Pioneer of the Foundry Industry

By Matthew Basque

Carter fights powerful enemies and builds a new city. Brody, Daniel, Frederick and others are involved. They encounter many obstacles and get help from engineers in the fields of electrical, mechanical, optical, computer, automation, construction, HVAC, materials, chemistry and biology. They also explore new areas and gradually solve the mystery of the new city.
It shows the wisdom, courage and iron-blooded spirit of the foundry, and depicts the glorious era of the foundry.
Carter is an architecture major. Brody is studying electrical engineering. Daniel is studying Biology. Frederick is studying computer science.
Jacob is studying mechanics.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Matthew Basque
• Release date: Aug 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227823670

Book preview

Chapter 1

WE USED TO DRIVE AND follow the trucks, but they disappeared around here, Jackson said.

Charles asked, Have you checked everywhere around here?

Jackson said: There is nothing special here, just a few rows of buildings, an abandoned factory and a small forest.

Charles said, Then take a look around here.

On the edge of a remote town, behind a few rows of buildings, lies an abandoned factory.

Jackson said: It looks like they're building cars or something. There's a big gantry crane on top.

Further inside the factory, there is a laboratory. This laboratory looks like it used to be a busy place, but it is now abandoned.

As soon as you enter the laboratory, you will be surrounded by a strong smell of machine oil and metal. There are oil stains and rust on the walls. Abandoned machines and equipment are scattered in every corner, and their surfaces are covered with dust.

In the center of the laboratory is a huge engine model, its shell stained by the erosion of time, but still showing its former refinement and craftsmanship. Engine parts are scattered around, and some abandoned tools are still in place, as if the staff suddenly left this place.

Although the laboratory has been abandoned, you can still feel how busy it once was. The whiteboards on the wall are filled with formulas and diagrams, showing thoughts and experimental records.

In this engine laboratory in an abandoned factory, time seems to have stood still. It is a forgotten corner, but it still exudes an attractive charm.

Jackson said, What kind of engine does this look like?

Elliot said: It's too big to be a car engine. It looks like an airplane engine or a spacecraft engine.

Aircraft engines are usually long and cylindrical in shape. The outermost layer is the engine cowling, which is a smooth outer shell that protects the internal mechanical components. Under the cowling is the compressor, which consists of multiple compressor stages that compress the air and provide it to the combustion chamber. The combustion chamber is located behind the compressor, where fuel is mixed with the compressed air and ignited to produce high-temperature and high-pressure gases. These gases pass through the turbine, which is pushed by the hot gases and drives the compressor and other systems. The jet nozzle is located at the tail of the engine and is used to discharge the exhaust gas after combustion. The entire engine usually has a streamlined shape to reduce air resistance and improve the performance of the aircraft.

Spacecraft engines are usually cylindrical or conical in shape, with a long body and one or more nozzles. The body of the engine is usually made of metal or composite materials with a smooth outer surface. At one end of the body, there are usually one or more air inlets for introducing fuel and oxidizer. The air inlets are usually designed to be adjustable so that the flow of fuel and oxidizer can be adjusted as needed. At the other end of the engine, there are one or more nozzles for discharging combustion products. The nozzles are usually circular or elliptical with smooth inner walls to ensure that the combustion products can be discharged smoothly. The size and shape of the nozzles can be adjusted as needed to control the magnitude and direction of thrust.

Jackson said, You said they were sneaky. Are they secretly building spaceships here? This place is so old, it doesn't look like a place to build spaceships.

Elliot said: So there is only a model, and it is not a real engine.

Yang Yuling asked : If it is a spacecraft, what does its power system consist of?

Spacecraft propulsion systems typically use rocket thrusters to provide thrust.

The main component of a rocket thruster is a mixture of fuel and oxidizer, called propellant. When propellants are ignited, they produce a large amount of high-temperature and high-pressure gas. These gases are expelled through a nozzle, generating a thrust in the opposite direction.

Propellants can be solid fuel, liquid fuel, or a mixture. Solid fuel rockets use a mixture of solid fuel and oxidizer, which are contained in a sealed combustion chamber. Once ignited, the solid fuel burns and produces a large amount of gas, which propels the rocket. Liquid fuel rockets use liquid fuel and liquid oxidizer. These fuels and oxidizers are stored separately in different containers, then mixed and ignited through a nozzle. Liquid fuel rockets usually have higher thrust and adjustable thrust.

