In fact, Nanhua Shipyard, as the seller, was also very conscientious in its shipbuilding. The "foreign trade ships" it built were all ironclad ships. Such cutting-edge technology was definitely a black technology in the Yangtze River in 1860.
Of course, these ironclads are said to be ironclads, but they are actually "nailed" with a layer of iron armor on the wooden shell. And because there is no reliable enough technology to isolate wood and iron, the final result will definitely be wood rot and iron armor rusting. In fact, France
Early wooden ironclads all had this problem.
But even so, whether it is the Taiping Army or the Manchus, they have no choice. Mosquito cannon ships are their only choice. Apart from this, they obviously have no other better choice. Even if those armored ships look like
Cargo is better than a wooden ship.
At least, Nanhua, who has already put the construction of the navy on the agenda, will definitely not choose such a "look-alike" product.
Holding the drawing tube, Liang Mingwei came to the lord's office. He occasionally cast his eyes towards the secretary's room, where the secretaries and staff were busy working.
He was grinning all the way.
"I should be able to convince my lord."
Liang Mingwei said to himself in his heart.
Soon, following the secretary's announcement, he entered the lord's office.
Zhu Xianhai, standing in the center of the office, smiled at Liang Mingwei after seeing him.
"Ah, Mr. Liang, you came just in time. I just wanted to discuss it with you. Come on, take a look at this."
Zhu Xianhai made a gesture to Liang Mingwei. On the table in the center of this spacious office, there was a large model. Everyone knew that it was the model of the "Great Eastern".
"Great Eastern? Huh? It seems a little different."
When he came to the table, Liang Mingwei discovered its difference.
"Removed the paddle wheel?"
The huge paddle wheels on both sides were removed.
"The structure of the paddle wheel propeller is heavy and the efficiency is too low. It is also very easy to be damaged especially in wind and waves. Isn't our new propeller very successful in the application on the breakthrough ship? I think it is almost time to make some changes to the "Great Eastern"
Under the knife!"
The so-called "under the knife" is actually modification. At present, Nanhua Shipyard has rich experience in modification. Just like the breakthrough ship known as "Sea Ghost", it is actually the purchase of the British Walder ship, by removing the paddle wheel.
, modified the triple-expansion steam engine, using new propellers and other methods. The modification effect is remarkable, not only increasing the speed, but also increasing the cargo capacity.
"The Great Eastern's propeller is eight meters wide, tens of meters in diameter, and weighs hundreds of tons. After removing the propeller, the propeller compartment can be converted into a cabin and a semi-open deck, which can not only further increase the number of
Loaders can also improve the living environment. Of course, more importantly, it can increase the speed. The current Great Eastern is really too slow..."
Section 14!
Is it slow?
It is certainly not slow in this era. Even the British ironclad "Warrior" of the same period has this speed. However, what Zhu Xianhai is really dissatisfied with is its fuel.
"The speed is determined by the steam engine. The biggest problem of the Great Eastern right now is that the operating cost is too high. Because the four steam engines of the Great Eastern consume a lot of fuel, they need a large coal storage room, and there are also considerations
After arriving at the terminal port, if coal cannot be added, the ship itself will have to carry more coal for the journey, so it carries 15,000 tons of coal. If a new triple-expansion steam engine is used, even without increasing power,
It is more than enough to carry only 5,000 tons of coal between Nanhua and Shanghai. The saved coal bunker can be converted into a crew cabin..."
Pointing at the "Great Eastern" Zhu Xianhai said with a smile.
"With the weight savings, coupled with the replacement of new propellers and the use of sail machines, its speed should be increased to 15-16 knots, and the sailing time at sea can be shortened by 10%!"
Since the purchase of the "Great Eastern", that giant ship has indeed played an extremely important role in immigration - it can bring as many as 40,000 immigrants to South China every four months on average!
But, this is just a theory.
Because the structure of the paddle wheel is complex, it is greatly affected by wind and waves. If the boat encounters wind and waves, it will swing left and right like a duck. The density of air and water is 800 times different. The huge paddle wheel goes in and out and is easily damaged.
.In addition, the reliability of the steam engine used by the "Great Eastern" was average, resulting in the ship having to enter the dock for maintenance for a month every time it returned.
No, after returning from the return voyage this time, we entered the dock again.
"But, my lord, can such a big ship be moved with just one propeller?"
Liang Mingwei said with some worry.
"Although our ships have been replaced with new propellers and their efficiency has improved a lot, I am worried that one propeller may not be able to move it."
In fact, the "Great Eastern" itself also had propellers. It had both paddle wheels on both sides of the ship and a propeller at the tail. It was equipped with the largest propeller in the world at that time, with a diameter of 7.3 meters and a rotation speed of 50 rpm. However,
The blades of that propeller are almost equal to two "pieces of iron", so of course the efficiency cannot be that high.
In the process of the development of science and technology, many mechanical devices have been widely used before people fully understood the performance of them. However, it is difficult for these devices to achieve the desired performance before people fully understand its physical laws and complete theoretical analysis.
Its best performance. Propellers are no exception. In 1860, although it had been applied on sea ships, the progress of propellers only relied on the accumulation of experience and the intuitive reasoning of experts.
For now, although the efficiency of the propeller has left the paddle wheel behind, it is definitely still insufficient when applied to the Dafangdong.
"It's definitely not possible to rely on the original propeller, we need a new propeller!"
Zhu Xianhai said directly.
"New type? Lord, our propellers are already very efficient..."
When it came to his mouth, Liang Mingwei said in surprise.
"Did my lord design another new type of blade?"
In fact, the propeller used by Nanhua before was also designed by Zhu Xianhai, but it was just a slight improvement on the original propeller. However, even so, the vibration of the propeller was greatly reduced and the speed of the ship was increased.
"Have you ever seen Guandao?"
Zhu Xianhai asked.
"Guandao?"
"Yes, it's the "Yanyue Dao". I made the outline of the propeller blade into the shape of a Guan Dao..."
Zhu Xianhai mentioned that the "Guandao Propeller" is a major creation of China in the development of propeller technology. In the 1960s, a master named Zhou Ting of Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard made it based on his decades of experience.
Based on his experience in making propellers, he made the outline of the propeller blades into the style of Guan Gong's 82-pound sword in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He vividly called it "Guan Dao Propeller". It not only increased the speed of the ship, but also reduced the vibration of the propeller.
will be greatly weakened. In order to transform the "Great Eastern", Zhu Xianhai deliberately chose the "Guandao Paddle". In this era, it is definitely a black technology.
"I estimate that after replacing it with the new "Guandao Propeller", only one propeller can almost meet its needs, but it needs to be tested on other ships first..."
After expressing his thoughts one by one, Zhu Xianhai glanced at the drawing tube in Liang Mingwei's hand and asked.
"Huh? What do you have here?"
This chapter has been completed!