Electricity from an Explosion: A Pilot Project of the Institute of Mechanics of the Academy of Sciences of the People's Republic of China

Pilot plant. The main elements and assemblies are indicated. Photo Institute of Mechanics of the Academy of Sciences of the People's Republic of China

Chinese scientific organizations continue research in the field of energy and offer new concepts of various kinds. So, recently it became known about the development and successful testing of an experimental generator set capable of receiving an electrical impulse from the energy of an explosion and compressed gas. In the course of laboratory tests, the operability of this device was confirmed and sufficiently high characteristics were shown. It is not excluded that this direction will be developed, as a result of which there will be installations suitable for full-fledged operation in various fields.

Successful experiments

The development of a new generator set is carried out by scientists from the Beijing Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, headed by Zhang Xiaoyuan. To date, they have formed an original concept and determined the appearance of such a device. Also manufactured experimental equipment used in the tests. The results of the activities were revealed in an article for the Chinese Journal of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, published in mid-January.

The experimental setup was created on the basis of the experience of previous studies. It uses some off-the-shelf components as well as specially designed assemblies. The product is stationary and is used only in laboratory conditions.

As part of the tests, it was possible to confirm the fundamental operability of the installation. In addition, as the project continued, the characteristics of the product and the possibility of improving them were determined. It is reported that in the latest tests, the installation produced 10 times more energy than at the start of the experiments.

The authors of the project plan to continue research and develop the concept and ways to implement it. In the future, they want to create similar generator sets suitable for practical implementation. It is assumed that such systems can be used in a variety of areas where a short electrical impulse of high power is required.

Towed combat laser developed by China, 2021. A compact "explosive" generator can also be used on such equipment. A frame from the reportage of t / k CCTV7

Installations of this kind are suitable for use in various scientific experiments, for example, in nuclear fusion. A small-sized power source can be used for distress signals. The foreign press, which drew attention to the report on the experiments, also points to the fundamental possibility of the military application of the new development. In particular, such a generator can provide energy for combat lasers.

Prototype

The Institute of Mechanics published an image of the experimental setup and revealed the basic principles of its operation. The parameters obtained in the most successful tests are also named. The principles of operation are quite simple, but their implementation required components with special strength characteristics and specific functions.

The official photo shows the installation, which includes several components. A cylindrical tubular chamber is placed in one line for the implementation of the explosion and subsequent processes (indicated in the photo as a “shock tube”), the so-called. magnetohydrodynamic generator (magnet) and vacuum chamber (vacuum tank). Measuring devices are connected to the devices. The generator is connected to the test load. For obvious reasons, the installation has a specific appearance, indicating its experimental nature.

The working fluid in the form of an inert argon gas is pumped into the "shock tube" chamber. An energy source is also placed in the pipe - in the experiments, an explosive mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, the so-called. explosive gas. In the vacuum chamber, on the contrary, a vacuum is created, due to which the pressure difference in the circuits of the installation increases.

To generate an electrical impulse, the installation ignites an explosive gas mixture. The combustion products of detonating gas create a high pressure in the chamber, transfer thermal energy to argon and force it to flow into other volumes of the installation. Under the influence of temperature, pressure and the configuration of the internal channels of the pipes, the inert gas develops hypersonic speed, and is also heated to the state of plasma.

Combat laser, top view. A frame from the reportage of t / k CCTV7

The argon plasma enters the magnetohydrodynamic generator, which removes excess energy from it. The received energy is converted into electric current and supplied to the measuring instruments and test load. Argon, which has returned to its normal gaseous state, ends its journey in one of the installation chambers.

One of the main tasks of the project was to search for optimal configurations of internal volumes, energy sources, working fluid, etc. The correct combination of all components and solutions made it possible to increase the output of energy received from the plasma. As reported, these tasks were generally solved.

The experimental setup in the last configuration gives argon a velocity of the order of 14 M. With such a flow rate, 1 liter of gas is capable of generating a pulse of electricity with a power of 212 kW. However, the generation of electricity lasts only a fraction of a second - while the plasma passes through the generator and gives it its energy.

