I was the emperor in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 473 Boiler, Cylinder

The day before the auction, Li Tian, ​​accompanied by Zheng He and others, came to a secret laboratory of Tiangong Academy.

This laboratory occupies a large area, but there are only one things in the experiment.

In the center of the field stood a huge steel tank, and a raging fire was burning under the iron tank.

I don't know how long it has been burning. The iron frame that fixes the iron pot next to the burning is already a little red.

Li Tian, ​​Zheng He and others hid behind a wall made of thick quilts, opened a little gap and looked inside.

Zhou Zhen introduced to Li Tian in detail,

"Your Majesty, according to your instructions, this iron can has been fired for more than eight hours after it was [-]% filled with water. At this time, there has not been any explosion. It seems that the strength this time has finally passed the test."

Li Tian smiled and nodded, but Ming did not directly praise their successful performance this time.

Instead, he lowered his head and fiddled with the thick curtains hanging in front of him, and said with a smile,

"It seems that you guys have a long memory, and you still know how to use this thing to protect yourself."

Zhou Zhen scratched his head in embarrassment and smiled bitterly.

"Last time, the minister was negligent and filled the iron tank with water, causing the pressure...the pressure had no place to vent, and broke an iron tank..."

Li Tian gave him a supercilious look, and said lightly,
"Fortunately, you guys reported it to me in time, otherwise, if you continue like this, how many boilers will blow up!"

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty is right. The minister was too impatient last time, and acted rashly without understanding the reason..."

"The explosion last time hurt a lot of people, how come you and Liu Baohe were not injured!"

Zhou Zhen said in shame,

"His Majesty De Meng blessed you. At that time, the minister and Liu Yuanzheng were not there, but five of the craftsmen in charge of the test were scalded and one was seriously injured..."

Li Tian's face darkened slightly, and he said in a low voice,

"Once there is a problem with the pressure chamber, it will be a major accident. Although it is water, its explosive power is no worse than gunpowder. You must pay attention to it when you operate it in the future."

"Yes, I must be careful."

"Have the injured and sacrificed artisans been properly settled!"

"All have been resettled. Pensions will be issued according to the highest level of subsidy provided by the Tiangong Institute. Those with relatively minor injuries who can continue to work will be accepted by the Tiangong Institute!"

Seeing that Zhou Zhen handled the matter fairly properly, Li Tian's complexion finally improved a lot.

This experiment is mainly to test the strength of the boiler and the quality of the steel. If all meet the standards, the next test can be carried out.

Previously, in order to catch up with the progress, Zhou Zhen and the others conducted experiments without fully understanding the principle, which caused the first boiler to explode due to the huge steam pressure.

They didn't dare to conceal the matter, so they reported it to Li Tian.

Li Tian didn't know where the problem was at the beginning, but after they submitted the experimental data, Li Tiancai discovered that they actually filled the boiler with water and did not leave enough space to release the steam pressure. of this accident.

He was so angry that he almost jumped, so he slashed Zhou Zhen and others under the rage.

However, after he calmed down later, he realized that he himself was also at fault, because he did not clearly state the situation of water injection in the detailed rules.

At that time, Li Tiancai knew how dangerous it would be to conduct an experiment rashly without knowing the principle.

So he re-decomposed and marked the operating principle and structural diagram of the steam engine overnight, and put forward many precautions.

After several days of research, Zhou Zhen and the others finally fully understood the principle of the whole machine.

This experiment is the result of their many discussions and discussions.

Finally, their painstaking efforts were not in vain, and the quality of the boiler passed the test, which also marked that the most important link of the steam engine was completely conquered.

In fact, the structure of the primary steam engine is very simple.

In general, there are only boilers, cylinders, bases, pistons, crank connecting rod mechanisms, slide valve steam distribution mechanisms, speed regulating mechanisms and flywheels.

Among them, only the boiler, the cylinder, and the piston, these three things are the most important.

Others, such as flywheels, linkage mechanisms, speed control mechanisms, etc., have been touched by Zhou Zhen and others when they were developing water-powered forging hammers and pedal-type rotary lathes, but only slightly modified. No problem at all for them.

At this time, the boiler has passed the test, and there are only two things left to overcome, the cylinder and the piston.

The so-called cylinder is actually a place where the steam in the boiler is transmitted to a closed space through the conduit, and then the piston is pushed to reciprocate by the expanding steam.

Its general structure is a long circular tube.

It's just that this long barrel is the most demanding thing among all the parts of the steam engine.

Not only does it require extremely high strength, it must be able to withstand extreme pressure, and in order to ensure a smoother movement of the piston, its inner wall must be smooth enough.

In terms of strength, there is no need to worry too much. As long as the material is thickened, it can be guaranteed to have sufficient carrying capacity.

But grinding the inner wall is not an easy task.

This requires the most exquisite polishing master to polish day and night for half a month or even a month or two before there is a possibility of one reaching the standard.

The piston is an important thing that is matched with the cylinder.

To ensure that enough pressure can be accumulated in the cylinder, the piston must fit tightly with the cylinder, and there should be almost no gaps.

But in this day and age, that's almost impossible to do.

So Li Tian could only think of other ways to replace it.

The first thing he thought of was to use rubber as a filler and as a material for sealing the cylinder.

But in this era, there is no such thing as industrial rubber. It seems that finding wild natural rubber is not a problem that can be solved in a day or two.

So he could only retreat and let the artisans use the biological gel made after mashing and kneading cooked beef tendon as a substitute.

But after some experimentation, Li Tian discovered that in the era without lubricating oil and lubricating means, the rate of wear of the sealing gel was very fast.

But this is also a no-brainer. If you want to maximize the utilization of the cylinder, this loss is inevitable.

In the original world history, Europe did not increase the fuel utilization rate of steam engines from 20.00% to [-]% in the middle and late nineteenth century.

And Li Tian can make [-]% when he comes up, which is already very against the sky, and he has nothing to complain about.

The danger of cylinders and pistons is far less than that of boilers, and coupled with the fact that the pure water mill is too urgent, Li Tian can't help much except to give some suggestions.

(End of this chapter)