Chapter 912 The Research Institute Has Matured
Hearing Luo Chong’s question, Lin Fei was full of admiration. The leader only took a glance and discovered the real reason.
“Replying to the leader, yes, after discussion, our people in the research institute also believe that there is a problem with the performance of the steel.
The carbon steel we are currently using to make rails does not have sufficient bending resistance, that is, it is not hard enough. There was no problem in the previous narrow-gauge railway experiment. It may be that the load of the narrow-gauge train has not reached the critical value of the rail bearing capacity, so even if there are more joints, the narrow-gauge train can still operate normally.
However, this time the heavy-duty rails made of the same steel have a load capacity that has increased several times within a certain area, exceeding the limit that the steel can withstand, so the current accident has occurred.
After judgment, we believe that this time... The accident was partly caused by the joint, but not entirely. It should be that the bearing capacity of the rails was not
enough. When the wheels passed the joints, they first bent the joints, and then derailed and tilted the track. "Luo Chong nodded. This was similar to the result of his judgment. Although the heavy-duty rails were enlarged to 60 kilograms per meter, the steel material did not change. The bearing capacity was limited after all. The weight of a heavy-duty train was several times greater than that of a narrow-gauge train, but the area in contact with the rails was still the same. In other words, the base remained unchanged, but the pressure per unit area increased several times, exceeding the bearing limit of the steel. It would be strange if there were no problems.
"Then have you figured out a solution to the problem?" Luo Chong nodded, confirming their conclusion. The bending resistance of carbon steel was not enough, so other methods must be used to solve it, otherwise the railway could not be laid.
"To the leader, we are temporarily preparing to solve this problem in five aspects." Lin Fei pointed to the joint of the track on the ground and said, "First, we have to increase the number of sleepers at the joint to ensure that each joint is on the sleeper, so as to enhance the bearing capacity of the rail.
Then, under the sleepers at the joint, we will lay another row of sleepers vertically to form a tic-tac-toe structure, also to enhance the bearing capacity of the joint.
In addition, we think the length of the track should be extended, at least doubled, to make it 200 meters long, so as to reduce the number of joints and avoid accidents.
The above three are all considered from the perspective of laying. In addition, we have decided to make improvements to the rails themselves. The first is to increase the thickness of the middle column of the I-shaped rail to achieve the purpose of increasing the load-bearing capacity; the other is to find a more suitable steel formula. It would be best if the problem can be solved through an alloy formula without increasing the standard weight of the track."
Luo Chong was quite moved after listening to this. The five solutions mentioned by Lin Fei are almost the limit of what the Han tribe can do at present. From the improvement of construction methods to the changes in the structure and composition of the rails themselves, they are all correct ideas.
This shows that the research institute of the Han tribe has fully matured. Even without Luo Chong, they can handle things on their own. Maybe their improvements are not perfect, but they are indeed making progress.
After Lin Fei finished speaking, Luo Chong added again, "Your ideas are very good and very practical, but I think there is still a point that you haven't thought of."
Lin Fei was quite curious. He thought that the five methods he proposed were comprehensive enough, but the leader said that there were others that they hadn't thought of. So it turned out that the leader was knowledgeable and had wild ideas?
"I don't know what the leader means?" Lin Fei asked modestly.
"You just said that you should reduce the number of joints and extend the length of the rails as much as possible, but why didn't you think of welding the two sections of rails together? Wouldn't that mean there would be no joints at all?" Luo Chong prompted.
The Han tribe had acetylene gas welding technology long ago because of the existence of calcium carbide. Although there was no pure oxygen for assistance, the pure acetylene could emit a temperature of 2,000 degrees after being ignited, which was enough to melt any steel.
However, rail welding is a surface-to-surface connection, not a point or line connection. The combination of gas welding and welding rods can only circle the welding surface at most, but the inside is still disconnected. Such welding is meaningless.
Lin Fei is not a fool, so he immediately understood what Luo Chong meant by "fusion welding". According to the literal understanding, this means first pulling the joints of the two rails apart by a small distance, then fixing them with molds on the outside and the bottom, and then pouring red-hot liquid steel into them. The two sections of rails are welded together by on-site casting, so that a surface-to-surface connection can be formed. After the welding is completed, it can be polished and used.
After figuring it out, Lin Fei couldn't help but applaud, "Chief, this method is great. In this way, the railway will be truly connected and there will be no joints."
Luo Chong waved his hand casually. He didn't mean to use this method to gain praise from others. He just continued to remind him.
"This method of welding is only suitable for heavy-duty railways that do not need to change the line. It is definitely not necessary for narrow-gauge railways that need to change the line frequently. Moreover, the load of narrow-gauge railways does not exceed the bearing limit, so it can be used with confidence.
This technology is not difficult. The dumbest way is to build a carriage with a furnace, provide molten steel for melting joints while walking along the track, and then add a pair of steam or pneumatic grinders under the wheels.
What I am more curious about now is the fifth point you just mentioned, changing the formula of steel alloy. Do you really have ideas and plans for this? How did you think of this?" Luo Chong asked with the same curiosity.
When Lin Fei heard the question, he immediately straightened his chest and said proudly, "This is not difficult. We all know that a metal, or a mixture of multiple metals, that is, an alloy, has different properties. For example, bronze becomes hard and brittle when more tin is added. It becomes softer and has high fluidity and is easy to cast when more lead is added.
Iron also has many differences. Pig iron is brittle and easy to break, wrought iron is easy to bend but not hard enough, and steel is an alloy that is both soft and hard, with both toughness and sharpness.
So we wonder if there are other formulas to make steel alloys, and then improve the properties of bending resistance and hardness?"
Luo Chong raised his mouth. It seems that these guys have indeed studied the essence of metals. The so-called properties of metals are nothing more than using the characteristics of various metals to mix a new alloy.
"Have you found this metal that can improve bending resistance and hardness?" Luo Chong asked again.
"To the leader, there are some, but we are not sure whether it will work now. We are testing this new type of metal." Lin Fei answered immediately.
Make up for yesterday. I had an argument with someone last night until midnight and forgot to write it down.
(End of this chapter)
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