Material Empire

Zhou Linlei may still have some concerns, so his words were a little vague. After listening to his narration, Qin Hai recalled in his mind the equipment that needed this kind of performance material, and combined with the No. 98 steel material that Ji Mingchu mentioned earlier, he could already guess the material that Zhou Linlei was concerned about.

"Zhou Gong is talking about the sealing material of the steam catapult, right?" Qin Hai asked with a smile.

High temperature and sealing, these two requirements have already pointed to very clearly. In addition, Ji Mingchu said that the success of the development of No. 98 steel has a relationship with this work, and No. 98 steel is used to build aircraft carriers. If you can't guess the purpose of this sealing material, you can call yourself a material genius in vain.

The so-called steam catapult is a device used on aircraft carriers to eject aircraft. China's aircraft carrier transformed from the Varyag of the former Soviet Union uses a ski-jump take-off method, which is only suitable for fighter jets with light weight. For relatively cumbersome bombers, early warning aircraft, and heavy fighters, it is not enough to obtain sufficient lift simply by gliding on the deck of an aircraft carrier, and it is necessary to achieve the necessary take-off speed by means of ejection.

At present, there is only steam ejection in the world. Its principle is to use high-temperature and high-pressure steam to push a set of sliders on the deck, so that the sliders are pushed forward at a very high speed. The aircraft that needs to be catapulted to take off is connected with the slide block, and when the slide block slides, it drives the advance of the aircraft. When the aircraft reaches a sufficient initial velocity, release the slider, and the aircraft will be able to fly.

The pipe of the steam catapult is a structure with a gap at the top, and a piston in the pipe can slide under the push of high-pressure steam. The piston is connected with the slider outside the pipeline through a connecting piece, and can drive the slider to move together when sliding. The connecting piece must be able to move at high speed along the gap of the pipeline, and at the same time prevent the high-pressure steam in the pipeline from leaking out through the gap, so the middle seal is very critical. It must meet the requirements of wear resistance, high temperature resistance and good sealing performance. conditions, the requirements for materials are very stringent.

Qin Hai had participated in the demonstration of the sealing material of the steam catapult device in his previous life, so he knew something about this technology, so when he heard Zhou Linlei say this, he knew what the other party wanted.

"This..." Zhou Linlei didn't expect Qin Hai to be able to guess what he was referring to, and he was a little at a loss for a while. The construction of the aircraft carrier is a military secret, and the research and development of the steam catapult is naturally within the scope of secrecy. It is very unexpected that such a confidential matter is revealed by others. He turned his head to look at Ji Mingchu, not knowing whether to admit it or deny it.

Ji Mingchu laughed heartily: "Xiao Zhou, do you understand now? Xiao Qin is not an ordinary person, and what you say can't be hidden from his eyes at all. I don't think you need to hide it anymore. Just say what you want."

Zhou Linlei is also in his 50s, but he can only be called Xiao Zhou in Ji Mingchu's mouth. Hearing what Ji Mingchu said, a bit of embarrassment appeared on his face, and he turned to look at Qin Hai, humming and haha, not knowing where to start.

"According to the information I have read, the steam catapults used on US aircraft carriers use double-layer steel belts as seals, with a layer of special rubber embedded in the middle. Zhou Gong now finds it difficult whether it is the steel belt or the rubber. ?” Qin Hai asked, he intentionally mentioned the situation of the US military in order to cover up his knowledge of the matter, making Zhou Linlei think that he might have learned about this technology from foreign military materials.

Sure enough, Zhou Linlei was relieved when he heard Qin Hai talk about the US military. Now that Qin Hai has a good understanding of the relevant technologies, he doesn't need to hide any more, so he said honestly: "Comrade Xiao Qin is really well-informed, and he has paid attention to the technologies of foreign troops. That's right, we are The steam catapult developed refers to the design idea of ​​the US aircraft carrier. It uses two layers of steel belts sandwiching a layer of rubber as a seal. At present, some progress has been made in the research of high temperature resistant rubber, but the steel belt materials on both sides are still in existence. more difficult."

"What is the difficulty, the precision of the processing?" Qin Hai asked.

Zhou Linlei shook his head and said: "The problem of processing precision can be solved, but the problem of wear resistance of the steel belt is difficult. The steel belt and the pipe must be tightly bonded to prevent steam from leaking out, and at the same time the steel belt must slide at high speed. We have done experiments, and the existing steel will basically wear out after about 200 times of reciprocating sliding, which cannot meet the practical requirements at all.”

