The Red Era, the Opening University Speech

Chapter 129 Top-blown oxygen converter technology verification was successful!
Li Mu didn't care about the name and smiled, "Nothing. Wait until Professor Zhang wakes up and tell him that the parts will be delivered soon."

"By the way, remind him that in order to achieve high purity of oxygen, special purification technology is required."

"My suggestion here is to use nitrogen and argon."

"Oh, oh, okay, I've got it." The graduate student was stunned for a moment, then quickly took out a pen and wrote down what Li Mu said.

After Li Mu left, other graduate students who had been watching in the laboratory for a long time came out and asked curiously:

"What did he just say?"

"I think the professor thinks highly of him. He even lets him be the project leader. He shouldn't be just a show-off, right?"

"It's hard to say. He's studying a different major than us, and he's only a sophomore. How good can he be?"

……

Li Mu could actually see that the people in Professor Zhang's team had some complaints about him.

But he can't just say, "Believe me, I have a cheat!"

We can only change their views slowly.

The bad thing about cross-disciplinary research is that unless you are one of the very big names, there will be many people who question you.

……

Five or six days passed in a flash.

He went to the Semiconductor Research Institute as usual, but Li Mu's research focus was still on the top-blown oxygen converter.

After the parts from the rolling mill were delivered, performance testing and assembly experiments began quickly.

It was Friday night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.

In the Iron and Steel Metallurgy Laboratory, as several graduate students were busy working, a life-size miniature top-blown oxygen converter stood on the open space outside the laboratory.

Li Mu held a test board and, as the leader, was in charge of the overall command: "Prepare the furnace, clean the furnace cavity, add pig iron, scrap steel, and an appropriate amount of waste gas."

Following his orders, the graduate students in charge of the operation moved quickly.

……

"Preheat, raise the furnace temperature, and pay attention to controlling the speed of temperature increase."

……

"Use an oxygen lance to spray oxygen from the top of the furnace into the furnace chamber, and remove impurities and adjust the composition through the reaction of oxygen and molten metal."

……

"Add alloys, adjust the composition of molten steel, deoxidize, desulfurize, decarbonize..."

……

Watching Li Mu's skillful command, Qian Shuyan, Professor Zhang and Director Yang beside him nodded with satisfaction.

But as the process continued to advance, they couldn't help but feel anxious.

Can it be successful?

This thought popped up in both of their minds.

From proposing the plan to the first trial, they hardly encountered any difficulties.

The only time-consuming part was the production of the converter. Since the precision did not meet the requirements, several level 8 workers were specially hired to process and make the parts that met Li Mu's requirements bit by bit.

Such a speed is simply unbelievable.

Under the anxious gazes of the three people, Li Mu said the last step: "Steel production, adding deoxidizer to deoxidize and adjust the composition."

Hot molten steel is poured into the ladle from the port.

Next, we just have to wait for the molten steel to cool down.

……

12 hours later.

The sky brightened and the molten steel cooled into steel.

Li Mu immediately asked someone to inspect the quality of the steel.

After another series of complicated tests, the results were obtained: "Hardness test meets the standard, elasticity test meets the standard, mechanical test meets the standard..."

Upon hearing the news, Li Mu, Qian Shuyan and others who had stayed up all night couldn't help but smile.

Several graduate students looked at the reports in their hands with some disbelief.

Are they so successful?

Qian Shuyan was the first to come forward and applaud, congratulating them: "Congratulations, you succeeded!"

Professor Zhang and Director Yang excitedly stepped forward to congratulate him.

"This is not my own achievement. Without the help of the dean, Professor Zhang, Director Yang, and all the seniors, we would not have succeeded so quickly." Li Mu said with a smile.

This experiment really couldn't have been done without him, and I couldn't be humble even if I wanted to.

"Haha, they all deserve credit, they all deserve credit." Director Yang laughed so hard that his teeth were showing, and then he suddenly realized and said:

"No, I have to go to the First Machinery Department in Kyoto right away and tell my boss the good news!"

"The experiment was successful, and the next step is to build a real industrial-grade converter!"

"Once the industrial-grade top-blown oxygen converter is successfully put into production, our country's steel production will probably increase several times!"

"The benefits to our country's industrialization will be enormous!"

Seeing his excitement, everyone present couldn't help but smile.

However, Li Mu quickly stopped Director Yang and said, "The top-blown oxygen converter is still at the laboratory stage. This success only shows that there are no technical problems."

"To successfully build an industrial-grade top-blown oxygen converter, there will definitely be considerable difficulties, and it will not be accomplished overnight!"

After hearing his words, Director Yang's excitement faded a lot, but he insisted: "No matter what, this is a big breakthrough."

"Steel production is related to the development of our country's basic industry. It won't hurt to let the Ministry of Machinery Industry in Kyoto know the news in advance so that they can prepare."

One machine department.

After Director Yang went to Kyoto to report to the First Ministry of Machine Building, the news was passed up the chain of command and soon reached Leader Qiu.

