Chapter 1475: Navy's Needs
The so-called quantum chemical calculation is, in fact, a branch of computational chemistry. It studies the properties and structures of various materials through the basic principles of quantum mechanics, and is particularly good at dealing with various elementary reactions and their reaction mechanisms in microsystems.
However, the cost is also very obvious.
The use of density functional theory to solve the Schrödinger equation relies heavily on experience and is difficult to handle with complex components such as aviation fuel. In addition, the calculation error for non-bonded processes such as nitroethane-promoted thermal decomposition is large.
The only option is to go back to basics and calculate from scratch.
Accurate, independent of any empirical parameters, and extremely elegant in mathematics.
But it is more difficult and takes up more computing resources.
Therefore, after roughly determining the work tasks for the next period of time, Chang Haonan returned to the Torch Laboratory and entered a relatively closed research state.
As for the daily work of the project team, it was handed over to the experienced deputy chief engineer Xing Muchun.
half a month later.
Huairou Science City.
Xing Muchun stood outside the wind tunnel control room, moving his tight shirt collar awkwardly.
This suit was custom-made for him after he attended a celebration party after the successful test launch of a hypersonic verification missile. However, the two years of high-pressure work and the good food supply in Huairou Science City caused his figure to be out of shape, so much so that he even had difficulty breathing after putting it on again.
In fact, this button will not be fastened in 99% of cases, so it is not so obvious.
But today the situation is slightly different.
As the deputy chief designer of the "Lingxiao" project, he is about to receive Lieutenant General Du Lin, Director of the Navy Equipment Department.
Academician Chang Haonan, the project's chief designer, has been in seclusion for two weeks, focusing on solving the pyrolysis mechanism and component design problems of endothermic hydrocarbon fuels. This heavy burden naturally falls on his shoulders.
"President Xing, Director Du's motorcade has arrived at the gate." The assistant came quickly to report.
Xing Muchun took a deep breath and nodded.
He knew this reception was extraordinary.
The heat dissipation problem exposed in the first test of the "Lingxiao-1" dual-mode ramjet engine brought the entire project to a standstill. Although the Navy is not in a hurry to urge anything, it is the client who has invested huge amounts of research and development funds after all. Now that they are here, they hope to see progress.
Soon, five military-brand off-road vehicles appeared at the end of the field of vision and slowly drove into the main road of Science City.
Xing Muchun adjusted his expression and walked forward quickly. The door of the black car in the middle opened, and a middle-aged officer with two general stars on his shoulders stepped out.
Lieutenant General Du Lin is not tall, but his every move reveals the efficiency unique to a soldier.
"Director Du, welcome to our office for guidance." Xing Muchun extended his hand.
His handshake was just the right amount of strength, not as tough as some of the bigwigs who came from the military:
"Mr. Xing, you are too polite."
The hypersonic research project was originally the top priority project. After the Dongfeng 17 caused a huge sensation, it was upgraded to a level close to the two bombs and one satellite.
A leader of a military branch's equipment department, even if he is one of the Party A's, cannot really treat the Party B as his grandson.
"I heard that Academician Chang is not here recently?"
Du Lin followed Xing Muchun's guidance and walked inside, while finding a topic that both parties could easily accept as a start.
"Academician Chang is working on the key technologies of the Lingxiao-1 engine and has been in seclusion for two weeks."
Xing Muchun explained, and at the same time led Du Lin and his party to the direction of the wind tunnel control room, "However, the rest of the project team's work is progressing as planned, and the overall research and development has gradually entered the right track."
After the standard answer, he also specifically emphasized "getting on the right track" to lower the other party's psychological expectations.
What I mean is that the DF-17 has only been unveiled for more than two months, and our new project has just started, so you must not harbor any unrealistic fantasies.
Du Lin nodded slightly without saying anything more, while the accompanying team behind him had already begun to pay attention to the various billboards posted on the walls on both sides -
It is mainly to verify some key nodes in the development process of the missile and DF-17.
Xing Muchun noticed this detail and became secretly alert - the navy was obviously not just here to "take a look".
"This is the core area of the wind tunnel."
He swiped his card to open an electronic door, and once again attracted the attention of dozens of people behind him.
At this moment, in the control room, more than a dozen display screens displayed the working status of the two wind tunnels, JF10 and JF14, in real time.
Seeing the military inspectors coming, everyone stood up to greet them, except for a few technicians who were operating the equipment without leaving their hands.
"This is our most advanced hypersonic wind tunnel group in China, which can simulate long-term airflow from Mach 1.5 to Mach 12 and reproduce the test results with high precision.
"Xing Muchun pointed to the data stream on the central large screen:
"The basic research on hypersonic aerodynamics, the design of the waverider shape of the DF-17, and of course the preliminary testing of the Lingxiao-1 engine were all completed here."
As a naval general, it was the first time for Du Lin to see such a large wind tunnel facility in person, so he walked quickly forward, came to one of the screens, and stared at the chart on it for a few seconds.
However, he soon noticed that the units on the horizontal axis were milliseconds.
"For a long time..."
