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MADE IN RUSSIA
NEW METHOD OF STEEL MAKING
A new method of steel-making has been worked out in Russia. It is safe
for the environment, several times cheaper than the traditional method
and is unmatched anywhere in the world.
Scientists at the Institute of metallurgy of the Russian Academy of
Sciences have suggested a new method of steel making which is cardinally
different from the traditional one. First, they have found a way how to
use only one stage instead of several stages for processing ore to make
steel, and to use only one unit instead of blast-furnaces and converters.
This special unit is linked with a power station. It has plasmotrons which
transform electric power into plasma energy at thousands degrees Celsius.
In such conditions iron is easily restored from ore by reaction with carbon
oxide and carbon dioxide derived from coal. And in this new method usual
coal which is much cheaper than cooking coal is used. The process occurs
in the first, of the three sections, of the bloc. Metal is purified in
the second section also under the influence of plasma, and in the third
section metal is mixed with various substances to improve its quality.
An enormous amount of energy is needed to produce plasma and that's why
the unit is linked with a thermal power station. The gases from the unit
will be used by the station and according to the designers more than half
of the required energy will be generated.
It's expected that the simplified technological chain and the use of
cheaper coal will make it possible to reduce the production costs by almost
three times. But above all, metallurgical production which poisons the
atmosphere in a number of cities may become safe for the environment because
of the closed production cycle.
URAL VOLK MOTORCYCLE IS THE PRIZEWINNER
The Ural motorcycle, produced by the Irbitsk Motorcycle Plant in the
Sverdlovsk Region, has become the winner of the Narodnaya Marka prize.
The Narodnaya Marka (People's Brand) prize is given to the companies that
have won love and reliance of Russian consumers. The Ural is well-known
both in Russia and abroad, especially in the US. It is a mighty cross-country
machine with few needs, available at a reasonable price and equal to its
foreign counterparts in quality.
The Ural Volk (Wolf) motorcycle has become a sensation at the Motorcycles
& Scooters 99 exhibition, which was in Moscow in this year. It is not
less beautiful than the legendary American Harley Davidsons. The technical
features of the new model are perfect. The engine has 750 cubic centimeters
of displacement, 29.5 kW of power, it is 4-cycle with two cylinders, opposed.
The gear-box is 4-speed, the fuel tank's capacity equals 23 liters. The
machine's length is some more than two meters, its width is less than one
meter.
PILOTLESS RECONNOITERING COMPLEX
The sample complex Stroy-2 was exploited in Chechnya in 1995. Two years
ago Stroy-2 was adopted in Russian Army. The complex consists of two ground-based
mobile telecontrol stations equipped with machineguns and 10 remote-piloted
flying crafts Pchela (Bee). The Pchela crafts have made more than 10 flights,
having spent a total of about 8 hours in the air. Each craft has a 32 h.
p. piston engine. Its starts with a help of two solid engines, the craft's
starting weight is 130 kg. The cruising speed is 110-150 kilometers per
hour, and the operating heights' diapason is about 100 to 3,000 meters.
The craft can fly for 2 hours, its operating range is 60 kilometers.
The crafts that have been redeployed to the combat operations zone
are equipped with television cameras for daylight operations. The night
version of the Pchela with infra-red devices has been developed recently.
Some few trial flights are to be completed for finishing its testing, after
which the night version can be adopted in the army.
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