The 457 mm diameter copper-nickel alloy pipe produced by Jinchuan Group Precision Copper Material Co., Ltd. is the copper-nickel alloy seamless pipe with the largest diameter in China. At present, it is only provided by Jinchuan Group. With its excellent seawater corrosion resistance and anti-biological adhesion, this product is widely used in shipbuilding, offshore engineering and other fields.
Copper-nickel alloy pipes with a large diameter [Photo provided to en.jnmc.com]
China is the largest shipbuilding country in the world. However, due to the limitation of its production and equipment capacity, the copper-nickel alloy pipes with a super large caliber and the super thick pipes used in shipbuilding have to be imported from other countries.
Cupronickel is a copper-nickel alloy formed by adding a certain percentage of nickel to copper. Jinchuan Group is rich in nickel and copper resources, with the world's third largest nickel output and the country's fourth largest copper output, and as a result, it has unique advantages in producing copper-nickel alloy pipes.
In 2010, Jinchuan Group introduced the key equipment of the largest extruder of 5,500 tons in the domestic copper processing industry to develop and produce various calibers of copper-nickel alloy pipes.
At present, the copper-nickel alloy pipes used in the domestic market are mainly thin pipes with a diameter of less than 100mm. The difficulty in making large diameter copper-nickel alloy pipes is to extrude copper lumps with a weight of more than 400kg into seamless pipes with a diameter of about 400mm. Various problems in the extrusion and stretching process had to be solved. The technicians of Jinchuan Group Precision Copper Material have mastered key technical parameters through many tests. After 10 years of tackling key problems, a super thick copper-nickel alloy pipe with a diameter of 419mm was produced in 2020. In August this year, a 457mm-diameter copper-nickel alloy pipe was produced.
"Now, our company produces a full range of copper-nickel alloy pipes from 6mm to 457mm in diameter. In addition to the domestic market, our products are also exported to Italy, France and some countries in the Middle East. In particular, the R&D and production of 419mm and 457mm-diameter copper-nickel alloy pipes have filled the domestic gap in the industry, and the products have already replaced imported ones." said Li Wenbing, the head of the New Material Company of Jinchuan Group Precision Copper Material.
Fu Chengwen, secretary of the CPC Jinchuan Group Precision Copper committee and the chairman of Jinchuan Group Precision Copper Material [Photo provided to en.jnmc.com]
According to Fu Chengwen, secretary of the CPC Jinchuan Group Precision Copper committee and the chairman of Jinchuan Group Precision Copper Material, through technological innovation, mechanism innovation, the integration of superior resources, and promotion of foreign cooperation, Jinchuan Group Precision Copper Material has continuously improved the competitiveness of its products. This year, the output of copper-nickel alloy products is expected to reach 5,000 tons, accounting for 45% of the domestic market share.
The R&D of super large diameter copper-nickel alloy pipes has provided key materials to domestic marine equipment manufacturing. At present, Jinchuan Group Precision Copper Material is developing a copper-nickel alloy pipe with a 508mm diameter, and Jinchuan Group will take this opportunity to build the largest and most competitive production base of copper-nickel alloy series product in China.
