[Carrying forward the spirit of scientists to promote high-quality development]Zhao Jun: Dedicated to “casting the dream of a strong country” without any regrets

He is a typical Northeastern man, tall and straight in appearance, tough and self-reliant on the inside; he is an “outstanding contributor to the first flight of the Long March 5 carrier rocket”, one of the academic leaders of the first “National Outstanding Engineer Team”, and the most beautiful scientific and technological worker in the foundry industry in 2024; he is a leading figure in my country's foundry industry. He has overcome difficulties and achieved fruitful results, and the titanium alloy components he participated in the development meet the needs of many major projects… He is Zhao Jun, deputy general manager and researcher of Shenyang Foundry Research Institute Co., Ltd. of China General Machinery Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as the Shenyang Foundry Research Institute), and is writing a life without regrets on the road to “making a powerful country in casting”.

It is worth dedicating everything to the needs of the country

There were two things that made Zhao Jun feel emotional and emotional.

At the conference commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, multiple types of domestically produced active main battle equipment were unveiled for the first time. The armor was shining and heavy weapons were arrayed. Many of the equipment embodies Zhao Jun’s hard work. Zhao Jun's eyes became moist when he saw this scene.

In January 2024, the high-end equipment light alloy casting technology innovation team of Shenyang Institute of Technology won the title of “National Outstanding Engineer Team”. As a core member and academic leader of the team, Zhao Jun was extremely excited and felt full of power at the first “National Engineer Award” commendation conference.

After graduating from Xi'an Jiaotong University, Zhao Jun returned to Shenyang and was transferred to the Titanium Alloy Department of the Shenyang Shenyang Foundry Institute in 1994 to engage in the development of titanium alloy castings and equipment. It has been 31 years since then.

“It can be said that I have been working hard in the field of titanium alloy casting research all my life and have paid a lot. Whenever I see that our products are used in major national projects and key models and meet national needs, I feel that it is worth it.” From Zhao Jun's words, we can feel the difficulty of his struggle and the sincerity of his emotions.

Zhao Jun believes that he is a person who likes to do scientific research. Scientific research is his interest and can solve many practical problems and realize his own life value. With this idea in mind, he plunged headlong into the development of titanium alloy castings and equipment. For more than 30 years, he has been moving towards the goal of “casting power” without stopping.

Over the years, Zhao Jun has been striving for excellence in scientific research on key castings for high-end equipment and has repeatedly set firsts. He presided over the development of China's first maximum capacity 3-ton vacuum self-consumable shell melting and casting furnace and the world's first 100 kg vacuum induction suspension furnace equipment; developed rare earth oxide ceramic series precision casting technology, and was the first to cast large-scale titanium alloy investment castings with an outline size greater than 2700 mm at home and abroad, overcoming the shortcomings of integral investment precision casting of large-scale titanium alloy castings in my country. plate; develop multi-effect coating composite die precision casting technology to achieve the world's largest 3.6-meter, 1.5-ton monolithic die casting of titanium alloy castings; conquer ultra-low temperature casting titanium alloy and precision forming technology for complex components, and develop low-temperature titanium alloy components for the “Long March 5” launch vehicle engine, which are used in major projects such as large launch vehicles, lunar exploration, fire detection, and space stations.

Fight for technological innovation without fear of risks

When Zhao Jun first joined the Shenyang Casting Institute, he was faced with the initial stage of titanium alloy casting that was basically blank in China. After successive efforts of several generations of scientific researchers, the Shenyang Casting Institute has now become the high-end of titanium alloy casting technology for high-end equipment in my country. It has built the largest titanium alloy casting base in my country. The advanced titanium alloy casting technology and products developed meet the urgent needs of many major projects in my country. In this process, Zhao Jun played the role of “vanguard”.

“This is a long process.” Zhao Jun mentioned the word “long” several times during the interview. The upgrading and iteration of the titanium alloy casting technology of Shenyang Institute of Technology was not achieved overnight and smoothly, but went through a difficult struggle. How did they do it? Zhao Jun's answer was “fight hard.”

