On the bridge of the Lady, people kept reporting various data to Xu Quan on the bridge: "The steam pressure has reached 0.4 MPa, and it is expected to reach the safety critical point in fifteen minutes!"
Fifteen minutes later, someone else reported: "The steam pressure has reached 0.5 MPa. This is the safety zero point we set!"
Xu Quan said: "To maintain this pressure, each team pays close attention to the operation of each component of the steam engine and records all details in a timely manner!"
Although in the previous extreme test, the steam engine project team was able to increase the steam pressure to a huge 5 MPa, the reason why it is called an extreme test means that this pressure cannot become
For normal use.
With the current technical capabilities, under normal use, the steam pressure can be maintained at around 0.5 MPa at most. Only around this pressure can the steam engine be kept working for a long time, not after a few minutes of extreme operation.
The cylinder exploded.
Today, the steam engine on the Lady is operating at a pressure of 0.5 MPa, which is almost the limit of daily use, and is pushing the Lady faster and faster.
As for the air pressure on a steam engine, there are generally great limitations in actual use. You cannot just keep increasing the air pressure if you want. If you increase the air pressure at all costs, the cylinder will explode.
Even if the Navy needs to increase the power output of steam engines under certain extreme circumstances due to the special needs of warship operations, and requires forcibly increasing the steam pressure in order to increase power under extreme circumstances, this limit value is also limited to 0.65 trillion.
It's just par, it can't go any higher, otherwise the cylinder will really explode.
Even if it is maintained at 0.65 MPa, even if the output power can be greatly increased, the life of the steam engine will be greatly affected, and the sustainable time will not be long. It can continue to run for two or three days at most.
It only lasts for an hour. No matter how high the temperature is, the cylinder will explode.
Even so, after forcibly increasing the power, it still needs to be maintained and replaced with some vulnerable parts.
Under normal circumstances, when today's steam engines are used normally, the pressure is generally kept below 0.5 MPa, but more often, it is actually only about 0.0.4.
This is the case with the steam engine on the Lady. The previous speed was maintained at about 0.4 MPa, but now that Dong Qingjun ordered the ship to sail at full speed, its steam pressure has been increased to 0.5 MPa, which is the limit for daily use.
Yes, no matter how high the risk is, the risk is too great.
Others are still reporting: "The cylinder pressure is stable, the transmission system has been successfully shifted, the power output is currently stable, and the paddle wheel speed has increased to the predetermined speed!"
"The vibration of the unit's installation base has increased, and some structures have become cheaper, but it is still within safe values!"
After listening to these reports, Xu Quan said: "What is the current speed?"
Someone else immediately reported: "The current speed is 11 kilometers per hour, and the speed continues to increase slowly!"
"Twelve kilometers!"
"Thirteen kilometers!"
"Oh my god, it's thirteen kilometers now, no, it's fourteen kilometers!"
"Our speed is now stable at 14 kilometers per hour. This speed exceeds our expectations!"
Dong Qingjun on the side began to pour cold water: "The current in the Yangtze River has been relatively large in recent days, and it is normal to expect a relatively high speed!"
This is true, even if the Lady has no power at all and floats directly on the water, it can float quite far in an hour.
To really test the speed, you can only test it on a calm lake. It is more difficult to test the speed on the Yangtze River where the current is relatively large.
Moreover, speed is related to power and the hull. As an inland river vessel, the hull design of the Lady is not conducive to high-speed navigation.
If steam engines are installed on those fast transport ships, it is estimated that the speed can be increased much.
Although simply looking at the speed cannot explain anything, it can be seen that this steam engine has completed its mission. When the current is flowing, the speed of full speed can reach 14 kilometers per hour. This is almost a speed of 14 kilometers per hour.
This is a data that Xu Quan and others did not expect. They had previously expected that it would only be twelve kilometers per hour at most.
After going down the river for some distance, the Lady began to slow down and began to slowly turn in a gentle river bend, hoping to make the ship more than 60 meters long, more than 9 meters wide, and with a displacement of more than 150 tons.
It is not easy for a ship to turn on the river, so you have to do it slowly.
Taking advantage of this time, many R&D personnel and engineers began to continuously check the conditions of various systems such as steam units and paddle wheels.
After a while, the Lady, which had completed its U-turn, gradually accelerated and headed upstream.
When we started to sail against the current, Lu Xiyuan, the deputy director of the Department of Transportation, kept his eyes wide open and kept paying attention to the navigation data, because if we go down the river, we don't actually need any steam engines, and the sailboats can only go down the river.
, also very fast.
