The recent development of a major technological breakthrough in China with the development of a 600MW supercritical circulating fluidized bed boiler is heartening. This breakthrough not only means that the capacity of China's supercritical circulating fluidized bed boiler has reached 660MW, but more importantly, it will greatly improve the utilization rate of coal, which is of great significance to the country's energy security. Supercritical circulating fluidized bed boiler is a new type of thermodynamic mechanical system, which belongs to the world's leading Chinese industrial equipment. In this type of boiler, the main steam pressure reaches 25 to 31 megapascals, which is an ultra-supercritical pressure boiler. The difficulty in its design and manufacturing is that it cannot adopt natural circulation, and it is necessary to overcome ultra-high pressure and ultra-high temperature through pumping to achieve forced circulation. Prior to this, supercritical boilers were mainly supercritical pulverized coal furnaces, but ultra-supercritical circulating fluidized bed boilers could not borrow their technology, which made their development more complex and challenging. At present, the power of the ultra-supercritical circulating fluidized bed boiler developed by Harbin Electric Power Group Boiler Company has reached 660 megawatts, which greatly exceeds the previous 350 megawatt supercritical circulating fluidized bed boiler used in China and the 460 megawatt supercritical circulating fluidized bed boiler in Poland.
This shows that China has reached the current top level of coal-fired power generation units in this area. This technological breakthrough will greatly promote the efficient use of coal resources, promote the development of the national energy industry, and add new highlights to China's position and influence in the global energy field. Compared with the current mainstream coal-fired boilers, supercritical circulating fluidized bed boilers have obvious economic advantages. By significantly improving thermal efficiency, the boiler is able to reduce fuel use, save coal and reduce pollution. More importantly, it can use low calorific value coal, especially lignite with large production but low grade in China. This is of great significance to ensure China's energy security and reduce its dependence on imported coal. In addition, the 600 MW class of supercritical circulating fluidized bed boilers places extremely high demands on material strength and structural design. Therefore, the breakthrough of this type of equipment means that China has reached the world's leading level in the field of materials and design of thermal power equipment, and has achieved new technical routes and technical standards that other countries cannot achieve. This reflects China's strength in the field of advanced equipment R&D and manufacturing.
In recent years, China has not only made a series of breakthroughs in the field of heavy industrial equipment, such as super hydrogenation reactors, nuclear magnetic resonance instruments, etc., but also achieved major breakthroughs in the field of military equipment. Breakthroughs have been made in the power system of the Type 055 destroyer and the power system of the J-20, marking that the technological blockade of China by the West is destined to be a complete failure in the 21st century. The power system used in China's first 10,000-ton destroyer Type 055 is 2+2 QC280 marine gas turbines (fuel-fuel combined power configuration), which is a high-power marine power system designed on the basis of Ukraine's UGT-25000 marine gas turbine (the power plant of Type 052B destroyers). The power relative to the UGT-25000 gas turbine is 267 MW, the 28 MW power of the QC280 gas turbine has increased a bit. This output power is quite sufficient for a 10,000-ton surface combat ship, which can not only meet the needs of high-speed navigation, but also provide the required power support for shipboard equipment such as radar, electronic warfare equipment, shipboard command system and life support system.
It is reported that the gas turbine used in the Type 055 is not the traditional QC280 model, but the QC280IC equipped with an intercooling and heat recovery cycle. This new technology combines a cold cycle with a hot cycle, reducing the compression power consumption of the high-pressure air by adding an intercooler to reduce the temperature of the suction air, and adding a recuperator at the exhaust outlet to absorb the heat in the exhaust. Gas turbines with this technology significantly increase their power and, thanks to the cooling effect of the recuperator, can also improve the exhaust noise level and infrared signature. It is said that the power of the QC280IC reaches the 40 megawatt level, which exceeds the WR-21 gas turbine used in the British Type 45 destroyer, and is comparable to the MT-30 gas turbine of the "Queen Elizabeth" class, which is one of the most powerful military marine gas turbines at present. If the Type 055 does use the QC280IC, then it can at least be determined that the ship not only has sufficient power in the current state, but also reserves power redundancy for future modifications of a newer generation of shipboard facilities and equipment. This means that the Type 055 is expected to maintain its leading position among surface combat ships after being improved and upgraded in the middle of its service.
China's first straight-deck aircraft carrier, Shandong, is undergoing ejection tests, while another Fujian is also following suit, with a test footage of an "ejection trolley"**. Although it is not yet known whether the Fujian will be equipped with fifth-generation aircraft, China already has the ability to mass-produce fifth-generation fighters. As long as electromagnetic catapult technology is realized, it will be a matter of time before fighter jets and even fixed-wing AWACS aircraft board ships. The rapid development of Chinese aircraft carriers has declared the defeat of the technological blockade of the West. Aircraft carriers are regarded as the top equipment of a military power, reflecting a country's comprehensive strength in the fields of basic industry, high-end technology, and military industry. Aircraft carriers not only need powerful power systems, but also need matching combat systems, carrier-based aircraft, early warning radar and air defense radar. In the future, China still has many bright spots in the field of military equipment. At present, China has made remarkable achievements in the field of drones, and rich countries in the Middle East have bought Chinese-made drones and even established drone production lines. However, in the field of transport aircraft, China's cutting-edge transport aircraft are currently not exported much, in part because of the already high domestic demand for large transport aircraft. However, it is foreseeable that the export of China's transport aircraft will have an impact on the global transport aircraft market pattern in the future.
In addition, China's fifth-generation aircraft will also become the focus of exports. With the export of models such as the J-10, China already has a considerable scale in the number of fifth-generation aircraft, otherwise it would not have exported fourth-generation aircraft. In addition, in the field of destroyers, Chinese technology has reached the world-class level. Many countries, including Russia and Saudi Arabia, have a demand for large surface ships, so it is worth watching closely whether Chinese destroyers will be able to be exported overseas.