Chapter 237 Victory Port Shipyard (2)
If we look solely at the technical reserve level of the production and manufacturing department, even if the shipyard is not currently the strongest, it can at least be ranked among the top three. There are shipbuilding professionals such as Yue Zhiyun and Sun Changmi who graduated from the Maritime University, and navigation experts with rich practical experience such as Wang Tom, as well as a group of local shipbuilding craftsmen who have been networked through various channels after time travel. , coupled with a large amount of modern ship information in the database, and a large number of keyboard experts within the Cross Travel Group, it can be said that the pure technical strength is already very strong, far higher than other competitors of the same era.
The Executive Committee has also given high expectations and support to the development of new sailboats. All raw materials needed by the shipyard will be given priority. If you don't have it, you will buy it. If you can't buy it from outside, you will make it yourself. If you can't make it yourself... …Then let’s consider revising the plan. In short, as long as the executive committee can get it, the shipyard can have whatever it needs.
But perhaps it was precisely because the technical concept was too advanced compared to the level of its contemporaries that the development process of the No. 1 test ship was filled with various controversies. Not only the executive committee, but almost everyone involved in the development of the ship model hopes to make the test ship perfect and fully functional from the beginning, and to overwhelm its contemporary maritime opponents in terms of shipbuilding technology.
The wish is beautiful, but the reality is cruel. Although everyone is well aware of the development direction of shipbuilding technology in the next few hundred years, it is a pity that due to the current manufacturing level and material limitations, it is simply impossible to build a powerful iron-clad giant ship in one fell swoop. The Ministry of Shipping The only thing that can be done is to build a wooden sailboat that is powerful and easy to operate based on the wooden structure and sail power, and as much as possible based on the shipbuilding knowledge brought from later generations. Participants belonging to different groups also put forward various requirements or suggestions for the ship. As a result, the Ministry of Shipping's construction plan began to be prepared before the crossing, and it has been revised again and again recently. Still unable to decide on the final plan.
Not long after the shipyard was built, the Ministry of Shipping had already submitted a report to apply for the construction of another test ship at the same time. Because there are too many technical solutions at present, some of them cannot be put into construction on the same ship. It is impossible to build a test ship with just one ship. Try the plans one by one. The Executive Committee believed that it would be too expensive to start construction of two large ships at the same time, so there were many small test ships later. Of course, these ships will not be wasted after they are built. After verifying the plan, they will be converted into fishing boats and allocated to the Ministry of Agriculture, or they will be converted into training ships for military camps to train future naval crews.
In order to develop the sailboat development plan, countless technical seminars have been held within the Ministry of Shipping, and even the executive committee has held several special seminars. However, in the final result of each discussion, no one can convince anyone, and public opinion Opinions gradually formed into several major factions.
The most vocal group is the Chinese sailing group. This group's opinion is that the hull of the new sailing ship should still adopt the traditional pointed bottom shape of the Chinese sailing ship and retain hull structures such as watertight compartments. Only the bow, stern and sail rope system should be retained. Technical improvements are made based on the experience of later generations. People who hold this view account for the majority of the developers of new sailboats. They believe that the hull shape and hull structure of Chinese sailboats have represented the future development direction of shipbuilding technology and have been widely used. A mature construction plan is undoubtedly going backwards in shipbuilding technology.
Another group of people believe that we must face up to the reality of this historical period. Western sailing ships can travel around the world, and they also have certain technical advantages. New sailing ships should learn from them. The cannon in the belly of the ship is something that Chinese sailboats can never achieve, because Western sailboats have round bottoms that are narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. There is enough space in the hull to hold so many cannons, and this weight can also stabilize the ship. The role of the body. If a Chinese sailboat wants to deploy a large number of artillery on the ship, it can only be concentrated on the upper part of the hull. Not only will the center of gravity be too high and the loading capacity of the artillery will be very limited, but also when the fire is concentrated on one side of the ship's side, the ship will lose balance due to the recoil. , even if it does not capsize, it will greatly affect the seaworthiness of the ship and the accuracy of gunfire.
