Chapter 193 Aramid 1414
After taking two days off, Xu Qiang returned to the factory to work and saw the chemical laboratory he had been looking forward to for a long time.

The freshly painted house and the laboratory filled with various equipment made him feel as if he had returned to his previous life, to the first place he worked after graduation.

There is definitely a gap between the chemical instruments of this time and those of later times, but in fact, the gap between most of the equipment is not that big, which is enough for Xu Qiang. With these instruments purchased at a high price, Xu Qiang can finally start the next step of product research and development.

The first product project that Xu Qiang was going to undertake was aramid.

There are two common types of aramid, one is meta-aramid, also called aramid 1313, and the other is para-aramid, called aramid 1414.

These two types of aramid are similar in internal structure, but have different performances and uses.

Meta-aramid 1313 has long-term thermal stability, which is its most important characteristic. It can be used for a long time at a high temperature of 200°C without aging and has excellent dimensional stability.

Para-aramid is inherently flame retardant, with a limiting oxygen index (LOI) of >28%. It will not spontaneously combust or melt in the air, nor will it produce molten droplets, and it will extinguish itself when the flame leaves.

Para-aramid has excellent electrical insulation properties, and the breakdown voltage of insulating paper made from it can reach 20 kV/mm; meta-aramid has excellent corrosion resistance and radiation resistance. In addition, meta-aramid also has low rigidity and high elongation, and can be processed with conventional textile machinery.

Because of the above advantages, para-aramid is known as "bulletproof fiber" and is widely used in national defense, military industry, personal protection, sports and leisure and other fields.

In general, meta-aramid is mostly used in fireproof materials, and para-aramid is mostly used in bulletproof vests, cut-resistant gloves and other aspects to prevent mechanical damage.

In addition, para-aramid fiber is also widely used in the aerospace field, and has become a material for manufacturing rockets, spacecraft and other equipment. Due to the high strength and light weight of aramid fiber, it can save a lot of weight for rockets and spacecraft. It is estimated that every 1 kilogram of weight reduction of these aerospace equipment may save 1 million US dollars. It can be seen that aramid fiber is of great significance in important fields such as military and aerospace.

Because of this, developed countries have a strict confidentiality policy on the synthetic formula of aramid fiber, and while producing on a large scale and reducing costs, they export it to other countries at high prices.

Since China had not been deeply involved in this field before, it was often forced to import aramid fiber products from the United States, Japan and other countries at high prices. For a product that cost 20 yuan, the United States and Japan even dared to offer a high price of 2800 yuan, which is hundreds of times the cost and can be called a huge profit.

The product that Xu Qiang is preparing to develop this time is para-aramid 1414, which is the material used to make Kevlar bulletproof vests.

Since the successful development and industrialization of para-aramid 20 by DuPont in the United States in the 70s, aramid has always been used as a strategic material. Its main production technology has always been in the hands of international giants such as the United States, Japan and the Soviet Union. Its military fiber is even regarded as a strategic material and is embargoed from sale to China.

In his previous life, when Xu Qiang was a researcher at BJ Chemical Research Institute, he participated in the research and development of domestic third-generation aramid paper. Although he was not the project leader, he also participated in the research and development of some key technologies and eventually mastered the production process of the third-generation aramid.

After having this idea, Xu Qiang went directly to the factory director Liu Biao.

"Director Liu, this is the application for the new product development project."

After arriving at the factory director's office, Xu Qiang directly placed the prepared project application on Liu Biao's desk.

"For this kind of thing, you should ask Chief Engineer Li, maybe he can give you some advice..." Seeing the various professional terms on the new product project application, Liu Biao frowned immediately. It was obvious that he didn't know much about the technology.

"Chief Engineer Li doesn't understand anything about chemical engineering. Besides, I'm not from the technical department and I have no obligation to apply for or report to him," said Xu Qiang.

In fact, Xu Qiang knew that even if he found Li Cunzhu, it would be useless because Li Cunzhu didn't understand chemical engineering, and if he wanted to apply for research and development funds, Liu Biao would have to make the final decision in the end, so he simply didn't waste time.

"From the tone of your voice, it seems that you are very dissatisfied with Chief Engineer Li." Liu Biao glanced at Xu Qiang and said with a smile.

"I don't have any objections, I don't work under him, and we don't see each other very often. I just see him during meetings, that's all." Xu Qiang curled his lips and said, "No objections is the best! In fact, both of you are important technical talents in the factory. Chief Engineer Li is older than you and has more experience than you. You should respect him." Liu Biao paused and continued, "This time our factory's chemical laboratory has been built according to your plan. I have set the stage for you. Next, it's up to you to perform. At the beginning, you swore to me that you would definitely get back the 100,000 yuan investment with interest in the future..."

