In the Xinghai Research Institute, while Xu Chuan was staring at the follow-up testing and adjustment of small fusion reactors,

In the space research institute, several special guests came.

When Wen Yuanhang took these people to find him, he was still stunned for a moment.

Because in the group, the middle-aged and elderly man at the front of the group was wearing a sky blue Air Force uniform.

After Wen Yuanhang's introduction, Xu Chuan knew that this middle-aged and elderly man with a straight posture and a military atmosphere was Yang Hanqiang, the general person in charge of the Air Force Equipment.

He was followed by Academician Tian Xinyuan, the chief designer of the Air Force Equipment Department, and several backbone-level scientific research experts.

"Academician Xu, hello, it's the first time we've met, and it's a pleasure."

In the laboratory, Yang Han had a smile on his resolute face, and stretched out his right hand to say hello to Xu Chuan.

"Yang Yunchang, I am glad to meet."

Xu Chuan smiled and shook hands with the middle-aged and elderly man in front of him, who was full of military style, and shook hands with Academician Tian Xinyuan, the chief designer, and several other scientific research experts, and said hello.

Just as he wanted to take a few people to his office to chat, Yang Han on the other side spoke: "I took the liberty to come here this time, and I disturbed Academician Xu's research a lot." ”

"Academician Xu is also a busy person, so I will get straight to the point and not waste time. This time I came here, mainly related to the aerospace engine and small controllable nuclear fusion reactor technology developed by your research institute. ”

"According to the information and data provided by the General Manager of Industry and Information Technology, as well as some report documents and information compiled by Academician Xu before, the aerospace engine developed by your research institute can provide a maximum thrust of 500KN, is this data accurate?"

Xu Chuan nodded and said, "So to speak, but the ultimate thrust of 500,000 N is the previous test data, and in the follow-up experiments, the Aerospace Research Institute has optimized the performance of the aerospace engine according to the experimental data." ”

"The latest thrust test data is accurate at 578.87KN."

As soon as these words came out, several scientific research experts who were standing behind Yang Han and followed him all showed surprised and shocked expressions on their faces.

If I remember correctly, the bidding conference for manned spaceflight and lunar exploration projects has only been a month now, and the report displayed by the Xinghai Research Institute at that time was 500,000 newtons, which can increase nearly one-eighth of the thrust in a month, which is quite terrifying.

Looking at the research of aerospace and aero engines, there is no such jump.

As the chief designer of the Air Force Equipment Department, Tian Xinyuan stood at the front of the team, couldn't help but push the glasses on the bridge of his nose with his hand, took a deep breath and interjected and asked: "Is this data stable?" How long does it last? ”

Xu Chuan glanced at this Academician Tian, a little unclear.

Academician Tian Xinyuan came back to his senses and quickly organized the language: "I mean, have you tested the ultimate thrust time of 578KN, and how long can that aerospace engine last if this ultimate thrust is maintained?" ”

"Including the energy supply, how long can it last at the limit thrust?"

Hearing this, Xu Chuan thought for a moment and said, "The test has been done, but its limit time is unknown. ”

"Unknown?" Academician Tian Xinyuan's eyes suddenly filled with doubts.

Xu Chuan nodded and said, "Well, unknown." ”

"At present, we have an aerospace engine in our hands, and there are many tests and experiments to do, and it is impossible to spend all our time on various extreme tests."

"But for now, there is no problem with the space engine running at maximum thrust for more than 12 hours."

After a slight pause, he continued, "As for the energy supply."

"It's not for me to show off, but an energy supply device based on a small fusion reactor only needs to carry one to two tons of deuterium-tritium fusion raw materials, which is enough for a space shuttle to continue to fly around the earth dozens of times."

As soon as these words came out, the entire team of the Air Force Equipment Department was shocked, and their faces were filled with disbelief and suspicion.

More than twelve hours of extreme full-thrust operation, it can be said that the endurance is almost unlimited.

This data, if put on a traditional aero engine, can be said to be against the sky.

As we all know, the main performance indicators of aero engines include thrust, power, fuel consumption, reliability, etc.

