Key role in China’s landmark jet plane
Print Edition
China’s first domestically designed and manufactured large passenger plane — the twin-engine, narrow-body C919 jet — rolled off the assembly line in Shanghai last Monday, moving the country a step closer toward its goal of becoming a major global player in aviation.
The single-aisle C919, which can carry 158 passengers, will undergo its maiden flight next year. Songjiang can point with pride at its role in its manufacture.
Advanced Composite Technology Materials Co, a Songjiang-based company with patents on its aramid honeycomb core manufacturing technology, supplied non-metal materials for the plane.
Aramid fibers are a class of heat-resistant and strong synthetic fibers that are lighter than metal.
They are used in aerospace and military applications, for ballistic-rated body armor fabric, in bicycle tires and as an asbestos substitute.
Aramid honeycomb has been dubbed a plane’s “weight controller.” It has a beehive-like structure. Light and stiff, its compressive strength can be nine times higher with only a 6 percent increase in weight.
“The weight of a large plane accounts for about 30 percent of the total in take-off, so a properly light material can effectively reduce fuel consumption and improve the performance of the engine, wings and landing gear,” said Gavin Ji, production director at Advanced Composite Technology.
For every 1 kilogram of reduced weight of a plane, its take-off weight will decline by 2 to 5 kilograms. Boeing started adopting aramid honeycomb core as early as the 1970s. Nowadays, the material is used routinely by Boeing and Airbus.
Advanced Composite Technology’s core is already used in Airbus A350 planes.
“It’s the spirit of craftsmanship that makes us successful,” said Gong Lixun, executive director of the company.
“All industrial products are the result of human intelligence. We are proud to be part of an internationally competitive Chinese company.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