But when sailing against the current, it will be more troublesome for the sailboat. The speed will be very slow. If it is against the wind, it will be even worse.
If the headwind is already bad, then the windless weather will be desperate!
In some river sections or under calm wind conditions, trackers are needed to pull the boats upstream.
But if there is a steam engine, there is no need to worry about the direction of the wind, and there is no problem at all going upstream, even if the speed is slower, then it will be an improvement for inland water transportation.
Steamships emitting smoke will sail at any speed on any of the empire's waterways and lakes, transporting materials and passengers. Together with train transportation, they will become the blood vessels of the empire's military and economic operations!
In addition, inland water transportation plays an even greater role in some places where the terrain is complex and it is difficult to build railways.
When inland river transportation becomes convenient, then cargo transportation and passenger travel will become more convenient. For the economic development of some areas with complex terrain, internal and external connections will play a great role.
Then there is the indispensable military role. Relying on rivers and steamships, the Tang Dynasty King can go anywhere!
When he was going upstream and the speed reached seven kilometers per hour, he couldn't help but take out a wine bottle and started pouring wine for himself and everyone else.
And when the countercurrent speed finally remained at 8.2 kilometers per hour, he couldn't help shouting: "We succeeded, we succeeded, let's report the victory to His Majesty!"
In fact, there was no need for him to order a report of victory. The status of various experiments was constantly transmitted to Li Xuan through auxiliary ships. The weather was good today. Through the relay of signal flaggers on many auxiliary ships, it was enough to send the message to the Lady seven or eight kilometers away.
The implementation report comes to Li Xuan.
When he heard that the Lady was sailing upstream at a steady speed of more than eight kilometers per hour, Li Xuan smiled: "Okay!"
Several persons in charge of the Yangtze River Shipping Company who accompanied Li Xuan to watch the sea trial opened their eyes wide after hearing a series of data from the sea trial. Then the general manager headed by him directly ordered his deputy: "Collect relevant information immediately and report it to
Zhaoqing Machinery Company and Tianjin AIA Company have ordered steam engines, and we want to build steam ships!"
"We must get ahead of other companies, take the lead in building a fleet of steamships, and then drive down freight rates to catch them off guard!"
"Also, all orders for sailboats, especially sailboats for inland river vessels, will be stopped immediately, and all orders for sailboats will be cancelled. Existing ships must also prepare relevant modification plans!"
"This time, our Yangtze River Shipping Company not only has to be the leader as always, but also has to fight a surprise battle. Even if we can't drive them off, we have to give up their idea of ​​challenging us!"
"Let them know that our Yangtze River Shipping Company has been, is and will be the largest inland waterway shipping company in the empire from the beginning!"
Just after watching the trial voyage, the Yangtze River Shipping Company is ready to completely switch to the side of steam ships. They are also preparing to build a fleet of steam ships before other shipping companies can react, and then lower the price, and use a fierce price war to win over a group of ships.
Competitors are driven out!
The reason why the management of the Yangtze River Shipping Company is so determined is also related to the fact that they are constantly challenged by latecomers. The number one position of the inland shipping company has been almost lost several times.
The empire has supported inland shipping and maritime transportation from the beginning. This kind of policy support, coupled with the surging development of industry and commerce in the empire, has created an extremely huge demand for shipping. This has stimulated the rapid development of the empire's shipbuilding industry. The same shipping industry
The industry is also developing extremely rapidly.
The Yangtze River Shipping Company is a large shipping company wholly owned by the State-owned Enterprises Department of the Tang Empire that specializes in inland river and coastal shipping. From the beginning of its establishment, it has accepted many ships from the navy, plus some other ships. The ownership of its ships
The quantity is number one in the country.
However, over the years since its establishment, although the Yangtze River Shipping Company has always maintained its reputation as the number one inland water shipping company in the country, various domestic shipping companies have sprung up one after another, and many shipping giants have also emerged.
!
Among the top ten inland river and coastal shipping companies in the country, the strength of the top ones is not much worse than that of the Yangtze River Shipping Company.
Especially the Feng Shipping Company, which sounds like a family-owned shipping company from its name. Since the Feng family voluntarily gave up its controlling stake, it has accepted huge investments from outside, hired a large number of professionals to form its management, and pioneered shipbuilding.
, one-stop transportation.
They have their own shipyards, build their own ships, and then try their best to put pressure on transportation costs, often accepting transportation orders at a cost lower than the market price. Especially in the freight market, they are simply killing gods and Buddhas.
There are endless orders that cannot be completed, and there are no orders that cannot be solved. Even the Yangtze River Shipping Company is losing ground in the inland waterway freight market segment and is no match for it!