Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1474 (5k words)

"Zhendong, everyone's here. Just tell them what's on your mind."

When they entered the Third Factory, Lao Jiang and Xiao Fu were completely bewildered, though they had some guesses in their minds, but they were heading in the wrong direction.

The 17th Ministry of Machine Building? The steel rolling mill? Did the committee summon the two of them here to resolve the pressure vessel issue?

This is a very logical idea.

What do steel rolling mills do? They roll steel plates. What's used to store high-pressure oxygen? The most common and suitable method is still using pressure cylinders.

Although the 53-51 engine system had more than just the pressure vessel as a challenge, for them, solving one problem at a time was the best they could do; there was no reason for them to be picky.

The saying "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" is quite apt here.

"Old Jiang, this is Committee Member Gao. He is very knowledgeable in materials science. This time, at his request, we invited you here to solve the problem of torpedo thermal power engines."

See, see, I told you, a materials science expert, not a pressure vessel expert. I'll write the character "姜" (Jiang) backwards.

But what exactly is this committee member? When colleagues in the technical field introduce each other, they rarely use this title, since the word "committee member" doesn't really reveal what the other person is good at or to what extent.

Old Jiang couldn't possibly associate the title of "committee member" with the direction of a science committee member. Impossible, absolutely impossible. Someone so young, are you kidding me?

After the chief engineer finished his introduction, General Manager Jiang looked at Gao Zhendong and said, "Committee Member Gao, thank you. Pressure vessels have indeed been a problem for us for a long time..."

Gao Zhendong and the chief engineer were completely bewildered. Pressure vessel? What pressure vessel?
The chief engineer looked around, considered his location, and laughed: "Wrong, wrong. I called you here today because it has nothing to do with pressure vessels..."

At this point, he remembered Gao Zhendong's other work and brought up the subject again: "However, if you really want to have any ideas about pressure vessels, it's not that you can't say so."

The most important aspect of a pressure vessel is its material, which is almost entirely determined by numerical values. And when it comes to pressure vessel materials, the biggest numerical anomaly is right in front of us.

Gao Zhendong understood and laughed, "Let's put the pressure vessel issue aside for now. If it really needs to be resolved, it's not impossible. But I estimate that you won't need the pressure vessel much after a while. Of course, you can also raise any other requirements regarding steel materials."

Wow... that's quite a boast. But considering that the committee leaders specially dispatched a helicopter to urgently bring the two of them over from the shores of Bohai Bay to meet this person, they must have some backing.

Although Gao Zhendong was involved in many projects, including submarines and torpedoes, almost no one else in these units knew anything about him except those who had direct contact with him. It was as if Gao Zhendong had not been informed by the chief engineer of the committee, he would have been completely unaware of these comrades and the progress of these projects.

"So, what good things have you done for us today, leaders?" General Manager Jiang relaxed, it seemed there really was something good happening today. As for the person in front of him, although he was younger than himself, judging from how the chief engineer interacted with him, calling him "leader" shouldn't be a problem.

Comrades who had only recently emerged from the war years were quite accepting of young people holding high positions.

"You tell me, after all, I don't know what you're going to say either," the chief engineer said with a smile.

Hearing this, Lao Jiang and Xiao Fu felt a little uneasy again. So you didn't know either? This whole thing seemed unreliable.

Gao Zhendong nodded: "Alright, then I'll get straight to the point. The reason I invited you two here is to discuss the possibility of replacing the torpedo engine."

"This...this is unlikely. Leaders, don't be fooled by the object of imitation..."

"Just say your name, no need for such a roundabout way. Here, you can speak freely about any situation; the committee has authorized you to do so," the chief engineer said with a smile.

Hearing this, the two comrades were startled. This was no ordinary leader; he needed to be at least someone who grasped the overall direction. However, even if the 17th Ministry of Machine Building was grasping the overall direction, it couldn't reach the central government. They were unsure about the situation of this young leader.

