From top student in college to scientific research powerhouse

Chapter 35 Huge Breakthrough—Mass and Temperature!
Jiangzhou University's materials science disciplines are not highly rated, which means that it does not have any key materials science research institutions.

The Heterogeneous Materials Physics Laboratory is the only professional materials research institution at Jiangzhou University.

The rating is only a key factor in the city's development.

The laboratory can only be kept afloat thanks to Professor Han Xiaoxu alone.

Han Xiaoxu is a senior professor who has been working at the university for 30 years, and has been engaged in research on metal materials processing ever since.

Xue Kun and Zhang Minghao found Han Xiaoxu together.

Han Xiaoxu was in his office, sitting calmly and slowly sipping his tea.

Having learned of their purpose, Han Xiaoxu calmly took a sip of tea and asked, "Do you intend to use a more complex process to mix and sinter nickel and aluminum oxide powder?"

They both nodded together.

"Nickel/alumina cermet..."

Han Xiaoxu sat up straighter, pondered for a moment, and continued, "I haven't worked with this material before, but the general process of sintering mixed powders is pretty much the same."

"It mainly includes three processes: the first is the selection and pretreatment of materials, the second is the mixing process, and the last is the molding and curing."

After he finished speaking, he asked, "Three processes, no need for detailed explanation, right?"

Zhang Minghao and Xue Kun exchanged a glance and suddenly felt that coming to find Han Mingxu was not a very reliable idea.

After they explained the problem, the other party gave a long list of textbook-like answers.

Pretreatment, mixing, sintering and curing...

Needless to say!
Han Xiaoxu squinted and continued slowly, "All sorts of process improvements are within the scope of these three processes."

"In metallurgical engineering, caustic soda mixtures are very common. More refined processes will strictly control the stability of water temperature, and computer software will be used to automatically control and dynamically adjust the moisture content of the mixture."

"The differences in processes also include one-stage, two-stage, and three-stage processes, which are complicated to explain."

"There are also special methods for manufacturing electromagnetic materials, such as semi-dry mixing, which combines the advantages of wet and dry mixing, and can..."

"I read a paper about a special manufacturing method for the positive electrode of a battery..."

Han Xiaoxu spoke at length about mixed powder sintering technology, as if lecturing a student.

Xue Kun felt dizzy and disoriented listening to this.

Zhang Minghao was relatively better, but towards the end he couldn't listen to it anymore.

They are not professionals in materials research.

When it comes to technical process issues, some technical terms are hard to understand.

One thing is certain: Professor Han Xiaoxu is indeed very professional. He talked about a lot of professional content regarding the sintering of mixed metal powders, from conventional technology to metallurgical manufacturing and then to electromagnetic material manufacturing.

Even using AI to search might not yield a more accurate or comprehensive answer than his.

They came to ask for advice, so of course we couldn't show any impatience.

The two pretended to listen attentively.

After Han Xiaoxu finished speaking, he finally stopped. He seemed to still have some things to say and asked, "Do you have any other questions?"

"No, no..."

"this one!"

Zhang Minghao and Xue Kun shook their heads in unison.

Han Xiaoxu seemed somewhat regretful. He said, "It's better to do it than to talk about it."

“You prepare the raw materials, and I can use laboratory equipment to help you manufacture materials with higher mixing and sintering cohesion using conventional methods.”

"You can all take a look together, and ask me anything you don't understand on the spot."

"That's great!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Kun reacted quickly and hurriedly said, "I'll go get the raw materials right away!"

Zhang Minghao then followed Han Xiaoxu to the laboratory.

He felt that Han Xiaoxu was reliable. She talked a lot about professional things and then came to the laboratory to demonstrate material manufacturing.

The only problem is that their slow, deliberate way of speaking is really frustrating.

……

Xue Kun brought the raw materials—nickel powder and aluminum oxide powder.

Han Xiaoxu also began preparing the materials.

From the very beginning of material pretreatment, their work was far more professional than Xue Kun's.

As he worked, he explained, "I don't know your needs, so this time I'll use a semi-wet method."

"The semi-wet method involves adding some moisture to the ingredients."

"But don't worry, all the moisture will evaporate during the final sintering process..."

After processing the materials, the second step is to mix the nickel powder and aluminum oxide powder.

Han Xiaoxu introduced the laboratory's mixing mixer, which has a relatively higher power and can mix powders more evenly.

At this point, Zhang Minghao's opinion of Han Xiaoxu changed again.

Han Xiaoxu's operation was so precise it was like a textbook example.

He is very proficient in the mixed sintering process. During the material preparation process, he also explains the principle and purpose of a certain operation, making it clear to everyone.

Zhang Minghao felt he benefited greatly.

