The Red Era, the Opening University Speech

Chapter 131: The Master is the One Who Has Learned First

A total of two meetings were held in more than half a month, one to discuss the furnace design and the other to discuss the structural optimization of the furnace body.

Although it cannot be said that there was no gain, it did not meet Ye Zhupei's expectations.

Li Mu smiled and said, "Director Ye, don't worry. I have already sorted out the framework of the research."

"Furnace body, converter tilting system, oxygen lance lifting system, oxygen supply system, water supply and drainage system, feeding device, vaporization dust removal system, lifting equipment, etc."

"These are necessary equipment for building a top-blown oxygen converter workshop."

As he spoke, he picked up a piece of chalk and drew sketches of each device on the blackboard, then noted their processes and procedures.

Simple, clear and efficient.

The entire process, including auxiliary work time, takes no more than one hour to produce 1 tons of steel.

Ye Zhupei, who was asking a question from the audience, blinked his eyes, his eyes full of confusion.

He just wanted to ask about the next research direction, how did he get the entire plan directly?

The other experts and professors were in a similar situation. They had just solved the problems of the furnace shape and furnace body, and they put up the framework in no time.

"Here are the detailed design drawings and principle introductions. Please pass them around." Seeing that everyone suddenly fell silent, Li Mu took out a thick stack of manuscript paper from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Several graduate students who were listening nearby hurried forward to distribute manuscript papers.

Ye Zhupei looked at the densely packed design drawings, formulas and principles on the manuscript paper, his eyes became even more surprised, and he couldn't help asking: "Did you complete all this by yourself?"

"Well, it still needs to be improved. I hope you can give me more advice." Li Mu said modestly.

Professor Zhang exclaimed: "Sure enough, I was wondering how it was possible that there was no movement for more than ten days, it turns out you were holding it back and now it's a big one!"

"It takes so much time and energy to come up with so much content. It's really valuable!" The person next to him immediately followed the expert in praising.

"Yes, he is talented, hardworking, and young. With him, the future development of our country's heavy industry will surely reach a higher level."

……

Facing everyone's praise, Li Mu always maintained a humble attitude, which made them appreciate him even more.

However, their attention soon returned to the manuscript paper.

The sound of pages turning could be heard throughout the conference room. Professors, each holding a notebook and a ruler, began to verify and calculate on the spot.

……

Three hours later.

Ye Zhupei and Professor Zhang raised their heads almost at the same time.

"There are no major problems with the structure and principle of the design." Ye Zhupei finished speaking, and then said in a deep voice, "But there is a fatal flaw."

"That is, we are unable to mass-produce many materials at present, and some can only be made in the laboratory."

"Although this plan is feasible, it may not be easy to implement in a short period of time."

His words were recognized by everyone's nods.

Hearing this, Li Mu was a little surprised, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed reasonable.

The information he obtained after running around for half a month was certainly not more than that of these professors who had been immersed in the field of steel metallurgy for many years, so it was normal to have omissions.

"Thank you, Director Ye. It's my fault that I'm not skilled enough," said Li Mu.

Ye Zhupei smiled and said, "How can it be that you are not good at learning? You just lack understanding of our country's basic industries. This is normal."

"After all, you are still a student, even a sophomore."

Hearing this, many experts and professors in the conference room felt a little like they had a heart attack!
Think about when I was in college...

So, is this the difference between a genius who goes down in history and an ordinary scholar?
"Of course, there are ways to remedy the situation." Ye Zhupei continued: "Although some materials and processes have not yet been realized, it does not mean that they cannot be realized."

"As long as there are enough people, I believe the problem can be solved quickly."

Upon hearing this, Professor Zhang immediately said, "I will go talk to the dean and ask him to apply to the Ministry of Culture and Education to mobilize all professors from relevant majors at Beijing University to participate in the research."

An expert from the First Ministry of Machine Building also said: "We will also discuss with the leaders and transfer all the people who can be mobilized to the Beijing Institute of Technology."

After both sides finished talking, they turned their gaze towards Ye Zhupei.

The latter immediately laughed and said:
"Thanks to him, the research task of the Chemical Metallurgical Research Institute was completed ahead of schedule."

"Now many people in the entire institute are still idle, and no new research direction has been found."

"Since it's available, let's take advantage of it."

Afterwards, the meeting was suspended and all parties began to recruit people.

