News on China's scientific and technological development.

Harsh environment and changing work conditions (frequent start-stop, low/high speed, and boundary lubrication/dry friction) are the major factors causing the decrease of load carrying capacity, severe wear and poor reliability of friction pairs in mechanical seals.

They are also the main challenge in the development of key parts for mechanical seals. Carbon-based coatings with diamond-like and graphite-like carbon coatings as representatives have attracted much attention in recent years.

Researchers at the State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (LICP), have developed the key preparation technology of high hardness and low friction diamond-like and graphite-like carbon coatings for the surface of key parts in mechanical seals.

They have also revealed the dependent relationship of tribopair between high hardness carbon-based coatings and various soft rubber and polymers. It has been proved that the new coatings can endure frequent start-stop tests and possess excellent antiwear property. The findings have been published in Tribology Letters.

Previously, in order to improve the triboligical property of diamond-like coatings under various gas and fluid environment, researchers have applied surface micro texturing and graded interface techniques to improve the performance of parts by making use of excellent performance and texturing effect of carbon-based coatings.

They have provided physical description of triboligcal behavior of the coatings sliding against different counterparts as well. The findings have been published in Journal of Applied Physics, Journal of Applied Physics, Tribology Letters and Wear.

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The ground station receiving system, a must for stable space quantum communication, was born in the Institute of Optics and Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOE).

The ground station receiving prototype system for free space quantum communication project is a subproject of "Key Technology Research and Validation Test of Spatial Scale Quantum Experiment", which is a key project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Knowledge Innovation Project.

The research team led by IOE researchers completed 700mm telescope research, and carried out quantum entanglement distribution and key distribution field test in Qinghai Lake in 2010 and 2011, in collaboration with researchers from University of Science and Technology of China and Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics.

Several breakthroughs were achieved in high polarization fidelity thin solid film technology, high precision tracking and control technology. The research team completed key distribution and hundreds miles quantum mechanics non-localized test, and laid good foundation for the overall quantum test.

As the fastest-growing subject in quantum information science, quantum communication is expected to improve greatly the security of information transmission, capacity and efficiency of traditional channel and therefore regarded as an important strategic direction for future development of information technology.

To build a stable quantum communication link, high precision ground station system is a must. The role of the ground station system is to quickly capture beacon of light and carried out precision, stable tracking.

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The tandem accelerator in China's first major accelerator lab on nuclear physics had safely run for 100,000 hours by last week, according to a Wednesday statement from the China Institute of Atomic Energy.

The U.S. made HI-13 accelerator was installed in the Beijing-based national lab in the early 1980s and provides over 3,300 hours of ion beam each year for both Chinese and overseas researchers, said the statement.

It noted that the achievement should be taken as a milestone in China's research in low-energy nuclear physics, which had also lead to progress in nuclear data analysis and electronic components for space activities.

In addition, the statement briefed the ongoing upgrading project of the accelerator lab, which is expected to be finished by April 2014.

China aims to build itself into an innovative country by 2020, when scientific progress will contribute to nearly 60 percent of the nation's economic growth, according to a national outline for scientific and technological development (2006-2020).

Last year, China's research and development spending surged 21.9 percent year-on-year to 861 billion yuan (139.7 billion U.S. dollars),representing 1.83 percent of its gross domestic product in 2011.

At the same time, China spent 39.6 billion yuan on basic scientific research projects, and the country constructed 130 national engineering research centers and 119 national engineering laboratories, according to a report from China's National Bureau of Statistics.

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China's manned submersible Jiaolong set a new national dive record on Wednesday after reaching 7,062 meters below sea level during its fifth dive into the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean.

The Jiaolong got three water samples, two sediment samples and one organism sample, placed a marker, and made several experiments on the sea floor 7,062 meters deep from the sea surface.

The oceanauts in the submersible attracted lots of living things with baits and took many photos and videos of them.

China has invested 470 million yuan (73.79 million US dollars) into the Jiaolong project over the past 10 years for submersible research and modification and on-sea experiment, said on-scene commander Liu Feng.

The Jiaolong set a national dive record on Sunday after reaching 7,020 meters below sea level during its fourth dive into the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the world's oceans.

After arriving at the area earlier this month, the Jiaolong had succeeded in reaching depths of 6,671, 6,965 and 6,963 meters in its first three dives from June 15 to 22, easily surpassing the previous national record of 5,188 meters it set last July.

The Jiaolong enabled China to join the ranks of deep-sea faring countries. The United States, Japan, France and Russia currently lead the world in the development of deep-sea exploration technology, each possessing their own submersibles and support bases.

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At present, the scale of monocrystalline silicon furnace and other precision machines can only cleaned up by a single kind of cleanout fluid.

However, the complicated structures and parts made of various materials make it impossible to completely clean up the machines with the single kind of cleanout fluid which could even erode some materials, therefore, the remained scale may increase the practical cost of the said machines and the eroded parts may sow the seeds of serious safety loophole.

Researchers of Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics of CAS went into the problems and found out a way to clean up the scale of monocrystalline silicon furnaces and it is mainly used to clean up the precision machines like monocrystalline silicon furnace. The method solves the problems of incomplete cleaning and damages to some materials.

Details of the method are that when cleaning up the scale of a monocrystalline silicon furnace, put some water into a reservoir which is equipped with ultra-sonic oscillation and heating fittings and heat the water to 10～60℃, slowly inject some acid liquor into the reservoir, turn on the ultrasonic wave to stir the liquid, and then the scale will be completely cleaned up through the high-speed washing and reaction of the cleanout fluid.

