In the fifth year of Chongzhen, it was the morning of July 18th.
Harbor City, seaside shipyard, No. A shipyard.
A wooden-hulled ship with a peculiar shape is sitting on the concave rail in the center of the dock. The ship is 95 meters long and 16 meters wide. It adopts a transverse frame type with a stabilizer fin and a wide bottom structure, and the maximum draft is 4.5 meters.
Empty weight is 900 tons.
Full load displacement is 1850 tons.
The deepest first impression of this ship is that its superstructure is very simple. Except for a thick round pillar, it does not have the wooden masts and sail structures of traditional sea ships.
There is also a huge four-blade propeller at the bottom and stern of the boat.
As for what it relies on to travel on the sea, the power source is naturally a three-cylinder reciprocating steam engine custom-purchased by Xu Yuan from Modern Society.
This steam engine is not large in size. When the water boiler, chimney, pipe, and three-cylinder engine are added together, the volume is only 75 cubic meters. The total weight is less than 50 tons, but it can generate a maximum driving power of 7,000 horsepower.
, and a generating power of 50kw.
It can fully drive this thousand-ton wooden ship, and when it is fully loaded with cargo, it can still run at a speed of nearly 20 knots (it is faster without a load).
The fuel used is processed into high-heat anthracite the size of soybean grains. Under special circumstances, high-pressure oxygen-rich air can be introduced into the boiler combustion chamber to increase the power of the steam engine by another 15% and run at a faster speed.
However, its economic speed is about 15 knots, its coal-fired warehouse can hold up to 250 tons of coal, and its maximum economic range is no less than 3,500 nautical miles (1 nautical mile = 1.852km).
Because this cargo ship was built to carry cargo, it has not yet undergone actual sea trials, and the specific performance parameters are unknown. However, in modern society, the private power research institution Xu Yuan found put forward its own needs.
It promises to provide 30 million R&D funds, and after developing a steam engine that meets the performance standards, it will purchase more than 100 units at a price of no less than 2 million per unit.
The power research and development team of only seven people, all of whom were top talents with doctorate degrees, spent only half of the research and development funds in just three months to put a three-cylinder steam engine with up to standard performance in front of Xu Yuan, for him.
A major customer introduced:
"Boss, the goal you proposed is to output a driving power of no less than 5,000 horsepower when the weight of the entire power system does not exceed fifty tons. To be honest, this goal is set low. We achieved it without exceeding the weight.
The maximum power output is 7000 horsepower and 50kw power generation. In addition, under the economic working condition of 5000 horsepower, the thermal efficiency is 30%. Boss, don’t think that the thermal efficiency of 30% is low. Many low-end diesel engines only have this thermal efficiency. We use various mathematics
The optimization software has been continuously optimized to the point where it is close to the limit.”
"Compared with the antique steam engines from one or two hundred years ago, how far ahead is your steam engine?" Xu Yuan asked.
"Don't insult our hard work with that garbage!"
The leader of the R&D team said with a wry smile: "The thermal efficiency of steam engines a hundred or two hundred years ago was at most 3%, and it was as high as 10%! But what era are we in now? The parts of the steam engines we make are all processed with CNC machine tools, with high precision.
Achieving the ten micron level, the properties of the alloy materials used, the quality of the lubricating oil, the quality of the bearings, seals, pipeline valves, etc. have all improved by countless orders of magnitude. We also have professional simulation software for optimization, and the computer optimization takes ten minutes.
It’s equivalent to those antique steam engines evolving over a hundred years, don’t compare, there is no comparison between the two.”
"Okay! I want to place an order for 300 units of this steam engine, but can you give me a better price?" Xu Yuan nodded.
Poof~!
The leader squirted out a mouthful of tea and was completely stunned. Buying three hundred units of steam engines, a power equipment that has long been eliminated, is far beyond the scope of hobbies, right?
However, after discussing with his team members, he set a price of 1.5 million per set because the manufacturing cost is only about one million. When the production volume increases in the future, the profit margin will be higher.
"Deal!" Xu Yuan readily signed the order contract with them.
When leaving the power research institution, the seven Ph.D.-level talents sent Xu Yuan out with great enthusiasm and reluctance. Xu Yuan was stunned by their burning eyes. This was not like looking at a big customer, but
It’s the way you look at a big dog owner.
But no matter what!
The power problem has been solved.
Secondly, this large cargo ship named "Haiyun No. 1" has another important feature that cannot be seen only from the surface.
That is solidity.
Its sturdiness is much stronger than ordinary wooden boats.
