Chapter 748 Reborn 039C

"This hydraulic press was designed by our Huating University and built by our Mingzhou Group." Qin Tao continued to introduce to everyone: "Its maximum downforce exceeds 8,000 tons and can roll steel plates with a thickness of 400 mm. The width is five meters. This plate rolling machine is composed of mechanical, hydraulic and electronic parts. The electronic part can accurately control the rolling force, and the program was developed by our Huating University."

In terms of factory-school cooperation, Mingzhou Group is also at the forefront. The earliest three-dimensional CNC bending machine was jointly developed by them. Now it has become a good helper in building ships. And now, in terms of plate rolling machines, they Another breakthrough has been achieved. Without such a big guy, there would be no way to build an advanced nuclear submarine. Even if it were built, it would be big on the outside but small on the inside.

Everyone stared at the plate rolling machine, constantly talking and thinking. While everyone was chatting, the first steel plate became more and more curved, and finally, slowly became a ring. The steel plate has been rolled and pressed!

If you count the time, it takes three or four hours to roll a steel plate. This speed is not slow. After all, it is all cold rolled. If it requires hot rolling and repeated heating, it will take even longer time. .

 The rolled steel plate enters the next process: welding.

The huge welding robot arm stretched out, and arc sparks flew.

 This scene shocked everyone again.

“We can actually weld fully automatically?”

“Of course, our shipyard produces so many products. If we can’t fully automatically weld, how much labor will be needed? Most welds can be welded automatically, and only a few welds require manual welding,” Qin Tao said.

When building liquefied gas ships, Mingzhou Group introduced automatic welding equipment for the first time. After all, manual welding of some special parts of Invar steel is enough. If all welding is done manually, a slight negligence will lead to serious consequences. Something big went wrong.

 After that, automated welding equipment entered more fields. After all, Mingzhou Group was short of people! There are never enough skilled welders, even if there are technical schools and continuous training of talents is not enough. Automated welding can reduce labor and ensure quality. Shipyards no longer use manual welding for anything that can use automatic welding.

The same goes for submarines, of course.

The official construction of the submarine began like this. The plate rolling machine rolled out the steel plate and welded it into a ring. Then, the plasma cutting machine cut out several flat plates and stuffed them into the inside of the ring. Several layers inside the submarine. The deck is welded.

 Looking at this efficiency, everyone who came was surprised.

“The construction of our 093 submarine is all manual welding, and the construction period is very long. If we have this kind of welding equipment, it can be finalized and put into service at least half a year in advance. Sure enough, science and technology are the primary productive forces!” A leader sighed with emotion.

 Coming to Mingzhou Group, you will have a different feeling every time!

Now, when they came to attend the groundbreaking ceremony, they saw the advanced technology of Mingzhou Group, which made them deeply moved.

Modern technology shipbuilding, this is how it is built!

“What you are seeing is just the welding of the internal frame. A lot of the work that follows can only be done manually.” Qin Tao said: “Next, do you want to go and take a look?”

 The workshop here only produces nuclear submarines, while the workshop next to it produces conventional submarines.

“The conventional submarine next to it?” Everyone’s eyes lit up: “Mr. Qin, is that 039C ready to launch?”

“It still has to wait for a while, but it has basically taken shape. All that’s left is to close the front and back. You can take a look.” Qin Tao said.

When the 039B was born, it immediately amazed the world. In the hands of the Navy of the Pyramid State, it played a beautiful trick and attracted the attention of the world.

However, the Eastern Navy is still not satisfied with the performance of 039B. After all, the one for its own use must be better than the one for export!

Under this request, Mingzhou Group came up with the design plan of 039C. The tall design shocked all the leaders, and then approved the construction.

 The construction of conventional submarines also takes time, so it has been until now that the first 039C has finally completed most of the construction work.

 There is no outfitting link in a submarine. When various internal equipment are built in sections, they must be installed and then welded together.

 There are small sections and large sections. The large sections directly divide the submarine into three parts: bow, middle, and stern. When the three sections are connected, the submarine is completed.

Mingzhou Group uses slightly more sections. However, in the previous construction process, each section has been almost built and connected a lot. Now the submarine has been divided into two parts. The front and rear parts only need to be connected. The submarine is considered complete.

“Since we are here, of course we have to go and have a look!” Everyone was very excited.

“Okay, let’s go to our guest house to have dinner first. After lunch, everyone will go over and have a look in the afternoon.” Qin Tao said.

