Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1362 Stop Shaking! Stop Shaking! (5k)

“That is indeed the case in theory, and the comrades in the north have indeed handled the problems caused by this high positive cavitation coefficient very well. Under normal circumstances, there will be no problems,” Gao Zhendong said with a smile.

Well, that sounds nice, but those who know the truth understand. The key point is the phrase "under normal circumstances." He must have discovered something abnormal.

The defense commission leaders and the chief engineer exchanged a glance. It was perfect that an abnormal person discovered an abnormal situation. Gao Zhendong was not a very normal person to begin with; in short, he was very different from ordinary people.

"Abnormal situations refer to..."

Gao Zhendong did not continue talking about the positive cavitation coefficient: "Let's put aside the positive cavitation coefficient for now and look at another issue, which is low-power operation."

"Low-power operation is generally okay. Low-power operation of this reactor is indeed difficult to control, but the most obvious problem is the generation of a large amount of xenon gas, causing reactor poisoning. This can be handled. Moreover, xenon gas has the effect of absorbing neutrons, and it is precisely because of this effect that the reactor is poisoned. However, this is reducing the reactor power. Although it is a problem, it is not a major problem. We can shut down the reactor and disperse the gas." This problem exists not only in RBMK, but in all graphite reactors. The comrades are familiar with it and are quite adept at handling it.

Although it's a problem, suppressing reactor power—no matter how big the problem is, just ask yourself, will this reactor explode?

If it doesn't explode, it's a good pile.

"Is this comrade being a bit of an overreacter?" the two comrades wondered.

Although his comrades kept refuting his opinions, Gao Zhendong was actually quite pleased. After the data arrived, his comrades were busy working on it, and their considerations were indeed very comprehensive; they had basically taken all the issues that could be seen into account.

Gao Zhendong shook his head: "Let's consider a hypothetical scenario. If the reactor becomes poisoned while operating at low power, would the operators consider increasing the power output?"

"Yes, I do."

"The intuitive reaction to increasing power is to raise the control rod, right?"

"Yes."

"Are the control rods being raised more and more, and raised higher and higher?"

Yes. But there is a top dead center.

Gao Zhendong shook his head again: "The problem is that their top dead center is a management top dead center, not a physical and control system top dead center. The control rods of this reactor are manual. Theoretically, unless the physical limit is reached, the operator can keep raising the control rods. In this case, the control rods would have already completely left the fuel rod area."

In other words, this upper limit point is just a management instruction: don't raise the engine above this position... but in actual operation, it is possible to exceed this position.

Of course, "manual" here refers to non-automatic control, where problems are solved by buttons; pressing up is up, pressing down is down, and holding down a button continuously will either move the button up or down. This does not mean the system will proactively intervene in cases of improper operation based on working conditions and under certain extreme circumstances.

Holy crap?!

The two comrades were startled; it seemed to be true! No, they had to confirm it!

They quickly took the materials from Gao Zhendong's hands, flipped through them, and sure enough, it was true!
"So, as long as the control rods are reinserted and the reactor is completely shut down, safety can still be guaranteed, right?" a comrade said, stroking his chin.

They weren't sticking to their own opinions or being stubborn; they were discussing various possible scenarios with Gao Zhendong.

“Theoretically, that’s true, but as we just discussed, the reaction rate actually increases dramatically when the displacement rod enters the reaction zone.” Gao Zhendong began to gather the clues one by one.

"Hiss... I see... But as the control rods continue to fall, the reaction rate will drop until the reactor shuts down."

Gao Zhendong shook his head: "It might be too late."

"Too late?" The two comrades didn't react in time.

Gao Zhendong said decisively, "Yes, it might be too late. The comrades in the north designed the control rod channels of this reactor too tightly, which resulted in the control rods falling at a low speed. We all know that once a chain reaction gets out of control, it happens very quickly."

