Chapter 36. "Good Question" (Queen Ko's Call Back)
Before the core meeting in August, Ke Fan, Cai Jieyu and Ji Hang gathered together to look at the plan that was about to be reported.
Cai Jieyu has been working with Ke Fan to design a plan these days, and the optimized sketch is concise and clear.
But Ji Hang lacked experience, especially in deep-sea wind power, and was still scratching his head at the diagram:
"Sister Xiaofan, why do we use a semi-submersible foundation for this wind turbine?"
Ke Fan calmly gestured with his hands:
"Simply put, it's like a large platform floating in the water, partly submerged and partly above the surface. Unlike traditional wind turbines, which are fixed to the seabed by piles, it floats on its own buoyancy and is held in place by anchor chains."
"Won't it flip over or float away?"
"It has several large cylindrical buoys underneath, like pillars on the water. These buoys are filled with ballast water or heavy objects, which give the entire platform a very low center of gravity. This low center of gravity, high buoyancy, and anchor chains allow it to float steadily in strong winds and waves, resisting wind and waves and preventing it from capsizing."
Ke Fan explained patiently.
Cai Jieyu also pricked up his ears quietly.
Although she has been working for more than a year, she has never been exposed to the core technical part of the project under Xing Xiao, and she has only a vague understanding of why Ke Fan uses a semi-submersible.
She had never been brave enough to ask Ke Fan any questions, perhaps because when she was with Xing Xiao, most of the questions she asked were not answered but ridicule; or perhaps it was for other reasons.
Hearing Ji Hang blurt out his own confusion so frankly, she actually had a hint of envy in her eyes.
Ke Fan's heart moved.
She had noticed Cai Jieyu's cautiousness at work in the past few days, and she was extremely angry with Xing Xiao. How could he suppress such a smart girl into this state?
What's more, women seem to be naturally more cautious than men when asking questions in the workplace: girls are taught from childhood to be well-behaved and sensible and not to bother others, while boys are encouraged to be confident and bold in speaking out.
She wanted Cai Jieyu to speak more, so she asked with a smile:
"I think you understand the structural principles. So, can you two tell me what are the advantages of semi-submersible wind turbines over fixed ones?"
Ji Hang responded immediately and gave an answer that seemed to have gone unspoken:
"Fixed wind turbines can only be installed in shallow waters, but semi-submersible wind turbines can be installed in deep waters, where wind resources are more abundant."
Ke Fan gave him a slap on the head: "You are not allowed to answer the questions using the stem."
She turned to Cai Jieyu and asked, "Xiao Cai, what do you think?"
Cai Jieyu's answer was clearly well thought out and structured:
"I think, first of all, the transportation and installation of a semi-submersible wind turbine should be easier than that of a fixed one. I checked the information and found that the wind turbine can be installed on shore and then towed to sea, which is much more convenient than building it at sea.
Second, it should be easier to maintain than a fixed turbine. Since it's a floating turbine, it can be towed back when it needs overhauling, like a boat, rather than being nailed to the seabed like a fixed pile.
"Bingo! All correct!" Ke Fan looked at her with a smile and patted her head:
"You did such a good job on your homework. You should speak more in the future, okay?"
The sunlight danced in the bright office, and Cai Jieyu's heart seemed to brighten a little, sweeping away the depression of more than a year.
"Yeah!" She also looked at Ke Fan with a smile and nodded vigorously.
*
Some people are happy, while others are gritting their teeth.
Xing Xiao has been feeling so angry these days because of all the bad news.
From Ke Fan being elected as the head of the deep-sea project to Cai Jieyu's departure, nothing was within his expectations.
He was determined to severely dampen Ke Fan's enthusiasm at the core staff meeting.
Most of the participants in this meeting are in Hai City, so it is an offline meeting.
After Ke Fan and the other two entered the conference room and sat down chatting and laughing, everyone came in one after another.
The last one was Xing Xiao, who came with a menacing look, his glares almost flying in front of Ke Fan.
Ke Fan was too lazy to look at him. He picked up the teacup in front of him and drank the water slowly.
The backbone will start on time.
