Free Web NovelChapter 829: Chapter 439: You Can Definitely Do It, Keep It Up!_2
If there weren’t any special circumstances, sleeping three or four hours was no problem, and sometimes, he could even sleep until the next morning, but today was obviously different. Li Zhenlai had just closed his eyes when he heard a message notification.
"A report reminder?"
Li Zhenlai sat up begrudgingly and looked at the computer on his desk, finding a message, "Zhao Yi...Academician?"
He stood up, somewhat surprised.
Upon reading the message carefully, Li Zhenlai immediately felt invigorated. Working in the Department of Materials, he was aware of the nickel alloy research. The fact that Zhao Yi had applied for funding for nickel alloy research over three months ago was common knowledge among the department staff, and they often discussed it amongst themselves.
Now there were results?
As Li Zhenlai scrutinized the results, he was so astounded that he gaped, "A new material with a melting point exceeding 1700 degrees, tentatively named K03B? So, this is the second generation of the K03 series?"
"A melting point exceeding 1700 degrees?"
"How is that possible!"
Li Zhenlai rubbed his eyes vigorously, rereading the message several times to make sure before he immediately continued to report the news up the chain.
This kind of achievement was not something the Department of Materials could decide on; it had to be reported to the higher-ups.
What Zhao Yi was suggesting with his report was to share the findings with the superiors and to apply for internal disclosure of the results, as well as to preemptively announce, "We have completed the research, and it’s time for the phase summary."
The phase summary of a project involved the publication of results, the submission of products for production, coordination with other departments, and more. Financially, it would be time to settle accounts for the stage, assess the funds consumed, and decide whether to increase the investment in research for the future—all of which required planning and application.
After Li Zhenlai reported the findings, the message reached the Science and Technology Bureau’s Office of Affairs, which was composed of leaders from various departments. The group handled discussions on significant scientific research projects and achievements.
Ying Sheng was on duty for the group that day.
After receiving the message, Ying Sheng immediately called the Department of Materials asking, "Is the message I just got for real?"
"Yes, it was reported by Academician Zhao," Li Zhenlai confirmed.
"Tomorrow will be exciting!"
With a sense of awe, Ying Sheng commented and kept the report moving up.
The next morning, as soon as Deputy Minister Liu Zecheng of the Science and Technology Bureau arrived, he learned of the news. Like the others, he was surprised. Although he was not in charge of the Department of Materials’ affairs, he was familiar with the related research. Typically, the development of top-tier alloy materials was measured in ’years’.
Zhao Yi had applied for a project budget of twenty million, which, in relation to the project itself, could not be considered much. Liu Zecheng felt that more funding would need to be allocated in the future, and that research would take at least two to three years, if not longer. But just three months had passed...
...and there were results?
If it was a minor achievement, it wouldn’t be so surprising, but...
"Melting point above 1700 degrees? Nickel alloy? Isn’t that reaching the highest international standards?" Liu Zecheng looked at the report with amazement, where the specific parameters of the product were listed.
Alloy Code: K03B
Melting Point: 1708 degrees Celsius (with a variance of no more than 2 degrees)
Rhenium Content: 6.7%~~6.8%
Other parameters included strength, corrosion resistance, some of which were a bit difficult to understand, but a note beside them stating ’basically equivalent to K03B’ made it relatively clear.
Liu Zecheng immediately fetched K03B’s parameters for comparison and consulted with professionals from the Department of Materials, who couldn’t help but take a deep breath, "This must be a top-tier nickel alloy internationally! The parameters have already surpassed the data released for the engines of M Country’s top fighter jets."
He was referring to the comprehensive parameters.
The turbine engine blade parameters of M Country’s top fighter jets had a slightly higher melting point, but the rhenium content was as high as 8%, with comparable strength and corrosion resistance. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
The professionals explained, "These are just the initial experimental results. As this was an experiment and the process was not rigorous, theoretically, if the environment and temperature control could be perfected, K03B’s performance could be further enhanced, definitely surpassing the performance of the turbines in M Country’s top fighter jets."
Meanwhile, Liu Zecheng was marveling at this news. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
The Department of Materials had reported two more achievements, both reported by Zhao Yi and related to nickel alloy, one named KK031 with a melting point of 1550 degrees Celsius and a rhenium content of around 2.5%, and the other named KK032 with a melting point of 1650 degrees Celsius and a rhenium content of about 4.3%.
Although K03B’s performance was undoubtedly the best, the performance of KK031 and KK032 was not lackluster, with melting points above 1550 degrees Celsius.
There were three grades of alloy material.
Higher performance in alloy materials was not always better; manufacturing costs and usage considerations had to be taken into account. High-performance materials used in low-end environments would not fully reveal their potential and would instead waste resources.
After receiving all the reported results, Liu Zecheng immediately held a leadership group meeting to discuss the nickel alloy achievements. Then he personally called Zhao Yi to discuss the findings and the subsequent research.
Zhao Yi’s thoughts were straightforward: whether or not to disclose the results was up to the Science and Technology Bureau; he personally didn’t mind either way.
He was also ready to hand over the research to Factory 307.
It was impossible for him to keep working on alloy material research indefinitely. Having created sufficient supplies of the world’s top alloys, he had already achieved his research goals.
As the leader of the research group, he still wanted to secure benefits for his team, hoping to have everyone’s name recorded in the achievements and to secure bonuses for them as well.