This method was granted the invention patent authorization on May 2

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China's second icebreaker is scheduled to be put into use in 2014 to better conduct polar researches alongside the current icebreaker Xuelong, or "Snow Dragon", an oceanic official said Sunday.

Concept design of the new icebreaker has been completed and the program is going smoothly, said Weng Lixin, deputy director of the polar research office at the State Oceanic Administration (SOA).

The icebreaker is capable of breaking ice up to 1.5 meters thick, in comparison with the 1.2-meter icebreaking capacity of Xuelong, an A-2 class icebreaker, according to Weng.

With a tonnage of 8,000, the new vessel will have a cruising capacity of 20,000 nautical miles, and can work in water for up to 60 days with a top speed of 15 knots, Weng said.

Outfitted with an onboard helicopter, the icebreaker will serve as a moving scientific platform where various oceanic researches will be conducted, according to Weng.

It will also undertake the task of delivering supplies to some Antarctic stations, Weng added.

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China is to invest 517 million yuan (about 81.24 million U.S. dollars) to build a modern national network to monitor movements in Earth's crust and other Earth sciences in the next four years, according to an announcement by the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation (SBSM) on Tuesday.

The program will mobilize more than 3,000 technicians nationwide to build a three-dimensional and dynamic "geodetic" network with high precision, according to the administration.

China lags far behind developed countries in terms of surveying and mapping technologies.

The U.S. latest geoid determination network can reach an accuracy up to three to four centimeters, while China can only determine geoid at an accuracy of 30 cm in its eastern part and 60 cm in its western region.

The national geodetic network aims to build 360 GPS (Global Positioning System) reference stations, and a satellite-geodesy control network consisting of 4,500 control points.

SBSM deputy director Li Weisen said the network will ensure people can get timely geodetic information for any point in the country's land area.

The network should also offer better services for construction projects, natural disaster relief and mineral resources development.

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A robot, jointly developed by Chinese and Japanese scientists to work on vascular interventional surgery, made its successful clinical animal trial on 9 January 2012 through a remote control system linking Beijing and Kagawa.

According to a briefing, the new system sharply cuts down the risk of a vascular intervention surgery, making the surgery more successful. WANG Tianmiao, a Chinese scientist involved in the experiment, said the design team installed for the first time a micro sensor at the end of the conduit to measure the possible collision between the catheter and blood vessels at a precision of 0.8 mm, effectively reducing the risk of surgery.

Designed with a master-slave manipulator, the system can be controlled through a three-dimensional blood vessel navigation system, allowing the robot to perform vascular intervention surgery on instruction.

It took three years for the researchers from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Japan National Kagawa University, and Navy General Hospital to develop the robot. The project was funded by China’s National 863 Program and Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology with an amount of 20 million RMB.

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As part of the "solid-state laser technology and its applications", a major project initiated under the National 863 Program for the 11th Five-year period (2006-2010), the "all-solid-state laser treatment of vascular tumors and associated equipment" undertaken by the PLA General Hospital researchers has rolled out a solid-state continuous laser device for treating Erythema mole, the first of its kind that has passed technical acceptance check in the country.

Researchers from PLA General Hospital Division of Laser Medicine and Beijing Xinrunxin Laser Technology jointly developed the laser device, in line with the principle of photodynamic therapy and the evolution of PWS lesion.

The laser device produces stable output with uniform beam quality, desirable for clinical applications. It has reached an advanced level among the similar products manufactured both at home and abroad. With the approval of SFDA, the device has been tested in more than 2,000 clinical cases, enjoying a 100% efficacy.

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A national demonstration project, jointly initiated by the National Science and Technology Support Program and the Golden Sun Demonstration Program to store different forms of energy in a manageable manner, was put into operation on 25 December 2011 in Zhangbei, Hebei Province.

With the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Finance, the State Grid Corporation developed five major technologies, including co-generation complementary mechanism and associated system integration, panoramic monitoring and coordinated control, power prediction, source network coordination, and large-scale energy storage, in a bid to make new energy part of power grid.

It established a "four in-one" new energy demonstration power plant, the first of its kind in the world, placing wind power, photovoltaic power, energy storage, and smart transmission under one roof. Phase-1 part of the project is supposed to produce 100MW of wind power and 40MW of photovoltaic power, and store energy equivalent to 20MW, in addition to building a 220kV smart substation, under an investment package worth RMB 3.226 billion.

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China has for the first time landed a range of breakthroughs in recovering and utilizing methane from low rank coal (lignite), multiple layer, and fracturing thin coal beds.

In 2009, Yanbian Yaotian Group in Jilin worked with a CBM Research Center in Shenyang to develop the key technologies for tapping up the methane resources in low rank coal beds.

Researchers gathered a huge amount of data on coal-bed geology, coal-bed methane, regional geological background, coal-bed geological conditions, coal reserves among others, and drilled up two production and test wells at the Huichun Coal Mine in Jilin to collect the needed technical data.

Researchers developed an optimized perforation technique for different densities and a pressure diverting fracturing technique, applicable to low rank, multiple layer and fracturing thin coal-beds, in line with the local geological conditions.

The operational trials at three wells at the Huichun Coal Mine show that one can recover 3,000 cubic meters of methane a day from a single well using the technique.

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