At the end of December, Boris Bolshakov, a university graduate, deputy technical director - chief materials scientist of RPE “Uralaviaspetstechnologiya” (Ural aviation special technology) LLC, defended his Ph.D. thesis at the dissertation council in technical sciences of the USATU.

In an interview, he shared his impressions and talked about his work

How was the final thesis presentation, were there any difficulties?

- By itself, the performance was excellent. Nevertheless, difficult, as for most applicants, were the answers to simple questions. After all, no one knows your job better than you do, and you answer any complex questions very easily, but a simple question sometimes leads to some numbness and it takes more time to answer.

What is your work about?

- The topic of my dissertation is "Microstructure and operational properties of a composite material based on corrosion-resistant steel with ceramic nanoparticles." In simple terms, we have developed a unique construction material for seals that has the required strength and at the same time is easily abraded to fine dust in external contact with other materials.

Why do you need a dissertation?

Let's look at this issue from different points of view. For industry, my dissertation solves one of the most important problems - ensuring the safety, reliability and efficiency of steam units for generating heat and electricity. The efficiency of such units directly depends on the level of idle flow of superheated steam between the stator and rotor parts. By using seals made of our material, manufacturers and operators are able to reduce the radial clearance from the existing 1.5-3 mm to 0.1 mm without any subsequent technical problems. Moreover, this, in turn, allows you to increase energy production while maintaining fuel consumption. The so-called "green megawatts".

For me personally, defending a dissertation is, first, the completion of a protracted stage of life, in some way proving to myself that I can.

How will the PhD degree affect your future plans? Is there a career goal?

- Plans, as they say, a lot. Despite the pre-New Year fuss and holidays, several meetings were held to further develop the proposed scientific hypotheses and develop a similar composite material with an increased working temperature of up to 950 ° C.

As for my career, the main thing for me is working in a close-knit team, where the efforts of each employee are directed to achieve the goals and objectives, where you are considered a close friend and ally, where human relations are valued above all else.

Why did you choose USATU in due time?

- I started studying at a university in the Ulyanovsk region without much understanding of what I want to do in life. However, in the 2nd year, one entertaining subject called "Materials Science" began, and I had my sight! Here is what I was looking for and what I like. It was decided to transfer for an in-depth study of the beloved science of materials. Why USATU? My parents studied here, in Ufa there is one of the strongest materials science schools, in USATU the best scientists and teachers.

Having chosen graduate school, you decided to continue your research activities. Wouldn't you like to change your occupation?

- At the Department of Materials Science and at the Nanotech Center for Collective Use, I worked with many materials. Moreover, it so happened that in 2018, after graduate school, I came under the supervision and guidance of Professor Anatoly Smyslov. As they say, it started ... Research of new materials, development of technologies, study of defects and causes of destruction of parts and assemblies of turbine units, and much more. I found myself in an absolutely amazing atmosphere of scientific and technological enthusiasm, in which each task and problem has a specific time frame for research and implementation. Under his guidance, I began to look at many things differently, with a much wider viewing angle. If not for Anatoly Mikhailovich, then, probably, the my final dissertation would not have taken place. I am immensely grateful to him for his help and support.

Who are the customers and partners of your research?

- There are not so many developers and manufacturers of steam turbine units in Russia. The flagship is the “Power Machines” enterprise. First of all, our developments are intended for their equipment. All work is carried out with co-financing of large industrial enterprises.

Will the end result be implemented in real production?

-It already is. Our material has been patented and introduced into the design of shroud seals for the flow path of steam turbines produced by Power Machines JSC.

It is clear that science takes a lot of time. Plus two kids. What do you always find free time for?

- There is less and less free time from year to year, but there is always an opportunity to devote time to family, children, friends and travel.

Where and where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?

- Let's not guess, time will tell. I am sure that our life is entirely in our hands.

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