Because the keel it uses is not the common iron plow wood, pine or camphor wood, but the 5052 marine aluminum alloy from modern society, and then the welders weld the aluminum alloy materials into one.
A complete set of keels is not only lightweight, but the strength of the hull structure is greatly improved, far exceeding the traditional wooden keel structure.
In addition, aluminum alloy is not easy to corrode and has a long service life.
But there are also disadvantages. The purchase price of 5052 aluminum alloy is more than 20,000 per ton, and it consumes more than 50 tons to build a "Marine No. 1". The material cost of this aluminum alloy keel alone is more than one million.
Moreover, aluminum has a low melting point. Once a fire breaks out, it will easily burn and even produce a combustion-supporting effect, posing a considerable safety hazard.
From the perspective of cost performance, Xu Yuan should purchase a batch of marine I-beams. Steel can also be welded into keels and is equally strong. The important thing is that the price of marine steel is only more than 4,000/ton, which is much cheaper than aluminum alloy.
, it is not easy to burn in the event of fire, and is safer.
Even so, Xu Yuan chose aluminum alloy after some comparison.
The reason is very simple. Steel is easy to rust and corrode at sea, and is generally scrapped after 20 or 30 years of use. Aluminum alloy is a bit more expensive, but it is corrosion-resistant and can be used for 50 years without any problem. It is easier for the crew to take care of it.
No need to have a long battle with rust.
As for fire hazards, aluminum alloy is flammable, but it is much more fire-resistant than wood, right? In ancient society, there was no need to care about this problem. All wooden boats are flammable! Aluminum alloy keel boats can be hoisted!
in this way.
Aluminum alloy keel three-cylinder steam engine wooden hull.
Whether the specific performance of the "Marine No. 1" pieced together by such a combination is good or bad, higher than expected or lower than expected, the answer must be obtained in practice.
"Let's start getting into the water." Seeing that everything was ready, Xu Yuan said.
"Yes, open the gate and let the water enter the cabin!" Gan Zhiming, the person in charge of the shipyard, said loudly.
"Open the floodgates!"
Buzz buzz~
After the movable gate was opened, a large amount of seawater poured into the No. A shipyard, quickly overflowing the rail base at the bottom, and then continued to rise, soaking through the bottom of the ship until the waves wet the vicinity of the empty waterline. This took more than three months.
The first large cargo ship built in Xujiazhuang, Haiyun No. 1, was officially launched and floating in the dock.
Then engineers and sailors boarded the ship - they were all outstanding talents selected from the ancients and trained. Of course, they were far inferior to the talents in modern society, but they were still barely enough.
Under the tug of several small tugs, Haiyun 1 slowly undocking, entered the port, and then immediately entered the sea trial stage - yes, the pace is so fast, because the internal structure of Haiyun 1 is not complicated, nor is it like this
For such precision electronic equipment, the most important thing to test is the performance of the power system.
Xu Yuan did not board the ship to participate in the sea trial this time. After attending the launching ceremony, he went back. As the owner of Xujiazhuang, he had too many things to deal with.
Therefore, this became a regret for Zheng Cai. The legendary figure Xu Yuan, the owner of Xujiazhuang, was said to be born in the 31st year of Wanli (1603), one year older than Zheng Zhilong, whom he always respected and admired (Zheng Zhilong was born in 1604)
, both of them are very young and promising, but Zhuangzhu Xu has done a bigger business, established a stronger force, and has a brighter and more promising future!
If he could be lucky enough to meet this gentleman in person, he, Zheng Cai, would be willing to kneel down and be loyal to him, and even worship him as his adoptive father. Even if the age difference between the two of them is less than ten years, but he, Zheng Cai, could call such a heroic figure daddy, so would he.
Very happy.
But when he boarded the Haiyun No. 1 as a visitor and participated in a one-day sea trial.
Zheng Cai was completely stunned, and all the common sense in her head was overturned.
This speed is the speed that a sea-going ship can run? Why does it feel like it is flying?
Is this stability the ability that a sea-going ship should have in waves? It seems to be no different from standing on land.
The power facilities on the ship, the living environment of the crew, the advanced navigation system, etc. all made him wonder whether this was a dragon palace or a fairyland for sailors. Sorry for his limited cultural level, he really couldn't think of a better adjective.
Then, he made a big decision.
Join Xujiazhuang!
No matter how much it costs, you must join Xujiazhuang's fleet, even if you become a traitor and become the enemy of the Zheng Group, you will not hesitate!