My Italy

Although various research on airships have had successes and failures, this is normal. In this era of rapid technological advancement, testing new technologies is part of the military's daily work.

For new technologies, not only the military is interested, but the government and Italian people are also very interested.

The government introduced a new patent act as early as 1890. In addition to extending the patent rights to 30 years for new technologies developed by individual institutions, the government also reorganized the patent office.

In addition to approving patents, the Office also has enforcement powers over patent infringement cases.

In addition, the penalties for patent infringement have also been increased. In addition to confiscation of illegal gains, the fine has also been increased from 1 million lire to 5 million lire for individuals and from 3 million lire to 20 million lire for institutions.

At the same time, the intensity of inspections has also increased. In the past two decades, the number of penalty cases for patent infringement has increased from 317 in 1890 to 429 now. Don’t think it’s a small thing, you must know that in the first five years after the bill was enacted, thousands of such cases were received every year. Basically, domestic and foreign institutions and individuals initiate three or four patent prosecution cases every day.

After nearly two decades of rectification, patent rights have been recognized by all sectors of society. Except for those who are eager to get rich overnight, everyone will think twice about infringing patents.

Of course, the patent bill does not only have benefits but no harm. Many weak industrial links in Italy require the introduction of technology from abroad, and the costs required are not low.

But in general, it is also a good thing for Italy that the government pays attention to the patent bill. Its style of conduct allows institutions and individuals to invest in the research and development of various technologies. Driven by the patent bill, new technologies that Italy has researched in the past two decades have emerged one after another. , among which electric power, petrochemical, and internal combustion engine technologies are the most outstanding.

As for internal combustion engine technology, Milan Power Laboratory has introduced the most.

Over the years, the Milan Power Laboratory has been a leader in internal combustion engine research in the world, and the new internal combustion engines it launches every year are trendsetters.

At present, the Milan Power Laboratory has nearly 2,000 employees, including more than 20 well-known power scientists, more than 40 professors, and hundreds of doctors and masters. Its official employees are as low as Bachelor's degree.

Not only has the number of people increased, but the research on internal combustion engines has also been subdivided. Take gasoline engines as an example. Due to cooperation with Fiat and other automobile companies, the power laboratory is currently conducting research and development on several gasoline engines. Some require fuel efficiency, some require horsepower, and some require not only high horsepower but also being difficult to produce. Faults, and gasoline engines with various requirements such as fuel economy and good horsepower.

The research on these gasoline engines not only benefits automobile companies, but also further strengthens the Milan Power Laboratory. This is a win-win result, and it also allows the Milan laboratory to achieve a virtuous cycle and maintain the title of the world's most advanced power laboratory.

This is still the result of the split of the Milan Power Laboratory. At present, the Milan Power Experiment is basically focused on the research of gasoline engines, and research on other power aspects has been scattered.

As for steam engines, the current research site has been transferred to Taranto, where it merged with the Naval Power Research Institute and has become the largest and most advanced steam engine research institute in Italy. In its research institute, research work on various steam engines is carried out.

Research on electric motors was transferred to Rome, which is also one of the world's leading electric power research institutes. The Marino Electric Power Research Institute has always been one of the world's centers for electric power application research. After being supplemented by Milan's personnel and data, it has become even more powerful in the research of electric motors.

As for diesel engine research, the Naples Diesel Power Research Institute is currently an authority in the industry. Just recently, the Diesel Power Institute in Naples developed the world's first practical diesel locomotive.

The locomotive is driven by a diesel engine, which is far superior to railway locomotives driven by steam engines in terms of efficiency and power.

The Italian Railway Company is very interested in this internal combustion engine locomotive developed by the Naples Diesel Research Institute and plans to purchase a batch for transportation in Libya.

Even if other power research institutes are developing well, Milan Power Laboratory is still the most well-known power research unit in Italy. Because its research direction is currently the most adopted and known by people.

In fact, many people don't know that in addition to its outstanding performance in automobile power, the Milan Power Laboratory is also outstanding in the research of another power, that is, the research of aircraft power.

That's right, most of the power engines currently used by aviation enthusiasts in various countries come from Milan laboratories or are imitations of them.

However, because aircraft engines are too niche, people who are not interested in flying hobby basically don’t know how much the Milan laboratory has promoted aircraft flight.