However, people who hold this view are generally keyboard experts. Although their voices are loud, they cannot actually provide much theoretical basis. Most people just want to realize the gunboat doctrine in their minds - naval warfare in this era, Shouldn't it be like Pirates of the Caribbean, where they approach each other and blast each other with shipboard cannons? Since we have an advantage in our own artillery technology, we should put densely packed artillery on the ship. No matter what they are, East Indies, West Indies, or pirate fleets, the best way to sink them is to concentrate their fire and sink them when they encounter them.
With the gradual implementation of various experimental plans, the Chinese sailing school gradually began to gain the upper hand, and the technical debate gradually shifted from the debate among the shipbuilding technology schools to the debate on various technical details, such as whether to use horizontal sails or longitudinal sails. Soft sails or hard sails, whether a square stern is needed, whether the hull ribs need to be steel-structured, whether the bottom of the ship needs to be clad with copper, how to arrange the propulsion device for steam power in the future, etc.
Once such debates over technical details arise, it is more difficult to unify opinions than debates between schools. There are often many improvement plans proposed for a small technical detail, and the Ministry of Shipping needs to verify these plans one by one. It takes a lot of work. To this end, the frequency of technical seminars at the shipyard has also been greatly increased, from twice a week to the current level of at least once every two days. Yue Zhiyun and Sun Changmi, two white-faced scholars who were still a little green when they came to Guangzhou to report, are now tanned like black coals. In addition, Wang, who has become dark and shiny due to his long-term life at sea, Tom, known as the "Three Blacks of the Shipyard" - basically the three of them can be regarded as the main technical backbone of the new sailboat development project.
When Li Nai arrived at the shipyard, everyone was also holding a new round of technical discussions. The meeting place was located under the work shed where materials were piled. Everyone sat down on a wooden pillar and began to discuss the technical details that had not been discussed yesterday. Although everyone present saw Li Nai coming in, no one advised him to leave - Yue Zhiyun also represented the Ministry of Shipping because he had to hand over the second-hand ships and crew they brought from Guangzhou to "Furuifeng" Went to the reception banquet held for Li Nai yesterday. Tao Donglai said hello to him specifically. If Li Nai comes to the shipyard for nothing, let him see what he wants to see and listen to what he wants to hear. Shipbuilding, a highly professional profession, is not A master like Li Nai can understand it just by listening to it, so there is no special need to keep it secret.
Therefore, everyone just glanced at Li Nai, then turned around and concentrated on the discussion. They heard Yue Zhiyun say: "The truck this morning has delivered the newly processed steel connectors from Tian Du. We can go back and directly Installed on the ship. Although this ship is too late to use steel keels and ribs, the use of these steel connectors can effectively strengthen the hull. ”
"What about the steel hollow mast we ordered? Can Tiandu ship it according to the scheduled time?" Sun Changmi asked, biting a cigarette butt in his mouth and squinting his eyes. He was squatting on the side of the road with his legs spread like an old farmer in the countryside. If he hadn't been wearing a hooded short shirt that only Haihan people had, Li Nai, who was watching, would have almost mistaken him for a local naturalized citizen.
"The mast is too big." Wang Tom shook his head and took over the conversation: "I contacted Roger yesterday. The plate bending machine used in the metallurgical workshop was not so big. I'm afraid it needs to be divided into multiple sections for processing. However, there are also technical problems in welding. Using the old-fashioned Forged welding is used for processing, but they are still trying to find a solution because they are afraid that the finished product will not meet the strength requirements. ”
"Didn't we bring welding tools?" Yue Zhiyun asked in shock.
"Bakesi said that the reserves of flux-cored welding wire and high-pressure gas cylinders are limited. Now use only a little, so it's best to come up with other processing methods." Wang Tom explained.
"We didn't prepare these things just for the present use. Why save money at this juncture!" Yue Zhiyun complained angrily: "Without a steel mast, we can't significantly heighten the mast. If we don't raise the mast, How to use the newly designed sail gear! ”
Sun Changmi advised: "Mr. Bai is right. Even if one or two masts are processed, it will only solve temporary needs. In the future, we will still have to face the same technical problems when finalizing and mass production. Of course we can solve them now." The best.”