Thrust is the maximum thrust produced by the engine, power refers to the maximum power that the engine can output, fuel consumption rate refers to the quality of fuel consumed by the engine for each newton of thrust generated, and reliability refers to the ability of the engine to complete the specified functions at the specified time and conditions. Wait a minute.

And in addition to these indicators, there are additional indicators for military equipment, such as engines used on fighter jets.

For example, the length of time that afterburner thrust runs.

For a fighter, the thrust of the engine it uses is generally divided into two gears: military thrust and afterburner thrust.

Military thrust is well understood and refers to the maximum thrust that an engine can achieve without starting afterburner (i.e., in normal flight).

Afterburner thrust is also called 'ultimate thrust', which means that the thrust of the engine is increased to the limit of the engine by injecting additional fuel.

The longer this limit of thrust is maintained, also known as the 'afterburner thrust time', the more exaggerated the performance improvement of the fighter.

Especially in short-distance take-offs and close-range aircraft combat, the stronger the afterburner performance, the stronger the performance of the aircraft, and the winning rate of the battle is infinitely higher.

However, for almost all aero engines in the world, the afterburner thrust time can not be maintained for too long.

One is that afterburner will release a lot of extra heat and thrust, which is difficult for the engine turbine to bear, and there is a risk that the turbine will fail or even fragment.

A few years ago, the vast majority of fighter planes around the world, including the F22, were not allowed to fly more than 5 minutes with afterburner, otherwise they would face the risk of engine failure.

However, the risk of engine failure was crushed by the MiG-25 built by Lao Maozi.

The initial afterburner limit of the MiG-25 was also 5 minutes, but the rough style of the Red Su pilots was well known.

In the '80s, the MiG-25 had several encounters with rival F14s, and the pilots quickly discovered that there was nothing wrong with relaxing the afterburner thrust time to 8 minutes.

Later, the pilots specially organized an extreme afterburner time test, and on the ground the MiG-25 engine maintained an afterburner thrust state for up to 45 minutes.

Subsequent tests proved that this did not have any adverse effect on the engine, and in the end, the Hongsu simply removed the afterburner flight time limit for the MiG-25.

Later, countries began to experiment, re-engineer and redesign the engine, breaking the standard of five minutes of afterburner thrust time, allowing afterburner flights beyond this time.

But even so, the Xinghai Research Institute's aerospace engine runs at its limit for more than twelve hours, and to be honest, Tian Xinyuan doesn't know what this concept is.

After all, even without considering fuel consumption, most aero engines cannot run at the limit of 12 hours.

Not to mention twelve hours, more than three hours of extreme operation, the high temperature generated by it has a great probability of causing damage to internal parts and causing engine downtime.

Of course, aside from its own performance, the time of afterburner thrust of fighters is still limited on the other hand.

And the main reason for this restriction on afterburner flight is endurance, commonly known as how much fuel you can carry.

When afterburner flight, the fuel consumption of the aircraft is nearly ten times higher than that without afterburner, and 5 minutes of afterburner is equivalent to 50 minutes of ordinary flight.

In this state, the aircraft quickly consumes all the fuel.

Take, for example, the current F22.

The plane can fly for more than four hours with a normal fuel load, and the total range is about 3,000 kilometers.

Flying at normal subsonic speeds, the fuel consumption per hour is only about 1,200 kilograms, which is more than a ton.

If the F22 engine is turned on afterburner, the fuel consumption rate will reach more than 900 kilograms per minute, which is almost a ton.

This means that the fuel consumption of flying with afterburner is more than 40 times that of non-afterburner. Judging from the current fuel carrying capacity of most fighters, almost no aircraft can fly more than 10 minutes with afterburner.

And that's without taking into account the remaining fuel needed to return home. If you take into account the fuel consumption for take-off and return, an aircraft can completely consume its own fuel in just a few minutes after it takes to start the afterburner.

The energy supply system with miniaturized fusion reactors as the energy source can only be described by the word 'unsolvable' in comparison with its almost unlimited endurance.

In an instant, everyone in the Air Force Equipment Department, including Yang Han and Tian Xinyuan, breathed heavily.