Unconsciously, a morning has passed. Everyone has been in excitement and they don't even feel hungry. When Qin Tao said this, he heard the sound of his stomach growling.

 After lunch, everyone came to the production workshop of conventional submarines. After entering, they first saw the tail of the submarine, and some people immediately became excited.

“X-shaped tail rudder, this is the first model of our navy!”

“Needless to say, our navy is very small in the world!”

The foreign trade 039B still uses a cross-shaped tail rudder. This kind of tail rudder is the most commonly used. Since the emergence of submarines, this kind of tail rudder has been used. The upper and lower sides rely on the horizontal rudder surface, and the left and right sides rely on the vertical rudder surface, just like airplanes. Pretty much the same, easy to control.

However, in long-term use, the cross-shaped tail rudder will also have many disadvantages, especially in shallow sea areas. The cross-shaped tail rudder is easy to hit the bottom and be damaged, and the X-shaped tail rudder was developed for this reason.

Compared with the cross-shaped tail rudder, it can not only solve the problem of bottoming out, but also avoid the wake of the control tower, and has advanced performance.

 However, it also has a big flaw: it is inconvenient to operate.

 It has turned an angle of 45 degrees from up to down to left and right. So, when moving horizontally or vertically, which rudder surface should be used and how many degrees should it be deflected?

 This requires a computer to calculate!

“It’s very difficult to control. Are you sure about it?” a leader asked.

"Of course I'm sure, our fighter plane has a V-shaped vertical tail, and the control principle is similar." Qin Tao said.

The vertical tail of the original fighter plane was vertical, controlling the left and right steering of the aircraft. Later, in order to improve the stealth, the vertical tail was made into a V shape. At this time, controlling the steering of the aircraft required complex calculations. The current X-shaped tail rudder, It can be considered to be a combination of two V-shaped vertical tails. The control principles are similar and can be transplanted.

Everyone nodded.

“Okay, with this tail rudder, our submarine will be more advanced and more suitable for activities in shallow waters. Wait, why can’t we see the drive shaft?”

A drive shaft should extend from the tail of the submarine. Whether it is a propeller or a pump-jet propeller, a drive shaft is required to transmit power. Whether it is directly driven or driven by an electric motor, it must be present.

 Now, the X-shaped tail rudder you see has no opening at all in the center, so how to drive it?

"You may not have participated in our reporting meeting at that time, so you don't know yet. Our submarine uses a shaftless pump propeller. It only needs to transmit power through cables. The electric motor has been integrated into the pump propeller. , in this way the drive shaft can be completely eliminated, resulting in less noise.”

 Shaftless pump push!

 Hearing this introduction, many people were surprised.

The pump jet propeller is equivalent to adding a package outside the propeller, which can improve the efficiency of the propeller and reduce noise. Therefore, it is loved by many submarine designers. Seven-blade and nine-blade with large side **** are better than But pump push.

However, early pumps were still driven by drive shafts, and even the propellers could be directly replaced to transform old submarines. Now, the 039C manufactured by Mingzhou Group has taken a big step forward and entered the era of submarines. The era of shaft pumping!

“In this way, if the motor is directly immersed in seawater, aren’t we afraid of problems?” Someone expressed concern.

 In the past, the motors were plugged into the tail of the submarine, so that they were sealed inside. As long as the sealing problem of the rotating shaft was solved, there would be no water leakage. But now, if it is placed outside, there are many problems.

“We have gone through a lot of testing. There should be no possibility of water leakage during the entire life of the submarine. Our waterproof level is the highest.”

Just like cars, if you want to ask which car has the highest waterproof level, it is definitely an electric car. If a fuel car is soaked in water, the most you can do is to disassemble the engine and repair it, and it can still be used. If an electric car is soaked in water, if it leaks, then People may not have time to run out. Even if they jump out of the car and step into the water, they may still face the risk of being electrocuted.

 If you want to avoid this kind of accident, in addition to avoiding wading in water, you must also do waterproofing work.

The same is true for submarines. There is no shaft pump, so of course the waterproofing work must be done well.

 After a pause, Qin Tao continued to explain: "You can think of this shaftless pump pushing itself as a small submarine. There is only one motor in the hull of this submarine."

 Aren't you afraid of water leakage inside the submarine? Of course you are afraid, so you need to do a good job of protection. The same is true for shaftless pumps.

“Where is this shaftless pump? Can you let us see it?” Everyone was curious.

“It’s still being assembled at Huating, and it will be installed after the hull is closed.” said the person in charge of the site.

