Jincheng Research Institute, fan-shaped lecture hall, stepped seats can accommodate more than 20 people at this time.

Two large mechanical models are placed on the central floor. The model is made of tin and wood, one complete, the other cut from the center, showing the section before everyone's eyes.

The model is divided into two parts, on the right is a spherical atmospheric boiler, and the bottom of the boiler simulates a coal-fired inlet.

The steam produced by the atmospheric boiler is directed into a vertical cylinder above by a device consisting of a steam pipe and a steam valve. The technology of manufacturing cylinders is similar to that of casting barrels, and Jincheng's current level of cannon manufacturing can only ensure that barrels with a diameter of up to 7 inches can be bored.

After the ground is leveled, the barrel/cylinder is placed horizontally, and the boring tool is driven by a human winch.

The world's best craft foundry is only at this level, they are nothing more than a higher success rate, lower cost, better quality, and Jincheng is no essential difference. The 7-inch diameter cylinder could only be called a toy for a steam engine, and it was obviously unusable. To get enough horsepower, the cylinder is decisive.

Therefore, it is only possible to use abrasives to polish the bore after casting large diameter cylinders. The cylinder machined in this way obviously has a fatal problem, the sealing between the piston and the cylinder. Without a precision-machined bore, there is no piston that can work with it. The order was tried several times by the blacksmith, and the average result was tragic, with an estimated 0.5 inches of clearance between the piston and the bore when the cylinder was enlarged to 30 inches.

There is no way to solve the problem of machining accuracy, and it is the best blacksmith in China who is arranged to do this in an orderly manner, and even if there are better craftsmen in Europe, there will be no qualitative difference. Admittedly, this is the craftsmanship of the Middle Ages.

There was only one way in the Middle Ages, and the top was hard, and the gap was too big, so I could only find a way to make it. Filling the cylinder with a soft seal between the piston was the only option.

At present, the alternative materials are leather and hemp rope with excellent flexibility, and more need to be tested. Obviously, the leather and hemp rope could not be fully sealed, so a layer of water was added to the disc leather to keep the cylinder sealed.

The reason why atmospheric boilers are used is because the current metallurgical level does not support sealing devices that exceed more than one atmosphere. If the pressure is too high, the result can only be an explosion of the boiler and it will be all over. At the same time, the clearance between the cylinder and the piston makes any attempt to increase the steam pressure undesirable.

In the middle of the atmospheric steam engine installation is a brick wall simulated with wooden planks, which is higher than the boiler and cylinder. The brick wall plays the role of a lever fulcrum in the whole machinery, the lever is fixed to the brick wall by a pivot, the arched head at the right end of the beam is connected to the cylinder piston by an iron chain, and the arch beam on the left side is connected to the pump rod, and there is a counterweight on the pump rod.

On the right side of the brick wall, where the height exceeded the cylinder, a tank was installed, and the tank valve was connected by an iron chain to a small arch to the right of the lever pivot.

The working principle of the machine is simple, the steam enters the cylinder through the pipe. Atmospheric steam cannot produce thrust to push the piston open, and mainly relies on the counterweight on the left pump rod to pull the piston. Wait until the piston movement is in place, cut off the steam delivery valve, open the corresponding valve of the water tank on the brick wall, the cooling water enters the cylinder from the pipe, condenses the steam, and the atmospheric pressure presses the piston down, and lifts the pump rod on the left side of the lever. During the entire piston motion stroke, the control of the steam valve and the water valve is carried out manually.

The principle is simple, as is the model of the activity made of tin and wood, but to assemble this machine to a practical level with iron components, the time consumed will be calculated in years.

The fit of the various parts and valves is only known when the machine is put into use, and where it will not go wrong.

I don't know how long it will take to debug. He can only guarantee that he will do his best to ensure the financial needs of the project within the scope of his ability. From the model to the machine used, the current approval of 50,000 taels of silver is definitely not enough, which can only be used as an initial research and development expense.

Shou Xuan was determined to do whatever it takes, even if it was to invest the equivalent of a year's customs revenue in Guangdong Province to develop this engine. Thermal engines represent a new way of harnessing energy, that's everything, that's the future.

Institute Vasser. Dean Concelos stood up and asked Order, "Your Excellency, what is the purpose of us spending so much money and time on developing this machine?" ”

"For a long time, this kind of machine could only be used to pump water." Orderly smiled.

An unfamiliar teacher stood up, "Your Excellency, I don't understand. It's just a pumping machine, what are we going to do? We can pump water with slaves, or we can pump water with horses. ”

"What's your name and where are you from?"