Even in normal times, aircraft on an aircraft carrier have to take off and land dozens of times a day as daily training. In wartime, there may be hundreds of takeoffs and landings in a day. If the service life of the steel belt is only 200 times, it means that the steel belt needs to be replaced every one or two days. And replacing the steel belt is not a simple operation, and it may take several days to change it once. Therefore, a steel belt that can only be used reciprocally 200 times is no different from a waste product, and cannot meet the requirements of normal use at all.

Qin Hai understood this truth, he nodded, and said: "If this is the case, then it is necessary to develop a steel with better wear resistance. performance while avoiding wear and tear, right?"

"Exactly." Zhou Linlei replied. Qin Hai was able to state the performance requirements of the material so clearly, which surprised Zhou Linlei. He always thought that Qin Hai was just an entrepreneur. Limited to some furs. Listening to what Qin Hai said now, he seemed like an expert.

"The performance of the material is very clear, but it is very difficult to develop. We have invited many steel experts to conduct demonstrations, but there is no good solution yet." Zhou Linlei said.

"Our School of Materials can give it a try." Qin Hai said, in fact, he didn't have any good ideas about this kind of steel, it was just because Ji Mingchu called him, and he was obliged to do this.

Zhou Linlei was not polite. When he heard that Qin Hai took this matter to himself, instead of expressing his gratitude, he asked aggressively, "If you do it, when will you be able to come up with qualified products?"

"It's really hard to say." Qin Hai frowned. There are too many uncontrollable factors in material development. If you are lucky, you may just happen to find the right formula and smelting process all at once, and solve the problem without spending too much time. But when you are unlucky, you may just turn left and right at the gate you finally found and fail to get the point, and just spend a few years casually. According to Qin Hai's own experience, the latter situation is more common in material development. Researchers often have to take dozens of detours before they suddenly find that the right path is in front of them.

Zhou Linlei turned his head to Ji Mingchu, smiled wryly, and said: "Chief, if this is the case, our problem has not been solved. Both the Seventh Institute and the Fifteenth Institute have indicated that they can do research in this area, but their situation is different from that of Comrade Xiao Qin. The same, I don’t have a clear idea yet, so I can only keep trying. If I do this, I’m worried that I won’t be able to keep up with the progress of the equipment.”

Ji Mingchu also frowned. When Zhou Linlei first reported the matter to him, he thought of asking Qin Hai to help. Based on Qin Hai's previous performances, Ji Mingchu felt that he should be able to create another miracle and solve this problem in a short time. Now it seems that there are times when Qin Hai can't solve the problem, which makes Ji Mingchu a little disappointed.

"Xiao Qin, don't you have any good solutions to solve this problem within a year or two?" Ji Mingchu asked unwillingly.

Qin Haidao: "Zhou Gong is very clear about this. The requirements for this kind of steel are too harsh, and the same requirements are basically not found in the civilian field, so it is difficult to find products that can be used for reference. Americans have ready-made technology, but They are also highly confidential about this, and there is no public information at all. If we can find a way to get some of this steel, even if it is just some iron filings, it will increase our research progress by more than several times."

"Iron filings?" Ji Mingchu thought for a while, then shook his head, and said, "Don't think about this idea. We don't have such a strong ability to get iron filings from US aircraft carriers."

"Even if our people can board the US aircraft carrier, they may not be able to find iron filings. The steel belt and the groove on the pipe are closely combined. If there is iron filings falling in it, the steel belt will be worn out long ago." Zhou Linlei added.

"That's true... Wait, what did you just say?" Qin Hai responded casually, and then suddenly felt a spark flash in his mind, as if he had thought of an important question, and asked Zhou Linlei quickly.

"Me just now?" Zhou Linlei was a little puzzled. He thought about it and said: "I said just now that the steel belt used by the US military cannot grind iron filings. The joint surface between the steel belt and the pipe is very smooth. Impurities are impossible to have, otherwise the steam would leak out."

"Yes! That's the sentence." Qin Hai asked with joy, "Can you be sure that they are directly combined? I mean, is there no lubricant in between?"

"Lubricant?" Zhou Linlei was stunned for a moment, and then said: "We have also considered this issue. If a layer of lubricating material can be added between the steel belt and the pipe groove, it can indeed play a buffer role, thereby reducing the wear of the steel. But the question is, what kind of lubricating material can withstand such a high temperature? There is not only the temperature of high-pressure steam, but also the heat generated by the friction of the steel belt. We have calculated that the instantaneous temperature may reach more than 800 degrees. It will decompose at this temperature."

Qin Hai smiled and said, "Of course it won't work with grease, but if it is replaced with other lubricating materials, the temperature of 800 degrees is not a problem."

"What material are you talking about?" Zhou Linlei asked, staring at Qin Hai.

"Tan, what do you think?" Qin Hai replied with a confident smile.