In the morning, the special train ran on the railway, heading from west to east. The train wheels kept pressing across the joints of the railway, making a sound of "better, let alone", Yu Wenwen, who was sitting on the special train, listened to the monotonous "background music" while listening to people's reports.

The reporter was Yuwen Huan, but he was not Yuwen Wen's half-brother, Shao Wang Yuwen Huan, but another person with the same name and surname. Therefore, Yuwen Huan, son of Yuwen Kai, the Minister of Works.

This Yuwen Yin met Yuwen in Chang'an when he was a child. At that time, the little guy's name was "Yuwen Wen".

Because of the name of the same name, Xiao Yuwen Wen changed his name to "Yuwen International", and later he became a rename again.

At this moment, as a technical official of the Ministry of Works, Yuwen International reported to the emperor about the development progress of the new engine - a gas internal combustion engine.

Not long ago, the "self-propelled vehicle" powered by gas internal combustion engine was displayed semi-publicly, and a competition was held in the military camp and the horse-drawn carriage. Although the competition ended with the horse-drawn carriage, the "self-drawn carriage" also completed the competition and successfully completed its "first show".

However, this is just a principle verification machine, or "engineering prototype", and its gas internal combustion engine has many problems. If it is not solved, it will be nowhere to be practical.

Although the development path is difficult, Yu Wenyin is quite optimistic and feels that if he persists, he will definitely make a breakthrough, just like the marine steam engines back then.

As the saying goes, "A father likes his son, he likes his son." Yuwen I was obsessed with various engineering technologies, but because of the development of the times, Yuwen I studied steam machinery and "thermodynamics".

Thermodynamics is a specialized in studying how to use the combustion of various fuels to generate power. Yu Wentian, who is nearly 40 years old, has studied in Huangzhou for nearly twenty years and has studied various advanced knowledge and theories. He has a deep foundation in thermodynamics and a strong scholar's temperament.

Now, when it comes to internal combustion engines, it is as clear as a matter of knowledge. I actually start with the principle and I don’t remember that the emperor knew this theory.

Yuwen Wen has always respected technical talents, so he doesn't care. He listened to Yuwen International's discussion of the principles and technical research results of internal combustion engines.

The existing power machine is a steam engine. The principle is to use the expansion of steam to drive the piston in the cylinder to move, thereby driving the flywheel.

So, can only steam drive the piston through volume expansion?

Of course not, gunpowder can do it too.

Gunpowder is a granular solid. After combustion, it produces a large amount of gas. The gas instantly expands but has nowhere to go in the narrow gun barrel. It can only push the lead bullet blocking in front of it and moves forward.

Because the gas expands very much, it can "push" the lead bullet to a very far place, causing damage.

When gunpowder burns in the gun barrel, the expansion force generated can push the lead bullet, and naturally it can also burn in the cylinder, producing expansion force to push the piston.

The concept is good, but it is difficult to implement in reality. For example, there will be residue after gunpowder burns, which will cause poor piston movement. Therefore, this technical concept cannot be realized, and even a prototype that can operate stably cannot be made.

However, a new theory was born, that is, "internal combustion power". According to this theory, the power machine produced is different from the steam engine.

The steam engine is produced in the boiler and requires the use of fuel to heat water before there will be steam. Therefore, the combustion of fuel is in the boiler outside the cylinder - the boiler. From this perspective, the steam engine is a "external combustion engine".

The technical concept of using gunpowder to produce expansion gas to push the piston failed, but the principle is different from that of a steam engine, because the fuel is burned in the cylinder, so this power engine is called "internal combustion engine".

Compared with external combustion engines, the advantage of internal combustion engines is that they start quickly, because external combustion engines need to boil water to generate steam, and it takes a long time to heat the water in the normal temperature to boil.

But the internal combustion engine is different. The fuel is directly burned in the cylinder. It can be said that within a count of breath, the power engine can "move" one fast and the other slow, and the advantage is obvious.

Secondly, the internal combustion engine does not require a bulky boiler, and the water in the boiler is no longer needed, which means that the internal combustion engine is not only smaller than that of the external combustion engine, but also has a lot of weight reduction.

It can be seen from this that internal combustion engines are better than external combustion engines, provided that they can be made.

It is difficult to realize the idea of ​​using gunpowder to push the piston in the cylinder. So, is it okay to use tinder oil instead of gunpowder to burn in the cylinder?

OK, the premise is to atomize the turret, spray it into the cylinder, and then burn it.

