Daming 1805

Chapter 206 Three Laboratories

After seeing the car, Zhu Jingyuan fiddled with several new types of firearms that he requested to make for a while.

At this time, the mainstream infantry firearms were big bolts-bolt-action rifles, carbines or cavalry guns for bicycle soldiers and traditional cavalry.

Riding a gun is the carbine of the previous life, and Kar.98k is a carbine in this sense.

It may be difficult for modern people to imagine that something like 98k is a short carbine...

Because they have been shortened from a rifle length of more than 1.2 meters to about 1.1 meters, they are already "short guns".

But it is still relatively long for cavalry, and it will appear longer for street fighting.

So Zhu Jingyuan asked to design assault rifles and submachine guns.

The reference objects were basically not considered, and Kalashnikov AK47/AKM and Bobosha PPSh41/43 were directly selected.

Of course, the caliber was changed to the eight millimeters commonly used by Ming Dynasty, but compared with the rifle bullets, the amount of charge was reduced.

It's just that Zhu Jingyuan feels a bit difficult to use the finished products now, mainly because they are relatively heavy.

It should be that the current level of manufacturing technology is still far behind that of World War II, and there is no way to manufacture automatic weapons of the same level under similar weight.

Zhu Jingyuan held an aggravated version of AK and asked Zheng Fuguang:

"How do the people in the Dudu Mansion evaluate it?"

Zheng Fuguang directly copied the other party's words:

"For assault rifles, the Governor's Mansion doesn't think highly of them.

"They felt that the assault rifle would be heavier than existing bolt-action rifles as an individual primary weapon.

"If it is used as a light machine gun, its shooting accuracy and destructive power are relatively weak.

"If the infantry is equipped with a large number of assault rifles, it will put too much pressure on logistics, which is equivalent to increasing the number of light machine guns several times.

"In the current typical tactical system, there is no place for this weapon to play.

"The point is to redesign the scaled-down ammunition, which will change the entire system of ammunition production.

"The Dudu government did not order the assault rifle in the end, and it was suggested to change it to a semi-automatic mode and use the existing bolt-action rifle ammunition.

"For the submachine gun you designed, the Dudufu's evaluation is not bad, but it is not ready for large-scale use.

"Just ordered a small batch, ready to try to use it with traditional rifles.

"So Your Highness, the Ministry of Industry is also waiting for your response, whether you want to design an assault rifle that shares bullets with existing rifles."

Zhu Jingyuan shook his head without hesitation after listening:
"No, the bullets that are specially designed to reduce the size and power of the bolt-action rifle are used now, and the resulting assault rifle is already overweight.

"If you use the complete large bullets of a bolt-action rifle, it will definitely make the firearm heavier, and then there is no way to popularize it. It can only be used as a light machine gun.

"Let the Ministry of Industry continue to optimize the production process, find ways to reduce the overall weight of firearms, and at the same time continue to find ways to improve shooting accuracy.

"The Dudufu's reluctance to try to replace these two firearms on a large scale is mostly due to logistical pressure.

"Using automatic firearms in an all-round way, the logistics system will definitely not be able to supply them now, but it may not be possible in the future.

"We are developing and producing cars on a large scale, which is the logistical workhorse of the future."

There were actually automatic rifles during World War I, such as the Browning automatic rifle in the United States, and the Fedorov 1916 of Tsar Lucia.

The original intention of Browning's design was to be used as an individual automatic weapon. This goal is actually an assault rifle.

But it is too big and heavy, with a length of 1.2 meters and a weight of [-] kilograms, so it cannot be carried by a single person.

With a full bolt-action rifle bullet, the huge power and recoil are also difficult to use.

The logistical supply capabilities at that time also made it difficult to popularize this thing on a large scale.

It turned out to be a squad light machine gun, which was used from World War I to World War II, and it was still very popular, so it went completely wrong.

Lucia's Fedorov 1916 meets most of the definitions of an assault rifle, even a little too far ahead.

The gun body is one meter long, the caliber is [-] mm, and the weight is [-] kg.

But it has not been installed on a large scale, and the tsar is gone.

In addition, it was too advanced relative to the combat environment and did not adapt to the battlefield environment at that time, so it was completely discontinued in 1925.

The suggestion given by the Governor's Mansion pointed to the squad light machine gun. Now there are squad light machine guns in Daming, and they can be specially designed if they want to upgrade.

Therefore, Zhu Jing was not prepared to "reinvent the wheel", and refused to become a squad light machine gun without hesitation.

