Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

The sound of firecrackers filled the air, and countless people gathered at the gate of the Capital Agricultural Tool Factory, watching the leaders speak on the stage.

"Today, we are very happy to announce the successful completion of the first phase of the Capital Agricultural Tool Factory's construction project. Next, we will devote ourselves to the relocation work with even greater enthusiasm! We have finally emerged from the mountains! In the future, we will move towards a better tomorrow!"

This voice, carried by the autumn wind, reached every corner of the factory, and also into Workshop No. 4, which was close to the iron-smelting blast furnace.

"Yangzi, this is such a grand occasion, shouldn't we go out and take a look? Many leaders have come. If you go out, you will definitely be able to speak on stage, which would be very impressive," Zhang Chao suggested to Qin Yang.

"Speak? What to talk about? Showing off at this time is foolish. We have to leave a down-to-earth impression on the higher-ups! By the way, Master Zhang, are you ready? We are about to start!"

"Yes, I'm ready," Zhang Chao's father, Zhang Guoqiang, said excitedly.

For this equipment, Qin Yang did not hesitate to offend the children of high-ranking officials, and even formed a feud with the Capital Steel Factory! This shows how important this equipment is. Now, Qin Yang is going to teach Zhang Guoqiang how to operate the equipment, and he is very excited.

"Master Zhang, operating the electroslag remelting furnace requires caution. Follow the operating procedures step by step. Now, I will walk you through the process," Qin Yang said carefully.

"Okay, we will follow the process," Zhang Guoqiang said, holding the equipment operation manual written by Qin Yang, and began to operate step by step.

"Close the low-voltage equipment switch!"

"Check the crystallizer and lifting equipment!"

"Check the cooling water!"

...

"Start the high-voltage equipment!"

The Capital Steel Factory had an accident at this step, but now, Zhang Guoqiang easily closed the high-voltage switch without any unexpected situations.

Arc ignition and slag formation!

The sparks of the electric arc bloomed, and the heat in the electroslag remelting furnace spread rapidly. The contact surface of the steel column was melted, and metal droplets fell into the molten metal pool. A large amount of cooling water flowed, taking away the heat. Thus, a solidified refined metal ingot appeared on the crystallizer.

If there were a pair of perspective eyes, they could see through its shell and see the dazzling metallic luster, as bright as chromium!

The electric arc has disappeared, and the separated metal slag floats above the molten metal pool. Above it is the steel column to be refined. This slag pool has high resistance, and the current continues to generate heat as it passes through it, continuously melting the metal.

The entire device has entered a stable state! As the smelting continues, the steel column can be lowered continuously!

Success! The electroslag remelting furnace is working stably!

"If that grandson Zhu Guohua were here, I don't know how angry he would be. We only spent a few hundred yuan to make this equipment run successfully!" Zhang Chao said excitedly to Qin Yang.

Qin Yang only replaced some insulating materials in the high-voltage circuit, and the electroslag remelting furnace worked normally!

"The materials are only worth a few hundred yuan, but knowing what materials to buy and how to repair it is worth millions," Qin Yang said proudly.

This is definitely the truth, but Zhang Chao still couldn't understand it at this time. He was just about to echo something when a large group of footsteps came from outside.

"It has been successful. The first refined steel ingot is about to be produced!" Qin Yang said, "Leaders, is the celebration ceremony over?"

If it is for making cannons in the future, the steel column must be continuously melted to eventually form a six- or seven-meter-long steel ingot to meet the needs of tank guns. However, now it is for making gun barrels, so a length of about one meter is enough.

After being cooled by the cooling water, the steel ingot still radiated heat. Looking at its shiny exterior, Leader Dong was very excited: "This is the refined steel?"

No one answered Qin Yang's question about whether the celebration ceremony was over. Everyone's eyes were focused on the refined steel ingot that had just been produced.

"That's right. During the smelting process, the impurities in the steel are turned into slag and float above the molten pool. The steel produced has greatly reduced impurities and better performance. Using it to make gun barrels can reduce the thickness by one-third."

In the past, Factory 960 never needed to consider what kind of steel to use to manufacture gun barrels. They used whatever steel the higher-ups allocated, usually medium carbon steel, and alloy steel in a few cases. However, they all conscientiously followed the process for research. Now, Qin Yang actually said that he would use this refined steel to make gun barrels, and reduce the thickness of the gun barrel by one-third!

Qin Baoguo immediately frowned: "Gun manufacturing must be scientific. What if the barrel explodes if you rashly reduce the thickness of the gun barrel?"

"Of course, this is scientific, and it is carried out on the premise of improving the quality of the steel. The yield strength of our steel is 50% higher than that of existing gun barrel steel. Reducing the thickness by only one-third leaves a very sufficient margin. Next, we will also use the autofrettage process, which can reduce the gun barrel thickness to half of the existing thickness, and the weight will be reduced by half."

Autofrettage is to apply high pressure inside the gun barrel or cannon barrel to cause plastic deformation of the inner wall. Simply put, it is to squeeze the inner bore once. After the high pressure is removed, residual stress is formed on the inner wall of the barrel. These residual stresses can enable the barrel to withstand higher internal pressure, that is, increase the strength of the barrel.

Western cannons have already been equipped with electroslag remelted steel and autofrettage technology as standard. Domestically, it is a brand-new field. These processes have not been used in cannon manufacturing, and now Qin Yang is using them for gun barrels. It is simply using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Of course, the weight of the gun barrel can be greatly reduced. Only in this way can the standard of a twenty-five or six kilogram heavy machine gun be achieved!

"Autofrettage?" Leader Dong also became curious: "Does this process require special equipment?"

"Yes, we need the higher-ups to contact us for a batch of equipment. The most important thing is to coordinate a 2,500-ton hydraulic press from a domestic heavy machinery factory."

In 1958, Shenyang Heavy Machinery Factory produced the first 2,500-ton hydraulic press in China. In 1961, Jiangnan Shipyard used a 10,000-ton hydraulic press, and it has been used for sixty years and can still be used in good condition, which shows how good the quality of domestic products is.

A large military enterprise must use a large device like a hydraulic press. The steel smelted by electroslag remelting steel can be forged a few times with this hydraulic press, and the quality of the material will be even better. As for autofrettage, it can also be achieved with a part of the function of this hydraulic press.

"The purchase cycle of this kind of machine is often more than half a year!" Leader Dong frowned: "If you need this kind of equipment, why didn't you say it earlier? This will delay our research and development!"

"Well, when we don't have this equipment, we use other methods to achieve it."

"What method?"

"Stuff explosives inside the gun barrel and use the explosion to make the inner wall autofrettage."

What?