Reborn in 2011, I am the chief designer of aerospace.

Chapter 94 A Flash of Inspiration: A Proposal for Rocket Decoction

Song Xingye took stock of his family's assets and managed to save up a sum of money.

In addition to the one-time talent subsidy of 300,000 yuan from the Dongyu Group's Star Project, there is also a special contribution bonus of 200,000 yuan from Firefly No. 1, plus the 10,000 yuan prize money from the previous CTOC competition.

Before he knew it, he had become a "small millionaire" with a net worth of half a million.

Considering that the East China Institute's factories and institutes in Shanghai are scattered in Minhang, Songjiang and Xuhui districts, the commuting costs and time costs would be too high if he relied solely on taking taxis and squeezing onto the subway, so Song Xingye simply bought a car.

A gray Mazda 6, with a price of 14 yuan, is understated and practical.

Now all that's left is the license plate. Unlike Beijing, where license plates are obtained through a lottery, in Shanghai, everyone bids for a license plate, and only the highest bidder gets a license plate.

Because it was profitable, many scalpers made a living by bidding on behalf of others, and often maliciously disrupted the system. That's why Song Xingye sought help from Qin Rui, a computer genius.

Across from him, Qin Rui was typing away on his computer, muttering curses at the scalpers causing trouble.

Song Xingye calmed down and focused on studying the magazine.

The medical technology advertised here is a device developed by Wison Medical Corporation specifically for treating thrombosis, also known as a thrombus crusher.

Out of curiosity, Song Xingye turned on his computer and first searched for background information about Huisheng Medical Company.

Then, a video demonstrating how the shredder works was found.

He clicked on the video and watched it intently.

The application scenario for this "shredder" is very clear: it is mainly used to solve the stubborn problem of blood clots easily forming in precision medical devices such as artificial valves.

Its design logic is based on the premise that "thrombosis will inevitably form":

Once a blood clot appears, the crusher's sensing mechanism will quickly detect it and then activate the core components to completely break up and dissolve the blood clot.

The entire physical principle is not complicated; Song Xingye understood it after only reading it once.

Professor Xu's coronary artery stenting surgery used the company's thrombus fragmenter.

Without using a thrombus clearer beforehand, the stent cannot be successfully implanted into the blood vessel.

As Song Xingye rubbed his chin in deep thought, he continued his online search.

Even on an international scale, this technology is among the most advanced and cutting-edge.

Currently, the mainstream international methods for removing blood clots mostly rely on traditional anticoagulants and antiplatelet drugs.

Although effective, it often fails to completely dissolve stubborn blood clots in blood vessels;

Even more challenging is that a significant number of patients are unable to take medication long-term due to side effects or complications.

This means that once a blood clot forms in the stent, it can often only be removed physically through a second surgery.

It can be said that Wison Medical's thrombus shredder has completely overcome the thrombosis problem that has plagued countless patients with an unprecedentedly efficient physical method.

Song Xingye was interested in this medical publication because of the concept of "thrombus fragmentation".

He was reminded of something else.

Since even such sensitive and delicate physiological structures as artificial valves and coronary arteries can be protected from thrombus buildup through ingenious device design—

Is it possible to extract this design concept from the medical field and transplant it to another field?

For example, what about the aerospace field?

Song Xingye's mood suddenly lifted.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this matter had potential. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "How come I never thought of this before!"

Although aerospace components are also manufactured with high precision, can they be more precise than the delicate and complex arteries of the human body?

Song Xingye immediately pulled out his notebook and began sketching on the paper.

Based on the principle of thrombus shredders, he drew a conceptual sketch of a coal pulverizer, similar to the stent used in heart bypass surgery.

After finishing the concept sketches, Song Xingye began to work out his ideas in his notebook.

One of the major challenges facing the Long March 5 rocket is the coking of kerosene.

In the high-temperature combustion environment of a rocket engine, liquid oxygen and kerosene are prone to carbonaceous deposits and residues due to the thermal decomposition of kerosene.

This phenomenon is determined by the chemical properties of kerosene and is almost impossible to prevent at its source.

Therefore, globally, all rocket engines that use liquid oxygen and kerosene fuel cannot completely avoid the problem of coking.

These deposits accelerate engine wear and corrosion, significantly reducing the engine's lifespan.

As for the Long March 5 rocket from Dongguo, as the first domestic model to use liquid oxygen and kerosene fuel, it is obviously still in the exploratory stage and has little experience in how to avoid the hidden dangers caused by coking.

