Chapter 272 Edison thought so too
Naval Engineering University, Experimental Building.
“Wait a minute, our generator rectification system stabilization device project has yet to do one test!” Zhang Fan, a gray-haired old professor, said.
“Yes, teacher, this is the only project we are missing.” Young Ma Ming said, “We will make it right away. With this set of devices, we can apply for an invention patent.”
Ma Ming said and turned on the device.
The test bench is busy again.
“No, there is something wrong with our experimental data!” Ma Ming’s companion Zhang Feng looked at the signal displayed on the oscilloscope and said, “There are irregular oscillation signals inside our rectifier system!”
Ma Ming frowned: "Yes, this is accidental, and the cause of the fault must be found out!"
“I think the quality of our primary coil is not up to standard.”
“Is there something wrong with the secondary filter capacitor?”
Everyone said something to everyone, analyzing the cause of the malfunction. Ma Ming, who was sweating profusely, finally became anxious when faced with the noisy voice coming from his ears: "Stop arguing, all of you, get out of here!"
Old professor Zhang Fan looked at his beloved disciple in surprise. Just now, Zhang Fan was analyzing the cause of the malfunction. Did the disciple think he was making a noise?
“Professor Zhang, it’s getting late, you should go home first.” Zhang Feng said quickly.
Zhang Fan glanced at Ma Ming, and then left gloomily.
Time is still passing by little by little.
Ma Ming squatted in front of the equipment, holding a soldering iron in his hand. He replaced the component that he thought was faulty and started the test again.
Finally, everything is normal.
Ma Ming wiped the sweat from his forehead, finished writing the recorded data on the test report, and then let out a long breath.
“Okay, the fault has finally been solved. Our device is perfect. Now it’s time to apply for a patent. Hey, where is the teacher?”
"The teacher has been driven away by you." Zhang Feng on the side was very speechless: "You are the technical person in charge here. When you encounter problems and are under great pressure, it is okay to get angry with us. However, you do not care about the occasion. You yelled at Professor Zhang and drove him away. Doesn’t it seem wrong for you to do this?”
Ma Ming patted his head: "Yes, I must have been confused at the time."
After saying that, he ran out and ran towards the family courtyard, the familiar small building.
It had already turned dark. It took five or six hours to troubleshoot the problem, and Professor Zhang was sulky for five or six hours.
Knocking on the door, sure enough, Professor Zhang was sitting on the sofa, smoking, obviously sulking.
"Teacher, I'm sorry, I was too anxious just now. I shouldn't have driven you away. Please forgive me."
Ma Ming was very uneasy. The mentor in front of him made him so angry!
In the college entrance examination in 1978, 18-year-old Ma Ming was admitted to the Naval Engineering University. In fact, he had not originally planned to apply for the military academy. However, in order not to fail, he chose to obey the adjustment and accidentally became a naval engineering major in the Naval Engineering University. of a student.
After graduating from university, Ma Ming, who had excellent academic performance, was assigned to work as a counselor at the Naval Aeronautical Engineering Institute. However, he didn't like it, so he applied for a graduate degree from Professor Zhang Fan at his alma mater.
"The problem is solved?"
"Um."
“Ma Ming, do you still remember what questions I asked you during the interview?” Zhang Fan put out his cigarette and asked Ma Ming.
Ma Ming nodded: "Of course I remember. You asked me at that time, which of the three paths after graduate school should I choose: to be an official, to make a fortune, or to be a scholar? At that time, I answered that I would like to be a scholar for the rest of my life."
Zhang Fan nodded: "Yes, I recruited you just because I liked your spirit. In the end, you did not disappoint me. When it comes to learning, you are really as stubborn as a donkey." His temper shows that I did not misjudge the person."
“Teacher, have you forgiven me?” Ma Ming said happily.
"Yes, our dispute was over academic matters. You have also solved the problem. What else can I be angry about? The device we invented is in a leading position in the world. We can apply for relevant patents, or Bring glory to our country."
"yes."
“What a touching scene.” At this moment, a voice came from the door.
Zhang Fan stood up and looked at the person at the door: "Leader Wu? What kind of wind brought you here?"
When Ma Ming knocked on the door just now, the door was ajar. After he came in, he did not close the door. After all, he was worried about the teacher's attitude. As a result, two people appeared at the door and watched everything. When he heard that it was Leader Wu , Ma Ming was also shocked.
"Professor Zhang, you have a good apprentice. It seems that we have found the right person." After Wu Shengli finished speaking, he looked at the people around him again: "Here, let me introduce you, this is Mingzhou Shipbuilding Industry Group President Qin, he insisted on coming to see Ma Ming. He has an important scientific research project that he wants to hand over to Ma Ming."
