The Red Era, the Opening University Speech

Chapter 130: If you want to do it, do it in one step, do 300 tons (1000 monthly tickets plus more)

"Of course I don't mind. Director Ye, you are an authority in chemical metallurgy, and I still have a lot to learn from you." Li Mu couldn't help but sweating profusely.

With his level of skills, I don’t know if he can fool Ye Zhupei.

After thinking for a while, Li Mu first proposed the first goal: "In order to achieve the goal of industrialization as soon as possible, we must do it in one step! My plan is to first build a 300-ton industrial top-blown oxygen converter steelmaking workshop."

300 tons!
A furnace over 200 tons is considered a large furnace in steelmaking, and the technical difficulty is far beyond that of small and medium-sized furnaces.

It is almost impossible to achieve such a high standard right from the start!
Everyone was shocked and surprised by the goal Li Mu proposed. Many people directly expressed their doubts:
"300 tons, our current technology simply can't achieve that!"

“Cost is also a big problem. If it fails, all the huge investment will be lost!”

"Team leader, I suggest you reconsider it. Let's study 50 tons or 100 tons first."

……

Li Mu listened to the voices below and felt a little confused.

He can make up for it technically, but he doesn't have a particularly good understanding of the current overall situation of the country's basic industries.

Whether it is possible to build a single furnace of 300 tons level remains to be discussed.

But I've already said it, and I can't change my mind at this time. I can only continue speaking.

The original intention was to shock Ye Zhupei by proposing a 300-ton construction target in advance, but he didn't expect to get himself into trouble instead.

Ye Zhupei and the people he brought with him were shocked after hearing what happened, but they obviously had many questions to ask.

Li Mu didn't dare to answer the question at this time, and quickly said:
"First of all, we need to clarify the key difficulty in building a large furnace, which is high-temperature resistant materials..."

"Secondly, we need to solve the problem of furnace type. We need to adapt to the circulation of molten steel, slag, and high-temperature gas in the furnace to achieve fast reaction and less splashing..."

……

Most of what he said was just empty promises, and whether it could be realized was unclear, but it was enough to make people like Ye Zhupei who didn't know much about top-blown oxygen converters fall into deep thought.

Seeing that they were not paying attention to him, Li Mu simply planned the future research direction and quickly ended the meeting.

After saying hello to Qian Shuyan and Ye Zhupei, he quickly left on the pretext of going to the Semiconductor Research Institute.

If he doesn't run away now, if Ye Zhupei asks him about specific things later, he will be exposed.

……

On the way to the Semiconductor Research Institute.

While pushing his bicycle, Li Mu read some information to understand the current overall basic industries in the country.

In the 60s, the country's basic industries were quite unbalanced. The focus was on steel, and the idea of ​​catching up with Emperor M led to a serious imbalance in the proportions.

However, the specific situation is not recorded in detail in the document.

For example, if you want to build a workshop, it is not enough to have a top-blown oxygen converter. You also need an oxygen supply system, a molten iron supply system, a bulk raw material supply system, and so on.

It is not that easy to achieve industrial design.

Li Mu thought to himself, "I still have to see it in person to understand."

But then another question popped up in his mind: "Kyoto's basic industry cannot represent the entire country. It's useless to only understand the situation in one place!"

Unless it is a major technological breakthrough, the probability of a technology being reported and then promoted nationwide is very small.

It was like a survey of future industries, including arresting cables for civilian aircraft carriers, T40-level carbon fiber, and express delivery drones, and none of them made a sound.

"The bottom line is that there is no information sharing platform." Li Mu thought thoughtfully.

In later generations, communication was so convenient that civilian use could exceed military use without the country being aware of it.

Not to mention that nowadays, long-distance communication depends entirely on telegraphs.

Li Mu suddenly thought, "There is also the Chemical Metallurgical Research Institute. They are definitely not the only ones researching top-blown oxygen converters. However, due to the lag in information, they may still be wasting their time and energy on research."

……

As he walked, Li Mu arrived at the Semiconductor Research Institute.

I first went to visit Wu Xi, Huang Kun and Huang Xinhua respectively to learn about the research progress.

Apart from Huang Kun's breakthrough in converting programmable digital switches for military use, Wu Xi and Huang Xinhua's research are at a stage that requires time to accumulate.

After correcting their slightly off course, he rode his bike back home.

In the yard of the slum, Uncle Zhong was carrying baskets of coal.

Coal was in limited supply back then, so everyone did this to save some money.

The small coal pieces and coal flour are kept for burning in the stove, and the rest are used to burn the bottom of the big pot.

Seeing Li Mu, Uncle Zhong greeted him with a smile: "Little Li, you're back."

"Yes, where is your basket of coal?" Li Mu took a look at the coal. There were quite a few stones mixed in it, and its quality was obvious.

Seeing this, he suddenly had an idea and walked back home quickly.
When I got to the corner where the coal was piled at home, I saw that they were indeed coal blocks and briquettes.

And unlike later generations, the coal briquettes do not have honeycomb-shaped holes on them.