For different tasks

The project of the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is of great interest, at least from the point of view of science and technology. A curious principle for obtaining a powerful electrical impulse has been proposed and successfully implemented - albeit under laboratory conditions. Testing and obtaining a significant increase in performance indicate a certain potential for this development. In addition, it is already possible to look for areas of its application, even at a theoretical level.

The developers propose to use the advanced facility and its future analogues for scientific purposes, where high energy is required in the shortest possible time. In this role, a new type generator can replace common type systems. In this case, a gain in size, weight and cost of operating the installations is possible. In addition, a clear advantage is the fastest possible preparation for the generation of a new impulse without the need for a long accumulation of energy.

All the strengths of the new power plant can be implemented in the military sphere. As the foreign press notes, it can be used as part of combat laser systems or other weapons based on new principles. It is quite possible that such a possibility of using new technology is already, at least, being studied by military specialists.

Presumably, an experienced rail gun on a Chinese landing ship, 2018. Photo Arstechnica.net

The shown laboratory sample has limited dimensions, and it cannot be ruled out that they will be further reduced in the future. This will allow the installation to be mounted on mobile platforms. The shown power of more than 200 kW is more than enough to power lasers, electromagnetic guns, railguns, etc. with high combat performance.

The installation must have economic benefits. It uses the available fuel and working fluid, which reduces the possible cost of operation. At the same time, each impulse and “shot” at its expense turns out to be quite cheap.

Further optimization of the design and its characteristics is possible, taking into account various requirements. So, modern combat lasers, showing good combat qualities, have a power of 10-50 kW. This allows to reduce the required power of the generator, and at the same time to reduce and lighten it and reduce the cost of operation.

It should be recalled that China is actively engaged in the development of combat laser systems and other weapons based on new principles. Some products of this kind have already been officially demonstrated to the public. Further development of this direction is directly related to the development of new technologies and depends on the success of this process. In particular, new energy supply systems are required. How exactly this issue is resolved is unknown. But a variety of developments can find application in this area, incl. new technology from the Institute of Mechanics.

Dual purpose technologies

As reported, by now, the experimental generator set of the Institute of Mechanics has reached testing and confirms the design characteristics. In the future, it can be improved by optimizing the design or increasing the main parameters. In addition, a process of adapting the design to practical use should be expected.

According to the developers, an unusual generator will have to be used in the scientific and civil fields. At the same time, the new technology can and should find application in the field of advanced weapons. It is quite possible that it is already being adapted for use in various types of combat systems - but information of this kind is not yet subject to publication.

Comments

[KCA]

Wow, the Chinese learned about the explosive EMP generator, it was first tested in the USSR in 1984

[Vladimir_2U]

Quote: KCA

Wow, the Chinese learned about the explosive EMP generator, it was first tested in the USSR in 1984

Yes, they probably knew for a long time, just EMP was transferred to electricity, perhaps for the first time.
By the way, the combined acceleration of the projectile along the "rail" can sparkle with new colors.

[- = SADKO = -]

Yes, and super-strong magnetic fields, they get an explosion, and pumping lasers, and ...
... to get explosive gas, you need energy, all of a sudden :-) but storing it is a so-so idea, even though it is explosive

[Vladimir_2U]

Quote: -=SADKO=-

..to get explosive gas, you need energy, all of a sudden :-) but storing it is a so-so idea, even though it is explosive

And it’s like with gunpowder - you can’t do it on your knee, and you’re tired of storing it, but where to go?

[Bayun]

The transmission of "adiobatics" with the help of EMR was studied at the beginning of the 20th century. Where they "blew up" - silence, and where the emitter was directed - there is "bang".

According to unconfirmed reports, the Russians have gone as far as practical experiments. I do not see any "novelty" in the reversibility of the process.

Among the technologies that did not develop in the 20th century - I would venture to guess - a lot of such "novelty" can be found.