Mingzhou Shipbuilding Industry Group, Mr. Qin?
Ma Ming looked at the man who was younger than him in surprise: "Mingzhou Shipyard is very powerful, let alone the 022 missile boat, the idea of the 051C air defense ship is really an idea, and it solves a big problem for our navy! I heard that It was you who promoted the Red Flag 16 project, and by the way, you are still building an aircraft carrier for Siam!"
Qin Tao knew Ma Ming because of his experiences in later generations, but now that Ma Ming knows Qin Tao, Qin Tao is a little flattered.
“Professor Zhang, hello, Ma Gong, I’ve seen you for a long time.” Qin Tao came up to shake hands.
“Mr. Qin, just now Leader Wu said that you have a project that you want to hand over to me? What project is it?” As expected, he is a technical person, and Ma Ming is very enthusiastic in this area.
“Mr. Ma, do you have any ideas about the power system of our warship?” Qin Tao did not explain his purpose, but first asked the question.
Ma Ming is very powerful and far-sighted, so now, Qin Tao wants to hear whether Ma Ming, who was born in 1992, can be technologically forward-looking.
"Now, in the field of warships, equipment similar to the Aegis system will become more and more common. The Americans already have a complete system, and both we and Europe are studying it." Ma Ming said: "These systems The addition of electric power has greatly increased the power consumption of warships, which is a huge challenge for the generators attached to the warship. If you want to distribute the energy of the warship more rationally, I think the electric drive system will be revitalized. "
Ma Ming's words made Qin Tao nod with satisfaction. This technician's vision was indeed broad enough, and his word choice was also accurate.
Revitalized!
This is because the electric propulsion system is actually not an innovation at all. Just like electric vehicles as new energy sources, electric propulsion has already appeared simultaneously in the era when these means of transportation were just invented.
The electric propulsion of warships means that the engine on the warship does not directly drive the propeller, but drives a generator, which then drives the electric motor at the tail of the warship to drive the propeller.
From a modern perspective, this is called farting with your pants off. Generators and motors all have efficiency parameters. Compared with directly driving the propeller through a propeller shaft, this efficiency must be reduced by at least 50%!
However, from the early 20th century to the 1940s, electric propulsion was still a standout. For example, at that time, more than 200 military ships in the United States were equipped with steam turbines to drive alternators to power asynchronous motors that drive propellers. Electric propulsion system. (The Hero of East China was also shocked by the data from Baidu, but there should be no errors in the data.)
Why not just drive the propeller?
Just like when Dr. Porsche built an electric tank, the biggest problem was that the transmission system was not powerful. Until the late 1940s, due to the advancement of mechanical processing technology, especially the improvement of the processing capacity of gear transmission devices, steam turbines and diesel engines The technology of directly driving the propeller shaft to drive the propeller has only been widely used. The cumbersome and backward electric drive has since been relegated to the sidelines.
"The four-sided phased array radar is a big power consumer, and other equipment also requires electricity. It is imperative to equip warships with high-power generators, but in many cases, the four-sided phased array radar does not need to be turned on. At this time, the load on the generator is too light, and all-electric propulsion can save the power and use it to drive the warship." Ma Ming said: "In the past few years, the American Lewis-Clark class ammunition supply ship began to use all-electric power. As for the propulsion system, I think they are experimenting with shipping this system, and when it matures, it will fully blossom."
“All warships are propelled by electricity?” Wu Shengli was a little curious: “Isn’t this technology too risky? If the lock breaks, won’t the warship lose power?”
Nowadays, in various buildings, due to circuit faults, it is a common phenomenon that the gate is dropped and cannot be closed, which has a certain impact on people's lives. But on a warship, once the gate is dropped and cannot be closed, it will be troublesome. It's so big that I can't even move.
"Yes, so we must be careful when choosing a technical route." Ma Ming said: "The all-electric propulsion system currently being tested in the United States uses a medium-voltage AC solution. This solution can make use of various existing This kind of equipment has mature technology and low risk, but it also has many shortcomings. I think we should use the medium-voltage DC solution to achieve overtaking in corners."
Zhang Fan's face became serious: "Ma Ming, isn't the way you said a bit ahead of its time?"
The all-electric propulsion system has indeed begun to emerge. The Americans are studying it, and the British are also studying it. The routes they are targeting are all medium-voltage AC. Now, Ma Ming is actually talking about medium-voltage DC here?