578KN thrust, more than 12 hours of extreme thrust operation, unlimited endurance

When these three parameters are superimposed, it is self-evident what they mean.

To put it simply, without considering the pilot's own safety, endurance, whether the plane is at risk of disintegration, and other issues, they can build a fighter that most of the world's missiles cannot catch up with.

After all, most missiles will not fly faster than Mach 10.

The famous AIM5, also known as the 'Immortal Bird' air-to-air missile, has a flight speed of Mach 5.

Listening to Xu Chuan's introduction, the expression on Yang Han's face standing in the crowd couldn't help but bring a little flush and excitement.

He looked at Xu Chuan and asked earnestly: "Academician Xu, I want to ask, how long will it take for the small fusion reactor and aerospace engine to be completed?" ”

Xu Chuan thought for a moment and said, "To be precise, these two technologies have been completed and are currently being tested. ”

"As for the time for the test to be completed, it will take about four to five months."

After a pause, he continued: "The tests of the main aerospace engines that delay the time are currently being done on the ground, but some air tests still need to wait for the space shuttle to be assembled. ”

At this moment, an expert from the equipment department in the crowd following Yang Han suddenly spoke: "What if it's a modification?" It shouldn't take that long to retrofit, right? ”

"I have seen the detailed data and information of aerospace engines and small fusion reactors, and although the shape is a little strange, there are still aircraft that conform to this structure in China."

"If you can, can the Air Force Armament Department provide an airplane to convert the aerospace engine and small reactor into it for a test flight?"

Hearing this, Xu Chuan frowned slightly and said, "Do you need to be in such a hurry?" Four or five months isn't a long time, is it? ”

Hearing this, the expert came back to his senses, smiled a little embarrassedly, and said, "Sorry, I was distracted." ”

"The main thing is that the aerospace engine and small fusion reactor technology you have developed is so amazing that I can't wait to see them in action."

As a designer of an aero engine, this almost magical aerospace engine has a fatal attraction for him.

Although this was not a very suitable suggestion, Yang Han, who was standing in front, was a little moved.

He thought for a moment and then said, "How long will it take if it's a modification?" ”

As far as the Air Force Equipment Department is concerned, if the space shuttle of the Xinghai Research Institute is completed and the aerospace engine is confirmed, then they will develop, design, and transform their own aircraft, which may take more than a year.

Modifications can get first-hand data in the first time, and provide experience for related fighters and bombers and other equipment in the future, which can save a lot of time.

Xu Chuan looked at Tian Xinyuan, he was not very familiar with the situation on the Air Force's side, but since this expert who came over made this suggestion, I think they should have a calculation.

On the other side, Academician Tanaka Yuan thought about it for a while and said, "It depends on which way is adopted." ”

"The fastest way is to modify it through a fighter that is in production, and it is still very fast to simply want it to fly without pursuing conditions such as maneuverability and performance."

"For example, we can take the shell of a 'FC-1' Thunder fighter that is being produced and modify it, and directly stuff the small reactor, aerospace engine, magnetofluid generator set and other equipment components into it, and theoretically it should be no problem to fly."

"In terms of time, with the production line of Chuandu Aircraft Industry Group, about two months should be enough."

He is still very experienced in the design and modification of fighter jets, and he is responsible for the expansion of the J10 series.

However, he is not very optimistic about the hasty transformation of the aerospace engine.

Looking at Yang Han, who was a little moved, Academician Tian Xinyuan shook his head, and continued: "But there is not much point in doing this. ”

"After all, what we need is a truly combat-ready aircraft, and it is not enough to let it fly."

"And as Academician Xu said, four or five months is not a long time."

"If you really want to shorten the time, Yang Qian might as well ask Academician Xu if there is anything he needs help with."

Hearing this, Yang Han looked at Xu Chuan and said seriously: "If you encounter any difficulties in your research, as long as we can help, just mention it to us!" ”

Xu Chuan smiled and said, "If you want to say that there is any need, then there really is." ”

Yang Han: "Academician Xu said. ”

Xu Chuan smiled and said, "If you can, support some funds." ”

(End of chapter)