[Lech from Android.]

The Chinese cannot be underestimated ... having stolen foreign technologies, they use them for the benefit of their country, finishing off the shortcomings and shortcomings and taking all the best in them into service.
And then selling all over the world their products based on foreign technologies ... that's a crook.

[Scott Liang]

Although I know this is a Russian patriot site, I still think you have deep prejudices against China. 



 We never denied that we copied Western technologies and we were proud of it. In China, a farmer said he would build a car and most people despised him. He said that a car is not just an iron shell and a sofa. Today, his car brand builds factories in Belarus and sells them to the Russian market. Do you really think Chinese companies don't have technology? 



 Then I ask you why the US and China are in a trade war? Tesla is also investing in Shanghai, China. 



 Western companies keep their technology secret. For example, the Chinese shield machines built in the Moscow metro, we Chinese bought Germany for the first time at a high price, German repair work to repair the equipment requires expensive hotels, and we Chinese engineers must stay away from the repair site during the repair. Later, we felt humiliated and engaged many scientific institutions around the country to develop our own shield machines, which are used all over the world today. 



 Of course, you won't believe what I said above, or maybe you just won't find it in the English speaking media world, and we don't have the right to speak in the media. 



 You have become a victim of the Western media. The Chinese do not like to quarrel with the Westerners. Do you really think the US doesn't want to mine rare earths on its own? There is no money to be afraid of environmental pollution, and their rare earth extraction technologies are completely imperfect. 70% of US rare earth ores are sent to our Chinese plants for mining. China has banned the export of technologies, including the technology for extracting rare earth elements. 

[Amateur]

So, recently it became known about the development and successful testing of an experimental generator set capable of receiving an electrical impulse from the energy of an explosion and compressed gas. In the course of laboratory tests, the operability of this device was confirmed and sufficiently high characteristics were shown. It is not excluded that this direction will be developed, as a result of which there will be installations suitable for full-fledged operation in various fields.

Note to the author. The theory of explosive magnetic generators was developed in the USSR by ac. A.D. Sakharov in the early 50s. In 1969, the Terra-3 program began to create a super-powerful laser powered by an explosive MHD generator.

[Aviator_]

Note to the author. The theory of explosive magnetic generators was developed in the USSR by ac. A.D. Sakharov in the early 50s of the twentieth century.

The classic explosive generators of the 50s have nothing to do with this installation, especially since they were not dealt with by A.D. Sakharov, and P.L. Kapitsa. Another principle is compression of the solenoid.

[Ruyter-57]

Is it really impossible to find at least a slightly technically literate person in the "creative team" of the site, able to clearly describe such topics, so that it would not be a shame to present such a description to the information space? Well, at least the author could read the principle of operation of the MHD generator so as not to carry nonsense to the masses? The MHD generator does not "accept" energy from the plasma!
The principle of magnetodynamic conversion of heat into electricity was discovered in the XNUMXth century. Using this idea, a magnetohydrodynamic generator (MHD generator) directly converts thermal energy (kinetic energy of charged particles of a moving working body) into electrical energy.
That is, like a conventional machine generator, it is based on the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction - on the occurrence of current in a conductor crossing the magnetic field lines. Unlike machine generators, the conductor in the MHD generator is the working fluid itself.
In this case, the Chinese have designed a short-term (explosive) MHD generator of a closed cycle, in which an inert gas (argon) is used as a working fluid.
If you do not go into subtleties, then the generation process is as follows:
- fuel, oxidizer and additives are fed into the combustion chamber;
-fuel burns and combustion products are formed - gases;
- gases pass through the nozzle, expand and increase their speed to supersonic or, as in the case under consideration, hypersonic;
- gases enter the chamber, through which a magnetic field is passed, and in the walls of which electrodes are installed;
-charged particles from an ionized gas, being under the influence of a magnetic field, deviate from the original trajectory under the action of the Lorentz force and move towards the electrodes;
- electric current is generated between the electrodes.
And since the power of the MHD generator is proportional to the conductivity of the working fluid, the square of his speed and the square of the magnetic field strength, then the greater the speed of the working fluid, the greater the power.
The first experiments to directly convert the energy of an explosion into electrical energy began in 1958. So there is nothing sensational in the development of the Chinese.
If anyone is interested in the history and details of the issue, in the fifth issue of the journal "Physics of Combustion and Explosion" for 1982 there is an excellent article "Conversion of the chemical energy of an explosive by the magnetohydrodynamic method."