But that's all for later; the immediate priority is what's at hand. With the chief engineer's authorization, the conversation became much easier.

General Manager Jiang readily agreed: "Okay. Although the thermal propulsion engine for the 53-51 torpedo is very difficult to develop, it is the only high-performance torpedo propulsion system we have access to right now. We have considered other propulsion systems, but they are still inferior to this one. We have considered solutions such as silver-zinc batteries, and even the latest nickel-metal hydride batteries, but their energy density and discharge power are still significantly lower than those of thermal propulsion."

Comrades didn't just rely on 53-51 and take advantage of him. They did their best to study and research everything that needed to be considered, but the results were not very satisfactory.

Gao Zhendong nodded: "Yes, indeed, nickel-hydrogen is not suitable for this application."

It sounds like this leader is very familiar with nickel-metal hydride batteries. Mr. Jiang and his colleague nodded repeatedly.

Seeing their expressions, the chief engineer was secretly delighted. He was sure he recognized it; it was something he had created himself.

However, this situation cannot be discussed here, so we can only keep the two comrades in the dark.

After Gao Zhendong finished talking about nickel-hydrogen, he continued, "However, my opinion is not that you should switch to electric mines, but to stick to the thermal power approach. If nothing unexpected happens, this approach can continue into the 21st century."

That's a huge statement. Saying it will take one or two decades is one thing, but to go all the way to the 21st century? Are you a mobile phone user or someone who traveled back from the future?

However, Mr. Jiang did not refute this. They are currently working on thermal power, and any positive statements about thermal power are beneficial to them: "We also believe that thermal power has broad prospects, but we are currently facing a bottleneck."

Gao Zhendong laughed and said, "The energy density of high-pressure oxygen is not high, so it's normal that you find it difficult to do. My idea is to replace the high-pressure oxygen-kerosene combination."

Only then did Mr. Jiang and his colleague realize that the other person's "materials expert" was actually an expert in fuels!
As for why someone skilled in fuel would work in a steel rolling mill, that remains a mystery. Perhaps steel rolling mills use a lot of fuel? But that idea just doesn't seem plausible.

"Sir, what would you like to change it to?"

Gao Zhendong did not answer directly, but instead brought up the issue of high-pressure oxygen: "The biggest problem with high-pressure oxygen is that the gas density is too low. Even if the pressure is high, it is difficult to increase the energy density. The power can be increased, but the range is very difficult to increase, right?"

"Yes, that's right, your analysis is very accurate," President Jiang nodded.

Although the energy density is low, the power can be increased by piling up the amount of fuel per unit. The problem is that no matter how much fuel is added, the range cannot be increased unless the mine body is made larger, but that is unlikely.

In reality, we haven't even reached the theoretically achievable power output, let alone the range.

Gao Zhendong said, "Have you ever considered the possibility of replacing the gas with a liquid?"

Mr. Jiang shook his head: "I've thought about it, but I can't find a suitable liquid."

The comrades aren't stupid; the effective content of a suitable liquid oxidant is far superior to that of high-pressure gas, which can significantly improve the energy density of the fuel system, and there's basically no need to consider the issue of high pressure.

The problem is, they can't find this liquid...

In fact, many problems that are very simple in later generations were huge problems for people at that time before they were solved. They might have been just a matter of breaking through a thin layer of paper, but before that thin layer of paper was broken through, no one could find a way forward.

Gao Zhendong nodded: "Let me give you a few examples. Although they are not the ultimate goal, they can solve your current problems."

Kerosene can be oxidized by more than just oxygen; liquids can also be used. Although this wasn't Gao Zhendong's ultimate goal, for General Manager Jiang and his team, using this approach as a transitional measure would allow them to make the most of existing research findings, since it all involved burning kerosene, and many previous research results could be effectively utilized.

"Really? That's great!" Not to mention General Manager Jiang, even Chief Engineer Wei didn't notice Gao Zhendong's words "not the ultimate goal." They hadn't thought that far ahead at all. Being able to solve the immediate problem was something they were very fortunate to have.

