◎ Science and Technology Daily reporter He Liang
Tonight, the last surprise of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics was revealed, and the ignition was unprecedented in the way of "micro-fire", which was beyond imagination! With the blessing of science and technology, the main torch of the Winter Olympics was displayed in front of hundreds of millions of viewers around the world in an "unexpected" way!
Three innovations create the main torch of "uniqueness"
"The biggest innovation in the design and development of the main torch of the Beijing Winter Olympics is the micro-fire design, video display and the complete structure of the bird's nest composed of a complex attitude control system, which is unique in the history of the 100-year Olympic Games." Liu Yue, the person in charge of the main torch technology of the Beijing Winter Olympics and the chief engineer of the 11 (Beijing) Business Department of the Sixth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group, said in an interview with a reporter from Science and Technology Daily.
Why use a low-fire design? This is to better demonstrate the concept of green, low-carbon and sustainable development. The previous Olympic torches were all roaring fires, huge energy consumption, the Beijing Winter Olympics will be a green energy - hydrogen as fuel, micro-fire design can achieve hydrogen consumption of less than 2 cubic meters per hour.
"From a technical point of view, the realization of micro-fire is not easy." Liu Yue told reporters that the main torch of the Beijing Winter Olympics must be burned for a long time, and high requirements are put forward for environmental adaptability, flame stability, low temperature resistance, flame color rendering, etc. Moreover, the supply of hydrogen needs to be safe and stable, and Liu Yue's team designed the hydrogen supply system as a skid-mounted structure to integrate storage, pressure reduction, transportation and control. "As specific use scenarios break through the existing requirements of hydrogen use specifications, in the end, our skid-mounted structure was provided to the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee as a proprietary aerospace product." Liu Yue said.
The flame itself is too small, how to make it spectacular? The creative team gave the design and adopted the "micro-fire + video display" technology scheme. Liu Yue said that the video display technology is mature, but used in the core device of the torch, the complex shape requires a large number of "special-shaped screen" technology, from design to manufacturing to ensure the reliability of the system There are many challenges. "We highly integrated the structure and achieve lightweight, the structure becomes inconspicuous, the screen is light and thin, so that everyone can only pay attention to the beautiful torch, feel the crystal clear effect of the main torch." Liu Yue said.
The biggest difference from the previous torch is that the main torch of the Beijing Winter Olympics hangs above the bird's nest, like a snowflake fluttering in the air holding up a blooming flame, which requires the high reliability of the system - to ensure that all links are foolproof! Liu Yue's team not only found the optimal solution for the main torch in terms of structural stability, bearing capacity and aerial attitude, but also carried out redundant designs in terms of power supply, signal, combustion, electromechanical, broadcast control, etc., to ensure that the main torch was beautifully presented over the nest.
Strive for excellence to achieve the "most creative" way of ignition
Holding the torch to "transform" into the main torch, this is a suspense, but also a bold idea - the torchbearer inserts the torch into the base, and an "insertion" action becomes the most creative way to "ignite" the opening ceremony.
Although the action is simple, the function implemented is very complex. The fuel holding the torch is very limited, the main torch will continue to burn, and the moment it is inserted into the base, the gas path is connected, the circuit is connected, the signal control is connected... To this end, Liu Yue's team has made multiple versions of the plug-in structure design, from the reliability of the connection to the environmental adaptability have been tested a lot.
The last stick holding the torch, the main torch, is unique in terms of material and structural design? Liu Yue introduced that the main torch shell material is made of heat-resistant stainless steel, which is chosen to withstand the influence of long-term combustion and outdoor environment, and the flame color realization method and curing method of the main torch have also been targeted designed.
Aerospace products emphasize high reliability and verifiability, so the test and inspection process must achieve full coverage of system performance indicators and workflows. At the end of October 2021, after more than 10 months of design and development, in the aerospace comprehensive test field, Liu Yue saw the main torch of the Beijing Winter Olympics lit up, moved and turned for the first time, and his first reaction was, "I feel very close to the renderings given by the creative team, and I immediately have confidence."
On the evening of February 4, 2022, the main torch of the Beijing Winter Olympics was successfully lit. Witnessing the beijing Winter Olympics main torch from scratch, Liu Yue could not hide his pride and joy. At this time, he and his team members did not fail in their mission and successfully dedicated the strength of astronauts to the Beijing Winter Olympics; at this time, he and his team will continue to struggle to escort the burning flame of the Olympic Flame.
Source: Science and Technology Daily The pictures in the article are all derived from the screenshots of CCTV live broadcast
Editor: Zhang Qiqi
Review: Wang Xiaolong
Final Judgement: Wang Yu