When he heard that someone had made a top-blown oxygen converter, he was a little confused.

Wasn’t Li Mu researching semiconductors? When did he start working in chemical engineering and metallurgy?
"You are talking about the same person, isn't it just a coincidence that they have the same name and surname?" Leader Qiu couldn't help but ask.

Upon hearing this, Director Yang said happily: "Leader, it's Li Mu, Li Mu from Beijing Institute of Technology!"

After getting the confirmation, Leader Qiu couldn't help but stand up from his seat, his face full of shock.

"How is this possible? He has made several nationally sensational achievements in semiconductors. You tell me he also knows how to smelt steel? How old is he?"

"When Li Mu is 30 or 40 years old, when he starts to see real results..."

Leader Qiu walked around the office almost in an out-of-control manner.

"It is a blessing for the country and the nation to have a genius like Li Mu!"

After a long while, Leader Qiu finally got over his shock, but he still couldn't suppress his excitement and kept sighing:

"That's a top-blown oxygen converter. Our country has been researching this for a long time, but we still haven't made any breakthroughs in this key technology!"

"Once the plant is built and put into production, it will have a revolutionary impact on steel production!"

He walked around excitedly, surprised at Li Mu's achievements and delighted at the creation of the top-blown oxygen converter.

Having reached this position, ordinary things would not make him so excited. But the top-blown oxygen converter could even indirectly affect the fate of Xia country, which was too important!
After the excitement, Leader Qiu couldn't wait to see the machine and said, "Let's go and call the experts from the First Ministry of Machine Building. Let's go to the Beijing Institute of Technology and congratulate our hero!"

……

When they arrived at the Beijing Institute of Technology, more than a dozen experts from the First Ministry of Machinery studied the top-blown oxygen converter for a long time, looked at the steel produced, and gave the following results:

"Although the quality is still not as good as that of Big Brother and Emperor M, it is far superior to our old open-hearth steelmaking technology."

"According to conservative estimates, under the same scale conditions, infrastructure investment and production costs will be reduced by one-third compared to open-hearth furnaces."

"Moreover, this new technology shortens the time it takes to smelt a furnace of steel from 7 hours in an open-hearth furnace to 1 hour, increasing efficiency by 7 times. This is undoubtedly a major revolution in the history of my country's metallurgy!"

"Once the production line is successfully put into operation, our country's annual steel production can be conservatively estimated to reach nearly 2000 million tons!"

Hearing this answer, Leader Qiu was so excited that he couldn't help but waved his hands excitedly and said, "Great, that's great!"

He knew very well how heavy the country's annual steel production task was.

In the past, even if it was barely completed, out of 1000 million tons of steel, more than 300 million tons of local steel and more than 400 million tons of local iron could not be used at all.

But now, with the top-blown oxygen converter, not only the efficiency can be guaranteed, but also the quality. How can he not be happy!
Thinking of this, Leader Qiu quickly said to Li Mu, Qian Shuyan and Professor Zhang who were accompanying him:
"The top-blown oxygen converter is very important and must be industrialized as soon as possible, with production lines established and put into use nationwide."

"One second late is a huge loss for our country!"

Hearing this, Qian Shuyan and Professor Zhang both turned their gazes towards Li Mu.

I'm afraid he is the only one who knows whether industrialization can be achieved and how to achieve it.

Seeing this, other experts also looked at him, sizing up this extremely famous genius in the Ministry of Machine Building with curiosity.

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Li Mu thought for a moment and said, "Leader Qiu, the top-blown oxygen converter is still in the laboratory stage. I cannot guarantee when it will be able to be industrialized with the highest efficiency."

"But please rest assured, we will study it as soon as possible and strive to make that day come as soon as possible!"

After hearing this, Leader Qiu was not unhappy at all. Instead, he was very pleased and said:
"Okay, I feel relieved after hearing your words. Scientific research must be down-to-earth and not empty."

"I'll have the First Ministry of Machine Building fully cooperate with your research. If you need anything, just let me know!"

……

Not long after Leader Qiu left, the news that the Beijing Institute of Technology had developed a top-blown oxygen converter quickly reached the Institute of Chemical Metallurgy under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

When they learned that someone else had accomplished something that they had failed to accomplish in countless experiments, everyone's reaction was disbelief.

The then director Ye Zhupei immediately led his men and rushed straight to the Beijing Institute of Technology.

……

When Qian Shuyan got the news and rushed over, Ye Zhupei had already arrived downstairs of the laboratory building.

After the two introduced themselves to each other, the latter immediately asked to see the top-blown oxygen converter.

When Ye Zhupei saw the huge machine standing in the open space outside the laboratory, he took a few deep breaths, suppressed his excitement and asked someone to come forward to verify it.

Soon, someone came forward to report: "Director, there is absolutely no problem. The top-blown oxygen converter has really been made!"