After watching Han Xiaoxu's demonstration, I was able to significantly improve the quality of the same materials when I went back to the lab to prepare them.

Finally, sintering, molding, and curing are carried out.

Han Xiaoxu did not use any special methods; it was just normal sintering and solidification. However, the nickel/alumina metal ceramic that formed after cooling was clearly different from what they had made.

A shinier surface indicates higher internal cohesion, resulting in improved properties such as hardness, toughness, and lifespan.

As for electromagnetic properties...

"I'm not sure about that. I don't do electromagnetic research. Whether the quality of the mixed sintered material is related to its electromagnetic properties is something you'll need to measure professionally," Han Xiaoxu said, shaking his head.

"It's already very good!" Xue Kun said happily, staring at the formed material. "We just need to test its electromagnetic properties when we get back."

"Thank you, Professor Han!"

"Thank you!"

……

Five p.m.

Zhu Bingkun was still waiting in the lab. When he saw the materials Xue Kun and Zhang Minghao brought back, he asked in surprise, "Professor Han made these himself?"

"It really is different!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he said impatiently, "Let's give it a try, maybe it will work."

Xue Kun was also looking forward to it.

The two began preparations as they talked. The materials had already been sintered, so the preparations were simple.

Zhang Minghao also wanted to help, but found that Zhu Bingkun and Xue Kun had taken over the work.

He silently withdrew.

Just as Xue Kun said, materials research is too complex, and it is simply impossible for them to study materials manufacturing.

Han Xiaoxu's nickel/alumina cermet does not use overly complex processes, but because of more precise operations and more professional materials laboratory equipment, the quality of the finished products is significantly better.

But will this affect the experiment?
"Correct Perception" can determine whether experimental steps are correct or not, but it cannot predict the future.

Zhang Minghao could only wait patiently.

Before long, Xue Kun and Zhu Bingkun came out of the laboratory, and the three of them stared at the values ​​on the flow meter through the glass window.

"0, 1, 0, 1..."

"0, 1..."

"15, 33, 28, 20..."

At one point, the number jumped rapidly to the highest value '33', startling the three people outside the glass window.

"Have it!"

"33, did you see that!"

"I saw it, I saw it too! 33, the highest value, and the rate of descent has slowed down..."

"This time there will definitely be no problem!"

"It really is because of the materials..."

Xue Kun and Zhu Bingkun shouted each other a sentence, and then they got so excited that they hugged each other.

Zhang Minghao stood there motionless, all his emotions concentrated in his eyes. He stared at the readings on the measuring instrument, his breath seemingly frozen in place.

After a while, my emotions calmed down a bit.

Xue Kun and Zhu Bingkun said together, "Get ready, let's do it again!"

They worked until the early hours of the morning, conducting five experiments together.

Numerical fluctuations were detected three times, with the highest fluctuation value being '43'.

The two experiments in which no numerical fluctuations were detected also followed a pattern: the same material was used in the previous experiment. In other words, if the same material was used twice, no numerical fluctuations could be detected the second time.

At one o'clock in the morning, the laboratory lights were still on.

Zhu Bingkun stared at the recorded experimental data and asked, "Why?"

"Can't the materials be reused?"

"The previous experiments were the same; there were fluctuations the first time, but it didn't work the second time. Could it be that applying electricity can damage the internal structure of the material?"

Xue Kun pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps it's related to external factors?"

Zhang Minghao frowned.

He didn't say much, but he kept making judgments, and Xue Kun's ideas didn't receive the correct feedback.

In other words, it is not influenced by external factors.

So what is it?

"Could this be related to the 'missing step'?" Zhang Minghao pondered carefully.

Nickel/alumina cermet that has been electrified may look exactly the same as one that has not been electrified, but there may be some incomprehensible differences inside.

Xue Kun raised a new question: "It is now certain that when experiments are conducted with higher quality materials, the values ​​of the flowability meter will fluctuate."

"But there seems to be no pattern. The fluctuations occur at different times, and why does it only happen once?"

What factors influence this? Environment? Time? Temperature...?

"Yup!"

Zhang Minghao pondered for a moment, then suddenly his eyes widened, and he stood up excitedly, "Temperature! It's temperature, it must be temperature!"

"Material temperature!"

“We haven’t paid attention to this. The temperature of the material will rise after it is energized, and it may fluctuate at a certain temperature node.”

"If the temperature rises a bit, the fluctuations will disappear!"

Xue Kun became excited as he listened, and he suddenly exclaimed, "That's right, temperature!"

"If the material can be kept at a certain temperature, perhaps a second fluctuation can be detected."

Zhu Bingkun immediately stood up and rushed to the laboratory, urging, "Hurry! What are you waiting for!"

"It's been tested—!"

"I'm not sleeping anymore, I have to solve this problem!"

(End of this chapter)