Chapter 419 Liquid Metal Nuclear Power Treasure
"It's amazing. In such a short time, an area the size of a football field has been filled in!" After returning to Huating, Qin Tao was surprised to find that his father-in-law had not left yet. In the study, Wu Shengli praised him with emotion. .
"Well, everything is difficult at the beginning." Qin Tao said: "As long as the initial part is filled in and slowly expanded, the construction period will definitely be completed within half a year. However, the Sky Whale will have to continue working there for another year or two. .”
“One or two years?”
"Yes, just this two-sand island is not enough. At least two more islands must be filled in to form a triangular structure. This will be stable enough. It will also be convenient for mutual reinforcements if something happens."
Wu Shengli nodded: "Although our funds are tight now, the construction there must not be delayed. When there is an airport there, we will be relieved."
Just relying on vertical take-off and landing fighter jets is not enough. With an airport, ordinary fighter jets can take off, and various cargo planes can also fly there. This will make it more stable.
Qin Tao nodded: "That's natural."
"Recently, various foreign newspapers have been reporting on it, touting the Tianjing dredger as a magical weapon." Wu Shengli said, picking up the newspaper: "You, Mingzhou Group, are going to make a fortune again. "
Hearing Wu Shengli's words, Qin Tao shook his head: "No, this kind of equipment belongs to the strategic level. No matter how much money others pay, we will not sell it. Moreover, the Tianjing is just the beginning. We will build the Tianjing in the future. A more powerful dredger."
Qin Tao’s words were very serious.
Some money cannot be earned. Dredgers are an important weapon of the country and can only be owned by oneself. If others have them, how can they follow our own example of reclaiming the sea and building islands?
“Yes, this kind of equipment cannot be exported.” Wu Shengli nodded: “Your Mingzhou Group has principles and a stand, which is good.”
As he spoke, Qin Tao’s eldest brother made a loud noise.
"Hello."
“Mr. Qin, there are customers from island countries who want to come to us to order a vessel of the same level as the Tianjing dredger.” Cong Ju’s voice came from inside.
“Then you reject the customer and we won’t sell it.” Qin Tao said, “No matter how many customers come to buy it, we won’t sell it.”
“The customer also offered to rent our dredger.”
“Leasing is not an option either.”
With the shrewdness of the islanders, after the loan is over, they will definitely be copied. Qin Tao will not let this happen.
After putting down the phone, Qin Tao said to Wu Shengli: "I suggest that our superiors give us an order not to rent or sell, so that we can use the chicken feathers as arrows to save us from trouble in the future."
Wu Shengli nodded: "Of course, no problem."
"At the beginning, we didn't have a dredger, but our Mingzhou Group got a dredger from the island country. Now, people from the island country come to us to order a dredger. This is really touching." Thinking of this Come, Wu Shengli sighed.
“Of course, we must continue to develop advanced technologies, and in the future, foreigners will also have to beg us. At least in the shipbuilding industry, we will lead the entire world.” Qin Tao began to boast.
"By the way, the comrades in the relevant departments are very concerned about the nuclear power treasure you proposed, especially Krasnopolski. He patted his chest and promised that such a thing can be made." Wu Shengli remembered another story. thing.
Krasnopolski? Qin Tao hesitated for a moment: "Can't he devote himself to the design and construction of our nuclear power plant now?"
The planning time for the 095 submarine is very long. For the sake of stability, a nuclear reactor on land will also be installed. At Qin Tao's suggestion, a nuclear power plant was built and the site was chosen in Dalieshan.
This project has not started yet, because the design needs to be refined to ensure that it is foolproof. How does Krasnopolski still have the energy to do this?
“He said these were the same as the nuclear reactors used on the Type 705 nuclear submarine in the Red Empire era. He had participated in the construction of such nuclear reactors at that time and had rich experience.” Wu Shengli said.
Qin Tao frowned: "This is a big project, and we must conduct detailed demonstrations."
"Yes, we think so too, so we will hold a relevant meeting in the near future. If you are interested, you can come together." Wu Shengli said: "Currently, many people are optimistic about this project. If this device can If the research and development is successful, then we can add such an AIP section to our conventional diesel-electric submarines."
This is just a euphemism. What is the AIP cabin? This is clearly a transformation of a conventional diesel-electric submarine into a nuclear submarine, okay? With this large-scale nuclear power treasure, there is no problem if the submarine does not come out for a month.
Qin Tao nodded.
