Chapter 259 Lightning

November is the harvest season.

On November 6, the "Qingshan" base was officially completed, and the first experimental uranium reactor began trial operation.

Qingshan Base is the code name of another nuclear base built by Xinyuan. After a year of construction, it was officially put into use with the operation of the first experimental reactor as a symbol.

The iconic buildings of the nuclear power plant, the two huge "chimneys" (condensed water evaporation towers) finally began to emit white smoke a few months after they were erected to cool the operating reactors.

Senior personnel from Xinyuan, China Power Investment, Guangdong Nuclear Power, 194 Institute and other related units witnessed the start-up ceremony of the "CU-15" experimental reactor.

CU-15, C represents conventional configuration, U represents that the reactor raw material is uranium 235, and the number 15 represents the power generation capacity of 150,000 kilowatts, that is, 150MW.

CU-15 is not the sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor (abbreviated SFR) used by NAPE. It is only used for those tests with high power consumption and supply base use, and is self-produced and sold.

However, CU-15 was completely designed by Cheng Nankai, using some new technologies to reduce the size and cost, and even using relevant design concepts from NAPE. It was built in the middle of the construction of Qingshan Base.

The superiors were very worried about Xinyuan's direct design of the reactor. After repeated discussions, an expert from the 194th Institute of Nuclear Power in Chengdu was sent to inspect it, requiring that it must be accepted before it can be put into practical use.

CU-15 is not an SFR, so it does not need to be kept secret. In addition, the experts sent by the 194th Institute are also early researchers of the Republic who have left the front-line work, so they agreed to open it.

Wang Lu is 78 years old and has participated in many major nuclear projects in the early days. Of course, he is familiar with reactor design. After signing the confidentiality agreement, he joined Cheng Nankai's working group to check the safety hazards of CU-15.

The result was shocking. The design concept of CU-15 is quite advanced. If you have to say it, it can be described as beautiful.

The structure is simple, efficient, small, and there is no awkwardness in the first design. None of the rookie mistakes he made in the early design years show that the designer is definitely experienced and has a lot of precedents, which makes CU-15 so handy.

But Cheng Nankai's information is known in the industry, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it as mediocre, let alone others.

There is almost no actual work experience, and he did not engage in this kind of work during the period of the State of Mao.

It is simply... incredible.

When writing a subsequent report, Wang Lu praised the design of CU-15 and believed that its reliability was higher than 99.5%, and it could be approved for operation.

And in today's first operation, CU-15 was as stable as he imagined.

Cheng Nankai stood beside him, and his face was also the kind of confident and calm.

How great would it be if such talents could serve the country?

Wang Lu looked at the various parameters in the control room and said with some emotion:

"CU-15 is already a very good third-generation reactor, but the power limit is relatively small. Xiao Cheng, your design is so clever, the core operating temperature is so high."

For nuclear reactors, core temperature control is an extremely important issue.

Theoretically, a high core operating temperature means less heat dissipation pressure, lighter system weight, and higher efficiency, but it will also increase the difficulty of design and the degree of danger.

The famous Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident was caused by the excessive temperature of the core. If the rescuers had not saved their lives, the meltdown would have caused a greater threat.

The nuclear engine developed by Aramco and the alliance before was large in size and weight in order to reduce the core temperature for reliability, so the heat dissipation system must be made large and complex.

If it is used in the first stage and works in the atmosphere most of the time, it is okay. There is air to assist in heat dissipation, and the weight is acceptable. It is difficult in a vacuum. The heat energy of a high-power reactor really makes people wonder how to deal with it.

But for Cheng Nankai, it is just the opposite. NAPE can maintain the low mass of the entire system while taking the SFR route, relying on the ultra-high core temperature of more than 1700 degrees.

Now, the major research institutions in the world that have launched a charge on sodium-cooled fast neutron reactors have only envisioned a core operating temperature of 750 to 950 degrees, and 1700 degrees is already a prospect after maturity in the later stage.

The heat of the NAPE reactor will not dissipate like ground power generation, but will be guided to the engine part to heat the working fluid to ionize it, reducing the pressure of the heat dissipation system to a minimum.

It is this set of ionization links that has made NAPE's efficiency increase linearly, and greatly reduced its volume and weight, allowing the 3.6-ton system to include three working modes and a million-kilowatt SFR reactor.

To put it bluntly, the power output of six NAPEs at the same time is already equivalent to that of a large nuclear power plant. This is also the reason why the few official personnel who know about the NAPE project are not optimistic: it's too scary!