 “Why didn’t you coordinate in advance for such an important thing?” Some people were dissatisfied.

"There is no way, the funding from the Navy has been delayed." Qin Tao said: "If the funding is not in place, we can only delay ordering the pump. After all, this thing is from the outside. If we delay the installation of the inside, Then the submarine construction work will have to stop."

 The person who asked the question suddenly stopped talking.

Qin Tao continued: "Our Mingzhou Group has advanced a lot of funds, but they are all advanced to the aircraft carrier. This submarine can only be as deep as the water and meters."

“Okay, everyone, stop looking around the tail of the submarine. There are many interesting things in front of this big guy.” Wu Shengli said: “Let’s look at the front.”

 The awkwardness just now was broken, and everyone continued to move forward.

Going around the tail of the submarine, you can see the front half of the submarine. When they saw this half, everyone exclaimed again.

“What’s going on with the submarine’s control tower?”

“Isn’t the smaller the command tower, the better? Why is the top of the command tower shaped like this, as if it is wearing a hat?”

"Everyone, this is the result of our study of fluid mechanics. The polygonal shape of this control tower can better reduce navigation noise and resistance." Qin Tao introduced to everyone: "Of course, no one will believe it no matter what I say now. , you will be surprised when you test it after entering the water.”

“Mr. Qin, since these designs are advanced, why are they not used on our 095? Shaftless pump thrusters, and such a big-hat control tower?”

"The submarine in front of you is an improvement on the 039B. Therefore, after it is built, we can better compare it and know how much our improvements have done in reducing noise." Qin Tao said: "But, we There is no reference object for 095, so even if we follow this improvement, people don't think it will have much benefit. They think that changing it back will make the noise louder. Our design is still more conservative and we will improve it later. Sometimes, you can try to transform it like this, and the big guys will be more accepting of it.”

Of course Qin Tao would not say that shaftless pumping is useless because it is not possible to build such a large motor for the time being. Can the size of the motor needed to push a 4,000-ton submarine and an 8,000-ton submarine be the same? Don't rush this, take your time.

As for the big hat of the command tower, it was only used on conventional submarines in later generations and has not been extended to nuclear submarines. Therefore, Qin Tao doesn't know whether it will be suitable for nuclear submarines with larger displacement. Since he doesn't know, forget it. Don’t take risks now, take your time later.

However, these remarks were justified and no one dared to refute them.

While talking, someone stood at the opening that has not yet been welded. It is relatively wide, and various equipment is still being loaded in and assembled inside. This is similar to outfitting.

 “Why is there an opening at the top here?”

It can be seen with the naked eye that there are three large holes on the top of the pressure shell, which look like the positions for vertically launching missiles. However, these holes are thick and short. What kind of missiles are they used for?

“This is the vertical cabin section, the same as the 095.”

 “But it’s shorter than 095.”

"Yes, the 095 mainly launches anti-ship ballistic missiles with a caliber of 850 mm and a depth of nine meters. However, our vertical launch module only needs to launch ordinary anti-ship missiles and cruise missiles. The main purpose of this is It’s to avoid occupying our bow torpedo room.”

In fact, there are not many conventional diesel-electric submarines that add vertical launch bays. After all, torpedo launch tubes can also launch anti-ship missiles and cruise missiles. Take Western submarines as an example, whether they are Tomahawks or Harpoons, they can launch from torpedoes Punch it out of the tube and just make a crust on the outside.

 It can be used, but it is not the most appropriate. When cruise missiles become the main attack force, conventional diesel-electric submarines also need to carry cruise missiles, and the number must be large enough!

By 2015, the A26 conventional submarine developed by the Swedes was eye-catching. This submarine has three vertical launch tubes, but they are relatively thick. Each tube can place six Tomahawk cruise missiles in a circle. In this way, a submarine can carry 18 Tomahawk missiles, with first-class attack power, without occupying the bow torpedo compartment, which is unique!

Later, the Zhang Baogao-3 submarine of the South Kimchi Country also used vertically launched Tomahawk missiles. In fact, they developed it earlier, but unfortunately they delayed, so the first conventional submarine carrying a vertical launcher fell into the hands of the Swedes. inside.

Lao Maozi’s conventional submarines also have the idea of ​​installing vertical launch tubes to launch BrahMos anti-ship missiles.

Now, the 039C submarine is a modified version of the original. In addition to the propulsion system and control tower, the biggest change is the installation of a vertical launcher!

