150: Chapter 150 Steam Tractors Preparing for Road Tests

"His Majesty the Head of State, the steam tractor is ready for road testing tomorrow."

Elder Mos Team came to inform Zhao Fusu.

"Good, I understand."

Zhao Fusu replied.

An excited light flickered in his eyes; he had been waiting for the steam tractor for a long time.

Elder Mo's technical team of over a hundred people had worked tirelessly, forgetting food and sleep, for more than two months to build the steam tractor!

If the road test went smoothly, it would mean the research and development of the steam tractor was a success.

Zhao Fusu hoped the steam tractor's development would succeed.

He needed steam tractors to pull five tons of mortar shells to Shangjun day and night without stopping.

Even if the steam tractor could only travel ten kilometers per hour, running non-stop for a day would cover two hundred and forty kilometers.

In just three days, five tons of mortar shells could be hauled to Shangjun.

This speed was even faster than using horses to pull five tons of shells to Shangjun.

If there were a railway, a steam train could travel at least twenty kilometers per hour.

Then it would only take a day and a half to transport five tons of mortar shells to Shangjun.

Zhao Fusu narrowed his eyes.

Once he conquered the Xiongnu Kingdom, he would build a railway from Xianyang to Shangjun and the Xiongnu territories.

The faster troops, weapons, and ammunition could be transported, the faster rebellions could be suppressed.

Even if a rebellion occurred in the Xiongnu lands in the future, with a railway, elite troops and munitions could be transported there within a day and a half to suppress the rebels.

Time passed quietly as Zhao Fusu planned the railway.

The next day, Zhao Fusu arrived at the Great Qin Empire Academy of Sciences early in the morning.

He went straight to the workshop where Elder Mos Team was developing the steam tractor.

A massive steel steam tractor sat in the workshop; Zhao Fusu looked at the machine made of steel and Duzhong, a type of natural rubber.

Elder Mo directed his disciples to begin starting the steam tractor for the road test.

They had already tested this steam tractor multiple times before.

Therefore, before starting the steam tractor, they needed to clear its flues.

After they opened the circular cover at the front of the cylindrical engine, they saw black holes inside that looked like a honeycomb.

These black holes were the flues; all the smoke was emitted through these black holes.

At the very bottom of the black holes was a single opening.

This opening was an inspection hole, allowing a maintenance worker's hand and some small tools to pass through. The opening was fitted with a sealing ring, which was connected to the handhole plate body via bolts, nuts, and other fasteners to prevent leaks and improve sealing.

Elder Mo's disciple brought over a long wire brush to clean the flues.

After a bit of cleaning, the flues were much clearer, allowing smoke to exhaust more smoothly.

They then cleared the ash from the Steam Engine's combustion chamber, which is the furnace.

The furnace was not made of steel, but was a space built from high-temperature resistant materials such as Refractory Bricks.

Even steel could not withstand twenty-four hours of continuous combustion.

The grate was located at the bottom of the furnace, acting as a device to hold the fuel and allow air to enter the fuel layer evenly.

The steam tractor used a movable grate that could remove ash, improving combustion efficiency and operational convenience.

The ash outlet was at the bottom or side of the furnace, used to discharge the ashes produced after combustion. Regularly cleaning the ash outlet ensured normal combustion within the furnace and prevented ash buildup from affecting combustion and heat transfer.

The ventilation system included air inlets and outlets.

The air inlet was used to send air into the furnace, providing oxygen for fuel combustion to ensure complete burning; the outlet was used to discharge exhaust gases, allowing gases in the furnace to flow smoothly and maintain stable combustion.

Afterward, they began injecting water into the boiler.

They didn't use buckets to pour water into the boiler.

Instead, they used water pipes made of Duzhong natural rubber and a water pump to draw water from a well and push it into the pipes.

Through the pipes, the water was injected into the Steam Engine's boiler.

"Splosh, splosh..."

Amidst the sound of flowing water, the water level in the boiler gradually rose.

To check the boiler's water level, one could look through the boiler's handhole or use a water level gauge.

Zhao Fusu could see the water level in the gauge slowly rising.

The boiler's handhole also needed to be sealed with a sealing ring.

Elder Mo's disciple had already begun using a sealing ring to plug the boiler's handhole.

From then on, the boiler's water level would be monitored through the gauge.

After sealing the boiler handhole and the flue handhole, a complete seal was achieved.

Of course, to prevent internal air pressure from increasing as water was added—which would make it impossible to add more water—the boiler's exhaust valve was kept open.

On the left and right sides of the steam tractor, there were storage bins filled with coal.

When using the steam tractor, the most time-consuming parts were injecting the water and heating it up.

Elder Mo's disciples began stuffing wild grass and wood into the combustion chamber, followed by coal, and then poured in animal fat as an accelerant.

From this point, they entered the stage of lighting the fire and boiling the water.

Mo Xiu used a fire starter to ignite the wild grass.

The flames then ignited the animal fat, causing the fire to grow and catch the wood.

The burning wood in turn ignited the coal.

Once the fire in the furnace was going, they closed the furnace door.

Billowing thick smoke followed the flues inside the Steam Engine and was exhausted through the chimney.

Zhao Fusu looked at the black smoke.

If the dogs at a carbon emissions inspection station saw this, they would be shaking their heads in dismay.

Next came a long waiting process; Zhao Fusu found a chair and sat down.

Anyone who has used a wood-burning stove knows that the faster the smoke is exhausted, the more vigorously the fire in the furnace burns.

Conversely, if the smoke cannot rise through the chimney, the fire in the furnace cannot burn brightly.

Therefore, once the water was boiling, Elder Mos Team did something to make the furnace fire burn even more intensely.

They opened a steam device on the tractor.

The water vapor in this steam device would blow the smoke up the chimney with force, allowing the furnace fire to burn hotter and hotter.

Behind the chimney was a brass whistle.

This whistle was connected to a pull cord that directly opened a steam valve; when the steam blew through, it made a loud 'woo woo' sound, serving as a horn.

Below the furnace was the air inlet, which was also the place for ash removal.

After placing an ash tray underneath, Mo Xiu used an iron rake to open the door of the ash pit and reached inside to rake out the accumulated ash.