Made in China Good News Again, The World's Strongest Marine Engine Is Available, Can It Be Retrofitted On An Aircraft Carrier?
Since my country entered the 21st century, the manufacturing level and technology have rapidly improved, and a series of expansions and industrial upgrades have been carried out. Up to now, the total output value of my country's industrial manufacturing industry has reached the world's first level, and far exceeds the total output value of the second to fourth places. This not only brought a rare opportunity for my country's economic development and large-scale industrialization, but also allowed my country's equipment manufacturing level to reach the world's leading position. Not long ago, another piece of good news came from my country's manufacturing industry. The world's largest marine dual-fuel engine independently developed and manufactured by my country has succeeded and opened up to the global market.
Most modern international logistics still use ocean-going transportation, and naval vessels have also begun to enter a new development cycle, which has also prompted the development of large-scale ocean-going ships worldwide. Now the world's largest ship has a displacement of nearly one million tons, even if modern aircraft carriers face such ocean beasts, they will appear "fragile". Under such a large tonnage, a strong power system is needed as a support. The power sources of modern ships can be divided into several types, each of which has its own unique background and role.
1. Diesel engine
Diesel engine is currently the most widely used marine engine, and its main power output mode is similar to that of automobile diesel engine. The thermal efficiency and economy of marine diesel engines are relatively high, and due to the mature technology, they also have excellent performance in starting and stopping, and the continuous operation period is relatively long, the reliability is greatly increased, and it can well adapt to the needs of different ships. . Moreover, the development time of diesel engines is relatively long, and the manufacturing process is relatively simple, which reduces the difficulty of maintaining diesel engines and can obtain the supply of related parts and components in most parts of the world.
2. Gas turbine
A gas turbine is an engine that relies on the internal fuel to burn and then pushes the impeller to rotate to generate power. Its structure is similar to that of an aviation turbofan engine. Gas turbines have also tried to be used in family cars in the past. In the end, this development direction was finally abandoned because of substandard exhaust emissions and excessive volume. Due to the high speed of the gas turbine, the large output power, and the fact that it is not as economical as the diesel engine, it is currently mainly used in warships, which require relatively high speed. Gas turbines can use natural gas as the main source of power, as well as diesel, gasoline, etc., with good fuel compatibility.
3. Nuclear power reactor
Nuclear power reactors are very rare on civilian ships, and only a few polar scientific research ships are equipped with nuclear power due to the need for high-power icebreaking. The large-tonnage aircraft carriers and strategic submarines that we often pay attention to are very willing to use nuclear power due to the needs of high endurance, strong power and other strategic considerations. The nuclear power used by modern ships is the result of the miniaturization of reactors for decades. Under the circumstance of ensuring the power of nuclear reactors, it is necessary to miniaturize as much as possible. The degree of difficulty can be imagined. Moreover, the nuclear reactors used by different ships are not completely universal. France used to directly move the reactors on the nuclear submarine to the aircraft carrier, which later severely restricted the combat effectiveness of the aircraft carrier.
Submarine nuclear reactor
The brand-new dual-fuel engine developed by my country this time is actually an improvement from a relatively mature diesel engine, which can use natural gas and traditional fuel oil as energy sources, enhancing the versatility of ship replenishment. The newly developed dual-fuel engine is 22.7 meters long, 16 meters high, weighs about 2,140 tons, and has a single power of 63,840 kilowatts. Although it can provide sufficient power for ocean-going ships, the high speed and high power requirements of the aircraft carrier have not yet been met. . However, through continuous improvements and upgrades, the possibility of being applied to aircraft carriers in the future is still not small. (Wolf Smoke)