According to a famous pilot, what kind of aircraft engine is launched by the Milan laboratory determines the progress of aircraft development.

Although this statement sounds a bit too absolute, judging from the fact that no one has ever stood up to refute it, this is actually the result in the aviation industry.

Some people may ask, with so many power research institutes, why should the Milan laboratory decide the power level of the aircraft? This is a good question, because power research requires money. Aircraft flying, a game that seems to be well-known but is extremely niche, has very low engine demand. The global demand may be more than 100 units a year.

With such a low demand, which research institute is willing to spend great efforts on research? Is it because it wants to do charity?

The Milan laboratory has the support of major automobile companies, so it uses a small amount of funds to conduct research (with the intervention of someone), and the money is not much, basically about two million lire per year.

Falk Magee is one of the few experts in the Milan laboratory who specializes in aviation power. He launches an aerospace engine almost every year. The engines he developed are light in weight and have good power. They are very popular among aviation enthusiasts, so they sell about a dozen units every year.

Although this cannot make up for its expenditure on aerodynamic research, it can alleviate the pressure to some extent. It is already good for him to have his own research place in the power laboratory and bring several assistants to study his favorite technology.

But last year, Dr. McGee was absent and he did not launch a new aero engine. So what is this doctor doing?

"Doctor, can we start?"

An aide asked McGee for his opinion.

McGee looked at the engine in front of him and hesitated. "Have you done the pre-experiment examination?"

"Doctor, we've done this three times."

"Check it again, I don't want to see this machine go out of business because of parts."

Hearing the doctor's words, some assistants couldn't help rolling their eyes, but they had to do it because McGee was the person in charge of their project.

And the engine they are preparing to test looks very weird, not like the current mainstream aero engines at all. Most of the current mainstream aero engines adopt a structure similar to that of a car engine. In addition, the huge engine is filled with radiators, making the engine look very bulky.

The developers of aeroengines are mainly trying to find ways to reduce their weight as much as possible while retaining or even expanding power.

McGee did this before, and he was very knowledgeable about weight reduction, so he was able to launch an aerospace engine a year.

But last year, McGee suddenly became tired of this weight loss work. He decided that there was no point in continuing the research. He wanted to completely redesign an engine that was different from the current mainstream engines.

Just go ahead and do it. After countless thoughts and tests, McGee and his assistants developed this radial engine that is different from the current mainstream.

Yes, this engine was named a radial engine by him. It is an internal combustion engine with cylinders arranged around a crankshaft for reciprocating motion.

In the engine, McGee connected the pistons to the crankshaft through a main connecting rod. The connecting rod connected to the top piston is the main connecting rod. The connecting rods of other pistons are called articulated connecting rods, and they are connected to the ring at the center of the main connecting rod through a tip hole. Each cylinder works in sequence to push the middle spindle to rotate rapidly.

It sounds simple, but the hardships involved are incomprehensible to outsiders. There are hundreds of kilograms of failed design drawings alone, not to mention the processing and development of various parts.

Now that it was finally time to produce results, it was normal for McGee to be a little nervous.

"Doctor, we have checked and all parts are intact."

After getting the assistant's reply, McGee took a deep breath and spoke. "Test begins, start the engine."

Following his words, an assistant took out the starting linkage and started the manual start.

You read that right, currently all kinds of aero engines are hand-cranked, let alone this kind of test model that has not yet been finalized.

As the assistant turned faster and faster, the engine began to rumble, and a puff of exhaust gas emerged, indicating that the engine had started completely.

At this time, everyone's eyes were fixed on the operation of the engine, fearing that there would be any abnormal noise. But fortunately, everything was so smooth. This surprised everyone present. This first experiment went so smoothly, which was a bit unaccustomed.

"Why are you standing still? Let's check all the data immediately."

As each piece of data came out, the expressions of those present could no longer stand firm.

"Doctor, we succeeded, we succeeded!"

An assistant hugged McGee's arms excitedly and shouted excitedly.

And Maggie wasn't bad either. Tears of joy left on her flushed cheeks said it all.

All the data are far better than expected, which fully proves that the two years of hard work are worth it, and a new structure aeroengine was born.

Subsequently, news that McGee had developed a new engine spread in the Milan laboratory.