Oh no! The two comrades suddenly remembered that the control rods of this reactor were falling at a speed of only 0.4 meters per second, and it would take 18 seconds for them to fall completely!
"There's a problem! There's definitely a problem! 18 seconds is too long!" They turned to that page, pointed to the control stick's descent speed parameters, and kept tapping it with their fingers.

The leaders of the National Defense Commission and the chief engineer watched in astonishment. How could things have taken such a sudden turn for the worse?
"18 seconds, not too fast, not too slow, maybe there's still hope." One comrade had already begun to imagine the accident in his mind.

Gao Zhendong started shaking his head again, which made the comrades very anxious. "Stop shaking," they said, "it's making our scalps tingle."

"At this point, the cooling system's cooling capacity is still matching the decreasing power due to reactor poisoning, so the cooling capacity is very poor, right? However, the surge in power and the rate of surge caused by the insertion of the replacement rods are very likely to exceed the cooling system's cooling capacity and reaction speed, causing the superheated water and graphite to come into contact without being cooled..."

The assessment of "high probability" in the nuclear industry may differ from that in ordinary fields. The number doesn't need to be too large to be considered "high probability" because the risk is too high.

In fact, even if Luo Guo hadn't been so foolish as to shut down the cooling system, the reactor that was later blown up might not have been saved, as the reactor rate had skyrocketed too much.

Before Gao Zhendong could finish speaking, the two comrades already knew what was about to happen.

"A large amount of steam is being produced... Oh no, a positive cavitation coefficient of 4.7!"

No wonder this comrade ignored the positive cavitation coefficient earlier; it turns out this beast was waiting here.

The well-managed positive cavitation coefficient then reveals its true power: the large amount of gas causing bubbles will suddenly increase the reactor power far beyond the design rated power.

"If the control stick goes down, there's still a glimmer of hope," a comrade murmured.

Stop shaking! Stop shaking! Damn it, he started shaking his head again.

The defense commission leaders wished they could rush up and hold Gao Zhendong's head still, but unfortunately, Gao Zhendong shook his head slowly but resolutely.

"We can't go down, there's a high probability we can't go down."

Without him even needing to explain, the two comrades, whose skills were equally profound, had already figured out the reason.

"The molten core and control rods are stuck."

The cooling system simply cannot keep up with the reactor's soaring power. The extremely rapid chain reaction will quickly melt the reactor core and jam the control rods. At that point, even a miracle wouldn't be able to save it.

"Moreover, both of you should know what the consequences of the reaction between graphite and water are at such high temperatures."

Hydrogen... one of the most troublesome flammable gases. Under these conditions, let alone the possibility of hydrogen reacting with oxygen to cause an explosion, that's too far off. Before that happens, the extremely rapid generation rate alone creates high pressure, which is enough to blow up the reactor and then cause an uncontrollable explosion.

Oh, and besides hydrogen, there's also this adorable little carbon monoxide.

"Understood, understood, thank you so much, comrade!" The two comrades grasped Gao Zhendong's hands and shook them repeatedly.

This hidden danger is a series of events, some of which can even be described as coincidences.

But regardless of whether it's a coincidence or not, as long as this chain of incidents exists, no one can guarantee that no one will trigger it.

Murphy's Law: What you fear most is what will happen!

Moreover, the coincidences involved don't need to be too coincidental, and each one could happen during the production process.

If management is in place, things will be fine, but if there is any oversight, the consequences could be disastrous.

To be honest, all the comrades here combined haven't seen as much footage of the exploding piles as Gao Zhendong has.

Leaving aside the one from Luo Guo, he saw the news clearly about the one that Bei Hai people bombed.

Therefore, Gao Zhendong's experience with reactor accidents is remarkably among the top three in the world.

As for those who have a deeper understanding than him, such as those who have almost accidentally set off a nuclear bomb with a screwdriver, they can no longer express their opinions. That's it!

Of course, Gao Zhendong wouldn't qualify if it wasn't a reactor accident or just a story, since there are also those chosen ones who survived being visited by the fat man and the little boy.

