Don’t raise unruly people in extreme cold weather

Chapter 821

Under the gloomy sky, waves carrying gray and white foam beat against the rocks.

Perfecto and Sandrillon were standing on the dock, holding the blueprints of the underwater mining unit in their hands, doing the final checks.

In front of the two people, an underwater mining unit shaped like a giant steel whale floated quietly on the sea. The metal shell exuded an iron-gray luster, and the riveted rivets gave it a very steampunk aesthetic.

"The auger head is made of high-strength alloy, which can cut through the seabed rock." Sandriyong stood up and pointed to the rotating sawtooth device at the front of the mining unit. "But the deep-sea pressure test has not been completed yet. If we encounter hard ore veins, the auger will be severely worn."

"Then let the steam power system output more pressure." Perfect said calmly, scanning the parameters on the design drawing. "As long as the power of the steam core is sufficient, the cutting efficiency of the reamer can be further improved."

Sandrion nodded, but his brows were still furrowed. "The power of the steam core is close to its limit. If it is increased further, the cooling system may not be able to keep up. The temperature in the deep sea is low, but the pressure inside the boiler will rise sharply. If we are not careful, it will cause an explosion."

"Then adjust the layout of the cooling system." Perfect pointed to the cooling pipes on the design drawing, "Extend the heat sink to the outside of the shell and use seawater for cooling. Although it will increase some resistance, it is better than a boiler explosion."

Sandriyong thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Okay, I'll have someone adjust it right away."

The two men quickly divided the work, with Sandrion in charge of directing the technicians to modify the cooling system, while Perfect personally checked the output parameters of the steam boiler.

After some intense adjustments, the underwater mining unit was finally ready.

With a low hum, the giant steel whale slowly sank into the sea.

Perfect and Sandrion returned to the control room of the floating city and monitored the operation of the mining unit in real time through underwater camera equipment.

The scene on the seabed soon appeared on the screen - dark red iron ore was embedded in the dark rock like blood vessels, the auger at the front of the mining unit suddenly accelerated its rotation, and the roar of the steam power system came through the sea water, shaking the screen slightly.

"The auger has cut into the rock formation." Sandrion stared at the screen with a hint of nervousness in his tone. "The cutting efficiency is higher than expected, but the pressure of the steam boiler is rising."

"Is the cooling system working properly?" Perfect asked calmly.

"It's normal now. The seawater cooling effect is good." Sandrion quickly scanned the data, "but the temperature of the reamer rises too quickly. Long-term operation may damage the blade."

Perfect frowned and quickly typed a series of instructions on the console: "Reduce the reamer speed and increase the steam pressure to make the cutting smoother! Although this will reduce efficiency, it can extend the service life of the blade."

Sandrion nodded and did as he was told. The speed of the reamer gradually slowed down, but the cutting force became more uniform.

The crushed ore was pumped into the storage tank by the pumping system at the rear, and a turbid whirlpool suddenly emerged on the sea surface.

"The efficiency is not bad." Sandrion stared at the data on the screen, "but the temperature of the reamer is still a bit high. I may need to surface regularly to replace the blades."

"Then design a quick replacement system." Perfect said without hesitation, "Make the blades modular, and the mining units can float up regularly and be replaced by the floating city's robotic arms. Although it will increase some downtime, it is better than having the blades melted."

Sandrion nodded in agreement: "Okay, I'll design it right away."

As the two were discussing the improvement plan, something suddenly went wrong on the screen. The rock formation on the seafloor suddenly cracked without warning, and a strong stream of water gushed out of the crack, instantly pushing the mining unit off track.

"What's going on?" Sandrion immediately became nervous. "Is the seabed geology unstable?"

Perfect quickly adjusted the angle of the camera and found that the water flowing out of the crack was mixed with a large amount of mud, sand and gravel. The auger of the mining unit was stuck in the rock layer and could not continue to operate.

"The auger is stuck, and the steam power system is overloaded!" Sandrion stared at the data and said hurriedly, "If this continues, the boiler may explode!"

"Cut off the steam supply immediately, shut down the boiler, start the backup propulsion system, and pull out the mining unit!" Perfect gave orders calmly, his fingers operating quickly on the console.

Sandrillon quickly executed the order, the steam boiler of the mining unit gradually stopped working, and the backup propulsion system was started to try to pull the mining unit out of the rock formation.

However, the current in the fissure grew stronger, and the outer shell of the mining unit began to creak under the strain.

"The shell can't withstand the water pressure!" There was a hint of anxiety in Sandrion's voice.

"Start the emergency ascent procedure!" Perfect gave the order decisively, "Abandon this mining mission and give priority to saving the equipment!"

As the emergency surfacing procedure was initiated, the outer shell of the mining unit released a large amount of bubbles and quickly floated to the surface of the sea.

A few minutes later, the giant steel whale broke out of the water, a huge crack appeared on the shell, and the reamer was severely worn.

"The loss was not small," Sandrion sighed, "but at least the equipment was saved."

"This test revealed a lot of problems," Perfect analyzed calmly. "The auger is not strong enough, and the pressure resistance of the shell needs to be improved. In addition, the instability of the seabed geology is something we had not considered before."

Sandrion nodded. "I will redesign the auger and the casing to increase their pressure resistance. As for geological issues, we may need to conduct seabed exploration first to avoid unstable areas."

"Okay, make improvements as soon as possible." Perfect looked at the blood-red clouds looming on the distant horizon, "We don't have much time. The army of the gods may arrive at any time."

Sandrion took a deep breath and said with a firm look: "Understood, I will complete the improvement as soon as possible."

The two of them started to busy themselves with their own things, and everything seemed to be in order.

Although this test exposed many problems, the overall situation is still encouraging. The problems exposed are still within the expectations of Perfecto and Sandrion. As long as these problems are seriously solved, the prospects of underwater mining units will still be impressive.

Previous explorations of offshore areas have confirmed that the mineral resources in the offshore area of ​​Langton are not abundant, but the resources in the surrounding waters are much richer. Whether it is ordinary metal deposits or more rare resources, there are much more on the seabed than on land.

So both Perfecto and Sandrillon have great expectations for the underwater mining units.

(End of this chapter)