(Brief introduction, our power grid, that is, what is inside the socket, is alternating current, and a few hundred volts is considered medium voltage. Our batteries have positive and negative poles, and the output is direct current. This AC-DC dispute is in many fields. Yes, for example, electric cars, Tesla uses AC, and some domestically produced cars use DC.)
"Yes, it is a bit ahead of its time." Ma Ming sighed: "However, over the past few decades, the development of our country's ship power system has basically followed the path of introduction, imitation, and improvement. This path will always make us It is impossible to surpass others by following others. Now, the overall technical level of my country's ship power system is obviously lagging behind that of the West. There is a curved road to overtaking before us. Research on ship integrated power systems is in It has already started abroad and has received unprecedented attention as a revolutionary technological idea. We cannot follow the path that others have taken, as this will make the gap continue to widen. We must choose advanced technological routes and achieve transcendence."
Zhang Fan nodded, then looked at Qin Tao: "Mr. Qin, what do you think?"
“I also think direct current is good, that’s what Edison thought at the time.”
"Edison?" Wu Shengli was a complete layman and didn't know much about this. What he knew was that warships at that time used direct current. Later, under the leadership of Mr. Pan, they changed to alternating current, which was also the standard for Western warships. A trend.
Now, why is DC so advanced?
"Back then, electricity had just begun to be used, and the first person to be electrocuted appeared. At that time, Edison immediately thought that this was the fault of alternating current." Qin Tao followed up and introduced: "A competitor gave Edison this How could Edison not accept a benefit? So he immediately invented the electric chair."
“Electric chair?”
"That's right, it's the electric chair. When the electric chair is connected to direct current, the people on the electric chair are talking and laughing freely. When it is connected to alternating current, no one dares to try it. They just tie up an unlucky animal for a few rounds. , died." Qin Tao said: "Edison originally planned to use this invention to illustrate the dangers of alternating current, but he did not expect that the invention of the electric chair would eventually become a tool of execution."
When speaking of this, Qin Tao shook his head helplessly. There are too many misguided inventions in the world, and the electric chair is one of them.
“Is DC okay?”
"Yes, when it is dry, the human body is equivalent to a capacitor. As long as the voltage is not particularly high, DC is harmless to the human body, but AC is not." Ma Ming introduced: "However, what I said is used on warships. Medium voltage DC, that’s not the reason.”
"On a warship, it is impossible to have only one generator. For alternating current, the connection of the generator to the grid is a huge problem. Moreover, if you want to achieve a certain frequency, the rotation speed of the generator needs a certain value. For example, the technology developed by the U.S. Navy now requires the generator to be stable at 300 revolutions per minute. However, the power system of a warship has a diesel engine running at several thousand revolutions per minute and a gas turbine running at tens of thousands of revolutions per minute. Therefore, a reduction gear needs to be added in the middle. This is the main source of noise from warships."
"We use medium-voltage DC, and the power generation link is still AC. However, it does not matter the frequency. Even the higher the frequency, the better the rectification effect we have. The generator can completely rotate at the same speed as the power system, and there is no need for reduction gears. Of course, considering Due to the technical difficulty, it is best to start with a diesel engine with a few thousand rpm.”
DC generators require brushes and commutators, which are prone to wear and tear, and have long been eliminated. Even the generators in cars are also alternators, which are rectified into DC power through silicon diodes.
Ma Ming and his colleagues have just successfully researched this kind of rectifier device.
"Yes, there are many benefits, but there are too many technical problems." Zhang Fan said. As a professor in this major, he certainly knows how many problems there are. Power generation is only the first step, and there are many problems waiting later. Looking at them.
"There are too many technical problems, so let's overcome them one by one!" Ma Ming's words were very resounding: "Teacher, you also said that it is already amazing for a person to complete one invention in his lifetime. I have long been interested in the middle school. DC technology, now our topic is to solve these problems, teacher, I have identified this path, and I want to go on it!"
Zhang Fan smiled bitterly and looked at Wu Shengli: "However, this project requires a large amount of capital investment. Does the Navy have the funds to carry out this project?"
To engage in scientific research, you not only need perseverance, but also money!
Zhang Fan knows the current situation of the navy. It is said that he wants to buy two modern-class ships from Lao Maozi, but the country is reluctant to part with them. How can it be so easy to invest hundreds of millions.
Without money, nothing can be done.
Wu Shengli was also a little embarrassed. Well, it seemed like he had gone astray, right? Aren’t we here to discuss electromagnetic ejection technology? How can you say anything about the technology of medium-voltage DC all-electric propulsion system?
