Chapter 771 Prototype Test
After Luo Chong gave the order, the researchers began the test. First, they opened the air inlet of the boiler, then poked it with a fire hook to allow the coal inside to fully enter the air, then filled it with some new coal, and finally waited for the water to boil and the steam pressure to rise.
When Luo Chong first proposed to develop a steam engine, he directly launched three research projects. These three projects were the Iron Horse Type 1 and the Iron Bull Type 1, as well as the narrow-gauge steam locomotive project that was prepared to provide power for locomotives.
Although they are all steam engines, their differences can still be seen from these names. As the name suggests, the Iron Horse is a steam engine that pursues horsepower and speed. It is mainly used to power light machinery and machinery that requires fast speeds, such as table saws, lathes, etc.
The iron ox is mainly used to provide power for some machinery that requires strong traction, such as driving grinding discs, carts, cranes, automatic forging hammers, rolling mills, stone crushers and other heavy machinery. It does not require a high speed, but only requires a large output force. Therefore, the cylinder of the iron ox is much thicker than that of the iron horse.
The one being tested now is the iron horse. After the researcher made the fire burner, it only took a moment to hear the gurgling sound of boiling water inside. However, this was just the beginning and the maximum pressure value had not yet been reached.
Luo Chong designed this steam engine, but due to the limitation of the technical level, he could not measure the steam pressure for the time being. After all, the Han tribe could not make a barometer with a dial and a pointer for the time being, but the air pressure was real and a very important data.
Therefore, Luo Chong also had his own way to deal with it, which was to use a device similar to the gravity valve of a pressure cooker instead of the barometer. When the steam in the boiler reached a high pressure that could do work, the steam would push the gravity valve on the boiler open, and then release the high-pressure steam outward, making a hissing sound.
There are two advantages to doing this. The first is that it acts as a pressure gauge, which can tell you how high the steam pressure in the furnace has reached. The second is that it is a safety device. When the pressure in the furnace is too high and is about to be unbearable, it will automatically push open the gravity valve above and release excess steam to the outside, avoiding boiler explosions due to human errors. It is safe and convenient.
The crowd waited for a while around the machine. When they finally heard the beeping signal of the pressure valve releasing steam, everyone looked at Luo Chong.
"Let's get started. Also make a record of the start time of the Iron Horse Type 1 and how long it can run after filling up with water." Luo Chong nodded and instructed everyone.
"Yes, don't worry, chief." A person in charge in his thirties agreed and immediately pulled down a joystick that controlled the steam pipeline.
The hot and irritable high-pressure steam finally found another breakthrough. The moment the valve was opened, it immediately rushed in involuntarily, and then something incredible happened immediately.
Steam rushed into the cylinder, and with nowhere to go, it began to push the piston to do work, and the piston drove the connecting rod, and the connecting rod drove the flywheel. So, in Tang Yao's incredible eyes, the man just moved an iron rod, and this ugly and ferocious machine began to move slowly by itself.
When the piston finally moved outward to the maximum stroke, the air regulating valve coaxial with the connecting rod also started to work, quickly blocking the entrance of steam into the rear of the cylinder, and at the same time opened the entrance to the front of the cylinder, a large amount of steam poured in, and pushed the piston back inward, finally completing a reciprocating motion process.
After that, the same action was repeated over and over again. As the steam heated the pipes and cylinders, the solid butter in the grease iron boxes originally installed on them began to melt, and then slowly dripped onto the connecting rod joints below or the piston crankshaft to play a lubricating role.
After only five rounds, the speed of the steam engine reached the maximum speed. The piston kept extending and retracting, and the flywheel also turned rapidly. Even if you were close, you could hear the whistling sound of the flywheel, and the exhaust holes on the cylinders began to whirr and emit white hot steam.
In this situation, no one present was not shocked. The appearance of the Iron Horse Type 1 also has the common characteristics of early industry, that is, it is stupid, big, black and rough. But no matter how ugly it is, its role cannot be ignored. Once the power revolution is formed, people will realize its importance.
Tang Yao was already dumbfounded, looking at the machine in front of her that did not need water, wind, livestock or manpower, and could rotate very fast. Then she thought of what Luo Chong had said just now, "It is enough to change the world, pump water for irrigation, weave cloth, grind flour, and even replace livestock to pull carts!"
If all these could be achieved, she could not imagine what the world would become in the end. No, it should be what the Han tribe would turn the world into, because as long as these could be achieved, then the world would belong to the Han tribe.
The researchers were also very excited. The fully formed steam engine ran beyond their imagination, with sufficient power, fast speed, and smooth pistons. In addition to the sound of the boiler boiling water, and the unavoidable sounds of steam eruption and mechanical transmission, it had almost no other noise, which meant that they had really succeeded.
Seeing everyone trembling with excitement, but not daring to speak, for fear of disturbing the iron horse's willful running, Luo Chong smiled at them and said, "Why is no one talking? Aren't you happy? You made this."
"Hehehehe" everyone present immediately laughed, with proud and satisfied expressions on their faces, just like seeing their child finally born, that was the joy of being a father for the first time.
"No, no, no, the chief still deserves the greatest credit. The chief designed this thing, and we just took on the production." Someone immediately put the greatest credit on Luo Chong's head.
"Yes, yes, if the chief hadn't made the sandpaper, we might not have solved the piston problem." Others also realized something immediately.
"Okay, you don't have to be modest. Although I came up with the idea, without you, it is just an idea and cannot become a reality. So don't belittle yourselves. Everyone here is a hero of our Han Dynasty. Your contributions will be recorded in the history of mankind. There is no need to be modest or question this." Luo Chong waved his hand and immediately set the tone for the distribution of credit. Of course, scientific researchers are the most important. Although they can only be considered master craftsmen at most, it does not prevent Luo Chong from training them.
(End of this chapter)
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