The titanium alloy component project for the hydrogen-oxygen engine of the “Long March 5” launch vehicle is a brilliant achievement of the Shenyang Foundry, and Zhao Jun participated in the entire process.

It took more than ten years from the establishment of the project to the “Long March 5” carrier rocket “flying into the sky”. Zhao Jun took the initiative to ask Ying to take on the task of developing ultra-low temperature titanium alloy castings, and succeeded after repeated failures, summaries, and innovations. He innovatively used a special method that combined tooling and profiling to achieve the overall preparation of complex flow channel cores; he led the scientific research team to conduct hundreds of heats of composition optimization and performance testing, and found the optimal composition ratio and melting process parameter scheme from thousands of sets of data, achieving effective control of casting performance and quality stability; he conducted dozens of rounds of anatomical measurements on castings, repeatedly optimized the process, and solved the technical problem of dimensional accuracy control of hydrogen pump housing and interstage housing castings.

To prepare titanium alloy shells and cores, you must first have a high-temperature roasting furnace in a reducing atmosphere. Zhao Jun recalled that at that time, the scientific research team used refractory bricks, iron boxes, safety valves, etc. to weld and assemble a reducing atmosphere high-temperature roasting furnace by themselves in a pit in the courtyard of the Shenyang Casting Institute. Hydrogen is injected into the roasting furnace to protect and roast the mold, and the temperature reaches above 1000°C. The early experiments went well, but then it was discovered that the wax produced by the roasting solidified and blocked the ignition port of the equipment.

“The temperature in the roasting furnace has reached the required temperature. We feel it is a pity if we wait until the temperature drops before dismantling it. We all think it is too important to continue the experiment. But if it is disassembled at high temperature, once the internal hydrogen is exposed, explosions and other accidents may easily occur.” Zhao Jun still remembered it and described the scene as “thrilling”. In the face of risks, every member of the scientific research team has no hesitation. “Everyone worked hard, dismantling it section by section in the cold night, and then putting it back together bit by bit to ensure that the experiment could proceed.”

Not being afraid of risks, working hard, and making innovative breakthroughs are the foundation for Zhao Jun and his scientific research team to achieve “from 0 to 1”, develop internationally leading titanium alloy casting technology and equipment, and promote the high-quality development of my country's high-end equipment casting industry.

In order to build a first-class talent team inheritance

Zhao Jun is the dedicated director of the National Key Laboratory of High-end Equipment Casting Technology. Every day he is thinking about how to fully promote my country's high-end equipment casting technology to a higher level and make new achievements in meeting national needs. At the same time, he has not relaxed his requirements on scientific research, aiming at the demand for high-end equipment in important fields in my country, and still fighting on the front line of research and development of high-end titanium alloy casting technology.

“Talent is the first resource. Creating a domestic first-class talent base for high-end equipment casting technology is the guarantee for the innovative development of Shenyang Casting Institute and the improvement of the comprehensive strength of the 'national team' in the field of casting technology innovation,” Zhao Jun said.

To promote talent training, Zhao Jun spares no effort and practices “teaching and mentoring”. He hopes that young scientific and technological talents can feel and form a style of “love and hard work will win” and establish the ideal of serving the country through science and technology.

Zhao Jun said: “Now the equipment conditions are very good, and many of them can be purchased. However, in my scientific research, I always ask young scientific and technological talents to participate in the development of equipment and propose their own solutions. This is very conducive to their growth.”

The Shenyang Foundry has worked together to continuously explore a unique talent training and promotion system, and the results have been surprising. Shenyang Institute of Technology has established 10 youth research teams to “give the green light” to young scientific and technological talents in project establishment and other aspects; it constantly “adds responsibilities” to young scientific and technological talents and helps outstanding young scientific and technological talents to stand out. Zhao Jun is very pleased: “Now, the Shenzhen Institute of Technology has a strong talent reserve, and the main force in scientific research is the '80s' group. Many outstanding young scientific and technological talents have become project leaders in their 30s. They continue to grow, and the Institute of Shenyang has a smooth future.”

Shenyang Daily, Shenyang Daily all-media reporter: Yue Yu

Editor: Wang Peiting

Editor in charge: Wang Yuan