At this moment, the four people present felt an overwhelming and unending admiration for Gao Zhendong.

This is not an exaggeration.

The design of this reactor, not to mention in China, even in its place of origin, Romania, has gone through the hands of countless designers and reviewers, yet none of them have been able to unravel this complex process so meticulously.

At first glance, the reactor's safety design seemed perfect. It had the power, the raw materials, and the safety—nothing was amiss! "Zhendong, you've worked hard!" The defense commission leader patted Gao Zhendong on the shoulder; he really had worked hard.

Kao Chen-tung has been spending most of his time at the National Defense Commission, rarely leaving the building. He eats and watches TV, only taking a nap when he can't take it anymore.

This kind of person shouldn't be used like this, but given the current situation in the country, there's no way to stop him from using it this way.

Gao Zhendong grinned. Actually, it wasn't that hard. The whole set of materials was readily available. He just needed to find the location of each key point in the materials so that it would be easy to bring it up during discussions.

Commonly known as turning the pages of a book.

As for why he looked so exhausted, it was mainly because he couldn't resist. With his current abilities, he could understand a lot of what was inside. As a seasoned keyboard warrior who had roamed freely on the internet in his previous life, how could he resist seeing this?

"Zhendong, you've discovered this problem, have you considered a solution?" the defense commission leader asked with a smile.

According to Gao Zhendong's habits, he would not just raise questions without thinking of solutions. Regardless of whether the solutions are reliable or not, he would definitely consider them.

The moment the boss asked that question, I wanted to slap myself. Why did you have to be so talkative!

Finding this hidden danger from such a vast amount of material was already extremely time-consuming and physically demanding. To expect him to come up with a solution in such a short time? That's not how work is done.

The two comrades were also somewhat surprised. There must be a reason why the leader asked that question, and judging from his expression, he seemed very confident that this comrade would come up with some solution.

That's completely inhuman.

The two comrades believed that the time it took for this comrade to receive the materials was not much different from their own, and that it was already superhuman that he could find the problem in such a short time.

We need to come up with a solution.

But why is there still a faint sense of anticipation?

To everyone's surprise, Gao Zhendong actually nodded.

"Have you really thought about it?"

"Well, I was thinking about it as I looked at it. Actually, it's not any very specific advice, just some general ideas. Other comrades can probably figure it out too if they take a look, since the problem has already been identified." Gao Zhendong felt that this wasn't just modesty, but the truth.

Now that the problem has been identified, we should address those that can be solved specifically, and resolve those that cannot through management systems. Combining both approaches should prevent any major issues. After all, with so many graphite deposits in Romania, only one has likely exploded after decades of operation.

The two comrades glanced at him. This comrade was good in every way, except his words were a bit hurtful. Am I unable to think of a solution? Am I unable to find the problem?

"You say, you say, it's perfect that they're all here, let's just combine them all." The defense committee leader was very excited.

Whether it can completely solve the problem is hard to say, but at least it can give our colleagues some inspiration. With the addition of management systems, problems that have already been discovered will not be a big issue.

As for how Gao Zhendong learned about reactors, he couldn't be bothered to think about it. Geniuses are something that's hard to explain.

Gao Zhendong reached out and picked up a notebook from the table, flipping through it and reading the entries one by one.

"Add additional control components to prevent the reactor from operating at low power."

The two reactor engineers nodded in agreement. Since problems are more likely to occur and are harder to control at low power, they decided to simply stop operating the reactor. After all, low power operation is only necessary during maintenance and refueling, so it wouldn't make a difference.

"Add a control stick control system, with humans acting as monitors, verifiers, and backups, to suppress violations at the system level as much as possible."

In other words, unless it is done intentionally or through repeated forced operation, it is impossible to completely lift the control rod out.

"Increase the number of control rods that can be operated and adjusted during normal operation to increase system redundancy. Also, improve the operating speed of the control rods to shorten the process time of undesirable power surges."

