[Abandoned] SimpleNuclear - Unified, Simplified Multi-mod nuclear energy v1.0

[MatterBeam]

Hi.

I am trying to create a simplified mechanic for nuclear reactors and engines.
The objective is a straightforward, configurable, unified-balance mod with minimal RAM consumption.

Mechanisms:

Reactor are based on RTGs, with an optimal temperature based on size.
Reactors and engines use Thermal or Electric MegaWatts.
Reactor and generator efficiency depends on temperature.
Integrated into the stock thermal control system (radiators).

Features:

Unified balance, configurable for different solar system sizes.

Allows multiple great mods to work together

Simple to understand and even simpler to use - focus on providing options instead of hindering gameplay.

Requires:

Module Manager
Tweakscale

---

Downloads

Core mod:
SpaceDock v1.0

 

Integration packages (install alongside core mod):
Near Future Tech  SpaceDock v0.1
Near Future Tech Power Balanced SpaceDock v0.1
USI Core
KSP Interstellar - Extended

---

 

After testing out KSPI-E, I found it very well developed, but hard to re-configure and with very reduced compatibility with other mods. Near Future mods are the result of some amazing work by Nertea, but they too have a complex thermal management system and the 'power level' of the parts isn't scaled with other mods. I also wanted to use the MKS Core set of reactors from RoverDude without their complex resource mechnisms and top-down balancing.

The results of this mod would be a set of reactors and engines with bottom-up balancing and open-ended compatibility. I'll start with the above three for now, then move on to other mods. 

Completed:
Specific waste heat outputs accomplished.
Near Future integration

In development:

Adding second Electric Engine.
Solving KerbalEngineer inability to calculate dV issue.

Planned:
Add multi-fuel and variable Isp settings to appropriate engines.
Move balance from a per-part basis to full heat management/fuel/reactor/engine combinations.
Balance part cost and tech tree node placement.
Acquire testers!
Create picture tutorial.
 

Changelog:

v1.0:

Created SimpleNuclearNearFuture that integrated Near Future reactors and engines into SimpleNuclear.
Adjusted some settings for the Thermal engines (reduced heat production).
Rebalanced the Fission Fragment reactor from 10MW/ton to 50MW/ton.

---

Disclaimers:

This mod contains part models and textures from KSPI-Extended.

This work is Licensed under a Creative Commons

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Edited May 6, 2016 by MatterBeam

[MatterBeam]

Before I go any further, is anyone on-board with this idea?

[zagamaph]

I would absolutely love for this mod to be successful!

Edited February 7, 2016 by zagamaph
Grammar

[Stone Blue]

If this mod does what I THINK it does, then yes, I'm all for it.... I've tried dabbling into several nuclear-based mods, but even using them one at a time, most seemed too complicated for MY use... Much less trying to use more than one at a time... So, yeah, if this mod makes them a little simpler, and more "unified" in their mechanics behind-the-scenes when used together, then YES, please continue with this...

Edited February 7, 2016 by Stone Blue

[MatterBeam]

Thank you for the positive responses!

11 minutes ago, Stone Blue said:

If this mod does what I THINK it does, then yes, I'm all for it.... I've tried dabbling into several nuclear-based mods, but even using them one at a time, most seemed too complicated for MY use... Much less trying to use more than one at a time... So, yeah, if this mod makes them a little simpler, and more "unified" in their mechanics behind-the-scenes when used together, then YES, please continue with this...

Your assumptions are correct.

[theJesuit]

I'm on board.  In fact had just requested/suggested something along these lines.

Peace 

[MatterBeam]

I think I'm going to integrate Tweakscale instead of spamming 3 resized versions of every model I intend to include.

This frees me up to diversify the types of reactor available. I've settled on the following distribution:

-Solid Fission: Great for landers. It has a low temperature, so it doesn't need much radiators. It has good power-to-weight, meaning it weighs less for the same output compared to other reactors, and is quite compact. It also has good crash tolerance. Produces thermal energy.

-Gaseous Fission: Very high temperatures and low power density, but amazing performance. Great for orbital maneuvers, but should not be landed. Needs large amounts of thermal support. Produces thermal energy.