When it was decided to build the Dashima Nuclear Power Plant, it was destined to be a major event for the nuclear industry. Mingzhou Group cannot manufacture it itself, so many equipment must be purchased from brother factories.
So, the entire nuclear industry system has taken action.
Krasnopolski has been in constant contact with these people during this period. Now he has completely adapted to life here and has long said goodbye to the past.
The meeting was held in the capital, and Krasnopolski had already discussed it with Qin Tao along the way.
"When we started designing nuclear submarines, we studied three nuclear reactor technologies, namely pressurized water reactors, liquid metal-cooled reactors, and helium-cooled reactors. Among the three, the liquid metal-cooled reactor was the one we were most optimistic about. , can also be called a medium-energy neutron reactor."
Speaking of this, Krasnopolski talked endlessly.
This is a history that has been forgotten, but no one who has been through that era will forget the price they paid in the early days to explore advanced technologies.
At that time, the United States was at the forefront. As early as 1952, General Dynamics built a liquid metal-cooled reactor land simulation reactor in West Milton, code-named SIR-A. In 1953, the U.S. Navy had built its first Based on the nuclear submarine Nautilus, it ordered its first liquid metal-cooled reactor nuclear submarine, naming it "Sea Wolf" and code-named SSN-575.
That’s right, this codename is also Sea Wolf. Sea Wolf decades later, I don’t know if it is to commemorate this nuclear submarine.
The Americans acted quickly. The submarine was put into service in 1956, using liquid metal sodium as the coolant.
The advantage of this coolant is that it has high heat transfer efficiency, dozens of times that of water. Therefore, it is small in size and powerful in power. After the submarine was launched, it immediately reached 30 knots. The Nautilus at that time only had 25 knots. It was only traveling at maximum speed and immediately became an underwater ghost.
Yes, it was really a ghost. This thing quickly made the submariners and engineers miserable.
The reason is of course liquid metal sodium, which will corrode pipes. Once it leaks and comes into contact with water, it will cause a fire and explosion! (The Hero of East China said before that what is thrown into the toilet should be sodium, not lithium.)
The Americans struggled for several years and finally gave up, while the stubborn old man continued.
Lao Maozi’s first liquid metal reactor submarine was the Type 645. It was decommissioned after three years of service and mothballed.
After that, the second generation Type 705 began to be built again. They learned from experience and lessons and no longer used metallic sodium as the coolant. Instead, they used lead-bismuth alloy. Its biggest advantage is that it will not explode when encountering water and is safe. At least it's better sexually.
"Our Type 705 nuclear submarine can already reach a speed of forty knots underwater, which is faster than many torpedoes." Krasnopolski said: "We have always believed that pressurized water reactors are just technologically immature. An alternative of the time, when the time comes, the reactor of a nuclear submarine must be made of liquid metal!"
Qin Tao glanced at him approvingly. This sentence was indeed correct. In later generations, Lao Maozi announced with great fanfare that the next generation of nuclear submarines also planned to use liquid metal reactors. It seems that he is already accustomed to using this kind of thing. However, by that era, it was unclear whether it was a PPT project.
As for the country, Qin Tao felt a little flattered that such a project was launched because of Qin Tao's proposal.
The meeting in the capital finally began. At this meeting, Krasnopolski became the protagonist. He looked at everyone and introduced the technology of this liquid metal reactor with great excitement.
“It can greatly reduce the size of nuclear reactors. If we build a 1-megawatt nuclear power plant, its size may only require half a container. Even 10 megawatts can be achieved within the volume of a container.”
“And, more importantly, it is a fast neutron reactor, which only needs to burn uranium 238. In this way, the uranium ore taken directly from nature can be used directly after purification. This kind of nuclear reactor is very fuel-saving.”
Ordinary nuclear reactors are thermal reactors and can only burn uranium 235, so a large number of centrifuges are needed to extract uranium 235 from uranium 238. You must know that the former only accounts for a few tenths of a percent of the uranium element. The latter accounts for 99%.
Someone has calculated that if a thermal reactor is used to burn the uranium in the earth's crust, it can only be burned for a hundred years, but a fast reactor can burn it for thousands of years.
“In this way, the nuclear material inside can be fully burned, ensuring a service life of at least ten years.” Krasnopolski was very excited when he talked about this.
It doesn’t use weapons-grade uranium, or even uranium from nuclear power plants, just use the burned uranium rods from nuclear power plants!
“As for the disposal problem, we can simply do a one-time disposal. After use, seal and bury it as a whole, and there is no need to dismantle it for disposal.”