But at this moment, Song Xingye glimpsed a glimmer of hope for solving the problem from the small thrombus crusher.

Blood clots and kerosene residue are essentially the same thing!

One is stagnation in human arteries, and the other is deposition in rocket engine pipelines.

Since blood clots and kerosene residue are incurable "stubborn problems," and since they are constantly being generated, the only thing humans can do is to remove them as promptly and efficiently as possible!

Song Xingye slowly sorted out his thoughts, and suddenly his mind became clear.

He thought this thrombus crusher was truly an amazing technology!

Once this technology is successfully applied to liquid oxygen/kerosene rockets, the maiden flight of the Long March 5 rocket could be brought forward by at least a few years, and even the development cycle of future reusable rockets would be significantly shortened.

Realizing the immense strategic value it contained, Song Xingye made a decisive decision to immediately report to someone.

However, on his way to the headquarters building, he thought for a moment and then went to the Aerospace Building on Caoxi Road instead to see Li Difeng in person.

Academician Li has been very busy lately. Song Xingye had no idea what he was busy with. Every time he asked him to sign documents, he was either in a meeting or on his way to one.

After greeting the academician's assistant, Song Xingye waited patiently in Academician Li's office.

They waited for about two hours until Li Difeng, who had just finished a technical discussion, pushed open the door and entered with slightly tired steps.

Song Xingye had already diligently prepared the tea, and upon seeing this, he quickly brought it over to the old comrade.

Seeing this, Academician Li smiled and said, "What brings you here today? You're usually busy substituting for Old Xu or working on that lightning-inducing rocket. How come you've been sitting here for two hours waiting for me?"

Song Xingye scratched his head and laughed, "No matter what, you're the mentor assigned by the group, so I'll definitely come to you for advice first when I have questions."

"Heh, don't give me that. Tell me, what problems are you having with your lightning-attracting rocket?"

Li Difeng slowly sipped his tea. "I'll give you ten minutes to briefly explain the technical difficulties, and I'll give you some advice."

Academician Li actually valued this anonymous disciple quite a bit. If it were any other disciple who dared to ask him about such a "trivial" thing as a lightning-inducing rocket, he would have dismissed them with a few words.

After all, the projects he was involved in were all major national projects such as the Long March 5 rocket, the lunar exploration program, the Mars exploration program, and the manned space station. He didn't have time to think about small rockets.

Seeing this, Song Xingye waved his hands repeatedly, his eyes burning with determination. "Teacher, it's not about the lightning-inducing rocket. It's about the Great Wall-5—I've been having some free time lately, so I've been re-examining the problem of kerosene coking and discovered an excellent solution!"

"You little brat—"

Li Difeng was momentarily at a loss as to whether to praise his skill and daring or laugh at his wild ideas.

"You can solve the kerosene coking problem in the Long March 5 rocket? Hah, kid, think carefully before you answer. This is no small problem; it's a headache for so many top engine experts, scientists, and mechanical engineers across the country. You think you can just solve it like that?"

He put down his teacup and said earnestly, "Looking back, for decades, generations of rocket scientists have dedicated themselves to solving the coking problem in kerosene rockets, but unfortunately, none of them have achieved good results. These are problems left over from the era of Wernher von Braun, Korolev, and Qian Xuesen—how could they be easily solved?"

"But I think my line of thinking is somewhat sound —"

Song Xingye said with a smile, "Besides, sometimes what scientific development lacks—is precisely that spark of inspiration. Braun's era didn't solve it because the technology wasn't there. But things are different now. This is the 21st century, an era of technological explosion, where anything is possible—"

"Alright, alright, stop going off-topic."

Li Difeng chuckled and interrupted him, "Just tell me your thought process, and I'll give my opinion on whether this flash of inspiration is reliable."

Song Xingye immediately stopped talking nonsense, stood in front of the desk, and clearly explained the working principle of Huisheng Medical's "thrombus crusher".

He then proposed that since the thrombus fragmentation device is a precision medical device that can be applied to fragile heart vessels, it naturally possesses the three major advantages of durability, safety, and high efficiency.

If that's the case, why can't the same effect be achieved when transplanted to an equally sophisticated rocket engine?

Academician Li listened attentively, resting his chin on his hand. At first, he seemed a little absent-minded, but as Song Xingye spoke, the casualness in his eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.

