"Made in China" solves the problem,
carbon fiber "weaves" out the torch ribbon curve
The torch of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics has a dynamic name - "Flying".
The shape resembles two intertwined and dancing ribbons. It is not only beautiful and powerful in design, but also backed by the painstaking research and development and ingenuity of Chinese enterprises.
The torch's "Flying" shell innovatively uses carbon fiber, and at the same time adds resin composite materials, making it light and strong, fire-resistant and high-temperature resistant.
Huang Xiangyu, Deputy General Manager of Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company and Deputy Leader of the Winter Olympic Torch Mass Production Project Leading Group, told the Beijing News Shell Finance reporter that in the production workshop, there are black tows, each of which contains 12,000 carbon fibers Silk.
After three-dimensional weaving, it is finally knitted into a torch shell like a "knitting sweater".
The innovation breakthrough of Chinese enterprises is far from this.
3D printing, high-pressure hydrogen storage, flame color rendering... A small torch has condensed a lot of scientific and technological and engineering achievements, reflecting the green and low-carbon environmental protection concept.
"Flying" has a secret to being light and beautiful
For this Beijing Winter Olympics, Sinopec took the lead in the development of the torch casing and the mass production of the torch, and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical contracted the production.
In an interview with the Beijing News Shell Finance reporter, Huang Xiangyu recalled that in the process of looking for the torch shell material, in order to conform to the concept of "green Olympics" and reflect the perfect integration of artistic design and technological innovation, the R&D team turned its attention to carbon fiber.
The density of carbon fiber is only about 1/4 of that of steel, but the strength is 7-9 times that of steel. The torch made of carbon fiber is very light, and the weight of the torch shell is more than 20% lighter than that of the aluminum alloy shell, and it is very strong. It won't break either."
However, although carbon fiber has the advantages of being light and strong, it also brings some problems, including its inability to withstand high temperatures.
The "flying" combustion port is between the inner shell and the outer shell, which requires the outer shell to withstand high temperatures above 800 °C.
Huang Xiangyu told Shell Finance that the carbon fiber composite material itself has high strength and small thermal expansion coefficient, but the temperature resistance generally does not exceed 250 ℃, so how to ensure that the torch is resistant to combustion and the surface does not crack or foam has become a major difficulty.
Through the introduction of the material department of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology, the Shanghai Petrochemical Torch R&D team found a breakthrough - a company in Jinshan District, Shanghai developed a resin that is fire-resistant and high-temperature resistant. After some testing and analysis, the R&D team combined it with carbon fiber. Made of carbon fiber composite material.
Finally, through repeated adjustment of the process, the material of the torch casing can meet the requirements of being able to withstand both high temperature and fire, and can be used normally in the combustion environment of 800°C and 900°C.
The "flying" torch realizes the irregular shape of rotating and rising, which is also a technological breakthrough in the carbon fiber molding process.
Huang Xiangyu said that "Feiyang" uses three-dimensional weaving technology. In the production workshop, there are black tows, each of which contains 12,000 carbon fiber filaments.
After three-dimensional weaving, it is finally woven into the torch shell like a "knitting sweater", without any seams and pores, and the whole shape is integrated.
Mass production of 1,200 torches took nearly 5 months
The introduction of the torch has gathered the wisdom and efforts of researchers and engineers.
The internal space of the hand-held torch is relatively small, and it is necessary to achieve a large-scale decompression of up to several hundred times to install hydrogen gas to ensure a long enough combustion time.
To this end, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and others have developed a lightweight and miniaturized hydrogen decompression device.
In addition, the hydrogen combustion flame is light blue, which is not easy to develop in sunlight. The R&D team has developed a formula that can adjust the color of the hydrogen flame, making it visible red-yellow in sunlight.
Huang Xiangyu technically dismantled the Shell Finance reporter. The torch is divided into three parts: the outer streamer, the inner streamer and the hydrogen combustion device, each of which has a lot of scientific and technological achievements.
The outer streamer mainly adopts ceramic molding technology, three-dimensional weaving technology, RTM molding technology, laser carving technology, automatic spraying technology, etc.
The finished streamer in the torch is required to have a silky elegant texture, a nano-scale ceramic coating thickness, and a high temperature resistance of 800℃-1000℃, mainly using 3D printing, grinding, sandblasting and other technologies.
The torch's combustion device is developed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which solves many technical problems such as flame color and stability, high-pressure hydrogen storage, and safe utilization of hydrogen energy.
R&D is only the first step in torch production, and mass production is also a protracted battle.
