АНУ-ын Агаарын цэргийн хүчний түүхэн дэх хамгийн хурдан бөгөөд өндөрт нисдэг тагнуулын SR-71 Blackbird онгоцыг үйлдвэрлэхэд тулгарсан үйлдвэрлэлийн нарийн төвөгтэй асуудлууд ил болжээ.
Lockheed компанийн Skunk Works хэлтэс SR-71 онгоцыг бүтээхдээ их биеийг бүхэлд нь титанаар хийсэн нь тухайн үедээ маш шинэлэг технологи байв. Гэвч титан нь химийн бодист маш мэдрэг материал байсан тул онгоцны эд ангиудыг гагнах явцад томоохон саад бэрхшээл үүсэж байжээ. Тухайлбал, зуны улиралд үйлдвэрлэсэн эд ангиуд 6-7 долоо хоногийн дотор гэмтэж байсан бол өвлийн улиралд үйлдвэрлэсэн хэсгүүд хэвийн ажиллаж байв.
Мөрдөн шалгах явцад уг асуудлын шалтгаан нь үйлдвэрлэлийн явцад ашигласан ус байсныг тогтоосон байна. Калифорни муж улсын Burbank хотын ус цэвэрлэх байгууламж зуны улиралд усанд хлор нэмдэг байсан нь титан эд ангиудыг зэврүүлж, гагнуурын холбоосыг сулруулдаг байжээ. Үүнээс гадна кадми бүрээстэй багаж хэрэгсэл ашигласан нь мөн титан эд ангиудыг гэмтээж байсан нь тогтоогдсон тул тус компани цэвэршүүлсэн ус болон өөр төрлийн багаж хэрэгсэл ашиглах замаар асуудлыг шийдвэрлэсэн байна.
Ийнхүү олон сая долларын өртөгтэй титан болон техник хэрэгслийг хаягдалд гаргаж, үйлдвэрлэлийн хугацааг хойшлуулсны эцэст SR-71 онгоцыг бүрэн ашиглалтад оруулжээ. Сонирхолтой нь, уг онгоцны их биеийг хийхэд ашигласан титаны ихэнх хэсгийг АНУ-ын тагнуулын төв газар (CIA) ЗХУ-аас нууцаар худалдан авч байсан түүхтэй. Энэхүү онгоц нь хожим нь ЗХУ-ын эсрэг тагнуулын үйл ажиллагаанд голлон ашиглагдсан юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Of the many impressive aircraft developed for the United States military, Lockheed’s SR-71 Blackbird is probably the most well-known. The high-altitude reconnaissance jet has set numerous world records for speed, and many of the SR-71’s records have yet to be broken. The SR-71 is unlike pretty much every aircraft ever operated by the U.S. Air Force, and it had strict build requirements that enabled its altitude and speed achievements.
Among its many unique requirements, the SR-71 cannot use standard jet fuel, and it was built out of highly expensive titanium, much of which was procured from the Soviet Union by the CIA. Working with titanium was challenging, leading to another interesting quirk of the aircraft’s design: many of the SR-71’s parts were prone to fail, but only when they were manufactured during the summer. At the time of its initial construction, the use of titanium was relatively new, so finding out what caused the problem took some time to figure out.
Winter-built parts functioned seemingly indefinitely, and the unusual reason for this early issue in the SR-71’s development was something few could have imagined: water. It turns out that water mucked up the wing panels that were welded during the summer, and it had everything to do with the chlorine content of the water used during manufacturing. Lockheed solved the problem after spending some time trying to determine its cause, and it’s something Lockheed’s engineers couldn’t have imagined being a problem in the construction of one of the most secretive and advanced aircraft ever built.
The problem chlorinated water posed to the SR-71
Titanium isn’t an easy metal to work with, and it is highly sensitive to contaminants capable of corroding it. Wing panels needed to be welded into place, but the water used to wash the panels after an acid treatment caused the summer problem because of chlorine. The SR-71 was assembled by Skunk Works out of the Burbank Airport in California. The Burbank Water treatment plant added chlorine to the water during the summer to prevent algae blooms. Because algae prospers in warm environments, chlorine wasn’t required during the winter.
As a result, the parts welded during the summer degraded within six to seven weeks. Conversely, the parts that were worked on during the winter didn’t have this problem. The fix was relatively easy, requiring the workers to switch to using distilled water devoid of chlorine or other contaminants for the post-acid treatment. Another contaminant caused similar issues, but it wasn’t found on the parts — it had to do with the tools.
Skunk Works’ personnel working on the problem found that cadmium-plated wrenches left enough residue that weakened the bolts, causing them to fail. Cadmium, like chlorine, degrades titanium, so they replaced the tools. All of these issues resulted in a great deal of titanium and expensive tools tossed in the trash, elevating costs and delaying the production of the SR-71 Blackbird. Ultimately, it all worked out; the aircraft took to the skies, where it was most often used to spy on the very nation that unknowingly supplied much of the metal that went into its construction.