“Taozi, what are we going to say when we come here?” Wu Shengli reminded his son-in-law.
“Well, there are some other things, Ma Gong. After we have all-electric propulsion, isn’t it just to provide power for several phased array radars?”
Qin Tao is still heuristic.
Ma Ming nodded: "Yes, all-electric propulsion is a prerequisite. Only in this way can sufficient power supply be obtained. With this power, it can be supplied to various systems. In addition to phased array radar, there can also be electromagnetic guns. This But it consumes a lot of electricity.”
“Electromagnetic gun? Isn’t this thing from Star Wars? It seems to be a scam, right?” Wu Shengli said.
In the early 1990s, wasn’t it a scam when talking about electromagnetic guns? Something out of a science fiction movie!
"If it hadn't been for World War II, who would have believed that the energy in the nucleus could be used by humans? Who would have thought that people two hundred years ago could fly freely like a bird? In the eyes of those people, what we are now The technology in the world is already unimaginable, so why do we need to question it ten or twenty years from now?" Qin Tao said.
Ma Ming glanced at Qin Tao gratefully: "Mr. Qin, you are right! Chemical energy artillery has no potential, but electromagnetic guns have unlimited potential. Its range can easily exceed the limit of hundreds of kilometers. In the future, The development potential of the game is great. Although it is in Star Wars, it is still possible to realize it, and I hope it can be realized under my hands."
After finishing speaking, Ma Ming smiled: "I just said that it would be great to complete one project in my lifetime, but now, I am a little greedy and want to complete two projects, or even more."
"He who can do it should do more work." Qin Tao said: "Mr. Ma, what if you turn the electromagnetic gun shells into airplanes?"
"Plane? Mr. Qin, you mean the electromagnetic catapult?" Ma Ming felt his breathing begin to quicken: "I think it is entirely possible to realize it!"
"Yes, it is possible to realize it. The key is the issue of funding." Professor Zhang Fan was very dissatisfied with Wu Shengli's change of topic and brought the topic back again: "Leader Wu, since you are coming to us on behalf of the navy, Then we plan to make these projects the key projects of the Navy? How much does the Navy plan to invest? Project 8*91 invested 40 million, our investment cannot be less than this, right?"
Forty million? Not even four million! Wu Shengli frowned, not knowing how to answer.
"This all-electric propulsion system can be developed first. Our country still attaches great importance to the development of science and technology. If it can be included in the key projects during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, it will receive special funds from the country." Qin Tao said: " I suggest you start with the submarine’s power system, how about that?”
As for all-electric propulsion, as long as it is mature, it can be used on any warship. However, if there is an urgent need, submarines should be considered.
When the submarine is underwater, it uses a battery, and the motor drives the propeller. When it is on the water surface or in the snorkel, it can use a diesel engine. In this way, it just meets the conditions Ma Ming just put forward: in order to reduce the damage caused by excessive generator speed. Difficulty, but also to eliminate the need for reducers, first of all it can be used in diesel engines!
After this change, the submarine's diesel engine no longer needs to directly drive the propeller, but can be used entirely to generate electricity.
“Well, yes, the Navy will strongly recommend it to relevant departments.” Wu Shengli began to express his position.
As long as the accounts of the Navy are not taken, and the accounts of key projects during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period are taken, what else can Wu Shengli say? Of course, we must fully support it!
"Establishing the project during the Ninth Five-Year Plan? That's still a bit late!" Ma Ming was a little anxious: "It's best to start now. By the way, do the generators used on the 051C have to be imported from abroad?"
Compared with other warships, the 051C has put a phased array radar on a warship for the first time. Although it is a passive phased array, the power consumption of that thing is not low. What other vertical launch systems are there? Data processing systems, etc., all need to consume a lot of power.
Therefore, when designing the 051C warship, it needs a high-power and efficient generator, which must be imported from abroad.
Qin Tao nodded: "Yes, according to our design, we need a twelve-phase rectifier generator. According to the current project plan... Leader Wu, do we have to purchase it from abroad?"
“Well, the Navy is raising funds and should arrange this in the near future.”
“I want to go along and discuss technical issues with foreigners. If you want to develop all-electric propulsion, this kind of generator is the best choice.”
The number of pairs of windings in a generator is the number of phases. The most commonly used is three-phase power. In the field of generators, the more phases, the higher the power generation efficiency. Warships do not require large-scale grid-connected power generation. The more the merrier, the top level in the world is the Twelve Phases.
Qin Tao nodded and was about to say something else when Big Brother rang again.
(End of this chapter)