There is enough pig iron, and the molten iron in the furnace has greater uses.
The craftsman closed the trench used for casting and opened the trench leading to the iron furnace. The iron furnace was nestled below the horizon, and the molten iron flowed into the iron furnace that had been burning for half an hour.
This kind of iron-frying stove looks like a Kung Fu tea cup, but the bottom and wall of the cup are hollow. The molten iron is placed in the cup, and the coal burns at the bottom of the cup. The flame passes through the arched teacup wall and reflects the heat into the cup to add heat to the molten iron.
warm, and then pumped away from the chimney.
The section of the chimney root that extends from the furnace is buried under the trench where the molten iron flows in, and plays a role in preheating the molten iron.
Heating the molten iron in the furnace, preheating the molten iron on the groove entering the furnace, heating the air blown into the bottom combustion chamber, the flame exerts waste heat along the way, maximizing the use of its own energy, and finally turns into a wisp of smoke and dissipates in the
In the air...
Fang Jun looked at the thick smoke and dust, his heart pounding, wondering if it would turn Chang'an into the world's first smog city?
If the fuel and molten iron are completely separated, coal can be used. It can be dug out and used directly. The cost is much lower than charcoal that needs to be fired in a kiln. It does not come into contact with iron anyway, and harmful substances such as sulfur and phosphorus will not be mixed into the molten iron.
.
Coal can be used to make coke. As far as Fang Jun knows, coke is the most authentic way to make iron. However, time is really tight right now and the high cost of charcoal is not worth considering.
At this time, the molten iron has been heated, and there are dots of light - those are tiny slags mixed in the molten iron...
The craftsman started the mixing equipment, and the large disk on the top of the furnace slowly rotated, driving the wrought iron rods to stir in circles in the molten iron. The molten iron tumbled, which was obviously a hundred times more powerful than human power.
Once the molten pig iron produced in the blast furnace is stirred, the carbon and oxygen in the air react violently at high temperatures to produce carbon dioxide, releasing a large amount of heat. The molten iron boils, bubbles pop out, and the slag is pushed to the edge of the furnace to accumulate.
The melting point of pig iron is lower than that of pure iron. When carbon combines with oxygen, the carbon content in the pig iron gradually decreases, and its melting point gradually increases. As a result, the molten iron in the iron furnace gradually becomes thicker, from clear soup to sauce, and from sauce to sauce.
to jelly…
Finally, it gathers into cute iron balls, which are in a molten state.
After stopping the stirring, the craftsmen used long-nose pliers to pick up a piece of iron ball, put it under the forging hammer and struck it.
There was a clanging sound, and the carbon element in the iron mass was squeezed out in the form of simple graphite. Together with the fine slag inside and the iron oxide debris on the surface, it turned into little sparks in the air due to the high temperature.
There is no technical content in this forging. It is just to remove impurities. The process is very simple. Just use pliers to hold it under the forging hammer and tap it casually a few times. Wrought iron is very soft at high temperatures, so it is easy to shape.
The so-called "wrought iron" that has been beaten is not actually wrought iron in the sense of modern textbooks. There is no such thing as raw or wrought iron in the international metallurgical community. In the modern steel industry, domestically produced iron with a carbon content of less than 0.02% is called wrought iron.
Abroad, it is called pure iron, which is very soft; carbon content between 0.02% and 2.11% is called steel; carbon content above 2.11% is called pig iron in China and cast iron abroad.
In our country, the iron that is directly produced from iron ore in a blast furnace is called pig iron, and the iron that is fried in a frying furnace or steel furnace is called "wrought iron".
The carbon content of this "wrought iron" is inversely proportional to the frying time. The longer it is fried, the more carbon will be oxidized, and the lower the carbon content of the iron will be, and vice versa, so its carbon content can be between 0.01% and 1.5%.
Floating includes "pure iron" and "steel" in the modern sense.
Therefore, frying iron in ancient times was equivalent to frying steel.
It's just that the process is difficult to master. The finished products are mainly iron and medium-low carbon steel. If you are lucky, you can get one or two pieces of high-carbon steel - the probability is not much different from winning the lottery...
In steel products, the lower the carbon content, the softer it is, and the higher the carbon content, the brittle and hard it is.
Medium and low carbon steel is soft and not sharp when used to make swords. The ancients also regarded it as "wrought iron" and can only be used to make ordinary iron tools such as farm tools. Only the toughness, hardness and strength of high carbon steel meet the needs of making weapons. Then
It's "steel"...
The level of carbon content determines the softness and hardness of steel, so by looking at its performance when struck by a forging hammer, an experienced blacksmith can tell which piece of iron is soft and can only be used to make hoes, and which piece is good steel and can be forged with extremely sharp edges.
The precious sword.
At this point, Fang Jun's historical tasks have been completed, and he can call the curtain call with peace of mind...
He didn't know whether good steel could be produced. His level of knowledge only allowed him to understand the principles, but he had no practical experience. In this regard, he was not even as good as these Tang Dynasty craftsmen who had been working hard all their lives.
"Master, master! Come and see, the piece I hit may be steel!"
A young apprentice was shouting over there, attracting all the idle people over.
