"In summer, we wear light clothes, and in winter, we bundle up in heavy cotton jackets. That's just common sense," stated Li Shaopo, project leader at the Wide and Heavy Plate Research Institute of Shougang's Research Institute of Technology, vividly explaining. "In the early days, to ensure the safe operation of oil and gas pipeline stations during winter in China, pipe fittings had to be 'wrapped in cotton-padded jackets.' Now, our goal is to break with this convention by enhancing the material's inherent properties so it can withstand the severe tests of extreme cold - essentially allowing these pipe fittings to 'shed their cotton jackets."

The development and application of this thick, high-strength, and easily weldable steel for pipe fittings in frigid environments has led to an innovative specialized composition system "suitable for multiple thermal cycles" for low-temperature pipe fittings. The development and application of this product series have resolved critical "bottleneck" challenges in major national projects, fundamentally reducing, from a material standpoint, the risk of "low-temperature brittle fracture" accidents in oil and gas compressor stations located in high-latitude regions with extreme cold. This achievement, representing China's highest level in low-temperature pipe fitting technology, marks the first realization of "taking off the cotton-padded jacket" for low-temperature pipe fittings, aligning with the national philosophy of "high-quality development and green environmental protection." The products have already been extensively applied in key national energy projects such as the China-Russia East-Route Natural Gas Pipeline and the West-East Gas Pipeline. Within Shougang's medium and heavy plate product segment, this innovation has created an entirely new engine for profit growth. Since the high-grade products were introduced to the market, they have created a "hot furnace effect," driving a 10-percentage-point increase in market share for the entire product series.

Staying One Step Ahead: Setting the "Shougang Speed"

Compressor stations are the very "heart" of long-distance oil and gas pipelines, providing the driving force for energy transmission over vast distances. In China's high-latitude cold regions, the "low-temperature pipe fittings" used in these stations are the critical structural backbone of the entire pipeline system. Exposed to the elements, these stations face harsh winter environments, making them prone to low-temperature brittle fractures. Prior to the introduction of this new product, low-temperature pipe fittings in these stations had to rely on "insulation and heat tracing" measures - in effect, "bundling up in cotton-padded jackets" - to ensure safe operation through winter. However, any failure, such as insulation damage, pipeline leaks, power outages, or electric leakage, could lead to severe consequences. At a minimum, such incidents disrupt the gas supply, affecting residential and industrial activities. In the worst-case scenarios, they could trigger explosions, resulting in catastrophic casualties.

With the ongoing implementation of China's national strategy for "high-quality development and green environmental protection," the need to enhance material performance to eliminate these safety hazards has become increasingly critical. This is the driving force behind enabling low-temperature pipe fittings to finally "shed their cotton jackets."

The structure and geometry of low-temperature pipe fittings designed for extreme cold environments are exceptionally complex. Taking large-opening finished tee fittings as an example, these components undergo significant deformation during their forming, hole-cutting, and drawing processes. They also endure multiple thermal cycles approaching 1,000°C. These conditions can severely degrade the strength and toughness of both the base material and welded joints. The material's extraordinary thickness imposes even more stringent demands on the uniformity of the microstructure from the surface to the core. Furthermore, mismatches in welding joint technology present unprecedented challenges in material development and application. Therefore, satisfying the multi-dimensional constraints, including thickness, strength, toughness, weldability, machinability, and thermal stability, makes the production process exceptionally demanding.

Confronted by the urgent demands of both the company's high-quality development goals and national key energy projects, Li Shaopo rose to the challenge. He led a cross-functional team integrating "production, sales, R&D, and application," and, with strong support from Shougang's Research Institute of Technology and production bases, he took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility for new material development. Shougang was not alone; two other leading domestic steel enterprises also "accepted the challenge" in this competitive product development race. To emerge victorious, the team knew they had to leverage Shougang's core strength in "manufacturing + service" and demonstrate its signature "Shougang Speed," outpacing competitors with unparalleled efficiency.

During a team mobilization meeting, Li Shaopo declared resolutely, "Shougang possesses profound technical expertise in developing low-temperature pipeline steel. From a profitability standpoint, this is a high-value-added product; seizing the initiative will drive greater returns for our enterprise. But more importantly, addressing the nation's critical 'bottleneck' challenges and meeting the demands of major national projects is the fundamental duty and mission of researchers like us."

Action is the first step toward any goal, and the team acted immediately. Leveraging historical data and extensive R&D experience, the team set out to challenge the industry's 70mm+ thickness "ceiling" for this product series. Guided by the principles of physical metallurgy and capitalizing on their advanced laboratory capabilities, the team successfully overcame two critical bottlenecks: achieving exceptional low-temperature toughness at -45°C in the material and ensuring microstructural uniformity in ultra-thick 70mm steel plates. Through this work, they gradually established a reliable product composition system and production process.

