Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1475 is the last one? (4k)

This formula comes from Citibank's Otto 2 fuel, the thermal fuel used in the MK-48 torpedo.

This number may not seem like much at first glance, since the calorific value of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel, when converted to wh, can reach more than 10 kWh/kg, which is a huge difference.

However, there is a problem: the calorific value of these fuels does not take into account the weight of the oxidizer. Rocket engines, torpedo engines, and the like cannot obtain oxygen from the outside. In addition, due to engine efficiency issues, their energy density will drop sharply under this calculation method.

To put it simply, various fuels with a calorific value of 10 kWh/kg or higher, when applied to internal combustion engines, are now on par with batteries with an energy density of only around 300 Wh/kg in practical applications, measured at the system level. They are significantly ahead, but not by orders of magnitude.

As for the energy density of the kerosene-high-pressure oxygen system, let's not even go into details. Despite the high calorific value of kerosene, the actual system energy density is orders of magnitude different from that figure.

That's why the two comrades' heads were buzzing when they heard this data. They didn't even have time to ask Gao Zhendong exactly what those three things were, since organic chemistry names are notoriously hard to remember.

"Really that many?"

“That’s how it is in theory,” Gao Zhendong said.

This can actually be calculated. If nothing else is added, and each component is treated as a single, independent unit, a rough range can be easily calculated using the mass percentage.

The actual value is higher than the calculated value, but there is no difference in magnitude, so it is sufficient for the job.

After listening to Gao Zhendong's explanation and rough calculations, the two comrades stared at the formula with burning passion in their eyes.

"In addition, according to my research, you can try adding hydroxylamine perchlorate and water to the fuel formula above, which can improve energy density and combustion speed. However, you should do this after the basic fuel is successful. As for the specific addition ratio, I don't have time to study it. You can experiment with it."

Could there be potential to improve combustion rate and energy density? Absolutely! Even if we have to use an exhaustive search method, we'll find it! Committee Member Gao doesn't need to worry about this; he's already done enough.

"Committee Member Gao, what other benefits does this fuel offer?"

In terms of calorific value and energy density alone, there are many better ones, but why they are not used is another matter.

For example, in terms of energy density alone, DNTF, HMX, and RDX are only a fraction of that of gasoline, roughly on par with Otto 2 fuel, but gasoline cannot replace explosives.

Therefore, besides its combustion and energy properties, this fuel must have other advantages in torpedoes.

"Does burning up quickly count?" Gao Zhendong asked, his face constricted, as if he were thinking about something.

"Calculate! Calculate!" The faster it burns, the faster it outputs power, and the faster the torpedo can go. Otherwise, even if the energy density is high, if it burns slowly, it will be too late.

There's no need to worry about burning too fast. After all, it's easy to slow down if you're burning fast, but it's very difficult for someone who's naturally slow to burn fast.

Gao Zhendong continued with a smile, "Besides considering the pressure relief measures caused by certain volatilization, wouldn't not needing a pressure vessel be considered an advantage?"

"Calculate! Calculate!" Although there are other places in the torpedo that require compressed air, as long as it is not a pressure vessel for fuel, the design is much simpler.

"It can be stored for a long time at 60℃, and I've calculated that its performance can remain unchanged for at least 5 years. Isn't that an advantage?"

60℃ may not sound high, but as a natural ambient temperature, it is considered high. Compared to hydrogen peroxide and nitric acid mentioned earlier, its temperature resistance and storage performance are worlds apart.

After all, ambient temperatures of 30°C are common, but 60°C is not. Maintaining storage conditions below 60°C is not difficult at all.

It doesn't require a pressure vessel, isn't afraid of high temperatures, and has good chemical stability—these characteristics make it an ideal material for torpedo fuel.

In fact, most of the figures mentioned by Gao Zhendong are somewhat conservative.

The two comrades nodded happily: "That counts, that counts."

"It has good impact stability... Well, let's put it this way, in terms of impact resistance, you can think of it as liquid TNT."

TNT is most famous for its impact resistance; it can't be exploded even by bullets.

If that's the case, using this fuel would be safe, if not completely worry-free, but at least not very dangerous.