Lin Shengbing, general manager of Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Advanced Materials Innovation Research Institute, told Shell Finance reporters that after a lot of in-depth design and product verification work in the early stage, Shanghai Petrochemical officially started mass production in August 2021, and the volume was basically completed by the end of December of that year. The entire mass production process took nearly 5 months.
On January 27, 2022, 1,200 Beijing Winter Olympic torches "Flying" were officially delivered to the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee.
By this time, Shanghai Petrochemical's mission was not over.
Lin Shengbing said that from February 2 to 4, during the three-day torch relay time, the Shanghai Petrochemical Winter Olympics torch team participated in the whole process of torch relay support. The entire team was divided into two groups: assembly and on-site service support.
The torch is passed among each torchbearer, and there is such a little-known journey: at the torch assembly base, the assembly team of Shanghai Petrochemical began to assemble the torch from January 28, and each torch was ignited for about 10 seconds after it was assembled. Check for leaks to confirm that there are no leaks of hydrogen.
Every day, the torches used for delivery are delivered in the early morning of the same day, and are transported by the torch assembly base to various delivery points.
After each torchbearer has passed, the on-site service support team will disassemble and recycle the combustion device.
After that, the torch will be presented to the torchbearer as a souvenir, and the burning device will be transported back to the torch assembly base for recycling.
Hydrogen fuel "time": daily hydrogen supply capacity of 5,000 kilograms
The previous Olympic Games used a lot of gas such as liquefied natural gas or propane. The Beijing Winter Olympics is the first time in the history of the Olympic Games that hydrogen energy is used as torch fuel.
The hydrogen fuel for the main torch of the Beijing Winter Olympics is supplied by Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical.
Li Junliang, chief expert of Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical and director of the New Energy Office, said in an interview with Shell Finance that hydrogen is the cleanest and most environmentally friendly fuel.
Traditional fuels such as liquefied natural gas or propane are mainly composed of low-carbon alkanes such as methane, ethane, and propane.
In contrast, when hydrogen is burned, only water is produced, no carbon dioxide is produced, and there is no phenomenon of insufficient combustion and smoke, which can achieve complete zero emissions.
At the same time, hydrogen has a very low boiling point and can burn stably at extremely low temperatures.
Using hydrogen as the Olympic torch fuel can truly reflect the green, low-carbon and sustainable principles of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and truly realize the further integration of the Olympic spirit with "green" and "environmental protection".
In addition to providing hydrogen fuel for the main torch, Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical also guarantees hydrogen for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for the Winter Olympics.
According to Li Junliang, Yanshan Petrochemical has newly built a new hydrogen energy plant in order to ensure the supply of hydrogen for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The Yanshan Petrochemical Hydrogen New Energy Plant was approved by Sinopec in March 2019, completed the basic design approval in August, and entered the site in October for construction preparation. It was handed over in the middle of January 2, 2020, and a successful start-up was achieved on March 27.
The design scale of the device is 2,000 standard cubic meters per hour, and the pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process is used to produce hydrogen that can meet the requirements of fuel cells, with a purity of 99.999%.
At that time, my country's hydrogen market was still in its infancy, the market demand was small, and the industry experience was relatively small. The construction of Yanshan Petrochemical's hydrogen new energy plant needed to overcome many technical difficulties.
Li Junliang said that in order to complete the construction as soon as possible, the device adopts a modular design to shorten the on-site operation time.
Since the device cannot run for a long period of time in the initial stage, a quick start-stop procedure is also set in the design.
Talking about the production and transportation of hydrogen required for the Winter Olympics, Li Junliang told Shell Finance that the Yanshan Petrochemical Hydrogen New Energy Plant purifies crude hydrogen to obtain hydrogen for fuel cells with a purity of 99.999% and certain impurities that meet the standards.
The installed hydrogen is pressurized to 20 MPa and charged into a special long-tube trailer, which is closely connected with the hydrogen refueling station and operates day and night to ensure that the hydrogen is delivered to the Olympic vehicle hydrogen refueling station on time.
Sinopec has built 4 hydrogen refueling stations serving the Winter Olympics in Beijing and Hebei, with a daily hydrogen supply capacity of 5,000 kilograms.
Taking Qingyuan Street Hydrogen Refueling Station as an example, it covers an area of 2,500 square meters and has a daily hydrogen supply capacity of 1,500 kilograms. It can provide hydrogen refueling services for 80 12-meter buses every day. A comprehensive energy service station integrating hydrogenation, photovoltaics, convenience stores, and EasyCoffee.
Beijing News Shell Finance reporter Gu Zhijuan