Canteen System Assistance Notes

"Hey."

Du Youlin responded, "Engineer Lu, I'm keeping an eye on this place."

"Next, don't dismantle the tripod too quickly. You'd better check the lining on top," Lu Gangtie instructed, his voice hoarse and panting. "Then we'll start loading the materials. The shavings and dry firewood will go at the bottom, and then fill the top with coke and lumps. Um, don't forget the air duct, don't block it completely... Um, uh, I'll check it again when the time comes, one more time."

"Hey, okay, okay."

He became excited again: "When I came in just now, the materials for the furnace were already prepared outside. Comrades, you must work harder. We can't fall behind here! On the day of the furnace opening, if everything goes well, we will be able to burn out red hot metal. By then, the open-hearth furnace will be finished..."

Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly shook and fell down with a thud.

Du Youlin was quick to react, dropping his tools and leaping over to hug Lu Gangtie. The surrounding workers erupted in a commotion, rushing to support the great engineer. Some even emerged from the furnace and rushed to find the doctor who was standing nearby.

"It's okay! It's okay... I'm probably just too tired."

Du Youlin looked at Lu Gangtie who had already started snoring, smiled bitterly and repeated,

"I think he's fine, but, well..."

He sighed.

Chapter 57: Stacking Materials, Starting Fire, and Supplying Air

Canteen System Assistance

By Forgotten Maple X

2134 words

2020-11-10 12: 00: 00

Starting up a blast furnace is a troublesome matter, involving many, even tedious, preparation steps and technical points, as well as a considerable amount of "experience". These tricks that cannot be recorded in writing even determine the "service life" of a blast furnace to a large extent.

The 200-cubic-meter blast furnace built by the Eighth Route Army was a world-leading, short, and robust blast furnace. No one in China had comprehensive experience in its construction and operation, and there was a lack of mid-level technicians like Du Youlin. This forced commanding engineers like Lu Gangtie to personally direct and even personally operate the furnace.

A strong sense of responsibility and mission, as well as a fanatical pursuit of new technologies, made this steel university student who had studied abroad extremely excited. He eventually exceeded the limits of the human body and fell asleep at the construction site.

Fortunately, the food on the construction site was very good, even providing meat (meat oil) every day and meat (minced meat vegetables) every week. After being forced to rest for five days by the patrol team back in the dormitory, Lu Gangtie finally returned to the construction site and was able to continue following the preparations for the blast furnace construction.

After the 7-day pre-baking, the blast furnace has entered the time of preparation for startup, and it is in a state where the arrow is on the string and has to be fired.

The investment-saving spherical heat storage hot air furnace cut off the hot air output, allowing the furnace to slowly cool to room temperature. After inspecting the lining and carbon bricks, the workers on site began to load the furnace with starting materials: wood mixed with shavings, coke that has been selected and coked, and iron ore produced by Huinong and mixed and sintered - these are the so-called "normal materials", which are the raw materials prepared for iron smelting after the furnace is opened.

Considering that mixed sintering is a brand-new technology combination, several general commanders on site comprehensively considered the conditions of German blast furnaces, Japanese blast furnaces and domestic blast furnaces that they had learned, added some limestone to the waist of the furnace, and finally filled the blast furnace with a precisely proportioned ironmaking mixture until the loading line at the top of the furnace.

Finally, each subsystem was checked three times in a row, from loading, to air intake, to iron mouth, slag mouth and tuyere. Several metallurgical students from the Eighth Route Army who may have only been able to command earthen blast furnaces in history almost went through every corner of the blast furnace with a magnifying glass, doing everything possible to check any risks and hidden dangers they could think of.

On a certain day in February 1938, a day that was later highlighted in textbooks and history books, the No. 1 blast furnace of the Huinong Iron and Steel Complex finally had its opening moment.

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"Hot wind?"

"Alright. We've been preparing for this half a day in advance. The regenerative furnaces are working alternately to keep the temperature above 700!"

"tuyere?"

"No problem! I've checked it, there's no leaks. I've also selected the vents I'm going to remove, and I've double-checked the installation and disassembly."

"Feed?"

"I had the curlers memorize the proportions for each stage, and also instructed them on the angles and sequence. I personally oversaw this."

Lu Gangtie, the on-site commander, asked questions of the team leaders in front of him. In the windowless blast furnace workshop, a bustling crowd of people came and went. Du Youlin was among the team leaders. Here, he not only met his former coworkers, but also became their old buddy: a furnace team leader.

"We'll start the furnace later. Do you know what to do?" Lu Gangtie finally asked him. "Have you memorized the operating manual?"

"Remember! Hey!"