Of course, NEPE calculates the total power, not the power generation power, covering all aspects of the engine as a whole, and cannot achieve complete power generation, but it is still a cross-era existence.

Wang Lu naturally knew about the NAPE project and had done his own calculations, but he felt that if he led a team to work on NAPE, the weight would be at least 10 tons, and this was after ignoring many issues.

The young are formidable, the young are formidable!

Cheng Nankai still didn't know that he had been labeled as a genius scientist, and at this time, his mood was more inclined to one of relief.

Before the Qingshan base was fully put into use, the most he did was theoretical work. However, the theoretical design already had an extremely detailed system design, and there was really nothing worth studying and modifying.

NAPE itself is the ultimate achievement of that world line in SSTO power. The original design has reached the point where any modification is superfluous and it only needs to be manufactured step by step.

As for other detector nuclear batteries, the spacecraft nuclear reactors are small things and have been idle in the past few months.

"Mr. Wang, apart from ship nuclear power, has Institute 194 ever studied space nuclear propulsion technology?"

Wang Lu shook his head:

“In our previous concepts, the design and principle of nuclear thermal engines were relatively simple, which was very different from reactors mainly used for power generation, and the cost-effectiveness of space nuclear thermal propulsion was not high, so... at least 194 did not have it.

But NAPE is very advanced, and the application of liquid metal reactors on ships is also a cutting-edge technology. It is not as safe as traditional pressurized water reactors, but it does save space.

Xiaocheng, it is a huge loss to us that you did not arrive early to work in China. "

Cheng Nankai: "..."

He silently looked away and looked at Lin Ju who was standing with a group of leaders in the distance. He thought that if he returned to China early, he would be at the same level as teaching in a university. The system would still be amazing!

…

"ES-6: Ionization-gas tip joint propulsion test, the eleventh test run!"

On the engine test bench of the B-level base, an engine with a flat nozzle is powered on. Looking through the nozzle, you can see the faint blue light generated by the ultra-high pressure inside.

The valve of the storage tank storing liquid methane is opened, and the liquid methane first enters a high-temperature and high-pressure environment, and then is introduced into the engine, where it is ionized by high temperature.

Afterwards, the charged methane molecules are extremely violent due to the heat energy, and are accelerated by the electric field until one of the 400 micro-nozzles is ejected at high speed. They gather together along the wedge-shaped surface inside the flat nozzle and become a dark blue tail flame that is sprayed backward at high speed. out.

The charged particle clusters sprayed out from hundreds of nozzles collided together at extremely high speeds, and the sharp roar could be heard through the thick protective glass.

In the control room next to them, Guo Shen and Serev watched the current soaring as the ES-6 test machine continued to increase its power, counting silently in their hearts.

About 7 or 8 seconds later, when the output thrust reached 5.5 tons, the scream of the engine suddenly weakened, and the charming blue tail flame gradually subsided.

In the console, the energy supply system constantly prompts that the current is overloaded and the power is insufficient.

Guo Shen checked his watch and saw that it was exactly 74 seconds, three seconds longer than the last time.

The ES-6 ionization plug nozzle engine is a test machine built as a NAPE propulsion part demonstrator. It weighs more than 5 tons and has a maximum thrust of only about 6 tons.

Due to the lack of the reactor part, the nuclear heat and high-temperature ionization parts originally responsible for it can only be solved through traditional methods, resulting in ES-6's energy consumption being extremely high, and its performance is far from comparable to NAPE.

The power system of the test bed has not been specially modified, and it will not last long before it is powered off due to overheating. The longest time of the eleven test runs did not exceed 90 seconds, but fortunately, the data collected was similar, which proved that the road was right.

The mission of ES-6 has been completed and the construction of the Qingshan base has been completed. Next, all the research and development work of NAPE will be transferred there, no longer need to worry about electric energy, and the next trial production will be the NAPE prototype.

Serev: "Okay, now we can finally free up the test bed. The Air Tip team will stay for now and take some time to finish the second half of the TP-25 'Lushan' engine. It will only take a month. It should not affect NAPE."

Guo Shen quickly replied: "Don't worry, TP-25 is not difficult and can be made very quickly."

TP-25, the "Lushan" engine, is a power system prepared for the determined low-cost reusable aerospace aircraft. It integrates three engines: ramjet, turbofan, and air tip. It achieves extreme weight reduction and outputs 25 tons of thrust.

The 10 TP-25s in the Tengyun project do not exist independently, but some pipelines are connected to each other to improve performance and reduce weight. The total weight cannot exceed 15 tons.

