By Tang Qingxi, Qiu Hongyu and Zhang Qiang
BEIJING, Feb. 25 -- Recently, a scientific research team from the PLA Army Research Institute went to the training camp of a firepower regiment under the PLA Xinjiang Military Command in the plateau area with an elevation of 5,300 meters to conduct on-site testing of three types of plateau emergency cold-proof equipment.
The snow-covered plateau features low temperature and hypoxia all year round, which puts higher requirements for equipment operation. The research and development of cold-proof facilities and equipment concerns the physical and mental health of border troops and affects their combat capabilities. With this in mind, the research team was to test three new projects: the inflatable tent, the new thermal insulation water tank and the improved tent for extremely cold condition.
Song Yao, a member of the research team and an engineer at the PLA Army Research Institute, introduced that an inflatable tent takes an area of 36 square meters after being deployed, which can accommodate 25 people to change clothes at the same time. Driven by a 10-kilowatt diesel generator, it can raise the indoor temperature and keep it stable at 26°C after running for only 20 minutes. It is easy to use and has low power consumption.
"This tent is expected to solve the problem of troops taking shower on the plateau. It only takes 18 minutes to install and 16 minutes to uninstall with troops of one platoon," said Wang Yuan, an assistant engineer of the institute.
The new thermal insulation water tank uses a new type of thermal insulation material. Although the shape and capacity are the same as the old ones, it can ensure that the water inside does not freeze within 12 hours under the temperature of -41 °C. When the troops perform tasks in the alpine environment, this new thermal insulation water tank can save the time for melting ice to get water.
The improved tent for extremely cold condition is based on the Type-84 and Type-98 squad tents. The researchers transformed a variety of cold-proof materials into heating and heat-dissipating thermal insulation liner and finally selected the graphene one, which has the best performance in the plateau environment. The graphene liner can generate and dissipate heat after charging, thereby increasing the temperature in the tent. Besides, the installation time of the improved tent is not much different from that of the original ones.
"After the trial use, our service members generally acknowledged that these equipment are suitable for the plateau troops and welcomed the convenience they brought to the border troops," said Wang Lei, chief of the logistic support sector of the firepower regiment.