Du Youlin shuddered and uttered a sigh. Immediately, he felt the gazes of everyone around him converge on him, poking at his spine. He stood up straight and shouted in front of the on-site commander:

"The furnace crew must conduct a rehearsal test run before the furnace is turned on, and they are responsible for furnace operations after the furnace is turned on! This includes providing backup ignition rods, cleaning and blowing ash, and monitoring the iron mouth and slag outlet..."

Whether it was nervousness or excessive effort, Du Youlin's voice cracked, and his originally powerful shout suddenly became a duck's quack. This made the surrounding workers all laugh. Many of them were former colleagues from the Jinyang Iron Works, and they already had a tacit understanding of cooperation. Furthermore, during their time at the Eighth Route Army Iron Works, their salaries were paid without deductions, their meals were plentiful, and their families and children were taken care of. Everyone was very motivated.

Even someone like Du Youlin was driven by this enthusiastic and positive atmosphere. Here, there was no worry about finding the next meal to feed his family, nor was there any calculation about soaring prices. He could no longer convince himself that he had to do this just to make a living.

"If the hot air temperature is not high enough, use the backup ignition method and feed ignition oil cotton into the furnace! After cleaning the fly ash, pay attention to the taphole. If you see slag, seal it immediately. Then, monitor the furnace bottom temperature and estimate the molten iron inside!" Du Youlin said loudly, his voice choking as he fought back the blushing shame. "The slag pool must be clean and dry! The molten iron channel must also be clean and dry! When the first batch of molten iron comes out, take samples and hand them over to the experimenter!"

He pointed to the experimenter at the side, who was the most highly educated analyst in the factory. He would be responsible for analyzing the composition of the molten iron and determining its quality. This was also the final moment when the results of more than a year of construction would be tested or judged.

"Well!"

Lu Gangtie finally felt relieved. He took a deep breath and let it out. "Alright then, we're ready! Next, we'll proceed according to the plan from our previous drill!"

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For the furnace opening ceremony, all the leaders of the Border Region Government, starting with Lin Zuhan and including Xu Lihua, Liu Dangping, and Gao Chongde, arrived early. Beneath a simple tent, Chairman Lin Zuhan of the Border Region Government delivered a brief speech, encouraging all comrades to continue their efforts and achieve success in building the steel complex.

The ceremony then moved on to the next step. While there was no need to adhere to the old customs of sacrificing animals or worshipping heaven and earth, such a significant moment still required some ritual elements beyond the roar of gongs, drums, and firecrackers. Several scholars at the construction site, having obtained some information from somewhere, devised a bizarre ritual:

First, Guo Dongcai, the second-in-command on the scene and an engineering expert, used a concave mirror and a convex lens to focus light and obtain a fire. He drew the flame from the tinder, lit a torch, and then handed it to Lin Zuhan, chairman of the Border Region Government.

Chairman Lin then used his torch to ignite the torches of the other representatives, and together, they dropped the torches into a large brazier. The fuel in the brazier ignited, emitting a blazing fire and thick smoke. At this point, Lu Gangtie, who was at the blast furnace ignition site, pulled the alarm, and a continuous sirens echoed throughout the workstations.

The arrow shot by the Eighth Route Army towards modernization finally left the bowstring.

Chapter 58 1938, the furnace is open!

Canteen System Assistance

By Forgotten Maple X

2547 words

2020-11-11 12: 00: 00

As the vent valve closed, hot air over 750 degrees rushed in, and the long-dried firewood and sprayed fuel were quickly ignited, and thick black smoke rose from the entire blast furnace. Not long after, the black smoke was carried away by the rapidly rising hot air, and the color began to fade.

This is an advantage over using firewood to ignite the fire. If wood shavings were used to ignite the firewood and then ignite the coke like the previous Jinyang blast furnace, it would take nearly half a day to see the black smoke fade.

"Come on! Give me a hand!"

Du Youlin donned his newly issued aluminum foil asbestos gloves and, exerting force at his waist, lifted and pressed his hands to pry up the steel chisel used as a backup ignition point. A worker on the other side then ignited the oil-wool at one end. Holding his breath, Du Youlin poked the burning oil-wool at the exposed end of the taphole's air duct. With a thud, a thick flame erupted from the taphole.

Wow! The gas is coming out!

Du Youlin knew this was a sign the coke was starting to ignite, so he told his colleagues not to put out the fire yet. He then looked at a white device hanging from the wall. It was electrically powered and supposedly could detect gas. If levels exceeded the specified limit, it would trigger the factory alarm. This was much more convenient than the previous method of using a canary. The gushing gas flames quickly carried the ashes from the burning wood out, saving the workers from having to bend over to the taphole to clean them.

If it were Jinyang’s old blast furnace, it would still be running at full speed, emitting raging flames and black smoke!

