Chapter 1594 "Zou Yu" Prototype

A month later.

Huairou Science City, Wind Tunnel Test Center.

As one of the top and most confidential aerodynamic research bases in China, there are not many permanent staff here, and it is in a semi-closed state on a daily basis, so it is generally quiet.

Only in a few cases, such as when there is intensive transfer of equipment and materials, will there be a large number of vehicles traveling back and forth, and most of them are trucks.

However, on this day, the atmosphere at the test center was much more lively than usual.

From the moment the dawn broke, more than a dozen cars arrived at the small square in front of the main building of the center.

In total, there were about forty or fifty people coming.

Although their attire was all ordinary, and there were no fancy potted plants or slogans around them, judging from their gestures and the fact that about half of them looked like secretaries or guards, today's scene was likely to be quite large.

In fact, this is a phased report by China's hypersonic weapons development project team.

But even most of the participants did not receive more detailed information.

Of course, no notification does not mean no speculation.

China's double-cone and gliding hypersonic weapons have completed the technical exploration stage, and the subsequent specific model development has been transferred to China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation. It is unlikely that the wind tunnel test center will make any progress reports.

Therefore, it is highly likely that the last and toughest nut to crack in the hypersonic technology route - the air-breathing hypersonic aircraft - has achieved some form of breakthrough.

……

Zheng Liangqun arrived not too late, but he had chatted with Director Zhang Xinping of the Equipment Development Center outside for a while, so when they walked into the conference room, most of the participants were already seated behind their name tags.

The two of them were seated in the first row, and Sora stood out there.

However, just as Zheng Liangqun was walking quickly towards the conference seat and preparing to take a seat, his eyes caught sight of the long table prepared for Party B next to the podium, and there was no nameplate of the project chief engineer Chang Haonan.

In the middle are the two deputy chief engineers, Xing Muchun and Jiang Zonglin, and another one, Li Min, who was transferred up later to take over Jiang Zonglin's job.

Zheng Liangqun glanced at the audience below again.

He found that the person sitting in the middle of the front row was the head of the General Armament Department, with Zhang Xinping and himself on his left and right. Chang Haonan's name was also not visible.

He raised his hand to check the time and found that there were still a few minutes before the report meeting began.

After hesitating for a moment, he simply went to the side of the podium and found Xing Muchun, who was relatively familiar with him.

"Old Xing." He whispered, "Where is Academician Chang? Why don't you see his name brand?"

Xing Muchun was debugging the PPT at the moment. He turned around and found someone standing behind him. He looked again and found that it was Zheng Liangqun.

"Oh, originally it was planned that Mr. Chang would be the keynote speaker." He put down his pen and replied, "But last week I suddenly received a notice saying that there was a more important meeting today, so I have to take the stage."

Jiang Zonglin is a wind tunnel expert while Li Min took over the overall work halfway through.

So when Chang Haonan is not around, Xing Muchun is basically in charge of daily work.

"Don't worry, Chief of Staff Zheng," he thought Zheng Liangqun was worried about the effect of the report, so he comforted him, "The speech and PPT have all been personally reviewed by General Chang, and there will be no changes to the content of the report."

In fact, Zheng Liangqun was not really worried about the report.

After all, there is no decision involved today. Not to mention Xing Muchun, a deputy chief engineer, even if an ordinary senior engineer came, it would make no difference.

He just felt it was a little strange.

Then he looked back at the audience behind him again.

The head of one of the four headquarters attended in person, along with representatives from two military services.

If there is anything more important and higher than this occasion...

That probably involves the highest decision-making level.

Thinking of this, he decided not to ask any more questions. He then left a word "thank you for your hard work" and turned around and went straight back to his seat.

The briefing will begin soon.

The more than 20 people present on site were not new to the hypersonic weapons project, so Xing Muchun skipped the lengthy background introduction and started directly from the theoretical breakthroughs achieved in the field of dual-mode ramjet engines.

"Under the leadership of Academician Chang Haonan, the project team theoretically solved the core problem of stable, efficient and reversible conversion of ramjet engines between subsonic and scramjet modes a year and a half ago."

Xing Muchun's voice was steady and powerful, and he switched between complex formulas and flow field simulation diagrams on the PPT, and finally stopped at a very impactful photo.

However, all eyes were focused on its unusually exaggerated aspect ratio.

"The extra length you see belongs to the supporting magnetohydrodynamic power generation device, which provides auxiliary power support for the ramjet engine." Xing Muchun explained at the right time, "Of course, if you choose to use a high-performance battery pack for power supply, this part can be removed and restored to a more compact form of about 4.75 meters."

When Zheng Liangqun in the audience heard this, he paused lightly on his notebook with his pen.

He didn't understand the specific technology, but what the other party said seemed very strange.

In any case, high-performance battery packs should be the first choice for power supply.

But he did not interrupt, just put the question aside for the time being.

Xing Muchun's laser pen then pointed to a convex curve on the screen:

"As of July last year, Lingxiao-7 had successfully completed startup and operating tests from Mach 1 to Mach 1 under simulated conditions."

