Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 156 Difficulties encountered in the study of type A separation membrane (Subscription required)

Type A separation membrane is a tubular separation membrane element used in gas diffusion machines to separate uranium 235 from uranium 238.

As we all know, only uranium 235 can undergo nuclear fission, but its content in natural uranium ore is extremely small. Even after purification, its content is only about 0.7%, while its isotope uranium 238 accounts for about 99.3%.

Weapons-grade nuclear materials must ensure that the concentration of uranium 235 reaches more than 90%.

Therefore, how to separate these two isotopes has become the key to atomic bomb research.

Type A separation membrane is the key to separating these two elements in existing technology.

At the Shanghai Metallurgical Research Institute, everyone was wearing a full set of protective clothing at this time, because the metal used to make Type A separation membrane is poisonous.

Looking at the metal film in front of him that was only 0.05 mm thick, Yang Ning also had the urge to scratch his head.

This was the first time that Yang Ning had encountered such a thing as welding such thin metal films together.

At this moment, he realized firsthand the difficulty of researching high-end technology.

During this period, because Big Brother did not assist us with nuclear technology, everyone knew that such a thing existed. As for the actual object, it was good enough that Big Brother allowed a few of us to take a look.

"This separation element is probably what is used in Big Brother's gas diffusion machine. Although we don't know if it is the same as Big Brother's, we have tested it and found that the pore size of this membrane can be used to separate uranium 235 and 238."

"But if we want to install it on the diffuser, we need to weld it into a tube. We have no experience in this area yet. We have tried many welding methods, but none of them worked."

"How's it going? Do you have any ideas?"

Mr. Wu was also wearing protective clothing at this time, and he looked at Yang Ning expectantly and asked.

Historically, our technology would not be successful until seven or eight years later, and even then, welding would be a big problem.

After all, to weld such a thin metal film, only a seam welding machine can be used. Even seven or eight years later, there are no more than ten people in the country who are researching seam welding machines.

You have to know that it had been almost ten years since we decided to research the atomic bomb. In addition, we were inspired by the help from Big Brother when he helped us with the diffusion machine. After five or six years of specialized training, we were able to train just this small number of people.

At this time, we need to explore all the technologies on our own, especially the seam welding machine used to weld such thin metal films. Not to mention researching it, there are not many people who have even seen this kind of seam welding machine.

Other welding machines all use welding guns, but if you want to weld a metal membrane that is so thin and has such high sealing requirements as the Type A separation membrane, you can only use welding needles, and they have to be so small that the needle tip is almost invisible.

"It's difficult!" Thinking of this, Yang Ning looked at Mr. Wu in embarrassment and said.

It’s not that Yang Ning can’t weld, but he took a look at the welding equipment they used before and found that there are no seam welding machines with such high precision here.

Not to mention here, I'm afraid it doesn't exist anywhere in the country.

After Yang Ning expressed his difficulties, Mr. Wu also fell silent.

Although there are few people who can use seam welding machines now, they can still be trained. However, without qualified equipment, it is very frustrating.

"If there are any problems that need to be solved, just tell me and I will report them to the higher-ups. We can't let our project get stuck here."

At this time, the director of the Shanghai Metallurgical Research Institute stood up and said, "Welding pins, we don't have qualified welding pins. Welding pins must be made of alloy materials with high strength, high conductivity and good thermal stability to meet welding requirements. We are not good at this..."

Speaking of this, Yang Ning seemed to think of Professor Zou who solved this problem in later generations.

He remembered that Professor Zou seemed to have developed an alloy that met these conditions while he was studying abroad in Big Brother.

Professor Zou should have graduated and returned to China in 58. I wonder if he has completed his research now.

"What? Is there a solution?" When Old Wu saw Yang Ning suddenly become distracted, he felt relieved.

You should know that their research institute has spent a lot of effort to master the technology of Type A separation membrane.

He would be really frustrated if he got stuck at this last step.

Thinking of those researchers who died from gas poisoning during the research process, Mr. Wu felt deeply moved and at the same time hoped that this research project could be completed as soon as possible.

“There is no solution, but there are some ideas.”

If you want to research this metal from scratch, it is not impossible with the help of the entire Shanghai Metallurgical Research Institute.

But Yang Ning is ruthless when it comes to extorting money from foreigners, but we still have to be more cautious with our own people.

If Professor Zou has already figured it out, wouldn’t that save a lot of time? If he hasn’t conducted research in this area yet, Yang Ning will have to do it himself.

When Yang Ning heard Mr. Wu's question, he thought for a while and said, "I remember that we sent some talents from the metallurgical industry to study abroad. We can ask them if they have achieved any results in the past few years."

"We can also ask other metallurgical research institutes. If they have already achieved results, we can use them directly. If not, we can do our own research."

Yang Ning couldn't just say that you should ask the classmate named Zou who was studying abroad with Big Brother, otherwise he wouldn't be able to explain how he knew that.

"Okay! I will call metallurgical research institutes in various places now. As for the overseas students, I will ask for help from above."

Knowing the key problem, Mr. Wu and the director of the institute did not delay and immediately went out to seek help.

Yang Ning was not idle either. During this time, he communicated with the personnel of the equipment research group of the institute and learned about the equipment research status in the mass production of Type A separation membrane.

After all, if you want to produce enough weapons-grade nuclear materials, the number of gas diffusion machines required starts at tens of thousands. As a result, the number of separation machines required is enormous.

If mass production cannot be achieved, relying solely on the laboratory's limited production capacity, it will take years to achieve this!
Mechanical equipment is Yang Ning's professional field. In just a few days, with Yang Ning's assistance, the problems encountered in the mass production of Type A separation membrane were quickly solved. Now we are waiting for the seam welding machine.

The higher-ups attached great importance to Mr. Wu’s research project, so much so that they even sent Yang Ning out, let alone just contacting international students outside.

Just when the director contacted metallurgical research institutes in various places and did not get the desired results, good news came from above.

A student majoring in metallurgy who was studying abroad in our big brother recently developed this alloy, and sent back the alloy formula, smelting process and research papers together.

Not only that, considering safety reasons and the effect of this alloy, the higher-ups called the international student back ahead of schedule.

(End of this chapter)