In this paper, the properties of different low-density heat-resistant coating prescriptions were compared, and a heat-resistant coating with a density of 0.65 g/cm3, a tensile strength of 2.04 MPa, and a thermal conductivity of 0.126 W/(m·K) was obtained. The thermal performance of the coating was characterized by an oxygen-acetylene ablation test, a hot radiation test using a quartz lamp and in an arc-heated wind tunnel test. The results indicated that the low-density heat-resistant coating prescription has advantages of high temperature resistance, erosion resistance, ablative resistance and excellent heat resistance, which can satisfy the heat resistance requirements of new-generation launch vehicle fairings.
The successful application of this heat-resistant coating technology resolved the problems of low efficiency and poor adhesive performance of the traditional hand-pasted cork process, and realized the rapid spray application of the thermal protection layer, effectively improved the manufacturing efficiency and production quality of the heat-resistant layer of new-generation launch vehicle fairings.

A virtual thermal test system was built through the co-simulation using Simulink and Comsol to realize the complete virtualization of the thermal test. Using the co-simulation technology, comprehensive simulation analysis of the control system, electric field and thermal field was realized. The data state of each observation point could be directly observed at one time, including the output state information of the power amplifier, the output state information of the heater, and the thermal state information of the test unit. The virtual thermal test system has a predictive and guiding role for engineering thermal tests, and can realize thermal environment simulation beyond the existing thermal environment ground simulation capabilities, providing a basis for the development of future models.

In the industrial field, tailored blank forming with aluminum alloy (Al-alloy) has developed fast to meet the demands for large size integrated components with curved surfaces of high precision and with uniform mechanical properties. Traditional forming methods for tailored blank components faced challenges with uneven deformation behaviors and coexistence of rupture and wrinkling defects occuring during the forming process. In this paper, a new manufacturing procedure is proposed with advanced welding and forming technologies for forming integrated shell components. Friction stir welding with post-weld heat treatment was employed to prepare the tailor welded blank and improve its formability prior to forming. A double-sided pressure sheet hydroforming process was introduced to fabricate the Al-alloy tailored blank into a curved surface shell. Finite element modeling was established to analyze the effect of the weld line position and loading paths of stress distributions during the double-sided sheet hydroforming (DSHF) process. A large double-action CNC sheet hydroforming press with tonnage of 150 MN and high pressure liquid volume of 5 m3  was developed in China. As an application case of the proposed process and equipment, a full-scale tank dome with a diameter of 3 m was successfully hydroformed with a large size Al-alloy tailored blank. It was shown that the DSHF process has the advantages in controlling rupture and wrinkling defects with an Al-alloy tailored blank, and the novel manufacturing procedure enables the production of integrated thin-walled component more competitively than traditional methods.

The slug rivet is widely used in wing assembly due to its longer fatigue life and better sealing performance compared with other connection technologies. As a countersink with dual-angle is widely adopted for this type of connection, the countersink diameter and depth are key factors that affect assembly quality. Therefore, it is of great importance to efficiently inspect the countersink quality to ensure high accuracy. However, contact measurements are susceptible to the loss of accuracy due to cutting debris and lube build-up, while the hole-scanning method using laser profilometry is time consuming and complex. In this paper, a non-contact method for countersink diameter and depth measurement based on a machine vision system is proposed. The countersink diameter can be directly measured by the machine vision system, while the countersink depth is determined through the countersink diameter indirectly. First, by means of image processing technology together with an improved edge detection algorithm, the countersink diameter can be obtained. Then, a 3D microscope is employed to measure the countersink depth, which helps to model the countersink. As a result, once the countersink diameter is measured, so is the depth. The experimentation demonstrated that this method has strong easibility and enables time saving, which is conducive to improve the riveting 
efficiency.