"Claudio, Your Excellency, I have worked for five years at the Bogarao Cannon Factory in Macau."

Orderliness nodded. The Bugarao Artillery Factory is the largest and most well-equipped arsenal in Asia. All the best artillery of the Ming Dynasty was produced by the Bugarao Artillery Factory.

"This gentleman from Macau," Shou Xuan asked, "there are many mines in our country, you should know what is the biggest constraint of these mines at present?" ”

"Manpower and drainage, Your Excellency."

"Dean Conceros, what is the comparison of drainage costs in your statistics?" Shou looked at the model and named the dean.

"Your Excellency," Concelus said, "In our tin mines, a tall Indian Kartiawa horse does the work of 5-6 people in a day, and the strength of a mule is equal to 3-4 people. It costs 2-3 times more to feed a horse for a day than a slave for a day, so we can estimate the cost of horsepower as half of manpower. ”

"Very well, Mr. Dean." "You have to consider that people and horses can create more profit by putting people and horses in other positions than just draining water. I'll tell you a statistic that 100 pounds of coal on this machine can get the equivalent of 10 people's work in a day. ”

That's a staggering statistic. Claudio quickly calculated that this meant that the cost of drainage would be cut in half by the machine, and for that reason alone, the machine was worth the full investment in development.

That's enough to this, and the order doesn't have the patience and energy to explain further. He swept everyone's eyes and said slowly, "The decision is my business, you just have to do it." ”

……

Walking out of the research institute in an orderly manner, there are three slowly rotating waterwheels not far away. The guards opened the carriage door and sat on the rattan chaise longue with their feet on the pedals, and when the door closed, the orca coat of arms could be clearly seen.

It is located more than 30 kilometers outside the capital, not far from the military cemetery. The institute is located here because it is backed by some hills. The institute built a dam here and drove several water wheels.

Close the curtains, lean back in your chair and close your eyes.

The mechanical motive force of this era was water and wind, and in the 17th century, the obstacle to the use of power was cost. Manpower may be cheaper than hydraulic and wind-powered machinery, and the input cost of machinery is huge relative to the power obtained, and the machinery of this era is very unreliable and expensive to maintain. Therefore, people prefer to choose human or animal power rather than power machinery.

Wind power is less reliable as compared to water power. The use of water power means, first of all, that the factory must be built near a river, and the high drop valley is obviously expensive to build and faces a serious threat of water disasters such as flash floods. If it is built in an area with a gentle river, the driving force of the water flow is a major problem.

No matter where it is built, water power is always an unstable powerhouse, and the flow of water in the rainy and dry seasons varies greatly. If there is no stable power, it means that the product cannot be measured, and it will not be able to improve the overall processing accuracy of the whole society. With medieval crafts, the workshop will always be a workshop and cannot evolve into a factory. Without a factory, it would not have been possible to give birth to the Watt steam engine.

The existing hydraulic machinery in Europe generally has a power of 2 horsepower. The largest waterwheels can drive 10 horsepower, but this is difficult to achieve, and even at the level of technology 100 years later, the European waterwheels will only maintain an average of 5 horsepower. To achieve this power output, the waterwheel must be maintained frequently, otherwise the power will drop quickly.

In the foreseeable near future, the Conservative Gear Set and Watt Connecting Rods cannot be built, and the metallurgical level does not support it.

Atmospheric steam engines are single-acting steam engines, and the connection between the piston and the lever arch head excludes the thrust of the upstroke. If you want to turn the reciprocating motion of the piston into a rotary one, you can only take inspiration from the ancient machinery, with crankshafts and eccentric wheels. This requires the piston to be hard-wired to the lever, and the downward pressure exerted by the lever on the crankpin is sufficient for the upstroke. The difficulty of this set of machinery to implement is not low.

In the near future, we can only use the necessary way in the early stage of the industrial revolution, using the combination of atmospheric steam engine and waterwheel. Before the advent of watt linkages, steam engines were an essential accessory for large waterwheels. Several or a dozen atmospheric steam engines form a power group to pump water to the elevated pool, and then the water wheel completes the rotary movement.

For the first time, the steam engine and water truck gave human beings a continuous and controllable stable power, which was the foundation of the factory. Even if the stable output is only 5-10 horsepower, you can try a mechanical blower for ordering. With a mechanical blower box, the furnace vents can be narrowed and more vents can be connected to the furnace body. Stable blast is a prerequisite for steelmaking, which is the only way to increase the furnace temperature to 1600 degrees Celsius, and it is also the only way to obtain liquid steel.

You can't skip a single step.

It's only time and money to build up this tech tree, and the atmospheric steam engine is the starting point.