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Starting the furnace is a long job. After the ceremony, the leaders and the masses who came to celebrate gradually left, and the remaining thousand steel plant workers continued to work hard.

The flames within the furnace continued to burn. The rising gases, heavily mixed with coal gas, had no way to be drained away and were wasted. However, the temperature within the furnace continued to rise steadily. The thermocouple-type blast furnace thermometer faithfully recorded the temperature, providing the on-site controllers with a direct reference beyond the perceived temperature.

Du Youlin ignored all this for the time being. He instructed his fellow workers to form small groups and take turns watching the iron mouth. Then he led the first group to lunch. The work intensity at the furnace was extremely high. Besides providing small meals with meat, the Eighth Route Army also provided some sugary and salty soda in transparent bottles. Today was the day for the furnace opening, and Du Youlin was pleasantly surprised to find a chicken drumstick at the food counter.

This is good! He instinctively took out his lunch box and tried to put the chicken leg back in, but was hit on the hand by the person who distributed the food.

"Hey! We're working the furnace today, so we have to work overtime tonight! Eat your fill! How will you have the energy if you don't eat meat?"

After that, he added a spoonful of chopped fried cakes mixed with shiny shredded vegetables to Du Youlin.

"The soup is over there, go get it yourself!"

Over the past few months, everyone had become quite familiar with each other. Du Youlin gave a forced smile, happily made his soup, and squatted on the floor to eat. The pancakes were delicious, spiced with the savory soy sauce. The carrots and bean sprouts mixed in were crispy, fragrant, and slightly sweet. He finished the pancakes and chicken leg in no time, even burping. He glanced at the saltine soda in his hand and thought it looked good. He could take it back home to fill it with water for his son.

To be honest, Du Youlin somewhat enjoyed being the furnace supervisor; it more or less carried a certain amount of power. In the past, when it was time to eat and change shifts, he would always take a stroll outside the factory after lunch to digest his food and relax. He would wait until the sweat on his body cooled slightly before washing his face and returning to his workstation.

But now, seeing his former coworkers and the Eighth Route Army soldiers full of energy, he felt a little embarrassed. He simply washed his lunch box, grabbed his cutlery, and ran back.

As a result, he was blocked by Lu Gangtie halfway.

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"Lao Du! Do you see any slag under the furnace?"

"Not yet, Engineer Lu. Generally, a blast furnace takes five or six hours to react after it's first fired." Du Youlin shook his head. "Our blast furnace... well, it's advanced! But it's only been running for a short time, so there shouldn't be any slag left."

"The furnace temperature is rising too quickly. The thermometer on top has jumped to 250°C, and there's fire in the tuyere." Lu Gangtie frowned. As the two of them walked into the blast furnace workshop, the heat wave hit him, and even smoke rose from his hair. "The charging clock was just now rushing in the materials. If you can see slag here, it means the material is being unloaded smoothly. If you don't see it... the wind pressure number..."

At this point, Du Youlin was stunned. If this situation occurred, then it should be...

In the blink of an eye, Lu Gangtie had already rushed out and ran towards the command center. Less than a minute later, the alarms in the entire workshop rang loudly, and his voice exploded from the radio:

"Suspense, suspense! All of it! Get ready to act!!!"

Overhanging materials are a particularly troublesome furnace anomaly. This is likely due to the high-speed airflow that forces the raw materials, which are being lowered into the blast furnace via the charging bell, to become unable to descend smoothly one by one. Du Youlin understands that in such cases, a "sit-down" operation is likely necessary—rapidly reducing the air pressure to allow the suspended materials to "sit" down to the bottom of the blast furnace. This is a dangerous move that could potentially cause an accident.

"Raise the material gauge, turn off the cold air! Operate at normal pressure!"

"Stop the fuel blowing!"

"Reduce the hot air group's air flow and pressure to D, lower the hot air furnace's temperature by 50 degrees Celsius, and adjust the air outlet angle to 0!"

This is to reduce the load inside the furnace. Now the furnace temperature is sufficient and there is enough room for operation. While thinking, Du Youlin called his co-workers, took a large iron chisel with a curved hook, and ran to the other side of the blast furnace.

"Furnace crew, open the slag opening!"

Du Youlin removed the slag baffle and evacuated the personnel. He performed the operation smoothly and even felt that he was performing beyond his normal level. After completing all this, he crawled to a safe place.

Next, boom!

Du Youlin recalled that if the furnace were to be placed under load, the heavy materials would collapse and fall due to the sudden reduction in air flow. This impact would be like standing next to a collapsing rock. If the furnace floor was not solid, this operation would cause serious damage to the blast furnace, and even a potential explosion.

