Xiaomi Heavy Industry, its first entrepreneurial venture!

Chapter 365: Slightly more efficient! (Second update!)
Cao Bin's confident demeanor made Liao Ping feel insecure. He didn't say much, but just held the statistical data table in his hand, staring at the steam turbine unit running in front of him, preparing to make it run for 72 hours under over-limit conditions as Cao Bin had suggested.

However, some preparations are needed before running for 72 hours.

After organizing these forms, Liao Ping turned to look at Gao Hai:
"Representative Gao, the motherland needs you now, please step forward!"

"Huh?" Gao Hai pointed to himself with an incredulous expression, his eyes wide, as if asking, "What does it mean that the motherland needs me now?"

Under his incomprehension gaze, Liao Ping reached out and pressed on his shoulder:

"Go prepare fuel, enough fuel to run for 144 hours."

"For the next 144 hours, we will watch this machine run, watch it operate like crazy, and measure its limits."

After listening to Liao Ping's plan, Gao Hai turned his gaze to the steam turbine unit that was running wildly. At the very front of the steam turbine unit, there was a pipe hanging there.

That's a dedicated heavy oil pipeline. At the other end of the pipeline is an oil tank built inside the workshop. The oil in this tank comes from the oil depot of Jiangnan Shipyard.

The oil depot has enough fuel, but using this fuel requires strict procedures. According to Gao Hai's understanding, such a steam turbine unit requires about 15 tons of heavy oil per hour.

144 hours, that's more than 2100 tons of heavy oil.

Such a large sum requires approval and completion of all necessary procedures before it can be used. After it is used, the oil company will need to replenish it.

He turned to look at Liao Ping:

"Approximately how much do I need to prepare?"

"3000 tons! Perhaps our testing time will exceed 144 hours." Liao Ping made a startling statement, casually uttering a number.

Upon hearing this number, Gao Hai couldn't help but gasp.

This test is for military purposes, so the related expenses can be reimbursed through centralized procurement.

By going through the military's unified procurement, there is no need to pay the 1000 yuan per ton consumption tax on heavy oil; only the cost price needs to be paid, which is approximately 4000 yuan per ton.

3000 tons of heavy oil, 1200 million yuan.

Let's conduct a test.

This……

This one is not easy to fight.

He scratched his head, turned around and walked towards Lin Ze, grabbing his partner and walking out together.

"Come on, let's go write the report together!"

Watching the two leave arm in arm, Liao Ping turned back to look at the steam turbine unit.

Having witnessed Cao Bin's actions not long ago, when he looked at the steam turbine unit again, there was no longer any fear in his eyes, only excitement.

With the walkie-talkie brought to his lips, he began to issue commands methodically:
"Steam data recording team, report inlet pressure and temperature, exhaust pressure..."

"The inlet steam pressure is 17 MPa and the temperature is 575 degrees Celsius, which is close to supercritical..."

"Fuel crew, continue to increase fuel supply..."

"The fuel team understands, heavy fuel oil flow rate increased by 5%..."

Every command issued receives a response, and each response pushes the steam turbine unit in front of it toward its limits.

With the last command issued, the limits of this steam turbine unit were pushed up another notch.

Once everyone had finished their work, Liao Ping immediately ordered everyone to retreat.

This time, the Xiaomi heavy industry engineers, led by Cao Bin, ran faster than anyone else.

Watching their actions, Liao Ping smiled. After the others left, he checked the emergency stop button again, then turned and retreated.

Retreating to Cao Bin's side, Liao Ping fiddled with the walkie-talkie in his hand and calmly said:

"You actually adjusted this steam turbine, which should have belonged to a subcritical unit, according to the specifications of a supercritical unit, right?"

Upon hearing these sudden words, Cao Bin paused for a moment, then nodded:

"Yes."

"According to our boss, we should directly use gas turbines to generate electricity and then use them for electric propulsion, which would be more efficient."

"But this ship isn't our own, so there's no need for it to overshadow us. Therefore, our boss still asked us to get the steam turbine."

"However, we have sufficient materials technology, so when designing and manufacturing, we try our best to make it as close as possible to the supercritical units used in thermal power generation."

"And that's how it ended up being what you see now."

"Compared to conventional subcritical units, this subcritical unit, which is very close to a supercritical unit, has stronger performance and is also more fuel-efficient!"