Rocket propulsion fuel can be composed of a variety of elements or compounds. Common liquid fuel rocket fuel is a combination of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. Liquid oxygen serves as the oxidizer and liquid hydrogen serves as the fuel. Solid propellants are usually composed of a mixture of fuel and oxidizer. Common solid fuel ingredients include aluminum powder, polymers, ammonium nitrate, etc. Common mixed fuels include liquid fuel (such as liquid oxygen used in liquid fuel rockets) and solid oxidizer (such as polymer oxidizer).

Elliot said, Have you ever heard of some super engines? For interstellar travel?

The spacecraft's engines use the high energy of plasma, a gas of charged particles, to generate thrust, which propels the spacecraft forward by heating and accelerating the plasma.

The engine uses the energy generated by the annihilation of antimatter and ordinary matter to generate thrust. Antimatter is a substance that is the opposite of ordinary matter. When antimatter and ordinary matter meet, a huge amount of energy is released, which can be used to propel the spacecraft.

Yang Yuling said : If he can build engines, he must be a professional in aerospace technology.

Elliot said: If it is knowledge of fuel, it is probably related to chemical materials as well.

Yang Yuling said : Who is making these things here? I don't know what they are used for.

Jackson said: Who knows, maybe they are just doing some experiments on aircraft engines here, and it's just for testing. Are we overthinking it?

Yang Yuling said : Such a secluded place.

Elliot said, It's not very hidden, isn't there a few buildings next to it?

Jackson said: The buildings next to it have been unoccupied for a long time.

Elliot said, Then let me make a guess. He has his own special psychological characteristics. He likes to make his own calculations and doesn't want to be disturbed. He has strong technical ability.

Charles said, Why is this place abandoned?

Jackson said: They probably knew they were going to be discovered soon, so they didn't have time to take the model away or dismantle it.

Charles said, But there is no technical information here anymore, neither electronic nor paper.

So we don't know what he used to make the engine, or what fuel mixture he used, Jackson said.

Elliot said, At least we have some clues. We know he made an engine. So where does he want to fly to? Or where does he want to deliver something?

chapter 2

CHARLES SAID, LET'S go to the steel mill.

When they arrived at the steel plant in Gangcheng , workers came out to greet them. After they went in, the workers introduced the manufacturing process of construction steel.

The main raw material of construction steel is iron ore. First, the iron ore is beneficiated and crushed to obtain concentrate. Then, the concentrate is smelted in an ironmaking furnace to obtain pig iron.

Pig iron contains a lot of impurities and needs to be processed by steelmaking. There are many methods of steelmaking, the most common of which are the converter method, the electric arc furnace method and the oxygen top blowing method. In the steelmaking process, the chemical composition and properties of the steel can be adjusted by adding the right amount of alloying elements and controlling parameters such as temperature and pressure.

After steelmaking, the molten steel needs to be continuously cast, that is, the molten steel is poured into the continuous casting machine and cooled and solidified into billets through the crystallizer. The continuous casting machine can produce billets of different shapes and sizes, such as square billets, round billets, etc.

After continuous casting, the billet needs to be hot rolled. Hot rolling is to heat the billet to an appropriate temperature and then continuously roll it through a rolling mill to form the desired steel shape and size. Hot rolling can change the thickness, width and length of the steel and improve its mechanical properties.

After hot rolling, the steel needs to be cold processed to further improve its performance and surface quality. Cold processing includes cold rolling, cold drawing, cold bending and other processes, which can make the steel more uniform and smooth, and improve its strength and toughness.

In order to improve the corrosion resistance and aesthetics of steel, surface treatment is often required. Common surface treatment methods include galvanizing, spraying, chrome plating, etc., which can form a protective layer and extend the service life of steel.

The manufactured steel needs to undergo quality inspection, including chemical composition analysis, mechanical properties testing, etc.

Steelmaking equipment usually consists of the following main parts:

The blast furnace is the core equipment for steelmaking, which is used to reduce iron ore and fuel (such as coke) at high temperature to produce liquid iron. The blast furnace is usually composed of