[ivan2022]

Here the thermal energy of the flow of charged particles is the internal energy of the plasma. Plasma is an ionized gas.... And then why doesn't the generator accept plasma energy? Can you read that the GD generator gives energy to the plasma? You first put things in order in your head, and then criticize the author.

[Ruyter-57]

I understand you, the level of your competence is the same as that of the author and you are offended.
All electrical generators, he does not "accept", they "convert" non-electrical forms of energy (thermal, mechanical, chemical) into electrical. It's still happening at school.

Can you read that the GD generator gives energy to the plasma?

Imagine, all electrical generators, including magnetohydrodynamic, have the property of reversibility! In this case, it is called an MHD pump, in which, when an electrical voltage is applied to the electrodes, an electrically conductive medium, that is, a plasma, in this case, will act as a force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field. This force can be used to pump conductive liquids and gases.
So I recommend that you first take care of your own head, fill the vacuum, so to speak.

[Vovanya]

Thanks to the author for sharing the topic, and let the "wise men" show how much cooler they are than the author, though they cannot write an article.

[- = SADKO = -]

A more or less technically competent person will smash such innovations to smithereens, which is already clear from the comments, people know the history of technology ...
You spoke correctly about MHD, but you forgot to mention that this is not a perpetual motion machine, but a very reversible electric machine. And besides the wild temperatures of the chemical and kinetic activity of the plasma, the forces of the fierce Ampere begin to act on the electrodes, conductors and the magnetic system :-) and constructively everything immediately becomes very fun there. And the Chinese probably solved a good part of the problems in their design, and maybe even something in a new way, although the explosive MHD generator is never a new thing.
And the prospects for other solutions are quite clear. After all, having blown up the same explosive in the barrel of a cannon, we will shoot further and stronger than a railgun that will spend a lot of energy on various transformations, both useful and not very. This is simple as an example, everything is more fun with lasers, and the generation of EMF by an explosion is generally a beauty and a masterpiece of efficiency.
Any extra transformation makes the system worse.

[Ruyter-57]

You spoke correctly about MHD, but you forgot to mention that it is not a perpetual motion machine, but a very reversible electric machine.

No, I didn’t forget, I mentioned in the next comment, which is twenty-two for Vanya.

[- = SADKO = -]

Quote: Vladimir_2U

And it’s like with gunpowder - you can’t do it on your knee, and you’re tired of storing it, but where to go?

The fact of the matter is that no matter how, gunpowder and other popular explosives can be stored, and the GG detonates from a variety of reasons, including flights of high-energy elementary particles and is unsuitable even for sabotage. In practice, the larger the volume of GG, the higher the probability of a boom. Therefore, where it is used, it is also received, and they try not to accumulate significant volumes in pipes ...

... what to do, everything was invented before us

[Vladimir_2U]

Quote: -=SADKO=-

The fact of the matter is that no matter how, gunpowder and other popular explosives can be stored, and the GG detonates from a variety of reasons, including flights of high-energy elementary particles and is unsuitable even for sabotage.

Well, it detonates, so what? Firstly, this mixture can be created immediately before explosions, secondly, this is an experimental facility, and thirdly, this mixture is not a working fluid, but argon. So we change the oxygen-hydrogen mixture to the same gunpowder or LMW and get a completely safe pair.

[atos_kin]

At such a flow rate, 1 liter of gas is capable of creating a pulse of electricity with a power of 212 kW. However, the generation of electricity lasts only a fraction of a second - while the plasma passes through the generator and gives it its energy.