"Therefore, if you want to complete 144 hours or even more of testing, there is absolutely no need to apply for 3000 tons of heavy oil. That order is worth several million, and the higher-ups will most likely not approve it."

Cao Bin's casual explanation sounded like a series of thunderclaps to Liao Ping.

It was only then that he realized he had been focusing on the boiler pressure and hadn't paid attention to the fuel usage data.

That's crucial data for the steam turbine unit; how could I have forgotten it?

I really shouldn’t have done that!

Liao Ping slapped his head hard, then pulled out the fuel pack's data records. After seeing the data clearly, he was completely stunned.

By the time of the last data recording, the steam turbine unit had been operating in an over-limit state for approximately 20 minutes.

During those 20 minutes, the steam turbine, which was operating beyond its limits, used 2.3 tons of heavy oil.

He picked at the decimal point between the two and the three with the fingernail of his right index finger, and when he found that he couldn't pick it off, he finally confirmed that it was the decimal point, not dust that had fallen on it.

After confirming that it wasn't dust, he turned around, his gaze sweeping over the testers behind him before finally settling on the people in charge of fuel.

Liao Ping walked over and waved the data sheet in his hand:
Who recorded this data?

As the question arose, a young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties stepped out from the crowd: "Teacher Liao, I recorded that data!"

Looking at the person who came out, Liao Ping asked with a flat face, "How did you take these notes?"

"If I remember correctly, the Tb 12 steam turbine unit consumes about 14 to 15 tons of heavy oil per hour when operating under over-limit conditions."

"This equipment is a copy, and according to Chief Engineer Cao, they designed it as close as possible to a supercritical unit from the very beginning."

"With this design, no matter how you calculate it, the unit would consume more than 4 tons of heavy fuel oil in 20 minutes. You only have 2.3 tons here. Are you sure you didn't misremember?"

"No!" Initially a little angry at being questioned without reason, the young man's anger dissipated completely after understanding the reason for Liao Ping's question. He scratched his head, shaking it with a face full of confusion, and replied:
"I don't know, but that's the data the flow meter is showing."

"Even if there's a mistake, it's the flow meter that's faulty." "Besides, the oil tank is right there; you can take a look!"

Reminded by the young man, Liao Ping realized he had lost his mind. He slapped his forehead, bowed to the young man in front of him to apologize, and then turned to the side to continue staring at the running steam turbine.

If there's a problem with a piece of data, it's likely due to a mistake by the person recording it.

However, if multiple data points are problematic, then it's not a problem with the recorder, but rather a problem with the equipment.

Based on the current data, the problem with this device is that its performance seems a bit too strong.

He decided to wait a while.

For this test, a total of 40 tons of fuel oil was prepared. According to the normal start-up procedure of a steam turbine, these 40 tons of fuel oil would last for about 4 hours.

Once the steam turbine unit has been running continuously for 4 hours, the most basic data will be available. At that time, we can use this data to calculate the efficiency of the steam turbine unit.

We'll see in four hours whether it's a mule or a horse.

With this in mind, Liao Ping found a plastic stool, sat down on it, and stared at the steam turbine, preparing to wait for the time to run out.

Meanwhile, Gao Hai and Lin Ze also prepared the fuel application report, communicated with the person in charge of Jiangnan Shipyard, and sent the report directly to Zhu Jingyao.

In the General Armaments Department's naval office, Zhu Jingyao looked at the report he had just received, mentally calculated the amount of money needed for 3000 tons of heavy oil, and couldn't help but slap his head.

Heavy oil is classified into two qualities based on its viscosity and flow rate.

Ordinary heavy oil has a relatively high viscosity and high sulfur content. Its main uses are industrial boilers, general marine fuel, and combustion power generation.

The steam turbine unit currently being tested will be used on aircraft carriers in the future. To ensure stability, ordinary heavy oil cannot be used; high-quality heavy oil must be used instead.

Even if the navy only needs to pay the cost price for high-quality heavy oil and does not need to pay the additional consumption tax of 1000 yuan per ton, it still costs 4000 yuan per ton.

3000 tons of heavy oil, at 4000 yuan per ton, that's a total of 1200 million yuan.

If the ship were ready now and needed refueling before leaving, Zhu Jingyao could confidently say that he would sign the papers without even blinking.