The biggest problem with this type of reactor is that bismuth absorbs neutrons to form highly toxic polonium-210. Litvinenko, who defected back then, was poisoned to death by this substance. In nature, this stuff is rare, but if this kind of nuclear reactor is used, a large amount of plutonium-210 will be produced.
Krasnopolski had known this problem for a long time, so the solution was given.
In fact, Lao Maozi's liquid metal reactors were all treated in this way. They did not dare to dismantle them at all, but were directly packed together and buried as a whole.
When Krasnopolski’s introduction was completed, everyone’s discussion began.
“Compared with sodium reactors, the density of this alloy is very high. If this liquid metal is used as a coolant, its weight will be very large, and the strength of the pipes is a problem.”
“This kind of reactor must work all the time. Once it stops, it will solidify. Once it is established, there is no possibility of shutting down.”
“It is safe because it solidifies. Once it leaks, it will become solid and block the leakage area.”
Everyone had different opinions and the discussion was lively, but Qin Tao suddenly felt bored at this time. He already vaguely felt that he had been tricked by his father-in-law.
At first he just mentioned it and then it was over, but Wu Shengli took it seriously.
If this kind of thing is developed, it will be of great use to the army.
These islands and reefs currently stationed need stable power. If we get nuclear power plants there, they can last for ten years! Moreover, it also eliminates the need for diesel generators to frequently deliver fuel. With sufficient power supply, desalination plants can even be set up on islands and reefs.
There are many places in the motherland that need this kind of thing, whether it is the plateau or the Gobi desert, it would be great to have such a power generation device.
Even conventional submarines can be used, just use it as an AIP cabin.
As a result, the research and development of this device is necessary.
But who will invest the money?
Qin Tao is sitting here. He is very professional and cannot understand, but he finally understands the meaning: Mingzhou Group is probably going to become the research and development unit of this project!
Qin Tao can use the nuclear experts present. Anyway, everyone is participating in the construction of Mingzhou Group’s nuclear power plant. However, the funds needed to develop nuclear power plants must be provided by Mingzhou Group!
“Mr. Krasnopolsky, we heard that this liquid metal corrodes the pipelines. Is there any good way to solve it?”
Why do pipes leak? The problem is corrosion. Therefore, if the corrosion problem is not solved, it will never become a qualified product.
“We have already studied that this corrosion problem is related to the oxygen content of the lead-bismuth alloy, but we have not continued to study it.”
“In other words, for our project, the most important thing is to develop a qualified coolant and solve its corrosion problem?” Qin Tao finally spoke.
This summary is quite accurate.
Seeing everyone nodding, Qin Tao continued to decide: "Then, we need to study this coolant first, and then we will study nuclear power after the relevant coolant technology has achieved a breakthrough."
This thing sounds very good, but Qin Tao has never seen it before. Moreover, Mingzhou Group really doesn’t have much funds now, and the stall it spreads is too big. If one day it loses all its funds for real fun, If the chain is broken, the trouble will be big.
So, it is better to study the key technologies in advance.
Faced with Qin Tao's proposal, Krasnopolski did not object: "Yes, we should indeed study this coolant technology first. After this technology breaks through, our nuclear power project can be officially launched. , by that time, the Dalieshan Nuclear Power Plant will be in stable operation, and we can devote ourselves to developing this product."
For Krasnopolski, liquid metal reactors have been his passion, and he hopes that this technology can continue to develop. Of course, it needs to be more reliable and safer.
Therefore, at this meeting, the two technologies "Lead-based Reactor Coolant Technology Comprehensive Experimental Loop" and "Lead-based Reactor Coolant Oxygen Measurement and Control Technology" were determined, and relevant units were responsible for research and development. As for funding, in addition to national investment In addition, Mingzhou Group will also bear part of it.
“Mr. Qin, while developing these systems, can we build an ADS reactor?” At this moment, another nuclear physics expert made a suggestion to Qin Tao.
Qin Tao shook his head: "I don't know what you are talking about."
I thought Mr. Qin disagreed, but it turned out he didn't know. The expert quickly explained: "This kind of reactor is not a working reactor and does not output any energy. It is used for scientific research and teaching. There is no It has high-quality nuclear materials and no neutron source. It is mainly driven by an accelerator, which facilitates our scientific research."
If and only when high-energy neutrons from the outside enter the core, the reactor can undergo a nuclear fission reaction, but it is not a self-sustaining chain reaction. In this way, since the incident neutron flow can be calculated and controlled, Able to perform various calculations and establish corresponding models.
