An innovation chain "chain" into integration
The white equipment in front of me is 2.4 meters long, 1.6 meters wide, and 2 meters high. It is a "big guy", but it can do "embroidery work" - this is the country's first four-dimensional X-ray microscope, developed by the Yangtze River Delta Advanced Laboratory in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. Developed and manufactured by the Materials Research Institute, it can clearly see defects such as holes and cracks inside materials at the micron scale. It can also simulate complex working conditions such as ultra-high temperature, low temperature, corrosion, etc., and comprehensively evaluate material performance in actual application scenarios.
"With the development of my country's manufacturing industry, more and more materials require a 'health certificate' under extreme use conditions before they can be 'employed' for work. Only professional equipment can do a 'physical examination' for materials." Yang Shangjing, a system engineer at the Yangtze River Delta Advanced Materials Research Institute, said that testing materials in extreme environments poses great technical challenges, and even imported equipment cannot fully meet the demand.
In November 2020, the Yangtze River Delta Advanced Materials Research Institute formed a project team dedicated to designing X-ray microscopes. On the one hand, the team purchases detectors, protective sheds and other components from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and other places to cultivate a high-end analytical and characterization instrument industry chain; on the other hand, it links the innovative resources of the Yangtze River Delta with Shanghai Light Source, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Nanjing University of Technology, etc. Build an innovation chain and carry out collaborative research.
The integration of the whole machine after the parts are purchased, especially the accuracy improvement, is the most difficult part. X-rays are invisible light. To achieve accurate imaging, it is equivalent to hitting the "bullseye" in the dark. To determine whether it is a hit or not, it depends on whether the X-ray passes through the standard sample and hits the detector. The ideal diameter of the standard sample is only 1 micron, less than 1/60 of a human hair.
"The Shanghai team has experience in imaging technology. We leveraged our advantages in design and material research and development and used innovative processes to produce calibration materials. After three months of repeated attempts, we gradually improved the accuracy to the target value." Yang Shangjing introduced that the team manufactured the product in August 2021 The first principle prototype of a four-dimensional X-ray microscope was sold in December 2022. The company's current annual sales exceed 20 million yuan.
As a new R&D institution that connects technology on one end and industry on the other, the Yangtze River Delta Advanced Materials Research Institute is a vivid epitome of strengthening the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation.
"The Yangtze River Delta is a gathering place for the country's materials field. It not only has rich supply-side scenarios such as special steel and carbon fiber, but also has huge applications such as ships and automobiles. In Jiangsu, new material clusters are among the 16 advanced manufacturing industries that the province has focused on cultivating. One of the clusters, it will achieve revenue of 1.6 trillion yuan in 2023," said Huang Ping, deputy director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology.
With the in-depth implementation of the integrated development strategy of the Yangtze River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta Advanced Materials Research Institute continues to link the innovation chain and empower the industrial chain: it not only tackles major equipment and supports the development of science and technology; it is also oriented to the actual development of enterprises, funded by enterprises and funded by the institute. Talents produce technology, jointly build joint laboratories, and connect upstream and downstream enterprises and universities in the industrial chain to meet the development needs of enterprises and industries.
In March this year, a leading stainless steel company in Zhejiang approached the research institute and proposed to build a joint laboratory to solve the technical problem of smelting high-strength steel.
In a laboratory of the Yangtze River Delta Advanced Materials Research Institute, the temperature in the vacuum induction melting furnace is as high as 1,570 degrees Celsius, and high-strength steel plates are undergoing pilot experiments. "The original innovation of 'from 0 to 1' has been basically completed, and the next step is to carry out mass production of 'from 1 to 10 to 100' in the enterprise." Sun Mingyue, deputy director of the Yangtze River Delta Advanced Materials Research Institute, said that as of now, the company has The institute has connected with more than 200 companies in the fields of service materials and major engineering equipment, discovered 60 needs for manufacturing, processing, performance evaluation, and practical applications, and implemented more than 40 cooperation projects, providing technical support for the development of new industries, new business formats, and new models in the Yangtze River Delta.
