Chapter 743

That's how things were settled.

Gu Lu went to the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engine research and development department to help.

original.

Director Bi also wanted Gu Lu to be given the title of deputy director of the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engine research and development department, saying it was for convenience.

However, Gu Lu politely declined.

Gu Lu doesn't have much control over power.

He just wants to do research quietly.

then.

Gu Lu was still a technical consultant and followed Director Zhou from the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engine workshop to the R&D department located on the north side of the base.

…………

Although liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen engines and liquid oxygen kerosene engines are both engines, they are very different.

The liquid oxygen kerosene engine is installed on the booster and core first-stage structure of the Long March 9 rocket.

The liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engine is installed on the core two-stage and core three-stage structures.

and.

To a certain extent, the development of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engines is much more difficult than liquid oxygen and kerosene engines.

The first use of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engines was on the Long March 5 rocket.

then.

The various performance parameters of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engines are still very low.

And the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engine developed today that is suitable for the Long March 9 rocket is simply the same as the sky and the earth.

But even so.

When the Long March 5 carrier rocket was launched that year, the exhaust device of the first turbine of the hydrogen-oxygen engine experienced an abnormality in a complex thermal environment, causing the entire launch process to fail.

To know.

The thrust of the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engines at that time was not high, but there was still a risk of launch failure.

Now the Long March 9 launch vehicle has put forward higher requirements for the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engine, which makes the risk factor and difficulty it faces almost exponentially increase.

What are the main technical problems faced by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engines?

Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engines, as you can tell from the name, the propellants used in this type of engine are liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

Hydrogen and oxygen as propellants have low boiling and freezing points and low density, which brings some difficulties to the design of hydrogen-oxygen engines that are different from conventional propellant engines, mainly in the carrying and storage of propellants.

Compared with kerosene, which is cheap and can be stored at room temperature, the density of liquid hydrogen is only 1/12, it occupies a large volume and requires a huge storage space, which not only puts pressure on the weight of the rocket, but also increases the firmness and reliability of the structure.

challenge.

The boiling point of liquid hydrogen is minus 252 degrees Celsius, which further increases the cold resistance requirements of the container. At such low temperatures, most materials will become fragile. For example, most of our common metals will turn into powder.

However, the combustion temperature of hydrogen in oxygen is about 3300 degrees, and most materials will be vaporized. Therefore, the structure of the engine must also withstand high temperatures.

At the same time, the freezing point of liquid oxygen, another propellant, is only minus 219 degrees, so not only the outside of the structure must resist the temperature difference, but also the storage of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which are both propellants, must be isolated well enough, otherwise the liquid hydrogen

The liquid oxygen was frozen.

So, can we just adjust their temperatures artificially?

The problem is that most of the cooling devices invented by humans are actually relatively bulky and not suitable for rockets to carry. Therefore, the storage of rocket propellant is basically thermal insulation rather than refrigeration.

For example, if you use a thermal insulation coating, heating will inevitably occur in the engine environment, and the propellant will evaporate, so it cannot be sealed and requires air leakage and pressure relief. If liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen boil under heating, it will also damage the engine and rocket.

Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants are often added last before takeoff.

However, since the propellant is not completely sealed, if the air condenses due to the low temperature of the propellant, it may block the pipe or even explode due to the impact of ice crystals. This is not dangerous, so the air must be cleared before starting the engine, such as helium blowing.

This is also one of the problems caused by temperature.

To solve these volume and temperature problems, we must also ensure that the selected materials and every link of the engine structure can operate normally under the huge vibrations when the rocket takes off.

This involves very complex thermodynamic issues.

all in all.

Designing a liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engine, especially a liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engine that meets the requirements of the Long March 9, requires facing many scattered problems.

This is a very complex job.

It is much more complicated than designing a liquid oxygen kerosene engine.

…………

Director Zhou brought Gu Lu back to the R&D department where the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engines were located.

Then a separate studio was set aside just for Gu Lu.

This is the kind of working environment that only some of the top names in the industry have.

Because in each studio, in addition to complete instruments and rare materials, there is also 5 million in scientific research funding every month.

That is to say.

In addition to enriching your own pockets, you can use the 5 million scientific research funds this month as you wish.

at present.

Such a personal studio.

There are only ten in total in the entire rocket research and development base.

Because Gu Lu came here alone.

Director Zhou also selected two young and strong young men from the department to help Gu Lu.

after all.

Designing and manufacturing a liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engine is not only a mental job, but also a physical job.

With someone helping out, Gu Lu would feel much more relaxed.

After Gu Lu arrived at the studio here, he started working directly without taking a break.

Same process as before.

Gu Lu first went to the data room and made a copy of all the design drawings and research results of the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen engine department from previous years.

then.

Gu Lu was in the studio, taking the liver-exploding potion while frantically chewing on the data and summarizing it.

Just reading these materials took Gu Lu almost a week.

After reading the information.

Next is the design of the engine.

Gu Lu took out a stack of blank A4 papers and began to write and draw crazily.

The first thing that needs to be solved is the issue of volume.

The density of liquid hydrogen is simply too small.

This results in the liquid hydrogen fuel occupying a larger volume under the same weight.

A larger volume requires more engine casing to carry the load.

This will undoubtedly increase the weight of the engine itself.

at present.

Gu Lu came up with two solutions to this problem.

One is to compress the volume of liquid hydrogen.

but……

Compressing the volume of liquid hydrogen can easily cause dangerous accidents. An operational error can cause the entire rocket to explode.

this risk.

This is something that many people are unwilling to undertake.

As for the second way.

That is to reduce the amount of liquid hydrogen fuel used.

About this.

Gu Lu already had a bold idea.
Chapter completed!