We are waiting for the appearance of a "railgun machine gun" instead of a cannon.

[Knell wardenheart]

Pairing an MHD generator with a so-called "explosion generator" or a similar device is an idea of ​​dubious dimensions and efficiency.
Explosive generators have already existed for a hell of a cloud of years, I first heard about them about 25 years ago, and even then it was clear that this product was expensive, fundamentally pulsed, one-time or with an extremely limited number of cycles. All these problems remain with any variations of "explosive generators" - at least stationary, at least compact.

Let's assume we have dispersed a certain substance to hypersonic speeds (indicated by 14M) and the state of plasma. Actually, in addition to argon, highly ionized hydrogen and oxygen will also inevitably be present there - and all this will interact with the walls of the initial (and second) chambers at enormous speeds and temperatures. The tube will simply burn out in a couple of cycles (if not in one at all), or in cr. least lose their predicted strength properties.
The MHD generator itself will also be subject to negative influences, which will affect its resource (albeit to a lesser extent).
In addition to the fact that this device will be bulky (a tank with compressed oxygen, hydrogen, argon, a pump providing at least a low vacuum, Energy sources to ensure the operation of this pump, the active state of the MHD generator and the cooling system, which will definitely be needed, if all this health is not stupidly disposable.

In the mobile version, all this, of course, can be made - but is the game worth the candle?

Because at the output we have a much more expensive and capricious alternative to a battery of supercapacitors with the same generator (s) under their provision.
There will also be a problem with the re-purification of argon, because after MHD it will already be a mixture of gases (which, among other things, will need to be cooled somewhere and then also compressed), which can only be separated in the field by additional units (and energy. capacity resp.), so this mixture will also be contaminated with some amount of ionized vacuum tube coating material.
Of course, this is all "on the fly".
A cursory glance is enough to understand that this device is not a breakthrough, but a product of search in a certain direction.

[Vladimir_2U]

Quote: Knell Wardenheart

A cursory glance is enough to understand that this device is not a breakthrough, but a product of search in a certain direction.

That's right, they just took readily available consumables, well, except for argon, maybe. Now imagine a projectile in the form of a cartridge case with gunpowder and a destructible cylinder with a compressed working gas, the same argon.

[ycuce234-san]

Quote: Knell Wardenheart

Pairing an MHD generator with a so-called "explosion generator" or a similar device is an idea of ​​dubious dimensions and efficiency.
Explosive generators have already existed for a hell of a cloud of years, I first heard about them about 25 years ago, and even then it was clear that this product was expensive, fundamentally pulsed, one-time or with an extremely limited number of cycles. All these problems remain with any variations of "explosive generators" - at least stationary, at least compact.

Well, you need to make lemonade out of lemons - apply this, taking into account its natural characteristics and not try to fight them. For example, it is possible to weld excavated pipes in public utilities with disposable generators - put the clamp of a disposable generator on the pipes - “clicked” it and the pipes were welded in an instant. And even the gas hose and reducer will remain almost the same as in conventional gas welding.

[the same doctor]

MHD generator from the 70s. The author, before publishing, look for the history of the issue, find differences from previous models. Otherwise, you will admire the Chinese, and you will write about Russia that there was nothing but galoshes.
I think the novelty of Chinese technology is associated with rare earth magnets, which can significantly increase the efficiency of the installation compared to samples from the 80s.

[Conjurer]

The Chinese blinded the detonation engine and the MHD generator, that's the point. The working fluid in the form of argon is accelerated by the detonation of the explosive gas, ionized (energy loss, but it will not work otherwise) and gives off energy in the MHD generator. The ratio of the amounts of argon and detonating gas allows you to control the temperature regime and dynamic forces in the installation. Well, nothing new.

[denis88]

The more I read, the more I realize that my great-grandchildren will call the USSR nothing more than a highly developed civilization that has disappeared.

[Volunteer Marek]

Old ideas + new technologies = good result.