The visit to the 307 Steel Factory was very rewarding. Zhao Yi learned about the K03A nickel-iron alloy manufacturing process and gained a lot of knowledge. The Supervision Law was able to detect problems in the manufacturing process, just as He Guilin, the research and developnt team leader of the steel factory, had ntioned. There were many problems it detected, with most of them being small issues that would take quite so ti to explain. Zhao Yi directly pointed out one major issue to He Guilin.
These small issues turned out to be significant findings as well.
After addressing all the issues, the K03A nickel-iron alloy manufacturing process beca more refined, and the alloy’s performance was bound to improve. However, since only minor issues were corrected, there would not be a qualitative leap in its performance.
Zhao Yi’s goal was not just to perfect the manufacturing process; otherwise, he wouldn’t have needed to apply for an additional project and just take a tour at the 307 Steel Factory.
Breakthroughs in materials science were not that important to him.
Since he had already applied for and secured the project, along with a 20 million R&D budget, he had to produce an alloy that surpassed the international level.
If others knew that Zhao Yi aid to transcend the international standard, they would undoubtedly think he was insane. It’s impossible to outdo the international top-level by just wishing for it. Yet Zhao Yi was quite confident, especially after visiting the 307 Steel Factory. He obtained a large amount of ’real-world data’ and understood the entire production process. He knew that as long as the 307 Steel Factory improved the manufacturing process, the performance of K03A would improve.
This improvent would be difficult to catch up with the international top-level, but with the previous foundation and subsequent improvents, the gap wouldn’t be too significant.
Afterwards, it’s all about making enhancents.
Developing alloy materials is too complex, whether it’s manufacturing thods or elental ratios, there are countless combinations, and there’s no such thing as a ’perfect formula’ or a ’perfect thod.’
Zhao Yi didn’t need a perfect thod either.
Just as he said to Wang Zhifang, he didn’t need to produce extrely high-end alloy materials, but only to surpass the current international level. All he needed was to follow the right path.
And what was the right path?
To add a rare elent --
Rhenium!
The K03A turbine blades used in the Kunlun engine did not contain rhenium. Although everyone knew that adding rhenium was a good idea, they had yet to figure out the optimal thod and ratio for adding it.
Rhenium is a high-temperature resistant elent with a lting point of 3180 degrees Celsius.
The purpose of adding rhenium to the alloy is to increase its lting point, but since pure rhenium is soft, adding too much of it would affect the alloy’s strength. The thod and quantity of rhenium to be added were both problematic.
Hence, the primary research direction was to study the ratio and thod of adding rhenium to K03A, based on the improvents made at the 307 Steel Factory.
Zhao Yi believed that after perfecting K03A, its performance would be excellent. Once he figured out the rhenium ratio and thod, the final alloy would certainly surpass the international advanced level. The research process would involve verifying various combinations and thods.
Each experint would yield so findings and help him better understand the effects of the addition.
After a few experints, he could roughly determine the efficient ratio and thod to increase the lting point while maintaining or enhancing the alloy’s strength.
That was the research process.
...
Zhao Yi couldn’t wait to start his research. He wrote an improvent report and submitted it directly to his superiors, who then passed it on to the 307 Steel Factory.
The R&D team at the 307 Steel Factory received the report and was sowhat puzzled. "Did Academician Zhao find so many issues in the manufacturing process just by visiting once? Should we follow his suggestions?"
He Guilin provided an answer, "Academician Zhao ntioned many minor issues when he left, but I didn’t expect him to submit a report. However, let’s first verify the major issue he pointed out; we’ll do it in the next couple of days."
"Right."
"We’ll see the results."
The 307 Steel Factory accepted Zhao Yi’s suggestions submitted by He Guilin. They quickly restructured the ultra-high-temperature furnace and the jumping mixer so that the silicon-iron and nickel-iron alloys could maintain their heated state when mixed and underwent deoxygenation treatnt imdiately after mixing.
After completing the restructuring, they manufactured a new batch of K03A using the refined process.
The R&D team at the steel factory received Zhao Yi’s report the following afternoon, and the new K03A was produced. He Guilin led the R&D team to inspect the new K03A without any delay and imdiately ca to an astonishing conclusion --
The newly manufactured K03A had a lting point nearly 100 degrees Celsius higher than the original!
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