Major Heavy Industry: Starting with a Fake Marriage

"Chief Engineer Chen, I did write a report. It was based on research from foreign literature, plus my own calculations. I didn't do any experimental verification, so it might not be accurate."

"Not necessarily correct?" Chief Engineer Chen's voice rose half an octave. "Then what makes you think your plan is feasible?"

This was a pointed question. The atmosphere in the meeting room suddenly became tense. Chief Engineer Zhao lowered his head to look at the documents, Deputy Director Zhang picked up his teacup to drink tea, and Old Zhou remained expressionless, but his eyes were fixed on Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng remained calm. He knew that Chief Engineer Chen wasn't making things difficult for him, but testing him. This was her area of ​​expertise, and she was qualified to test anyone.

"Chief Engineer Chen, I didn't say my plan is feasible. I said this direction is worth trying." He took out a stack of documents from his bag and placed them on the table. "This is a review of foreign literature I've compiled. From 1974 to this year, I found more than twenty papers on thermal barrier coatings. GE's plan is a three-layer structure of zirconium oxide plus yttrium oxide stabilization, plasma spraying. They have already verified its feasibility in the laboratory, but it hasn't been put into engineering application yet. Rolls-Royce in the UK is also doing similar research, but in a different direction. They are using electron beam physical vapor deposition, not spraying."

Chief Engineer Chen's expression changed. She picked up the stack of documents and flipped through them. Every page was covered with dense notes, clearly listing the sources, main conclusions, and technical parameters. After flipping through a few pages, she stopped and looked at Jiang Cheng.

"Have you read all of these documents?"

"I've seen them all. Some I've seen several times."

"In English?"

"Yes. Most of them are in English."

The conference room fell silent. A fitter, able to understand English literature? Chief Engineer Zhao looked up at Jiang Cheng, his scrutiny turning into curiosity. Deputy Director Zhang put down his teacup, leaning forward slightly. Sun Deming, standing beside him, barely dared to breathe, his palms sweating profusely.

Chief Engineer Chen put down the documents, took off his glasses, and wiped the lenses. "Comrade Jiang Cheng, it's not that I don't believe in you. But this project has taken the country over a decade, with several different teams of people involved, and they still haven't solved it. You... someone without a professional background, what makes you think you can do it?"

These words were very direct, even somewhat hurtful. But Jiang Cheng wasn't angry.

He knew that Chief Engineer Chen was telling the truth. She wasn't belittling him; she was stating a fact.

"Chief Engineer Chen, I admit I don't have a professional background. But after working in the workshop for so many years, I understand one thing—when a machine breaks down, it's not because of one reason, but because of a combination of factors. To fix it, you can't just focus on one thing; you have to look at the whole picture." He stood up, walked to the blackboard, and picked up the chalk. "The same goes for the turbine blade problem. It's not a casting defect, not a material problem, not a cooling structure problem. It's these problems combined, creating a synergistic effect at high temperatures."

He drew a diagram on the blackboard. On the left was the casting defect, in the middle was the high-temperature environment, and on the right was the stress state. The three lines converged, pointing to one point—the initiation of a crack.

"Solving only one problem, such as eliminating casting defects, could certainly extend the lifespan. But that's the foundry's job, and the modification process takes too long. Solving only the material problem, such as improving the performance of high-temperature alloys, is the metallurgical plant's job, and that also takes too long. We can't wait that long. The military can't wait."

He turned to look at Chief Engineer Chen. "So, my idea is—not to solve the defects, but to protect them. Apply a coating to the blade surface to isolate the high temperature from the defects. This way, the defects won't become crack sources. The coating thickness only needs to be about 300 micrometers, so it won't affect the cooling effect of the film cooling pores. The coating material is zirconium oxide, which has a low thermal conductivity and good heat insulation. The coating structure consists of three layers, each with a different function. This solution doesn't require changing the existing casting process or the existing material system; it only requires adding a spraying process. This solution has the shortest cycle time and the lowest risk."

He finished speaking. The conference room was quiet, save for the hum of the ventilation ducts. Chief Engineer Chen stared at the diagram on the blackboard for a long time. Then she stood up, walked to the front of the blackboard, picked up the chalk, and wrote a line next to the diagram: "Thermal Barrier Coating - Feasibility Analysis".

She turned to look at Jiang Cheng. "Your approach is different from what I was thinking before. I was thinking of improving the thermal fatigue resistance of the matrix by addressing the material itself. You've taken a different angle, focusing only on the surface, without touching the matrix." She paused, "I hadn't considered this angle."

Jiang Cheng's heart was pounding, but he didn't show it on his face. "Chief Engineer Chen, do you think this direction is feasible?"

Chief Engineer Chen didn't answer directly. She walked back to her seat, sat down, and placed her hands on the table, crossed. "The direction is feasible, but the solution isn't. You said the coating thickness is 300 micrometers. Where did you get that data? From foreign literature? Foreign literature might not be suitable for our operating conditions. Our blade cooling structure is different from GE's; the pore size and distribution of the film cooling pores are different. If the coating is too thick, it will block the film cooling pores. If the coating is too thin, the heat insulation effect will be insufficient. We need to figure out the thickness ourselves."

Jiang Cheng nodded. He knew Chief Engineer Chen was right. Data from foreign literature could only be used as a reference, not copied verbatim.

"And another thing," Chief Engineer Chen continued, "you mentioned using plasma spraying. We have the technology, but we haven't used it on turbine blades before. The blade shape is complex, so how do we ensure a uniform coating during spraying? How do we ensure the film cooling pores aren't blocked? These are all problems."

"Chief Engineer Chen, these issues can be explored through test piece-level experiments. First, make flat test pieces to verify the heat insulation effect and bonding strength of the coating. Then, make simulated parts to verify the uniformity of the coating. Finally, install real blades."

Chief Engineer Chen stared at him for several seconds. Then she turned to Old Zhou and said, "Old Zhou, your student is remarkable. His thinking is correct. Although the plan still needs verification, he's on the right track."

Old Zhou smiled, his wrinkles deepening. "I told you, he can do it."

Deputy Director Zhang put down his teacup and cleared his throat. "Now that the direction is set, let's get to work. Chief Engineer Chen, your research institute will be responsible for coating preparation and testing. Comrade Jiang Cheng, you'll be in charge of scheme design and data analysis. Chief Engineer Zhao, you'll be in charge of blade supply and bench testing. I want to see the results by the end of the year."

The meeting lasted a full day. The morning was for discussing the direction, and the afternoon for discussing solutions. Every technical detail was scrutinized repeatedly, and every parameter was questioned repeatedly. Jiang Cheng answered each question calmly and methodically.