On December 30, 2019, the official commencement ceremony for the “300MW/F Class Heavy Duty Gas Turbine Materials Database Supplementary Test (Phase 1)” was held at the Administration Building in USTB. The ceremony was attended by Mr. GU Chunwei, Chief Design Officer of China United Gas Turbine Technology Co., Ltd. (UGTC), Mr. LOU Langhong, Deputy Chief Design Officer of UGTC, Prof. WU Aixiang, Vice President of USTB, Prof. LIU Xuefeng, Dean of the Department of Science and Technology, USTB, Prof. WANG Wenrui, Associate Dean, Prof. XIE Jianxin, project leader and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as well as other representatives from participating research units and UGTC.

At the ceremony, Prof. WU welcomed the assembled representatives and expressed his appreciation to UGTC for its support of USTB. He spoke of the importance of the project, especially for guaranteeing China’s long-term competitive development of gas turbine technology, and promised that USTB would devote its full efforts to the project’s success.

Next, Academician XIE discussed how the materials database to be constructed would promote innovative research and development, help to increase the performance and optimization of gas turbine components, and accelerate the process of independent design in China. He added his hope that the assembled participants would work hard to complete their assigned tasks in an efficient and timely manner.

The relevant department heads from UGTC then discussed the project’s requirements and presented their preliminary work. To conclude the ceremony, Mr. GU delivered a speech discussing the project’s schedule and deadlines, as well as the personnel who would compose the relevant research teams.

USTB has a long and successful history in the research and development of high-temperature structural materials, and has been responsible for developing China’s first superalloys major and training researchers in the relevant fields. The “300MW/F Class Heavy Duty Gas Turbine Materials Database Supplementary Test (Phase 1)” budget exceeds 170 million RMB and marks a significant milestone in cooperation between USTB and UGTC. Completion of the project is set to greatly increase USTB’s efforts in the research of superalloys.