Efficient Collaboration Brings Groundbreaking New Product to Life

Scientific and technological breakthroughs only create true value when they are applied in industry. During the trial production and industrial manufacturing phases, the leadership of Shougang Jingtang's Medium and Heavy Plate Division provided strong support. Wang Genji, Deputy Director of the Medium and Heavy Plate Division, stated: "Although trial-producing new products can impact production scheduling and cost metrics, we must fully support this effort to pioneer a 'blue ocean' market for Shougang's medium and heavy plate products." To ensure consistent product quality, Li Shaopo coordinated resources across multiple teams. He worked closely with Wang Zhiyong, Product Engineer from Jingtang's Manufacturing Department, and Zhang Xuefeng, Senior Researcher at Jingtang's Technology Center. They embedded themselves on the production frontlines, monitoring rolling operations at night and analyzing performance data during the day. In the early stages of R&D, whether on weekends or holidays, working "around the clock" - whether on weekends or holidays - became the norm.

Product quality assurance extends beyond the rolling line - it begins with the earliest upstream processes. Given that the material undergoes significant stress during customer-side forming and welding, the presence of any impurities can have a magnified negative impact. To maximize production yield and minimize non-conforming materials, the Production Technology Office of Jingtang's Steel Rolling Department left no room for complacency. They exercised extreme precision in the scrap steel input ratios during steelmaking and ensured molten steel purity control to minimize inclusions at the source, thereby creating optimal conditions for downstream production.

While Shougang's research team raced against time, its competitors were equally relentless. However, the fluctuating low-temperature toughness at the core of ultra-thick steel plates became a "Flaming Mountain," blocking every team's progress. The first to conquer this barrier would undoubtedly secure the user's "golden ticket."

"Where hardware falls short, we compensate with technology!" Li Shaopo knew that rivals held an edge with their 5m+ rolling mills, which boast greater force and torque. To win using Jingtang's 4,300mm mill demanded unconventional tactics. Through repeated cycles of "bold hypotheses and meticulous verification," Li's team deployed a "knockout combo" of optimized alloy design, precision temperature control during rolling, and enhanced deformation penetration. Eventually, Shougang's thick, high-strength, and weldable steel plates for pipe fittings in icy environments, which fully meet user requirements, surged ahead of the competition.

Strengthening and Extending the Supply Chain and Polishing the "Gold Standard" Brand

Faced with this brand-new product, downstream users had no mature experience to draw from. During the initial trial production of pipe fittings, users repeatedly encountered issues, including fluctuations in welding quality and weld inspection defects. To identify the root causes of these welding problems, Zhang Xiazhou, from the User Technology Research Institute of Shougang's Research Institute of Technology, shuttled tirelessly among welding labs, downstream clients, and third-party welding evaluation agencies. Working in a simulated construction environment at -45°C, he endured a nearly 70°C temperature differential between the lab and outdoors, creating a palpable "tale of two extremes." Entering the lab, his glasses would instantly fog up, the cold piercing his pores; stepping outside, he was hit by dizzying heat and stifling air - a palpable "trial by fire and ice." Despite these grueling conditions, Zhang meticulously compared the composition of the new-generation base material with imported welding data. He ultimately proposed an optimized alloy content for welding materials to meet the needs of downstream users. This move not only resolved welding quality issues in manufacturing but also "killed two birds with one stone" by reducing users' welding material costs. Meanwhile, other research team members "each displayed their unique strengths" - users quickly adopted suggestions on adjusting welding, quenching, and tempering parameters. Through this high-quality technical support, the team comprehensively resolved the process and quality challenges that had long plagued their customers.

Li Shaopo remarked, "To achieve the goal of 'shedding the cotton jacket' in extremely cold environments, we must relentlessly iterate and upgrade product performance to strengthen our core capabilities while also going the extra mile in providing technical support to ensure our users' experience a seamless adaptation."

Materials are the very "chassis" of manufacturing and the indispensable physical foundation supporting all modern industrial systems. Only high-quality products can evolve into brands that meet market demands and earn consumer recognition, thereby securing industry influence. Chen Xiaowei, Vice President of CNPC Bohai Equipment Research Institute, stated, "The new product we jointly developed with Shougang has resolved urgent challenges in national key projects. Shougang has always been one of our most trusted suppliers." Yang Lianhe, Deputy General Manager of Cangzhou Longtaidi Technology Co., Ltd., remarked, "Our years of collaboration with Shougang have now allowed us to break through previous thickness limitations. The successful application of this new product has strengthened our competitiveness in securing major national projects."

Behind every high-quality product lies an integration of advanced concepts, rigorous management, robust technical capabilities, and exacting standards. This combination is an important source of power and a symbol of international competitiveness. Today, Shougang's thick, low-temperature pipe fittings for extreme cold environments have been widely adopted in key national energy projects such as the China-Russia East-Route Natural Gas Pipeline and the West-East Gas Pipeline, bringing new development opportunities and vast market potential for Shougang's medium and heavy plate products.