“Well, you can consider two alternatives: one is to use hydrogen peroxide instead of oxygen, and the other is to use nitric acid instead of oxygen.” Gao Zhendong said that both of these combinations were later proven to be usable, and their energy density was higher than that of kerosene plus oxygen.

Hydrogen peroxide is not only powerful, but it also has a proven track record – the Kursk submarine, owned by the White Bear, was sunk to the bottom of the sea by a leak of hydrogen peroxide fuel from its own torpedoes.

This is strikingly similar to the incident where a missile was launched directly from the torpedo tube of a submarine undergoing maintenance at the dock, detonating inside the torpedo tube. Leaving aside safety concerns—after all, many accidents are primarily caused by human error—the fact that hydrogen peroxide was used by the Polar Bear in the torpedoes of the Kuznetsuk demonstrates its performance potential.

Hydrogen peroxide? Nitric acid?

Often, things are that simple, but you can't even imagine them until you get the answer. After all, for those who know the answer, there are only a few options, but for those who don't know the answer, they are faced with thousands of alternatives and feel overwhelmed.

“Yes, those are the two, but I would suggest going for nitric acid,” Gao Zhendong said.

As for whether nitric acid or hydrogen peroxide has a higher energy density, Gao Zhendong didn't even consider it. They were both just for transition, so it was enough to do them as a formality. As long as they were stronger than high-pressure oxygen, that was fine.

Gao Zhendong didn't explain why he chose these two, but President Jiang and the other man knew that these two choices were not entirely unreasonable. They knew that both hydrogen peroxide and nitric acid were strong oxidizing agents.

While they were still considering, the chief engineer said, "Well, these are the two. Go back and start testing them as soon as possible. If they are ideal... no, as long as they are not too much worse than high-pressure oxygen, we will consider changing the route."

These two items are also relatively troublesome to store, but they are still simpler than high-pressure vessels.

As long as the differences aren't too significant—only in terms of convenience, safety, and pressure vessels—the performance can be compensated for.

Even if you're not in the field of fuel and thermal power engines, from a systems perspective, the chief engineer still has a very clear understanding of this.

Gao Zhendong laughed and said, "These two have a much higher energy density than hyperbaric oxygen, so don't worry. They're quite good for transitioning. But like I said, I recommend nitric acid."

His words contained a lot of information. Once again, the comrades ignored the word "transition" in his words and instead focused on the specific details of the two.

"Committee Member Gao, nitric acid is corrosive, and its storage is more troublesome than that of hydrogen peroxide, right? Why did you still choose nitric acid?"

Comrades, we still don't use enough hydrogen peroxide, especially high-concentration hydrogen peroxide. Gao Zhendong laughed: "Storing hydrogen peroxide is no easier than storing nitric acid. The troubles of storing the two are basically at the same level. Both need to be kept below 25°C and protected from light, both need to be kept away from prohibited substances, both are corrosive, both are unstable, and both have strong oxidizing properties. They're like grasshoppers on the same rope, but the grasshopper of hydrogen peroxide might jump much higher than that of nitric acid. Because if hydrogen peroxide leaks, it can easily release a large amount of oxygen and heat. You can imagine the consequences yourself."

Anyway, I know that hydrogen peroxide has been used on submarines, but not nitric acid. A little corrosion is not a big deal.

"Okay, we understand. We'll go back and focus our experiments on nitric acid."

Gao Zhendong nodded: "Okay, give these a try. If you can use them as soon as possible, then use them. If you can't use them in the short term, then forget about it."

"What?" What do you mean it's fine if it can't be used? If it can't be used, then what's the point of all this work?

"If it's not needed, that's fine. It's just a transitional device, so we don't need to put too much effort into it. Its main purpose is to quickly obtain qualified propulsion to create conditions for torpedo testing, and at the same time, to serve as a backup. As for the actual torpedo, these things are all lacking; the energy density, safety, and storage performance are all inadequate."

