[Unity and Struggle to Start a New Situation, Welcoming the 18th National Congress of the Trade Union, the Song of Laborers]

Original title: Welders Embroidering on Steel (theme)

Zhang Ming, a super technician in electric welding, devoted himself to solving many world-class bridge manufacturing problems (subtitle)

Worker's Daily - Special reporter of China Industrial Network Zhu Runsheng Correspondent Li Qiang

On the morning of April 23, when the reporter met Zhang Ming, he had just come out of the workshop of the Bridge Branch of China Railway Shanqiao Group Co., Ltd. The orange work clothes and hands were covered with rust and dust. Zhang Ming smiled innocently: "I'm a little dirty, and I haven't had time to change my clothes. Now the construction period is very tight, and three steel bridges, including the Yellow River Bridge on Anluo Expressway, are being welded at the same time."

Back in the workshop, Zhang Ming held up his mask in one hand and the welding gun in the other, and began to embroider on the steel. Under the gorgeous arc light, his figure looks like a sculpture. For Zhang Ming, immersed in the familiar welding work, it seems that the world around him has become quiet, and the spatter of welding and the "Zizi" welding sound also have special magic. "Welders can also become artists as long as they have enough skills and creativity," said Zhang Ming, confident that every piece of his welding work will become a work of art.

In 2012, China Railway Shanqiao undertook the steel structure manufacturing project of the Verrazano Strait Bridge in the United States. Verrazano Channel Bridge is one of the landmarks of New York, the United States. After years of operation, the upper deck of the concrete structure has suffered many damages. New York City decided to replace it with a steel deck for global bidding. The US side has put forward a rather strict manufacturing standard, "all the welds of the deck steel plates are symmetrically welded in a single pass, with the total penetration of more than 80%, and no weld leakage or penetration is allowed." This steel structure manufacturing requirement has no precedent in the world. As for whether Chinese enterprises can meet the requirements, doubts arose all over the place.

The commencement was not smooth. The welding process test of China Railway Shanqiao Bridge lasted for more than half a year. After using more than 80 tons of test steel, it was still unsuccessful. "I want to try the world's difficult problems that are almost impossible technically." Zhang Ming regards challenges and difficulties as opportunities, and the more frustrated he is, the more courageous he is. After countless experiments, he boldly adjusted the machining accuracy and welding parameters, and finally found a new welding process. In the trial production of steel structure stiffening plate of Verrazano Bridge, cracks often appear at the turning. Zhang Ming creatively solved the problem of cracks by consulting engineers and teachers and repeatedly studying, and finally adopting the method of "stopping and connecting" at the turning.

Zhang Ming taught these innovative welding methods to his colleagues, and quickly formed a joint force to improve product quality and speed up production progress. During the project acceptance, the welds of Verrazano Strait Bridge were well formed in appearance, and the one-time flaw detection qualification rate of internal quality was 100%, which amazed the foreign supervision team.

When participating in the construction of Bangladesh Padma Bridge, an important transportation pivot project of the "Belt and Road", Zhang Ming once again overcame technical difficulties. Padma Bridge is the first steel truss bridge with full welded structure, super thick plate and road rail dual purpose, which adopts European standards. The super thick plate reaches 110mm, creating a "new thickness" for bridge manufacturing. China Tieshan Bridge won the bid for 125800 tons of steel structure manufacturing of all bridges. Due to the large amount of welding filler, high technical requirements and great difficulty, the welding work was once blocked, and many people were afraid.

With a welding gun, Zhang Ming worked hard and devoted himself to research. He squatted in the stuffy box all day long, fighting on the front line with concentration. Faced with the problem of making double grooves in the narrow space of super thick plates, he repeatedly experimented in the sparks, invented the method of changing double grooves to single grooves, and added steel backing to the back for penetration welding, which successfully gnawed this "hard bone". Over the past five years, he led the company's technical team to overcome world-class bridge manufacturing problems such as super thick steel plate welding, three-dimensional assembly, and super truss lifting, so that the "Bridge of Dreams" Padma Bridge successfully realized its dream.

"In the super project, the welding gun is my weapon. If we use it well, we will have the ability to make a final decision and seal the throat with one blow," said Zhang Ming.

Now, as a super technician of electric welding, Zhang Ming can skillfully use a variety of welding methods, such as manual argon tungsten arc welding, gas welding, carbon dioxide gas shielded welding, butt welding, and so on. Over the past 16 years, with his superb welding skills, he has become a pioneer in bridge construction and participated in the construction of more than 20 key projects at home and abroad. He has won many awards in international and domestic welding competitions. He has successively won the group silver award and individual outstanding player award in the BRICS National Skills Development and Technological Innovation Competition, and won both the adult group and the youth group champions in the welder finals of the National Industrial Skills Competition. Won the title of "National Technical Expert" in 2022.

"As a welder in a century old steel bridge manufacturing enterprise, I feel extremely honored and proud to make contributions to the transportation power." Zhang Ming said that he would continue to hammer into a tool in the post of serving the country with skills, and polish his extraordinary ingenuity with the youth of welding spatter.