-Fission Fragment: Very low temperatures and low output. Produce electric energy. Perfect for small probes.

-Pulsed Fusion: High temperatures and moderate waste heat. Lightweight, but bulky and requires an electric current input. Produces thermal energy.

-Tokamak fusion: Extreme temperatures and high heat. Low power density but amazing performance. Produces electric energy.

The point is to give each reactor a role, and prevent a power creep/one-size-fits-all syndrome that comes with introducing overpowered reactors. There is no incentive to use anything but high-end fusion in KSPI-E, for example.

With SimpleNuclear, a player would use Solid Fission in an atmospheric lander, Fission Fragment for a probe running on ion engines, Pulsed fusion for a vacuum lander, and decide whether he wants to use high thrust thermal engines with a Gasseous fission reactor, or high Isp electric engines with a Tokamak reactor. In some cases, it might be better to take the mass penalty of a thermal-to-electric generator and use a reactor providing thermal energy, so that you may switch between thermal and electric engines on the same ship. This would be useful for SSTOs.

Also, I play to create different sets of configs for Kerbal and Real scale solar systems.   

Edited February 8, 2016 by MatterBeam

[Buster Charlie]

My 2 cents.

 

I agree with the sentiment of the near future mods, right now fusion reactors are still pretty much sci-fi,  so I'd like a option to omit them.

Secondly, I buff my LV-N because I don't think they should be made unrealistically weak just to give  chemical rockets more utility, will there be a way to edit the configuration file to tweak all the engines, maybe using a simple multiplier? 

 

Third, while some of the engines with reactors or lox afterburners, and straight up closed loop  reactors should generate heat, is it really that realistic for a NTR to generate that much heat whend their whole method of operation is to throw out the hot gas as fast as possible.

 

So if your engine is essentially a solid core that is being continously doused with liquid hydrogen,  and throwing the heated gas iverboard, isn't that in effect going to keep the engine itself from heating up the rest of the ship?

[MatterBeam]

30 minutes ago, Buster Charlie said:

I agree with the sentiment of the near future mods, right now fusion reactors are still pretty much sci-fi,  so I'd like a option to omit them.

One of the major tenets of this mod is customization. You will be able to add and remove any part of it without loss of functionality in the rest. 

In my opinion though, I'd like you to test out the fusion reactors before removing them. The full-power version of the mod will be based on today's fusion capabilities, scaled to use in space. They'd be no more or no less realistic than gas core reactors, for example.

33 minutes ago, Buster Charlie said:

Secondly, I buff my LV-N because I don't think they should be made unrealistically weak just to give  chemical rockets more utility, will there be a way to edit the configuration file to tweak all the engines, maybe using a simple multiplier? 

My mod is comprised of three parts: Reactors supplying MWt or MWe, engines consuming MWt or MWe, and stand-alone engines. The NERV will be rebalanced as a high thrust nuclear solid engine with no cooling requirements, based on the KIWI but recalculated for Liquid Fuel instead of Liquid Hydrogen

[MatterBeam]

I managed to establish reasonable mass, volume and output for the SolidFission and GasseousFission reactors, based on real-world proposals. I used those to balance the remaining three reactors. 

For now, a 2.5m-sized reactor produces between 490 and 2697MW, and weighs between 3.4 and 49 tons.

[Buster Charlie]

I just want to do thank you for doing this. I belive  IRL nuclear rockets are the logical next step and have been frustrated by their politically motivated neglect.  I'm glad to see mods and squad in make them got ksp, but I'm sure like you have noticed, in a non uniform manner. I want lots of choices and design options, but I want them to be balanced an have some coherence.

 

So again. Than you for your time and effort.

[MatterBeam]

43 minutes ago, Buster Charlie said:

I just want to do thank you for doing this. I belive  IRL nuclear rockets are the logical next step and have been frustrated by their politically motivated neglect.  I'm glad to see mods and squad in make them got ksp, but I'm sure like you have noticed, in a non uniform manner. I want lots of choices and design options, but I want them to be balanced an have some coherence.