Xing Muchun was already familiar with the contents displayed on every screen here. Seeing this reaction, he immediately understood the other party's confusion and explained:
"The continuous working time of conventional detonation wave-driven ultra-high-speed wind tunnels, such as the JF10 next to it, is generally only tens of milliseconds. It was only after Academician Chang optimized the structure of the shock wave reflection cavity that the cycle was extended to a few tenths of a second... Of course, this is a strict actual measurement time. If the simulation level is taken into account, it can still reach the minute level."
With the comparison, Du Lin finally realized the powerful capabilities of the giant equipment in front of him.
Of course, he didn't come here today just to study these two wind tunnels.
So after the atmosphere got into place, the subject immediately changed:
"I just saw a concept drawing of an air-breathing hypersonic missile at the door. It seems to have no booster stage? I remember the American X51A seemed to have a conspicuous solid rocket."
While waiting outside, Xing Muchun had already prepared answers to various preset questions, but he did not expect the other party to start from here.
Fortunately, he reacted quickly:
"Director Du is indeed attentive... We did save the boost stage because the Lingxiao-1 is a dual-mode ramjet engine that can work in both subsonic and scramjet modes. The subsonic mode operating limit can be reduced to Mach 1.5 or even lower. If it is carried by a tactical aircraft such as the J-11 or a supersonic bomber such as the Tu-160, it can be started directly from the carrier speed."
When the air-breathing hypersonic rocket project was first launched, Chang Haonan was not sure how feasible this dual-mode ramjet engine was, so he still retained the obvious rocket booster similar to the X51A.
As for replacement, or upgrading of technology route, that was all after the failure of the first test launch of X51A.
Only a very small number of senior leaders and academician-level approval teams know about it.
Du Lin’s confidentiality level is certainly sufficient, but it is impossible for his superiors to issue a document specifically to publicize such a specific technical issue.
So I was quite surprised to hear this:
"Below Mach 1.5?"
His eyebrows raised slightly.
"This operating range... is even wider than our Yaran Ramjet's Eagle Strike 12?"
If the previous questions were just routine inquiries during the inspection, now he was really interested.
"Yes, this is a breakthrough made by our team in the design of air intake-combustion chamber coupling." Xing Muchun said with pride, "Of course, if it is launched from a ship-borne or submarine-launched platform, we will still equip it with a compact internal rocket booster, similar to the solution of Eagle Strike 12, which has little impact on the volume and center of gravity, and is almost invisible from the outside."
Du Lin nodded thoughtfully and indicated that he should continue the tour.
The group walked through the corridor and came to the factory where the test engines were stored.
Three "Lingxiao-1" prototypes are fixed on the test bench. The outer shell of one of them has been disassembled, revealing the complex internal flow channel structure.
"Is this the engine that has the cooling problem?"
Du Lin approached the disassembled prototype, and the densely packed metal parts made him dizzy.
Xing Muchun nodded:
"Yes. When the engine was continuously operating at Mach 10.5 or above, the temperature of the combustion chamber wall exceeded the tolerance limit of the material. Academician Chang believed that the problem was the insufficient heat absorption capacity of the fuel, so he personally led the team to tackle the problem of new fuel formula."
Du Lin subconsciously wanted to reach out and touch the engine casing, but he quickly retracted his hand:
"Boss Xing, let me be frank."
He straightened his uniform and asked in a serious tone:
"The Navy wants to know when the overall design specifications of the missile will be finalized?"
This question came too suddenly, causing Xing Muchun's heart to tighten.
It has only been less than two months since the DF-17 was publicly unveiled. The authorities must be aware of the difficulty of developing hypersonic weapons and should not be so anxious.
To take a step back, even if it is urgent, you shouldn't come directly to urge us.
If Chang Haonan himself were here, it wouldn't matter how he expressed himself. He could just say whatever he wanted to say, and it wouldn't matter even if he argued back.
But Xing Muchun still didn't have the confidence, so he could only pick out the positive parts and say:
"Director Du, we have only preliminarily determined the wide-speed adaptation scheme of the tandem waverider, but the specific structure and shape will have to wait until the final parameters of Lingxiao-1 are determined before they can be finalized... Compared with traditional turbine engines and subsonic ramjet engines, the operating parameters in the scramjet mode are highly related to the pre-compression capability of the incoming flow..."
Du Lin raised his hand to interrupt halfway through: "Boss Xing, you misunderstood what I meant..."
"I'm not asking about the specific design or prototype. I just want to know if I can get some basic physical parameters in advance... such as length, diameter, mass, center of gravity and lift distribution..."
Xing Muchun's eyes suddenly became somewhat confused.
Du Lin had no choice but to explain further:
"The situation the Navy is facing now is that the development of the J-15 carrier-based aircraft and the establishment of fixed-wing carrier-based aviation units have reached a critical stage. We are currently compiling the operational load spectrum of the carrier-based aircraft..."
"Conventional ammunition including short, medium and long-range air-to-air missiles, electronic warfare pods, auxiliary fuel tanks, buddy refueling pods, various types of free-fall and glide bombs, and Eagle Strike 83K anti-ship missiles have all been tested, so the higher-ups hope to get the physical data of future higher-level ammunition in advance, preferably a training model bomb with subsonic ramjet ignition capability, so that they can get it done in one step and save some trouble later."