At this moment, Liu Biao looked like a 'profiteer'. Now that the investment had been made, the only thing left was to exploit Xu Qiang's talent.

"Director Liu, what I said definitely counts, but I suggest you take a look at my R&D plan first," Xu Qiang reminded.

"It's all filled with English letters and technical terms, which I can't understand. Just tell me directly about the content of this R&D plan." Liu Biao put the application back on the table and said to Xu Qiang while looking directly at him.

"Okay." Xu Qiang nodded and said, "Then let me briefly explain. The name of my new product is 'bulletproof fiber'. It is a very high-performance material with high temperature resistance, impact resistance, corrosion resistance and fatigue resistance. It has a wide range of uses..."

"'Bulletproof fiber'? Are you talking about developing bulletproof vests?" Liu Biao seemed to finally understand what product Xu Qiang wanted to develop, so he smiled and said, "Xu Qiang, our factory has always been mainly engaged in the production of various types of artillery shells and rockets. Bulletproof vests..."

"But the problem is that you want me to develop military products for foreign trade..." Xu Qiang interrupted Liu Biao directly, and he only heard him say: "I have read some foreign magazines in the information department before, and there are many articles about military equipment. I found that these foreigners are particularly afraid of death in war. Whether they are soldiers or police, bulletproof vests are essential equipment..."

"Then can't you develop some weapons and other equipment, which can also make use of our factory's equipment?" Liu Biao said.

"It's okay to research weapons, but as you know, the technological level of modern weapons and equipment is getting higher and higher. For example, in the United States, the research and development funds for any kind of weapon are as high as millions or even tens of millions of US dollars. Does our factory have so much money?" Xu Qiang asked in return.

"Uh." Liu Biao immediately shut up when the issue of money was mentioned.

"Moreover, the research and development cycle of modern weapons is really too long. It takes at least several years from project initiation to final successful testing. For example, the US F15 fighter jet was not officially delivered to the Air Force for use until 1974, from the time the proposal was proposed in the s. It took more than ten years. Our country's industrial foundation is far worse than that of the United States. It will take at least several times more time to develop similar weapons!" Xu Qiang said confidently.

"You keep talking..."

"In the current international arms market, high-end goods are bought from the United States, and mid-range goods are bought from the Soviet Union. Our country can only sell some low-end arms products to the third world. Many of them are inventory goods of domestic military industrial enterprises. The problem is that these products have little technical content. There are many domestic manufacturers that can produce them, but only a few "connected households" have the right to export. It's not our turn to get a piece of the pie..." Xu Qiang said helplessly.

"It seems that you know something about international arms trade." Liu Biao was somewhat surprised when he heard Xu Qiang say this.

As Xu Qiang said, the current international arms trade is basically monopolized by the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union.

Fortunately, with the help of a number of wealthy dog ​​owners in the Middle East and the Iran-Iraq War that broke out this year, a channel for international trade was opened up for China's military industry. This not only saved many domestic military industrial enterprises, but also brought a large amount of foreign exchange reserves to the country. It can be said that this is a gift from God.

But the problem is that the foreign trade of domestic military industrial enterprises is centrally managed and allocated by the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building of the State. Those foreign trade licenses are given to some important core military industrial units. For a unit like Shengli Machinery Factory that is not even loved by anyone, it is extremely difficult to find export channels.

"So if our factory wants to produce products for foreign trade, we have to find another way. Bulletproof vests are standard equipment abroad. The bulletproof vests produced domestically are just two steel plates sewn inside the cloth. They are heavy and bulky, and foreigners don't even like them. The bulletproof material I want to develop is light and has good bulletproof performance. It will definitely be very popular internationally, and I can easily make millions or tens of millions of dollars..." Xu Qiang said with saliva flying.

"You are just bragging!" Liu Biao rolled his eyes at him and said, "Tens of millions of dollars! Do you know how much foreign exchange the country has? Only 1 billion in total! Do you think it's so easy to make money from foreigners?"

"Foreigners' technology is advanced, but our country's military products also have their own advantages. For example, our country has a large industrial scale and a large population, and everything we produce is cheap and cost-effective. Countries that cannot afford American products will naturally choose to import from China. For example, the bulletproof vest material I want to make will definitely be much cheaper than American products once it is mass-produced. At that time, even if the quality is a little worse, there will definitely be many foreigners rushing to buy it!"

"I didn't expect you to know so much. I agree to your research and development project." Liu Biao was secretly surprised. He didn't expect Xu Qiang to know so many things, so he asked, "If you have any other requirements, just tell me..."

(End of this chapter)