But we are not prepared to build something that is too advanced, because it will inevitably cost more.

Daming is now directly manufacturing small-caliber assault rifles, which is equivalent to skipping the piston radial engine and going directly to the jet engine.

After the 70s, small-caliber assault rifles below 6mm gradually replaced 7.62mm medium-caliber assault rifles.

The basis is the improvement of the production process, so that small-caliber rifles can use a larger proportion of charge to obtain a higher muzzle velocity.

At a distance of 400 meters, small-caliber rifles with higher muzzle velocity are dominant, lighter and stronger, and there is no reason not to change them.

But now, Ming's industrial level is roughly equivalent to that of Britain and the United States after World War I, and they can't produce things from the 70s for the time being.

Now it is difficult to build a complete AK40 in the late 47s.

Assault rifles such as the AK47, compared with the bullets of bolt-action rifles, have greatly reduced the amount of charge and reduced power.

It allows it to better balance the relationship between production difficulty, power, and ease of use under the technical level of the World War II era.

In the era of World War I, insisting on using a smaller caliber than it, of course, can reduce the overall weight of the firearm.

However, it will inevitably lead to another decline in the power of firearms, and their role on the battlefield will become very embarrassing.

This is actually the main reason why the Soviet Union ceased war in 1925 and Fedorov 1916.

Therefore, Zhu Jingyuan is not planning to engage in small-caliber for the time being, but takes the promising AK47 and Bobosha as his goals.

After looking at the firearms, Zhu Jingyuan casually browsed several other machines, and made some suggestions based on his own experience.

Finally, I took Zheng Fuguang and all the craftsmen to a meeting in the lounge not far away to arrange future work:
"Our Daming Airlines branch located in Liusha City, the main task in the future is research and development.

"The Quicksand City is not suitable for building labor-intensive factories. Even if the Great Food Country wants to build a factory, it must be located in the two river basins or the coastal areas of the Great Food Sea and the Great Qin Sea.

"There are three specific research and development directions, and three laboratories can be set up accordingly.

"The first is the Piston Laboratory. The main task is to continue to develop piston internal combustion engines for aircraft and automobiles, and to explore any feasible way to increase the total power and power density on the basis of existing engines.

"This is a long-term, cumulative, foundational laboratory.

"The second is the machine laboratory, whose main task is to design specific aircraft, automobiles, and construction machinery, and to continue to optimize the technology of the shape, transmission, control, and production of several existing aircraft and automobiles.

"At the same time, as quickly as possible to achieve a car design that is as cheap as possible, as easy as possible to mass-produce, but still reliable.

"The third is the turbine laboratory, which starts to explore new types of engine designs in advance. I will provide some ideas. The name of this laboratory also comes from my ideas.

"This engine is for the future...it may take ten years, 20 years, or even longer to be practical.

"What is going on now is only the exploration of principles and feasibility, and there is no need to rush to form actual results.

"Don't worry about wasting money. All laboratories cost money. As long as they are successful, they can all be earned back."

Having said this, Zhu Jingyuan temporarily came to an end, and picked up his water glass to take a sip.

The craftsmen around discussed in low voices for a while, but they didn't have any doubts about Zhu Jingyuan's previous two requests.

That is a natural direction, and they have already planned it themselves.

What everyone is curious about is the last project, the so-called Future Power Laboratory.

I have an idea, but it's not the current one, and I just shout how many years in the future it will be used. How complicated is this?

Most of the craftsmen are relatively straightforward in character, and Zhu Jingyuan has always been easy-going, so Zheng Fuguang asked directly as a representative:

"Your Highness, can you tell us a little bit about the future engine concept you mentioned?"

After hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan was taken aback for a moment, then thought about how to explain it to them, and finally asked with a smile:
"Have you ever seen a windmill? It turns around when the wind blows. The principle is actually this principle."

Zheng Fuguang and the craftsmen nodded subconsciously, and at the same time, many people had ideas in their minds.

"That's how the steam turbine works."

"It is now applied to steam turbines."

Zhu Jingyuan continued to smile and asked:

"Yes, the principle is similar to that of a steam turbine, but instead of using steam to drive the turbine, we directly use air to drive the turbine."

Immediately another craftsman asked:
"The movement of air is the wind?"

"Continue to make windmills?"

"Where does the wind come from?"

Zhu Jingyuan continued to ask:

"Yes, where does the wind come from? How is the wind formed in nature?
"In areas with higher temperatures, the volume of air expands, the air pressure increases, and it flows to areas with lower air pressure, which is wind.

