Beiyang 1917

[Text] Chapter 190 IX The Secret of Dula Aluminum

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At the end of January 1917, the ninth batch of U.S. reinforcements arrived in China. This was the second batch of the second phase of a loan of 1 million U.S. dollars. It was still five brigades of American-style munitions. Japan accelerated the delivery of artillery. A batch of artillery purchase orders subcontracted to Japan from the U.S. aid munitions procurement list were finally delivered by the end of January.download_load_floor

With the arrival of the ninth batch of U.S. aid, there is also a complete set of production equipment for an aluminum plant with an annual output of 1 tons of electrolytic aluminum that Wang Geng recently purchased. For Ford Motor Company, aluminum alloy is an essential material, although in 1918, whether it was an airplane or a car, it was basically a steel structure plus a wood structure.

The reason why Wang Geng does not plan to mass-produce the imitation SE5 and DH4 aircraft is because he wants to build more advanced aluminum alloy structure and skin monoplane fighters and reconnaissance bombers in the future. Of course, the engine is always a problem. V-type Engines in this era are still mainly liquid-cooled, and air-cooled radial engines have only just appeared in Europe, and they are still far from large-scale applications.

The monoplane was designed by the French very early on, but due to the relatively low power of piston engines in this era, although the Germans secretly made aluminum alloy materials first, the Allied Powers have not yet mastered this technology, and the monoplane Due to the low power of the engine, the practicability of the aircraft is very poor, and the lift is far from enough. This is also the reason why biplanes and even triplanes dominate the sky.

For Wang Geng, when he left the United States and returned to China last year, the research directions assigned to the various branches of the Manhattan Industrial Bank’s technology research and development center, except Garand’s Light Weapons Experimental Center and Dr. Curry’s Pharmaceutical Research and Development Center, the rest are aluminum alloys. A research center for craft projects.

Although Wang Geng can't remember the specific formula of aluminum alloy, in fact, there are countless labels and formulas for adding different metals to aluminum alloy in his previous life, but Wang Geng really can't remember so many, he just knows that there are pressed aluminum alloy and cast aluminum alloy, Pressed aluminum alloys are divided into non-heat-treatable and heat-treatable types, which are generally used for surface structures of objects, such as automobile compartments and aircraft skins

Cast aluminum alloys can be divided into aluminum-silicon alloys, aluminum-copper alloys, aluminum-magnesium alloys, aluminum-zinc alloys and aluminum rare earth alloys. Among them, aluminum-silicon alloys have simple aluminum-silicon alloys (which cannot be strengthened by heat treatment, have low mechanical properties, and are cast Good performance), special aluminum-silicon alloy (heat treatment strengthening, high mechanical performance, good casting performance), cast aluminum alloy is used in the cast state, and automobile and aircraft engines can be made of cast aluminum alloy.

Some aluminum alloys can gain mechanical properties, physical properties and corrosion resistance properties after heat treatment.

In fact, as early as 1906, the German metallurgist Alfred Wilmo tried to add other metal elements to aluminum, and finally invented an alloy containing copper, manganese, magnesium and aluminum.He also discovered that this aluminum alloy has a magical effect, that is, it will automatically become very hard after being placed at room temperature for 4 days, which is very suitable for making transportation vehicles and other industrial equipment.Because this aluminum alloy was industrially produced in Dura for the first time, it was named Dura Aluminum!

The problem is that the formula and hardening process of duralumin are strictly kept secret by the Germans, and the Germans use duralumin to make a rigid airship, which has a speed of more than 100km and has a strong deterrent effect.Allied military experts were troubled by this.

In Wang Geng's previous life, the secret of duralumin was not revealed until after the First World War. The whole world immediately began to use aluminum alloy to develop airships. Aluminum is known as "flying metal" and entered the aviation industry market.The invention of duralumin provided an opportunity for the development of the aluminum industry.

Now, Wang Geng wants to make aluminum alloys appear on his airplanes and cars in advance in China. Of course, the most important thing is the airplane. As far as China's current steel production is concerned, Wang Geng has given up any plans to build an invincible fleet to compete for supremacy at sea. Work hard, the Japanese Navy was not built in a day, and the British Navy is an unshakable existence, including the US Navy.

Back then, the steel materials used to build a Yamato ship in Japan could be used to build 2 Type Zero fighters. Wang Geng planned to focus on building the army and air force. Wang Geng's top priority for the development of arms, although the imitation and research and development of aircraft engines and car engines will take time, but Wang Geng's determination remains unchanged!

Facing the vast land of Siberia, Wang Geng couldn’t imagine the scene where his model army of 50 participated in the war faced the more than 300 million Soviet Russian soldiers pouring in like a tide. It must be a nightmare. The Japanese intervention army once occupied The Far East of Soviet Russia lasted for seven years, and 11 divisions were invested successively, which accounted for almost half of Japan's standing troops at that time.

