China big bearing makes engineering breakthrough
Time：28 Dec,2022
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/ueditor/php/upload/image/20221228/1672212982983792.png" title="1672212982983792.png" alt="4.png"/></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">A photo taken in September 2021 shows metal bearing equipment used for the Shenyang subway. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">China has successfully made its first giant main <a href="https://www.wswbearings.com/products/catalogue.html" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 112, 192); text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 112, 192);"><strong>bearing</strong></span></a> for tunnel boring machines, a major engineering breakthrough that experts said would allow the country to reduce its imports of the core component for building underground infrastructure such as subways.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The bearing has a diameter of 8 meters and weights 41 metric tons. It is the largest and heaviest bearing China has made and it would be installed on an ultra-massive tunnel boring machine with a diameter of 16 meters, according to the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br/></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Tunnel boring machines are instruments of national significance as they are used in building tunnels underground and under bodies of water, said Li Dianzhong, a researcher from the institute and the chief scientist for the project.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br/></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In general, metal bearings are used to reduce friction and wear between running surfaces. Many types of industrial equipment, including those used for aircraft engines, cars, high-speed rail and wind turbines, require high-performance bearings.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br/></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"Therefore, high-end bearings are key for the national economy and security, and they represent a nation's manufacturing capability in basic components," he said.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br/></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The main bearing for tunnel boring machines needs to withstand a massive amount of force as the huge equipment digs through earth, with only a handful of nations possessing the engineering capability to make it.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br/></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In 2020, the Chinese Academy of Sciences launched a major research project, combining the expertise of seven CAS institutes and over 20 other companies and organizations, to jointly tackle the challenge.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br/></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">After overcoming 12 core challenges, from materials manufacturing to design and precision machining, the research team created bearings sized from 3 to 8 meters in diameter for the boring machines. The 3-meter version has since been used in subway construction in Shenyang, Liaoning province.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br/></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">On Sept 30, the 8-meter bearing passed expert appraisals — they concluded that the performance of the domestically made bearing is on par with imported ones.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br/></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"The creation of the 8-meter bearing is a testament to China's research and manufacturing prowess," Li said.</span></p><p><br/></p>