As for how Committee Member Gao knew these data, is that even a question? He calculated it theoretically.

After all, the three components are already well understood, and many properties can be derived. Gao Zhendong had already given them vivid examples of this when he was calculating the calorific value.

"That's perfect, that's perfect! Committee Member Gao, now that you've covered the benefits of propellants, what about oxidizers? What are their drawbacks?"

Many torpedo thermal fuels fail because of this oxidizer! Good oxidizing properties mean high reactivity, and high reactivity leads to many problems.

The most extreme example is the oxidizer in liquid rocket engines, where fluorine is the strongest oxidizer! The theoretical specific impulse and other performance characteristics of the hydrogen-fluorine fuel-oxidizer combination are much higher than those of hydrogen-oxygen engines.

However, up until Gao Zhendong's crossing, no one dared to use fluorine as a rocket fuel oxidizer.

Therefore, while there are advantages to the fuel, there may also be disadvantages to the oxidizer. In Mr. Jiang's view, it would be best if the fuel could also be hydrogen peroxide or nitric acid, so that the transitional technology could be successfully applied to this.

Unexpectedly, Gao Zhendong looked like he couldn't hold back anymore: "It's gone down there."

General Manager Jiang: "That's all? What does that mean?"

This was in 1965, not before 1911; those kinds of people no longer existed.

Gao Zhendong said, "It means exactly what it says, without an oxidizer. This fuel does not need an oxidizer and can sustain combustion by relying on the oxygen in the large amount of nitro groups."

Hmm? I see!

General Manager Jiang slapped his thigh: "No wonder! No wonder you chose this as fuel! Its self-oxygenated combustion is its biggest advantage!!!"

Eliminating the need for an oxidant means eliminating the need for space, weight, pumping systems, and dosage control for the oxidant! The benefits of this are self-evident.

This fuel burns quickly, torpedoes are fast, and with the characteristic of not needing an oxidizer, the fuel capacity must be large. What does this mean?
This means that torpedoes using this fuel are fast, far-reaching, and safe!
The chief engineer, who was listening nearby with his jaw practically dropping, couldn't help but sigh: "No wonder you said hydrogen peroxide and nitric acid were both transitions. Turns out you had a bigger one waiting for you. You didn't even consider using an oxidizing agent!" Gao Zhendong laughed, quite pleased, with the smug satisfaction of a successful prank: "I said transition, and it really is a transition!"

"The transition was excellent... This thing was born for torpedoes," the chief engineer couldn't help but exclaim.

Gao Zhendong shook his head: "Torpedo? Hehe... You haven't realized another use for this fuel yet."

As the saying goes, "Since you're already here," and for Gao Zhendong, it was all done already.

Hmm? The chief engineer's mind tightened again. He knew that what Gao Zhendong was about to say would be even more significant than what he was referring to with torpedoes, but...

He quickly turned to Comrades Jiang and Fu and said, "Excuse me, comrades, please excuse me for a moment."

The two comrades realized the seriousness of the problem, immediately grabbed their notebooks, and turned to leave. They didn't even consider asking a single extra punctuation mark.

Gao Zhendong raised his hand to stop the two comrades: "No need, we are also related to them, very closely."

The chief engineer looked at him and asked again, "Really?"

Although Comrade Zhendong often speaks without thinking, it's because he doesn't realize that he needs to be careful about what he says. Once he does realize it, his judgment and control are quite accurate.

"real."

"Alright, come on, both of you, listen to this together," the chief engineer said with a smile.

Jiang and Fu thought to themselves that they were lucky today. They had to follow the rules, but they were genuinely curious about the technology. They were grateful for this opportunity and thanked Committee Member Gao for his gift.

Seeing that they were all ready, Gao Zhendong laughed and said, "The torpedo is underwater, and its engine is expected to provide power without oxygen. Have you guys thought about the fact that it needs oxygen too?"

Hey buddy, why are you suddenly swearing?

Wait a minute... the comrades quickly realized that they really did want that too!
"Zhendong, you mean... a submarine?!"

Torpedoes are just submarines.

Gao Zhendong laughed heartily, quite pleased with himself: "That's right! It's for submarines! Using this kind of fuel, submarines can maintain a certain level of mobility underwater even without oxygen. This greatly enhances the submarine's mission flexibility and survivability."