Wang Juanhong, who was cooking, saw him standing next to the coal pile and said quickly, "Xiao Mu, what are you looking at the coal for? Be careful not to get it on you, it's dirty."

"Aunt, are these the only coal blocks and coal balls on the market now?" Li Mu asked.

Wang Juanhong said: "Yes, it's always like this."

"Xiao Mu, please go out for a while. I'll light some coal in the stove."

"Your grandma's health isn't very good. Although winter is over, it's still a bit cold at night. We can't let her get cold."

As she said that, she drove Li Mu out of the kitchen.

After coming out, Li Mu saw Wang Juanhong take out the stove, light the firewood with a piece of paper, and then fan the fire vigorously with a cattail leaf fan. She then put coal balls into the furnace and fanned it hard again.

Thick smoke billowed out of the furnace, and after fanning it for more than ten minutes, the coal briquettes gradually ignited.

Li Mu frowned frequently when he saw this.

In later generations, honeycomb coal was invented, which required little effort to light and did not produce so much smoke.

Thinking of this, he immediately returned to the room and sent a message to Ask: "Aske, do you know about honeycomb coal? I want to look up some information about it."

"Okay, I'll send it to you right away." Ask said simply.

It seems that with the cover of the last game, he won't be suspicious for the time being.

Not long after, Li Mu received historical information about honeycomb coal.

What surprised Li Mu was that honeycomb coal had already appeared in his time.

However, because burning honeycomb coal requires placing ash around the coal, which is both troublesome and unhygienic, it has never been widely promoted.

"I can try to solve this problem." Li Mu thought secretly.

The answer is clearly written in the information: the problem of furnace ash can be solved by adopting the dual-purpose furnace mud ditch coal burning method and special furnace tiles for honeycomb coal.

He got down to work right away. He took out a blueprint and drew the design of the simple tools and special furnace tiles for hand-making honeycomb coal.

As for the machine for making honeycomb coal, Li Mu has no plans to make it for the time being.

The reason why he was concerned about this was mainly because he wanted to get a stove for Grandma Li to use so that she wouldn't catch a cold at night.

Compared to the research he is currently doing, honeycomb briquettes are really not worth his attention.

Then, while it was still early, he went to the steel mill.

He did not go to see Director Yang. There was no need to owe anyone a favor for such a small matter.

He went straight to Zhang Kai, whose skin had become a little dark from exercise, handed him the drawings, and then briefly stated his requirements.

"No problem, leave it to me." He said, and went into the workshop with the design drawings. Li Mu went to the mechanical repair workshop to chat with Wang Ya and Shao Yanan for a while. After more than half an hour, Zhang Kai came back with something.

"What is this?" Wang Ya and Shao Yanan looked at the peculiarly shaped iron tube in Zhang Kai's hand curiously.

The iron cylinder was welded to a T-shaped iron rod, and there were 12 small iron rods inside.

"This is a coal beater for making honeycomb coal." Li Mu took it with a smile, and then asked Zhang Kai to help find some coal powder and yellow mud.

The ratio of coal slime is about 3:7 or 2:8. Adding yellow mud or red mud can not only have the function of bonding and shaping, but also can be flame retardant and prolong the burning time of honeycomb coal.

Then stir vigorously with a spatula to mix evenly.

Mixing coal is a technical job. The dryness and wetness of the coal must be controlled well. Otherwise, if it is too thin, the coal beater will be full of mold and fall to the ground when you lift it up, and it will not work at all.

After working for a long time, Li Mu saw that the coal was almost ready, so he picked up the coal beater and dipped it in a little water first to prevent the coal from sticking to the mold and being unable to wash off.

Then press hard on the coal, press the switch on the iron handle in advance, and a piece of honeycomb coal will come out of the oven.

After finishing, Zhang Kai panted and asked curiously: "Huh, it's finally done. But, this coal ball just has a few more holes. What's so special about it? Is it worth spending so much effort to make it?"

Wang Ya, whose smooth face was stained with a little coal dust, couldn't help but feel a little surprised. Hasn't Li Mu been studying semiconductors? Why is he suddenly interested in this?

Seeing everyone looking at him with questioning eyes, Li Mu picked up the honeycomb coal and said, "Don't underestimate this honeycomb coal. It has endless uses."

"With it, our lives will be much more convenient in the future."

"Wait for me to show you how to do it, and you will understand."

No matter how much you explain, it is better to let everyone see the actual effect.

Li Mu continued to make three pieces of honeycomb coal, and then asked Zhang Kai to take them to a place with higher temperature in the workshop to bake them until they were half dry.

After the honeycomb coal was dried, Li Mu put a piece into the coal stove.

At this time, Wang Ya suddenly said, "Why don't we go outside and burn it? It will be bad if the smoke is too thick and someone finds out."

"Don't worry, there's no cigarette." Li Mu said with a smile.

Seeing his firm tone, Wang Ya did not persuade him anymore, but looked at the coal stove curiously.