All three comrades, including the chief engineer, were stunned.

"Zhendong, was all that you said just a transition?"

Gao Zhendong nodded matter-of-factly: "That's right, as I said before, they're good for transitioning, but they're not good enough for the main products."

"You have even better goods in your hands?" The chief engineer's expression at this moment vividly illustrated what it means to be "overjoyed."

In fact, when he heard about hydrogen peroxide and nitric acid, he already felt that the matter was settled and resolved.

After all, if Gao Zhendong's credit rating were in the 21st century, he could have used up all the shared bikes in a first-tier city in one go.

As for storage problems, those are no big deal; they can always be solved. We can't just see the thief eating meat without seeing him getting beaten.

If you love it, you have to accept its flaws.

I never expected that was just an appetizer. Now that I think about it, Gao Zhendong did mention something like "transition" several times.

The two comrades, who were about to put their notebooks away, quickly sat up straight again and opened them.

"Tell me quickly, what other good stuff is there?" At this moment, the chief engineer felt as if he were on an adventure, making new and important discoveries every now and then.

"After you mentioned this this morning, besides selecting hydrogen peroxide and nitric acid as alternatives, I considered other options and ultimately conceived of a new type of fuel..."

In fact, Gao Zhendong thought of this kind of fuel first, and then thought of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide as a transition and backup, but he certainly couldn't talk about it according to the actual situation, it was too far-fetched.

Even such a relatively normal statement shocked the comrades, especially Comrades Lao Jiang and Xiao Fu.

In just one afternoon, you've come up with a new fuel and are confident it will work and be better than existing solutions?
This sounds like something out of a satellite launch from years ago.

However, after the initial shock, the chief engineer was overjoyed.

Everyone knows that Gao Zhendong is not quite normal, so the normal sense of time and work process does not apply to him at all.

When he says he's thought it through, then he really has.

So he believed Gao Zhendong's words. Don't ask, the answer is just theoretical derivation.

We can only deduce it theoretically. There isn't enough time to do experiments, and it's difficult to even gather the raw materials, although the chief engineer doesn't know what the raw materials are.

What kind of fuel is it?

"A blended fuel, comprising 76% by mass of [1,2-propanediol dinitrate], with a fluctuation range of 0.2%; 22.5% of dibutyl sebacate, with a fluctuation range of 0.3%; 1.5% of o-nitrodiphenylamine, with a fluctuation range of 0.1%; and sodium ions not exceeding 0.8 ppm."

Gao Zhendong spoke fluently; after all, it's about copying standards—how could he not be fluent? This is the content of the MIL military standard from Citibank, including the fluctuation range. This MIL standard from 1986 saved Gao Zhendong a lot of trouble.

But it sounds different to other people.

Is this all the result of your lunch break? That's incredibly detailed. When a recipe can include the range of possible fluctuations in the proportions, it means that the recipe is definitely not a novice, but rather very mature, or at least you have a firm grasp of it. Only then can you provide data on the allowable range of fluctuations.

How could they not be surprised that Gao Zhendong could produce such a thing in just one noon?

"Zhendong, you've even done the experiments?" The chief engineer, being knowledgeable in the field, asked.

Gao Zhendong shook his head: "No, it's just my theoretical analysis. Don't worry, boss, I'm confident."

Gao Zhendong said he was confident, and he was indeed very confident; at least the probability of it being feasible was very high.

The other two comrades were still deeply affected by the "theoretical shock" brought by Gao Zhendong, so the chief engineer had to ask them questions on their behalf. There was nothing that could be done, and these two comrades were temporarily unable to perform their duties.

"How high is the energy density?" This is the first question to ask; without it, everything else is in vain.

After thinking for a moment, Gao Zhendong gave a rather conservative figure: "The system energy density is estimated to be over 400Wh/kg."

"How much??!!!" The two comrades who had just come to their senses had their heads buzzing again.

(End of this chapter)