The volume of conventional submarines is limited, so it is impossible to place two cylinders side by side like nuclear submarines. We can only place a row of cylinders vertically at the largest diameter in the middle. However, it would be too wasteful to place only one cylinder, so plugging A large vertical launch tube, which can hold six missiles, is the best design solution. When viewed from the top, it looks very much like briquettes.

"As you can see, there are three large prototype openings behind the control tower. Each opening can be stuffed with a special vertical launch bay section, which can install six cruise missiles. In this way, when our submarine goes to sea, in addition to In addition to the torpedo room in the front, there are also eighteen cruise missiles as attack weapons."

Everyone’s eyes were brightened. Isn’t this amazing?

“In this way, the attack power of our submarine will be first-rate!”

"Yes, to deal with a small and medium-sized target, just one submarine like this can solve the problem. Eighteen missiles can hit it and let them see our power!"

 Everyone was excited.

Seeing their excitement, Qin Tao continued: "These are all modular. They can be stuffed into three vertical launch cabin sections at one time, or they can be used for other purposes, such as when conducting special operations. , it can also accommodate special operations compartments. When the time comes, our special forces can carry submarines close to the target and move quietly."

Another role of submarines is special operations, but it is easy to carry personnel, but it is difficult to get them out. Now, with a dedicated cabin, this 039C has transformed into a special operations submarine.

"Okay, that's great!" The big guy sighed: "This will also increase the displacement of our submarine a lot, right?"

"It has not increased much. Compared with 039B, it has increased by several hundred tons, and the underwater displacement has reached about 4,000 tons. However, our submarine is more modern and has a smaller crew, so its internal Not crowded.”

Nowadays, conventional submarines are becoming larger. Take the 039B submarine built by Mingzhou Group. It is 78 meters long, 8.4 meters wide, and has an underwater displacement of 3,600 tons, which is similar to the Kilo class. And this 039C, After some improvements, the displacement was increased to 4,000 tons.

  The introduction of automated devices has greatly reduced the number of personnel required for this submarine. Only 42 people are needed to operate it. In this way, the crew does not even need to sleep in a hot bunk, and everyone has their own independent space.

“Four thousand tons, it’s almost as big as our nuclear submarine.” Someone lamented.

091 nuclear submarines are divided into two types. The first two built had an underwater displacement of only 4,500 tons. Now, conventional submarines have reached 4,000 tons. With the changes of the times, progress has been too rapid.

"Well, large-scale submarines are a trend. We imported Lao Maozi's Kilo-class, which has a large displacement." Qin Tao said: "The combat effectiveness of a conventional diesel-electric submarine like ours is no worse than the 091."

“By the way, how is the underwater navigation capability? Is it still using a Stirling engine?”

"Yes, we have to thank our brother units for this. A new generation of high-horsepower Stirling engines have been successfully developed. It is this new generation of Stirling engines that we installed on the 039C submarine. You can see the back."

The cabin at the back is the power cabin, with the diesel engine at the end and the Stirling engine at the front. The opening is where the Stirling engine is installed. At this time, there are still people busy there.

 “High horsepower? How big is it?” The big guy was very curious.

“Our 162-kilowatt engine is already quite big, even higher than Sweden’s.” Someone was an expert and immediately told these data.

When it comes to Stirling engines, the Swedes are the best. The V4-275R Stirling engine developed by their company Kockum has a power of 110 kilowatts. However, this is only for personal use. They export a 75 kilowatt model. , up to now, their latest Stirling MK4 engine has a power of only 150 kilowatts

After Dongfang began to develop advanced conventionally powered submarines, it also took a fancy to Stirling engines. With the financial support of Mingzhou Group, relevant units are also constantly engaged in research and development. Currently, the exported 039B is already equipped with 162 kilowatts. engine, has surpassed Sweden.

 Stirling engine is an external combustion engine. It is quite difficult to increase the power. It is already very difficult to achieve this kind of power. Can it still be improved?

The islanders originally planned to take the AIP submarine route with Stirling engines, but they just disliked the low power. After being fooled by Qin Tao, they went to study lithium battery submarines, but they exploded.

 Now, what level has our own 039C reached?

"The power of this new Stirling engine developed by relevant domestic institutions has been increased to 320 kilowatts. We have installed four such engines, with a total power of 1,280 kilowatts. Everyone, even under water, our submarines rely on Stirling engines The Trilin engine can also maintain a speed of more than ten knots, which is no longer the snail it used to be.”

 This progress is huge!

 (End of this chapter)