The inaugural Polar Marine Equipment Key Materials Forum & Academic Annual Conference of the Polar Navigation and Equipment Committee of the China Institute of Navigation 2025 was recently held in our district. Notably, the Polar Low-Temperature Environment Simulation Test Platform of the National Key Laboratory of Marine Key Materials passed acceptance.

Upon entering the multi-factor environmental test chamber within the platform, staff were met by a chilling wind of -10°C, with accumulated snow on research equipment exceeding 40 centimeters in thickness.

It is reported that the platform, planned by Wang Liping, Director of the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, took nearly three years to complete. It broke through a series of key technologies such as low-temperature compatibility, in-situ monitoring, environmental simulation, and dynamic tracking, constructing a complex polar environment with multi-factor coupling that closely approximates real service conditions.

"The platform comprises six major subsystems: multi-factor environment simulation, ice load impact, low-temperature mechanical in-situ characterization, low-temperature salt spray, low-temperature sand and dust, and high-low temperature mechanics. It can simulate the damage and failure processes of key polar service materials under the complex service environment of multi-factor coupled polar low temperatures as low as -70°C," said Lan Xijian, Senior Engineer of the National Key Laboratory of Marine Key Materials and Head of the platform.

With the approval of the National Key Laboratory of Marine Key Materials led by the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo achieved a "zero breakthrough" in national key laboratories for basic research. The laboratory primarily focuses on major basic research and key technological breakthroughs in marine materials for extreme environments like the deep sea, the South China Sea, and polar regions, striving to build an innovative platform for R&D and integrated application of new marine materials with significant international influence and domestic leadership.

In the -5°C ice load impact test chamber, a team member pressed a button, and a small boat automatically moved forward, breaking ice in the ice water pool. "The temperature in the ice water pool is below -13°C. We use our self-developed ice-breaking coating to 'clothe' the boat, conducting performance evaluations such as resistance to ice load friction and wear, and studying failure mechanisms here," said Lan Xijian.

With the elevated strategic importance of polar regions and the development of Arctic shipping routes, polar equipment faces multiple environmental challenges such as severe low temperatures, high humidity, and ice abrasion. Traditional coatings struggle to simultaneously meet requirements for anti-icing, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. "Aided by innovative platforms like the Polar Low-Temperature Environment Simulation Test Platform, several self-developed coatings from our team have undergone field validation on polar research vessels like the 'Polar' and 'Xuelong 2', as well as on power grid facilities, achieving remarkable results," said Lan Xijian.

"As the first polar low-temperature environment simulation test platform in China, its simulated environment strives to be as close as possible to the actual polar conditions, especially the Arctic. We hope that key material supply chains for polar marine equipment across the nation will collaborate with the National Key Laboratory of Marine Key Materials, fully utilize this platform, leverage its value, and forge a more robust industrial chain competitiveness," invited Xue Qunji, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.