"There are two main difficulties at present. One is that the steel is not up to par, and the cylinder is not strong enough and is easily damaged; the other is that the chamber pressure cannot be tested, which leads to frequent explosion accidents in the steam engine."
The steam engine factory was newly built, and the bosses gathered together. With this rare opportunity, Qin Luo hurriedly reported the current difficulties.
Both of the problems he mentioned should not be underestimated, and either one would hinder the improvement of the steam engine.
Zuo Mengeng thought about it carefully and felt that the second problem was easier to handle.
"If you want to measure chamber pressure, you must have a relatively intuitive display method. Have you seen thermometers and clocks? Can you learn from these two things to create a pressure gauge?"
Clocks are now very common in Shandong, and anyone with a little extra money will wear them.
After all, this thing is very convenient for telling time and greatly helps life.
As for thermometers, they are nothing new.
Making a thermometer is not difficult as long as you have glass and mercury.
Zuo Mengeng once said something to Fuyao Glass, but the thermometer came out in less than half a month.
At this time, Qin Luo mentioned the problem of detecting the steam engine chamber pressure, and Zuo Menggen thought of this.
The hands of a clock can not only be used to display time, but also can be used to display numerical values. The principles are interoperable.
The clock uses the power of the spring to push the pointer to move, while the pressure gauge just uses the pressure of the steam to push the pointer to point to different values.
He just said a little bit, and all the science and engineering experts around him were greatly inspired.
"This thing is not difficult. You can definitely make it after a few more experiments."
Jiang Wei took over the job,
As the boss of the industrial port, he will arrange this matter properly.
As for the problem that the cylinder is not strong enough, it involves the steel itself.
It seems simple, but it is also the most troublesome to solve.
Zuo Mengeng was very concerned about the progress of the steam engine, so he went to Anshan Lake Industrial Zone for an on-site inspection to see if there was any way to improve the steel production process.
The current person in charge of Anshan Lake Steel Company is already the third generation.
Yang Gui and others of the first generation have already retreated behind the scenes and cannot keep up with the development situation.
The general manager of Anshan Lake Iron and Steel Company is Fang Daheng, who is Yang Gui's apprentice. Compared with Yang Gui, the craftsmanship of making ironware is far behind.
But there was one thing that Yang Gui couldn't compare to.
That is knowledge.
Fang Daheng was the first graduate of Zuozhuang Academy. He then went back to study several times and accurately mastered the relevant knowledge of steel smelting.
If it was primitive iron smelting, he could only help Yang Gui. But in the field of industrial steel smelting, he is an expert.
"We have been studying how to increase steel production, and Master Yu Wentai has some ideas."
Fang Daheng did not deliberately show off in front of Zuo Mengeng, but instead introduced the old master working on the front line.
Yu Wentai is 50 years old and comes from Xuzhou.
Five years ago, I fled famine and came to Shandong. Because of my excellent blacksmithing skills, I was recruited into a steel company.
Although he is not young, he works hard. The most important thing is to be diligent in thinking and solve many technical problems.
The results are there, the level is there, everyone has to be convinced.
As a latecomer, Yu Wentai has now become the deputy chief engineer of Anshan Lake Iron and Steel Company, enjoying the treatment of a master craftsman.
Yu Wentai cherishes the good and stable life and works harder.
He never felt old, and even learned to read and write, and went to sit in on classes.
Seeing that he was like this, other workers followed suit and all made great progress.
As a person who likes to ponder, Yu Wentai does have a lot of ideas.
"The current smelting technology, both in terms of output and quality, has reached its limit. If we want to improve it, we must have new furnaces and higher temperatures."
The smelting furnaces used by steel companies today are still the original ideas proposed by Zuo Mengeng.
That is, graphite crucible.
However, this kind of smelting furnace can only withstand a temperature of 1,300 degrees at most. If it is any higher, the furnace will definitely be burned out.
Graphite crucibles are sufficient for producing glass, but are insufficient for smelting steel with higher melting points.
"Do you have any idea?"
Zuo Mengeng was more concerned about this.
He had no hope at first, but he didn't expect that Yu Wentai gave him a big surprise.
"We have been looking for new materials and have been testing back and forth for several years. We found that refractory bricks made of alumina and clay can withstand higher temperatures than graphite."
Zuo Mengeng was very excited.
"How much can it reach?"
Fang Daheng said: "We tested it once and it can reach more than 1,600."
Zuo Mengeng was impatient when he heard that the temperature could reach such a high temperature.
"Then why didn't you mount your horse?"
Fang Daheng smiled bitterly.
"Although the new refractory bricks can withstand higher temperatures, we have no way to heat the furnace to such a high temperature. It's easy to do experiments, but there are still many processes that need to be improved for mass production."
The amount of steel production will determine how big the business can be.
Zuo Mengeng was more concerned about this kind of thing than the army.
"I just happened to be here today. If you have any problems, let's talk about them all. I'm here to help you coordinate and try to solve them all at once."
Hearing him say this, everyone was excited.
Another engineer, Xiong Zhoushi, said quickly: "In fact, we have already figured out a way to increase the furnace temperature, which is to first build a regenerator. When refining coke, the gas generated can be sent to the regenerator for storage. If you want to smelt steel, then transport the gas to the smelting furnace and it should be able to reach the required temperature."
The understanding of coal gas is now very common in Shandong.
After all, if you smelt coke, this stuff will come out.
At first, people thought it was exhaust gas and didn't care.
However, several violent explosions occurred in succession, and people discovered that this gas could burn violently.
Then the collection of gas began and was widely used.
Zuo Mengeng knew there must be some difficulty in this.
"What's the problem?"
Xiong Zhoushi is responsible for this aspect of work.
"We have mastered the technology on how to collect gas. However, the steel refined several times in a row is very brittle and easy to break. There is no way to use it to cast guns. Originally we thought it was a problem with the iron material, but using the original If the method is of good quality, then the problem must be with the gas. But we don’t know much about this thing and don’t know how to make gas that meets the requirements?”
Zuo Mengeng understood.
How to use gas to make steel is an industrial problem.
But the different results from gas, it's a matter of chemistry.
The engineers in front of us can solve industrial problems, but they cannot solve chemical problems.
Experts are still needed in this area.
"Where is Chen Shuangjin? Ask him to come over immediately."