In my previous life, nearly 1918 Japanese troops occupied the Far East at the beginning of 7. As a result, I spent 7 years in disgrace and spent only coughing and coughing with the Soviet Russian guerrillas, and finally got kicked out by the Soviet Russian sleeve army.

When Wang Geng studied the history of the Soviet-Russian Civil War in his previous life, he had to mourn for the 50 White Guards led by Kolchak, Denikin and Semyon. The quality and military command quality are much better than the Soviet Russian soldiers who can only shout Ulla.

The sad thing is that in the previous life, in March 1918, 3 White Guards followed Kolchak across the Ural Mountains and rushed to the Volga Valley. As a result, within a year, they were killed by the Soviet Russian sleeve army mobilized by 50 million emergency armed forces. Withdrew in despair.

During Wang Geng’s research in his previous life, he discovered that during the Soviet-Russian Civil War, the White Guards died as high as 50. They were not defeated, they were wiped out, while the Soviet-Russian sleeve army on the opposite side had more than 150 million dead!

Even a good hunter can't hold back so many wolves. Wang Geng doesn't intend to compete with Soviet Russia in crowd tactics, and he doesn't intend to let his model army join the guerrillas to play with the guerrillas. Making use of firepower and its own advantages is a part of the model army since its establishment. A concept that has been instilled in the heads of the division and brigade leaders!

The participating army is not more than the enemy, but the number of aircraft and cannons is more than that of the enemy!Who has more tanks and armored vehicles!Restoring the eastern section of the Sino-Russian border to the "Sino-Russian Treaty of Nerchinsk" delineated from the Heilongjiang tributary of the Geerbiqi River to the Outer Xing'an Mountains to the sea, Lingnan is all Chinese territory!Since it is Chinese territory, it must be taken back!

If the time comes, the Soviet-Russian guerrillas will make noise on the territory recovered by China!Although the three major disciplines of the model army participating in the war-the nine points of attention to discipline must be implemented unremittingly, but for the stubborn invaders who invade China's territory, the participating army will have another slogan at that time!That is welcome to Siberia for hard labor!

Wang Geng’s electrolytic aluminum base was Xiaoyi County in the Luliang area of ​​Jinzhong, Shanxi Province. This is the location of China’s largest bauxite mine and a large amount of coal. China Aluminum Company was officially established at the end of January. The shareholding structure is similar to that of China Iron and Steel Similarly, coal is used to generate electricity, and then electrolysis is used to produce aluminum and aluminum alloys.

Speaking of the electrolytic aluminum method that brought aluminum into industrial application, I have to mention the two people who invented the electrolytic aluminum smelting method.They were both 23-year-old youths at the time - Hall () of Ohio, USA.

In 1886, Hall and Elu coincidentally put alumina into molten cryolite, and connected direct current to electrolyze metal aluminum.This method no longer needs to consume expensive metal sodium as a reducing agent, the cost is greatly reduced, and the yield and quality are also greatly improved.This is the famous and still used Hall-Eru electrolysis method.

There are many coincidences between these two people. They were born in the same year and made a major discovery in the same year. The patent application period is only 2 months apart. Hall applied for the US patent on February 1886, 2, and Herou applied for the French patent on April 23. Patent, the application was sent to the US Patent Office on May 4.Of course the US patent has been given to Hall.This is a coincidence.

Both scientists died prematurely in 1914, at the age of 51, from typhoid fever.If penicillin was available at that time, I wonder if such a tragedy could have been avoided!

If it weren't for the appearance of Wang Geng's butterfly, the Nanman Railway Co., Ltd., a small Japanese company in its previous life, discovered bauxite in Fushun in 1924, established the Fushun Aluminum Plant in 1938, and produced a total of more than 1945 tons of electrolytic aluminum by 45000. The annual output is only more than 6000 tons. Lao Maozi occupied the Northeast for 45 years and dismantled all the workshop equipment back to Russia!

History will not repeat itself. The large-scale use of aluminum alloys in automobiles and aircraft will not be until the end of the First World War. The secret of Dura aluminum in Germany is revealed. At this time, the aluminum chemical scientists at the Technology Research and Development Center of Manhattan Industrial Bank, Under the guidance of Wang Geng, through countless experiments and explorations, at the end of December 1917, the aluminum alloy material with the physical characteristics of duralumin that Wang Geng requested was finally experimentally produced!

Of course, the mere output of the laboratory is far from enough, and Wang Geng, like the Germans, does not intend to let the password of Dula Aluminum appear in the eyes of the public at this moment, so even the laboratory brings American experts, and Vivira replaces them. The equipment of a medium-sized electrolytic aluminum plant that I bought by myself was shipped to China along with the ninth batch of munitions!