"Moreover, the oxygen lance used is a multi-hole oxygen lance, which has greatly improved the stirring capacity and slag-melting speed compared with the single-hole oxygen lance we are currently developing."

Upon hearing the result, Ye Zhupei's pupils shrank slightly, and his face, which had remained calm until now, was filled with shock.

He snatched the data from the researcher's hand and read it carefully word by word.

Even after every item was confirmed to be correct, he still found it hard to believe it was true!
"We have worked hard for several years, but we never expected that you would have done it first!" Ye Zhupei's mouth was full of bitterness, but a bit of joy soon appeared in his eyes.

No matter who completes it, as long as it is completed, it is a great thing for the country.

He does not wish to compete for fame and fortune. If possible, he would like to join in and work together to realize the construction and production of the top-blown oxygen converter as soon as possible!
Thinking of this, he didn't have time to feel disappointed anymore. He looked at Qian Shuyan beside him and immediately said, "I want to meet the research team and the person in charge of the top-blown oxygen converter. I wonder if they are free now?"

"Haha, of course you can. They are having a meeting nearby." Qian Shuyan made a gesture of invitation and then smiled as he led Ye Zhupei and others to the meeting room at the end of the laboratory building.

As soon as they reached the door, Ye Zhupei and others saw a young man talking on the stage.

There was nothing strange about this scene. What was strange was that a group of experts and old professors in their forties and fifties sitting below were listening attentively.

Listening to a lecture?

Ye Zhupei couldn't help but feel a little amused. How could such a thing happen to a young man teaching a bunch of experts and professors?

……

On the stage, Li Mu was talking about the issues of industrial design of top-blown oxygen converters. He felt a little surprised when he saw Qian Shuyan suddenly turn back and there were some strangers around him.

He gestured to pause, then walked out of the meeting room and asked, "Dean, who are they?"

"This is Ye Zhupei, the director of the Institute of Chemical Metallurgy. He heard that our school has made a top-blown oxygen converter, so he came to take a look." Qian Shuyan introduced with a smile.

When they heard that it was the director of the Chemical Metallurgy Research Institute, the experts from the Ministry of Machine Building and professors from the Beijing Institute of Technology all showed signs of understanding.

"Hello, Director Ye." Li Mu greeted him.

"Hello, hello." Ye Zhupei nodded politely to Li Mu, then turned his gaze to the people inside and asked loudly, "Excuse me, who is Professor Li Mu?"

Hearing his question, everyone sitting in the conference room couldn't help laughing.

"The professor doesn't have one, but the student does have one." Professor Zhang joked, making everyone smile.

"Director Ye, I am Li Mu, but I am not a professor." Li Mu explained quickly.

Although he is nominally an "expert", he is only an expert in the semiconductor industry. He is not good at chemical engineering and metallurgy.

Still a student.

"You are Li Mu, and you made the top-blown oxygen converter?" Ye Zhupei said with eyes wide open, in disbelief.

That is to say, even if the enemy spies sent him information, he felt that it was much more reasonable than a top-blown oxygen converter made by a young man.

Looking at his surprised expression, Li Mu nodded slightly and said:

"It was me, but I can't say that I did it alone. It was the result of the joint efforts of everyone in the Iron and Steel Metallurgy Laboratory of Beijing Institute of Technology."

It’s not reasonable to work together!
Ye Zhupei couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart. He knew Professor Zhang from the Iron and Steel Metallurgy Experiment of Beijing Institute of Technology. He knew that Professor Zhang was capable, but it was impossible for him to achieve a technological breakthrough in such a short period of time.

Then I am afraid that the key to the success of the top-blown oxygen converter lies in the young people before us.

Ye Zhupei couldn't help but sigh:

"Heroes have always emerged from youth. I never thought you would be so capable at such a young age!"

"Our Chemical Metallurgy Research Institute is much better than yours in terms of both talent and technical equipment, but we have not yet developed a top-blown oxygen converter."

"Alas, I am incompetent as the director!"

When he said the latter, his eyes were full of shame.

Hearing this, Li Mu hurriedly said:

"Director Ye, you can't say that."

"Without the foundation you laid, we wouldn't have been able to succeed so quickly."

"You have proposed the 'three transfers and one reaction' cognitive framework of momentum, heat energy, material transfer and chemical reaction, as well as the 'three highs' theory of high pressure furnace top, high wind temperature and high humidity blast."

"It was their inspiration that enabled us to develop the top-blown oxygen converter so quickly."

In fact, he was more ashamed. Inventing the top-blown oxygen converter was tantamount to depriving Ye Zhupei and others of their achievements.

"Hahaha, no need to say these empty words. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't." Ye Zhupei laughed twice, then waved his hand.

"Come on, sit down, let's all learn."

Having said that, he took the lead and sat down in the conference room.

Finally, he remembered that he hadn't asked Li Mu yet, so he added, "You don't mind if we sit in on the class, right?"

(End of this chapter)