Posted on October 23, 2024
As tall as a 10-storey building, it will be used to construct the foundations of marine engineering projects
China has added another important item to its technology self-reliance list: a massive cylinder for large pile-driving vessels engaged in marine infrastructure projects that has a maximum thrust of 5,000 tonnes – enough to push 1,000 adult African elephants – state media reported.
The cylinder, the first developed independently in China and the largest and most powerful of its type in the world, rolled off the assembly line in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, on Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The development of the cylinder, which will be used to build the foundations of marine engineering projects, means China has “achieved domestic substitution of extra-large and extra-long cylinders and independent control of core technologies”, it said.
China, the world’s second-largest economy, is pursuing an all-encompassing strategy of increasing its maritime power that emphasises high-end equipment manufacturing as it seeks to switch to tech-driven growth.
Measuring 28 metres (92 feet) in length and nearly 2 metres in diameter, the hydraulic cylinder is as tall as a 10-storey building, CCTV said.
Developed by state-owned giant China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), it has been designed to provide a strong “heart” for a 150-metre pile-driving vessel currently under construction, the Jiangsu-based Nanjing Morning Post reported.
An artist’s impression of the vessel that will be fitted with the hydraulic cylinder.
Chinese manufacturers have traditionally lagged behind leading global companies in designing and making large hydraulic cylinders.
The country was previously “entirely reliant” on imports for critical components like sealing rings and corrosion-resistant material, and “mainly used foreign brands” when sourcing entire hydraulic cylinders, CCTV said.
The pile-driving vessel that would be fitted with the new cylinder is expected to be used by the end of this year during construction work for the Hangzhou Bay Cross-Sea Railway Bridge, which is set to be the world’s longest cross-sea high-speed railway bridge, it said.
Future applications of the technology, a result of teamwork by several leading companies in China’s new materials and smart manufacturing sectors, are anticipated in large offshore drilling platforms and wind power construction.
In July, an innovation consortium dedicated to marine engineering was established in Beijing. Its members include elite Chinese talent in the field, including professionals from CCCC, other major state-owned enterprises and large private companies, as well as universities with academic strengths such as Tsinghua University, according to a report by People’s Daily.
It would primarily focus on the construction and operation of marine transport infrastructure, offshore wind and solar energy construction, coastal bay protection and restoration, island reef engineering construction and ecological protection, and deep-sea pipeline installation, the Communist Party’s mouthpiece newspaper said.
