【The Heights of Innovation — On-the-Scene Observations of Provincial Science and Technology Awards】Guardians of the Skies: Hebei's Role in Aviation Materials

According to Jishi News, superalloy are critical materials for aviation engines. The recycling system for superalloy return materials, pioneered by Shangda, has resolved the challenge of resource recovery and utilization while achieving technological controllability. For this achievement, the company was awarded the 2025 Hebei Provincial Science and Technology Award for Enterprise Technological Innovation.

Aerospace engines are hailed as the "pearl on the crown of industry," while superalloy materials serve as their essential "backbone."

In advanced aero-engines, superalloy account for 40% to 60% of the total weight. Due to the numerous machining steps and complex geometries of components, the effective utilization rate of materials for manufacturing hot-end engine parts is less than 10%, with 90% becoming waste. The core elements such as nickel and cobalt in superalloy raw materials are predominantly imported, making production capacity highly susceptible to market fluctuations. Therefore, converting waste materials into recycled feedstock for reuse represents a rational solution.

Gao Shengyong, General Manager of Shangda superalloy  Co., Ltd.: "If we can achieve the recycling of these returned materials—specifically by fully reusing them in the production of disc components—we could manufacture nine additional disc components or even more."

These years, the recycling model for superalloy scrap has been monopolized by foreign enterprises. Domestic companies also attempted to import complete systems from abroad, but all efforts were rejected. Core technological breakthroughs cannot be acquired through purchase alone. Shangda resolved to pursue independent innovation in mastering these core technologies. They not only repeatedly refined their process workflows and established a closed-loop system spanning from scrap processing to superalloy production, but also endured the lengthy and highly uncertain validation cycles required for downstream aviation engine applications—a path of product development fraught with significant challenges.

Gao Shengyong, General Manager of Shangda superalloy  Co., Ltd.: This process is undoubtedly extremely challenging and requires extensive experimental validation. To fully understand the vacuum self-consumption melting process, we had to dissect over a dozen—perhaps even twenty—large steel ingots each weighing six tons. Subsequently, we traced back to determine how various process parameters influence this self-consumption mechanism, ultimately developing a comprehensive set of coordinated process parameters.

From raw material validation to component fabrication, and then to assembly and testing, Shangda spent over a decade refining its techniques. Ultimately, the company successfully revolutionized traditional methods for producing new specialty alloy materials, pioneering the "second superalloy processing route" in China. It also established a comprehensive recycling system for key strategic materials, significantly reducing production costs.

Wang Xingming, Deputy Director of the Testing Center at      Shangda superalloy Co., Ltd.: This equipment is called an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS), primarily used for analyzing specific elements in steel (alloy materials). Its analytical sensitivity reaches one part per million (ppm). Even a trace amount of one gram per million grams can be detected by this instrument.

Gao Shengyong, General Manager of Shangda superalloy Co., Ltd.: This special alloy material has a narrow temperature range suitable for processing. This vehicle is a railless forging operation vehicle that can extract the material directly from the heating furnace for forging. The process can be completed within 30 seconds, minimizing temperature drop during operation, resulting in excellent microstructural uniformity in the final product.

To date, Shanghai University Group Co., Ltd. has fully utilized its existing production capacity and is currently constructing supporting equipment for new production lines, which will be gradually installed and commissioned over the next two years, elevating its production capacity to a new level. The company has also targeted the energy sector, exporting multiple product lines with an estimated export value exceeding RMB 100 million this year—a 300% year-on-year increase.

Gao Shengyong, General Manager of Shangda superalloy Co., Ltd.: In fact, every step represents innovation—not only in technology and management, but also in conceptual innovation aimed at challenging traditional mindsets. We are confident and capable of not only leading the industry's paradigm shift domestically but also expanding our products into the international market, with the potential to become a leading manufacturer of superalloy in the sector.