Qin Tao nodded. This kind of scientific research does not cost much. It can be further verified, so of course it can be done.
After the meeting, it was already evening, and everyone came to the restaurant to discuss the application of this technology while eating.
“When this technology matures, can we apply it on a large scale, such as our tanks, which can be equipped with this nuclear power device?”
“In previous science fiction novels, there was talk of nuclear-powered cars. Now, our technology may be able to help this science fiction become a reality.”
Everyone is thinking about the future.
Qin Tao did not pour cold water on everyone. You have to dare to think. If you really figure it out, it will be more environmentally friendly than electric cars that carry thousands of batteries on their backs.
After dinner, Qin Tao opened the car window and looked at the scene outside while sitting in the car returning.
“When did Santa Claus become popular outside?” Qin Tao asked, looking at the uniquely dressed people walking on the street.
“In the last year or two, maybe. Christmas is coming soon, and even the price of apples has increased.” Xu Zhengyang said.
“This is not good, we should carry forward our traditional culture.” Qin Tao said.
This kind of thing has nothing to do with him, but since he saw it, he always wanted to mention a few words. Xu Zhengyang will respond to the relevant units.
Is it okay to lose all the ancient traditions and blindly learn from foreign countries?
As he spoke, Big Brother made a loud noise.
Qin Tao picked it up and listened to the words inside, his face was filled with joy: "What? Is there such a good thing? Well, I'll go right away."
Xu Zhengyang glanced at Qin Tao curiously and heard him say: "Zhengyang, go pick him up at the airport."
Airport access?
Xu Zhengyang was very different. However, he did not express his doubts. Instead, he turned around at the intersection in front of him and drove straight to the airport at lightning speed.
After arriving at the airport, I saw Wu Shengli, who had arrived early.
“What’s the matter with Ermao? He actually learned how to do door-to-door sales?” Qin Tao asked Wu Shengli.
"Yes, they are currently looking for buyers all over the world. After they scared away Ah San, we should be the most suitable candidates to take over." Wu Shengli said: "Besides, you and Makarov are still good friends. Therefore, they want to sell the Varyag at a good price, so they pin their hopes on you."
Makarov, Varyag?
Xu Zhengyang also felt excited in his heart.
For this project, Qin Tao has made a lot of preparations and has been waiting for the opportunity. Has the opportunity really come this time?
Qin Tao was also full of emotions. He originally planned to come to the door to buy at the right time, but he did not expect that Er Mao actually came to the door. This was something he had never expected. This also showed that Er Mao was really anxious. .
Can I buy it back smoothly this time? Still need to wait?
A Tu-114 passenger plane landed on the runway of Huating Airport. Several old men appeared in the special VIP exit.
The one headed by him has white hair and a stooped back. He looks a little distressed. He was still very high-spirited a few years ago, but now he is in this state!
The long flight made Makarov a little tired, but he still smiled the moment he saw Qin Tao.
“Mr. Qin, I’m very happy that we meet again.”
“Lao Ma, let me introduce you. This is our leader Wu, who came to pick you up specially.” Qin Tao quickly introduced his father-in-law.
Although everyone is an old acquaintance, this is not a private communication. Of course, introductions must be made according to status.
“Mr. Makarov, you’ve had a hard journey.” Wu Shengli stretched out his hand.
"It's not hard. I have always been curious about what kind of country China is. This time, I finally have the opportunity to come here and take a walk around." Makarov said: "This is a magical place. By the way, let me introduce to you, this is Asnayev, the person in charge of our trip."
Asnayev stretched out his hand: "Leader Wu, I am very happy to meet you. We believe that the Varyag must be your best choice. We hope to reach an agreement this time."
They came here with only one purpose: to sell the Varyag.
Because the asking price was too high, Ah San ran away. Although they made several friendly requests, Ah San had decided to go all out on the Novorossiysk and never talked to them again.
Now, they can’t wait to trade with the East.
“Since everyone is here, I will take you to the aircraft carrier park tomorrow.” Qin Tao said: “Look at the former Kiev.”
Makarov nodded.
The Kiev was Lao Maozi’s first attempt to build a large surface ship. Unfortunately, it died young. Now it can appear as an aircraft carrier park, which is also a kind of rebirth.
However, he felt that Qin Tao had another intention when he said this.
Will their promotion go smoothly?
(End of this chapter)