But now, just the first round of testing for a single steam turbine unit requires 12 million yuan to buy oil.

He felt a slight headache.

He stared at the number for a long time, then picked up the phone on the table, recalled Lin Yi's number in his mind, and dialed it casually.

Suzhou.

Lin Yi is booking a hotel for Little Sader.

As Xiaomi Heavy Industry's top salesman in the Middle East, he deserved Lin Yi to book him a hotel.

The phone rang suddenly, and Lin Yi was quite surprised to find that it was Zhu Jingyao's number, which he had saved for a long time but had never called.

According to Guo Song, if anything happens, just call him directly. Avoid calling the other two if possible, since they are very busy and might not be able to answer even if you do call.

Unlike him, Lao Lu, who only needs to worry about what shoes and clothes the army wears every day.

Therefore, Lin Yi had never called these two people before, and he was a little confused when he suddenly received their calls.

But despite being confused, I had to answer the phone.

Lin Yi tapped the screen hard with his fingernail, the call connected, and he immediately asked with a smile into the phone:

"Boss, is there something you need?"

After he asked that question, there was a long pause before a voice came through the phone:
"Lin Yi, I need you to confirm one thing now: how complete is the steam turbine unit you handed over to Jiangnan Shipyard?"

The questions asked on the phone were somewhat strange. Just as Lin Yi was about to speak, Zhu Jingyao's voice came through again:
"Don't rush to speak, let me explain the whole story to you!"

"Before I called you, Gao Hai sent me a report saying that they were preparing to conduct a durability test and needed to apply for 3000 tons of heavy oil."

"The cost of these 3000 tons of heavy oil is 1200 million yuan."

"Moreover, this 12 million yuan is not included in the defense budget at the beginning of the year. It can be applied for separately, but there must be sufficient results to support it."

Do you understand what I mean?

"Understood! Understood!" Lin Yi said "Understood" twice.

If funds are already insufficient, it can be very troublesome to apply for an expense outside the budget.

Of course, for someone at Zhu Jingyao's level, 1200 million is a bit troublesome, but not impossible.

The other party made this call simply to confirm whether there had been any results.

If there are results, or even if there is a possibility of results, the other party will approve the application for 1200 million.

But if there are no results, then nip it in the bud; there's no need to waste time, money, or energy.

With a sigh, Lin Yi gathered his thoughts and spoke to the person on the phone:
"I can guarantee the quality of the products produced in our factory."

"As for the test at Jiangnan Shipyard, I think half the amount of fuel is enough; half the amount of fuel should meet their needs."

"But then again, since Jiangnan Shipyard submitted a report requesting 3000 tons of fuel, they must have their own reasons."

"I think you don't need to worry about so much, boss. Just sign and stamp it!"

"Okay! Since you say you can guarantee the quality, I'll trust you this once, for the sake of the satellite you launched, and I'll approve it!" Zhu Jingyao replied over the phone, and then the other party hung up.

Not long after hanging up the phone here, Gao Hai, who was far away at the Jiangnan Shipyard and had been waiting for Zhu Jingyao's call, did not receive a call from Zhu Jingyao, but instead received a call from the general manager of the Shanghai branch of the oil company.

The other party didn't waste any words, but simply asked Gao Hai to prepare the oil depot, confirm the delivery time of the heavy oil, and arrange the relevant handover personnel.

I can meet with the oil company's Shanghai branch anytime to exchange fuel.

After agreeing on the time and personnel with the other party, Gao Hai felt relieved. He put his arm around Lin Ze and discussed that Lin Ze would receive the fuel, while he would supervise the testing and take the opportunity to slack off.

After the two assigned tasks, Lin Ze took his briefcase and went out to hand over the fuel.

Gao Hai turned around and went back to the testing site.

Upon seeing Liao Ping, Gao Hai immediately informed him of the good news of the leader's approval. However, upon hearing the news, Liao Ping not only did not feel happy, but instead showed a bitter face.

Under Gao Hai's gaze, he explained with a pained expression:

"Um... um... this steam turbine unit is a bit too efficient."

"Under conditions of operating beyond its limits, this thing consumes more fuel than... more..."

"It's also about 50% less than other steam turbine units of similar power!"

(End of this chapter)