 

So again. Than you for your time and effort.

Actually, it's the only possible step forward. Sunlight isn't powerful enough, and chemical rockets need ridiculous mass ratios to get anywhere. 

Also, in my search to understand the mystical secrets of ModuleCoreHeat, I found Nertea's development thread. A real treasure trove of information. Thank you, @Nertea , @Streetwind, @Psycho_zs.

[MatterBeam]

Hours of reading through Nertea's Dev thread and Roverdude's .cfg files has landed me with the following:

TemperatureModifier
		{
			key = 0 40000000
			key = 400 4000000
			key = 1000 400000
			key = 1400 200000	
			key = 1600 400	
			key = 4000 0
		}				
	GeneratesHeat = true
	ThermalEfficiency 
	{
		key = 0 0.01 0 0
		key = 400 0.5 0 0
		key = 1000 1.0 0 0
		key = 1400 1.2 0 0
		key = 1600 0.1 0 0 
		}		
	}		
MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleCoreHeat
		CoreTempGoal = 1000				
		CoreToPartRatio = 0.01				
		CoreTempGoalAdjustment = 0			
		CoreEnergyMultiplier = 0.1			
		HeatRadiantMultiplier = 0.05			
		CoolingRadiantMultiplier = 0		
		HeatTransferMultiplier = 0			
		CoolantTransferMultiplier = 0.01		
		radiatorCoolingFactor = 1			
		radiatorHeatingFactor = 0.01			
		MaxCalculationWarp = 1000			
		CoreShutdownTemp = 2000			
		MaxCoolant = 5000						
	}	

The good part? The reactor starts and stops, produces MWt and heats up.

The bad part? Instead of achieving the CoreTempGoal of 1000K, it gets stuck at about 550K. This is without radiators. 

The following is part of a .cfg for a reactor designed to overheat and blow up if not connected to radiators:

AutoShutdown = false
	TemperatureModifier
		{
			key = 0 40000000
			key = 1000 4000000
			key = 2000 400000
			key = 3000 200000	
			key = 3600 400	
			key = 4000 0
		}				
	GeneratesHeat = true
	ThermalEfficiency 
	{
		key = 0 0.01 0 0
		key = 500 0.05 0 0
		key = 1000 0.5 0 0
		key = 2000 0.55 0 0
		key = 3000 1.0 0 0 
		key = 3500 1.2 0 0
		key = 3500 0.8 0 0
		key = 4000 0.1 0 0
		}		
	}		
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleCoreHeat
		CoreTempGoal = 3000					
		CoreToPartRatio = 0.1				
		CoreTempGoalAdjustment = 0			
		CoreEnergyMultiplier = 0.1			
		HeatRadiantMultiplier = 0.05		
		CoolingRadiantMultiplier = 0		
		HeatTransferMultiplier = 0			
		CoolantTransferMultiplier = 0.01	
		radiatorCoolingFactor = 1			
		radiatorHeatingFactor = 0.01		
		MaxCalculationWarp = 1000			
		CoreShutdownTemp = 4000				
		MaxCoolant = 5000					
	}		

The good? It heats up faster than the previous reactor... but gets stuck at 1470K, instead of reaching 3000K. 

Increasing the TemperatureModifier by x10, which I understand means a heat output of x10, does not change the stable temperatures of the reactors at all.

I think the only person on Earth who fully understands the heating system is @RoverDude. Maybe I'll get in touch with His Holiness.

Edited February 9, 2016 by MatterBeam

[MatterBeam]

Updated KerbalStuff to version v0.2

[Nertea]

You might want to post your whole cfg. There are more parameters than you have specified in the ModuleResourceConverter block that strongly affect production.

Edited February 9, 2016 by Nertea

[MatterBeam]

55 minutes ago, Nertea said:

You might want to post your whole cfg. There are more parameters than you have specified in the ModuleResourceConverter block that strongly affect production.

Here they are:

Solid Fission reactor designed to reach 1000K and explode at 1600K.

