Chapter 1034: The British 4-stage strategy for problem solving

After determining the specific direction to solve the problem, Hang Zhibin and others quickly returned to their work.

About a month later, they finally succeeded in producing a block of 4722 titanium-aluminum alloy substrate that met the requirements.

Although there is still a big gap in volume limit, product density and molding accuracy compared with the same materials of the British, Chang Haonan did not really want to use these domestic base materials to produce blades directly.

If it is just used as a basic consumable in the process of process development, the requirements are actually not that high.

Therefore, when the second batch of blades provided by Rolls-Royce arrived, he had almost completed the development of the basic database and process parameter calculation method for the 4722 alloy.

The next task is basically the same as the previous one when dealing with nickel-based alloys.

Of course, in order to meet higher production standards, the processing parameters of the low-pressure turbine disc will also require higher precision.

It will inevitably take longer to determine.

But no matter what, the most difficult stage is finally over.

As for the high-pressure turbine part that was assigned to Zhang Zhenhua from the very beginning, the research and development process was even smoother.

There were some minor setbacks along the way, which were mostly due to the lack of experience of several key members.

It wasn't even Chang Haonan's turn to intervene directly, but the problem was solved directly in several technical seminars.

In the end, it brought a happy trouble -

Due to the requirements of Rolls-Royce headquarters, the subcontracting contract signed between Gaofa Group and Xiluo Company was dated at the end of the year.

However, it is not even November yet, and the former has already produced a product that has passed the test...

So much so that it cannot be delivered at all.

On the other hand, the ultra-short laser processing equipment provided to Haofa Group is still in the debugging process.

Even if it is really going to be mass-produced, we will have to wait for several months.

According to general principles, if Party A does not sign, mass production will not start, and the project team must be maintained and cannot be disbanded.

Chang Haonan did have other things to be responsible for. For example, the KJ-2000 had already begun to be modified at Gaofei not far away. He needed to install his own Air Force data link system on it for future testing.

But other people in the R&D team definitely cannot run around casually.

Especially Hang Zhibin and his team from Institute 621.

Out of concern for the situation at the beginning of next year, Chang Haonan didn't want them to return to Beijing at this critical juncture.

So, you always have to find something else related to do.

So, at the last seminar in October, which was probably also the last one before the sample delivery, everyone began to brainstorm on this issue.

In fact, considering the time point of the end of 2002, and the fact that the Trent 900 is the world's top high-bypass ratio turbofan engine, almost everyone thinks of the WS-20 first.

According to the plan, after Gaofa officially starts mass production of the Rolls-Royce order and SeA650 successfully completes its maiden flight, the WS-20 project will be launched based on the experience accumulated from these two projects.

The approach is still to concentrate all efforts on tackling tough problems, with Gaofa as the main unit and Shengjing, Rongcheng, Zhucheng and other brother units as auxiliary units.

It just won’t be as big as the WS-10.

Therefore, Hang Zhibin and others immediately stated that the improved titanium-aluminum alloy they were developing could be used as a preliminary research project for the WS-20, and consider replacing the materials of the rear 20-2 low-pressure turbines and the first two high-pressure compressors of the WS-3 with titanium alloys.

Referring to the situation of Trent 900, it can probably bring about a weight loss of about 160-200 kg.

You should know that an engine like the WS-20 with a thrust volume of 13-15 tons only weighs about 3 tons.

This is equivalent to a reduction of about 1.5% at a time.

Without changing the overall design of the engine, this is already a very impressive number.

Even Chang Haonan couldn't help but be a little tempted.

However, he eventually gave up this somewhat radical proposal.

After all, the low-pressure turbine and high-pressure compressor are both components of the core engine. Any changes will be major changes. The WS-20 relies on the core engine of the WS-10. It should have a shorter R&D cycle, mainly for training the R&D team, and without too much risk.

Even the Y-20 transport aircraft, which is expected to be equipped with the WS-9, has now entered the structural strength verification stage and will soon begin wind tunnel testing.

There really isn't much room for trial and error.

The new titanium alloy is still in its early stages. It will probably take some time to complete the research and development and to improve the molding process to a level sufficient for the production of turbine blades.

This is not to mention that due to the different surface properties of different materials, the heat-resistant and anti-oxidation coatings originally used for nickel-based alloys have poor adhesion on titanium alloys, so a new coating system needs to be developed, and the traditional processing methods such as hot pressing, casting, and forging of titanium alloys in China are not well studied...