The total thrust of 250 tons when the gas tip is working is enough to send Tengyun into low-Earth orbit.

Because of NAPE's pre-production data, the development process of TP-25 was relatively easy. The original design had been finalized, and a mass-production prototype could be produced before January.

What is more troublesome is the design of the aircraft body. The dead weight after entering the rail includes 15 tons of engine, 35 tons of empty weight of the aircraft body, and 10 tons of fuel. The total load mass for people and cargo cannot exceed 5 tons. The design for 20 passengers is already Maximum compromise within safety redundancy limits.

The take-off mass is 200 tons, and the body weight cannot exceed 35 tons. This number is very extreme. The requirements for design and materials are unprecedented and require revolutionary innovation.

It is not difficult to meet this requirement simply by flying within the atmosphere, but if you add the ability to travel through the atmosphere, I am afraid that H2’s new generation insulation tile technology is not enough, and it needs to be lighter, simpler, and cheaper.

Serev touched his hair and felt that there were signs of returning to premature baldness in his previous life.

Tomorrow, the H2M space shuttle, the conventional version of H2, will be shipped, and the H1W "Spiral" plan will also enter its first flight. Such high efficiency makes Shelev excited and brings a busier work schedule.

Under his plan, the B-level base has been expanded by more than 400 people, and it has been divided up by various project teams without causing any ripples.

This is certainly not because the base has too many redundant personnel, but because there are too many places that need people. Qingshan Base is also expected to have 1,000 talents to achieve the goal of initial full operation.

Controlling the super carriage of Xinyuan, it feels more powerful than in the alliance period.

As for the real boss Lin Ju? I am afraid that he spends much more time in Beijing than in his own base.

But now the boss is rarely in the base, and he is with several people from the space agency.

…

On November 8, at 11 a.m., there are more than ten hours before the results of the A-American election are announced. The results will be counted and announced at about midnight Beijing time.

At the C-class base, in accordance with Shelev's "Spiral" plan, the H1W unmanned space shuttle revived by Xinyuan on H1 was officially shipped.

Like the former Alliance's MAKS plan, the nose of the H1W is tilted high and the front end is narrowed to match the shuttle-shaped fuel tank. In addition, the take-off mass is similar, which is almost a perfect replica of the MAKS of the year.

The only difference is that MAKS uses two engines, while H1W only uses one H240 upgraded engine with super thrust: H300.

The bell-shaped nozzle of H300 has been optimized, and it can maintain a high efficiency when starting from an altitude of more than 10,000 meters until the spacecraft enters orbit.

The maximum weight of the combination of the fuel tank and H1W is only 322 tons, and the H300 can output at a maximum thrust of 112% at startup, and can also adjust the thrust over a wide range, always keeping the thrust-to-weight ratio at a low level to reduce overload and vibration, and is very tolerant of sensitive satellite parts being transported.

Since the H1W is an unmanned design and is only designed for payload, the testing process is relatively simple. In addition to computer simulation, there are no multiple aerodynamic tests of the real aircraft. This is completely different from the H2 aerodynamic verification prototype that has been flying on the prairie for several months.

The H1W that is now shipped out of the factory uses the second-generation thermal insulation layer technology. The overall appearance is gray, because the temperature requirements are greatly relaxed and the mass is reduced.

But on its tail, a bright purple lightning logo is extremely conspicuous.

"Lightning", this is the name given to it by Shelev, also in memory of the "Lightning" Design Bureau. In any case, H1W is indeed following the path of MAKS, even if the latter did not succeed.

The Lightning will be transported directly to Xinyuan Airport, and the Il-76 there will be transported to Qiongzhou, where the Lightning, fuel tanks and An-1250 will be combined and flown to the high seas for launch.

This is also an advantage of air mobile launch, which can freely choose the landing area and reduce the latitude as much as possible, saving up to 5% of fuel, which may be transferred to the payload mass of more than 100 kilograms, which is already very good.

The "Spiral" plan is relatively confidential, because it is not a big project for Xinyuan now, and it is also a special launch plan prepared by Shelev for deep space probes. No one knows the specific content without deliberate publicity.

It was not until the strange-looking Lightning was loaded on the plane that people knew that Xinyuan had launched a new research.

At the same time, the B-class base was very lively.

Two of the first three H1Ms completed the final equipment installation ahead of schedule and were officially towed out of the factory.

Because of the river crab beast, it is now John George, do not take the code name