AIP (Air-Independent Propulsion) submarines—this is the conventional weapon that Gao Zhendong thought of after remembering Otto fuel that morning.

It might be a bit lacking in dealing with nuclear submarines, but its survivability is more than enough to suppress the surrounding area. And if pushed to the limit, this thing has other uses as well.

Among the technologies used in AIP, the most likely one now is the Stirling engine that uses Otto fuel, since it was invented in 1816 and has a relatively solid research foundation.

With the closed-cycle Stirling engine and oxygen-independent Otto fuel, everything is perfect!
Not only was Gao Zhendong pleased with himself, but the other three were overjoyed upon hearing this!

"That's right! Using this kind of fuel, submarines can achieve a much longer range than they can with batteries!"

Conventional submarines have another name, diesel-electric submarines, because after S2, except for nuclear submarines, the power plants of conventional submarines have become highly standardized.

The diesel engine serves as the main power source, and when the underwater snorkel cannot take in air, the battery maintains power.

Therefore, it is called a diesel-electric submarine, which is considered a hybrid among warships.

Moreover, for safety reasons, lead-acid batteries are commonly used.

Everyone knows this; it has low energy density, which limits the underwater mobility and speed of conventional submarines. That's bad enough, but the biggest problem is its very poor endurance.

With this kind of fuel, the problem becomes much easier to solve.

"Yes, yes, compared to the limited energy storage capacity and aging performance of batteries, this fuel is much easier to handle." The reason is the same as the difference in range between pure electric vehicles and fuel vehicles. More seriously, when conventional submarines need to stay submerged for long periods, they cannot charge at charging stations as easily as pure electric vehicles.

"Well, as long as there is enough fuel and oxygen for the crew, the submarine can stay underwater for several days without any problem!" This is impossible for ordinary diesel-electric submarines.

This fuel solves the problem of oxygen supply to the engine, making oxygen supply to personnel much easier. Compared to the engine, personnel consume far less oxygen, a negligible amount.

The Blackfish, having solved the engine oxygen supply problem, can maintain atmospheric isolation for up to 25 days during its 90-day underwater voyage. On this type of submarine, however, not so much is needed; maintaining oxygen supply for personnel for three to five days to a week is always sufficient.

Of course, the other comrades didn't know about this underwater record, but they guided one thing: that way, even before the big black fish was developed, there would at least be a somewhat weakened version that could be used.

"Chief Engineer, when we get back, we'll ask the comrades working on the engine to submit a report to modify the engine to be compatible with this fuel. We hope the committee will support it." General Manager Jiang didn't even care that the fuel itself was still far from being finalized; he had already made arrangements for the comrades working on the engine.

The chief engineer was about to give his opinion when Gao Zhendong shook his head: "No need. This kind of fuel cannot be used as the main fuel, and the main engine should not be compromised for this kind of fuel. Just install a small special engine for it on the main shaft."

"Wouldn't this increase system complexity and raise costs?"

Gao Zhendong smiled and said, "Compared to the technical risks of forcing the diesel main engine to be compatible with this fuel, these costs are very cheap. My suggestion is not to change the existing engine, but to add an entire compartment to the structural design and put the underwater engine and fuel in this compartment. In this way, if the progress is slow, it will not affect the progress of the basic submarine."

The combustion characteristics and process of this stuff are completely different from diesel fuel. Making a diesel engine burn this stuff is just asking for trouble.

After listening to Gao Zhendong's words, the chief engineer nodded and said to General Manager Jiang, "Yes, we'll listen to Committee Member Zhendong on this matter."

He knew very well that Gao Zhendong's expertise in fuel and engine technology was not just a few strokes of the tongue, but a whole basketful!

In addition, his familiarity with project management and his ability to assess the risks of this matter far surpasses that of anyone else.

Moreover, Gao Zhendong's arrangement sounds reasonable, simple and direct, and can minimize the impact on the design of the new conventional submarine.

Moreover, if the underwater engine project is slow to develop, a conventional diesel-electric engine can be developed and used in the meantime without affecting the overall plan.

(End of this chapter)