Li Nai couldn't help but interrupt when he heard this and asked: "Why build a heightened mast?"
"The higher the mast, the larger the sail can be hung, so that the efficiency of wind power utilization will increase... Do you know what utilization efficiency is?" Yue Zhiyun explained half of it and couldn't help but ask. Li Nai nodded and said: "I understand a little, please continue."
"Today's sea-going ships use wind power as the main power, so the utilization rate of wind power by the sails is the main factor affecting the forward power of the ship. To solve this problem, we designed a new sail, mast and rigging structure. The utilization rate of wind power will be much better than that of the existing Fuzhou or Guangzhou ships...and of course those Galen ships of the foreign devils." Yue Zhiyun proudly explained to Li Nai: "Use the Chinese style of longitudinal sails. The sails of a sailboat are easy to control and can flexibly take advantage of various wind directions. However, the disadvantage is that the sails are few and small, and the actual effective area affected by the wind is not large. However, Western-style sailboats with square sails have high masts. The sail area can be larger, but because the mast is too high, it is not easy to reef and raise the sail. Moreover, the high mast must be equipped with various stays to ensure its stability, which greatly hinders the rotation angle of the horizontal sail. ”
Li Nai half understood what he heard, and asked with some confusion: "I have seen Western sailing ships many times. The sails are numerous and dense, which seems to be enough to make up for the shortcomings of the sails' poor rotation."
"That's just a look." Yue Zhiyun continued to explain: "Western-style sailboats have great limitations in design, because they blindly increase the area of the wind, but their sails do not utilize the wind power efficiently. It is not as high as it seems. When the wind is downwind, the stay sail, the gaff sail and the main sail block each other, because the existence of the stay block blocks the rotation angle of the main sail. In crosswind and headwind, the stay sail can only be used to utilize the wind power, which is efficient. It is far more flexible than a Chinese sailboat in terms of ease of operation.”
"Since Mr. Yue thinks that Chinese sailboats are so easy to use, why did no one in the past increase the sails by raising the mast?" When Li Nai asked this question, he fully exposed his layman nature.
"There is no way to add a stay to a schooner, otherwise the only advantage of flexibility will be lost. Moreover, Chinese sailboats are all sharp-bottomed ships. If the mast is too high, the center of gravity will be unstable." Of course, Yue Zhiyun was also aware of Li Nai's ignorance. , and now he explained boldly: "Moreover, the sails of Chinese sailboats are too heavy. Increasing the area will increase the weight. A mast that is too high may not be strong enough and will easily break if the wind is strong."
Li Nai then suddenly realized: "That's why you want to build that hollow steel mast. It is to reduce the weight of the mast, increase its strength and height, and thereby increase the area of the sail."
Li Nai was quick to draw inferences from one instance, and Yue Zhiyun immediately stopped trying to explain to him in detail. The technological innovations used in the masts, sails and rigging of the new sailboats are far more than just the steel hollow mast, but only this one has the highest technical content and is the most difficult for outsiders to imitate, because it is difficult to use metal processing methods. Reach the level of crossing the group. As for other detailed improvements, people with a discerning eye will probably be able to understand the secrets after seeing it once.
The Ministry of Shipping has made far more technical improvements to the upper deck facilities than the hull itself. The most important thing is the redesigned sail system based on modern mechanical principles. This new system adopts some of the characteristics of the Eastern and Western sails, but overall it is very different from it. It can be said to be another black technology tool that spans the ages for the Cross Travel Group.
Early sailing ships used the dynamic wind pressure generated by the wind blowing directly on the sail during the forward process, while modern sailing ships use the pressure generated by the airflow flowing through the arched sail surface. This static wind pressure is The driving force generated on the sail is much greater than the dynamic wind pressure. This principle sounds difficult to understand and is so abstract that it is difficult to visualize intuitively, so it has not been applied to the design of sailing sails at this time.