Trading cost and complexity for security is an essential approach for handling high-risk systems.

Since the speed is too slow, let's speed it up.

"As for modifying the control rods and adjusting the amount of neutron absorber, I'm not in that field, so I won't go into detail. You comrades are more familiar with them than I am." Gao Zhendong's words made the two comrades realize that this guy really wasn't in that line of work.

What a genius! Even people who aren't in this field can spot the problems... I'm ashamed.

However, only the two of them believed Gao Zhendong's words. As for the leaders of the National Defense Commission, regardless of whether they were true or false, they certainly didn't believe them.

You can't believe a single word he says about "not understanding", "not being familiar with", or "not having done any research"!

Gao Zhendong added at the end: "In fact, the most important point is to improve the management system according to the reactor's situation and strictly enforce it. Without this, no matter how many methods and means are used, they will not play a significant role."

The two comrades from the Northwest left quickly. In fact, like Gao Zhendong, they were extremely eager to get their hands on this set of materials. If it weren't for the orders from the National Defense Commission, they wouldn't have bothered coming all the way to Jinchen and wasting so much time.

Judging from the results, this trip was worthwhile!
With such an important discovery, their first thought was to get back as soon as possible and get to work.

We aim to perfect the reactor design and eliminate potential hazards before the physical equipment is delivered, ensuring that the equipment matches the modified design. This will save both time and money.

Unable to retain them at the National Defense Commission, they instructed the office administration to arrange for them to return on an evening flight.

After seeing the two off, the leaders of the National Defense Commission personally came to find Gao Zhendong, carrying two large aluminum alloy lunch boxes.

Upon entering, I saw Gao Zhendong still looking through documents.

"That's about enough. Take a break. Come on, let's eat something together."

Gao Zhendong put down the materials in his hand, took the lunchbox without ceremony, and sat down with the leader on either side of the coffee table in the room, and began to eat heartily.

"Mmm, it tastes good," Gao Zhendong praised as he ate.

"Alright, alright, I know I'm not as good as Chef He from your factory, just pretending," the leader joked. He had tasted Sha Zhu's cooking before, and it was definitely better than the cooking of these people in the committee's canteen. These people in the committee were excellent at cooking in large batches, but their individual cooking was a bit lacking.

Gao Zhendong ate very quickly, and the leader pushed a water glass on the table to him: "Drink some water, don't choke. Don't eat so fast, no one's going to take it from you."

Gao Zhendong took the water glass and smiled, "I got used to it during those years of fighting. If there was food, I would eat my fill first, otherwise, if the enemy rushed up, I wouldn't know when I would get my next meal. But now it's a bit different. I eat until I'm about 60% full, and then leave a little room to taste the flavors."

A few words from him almost brought tears to the leader's eyes. What a good comrade! What a good comrade!

Sure enough, after shoveling down a few mouthfuls, Gao Zhendong slowed down and began to eat slowly.

The leader pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to him: "Here, I know you like this kind of thing, have a drink."

Gao Zhendong's eyes widened: "Sir, isn't this against the rules?"

"Here, drink! The only rule in this room is secrecy, and that won't be violated." If Comrade Zhendong can't even get a drink here, where will my Defense Committee put its face?

Trading a few bottles of liquor for reactor safety is a rare find.

Gao Zhendong didn't refuse; he simply took a sip with relish. It was an order, and he had to obey.

"Things are almost done here, you should go back and rest. I can tell you've been exhausted these past ten days," the leader said to Gao Zhendong after taking a bite of his meal.

Gao Zhendong shook his head: "No time, I still need to sort out what I've learned these past few days."

The leader exclaimed, "Eh? What did you get? Didn't we already discuss this with the comrades? They've taken notes and will handle it. Don't worry about the details; you're not as good as them at that."

After all, this isn't your profession.

Gao Zhendong laughed and said, "What kind of harvest is that? That little bit of stuff is nothing, it's just catching a bug along the way."

(End of this chapter)