An advanced production line of railway steel frogs was formally put into operation by China Railway Shanhaiguan Bridge Group Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of China Railway Group Limited, in Qinhuangdao city of North China's Hebei province.
It marks that China Railway Shanhaiguan Bridge Group Co., Ltd has become the country's largest, most advanced and comprehensive manufacturing base integrated with the smelting, casting, heat treatment and machining of pure railway steel frogs. It is also an important step taken by the company in the cultivation of new quality productive forces.
China Railway Shanhaiguan Bridge Group Co., Ltd has made full use of its 130-years’ experience in the independent research and development of high-purity steel smelting technology and the production of high-concentration manganese railway steel frogs. The new production line has changed relatively outdated domestic smelting techniques and production methods of high-manganese steel casting frogs, helped the country catch up with Western countries in terms of industrial standards and regulations concerning their production, and pushed for the exportation of relevant domestic products into overseas markets.
The new production line features "five news".
In terms of new materials, China Railway Shanhaiguan Bridge Group Co., Ltd has adopted high-quality materials and beneficial trace alloy elements to further improve the mechanical properties and physical and chemical properties of related materials.
Regarding the application of new techniques, China Railway Shanhaiguan Bridge Group Co., Ltd has used "EBT electric arc furnace + LF refining furnace + VD vacuum smelting" in the process of smelting, achieving reduction of harmful elements in molten steel by 21.8 percent and has also decreased impurities, inclusions and oxides, all of which enhances the purity of relevant materials.
In terms of new equipment, China Railway Shanhaiguan Bridge Group Co., Ltd has taken the lead in the entire industry to promote the application of eccentric bottom electric arc furnaces, and built the country's largest railway frog V-method molding production line, a fast and accurate solid solution treatment furnace, and other advanced equipment. Meanwhile, it has taken such intelligent manufacturing technologies as high-end sensors, an integrated control system, and 5G industrial network in the realization of centralized control, intelligent switching and remote monitoring concerning holistic smelting and heat treatment, increasing production efficiency by 15 percent and reducing energy consumption by 7 percent.
China Railway Shanhaiguan Bridge Group Co., Ltd has formulated its new industrial standards, which exceed the requirements of existing technical standards and industrial specifications. The main chemical elements of railway steel frogs are set reasonably and accurately to ensure the consistency of material performance. Strict requirements have been imposed upon the composition of hazardous, foreign and oxide materials in a move to ensure the stability and reliability of railway steel frogs.
In terms of new products, China Railway Shanhaiguan Bridge Group Co., Ltd has taken actions to further optimize the design structure of its railway steel frogs and make full use of the natural advantages of manganese like abrasion resistance, shock proof, durability and safety so as to improve the safety and service life of railway steel frogs.
The newly unveiled production line has adopted advanced material formulas, the most advanced domestic smelting technology, high-precision casting technology, and precise heat treatment to fundamentally bolster mechanical properties of steel products like tensile strength. Relevant products are known for their high purity, density and stability, which will enlarge their longevity, meet the operational demands of China’s domestic railway steel frogs for safety, large transport capacity, duration and lower maintenance, and also promote industrial development.
(Executive editor: Zhu Zeya)