"The engine of the future that I envision is to apply this principle.

"Make a cavity in front of the turbine, spray fuel into the cavity and ignite it, this cavity can be called a combustion chamber.

"The air in the combustion chamber of the cavity is heated and expanded, and ejected to the rear at high speed, driving the rear turbine to rotate.

"It's still an internal combustion engine, but instead of a piston engine, it's a turbo engine.

"There's no need to do a reciprocating piston motion anymore.

"The fuel in the combustor will continue to burn, the hot air will continue to push back, and the gas turbine will continue to spin.

"In order for the turbine to continue to work, we must constantly replenish the combustion chamber with fresh air and oxygen.

"That's why I opened the duct in front of the combustion chamber and installed a built-in fan that blows air into the combustion chamber and pressurizes it.

"The fan should be directly driven by the turbine driving the main shaft.

"In this way, the engine structure itself is done, and the next step is the actual application.

"Use a small gas turbine to drive the main shaft, install an external aircraft propeller in front of the main shaft, and the propeller drives the aircraft forward.

"This engine can be called: gas turboprop engine.

"It is also possible to enlarge the combustion chamber and the jet port, and propel the aircraft forward by the reaction force of the backward jet.

"This kind can be called: gas turbine jet engine.

"It is also possible to combine propellers and jets to give the aircraft two sources of drive.

"This kind can be called: gas turbofan engine.

"You can also use the spindle to drive the wheels, or even the propeller of a ship.

"This kind can be called directly: gas turbine engine."

Zhu Jingyuan entered a state of eloquence.

Direct gas turbine technology spoils the bottom line.

The three forms of jet engines of later generations, as well as the forms of gas turbines for vehicles and ships, are all directly explained.

The craftsmen around were all surprised when they heard it.

This principle is very simple, but the feasibility is also very high.

And it is conceivable that the engine structure will be very simple, without crankshaft and piston, and the continuous performance will be very good.

In terms of mechanical and power design, the simpler the better.

Because the simpler the design, the more power you can get.

Nobody pursues complexity unless absolutely necessary.

Zheng Fuguang imagined it in his mind, and then instinctively asked Zhu Jingyuan:

"Your Highness, this idea is very subtle, why not design it immediately, but instead just use it as the direction of the future?"

Zhu Jingyuan smiled and asked:

"Think about it carefully, Mr. Zheng, how difficult it is to make this thing, and how difficult it is to achieve the desired effect."

Zheng Fuguang quickly reacted:
"This is equivalent to an open internal combustion engine, allowing high-temperature gas to blow directly on the blades of the turbine stage, which..."

Zheng Fuguang paused:
"It's very demanding on the material..."

Zhu Jingyuan nodded lightly and said:

"Current materials may be able to make it, but to achieve the desired effect ... it is difficult to imagine.

"So it is the direction of future research and development and exploration, first to verify whether the principle is feasible.

"Then... it is to continuously optimize the design and improve the material performance at the same time.

"This time may take a long time, starting in ten years, not much in 20 years..."

Contrary to many people's consistent cognition, jet engines appeared very early in history.

It is also a product of the second industrial revolution.

In 1903, the dreadnought had not yet started construction, and it had already appeared when the Wright brothers were still flipping the plane by themselves.

In 1921, before the world's first purpose-built aircraft carrier was launched, the French patented the jet engine.

By the early 30s, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom had already produced engine prototypes.

By the end of the 30s, the Soviet Union, Britain, and Germany all began to conduct experiments on aircraft.

Then World War II came.

War, in some cases, does lead to the maturation of technology.

But more often, it will hinder technological innovation.

In the war, the participating countries must focus on the existing models, the design and production of conservative and mature models.

Unless, like Germany in the later period of the war, it has reached the end of its rope, it will not try new technologies that are uncertain.

Those doomsday piston-prop fighter jets in history probably wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for World War II.

The early 40's were supposed to be the era of the "turboprop".

Of course, jet engines are still too early for Zhu Jingyuan and Daming's current technical level.

So it is still classified as exploratory and confirmatory research.

After Zhu Jingyuan arranged the tasks, he divided Zheng Fuguang and the craftsmen into groups.

Among the three laboratories, Piston Laboratory is the most important and has the most people assigned to it.

The second is the machine laboratory, which needs to complete the applied design of aircraft and automobiles, which are relatively independent but urgent tasks.

The last one is the Turbo Lab. There are only three people in total, which can only be regarded as a group.

(End of this chapter)