The Ministry of Culture, Education and Sports issued an urgent document, requiring all professors of steel metallurgy at engineering universities in Kyoto to rush to the Kyoto Institute of Technology.

Some well-known and authoritative professors outside Kyoto also sent telegrams inviting them to participate in the experiment.

Leader Qiu of the First Ministry of Machine Building gave strong support and transferred all the valuable experts of the First Ministry of Machine Building from all over the country to Beijing.

As for the Institute of Chemical Metallurgy, the next day Ye Zhupei brought a dozen researchers to the research laboratory of Beijing Institute of Technology to carry out research.

……

Within a few days, nearly eighty authoritative experts and professors in the field of steel metallurgy from different places gathered in a small conference room at Beijing Institute of Technology.

They were urgently summoned and could not wait to discuss the research before it officially started.

The noise gradually subsided until Li Mu walked into the meeting room.

Many people looked at the young Li Mu standing on the podium with strange expressions on their faces.

A kind-hearted Sandong expert kindly reminded:

"You are that professor's student, how can you be so ignorant? Come down quickly."

Li Mu smiled at the professor who reminded him, then picked up the microphone and said, "Hello, experts and professors. I am Li Mu. Next, I will give you the design data of the 300-ton top-blown oxygen converter workshop."

After saying that, he signaled to several students of Professor Zhang to distribute the materials they had already written.

However, compared to his calmness, the crowd below was in an uproar, and many experts and professors asked the people from Beijing Institute of Technology:

"The leader of your Beijing Institute of Technology's iron and steel metallurgy department is this young man?"

"That's impossible. How can he make a top-blown oxygen converter at such a young age?"

"Professor Zhang, please tell me what's going on."

……

After a while of commotion, these people who were unaware of the situation soon learned about Li Mu from the professor at Beijing Institute of Technology.

When they heard that it took them less than a month from proposing the theory to developing the top-blown oxygen converter, everyone opened their mouths in surprise and their faces almost twisted, as if their world views had been reshaped.

At this moment, everyone had countless questions in their minds. They wanted to pull Li Mu aside to ask him clearly, but they couldn't bring themselves to do it.

Li Mu pretended not to notice the question marks on their faces. Seeing that everyone had received the design information, he immediately got straight to the point without giving them a chance to discuss in depth in private: "Dear experts and professors, let me first give you a brief introduction." "First, let's start with the converter system, which is mainly composed of an AC variable frequency motor, a primary reducer, a secondary reducer, and a torsion bar balancing device."

"The entire system adopts a four-point meshing full suspension flexible transmission design, and the torque balance mechanism is a torsion bar. Its main features are low speed, heavy load, and large speed ratio..."

……

Li Mu maintained a steady speaking pace and tried to make his words powerful and clear.

There were so many people in the conference room that if you spoke a little softer, some people might not be able to hear you.

Fortunately, there was some noise from below at the beginning, but halfway through, the conference room became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

But Qian Shuyan was startled when he walked to the door of the meeting room. He thought he had remembered the time wrong and today was not the day for the meeting.

He looked into the meeting room and saw that after Li Mu finished speaking, Ye Zhupei quickly stood up and said in a brisk tone: "If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Don't be shy."

"There is no first come first served in learning. The one who is more accomplished is the teacher. I also have many things I don't understand and would like to ask for advice."

"For example, in the oxygen blowing problem in steelmaking, oxygen is blown onto the hot metal in the converter. How does it remove impurities such as carbon, silicon, manganese and phosphorus?"

"Li Mu, tell me quickly."

Of course, he did not really not understand. He was just helping Li Mu break the deadlock and get everyone into the research state as soon as possible.

After all, those present were experts and professors with certain achievements, and they were not very familiar with Li Mu, so they couldn't help but ask questions without hesitation.

Sure enough, as Ye Zhupei took the lead, all the professors soon asked their own questions:

"Let me first ask about the free gas jet. When the speed reaches a certain sonic value, how can you be sure that it will affect the radial and axial speeds?"

"In the molten iron supply system, if the center of gravity of the tank is slightly larger than the tilting center of gravity, it can achieve stability during the filling movement and facilitate tilting and resetting?"

……

Faced with questions from experts and professors, Li Mu first looked at Ye Zhupei with gratitude, and then patiently gave answers.

A meeting lasted a full five hours before it ended, and he was so thirsty from talking.

