方玉建

l  Looking for a job

During my master degree study, one of my classmates and also a good friend was compiling a program for the Francis runner design; we had frequent discussion on his research subject in the office or dormitory. In fact he continued another graduated student research work and tried to finish the second part of programing, thicken the blade profile based on the meridian contour calculated from the already developed program, and visualization the designed profile on the computer based on the open resource software.

My research direction was the design (mechanical part) of a small axial turbine to collect the hydraulic energy of a cooling tower; I finished a set of manufacturing drawing in a small hydro company outside the campus(~ 1 month). When I came back to the university, I learned the CFD calculation,and made simulation for the spiral case of circular and rectangular crosssection shape, in this way the content of my thesis was much full.

Later I continued to perform some CFD calculation for the Francis runner of a modernization project called Yuzixi I.The CFD simulation for this modernization project was taken as the research subject of another student for engineering master degree and my younger classmate. I quite enjoyed this period, but not happy because later I found all my results were taken as the thesis of his another engineering student (not full-time postgraduate student) but my tutor did not inform me in advance. Now when I recalled this event, I laughed at myself how stupid I was at that time.But during that work in this project, I built a good relation with my younger classmate one grade lower than me, and still keep good contact with him up to now.

Also during that time, I met my wife on the CFD forum and had a lot of discussion on CFD topic; she was studying a kind of special hydraulic seal. We made a lot of simulation together. And one time (I am not sure it is August or Oct.) she came to Chengdu for a conference on the mechanical seal with his prof. Cao. A very kind elder takes my wife almost as their daughter, and now we go to see him and his wife quite frequently. I appreciate him very much because he made our internet love true by a real meeting through a conference (it is not an often case that an elder tutor takes his student to participate the conference by airplane, I never had this chance). I still remember this first meeting clearly. When they arrived in Chengdu,I invited them for a lunch but prof. Cao was not at presence, a fresh girl(later my girlfriend and my wife) came together with another lady at an age of ~40. It was a careful arrangement because prof. Cao’s one leg has some problem and walking is a little difficult for him. I cannot remember the details of that lunch, but the moment I took this girl’s hand and she crossed her fingers with my hand was deeply left on my mind in spite of the birth mark on her left face. And after the conference he left first, but this girl stayed in Chengdufor a few more days, we traveled to some nice places nearby. From this first meet, I first tasted the happiness of willingness or appeal to each other. Although the life is very complicated, the willingness or appeal is the only truth if we want to jointly make something happen.

My main interest during this period is CFD simulation of the flow inside the turbine. After the graduation, I want to look for a job for CFD support in a software company. But it was a hard time when I recalled this. I remember there was only one offer I got from a Japanese company. Then I thought of whether I could find some offer from the turbine manufacture at my hometown Zhejiang province. There are several, like GE hydro China in Xiaoshan, and Zhefu Electrical company. In the Dec. 2004, I went back to Zhejiang to look for a job, I went to the human resource department of GE hydro, and the feedback was quite bad. Being quite frustrated, I went to Zhefu before I returned to the university. An elder Mr. Huang, as introduced as the chief engineer, welcomed me, and another administrative manager offered me I could go to their company after my graduation, but he could not sign the offer because the acceptance document needed to be sent to their headquarter in Tonglu. I could not remember clearly whether I went to Voith Hydro Shanghai on my way back to the university. There was another elder Mr. He Yuan retired from Dongfang and was a part-time employee in Voith, he was once the head of hydraulic application department in Dongfang and the boss of my tutor. Actually I went to Voith to visit my tutor’s another previous colleague Mr. Tang, who was already the vice president in the company and the head of marketing department. But he was not in office, thus I went to see Mr. He, and we had a long talk. Mr. He was very good at talking, it was always he was talking, and I was listening. But it was a surprise that the president Mr. Aage Dalsjoe came to his office to meet these elders’ group. I remember how embarrassed I was inside that situation. I could say a few words with my very poor English, but I was in a photo inside their group picture, which I always felt it was a mistake but any how I wished like a good sign before something happens.