The whistling sound of the wind in the blast furnace seemed to be gradually weakening, and the other noises in the factory seemed to be infinitely stretched. Du Youlin closed his eyes tightly, tightened his neck, and waited for the "boot" to fall heavily.

However, nothing happened next.

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Amidst the tense wait, Lu Gangtie's relieved voice was heard above the clatter of electricity on the loudspeaker: "Okay, comrades, the problem is solved now. The wind pressure has returned to normal, and the charge should have dropped normally."

"Alert lifted."

Lu Gangtie's series of instructions eliminated the abnormal signs in the bud, avoiding the use of drastic methods such as sitting on the material to solve the abnormality in the furnace. He is truly worthy of being a great expert who has studied abroad.

"Furnace team, keep an eye on the iron mouth to see if there's any slag?"

As he waited, the gas spewing out of the iron mouth gradually became less. Du Youlin approached the iron mouth and saw through the blackened glass that some shiny slag began to fall from the bottom of the furnace.

"It's a sure thing!" he shouted a little excitedly.

This was a good sign, a good omen. After working all day and night, it was finally time. A worker nearby pulled out the air bleed tube, while Du Youlin, standing at the operating station, stomped hard on the switch of the mud gun.

"Seal the iron mouth with mud! Let's finish the work at the furnace and get ready to tap the iron!"

He couldn't help but close his eyes and imagine that in the blast furnace burning with white flames, the black iron ore and the equally black coke combined with each other, and then were swept by the swirling furnace wind, gradually melting and deforming, turning into molten iron flashing with dazzling flames, falling into the furnace hearth at the bottom of the blast furnace, and then along the drilled mud cap, flowing through the molten iron channel paved with yellow sand and refractory bricks, and finally, turning into hard, reliable iron ingots.

It is like gilded time, walking through the golden carpet of years, bringing him a beautiful future with scorching warmth.

"beep--!"

The gas shock valve on the top of the furnace made a loud sound, and the arrow representing the future was finally about to hit its target.

Chapter 59: Settlement of Eighth Route Army 1

Canteen System Assistance

By Forgotten Maple X

2618 words

2020-11-12 12: 00: 00

The Border Region government was fully present for both the furnace opening ceremony and the subsequent first iron-making ceremony, but several members of the Central Committee were absent—not out of pretense or lack of attention, but simply because the Military Commission was incredibly busy. Elder Zhu had gone to Shanxi Province, and Political Commissar Wang was still in the Soviet Union. Fortunately, Zhou Gong had returned to the Border Region, allowing the Chairman to bring him along to handle affairs, liaise with the front lines, and monitor the military situation. Occasionally, the Central Committee had to communicate with Liu Helian via a future communications service provided by an unknown provider, completely keeping him busy.

At this point, the work of settling accounts must involve comrades from several committees.

After collecting calculators from the cafeteria's office area and silently cursing those so-called "insane aliens" for seizing office computers similar to Comrade Liu Helian's "little black book," two senior members of the Logistics Committee, Minister Deng and Staff Officer Zuo, took on the task of managing the Border Region Statistics Division. Historically, one person was in charge of public grain, while the other was in charge of military rations and planning. Here, they were in charge of both the civilian and military aspects of the cafeteria system, a perfect match.

The fiscal year of 1937 has ended. After more than a month of arduous summary and statistics of the finances of the Eighth Route Army and even the border regions, a relatively accurate figure has been obtained - this speed is half the time required to complete annual statistics in history - the conclusions drawn based on these figures at this meeting will provide clear reference and direction for subsequent decision-making work.

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"The total grain output in the border region this year is 133 million dan, while the Huinong base area's is around 720,000 dan, for a total of 205 million dan. One dan is 60 kilograms, so the total is 123,000 tons. This is about 13% more than the 1.1 million + 700,000 dan forecast provided by the Logistics Committee during the spring plowing season." Minister Deng, in charge of grain, read quietly from a stack of documents. "Of this output, wheat accounts for approximately 16%, and millet for about 25%. These are both lower than the figures for 1936. The excess is mostly due to millet... uh... sorghum and buckwheat. At Huinong, corn accounts for the majority."

This was likely intended to match the canteen system's purchases to a certain extent. After all, based on the canteen's actual exchange rate for grains to staple food, the border region could earn a nearly 300% premium, as long as everyone was willing to accept food like steamed buns, pancakes, or eggs. Considering that the canteens were currently unable to directly export raw grain, the border region exported a considerable amount of salt, sugar, oil, and condiments to exchange for grain from farmers.

Among them, whether it is the "Workers, Peasants and Soldiers" brand for domestic sales, or the high-low combination of export goods "Red Neptune" and "Little British Girl" brands, the sales are particularly outstanding, which supplements a large amount of currency for the border area and becomes another important source of income besides paying wages with preserved fruits.