In short, opening up a new branch in the manufacturing industry is not something that can be accomplished by a few units in just three or two years.

Several other ideas related to the WS-20 were also rejected for similar reasons.

In the end, Chang Haonan even thought about simply carrying out the preliminary research and development of the WS-900 under the name of the current "Trent 20 Turbine Production Project Team".

Anyway, he has done similar things many times before.

The only problem is that this project team is using British funds, so it may be difficult to do the accounting later...

Fortunately, at this time, Ren Bingda, who had been silent, suddenly spoke:

"Boss Chang, I remember when we first received the technical information from the British, you seemed to have said that the Trent 900 had certain design flaws?"

This sudden change of topic made Chang Haonan stunned for a moment:

“Not entirely…”

After hesitating for a moment, he gave an uncertain answer:

"It does not have an anti-overspeed design on the turbine structure, but after all, I haven't seen the complete design plan of the Trent 900, so I can't be sure whether there are other alternatives..."

"Then... do we need to tell Luo Luo about this and come up with an improvement plan based on it?"

Ren Bingda asked:

"On the one hand, it is to practice for the WS-20, and on the other hand... it is also to prevent the blame from being placed on the turbine blades we produce if something goes wrong with the Trent 900 in the future."

"hiss……"

Chang Haonan immediately made a tactical retreat.

When he first heard the first half of the other party's question, he was ready to refuse without thinking.

Rolls-Royce is not a sister unit of our same group. This is just a simple business cooperation. The main point is to give up the mentality of helping others and respect the fate of others.

Just do what's stipulated in the contract and that's it.

But Ren Bingda's subsequent explanation forced Chang Haonan to start thinking carefully.

Given the nature of the British and Japanese, if something really happens, there will be some wrangling, at least before the results of the investigation come out.

The investigation of aviation accidents...takes a relatively long time.

As a new player in the aviation manufacturing industry, China has to be on guard even if it is right, for the sake of reputation...

But then again, if Rolls-Royce just solves the problem like this, on the one hand it would be a bit of a loss, and on the other hand it might not end well.

As the saying goes, a good doctor does not have a glorious reputation.

Some defects will not attract attention until they actually cause problems.

If you say it in advance, others might think you are looking for trouble.

"you're right."

Chang Haonan nodded:

"However, the improvement plan should be implemented, but it should be kept in our own hands after it is completed."

"As for the design flaws... there is no need for us to mention them specifically. We can wait until later when we deliver samples and include a risk warning in the production documentation."

"If the British take this matter seriously, that would be great. Whether they seek a solution from us or handle it themselves, we played an important role in it. Even if they use this matter to publicize it in the future, no one can find fault with it."

"If they didn't notice, then we've kept a record of it in written form. If something goes wrong in the future, we can just look through the signed documents and leave the rest to the Japanese and the British to wrestle with..."

As soon as the words fell, Ren Bingda immediately heard the hidden meaning:

"You think the British might not take this issue seriously?"

This speculation was completely beyond the expectations of most people.

"That's not the case..."

The muscles on Zhang Zhenhua's face twitched a few times, and he was obviously very surprised:

"Rolls-Royce is, after all, a long-established aerospace engine company...there should still be some bottom line when it comes to safety."

Several people around him also expressed similar attitudes:

"It would be fine if it was just an oversight, but since we pointed it out, it should have been corrected anyway..."

"Yes, I think so too..."

"..."

However, Ren Bingda, who had the most dealings with the British, shook his head and insisted on his opinion:

"No, you don't understand the English..."

Finally, everyone turned their attention back to Chang Haonan.

Faced with this question, the latter was a little difficult to answer for a while -

In fact, there is another reason why he made the above decision.

If the Trent 900 really has problems due to this defect, it would be a good thing for China...

Because of the existence of that risk warning, the whole world will soon know that a company called Gaofa Group from China had issued a warning long ago.

In comparison, it's simply free advertising.

You know, for an industry giant like Rolls-Royce, the chance to make mistakes is not always there...

But this kind of thing is definitely not suitable to be said in public.

So, he organized his words and decided to end the topic with a classic joke:

"The British generally deal with this problem in four steps."

“The first stage is to declare that nothing happened;”

“The second stage is saying maybe something is going on, but no action should be taken;”

“Stage three means maybe action should be taken, but there is nothing we can do;

"Stage 4 is admitting that maybe something could have been done, but now it's too late..."