Chapter 13: Newcomers cannot bear the responsibility alone

As one of the most widely used primary temperature sensors in industry, thermocouples have been used for more than half a century.

Simply put, a thermocouple is a closed circuit formed by welding one end of two conductors or semiconductors A and B made of different materials. When there is a temperature difference between conductors A and B, an electromotive force is generated between the two, thus forming a current of a certain magnitude in the circuit. This phenomenon is called the thermoelectric effect. Thermocouples work by applying this effect.

Thermocouples have the advantages of stable performance, high measurement accuracy, fast thermal response time, wide temperature measurement range, continuous temperature measurement from -200℃~2800℃, reliable performance, good mechanical strength, long service life, easy installation and low cost.

Of course, thermocouples have different graduations. For different usage environments, you need to choose thermocouples with appropriate graduations to achieve the best effect.

The most widely used one is the K-type thermocouple, a cheap metal thermocouple. This thermocouple has a temperature measurement range of -200℃~1300℃. Because of its moderate comprehensive performance and low price, it is the most commonly used type in industry.

What Gao Zhendong was going to make was an improved version of the K-type thermocouple, the N-type thermocouple (nickel-chromium-silicon-nickel-silicon thermocouple), which is also a cheap metal thermocouple that was only developed in the 20s.

In addition to the same characteristics as the K-type, the N-type thermocouple also solves two problems of the K-type thermocouple: the thermoelectric potential is unstable in the range of 300~500℃ and around 800℃.

At the same time, N-type thermocouples also have the advantages of good linearity, large thermoelectric potential, high sensitivity, good stability and uniformity, strong antioxidant performance, low price, and no influence of short-range ordering. Their comprehensive performance is better than that of K-type.

As for why Gao Zhendong wanted to make this thing even though he didn't get any thermocouple-related materials, it was because he was already a senior in his previous life and was working on his graduation project, which was titled "Design of Data Acquisition System in High-Temperature Environments," and he happened to use this thing.

In order to complete his graduation project, although he did not make it himself but used a finished product, Gao Zhendong still collected a lot of information about this thing and had a thorough understanding of it. He knew that the biggest difficulty of this thing actually lies in the composition and ratio of the positive and negative electrode materials, and the other parts are completely producible under the existing conditions.

Coincidentally, because of his graduation project, Gao Zhendong is very familiar with the material composition and ratio of various thermocouples. If it were not for the high price, he would also be familiar with S, R, and B precious metal thermocouples which each have their own characteristics.

Gao Zhendong immediately started writing a research plan for thermocouples and also wrote a report on the return air furnace.

He wrote all day, and his meals were just bread and milk. People who often do writing work know that when writing smoothly, you will really get high. He was so busy writing that he even forgot to draw the lottery. When he remembered it the next day, he could only comfort himself that even if he drew, it was just a novel. Gao Zhendong knew how to comfort himself.
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9: am Monday, Mr. Chen’s office.

Seeing that Engineer Chen had some free time, Gao Zhendong hurried to his office and placed the two documents on Engineer Chen's desk: "Engineer Chen, these are some ideas I have. Please give me some guidance." He also offered Engineer Chen a cigarette.

Engineer Chen happened to be free, so he took out his own cigarette and threw it to Gao Zhendong: "Well, I just happened to be free, let me take a look. Come on, you smoke too, I saw you smoking a few days ago, if you are thirsty, pour yourself some water."

Gao Zhendong lit a cigarette, poured himself a glass of water, and sat down on the chair.

When Engineer Chen took a look at the first document in his hand, he saw a line of words written on the cover: "Research Plan for Return Air Secondary Combustion Energy-Saving Solid Fuel Daily Furnaces".

When Lao Chen saw this thing, he thought it was interesting. He opened the cover and found that there were not many pages, but the content was quite complete.

The opening preface is "In order to improve the quality of life of the general public in cold climate conditions, save fuel, and reduce the production and living expenses of the people..."

Looking further down, you can see that the young man has a lot of words to say, such as "overview", "necessity of R&D", "R&D feasibility", "demand analysis", "preliminary design", "R&D period", "R&D cost", "fund utilization plan", "test plan" and so on. It takes several pages and is quite complete.

In addition to the construction schedule being listed, a Gantt chart was also used to make a construction schedule chart. The design drawing attached at the end was also very detailed and complete.

Engineer Chen read the document very quickly. When he finished, he looked up and lit another cigarette: "Well, not bad. Just based on the format and organization of this document, there are things that are worth learning even for me. For example, many old technicians in the factory have never heard of the bar chart." In fact, Gao Zhendong felt that he could never get used to the format of the technical research project establishment documents in the factory, so he used the project proposal format that would be commonly used in the future. When he heard Engineer Chen's praise, he felt a little embarrassed: "I tinkered with the format myself. I'm sorry to make you laugh."

Engineer Chen shook off the ash from his cigarette and continued talking about the materials: "I've seen it, it's good, the principle and design should be feasible. Although it has little to do with the work of the factory, if it is completed, the logistics and sales companies should be very interested."

Gao Zhendong was very happy that he had found a place to buy his return air furnace.

While reading the report, Engineer Chen continued to ask Gao Zhendong: "But I think the principle and design of Type A are very good among the two experimental models. Why is it necessary to open four longitudinal slits on the furnace wall of Type B?"

Gao Zhendong couldn't say that I deliberately made a Type B and waited for a bargain. The four longitudinal seams were welded to the steel plates, just like the normal Type A.

When doing research, products that work properly during testing must be owned by the public and cannot be touched. It is unknown when mass production will begin before buying them, so it is better to just get a failed product and buy it yourself. This way you don't take advantage of the public and you can quickly solve your own heating tool problem in the winter.

He had no choice but to reveal half of his idea: "I just want to see if I can increase the air intake. Hehe, this is what I thought. If the test result is not good, I will buy it with my own money. I can't let the government suffer losses."

When Engineer Chen heard this, he was stunned for a moment, then he laughed with a smile that seemed to show that he had seen through his child's tricks: "Haha, it's rare that you are thoughtful. However, how can I let a newcomer like you bear the loss alone? As a leader, I will take this risk with you. Type B, make two!"

Gao Zhendong was touched: "Oh, thank you so much for your concern, Mr. Chen."

The two looked at each other, chuckled, and understood each other tacitly.

Mr. Chen's smile was that kind of proud smile of "No matter how cunning you are, you can't escape my sharp eyes."

Gao Zhendong's smile is the kind of relaxed one that says "I have hundreds of compliments, but now only ninety-nine are left".

Engineer Chen closed the materials and said, "Well, this air return secondary combustion energy-saving solid fuel daily furnace is good. The principle is feasible, the research is simple, the effect is quick, the application is wide, the cost is not high, and the promotion value is good."

At this point, Lao Chen felt a little annoyed: "Why did you give this thing such a long name? It's inconvenient."

Gao Zhendong touched his head and said, "I'm not good at naming. Mr. Chen, please give me one."

Old Chen was very excited: "Well, there is no need to change the name in the report. From a technical point of view, this name is very good. It covers the principle, technology, characteristics and scope of application in just one sentence. However, it is not convenient for daily use, so we will just call it the return air furnace."

Old Chen was really talented. He came up with the future name right away. Gao Zhendong praised him immediately: "Great! Really great!"

Engineer Chen was quite satisfied with the first set of materials, so he reached out and picked up the second one. When he saw it, his eyes lit up. He sat up straight, put on his glasses, opened the report and read it carefully.

There was only one line of words on the cover of the second report: "Scientific Research Plan for Thermocouple Primary Sensors".

(End of this chapter)