It was not until 1726, a hundred years later, that Daniel Bernoulli from the Swiss Bernoulli family proposed the "boundary layer surface effect", that is, the greater the flow rate of the fluid, the smaller the pressure, and the smaller the flow rate of the fluid, the greater the pressure. This great discovery was later named the "Bernoulli Effect" by the scientific community. It is also one of the most important theorems of fluid mechanics and was widely used in the manufacturing of ships and aircraft in the following centuries. Even the banana ball phenomenon in football matches can be perfectly explained by the "Bernoulli effect" - due to the rotation of the football, the air flow speed on both sides is inconsistent, so it will deflect to the side with greater flow speed.
The horizontal sail structure used in Western sailing ships can only use dynamic wind pressure, which means that cooking, which occupies most of the sail area, can only be used under downwind or sidewind conditions. Otherwise, the wind will not provide power but will become resistance. Although the gaff sail can utilize part of the static wind pressure, its twisted shape and limited area make its actual role very limited.
Although Chinese-style sailboats can take advantage of the static wind pressure effect by relying on a relatively flexible sailing method, the design starting point of Chinese-style sailboats is for easy and efficient operation rather than for the Bernoulli effect. In addition, the height of the mast cannot With larger sails, this relative technical advantage becomes extremely limited in practical applications.
The Ministry of Shipping put a lot of thought into the design of the sail and verified no less than ten plans before finally finalizing a sail design that was closer to a modern sailboat. This design uses a longitudinal sail structure, but it uses a soft sail instead of a Chinese hard sail. However, the difference from the Western-style horizontal sail is that curved bamboo spokes are added to both sides of the sail surface, and the spokes are in the middle. There are ropes passing through the sail surface to fix the position, and the arching of the sail when exposed to wind will be limited to the curvature of the spokes. And this structure is different from the single-sided spoke fixation of Chinese hard sails.
Such an arched sail can make full use of static wind pressure and rotate flexibly. It can effectively use crosswinds and even headwinds to provide forward momentum. The efficiency of wind power utilization is far higher than that of traditional Chinese and Western sailboats. Moreover, with this kind of sail, there is no need to install auxiliary sails such as stay sails on the ship, and sailing is much simpler than that of a Western-style sailboat. Calculated based on the same sail area and external wind conditions, the Ministry of Shipping believes that the new sail designed based on hydrodynamics is at least one-third more efficient than the original Chinese and Western sails, and it uses new cables. With the addition of pulleys, the number of sailors required will not increase much compared to the past. This also means that under the same conditions, the speed of sailboats using new sails will also be greatly improved, which just meets the requirements of the Executive Committee for convenient sailing and increased speed.
Of course, this does not mean that the new sails are perfect and can be immediately applied to existing sailboats. First of all, the production of canvas is a huge problem for the current travel group. At present, Chuanchuan Group does not have a textile industry. 90% of its fabrics are imported from outside, and the remaining 10% comes from Jibei cloth supplied by local indigenous people and Chuanchuan Group's own reserves. However, the existing external purchasing channels have not found fabrics that are truly suitable for making sails - at least according to shipyard standards, there have not been any qualified products. The sails of the No. 1 test ship will be made using inventory canvas brought from later generations. But the inventory is limited after all. If you want to make such sails on a large scale in the future, you will still have to face the problem of raw materials sooner or later.
Secondly, this design has only been used on test ships with extremely small displacement. It will take time to verify whether it will achieve the expected results when used on large ships, and what technical problems will arise that need to be solved during use. Just fine.
After writing this chapter, I will chat a little bit. My knowledge about sailing boats is extremely limited, and I am just a keyboard nerd. In order to write this chapter, I read a lot of information. There must be many fallacies in it. Please be gentle with your words, ship experts. I have indeed tried my best. But what I want to say is that the debate on technical details only exists in the book, just like the debate on which gun the Time Travel Group should develop first, and whether it should build breech-loaded weapons as soon as it comes up, the upgrade of the technology tree It is just to serve the plot and promote the development of the story in the book. It is useless to pursue the rationality of its details too much - time travel is inherently unreasonable. Of course, if there are major fallacies in technological upgrading, you are still welcome to point them out. Small details that do not affect the development of the plot can be allowed to pass by. After all, this book is not an encyclopedic guide to technological development. Finally, I would like to thank the various experts who have provided a large number of reference materials on the Internet. There are too many people to thank them all.
(End of chapter)