He specifically emphasized the words “simulated conditions”:

"The test results show that the engine can maintain usable operating efficiency within the range of Mach numbers from 1.6 to 12.5. Its optimal performance range can be flexibly adjusted between Mach 5.5 and 9 to adapt to different aircraft forebody designs..."

"This...this performance indicator is very close to practical requirements, right?"

An expert in the audience couldn't help but interject in a low voice.

Because everyone was wearing casual clothes and the name tags were placed low on the body, Zheng Liangqun was a little unable to recognize who the other person was for a moment.

However, these words expressed the thoughts of many people present, and a slight murmur of approval was heard in the venue.

Xing Muchun showed a bitter smile on his face.

He clicked the mouse and the screen switched to a set of temperature distribution cloud maps. The bright red color of the core area was shocking.

"From the performance data alone, it is true." His voice became serious, "But Lingxiao-1 has long been constrained by internal heat dissipation issues... Although we have done our best to establish internal cooling channels, we still cannot completely eliminate heat accumulation."

The atmosphere cooled down instantly.

No one answered the call at this time.

But most people's eyes reveal the same question -

Hasn't it been tested already?

Xing Muchun knew that his emphasis just now might not have had any effect.

The only explanation was: "The actual test time of the JF14 wind tunnel does not exceed 200 milliseconds, and the device under test can be pre-cooled, so it is still tolerable, but the shortest single working time of the engineering verification aircraft will not be less than 10 minutes. The original design alone cannot meet the flight requirements."

Finally, a low discussion broke out in the audience.

"So, the breakthrough you made this time...is related to thermal management?"

Zhang Xinping asked.

"That's right." Xing Muchun said and clicked the mouse lightly.

A high-magnification microscopic photo instantly filled the big screen.

What is shown in the photo is not a smooth surface, but a densely packed, layered, strange structure that resembles the scales of some reptile.

It makes one's scalp tingle slightly, and even feel a little awkward.

"Academician Chang recently worked with a team from Huazhong University of Science and Technology to develop and verify a new high-emissivity, heat-resistant coating material." Xing Muchun pointed the red light at the screen, "And what you see in front of you is the shape of the material after coating and testing."

Before he finished speaking, someone in the audience couldn't help but whisper:

"This workmanship... looks a bit rough, doesn't it? It's full of bumps."

"Not necessarily... Look at the scale. This micrograph is a lot bigger. The actual sample area is probably very small and can only be applied by hand. It's already good enough to be able to do it like this..."

"That's right, as long as it's useful..."

"..."

The voices of these discussions were so quiet that even Zheng Liangqun could only hear them vaguely, and Xing Muchun obviously could not catch them.

But he was clearly prepared for this, pointing to the screen and explaining:

“This is not a coating error, but an active design optimization of the material properties that we have made.”

"Silicon-boron-based thermal insulation materials have excellent performance, but they have inherent disadvantages of high stiffness and brittleness, and are very prone to cracking and peeling under complex thermal cycles."

Xing Muchun enlarged a corner of the picture to show the overlapping structure between the scales:

"So, we used silica sol as a solvent carrier, MoSi2 as a radiation agent, and borosilicate glass as a binder, and finally made this flaky coating system with macroscopic flexibility... After rigorous testing, its resistance to contact damage, thermal shock resistance, and bending strength have been significantly improved."

Lieutenant General Zheng Liangqun, who had been listening silently, spoke for the first time.

The voice was not loud but was clearly heard throughout the venue:

"Deputy Chief Engineer Xing, does this mean that a practical dual-mode ramjet engine will soon become a reality?"

His question expressed the expectations in everyone's heart.

Xing Muchun paused for half a second, then nodded slightly.

"Yes."

The shorter the answer, the more valuable it is.

Just two words were like a thunderbolt, hitting everyone in the audience.

It even made everyone forget to speak.

The conference hall fell into an awkward silence for a moment.

But for Xing Muchun, this is just the beginning.

"The size and overall structure are basically the same as Lingxiao-1, but the Lingxiao-2 engineering prototype with higher manufacturing specifications has entered the final stage of design, and production can be started as soon as the production of new thermal insulation materials is in place."

He gave a brief summary and then switched the images on the big screen again.

The complex structure diagram of the "Lingxiao-1" engine is hidden.

In its place is a brand new, futuristic 3D design.

The wide and flat body smoothly integrates the tailless layout, and the most eye-catching part is its front body.

It is not a traditional single cone, but two delicate waveriders placed side by side at a certain distance, like a pair of folded wings.

The internal code name of the project team is written in the lower right corner of the picture.

"Zou Yu".

"The air-breathing hypersonic flight platform was designed under the personal leadership of Academician Chang. Its forebody aerodynamic layout is highly integrated and synergistically designed with the Lingxiao-2 engine to ensure optimal performance over a wide speed range."

This time, Xing Muchun's voice trembled slightly due to excitement:

"According to the current progress, it is expected that within 2014, the engineering prototype of 'Zou Yu' will be completed and enter the test flight preparation stage!"