200: Take a closer look

"Hmph..." Huang Hongzhang couldn't advance, but he still caught a glimpse of two black and white photos and Xu Ning's hand-drawn sketches on the table.

He thought this was just simple replication work, so he left feeling reassured, secretly mocking in his heart: "Truly the utterly incapable teaching the slightly less capable. In the end, they still have to copy the Soviet Union's design. Aircraft design isn't as simple as drawing; what can they possibly come up with based on just two photos?"

At this moment, Xu Ning was completely unaware that he had been belittled.

He had already completed two conceptual diagrams and was preparing to list the subsequent steps.

The other three group members also quickly took out notebooks and pens, ready to record.

"Our plan is like this: we will integrate the design of the air intake and the forward fuselage." Xu Ning pointed to the top of the radome on the sketch and marked it with the letter α:

"I will provide five different angles as starting points, and your task is to help me calculate the specific design parameters for each angle."

In the coming decades, this work might be completed entirely by computers, but at that time, they had to do it manually, especially by consulting a large number of engineering manuals to complete the calculations.

Old Wei and the other two nodded repeatedly, like chicks pecking at rice.

"Next, I will explain the entire process. If there's anything you don't understand, please be sure to ask." Xu Ning said as he wrote the number "1" on the paper.

"First, we need to set a conical forebody and determine its half-cone angle, while also standardizing it based on the length of the cone."

Second, I will be responsible for determining the flow field velocity near the air intake.

Because our target is a conventional aircraft, our expected design speed is around Mach 1.6."

"Next, we need to find the specific position where the inner wall of the air duct intersects with the conical forebody, to determine the installation angle of the air duct. We will calculate this angle."

"Then, by observing how the internal cone shock interacts with the conical forebody, we can determine the specific shape of the upper and lower lips of the air duct."

"The final step will still be completed by me: based on the 3D geometry of the air intake, tracing streamlines under selected speed conditions to shape the internal structure of the air duct."

After these five steps are completed, theoretically we will obtain the optimal design.

However, to see which scheme is best suited for the MiG-21, we still need to perform simulations using CFD software as before.

I will be responsible for running the simulations, while your task is to organize the data and create charts so that we can clearly identify the best option."

Xu Ning mentioned wind tunnel testing, but he clearly felt that it was not a necessary step at the moment.

After writing the last point, he put down his pen and looked at his three companions: "Is everyone clear?"

The room was silent until Old Wei broke the silence: "Hmm, I generally understand, but there are still some details that aren't clear.

How about we go to the library now, look up information while trying to do the calculations ourselves, and come back to you for help if we encounter problems?"

"Okay, let's do that." Xu Ning agreed and immediately packed up his belongings.

Old Wei habitually helped Tang Ziwei organize her materials, and the four quickly left the laboratory.

This laboratory wasn't large, and Xu Ning's words weren't deliberately kept secret. Huang Hongzhang and his team also heard everything.

"Brother Zhang, it seems they really have a method. Did you understand?" A companion of Huang Hongzhang asked in a low voice.

Huang Hongzhang frowned and shook his head, clearly also feeling confused.

When Xu Ning started explaining, Huang Hongzhang hadn't paid special attention, but he quickly realized that his opponents not only had a design idea but had also planned out the specific implementation steps.

Without seeing the sketches, Huang Hongzhang felt quite confused about the technical details.

Huang Hongzhang had never heard the technical terms Xu Ning used, which made him feel somewhat annoyed.

At this point, a group member nearby muttered quietly: "I think they might be talking nonsense. I never learned any of this in class."

Huang Hongzhang's expression only then softened slightly.

Meanwhile, Liu Ran, who was sitting a little closer, added: "I vaguely heard them discussing something about conical forebodies and air ducts. It sounds quite professional."

This sentence reminded Huang Hongzhang that he recalled reading about related concepts in an English design manual.

So, he quickly took out that book from his backpack and rapidly flipped through it.

"Wow, it's all in English, and Brother Zhang can actually understand it." The group members exclaimed in admiration, but Huang Hongzhang was already completely engrossed in the book.

"Found it, integrated design method, air duct and conical forebody." Huang Hongzhang excitedly pointed to a passage: "This design was initially applied to supersonic cruise missiles. Although the effect is good, the technology is not yet mature and requires extensive computer simulation to achieve, making it very complex."

Huang Hongzhang's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. He continued reading and discovered more about the basic principles and steps of the design.

After some effort to translate the obscure English into understandable language, he was surprised to find that the content roughly matched what Xu Ning had described.

"This is incredible." Huang Hongzhang gasped and muttered to himself.

This United States manual clearly pointed out that this design concept is extremely challenging, and few people even within the entire country have mastered it.

However, this ordinary undergraduate group member before him not only had a complete grasp of it but could also propose more advanced insights than the manual and seemed to have already completed preliminary Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations.

Huang Hongzhang knew well that performing such simulations meant a huge amount of work and a high technical barrier behind it.

At this moment, he looked at Xu Ning with newfound respect.

"How is this possible..." Huang Hongzhang muttered to himself, his gaze turning towards the direction Xu Ning and the others had left, his face full of doubt.

But when he lowered his head to look at the book pages again, a hint of relief appeared on his face.

The book stated that there is currently no precise method to determine the specific size and shape of the air duct in integrated design, meaning the design still relies on extensive practical experience.

And an undergraduate like Xu Ning clearly doesn't have such a background.

Even if they could design a rough outline, it would only be considered a semi-finished product and absolutely impossible to get a high score.

Huang Hongzhang knew well that their advisor, Professor Liu, disliked group members who aimed too high and were impractical the most.

"Don't worry about them, let's focus on completing our project first." Huang Hongzhang adjusted his breathing, trying to calm himself down, and took out the necessary materials from his backpack.

They planned to develop a twin-float seaplane based on the Pilatus PC-6 model, suitable for sightseeing, fishery supervision, and water area patrol, among other uses.

They chose this model because there was a similar case in the book that could be referenced, requiring only minor modifications.

On the other side, small rooms for group discussions were available inside the Beijing Aviation University Library.

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