Liang Wencheng returned with great enthusiasm, immediately calling for a meeting with the key staff. He announced that Hu Jianguo's team had achieved a remarkable feat—successfully developing a unique steel. This groundbreaking steel was destined to replace critical components of the turbofan X engine, revolutionizing its performance.
During the meeting, it was unanimously decided that the vital thermal parts of the turbofan X engine, such as the turbine guide vanes and working blades at all levels, should be replaced with this extraordinary special steel. The implications of this decision were profound, marking a significant leap forward in technological advancement.
Amidst a mixture of astonishment and admiration, the backbone members of the team expressed their awe and respect for Academician Hu and his team's remarkable achievement.
"Academician Hu and the others are truly remarkable. To develop such an exceptional special steel is beyond belief."
"The mechanical strength of this steel is over five times greater than high-strength steel. It surpasses imported high-temperature alloys in terms of strength."
"The impressive high melting point indicates excellent resistance to extreme temperatures. We can potentially optimize designs to further enhance turbine performance."
As the meeting concluded, a sense of relief and excitement permeated the room. The worries concerning the failure of domestic superalloys and the costly efforts to import single-crystal superalloys were now a thing of the past. The solutions to all their problems seemed to have been found.
Following the meeting, the production of turbine blades commenced without delay. Equipped with the necessary technology and production equipment, an aero-engine manufacturing plant and a forging workshop swung into action.
The manufacturing process began with die forging the blanks for the turbine blades. Each blade had to be meticulously processed, starting with the forging of the blade blank. The enormous heating furnace reached an astonishing temperature of 1500 degrees, a temperature at which ordinary steel would have already begun to soften. In contrast, the two gray-black metal pieces remained stable, not even changing their color.
Observing this extraordinary heat resistance, several workers were secretly amazed. One experienced blacksmith in his fifties couldn't contain his astonishment and exclaimed, "My God, I have never witnessed such exceptional heat resistance in my entire life."
"Yes, and it's already at 1500 degrees," another worker remarked.
A nearby technician interjected loudly, "This is a new type of special steel known for its unparalleled resistance to high temperatures. We need to heat it to 2600 degrees."
Gasps filled the room. The notion of heating the metal to such extreme temperatures left everyone astounded. The temperature continued to rise, pushing the limits of the special electric furnace, which could reach a maximum temperature of 2800 degrees. Without it, achieving the desired red-hot state for the metal would have been impossible.
As the temperature surpassed 2500 degrees, the two metal pieces inside the furnace began showing signs of redness. When it reached 2600 degrees, the redness became even more apparent but still fell slightly short. After a brief discussion among the technicians, they unanimously decided to increase the temperature by another 100 degrees, pushing it to an impressive 2700 degrees. Finally, it seemed that the forging process requirements had been met.
The two metal pieces glowed red and were carefully removed from the furnace. One of them was clamped and placed onto the forging machine for the forging process. The production continued for several hours until the first working blade's blank was successfully forged, followed by the second and third.
Meanwhile, deep beneath the ocean's surface in the North Pacific Ocean, Overlord, also known as Bawang, swam with a colossal spear in hand. Following Liu Yong's instructions, it meticulously searched for any traces of the elusive black-grey metal. Bawangtraversed the vast expanse of the ocean, gradually reaching the edge of a submarine plain where the terrain became less flat.
Noticing something in the distance, Bawang exclaimed, "Hey, aren't those gray-black metals?" Intriguing objects came into view within Bawang's enhanced perception. They resembled stones but also bore a resemblance to the elusive gray-black metal.
Curiosity piqued, Bawang swiftly swam closer. However, upon closer inspection, disappointment washed over it as the objects turned out to be mere stones of various sizes, not the sought-after gray-black metal.
Undeterred, Bawang refused to give up and continued searching tirelessly for several more hours. Eventually, hunger gnawed at its stomach, prompting a return to its temporary cave. The cave provided sustenance in the form of a colossal octopus—Bawang's preferred meal. It ventured to the Great Trench every five days, hunting these massive cephalopods.
Not driven by greed, Bawang settled for a single octopus per hunting trip, knowing it could always hunt for more after satisfying its appetite. The Great Trench teemed with an abundance of these giant creatures, ensuring Bawang never returned empty-handed from its hunts.
With an ample food supply, Bawang's weight increased astounding, nearing a staggering 1,000 tons. However, despite the relentless search, the task assigned by Liu Yong remained unaccomplished. Days turned into weeks and the realization that within a radius of one or two hundred nautical miles, no trace of the grey-black metal had been found started to sink in.
Bawang pondered two possibilities: either the metal resided at the bottom of the Great Trench or it existed in the more distant surroundings. Although it yearned to explore the trench's depths, Bawang had already pushed its physical limits, unable to reach the trench's absolute bottom. The tremendous depth of the trench, estimated to be at least 7,500 meters, made it one of the ocean's deepest abysses.
Contemplating its next move, Bawang decided to broaden the search area in the coming days, hoping that luck would lead to a fortuitous discovery.
Meanwhile, at the Yanguo Institute of Special Metals, Hu Jianguo and his team delved deeper into their research. As they continued their investigations, they encountered increasingly surprising revelations.
Utilizing a powerful electron microscope, the team scrutinized the microstructure of the metal, revealing its intricate details. Astonishingly, the metal's microscopic structure exhibited a pattern of regular hexagons, reminiscent of the diamond's atomic structure. However, these hexagons existed not at the nuclear level but rather at the nanoscale.
Hu Jianguo and his team finally comprehended why this metal possessed exceptional strength—the structure itself was the key. Analogous to graphite and diamond, both carbon-based substances, their arrangement of atoms dictated their contrasting properties: one soft with low strength and the other hard with high strength.
The metal's microstructure was already a remarkable finding, but what truly astonished them was the presence of several unknown elements, seemingly absent from the periodic table. Even Hu Jianguo couldn't help but be astounded. An idea began to form in his mind—could this metal be a product not of Earth's civilization but potentially of an alien culture?
However, each time this thought surfaced, Hu Jianguo swiftly dismissed it, considering it mere fleeting speculation.
Meanwhile, Overlord reported to Liu Yong, "Master, I searched the surrounding area spanning two to three hundred nautical miles, but I found no trace of the gray-black metal."
Liu Yong's mind raced as he appreciated Overlord's report. Doubt began to cloud his thoughts—could his initial hypothesis have been incorrect? Perhaps the octopuses weren't responsible for moving the metals found in the circular giant hole. If not, then where did those metals originate from?
Liu Yong's mind raced with possibilities, but the answer remained elusive. Further exploration and investigation would be necessary to unravel the grey-black metal's mystery and its connection to the deep-sea environment.
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