Chapter 133: The Key Point

It must be understood that an aero-engine is a highly complex and sophisticated thermodynamic machine; it is the heart of an aircraft, accounting for 20% to 30% of the total value of the airframe. Within an aero-engine, turbine blades are specialized components. Due to their high quantity, intricate shapes, stringent requirements, and extreme difficulty in manufacturing, they have always been the critical bottleneck in engine production.

The thrust-to-weight ratio is a vital technical indicator of engine performance. Given that current technology allows for turbine inlet gas temperatures to exceed the heat tolerance of turbine blades, the use of high-performance blade materials can increase the turbine inlet temperature, allowing an aero-engine to generate greater thrust without increasing its weight, thereby improving the thrust-to-weight ratio.

Relevant research indicates that for every 100°C increase in turbine inlet temperature, an aero-engine's thrust-to-weight ratio can improve by approximately 10%.

"It is said that the turbine inlet average temperature for engines that barely reach a thrust-to-weight ratio of 10 is around 1600°C. Many future plans anticipate that the next generation of engines will likely reach a turbine inlet temperature of about 1800°C," Cheng Huanan’s voice was filled with an excitement that made it sound slightly ethereal. "Our new T5 material can withstand the thermal shock of 2400°C, leaping directly over the 2000-degree threshold!"

Academician Xie’s heart was equally turbulent. Having spent a lifetime working with materials, they understood exactly what these figures represented. It meant that if their current fighter engines utilized this new material, combined with the new T4 titanium-aluminum alloy airframe material—which is far lighter than anything used previously—the cumulative effect would be more than just one plus one; it would be exponential. It would allow their fighter jets’ thrust-to-weight ratio to surge forward, leaving the global standard behind and making a massive leap toward doubling performance.

What kind of concept was this? It was a concept beyond imagination!

"Wu Tong, the organization will certainly award you a great merit!" One material with the widest range of applications for airframes, and another material with the most demanding performance requirements for blades—working on both simultaneously and achieving success in both, optimizing the direction of engine improvements, and assisting in refining aircraft design... Wu Tong has brought a miraculous, leapfrog advancement to China’s aviation industry.

"It is thanks to Academician Xie’s guidance, and all the hard work Teacher put into making perfect preparations. I only handled some of the design and follow-up work," Wu Tong shook her head. Aside from deducing the material models and arranging experiments with her teacher, she hadn't really done much and felt she could not take the credit.

However, seeing the physical material reach her expected values was still very gratifying.

"Fortunately, the experiment went smoothly. Teacher, Academician Xie, you have been busy all day, please take a rest. Starting tomorrow, we will repeat the preparation and verification process, and afterward, we must have these blades tested in truly extreme environments!" Materials intended to serve the "Chinese Eagle" cannot tolerate the slightest carelessness. They must be tempered and refined; thousands upon thousands of tests would not be surprising. Every item must be precise to the extreme—that is the only way to be responsible to the people and the pilots.

"I will review and deduce the preparation process once more. Finally, I have fulfilled the trust placed in me!"

Only then did Wu Tong find the time to glance at the clock; it was already late into the night. Both lunch and dinner today had been rushed meals eaten in the lab, as everyone’s focus was entirely on the experiment.

"Haha... this is a surprise that exceeds all expectations. You are all great contributors. Come, come, I have prepared a midnight snack for you. Everyone, fill your stomachs first, and then I will arrange for people to take you back to rest!" Zheng Hongming, who had rushed over to take charge of secrecy and supervision upon receiving notification that the material had been produced, smiled as he greeted them.

He had arrived in a hurry and caught the final tests of the material. Even with his limited knowledge of materials, he could sense how exceptional those performance figures were, and he was equally thrilled.

"That sounds wonderful; Little Zheng, you are always the most thoughtful! Oh, there are egg tarts and grilled wings too. Wu Tong, these are things you young people like, you should eat more! The success of this project is primarily your achievement; without your deduction and design, no matter how well we provided support, it would have been to no avail," Old Cheng waved his hand, sharing a smile with Academician Xie.

Generally, young people need to be humble, but for Wu Tong, it was truly unnecessary. If she wanted to show off, she could, and it wouldn't matter at all. If they had achieved such great results at Wu Tong’s age, the Earth wouldn't have been able to contain them!

"Your teacher is right. Excessive humility is pride, Wu Tong!" Academician Xie teased in agreement.

"That’s true, that’s true. Oh, Goddess, you have to leave us some room to walk; let us be the humble ones!" Ruan Chengxu, Little Lv, and the other young researchers laughed as they chimed in, and the lounge was instantly filled with laughter.

The experiment was an unprecedented success, and replicating the preparation would not be difficult. Everyone’s mood was relaxed and joyful; even though they had stayed up until the early hours for another day, they felt energized and showed no signs of fatigue.

Laughing and chatting, everyone finished the midnight snack Zheng Hongming had arranged, and Wu Tong organized the final statistical data and saved it with encryption.

The others tidied up the laboratory, and everyone left to rest one after another. With the coordination of Old Cheng, these auxiliary researchers, who had all signed non-disclosure agreements, had quietly moved into adjacent dormitories.

Wu Tong was also escorted back to her dormitory by personnel arranged by Zheng Hongming. In just a few short days, her importance to him had grown with each passing day.

He had already communicated with Peking University regarding the adjustment of Wu Tong’s dormitory. She was expected to move into the faculty apartments on campus within the next two days. The single-room dormitories in Shaoyuan housed mostly overseas students and were, relatively speaking, more chaotic; from the perspective of security, they were not entirely safe.

The day after the new T4 alloy material was produced—the same day the project was formally proposed—the security team had, with Wu Tong’s consent, conducted a meticulous risk assessment of her campus dormitory and her residence in Yanyuan under the guise of cleaning staff.

As Wu Tong demonstrated increasingly high personal value, her security arrangements were upgraded accordingly. Now, her level of protection was nearly on par with Old Cheng.

Of course, this did not mean that all of Wu Tong’s benefits had caught up to those of an Academician in such a short time. After all, experts who reached that level were typically top scholars who had made outstanding contributions to the country and had struggled for the nation’s sake. They might not have had such a dazzling moment as Wu Tong, but they had dedicated their all to the country’s development.

It was simply because Wu Tong was currently leading a major national-level project, shouldering the development and production of two top-secret materials, and had access to highly classified information, that her security priority had been raised first.

Even so, Wu Tong was now on the national priority list and was a key subject for focused protection. Especially now, with the sudden success of the T5 single-crystal nickel-iron alloy blade material, her importance rating would be elevated once again.