jointly invested by three companies in December 2000 to transform southwest aluminum processing plant into a subsidiary of China aluminum corporation. Is China's system of an air to air missile weapon system development important member units, China's consumption scope biggest, equipped with the most advanced technology, the most complete of type specification large-sized comprehensive aluminum processing enterprises, China aerospace aluminum guarantee base, China high precision aluminum sheet with foil consumption base, aluminum export processing base in China.

 

At present, there are seven of the world's major, the factory can consume lithium aluminium alloy material of rolling, 11 factories can consume lithium aluminium alloy extrusion materials, nine factories wrought aluminium lithium alloy forgings and forging pieces, including the southwest aluminum (group) limited liability company.

 

2. Zhongwang, China

 

China zhongwang holdings co., LTD. Is the world's second largest producer of aluminum extrusion products in Asia and China. On May 8, 2009, the company successfully listed on the main board of the limited company in Hong Kong. At present, there are 93 internationally advanced aluminum extrusion consumption lines (including 21 75MN and above large aluminum extrusion consumption lines), with an annual capacity of more than 1 million tons.

 

Zhongwang is one of the few domestic enterprises that can develop and manufacture aluminum extrusion products for high-speed rail vehicles from 300km/h, 350km/h to 400km/h. In particular, some large-section products, such as the partial wide plate of the high-speed railway locomotive, domestic as long as zhongwang and other two or three enterprises can consume.

 

3. Nanshan aluminum

 

Shandong nanshan aluminum co., LTD. Is a large enterprise owned by nanshan group (top 500 enterprises in China), with annual aluminum production capacity reaching 400,000 tons. Founded in 1993, the company was successfully listed in Shanghai securities exchange on December 23, 1999. As the only listed company in China whose main business is aluminum material, the company has the world's single most complete aluminum industry chain with the shortest interval.

 

At the same time, shandong nanshan aluminum general factory is the pillar enterprise of nanshan aluminum industry co., LTD., and also the designated consumer manufacturer of aluminum alloy building profiles established by the state.

 

In February 2017, xu lejiang, vice minister of the ministry of industry and information technology, proposed at the meeting that consumers should speed up the development and application progress of key brand aluminum materials and strive for a phased suspension within the year.

 

At the same time, the new material industry "much starker choices-and graver consequences-in planning is put forward, with aviation aluminum, carbon fiber composite materials, high temperature alloy industrialization conditions such as market potential big, complete new data types, organization to demonstrate the application.

 

At that time, there will be a significant gap in the supply of high-end aluminum in China, and the aluminum industry will have a serious opportunity to develop. The market scope of aviation aluminum is expected to grow rapidly.

 

At present, China's aluminum processing industry has had one of the world's top modern aluminum processing technology, the next stage, the demand is good at applying modern aluminum processing with advantages, enhance technical collaboration with foreign advanced enterprises, learn their precious experience, strive for the complete "overtaking corner"!

 

Wood printing furnace, profile shaping machine