China claims to have achieved a technological feat that was thought impossible: it has used stainless steel (and a lot of ingenuity)

China continues to boast about many of its assumptions advances in the military fieldAt the end of last year, we learned that the Asian giant had successfully tested an electromagnetic railgun, a solution that the United States decided to shelve after a decade of work and more than 500 million dollars of investment.

Now, Chinese researchers claim to have found a way to use steel in the nose cone of a hypersonic missile. This would be a significant achievement for several reasons. Firstly, because it was considered an almost impossible alternative. Secondly, because it could result in cheaper projectiles.

An alternative to tungsten ‘Made in China and for China’

Tungsten alloys are considered one of the most suitable alternatives for coating the parts of the hypersonic vehicles which heat up the most. The higher the speed, remember, the higher the temperature the planes or missiles must withstand. Tungsten has a melting point of 3,422 °C which makes it special.

The problem? When we talk about tungsten, we are referring to a metal that is not only rare, but also expensive and heavy. Although Chinese companies control 85% of the world’s production of this metal, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is considering cheaper and more viable alternatives.

Information comes from SCMPwhich tells that a group of researchers from the Beijing Institute of Technology led by Professor Huang Fenglei have announced the design for a hypersonic anti-ship glide missile whose nose cone is made of stainless steel widely available on the market.

But reaching this milestone, they say, has been no easy feat. A hypersonic missile can reach temperatures exceeding 3,000°C at certain points in its flight. Steel, however, begins to deform around 1,200°C. To address this limitation, the researchers say they have developed a thermal protection system.

It consists of adding an ultra-high temperature ceramic layer to the steel casing of the hypersonic missile. Beneath it would be a 5mm layer of a thermal insulator called aerogel. The result? A structure so effective that it aims to be able to be used in hypersonic missiles. Mach 8 speed.

Huang, it should be noted, is directly involved with China’s defense sector. SCMP notes that he is deputy director of research for a classified military program, technical advisor to the Central Military Commission, and, if that weren’t enough, deputy head of a technical unit in the PLA’s Equipment Development Department.

Images | Wikimedia | Alejandro Luengo

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