Fortunately, the effect is very good. At least now most of the professors in the conference room are full of appreciation and amazed by his erudition.

Seeing that the meeting was coming to an end, Ye Zhupei stood up in time, walked to the stage and said: "I have a suggestion. Let's divide into groups and each choose the direction they are good at to make in-depth breakthroughs."

"Expert Jin, Expert Yang, Professor Zhang, Professor Lu, and I will be divided into five groups. Let's discuss it and make a decision as soon as possible."

"Steel production is the top priority for the development of our country's basic industries. Ladies and Gentlemen, the opportunity is before us. It's time for us to catch up and surpass Emperor M!"

His encouragement made everyone in the conference room excited and they all started applauding.

These words are far less suitable for Li Mu to say than for Ye Zhupei to say.

But soon a professor from Sandong asked in confusion: "Director Ye, isn't Li Mu involved in the research? He is the designer of the entire top-blown oxygen converter workshop!"

As soon as this question came up, everyone reacted.

This grouping didn’t seem to mention what Li Mu wanted to research.

Ye Zhupei smiled and said, "I discussed this issue with him, and he will be in charge of the overall direction of the research."

……

In the next few days, after the grouping was completed, the research was quickly carried out in an orderly manner.

Li Mu once again experienced what it felt like to be extremely busy.

Originally, when Ye Zhupei suggested that he be in charge of the overall progress of the research, he was very happy. He felt that he didn't need to have in-depth contact with unfamiliar people and could avoid the risk of exposing himself as a plagiarist.

But in reality, he has to take care of almost everything and is exhausted.

Fortunately, this situation only lasted for a few days. The experts and professors who came to support were all at the forefront of the field of steel metallurgy. After understanding the key points, they were able to conduct independent research quickly.

But before Li Musong could catch his breath, Ye Zhupei came again.

He said directly:

"There is a very serious problem now. The high temperature resistant materials used in open hearth furnaces are between 1350-1500℃, while the top-blown oxygen converters can reach 1650-1750℃."

“If old materials are used, the life of the converter will be greatly reduced.”

"So we have to develop a new refractory material."

As the research deepened, some problems that were not obvious on paper also emerged.

The furnace life refers to the number of smelting furnaces from the beginning of use to the time of damage of an industrial furnace.

If this problem is not solved, even if top-blown oxygen converter technology can greatly surpass open-hearth furnace technology in quality and efficiency, the cost will be greatly increased.

"I don't have any good idea about the materials." Li Mu looked at Ye Zhupei's expectant eyes and shook his head.

This time he really didn't know.

It’s mainly about the materials, which are always confidential in any era.

Even if it is clearly written in the information, the furnace life can be greatly increased by using two-step calcination of dolomite and light-burning oil-impregnated bricks, adopting wet and semi-dry spraying technology, and improving the slag-making system.

But this thing is just like the formula E=mc for the giant mushroom. Even if you know it, you still can’t figure out how to make it.

Hearing this, Ye Zhupei pondered for a moment, then said, "I do know two professors who are quite knowledgeable in this area, and they teach at Wudaokou Institute of Technology."

"But these two professors are nearly 80 years old and are no longer doing research. They are concentrating on education."

"If we want to ask them to come, I'm afraid we'll have to go there in person."

"Okay, no problem." Li Mu nodded immediately.

The main thing is that it is impossible to ask Ask, as this kind of information cannot be found on the Internet.

Issues involving confidential information are likely to make Ask suspicious, and if a crisis of trust arises between them, the gain will outweigh the loss.

After the meeting.

Li Mu did not delay and immediately went to China Europe International Business University with Ye Zhupei to look for someone.

……

Following the guidance of the security guard, the two came to a teachers' dormitory.

In the flower bed at the entrance, a white-haired old man was carefully taking care of the small tomatoes that were growing well. He saw the two people coming over.

He looked between the two of them, then turned his gaze to the older Ye Zhupei and asked, "Who are you?"

"Hello, Mr. Xu, I am Ye Zhupei, the director of the Institute of Chemical Metallurgy. We have met at academic seminars in Kyoto in the past few years." Ye Zhupei said with a smile.

Mr. Xu said, "Oh, Director Ye, hello."

"I'm Li Mu, hello, Mr. Xu." Li Mu also greeted him.

(End of this chapter)