As he listened, he even unconsciously transformed from a listener into a participant, exclaiming, "—That's certainly a unique perspective. Since kerosene coking can't be eradicated chemically, let's tackle it physically. If the residue produced by each engine combustion could be instantly crushed and expelled, like clearing a blood clot, then the threat would truly be eliminated!"

Song Xingye snapped his fingers, his eyebrows dancing with excitement, and said, "What do you think? You agree, this is a great idea, right?"

Just then, the academician's assistant gently knocked on the door: "Academician Li—the meeting with Institute 801 is about to start at 3 PM this afternoon, would you like to know—"

Li Difeng's thoughts were interrupted. He waved his hand and said, "Let Lao Li take charge. He knows the specific topics. I have important matters to attend to, so don't worry about me."

"OK----"

After his assistant left, Li Difeng immersed himself completely in his discussion with Song Xingye.

This conversation lasted until the sky darkened.

The entire afternoon passed, and the meeting at Institute 801 ended, but he didn't show up in the meeting room, having almost completely forgotten about it.

As the city lights began to twinkle outside the window, Academician Li smacked his lips, still seemingly reluctant to leave, and glanced at his watch. "Wow—it's already this late. I've been chatting with you for four or five hours without realizing it. Come on, let me take you to eat. You've been at the East China Institute for so long, and you haven't tried the cafeteria in this building yet, have you?"

The master and apprentice walked out of the office chatting and laughing.

The assistant was completely dumbfounded, unable to understand what earth-shattering matter the two of them had discussed that made Academician Li so enthusiastic.

This self-disciplined chief scientist of the Eighth Academy rarely misses important technical discussions, especially since today's discussion with the 801 Institute concerns the power failure problem of the DF-5B.

With Li Difeng's support and affirmation, Song Xingye was full of energy.

Upon returning to the hospital headquarters in Zhuanqiao Town, he enthusiastically collected various materials on thrombus crushers and conducted a detailed and meticulous discussion on how to remove coke and carbon from liquid oxygen kerosene rockets.

Academician Li gave him a month to compile these ideas into a written "Technical Feasibility Report".

Once the report is finalized, Li Difeng will personally submit it in his capacity as an academician, and it will be discussed by Lu Zhenhuan and several senior members of the academy.

Of course, this is not to take credit, but because solving the coking problem of the Long March 5 rocket is a major issue, and only when an academician takes the lead can it be more likely to get the attention of the higher authorities.

Song Xingye lived up to expectations, completing the thick report ahead of schedule in just three weeks.

He checked the report with his fault-predicting eye, picked out a few potential logical loopholes and corrected and supplemented them, and confirmed that the entire report was flawless before rushing to the Aerospace Building to hand it over to Li Difeng.

Li Difeng then took Song Xingye to personally report to Dean Lu.

Lu Zhenhuan finished reviewing the report in his office.

He nodded. After all, he was the dean with a technical background and was not an outsider. In addition, Song Xingye's writing style was concise and precise, so he quickly understood it.

"That's a good idea—applying techniques for treating heart thrombosis to address coking in rocket engines is indeed a brilliant concept!"

Seeing this, Li Difeng and Song Xingye exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing an excited smile.

Lu Zhenhuan pondered for a moment and said, "This matter—um—we shouldn't inform the North China Institute for now. Let's handle it behind closed doors."

"Huh?" Li Difeng was taken aback. "Will this work?"

"What's wrong with that?"

Lu Zhenhuan said irritably, "This is not just a solution to the coking problem of the Long March 5 rocket; all liquid oxygen and kerosene rockets in the world need this technology."

Although the Long March 5 rocket isn't under our overall command, keeping this technology with the Eighth Academy is absolutely the right thing to do. If we develop it ourselves, we'll have the resources and peace of mind. How could we easily hand over such a valuable technology to the First Academy?

Upon hearing this, Academician Li Difeng nodded in deep agreement, "Yes—the First Academy, relying on its status as the elder brother, has taken advantage of us so much in the past. We can't let them get all the good things. Back then, our Storm Project—"

"Oh, let's not bring up those old, trivial matters."

Lu Zhenhuan waved his hand, cutting off the conversation, "In short, hold onto this document for now and get it done within the East China Institute. We'll act first and report later. Once the results are implemented and the patents are in hand, we'll report to the group level and the First Academy, and see how they try to reap the benefits then!"