Li Mu put some firewood under the stove, lit it and waited quietly.

Not long after, the honeycomb coal was quickly ignited. The heat waves coming from above the stove made everyone unable to help but move closer.

The key point is, just as Li Mu said, there was not a single bit of smoke from beginning to end.

"It's amazing. With this thing, not only is there no smoke, but it will be much easier to make coal in the future!" Shao Yanan said in amazement.

Normally, if she wanted to light coal, it would take her half an hour and she would never be able to do it. Moreover, the smoke would billow and be choking, which would make her look dirty every time.

But it took Li Mu less than 10 minutes to light up the honeycomb coal and coal stove, and there was no smoke at all.

It is clean and hygienic, and it also increases the speed of coal lighting. Who wouldn’t like it!
Hearing this, Li Mu smiled and said:
"Not only is it clean and smokeless, but with this coal stove, the honeycomb coal can burn at the lowest speed when not in use."

"Just like this, close the damper under the coal stove, put a lid on it, and leave a vent."

"This not only ensures heating in winter, but also allows you to open the lid and boil water or cook the next time you need it, which is very convenient."

Listening to his story, everyone present had bright eyes.

In the winter in Kyoto at that time, every household relied on burning coal for heating. It would be great if they could have a coal burner and a coal stove.

Although winter is almost over, it is usually not until February or March that the weather starts to warm up, so it is not too late to use it now.

Zhang Kai came over to the stove, warming himself by the fire, and exclaimed: "As expected of you, you are really good at coming up with something so convenient!"

"It's more than convenient. The coal supply in Kyoto is limited every year, and every household can only use it sparingly. If we have honeycomb coal and coal stoves, we can definitely save a lot of coal." Li Jian followed.

Wang Ya nodded slightly and said, "This honeycomb design is very unique. The holes increase the air flow and the coal burning area, greatly improving the fuel utilization rate."

"If it can be promoted nationwide to replace the original coal blocks and coal briquettes, it will definitely have a huge impact on everyone's life."

Listening to everyone's praise, Li Mu smiled helplessly and said:

"I just made it casually and took it home to use for my grandma to keep warm. I didn't think too much about it."

"And it's not that easy to promote. Now that winter is more than halfway over, no one has much coal at home."

"Let them buy a coal breaker and use the remaining coal at home to make honeycomb coal. Do you think this is possible?"

His words caused everyone to fall into silence.

After a long while, Zhang Kai suddenly said, "Others may not know, but I know it is useful, so I must get one to keep at home."

"Yes, I want one too. It's so troublesome to light the coal every time." Shao Yanan said immediately.

Seeing that several people wanted it, Li Mu thought for a moment and said:

"If you want, we can make it. It's not that complicated anyway. It's not difficult at all except that it requires some technology to make coal."

"But you must pay attention to ventilation. Honeycomb briquettes will produce harmful gases and dust such as sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide when they are burned."

"If you stay in a room without ventilation for a long time, there is a high risk of poisoning!"

After emphasizing the issue of safety, Li Mu taught everyone about coal and then left the steel mill.

……

back home.

Li Mu taught Li Jun and Wang Juanhong how to use the coal stove and honeycomb coal.

After learning it, the latter looked at the fire in the coal stove and was immediately surprised: "Xiao Mu, this thing you made is so convenient."

"With a coal stove, I don't have to worry about my mother getting cold anymore."

Li Jun, who was squatting by the coal stove and warming himself, exclaimed in amazement: "Not only will I not be afraid of my mother being stunned, but cooking will be much more convenient in the future."

"Otherwise, Xiao Mu, you are a college student, so you are smarter than us."

……

After being praised by the two, Li Mu carried the coal stove to Grandma Li's room.

Feeling the warmth emanating from the coal stove in the room, Grandma Li was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling and kept praising her eldest grandson for being filial.

……

Half a month passed uneventfully and it was March.

The weather is still a little cold, but the midday sun already brings a comfortable warmth.

During this period, after Li Mu contacted the First Ministry of Machine Building, he visited almost all the heavy industrial factories in Kyoto.

After understanding the situation thoroughly, he had a clearer understanding of the development of Xia Country's basic industries.

Although Kyoto cannot represent the entire country, this is the limit of what he can do.

Next, based on a relative understanding of Xia Country’s current basic industries, Li Mu began to design the manufacturing process required for the industrialization of top-blown oxygen converters.

……

Beijing Institute of Technology, experimental building.

Li Mu walked into the conference room, where Professor Zhang, Ye Zhupei, some experts from the First Ministry of Machine Building, and other professors from Beijing Institute of Technology were present.

But this time he was confident and not panicked at all.

"So many days have passed, and we are still discussing the furnace design and structural optimization of the top-blown oxygen converter. I'm afraid we won't be able to achieve the goal you mentioned if we continue like this." Ye Zhupei was the first to speak when he saw him come in.

I am almost in a trance because of writing the extra chapter!
Always revise and revise, revise and revise!

Sorry for the long wait!


(End of this chapter)