Ke Fan briefly reported on the semi-submersible wind turbine plan and then said:
"The country has recently released several policies on deep-sea wind power, easing financial support and approval channels, with a particular emphasis on projects using domestically produced technologies."
She looked at everyone and continued in a steady voice:
"My idea is that we can take this opportunity to independently develop a semi-submersible floating platform structure."
"Independent research and development?"
Xing Xiao started questioning her as soon as she finished speaking, and as expected, the tone was full of tension.
"Engineer Ke, there are no mature cases in this field in China. If you start independent research and development now, can you keep up with the project cycle? It is better not to think about innovation all the time and honestly buy ready-made wind turbines from abroad to avoid delaying key projects."
"Ready-made wind turbines from abroad? Are you referring to the wind turbine that Engineer Xing bought from Norway and sank three months later?" Ke Fan curled his lips and smiled, while Ji Hang and Cai Jieyu beside him also lowered their heads to hold back their laughter.
"That's the empirical parameter of the sea area, it's useless..." Xing Xiao argued loudly, but Ke Fan interrupted him bluntly:
"So, the conditions in each sea area are very different. Instead of copying someone else's structure and having to adapt it, it's better for us to develop something that is truly suitable for us. What's more, everyone knows that even if we buy a complete set of equipment from someone else at a high price, the core technology will still be in their hands."
She gently turned the cup in her hand. The red and white lighthouse pattern on the ceramic cup was particularly dazzling:
"We should find a way to get rid of this feeling that our fate is in the hands of others."
Most of the senior engineers, including the director and Li Chengjin, nodded and began to discuss the feasibility in a low voice.
Xing Xiao's voice suddenly sounded again:
"While the words sound nice, the timeframe for independent research and development is still a major issue. We're working on a project, not research. If we start from scratch, the design of the wind turbine foundation alone would take several months, right?"
The conference room suddenly became quiet again.
Xing Xiao stared at Ke Fan who seemed to be stumped by his question.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Cai Jieyu who was sitting next to her.
The girl who had always been cautious with him now looked at him calmly, and even had a hint of ridicule in her eyes when he asked a question, as if she was looking at a clown.
Xing Xiao's heart suddenly sank.
He had also seen this look on Ke Fan's face.
When he tried to question her solution to the Tianjin seabed subsidence project.
A chill ran up his spine.
What made him even more chilled was Ke Fan sitting opposite him, with his beautiful, cold eyebrows and eyes as sharp as ice.
“Good question.”
She said the same thing as last time.
"Mr. Xing, do you still remember the Tongshi case?" Ke Fan took a sip of water and continued slowly:
"In that case, you asked me at the meeting what would happen if the wind turbines in Tongshi were hit by a typhoon. I looked for the extreme wind pressure values in Tongshi over the past 10 years and then built a model to simulate extreme wind loads.
I discovered that in extreme weather, a flexible yet stable structure is best. So I continued researching and stumbled upon the mooring system for semi-submersible platforms—they don't rely on rigid connections, but rather on anchor chains to keep the platform afloat.
Thanks to that case and your suggestion, I was able to research and register a patent for the platform foundation structure of a semi-submersible offshore wind turbine.
Ke Fan smiled slightly and raised his hand to signal Cai Jieyu:
"Xiao Cai, please show everyone the basic sketch of the fan that we drew these days based on the patent."
Both of them still remember the Tongshi case clearly.
That was the first time that Xing Xiao made Ke Fan suffer a loss, which made him feel happy for a long time.
Unexpectedly, three years later, there was a reversal in this case.
He looked at Ke Fan's calm yet confident face and wanted to force himself to say something, but the director frowned disapprovingly, so he had to give up.
Before he knew it, the new girl he thought was just a flash in the pan had come so far.
After Cai Jieyu projected the sketch onto the big screen, Ke Fan elaborated on his design ideas in detail, including the data model used and important literature cited. Everyone listened and nodded frequently.
If I were to summarize this plan in one sentence, it would be, very Kefan.
She is as convincing as ever.
As the meeting drew to a close, almost everyone agreed to the independent research and development plan.
"Good!" Ke Fan was rarely in high spirits at the core meeting. She said with some pride:
"Then we will strive to create our country's first floating offshore wind turbine!"
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