Zhongxing Equipment Co Ltd in Haimen distict, East China's Jiangsu province, has seen a breakthrough in nuclear-grade straight pipe manufacturing technology and won second-place in the provincial science and technology awards, local media reported on March 9.

Zhongxing Equipment cooperated with Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics to develop the special-shaped roll for progressive diameter reduction and floating mandrel for diameter sizing, which are used for continuous local loading of large metal rotary parts.

Before this breakthrough, 50 percent of nuclear-grade straight pipes needed to be imported and nuclear grade seamless stainless steel pipes with a diameter of 813 millimeters or larger could not be manufactured in China.

Zhongxing Equipment Co Ltd is capable of manufacturing large-diameter thick-wall seamless steel pipes. [Photo/WeChat account: haimenrongmei]

Zhongxing Equipment is now able to manufacture 13 series of large-diameter thick-wall seamless steel pipes with diameters ranging from 219.1mm to 813mm and wall thickness ranging from 29mm to 88mm.

The enterprise's large nuclear-grade straight pipe boasts a 70-percent domestic market share, said Zhu Weifei, chief engineer of Zhongxing Equipment. The enterprise is expected to achieve 20-30 percent of exports within three years, Zhu added.