However, after years of hard work, technicians found that there are too many technical difficulties in turbulent internal combustion engines, and it is difficult to break through.

For example, because the refining technology is not good, the turtle oil extracted from the oil is not purified enough, so the spray port is prone to blockage, and there is still a small amount of residue after the turtle oil is burned, which will damage the inner wall of the cylinder and the piston.

After struggling for a long time, technicians found that using tinder oil as internal combustion engine fuel cannot go through, at least it cannot go through recently.

Although the development of the turbulent internal combustion engine failed, one result is feasible, that is, electric spark ignition. This technology is very critical. No matter what fuel is used in the end, this ignition method can be used to ignite.

After discussion, the technicians felt that after gunpowder and turbulent oil burned, they would burn gas: how can there be residues when burning gas fuel?

At this time, the technology of using coal to make gas has matured (cost issue is also discussed), gas lamps are also very common, and compression storage technology has even been discovered: when compressing gas with a compressor, the pressure reaches a certain value, and the gas will become liquid. A special pressure-resistant gas tank can store a lot of gas.

So the technicians thought of using gas as fuel for internal combustion engines and began to study how to make gas burn in the cylinder and generate as much expansion gas as possible to push the piston.

Yuwen Il is one of the participants. He is also the leader of a technical research team. He leads the team members to work with other groups to strive to break through technical difficulties as soon as possible and create a principle verification machine.

Hard work pays off. Several technical research teams worked together to produce results, made gas internal combustion engines (technical verification machines) and installed them on a specially made carriage.

This kind of "self-propelled vehicle" powered by an internal combustion engine burns gas from the car-mounted gas tank. Although it runs slowly than a car, at least one car runs the entire race.

The good news ends here, and Yuwen Is next reports bad news.

He was worried that the emperor had any unrealistic fantasies about gas internal combustion engines, so he started to pour cold water on to cool down: the technology verification machine only verified that this technology is feasible, and does not mean that it will be practical immediately.

Yuwen International uses several models to introduce to Yuwen Wen the bottlenecks currently encountered by gas internal combustion engines.

First, lubrication: The cylinder of a gas internal combustion engine needs good lubrication because its piston moves at a high frequency (much higher than that of a steam engine) and constantly rubs against the inner wall of the cylinder.

This requires high temperature resistant lubricating oil, and a reliable refueling technology that can add lubricating oil to the edges of the piston at work at any time.

This technology has not yet been made, so the internal combustion locomotive, which participated in the competition, is prone to "explosion of the cylinder" after driving for a distance. The reason is that the piston lubrication fails, or the lubricant becomes viscous due to high temperatures, resulting in poor movement of the piston and jamming.

The consequence is that the cylinder is seriously damaged or exploded, also known as "cylinder explosion".

Not only that, the moving parts of the internal combustion engine also include crankshafts, connecting rods, various bearings, etc. How to keep these parts effectively lubricated is also a very critical technical issue.

Second, the durability and reliability of the electric spark ignition device: the top of the electric spark ignition device must be inserted into the cylinder, that is, the electrode is located in the cylinder, so that the generated electric spark ignites the gas in the cylinder.

Every time the gas is burned, it actually explodes once, and the ignition electrode of the ignition guard flower must withstand an impact.

When the gas internal combustion engine is running, the deflagation frequency in the cylinder is very high every minute. Over time, the electrodes will be damaged (excessive loss), or they may not work properly.

If the ignition device is not working properly, it will lead to the ignition time being advanced or delayed, which will affect the normal operation of the internal combustion engine.

Therefore, the electrodes of the electric spark ignition device must be durable and can last for a certain period of time before replacement. However, now, such electrodes cannot be made, and the electrodes of the existing electric spark ignition device can only work reliably for a few hours.

Therefore, if the internal combustion engine wants to work properly, either choose a durable electrode material or improve the electric spark ignition device and use a durable and reliable ignition device to ignite.

Third, heat dissipation: The fuel keeps burning in the cylinder, and the heat released is absorbed by the cylinder and piston, which in turn causes the temperature of the cylinder and piston to rise, which also increases the temperature of the crankshaft, connecting rod and other components.

If the temperature is too high, the metal parts will expand. At this time, the connection state between the parts is different from that at room temperature. If it is not handled properly, a series of faults will be caused.

How to effectively dissipate heat from the cylinder is a headache. If the cylinder temperature is too high, the gas that has just entered the cylinder will be ignited directly, which will lead to the piston's movement being out of control.