Wang Xiaoer went over in person, picked up the piece of iron with long-nose pliers, put it under the forging hammer and banged it a few times, and said in a deep voice: "It's not even close. It can be used to make a kitchen knife, or it can be used to make an adze or a chisel."
No matter how hard you try, the sword and sword won’t make it!”
"oh!"
The young apprentice was slightly disappointed and responded dully.
Seeing this, Wang Xiaoer stretched out his hand and slapped his apprentice hard on the back of the head, scolding: "Porcelain coward! How can you be so dissatisfied? Your master, I have been working in iron all my life. How many pieces of steel have I seen? It's you."
This piece in my hand is already a rare good thing!"
The apprentice next to him snickered. The young apprentice covered the back of his head with a grimace and hesitated to speak.
At this time, Wang Xiaoer's eldest apprentice shouted in a muffled voice: "Master, come and take a look at this piece!"
He held a piece of wrought iron and pounded it repeatedly under the forging hammer. With each strike of the forging hammer, sparks flew out, but no traces were left. This piece of iron was tough and hard, and it was obviously a high-quality piece of iron.
steel!
"Er...Er Di Tian!"
Wang Xiaoer's eyes were red, his whole body was trembling with excitement, and his voice was trembling: "Erlang, you are simply amazing... No, it's the ancestor who descended to earth! I have been working hard all my life, but I have never seen the first
It’s unbelievable that fine steel can be produced by frying iron in a furnace!”
Regarding this question, Fang Jun disagreed and curled his lips and said: "It's just a probability. How much iron did you have in a furnace before? How much is the iron in this furnace now? With so much wrought iron, how long does it take for craftsmen to remove it from the iron furnace?
The order varies, and the carbon content varies. There should always be one or two pieces of good steel. This is not worth being too happy about! What you need to pay attention to is where the piece of iron that produces good steel is located.
When will it be released? Turn this probability of good luck into a controllable technology! From then on, you can have as much steel as you want!"
Wang Xiaoer was stunned for a long time, then he suddenly woke up and shouted "Ouch", his eyes were red with excitement!
In the past, when frying iron, the pig iron was first beaten into pieces and put together with charcoal into a much smaller iron-making furnace. A bellows blew air from the top of the furnace.
After burning for a long time, the pig iron melts, and then stirs with a stick until the iron condenses into a ball, and finally takes it out for forging and squeezing out the slag.
In this way, only a few hundred kilograms of iron can be fried at a time. However, Erlang's iron-frying furnace directly uses the molten iron smelted from the blast furnace to fry tens of thousands of kilograms of iron at a time, which is equivalent to frying more than a hundred furnaces of iron in the past and producing one or two pieces of fine steel.
, it is not surprising at all.
Coupled with the precise control of groping experience... Oh my god!
Doesn’t that mean we can get as much steel as we need?
"Who can write? Hurry and write it down for me..."
Wang Xiaoer's eyes widened with anger, and he was so scared that the young apprentice next to him raised his hands tremblingly: "Um...master, I learned writing from my husband in school, but I don't know much..."
Wang Xiaoer slapped him over with a slap: "Little calf, if you can't write, just draw circles..."
Seeing Wu Meiniang purse her lips and smile.
Fang Jun glanced at the craftsmen around him, faded his smile, and said seriously: "This method is the foundation of my Fang family, and it will be passed down from generation to generation, and you will also be the craftsmen of the Fang family from generation to generation.
This craft will be praised and respected by the world, so this method must be strictly kept secret. If someone leaks it, don't blame someone for being unkind!"
Everyone changed their colors.
They are not fools. This ability to accurately master the craftsmanship of fine steel refining will definitely make those iron factories red-eyed, and there will be countless threats and inducements.
Not to mention that everyone is loyal to the Fang family and are amazed by Fang Jun. Even if Fang Jun is poached by another iron factory, can Fang Jun let him go? According to Fang Jun's temperament, you just hide in the mouse hole, and he
I have to pull it out for you and twist off my head!
Wang Xiaoer quickly expressed his position: "Since we, the craftsmen, are the servants of the Fang family, there is absolutely no way we can go elsewhere. Moreover, although this method is not difficult, the important links are performed by the old apprentices, and even they only know how to do it."
I don’t know why, and I will never leak this method, but don’t worry, Erlang! If there is any mistake, I will take eight of my disciples and pay for the dozens of lives of each family to Erlang!”
Fang Jun remained silent and glanced at Wu Meiniang.
Wu Meiniang understood and said with a smile: "Master Wang, why are you doing this? Is the husband just telling you to be careful when sailing a thousand-year boat? But from now on, when you enter or leave the manor, you must report in advance, and you must travel with more than three people.
Only by supervising each other. I hope Master Wang can understand."
Wang Xiaoer said with relief: "Mrs. Wu, don't worry, I will understand. It should be, it should be. If anyone dares not to listen, I will break their legs myself without you doing anything!" Such secret matters must be strictly guarded against.
, the Fang family is showing kindness by doing this. If it were another family, they would not be able to sign a life-and-death contract with you, and they would never even think of stepping out of the iron factory for the rest of their lives...