At this time, the air intake is not too late to close, and the burning gas will continue to burn into the gas storage tank.

Then there is the explosion.

The fourth and most critical point: the thermal efficiency (combustion-work) of the gas in the cylinder is not enough, so the output power of the internal combustion engine is not ideal.

The four points Yuwen I mentioned can be classified as life issues, while the fourth point is the most critical efficiency issue. This problem cannot be solved, and internal combustion engines have no future.

If the entity with low thermal efficiency cannot be solved, there are two consequences. First, the internal combustion engine consumes a lot of fuel. Using a steam engine as an analogy means that the coal consumption is very high.

Secondly, the output power of the internal combustion engine is not enough, so the same usage cost (fuel, maintenance cost) is simply not as good as the steam engine.

Comparing the two machines requires a unified standard. The standard given by Yuwen International is the unit that measures the output power of the power machine - Pi.

A horse is the power of a horse, also known as "horsepower".

At present, the academic community defines horse power as: within one minute (sixty seconds), the effort it takes for a horse to drag a hu of heavy objects sixty steps away.

The output power of common steam pumps is about five to ten horses, but now the output power of gas internal combustion engines is about five horses.

However, the price of gas consumed by gas internal combustion engines per hour is more than twice that of steam pumps.

Therefore, if the problem of low thermal efficiency is not solved, the gas internal combustion engine can only be a laboratory model.

This is similar to a powered steam engine. One of the technological breakthroughs of steamships back then was that the steam engine adopted the technology of steam condensation outside the cylinder, which essentially improved the thermal efficiency and increased the output power of the steam engine.

He summarized that the current situation of gas internal combustion engines is at most the first generation of steam pumps, which can be used to pump water, but it is still far from becoming a vehicle power machine.

Yuwen Iv talked endlessly for two hours, and Yuwen Wen wanted to doze off after hearing this: Isn’t it just that “reality is very skinny”?

For Yu Wen Wen, it is enough for the prototype of the internal combustion engine to appear in his lifetime. Even if it takes 30 years to improve and make breakthroughs in the future, it doesn't matter, because he may not be able to live at that time.

Now, with trains and steamships, he is already satisfied.

The glory of internal combustion engines belongs to future generations, and the glory of steam engines is the imprint of the Mingde era.

Thinking of this, Yuwen Wen did not reveal it on his face. He asked Yuwen what suggestions he had for the development of internal combustion engines. If the court needs to approve more research funds, please apply for a report.

After hearing the emperor's statement, Yu Wenyin suddenly became restrained and coughed a few times one after another, which made Yu Wen Wen raise his eyebrows: Do you want to make any extraordinary request?

......

The train was driving on the railway and made a sound of "before, beside, besiden", Yuwen Wen sat alone in the meeting room of the car, looking at the scenery outside, thinking about things in his mind.

Just now, Yuwen International made a request, requesting the court to allow the technical research team to publish articles in major academic journals, introduce the principles of internal combustion engine technology, and regularly publish the development progress and problems encountered (the content has been reviewed and the key details are kept confidential).

At the same time, "Internal Combustion Engine Laboratory" was opened in several well-known state schools, just like the electrical laboratory, allowing more scholars and technicians to participate in the development of internal combustion engines.

This approach is to use the collective wisdom to solve the various difficulties in internal combustion engine technology by relying on the fireworks of the people.

The technical difficulties encountered in the development of internal combustion engines are published in journals. Scholars and technicians can try to explore, and someone may break some of them.

Even if the other party applies for a patent because it doesn’t matter, because technological breakthroughs are more important than patent fees.

Yuwen I think this approach is beneficial, which can avoid the phenomenon of "closed-door" in the early stage of the development of steamships, and can also brainstorm and allow more technical forces to participate in the development of internal combustion engines.

However, this move has the risk of leaking secrets, so Yuwen was a little hesitant when he made this suggestion.

Yuwen Wen was also a little hesitant because he knew what an internal combustion engine meant. If the steam engine started the first industrial revolution in history, the emergence of the internal combustion engine started the second industrial revolution.

Therefore, internal combustion engine technology is related to the future and the country's destiny. He subconsciously does not want it to discuss it in semi-public journals.

Although each journal only accepts subscriptions from schools, guilds and other institutions, and will not be sold publicly on the street like ordinary newspapers, if you want to, you can still access these journals.

If those foreign spies are smart enough, they will learn about the development trends of internal combustion engine technology through journals.
To be continued...