PART
{
name = SolidFission
module = Part
author = ZZZ, Fractal

mesh = Nuke_Reactor_Jr.mu
rescaleFactor = 3

node_stack_top = 0.0, 0.25, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 1
node_stack_bottom = 0.0, -0.25, 0.0, 0.0, -1.0, 0.0, 1

TechRequired = basicScience
entryCost = 50000
cost = 10000
category = Utility
subcategory = 0
title = Solid Fission Reactor
manufacturer = SimpleNuclear
description = A fission reactor generating thermal energy. It contains solid rods of Uranium cooled by molten lithium salts. Energy is extracted by a heat exhanger. It is dense and durable, and requires very little cooling, making it best suited for rockets intended for atmospheric re-entry.
// attachment rules: stack, srfAttach, allowStack, allowSrfAttach, allowCollision
attachRules = 1,1,1,1,0

mass = 8.5
dragModelType = default
maximum_drag = 0.2
minimum_drag = 0.3
angularDrag = 2
crashTolerance = 30
breakingForce = 4000
breakingTorque = 4000
maxTemp = 1600
RESOURCE
{
	name = MWt
	amount = 0
	maxAmount = 2000
}
MODULE
{
	name = ModuleResourceConverter
	ConverterName = Reactor
	StartActionName = Start Reactor
	StopActionName = Stop Reactor
	INPUT_RESOURCE
	{
		ResourceName = ElectricCharge
		Ratio = 0.1
	}
	OUTPUT_RESOURCE
	{
		ResourceName = MWt
		DumpExcess = true
		Ratio = 765		
	}
	OUTPUT_RESOURCE
	{
		ResourceName = ElectricCharge
		DumpExcess = true
		Ratio = 0.1		
	}
	AutoShutdown = false
	TemperatureModifier
		{
			key = 0 40000000
			key = 400 4000000
			key = 1000 400000
			key = 1400 20000	
			key = 1600 40
			key = 4000 0
		}				
	GeneratesHeat = true
	ThermalEfficiency 
	{
		key = 0 0.01 0 0
		key = 400 0.5 0 0
		key = 1000 1.0 0 0
		key = 1400 1.2 0 0
		key = 1600 0.1 0 0 
		}		
	}		
MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleCoreHeat
		CoreTempGoal = 1000					//Internal temp goal - we don't transfer till we hit this point
		CoreToPartRatio = 0.1				//Scale back cooling if the part is this % of core temp
		CoreTempGoalAdjustment = 0			//Dynamic goal adjustment
		CoreEnergyMultiplier = 1			//What percentage of our core energy do we transfer to the part
		HeatRadiantMultiplier = 1		//If the core is hotter, how much heat radiates?
		CoolingRadiantMultiplier = 0		//If the core is colder, how much radiates?
		HeatTransferMultiplier = 1			//If the part is hotter, how much heat transfers in?
		CoolantTransferMultiplier = 0.1	//If the part is colder, how much of our energy can we transfer?
		radiatorCoolingFactor = 1			//How much energy we pull from core with an active radiator?  >= 1
		radiatorHeatingFactor = 0.01		//How much energy we push to the active radiator
		MaxCalculationWarp = 1000			//Based on how dramatic the changes are, this is the max rate of change
		CoreShutdownTemp = 10000				//At what core temperature do we shut down all generators on this part?
		MaxCoolant = 5000					//Maximum amount of radiator capacity we can consume - 50 = 1 small
	}		
RESOURCE
	{
		name = ElectricCharge
		amount = 0
		maxAmount = 1
	}
MODULE
    {
        name = TweakScale
		type = stack
        defaultScale = 2.5
    }
}

Gaseous Core reactor designed to reach 3000K and explode at 3600K

PART
{
name = GasCoreReactor
module = Part
author = Vap & Fractal

mesh = Nuke_Reactor_Sr.mu
rescaleFactor = 1.28

node_stack_top = 0.0, 0.975, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 2
node_stack_bottom = 0.0, -0.975, 0.0, 0.0, -1.0, 0.0, 2

TechRequired = basicScience
entryCost = 200000
cost = 50000
category = Utility
subcategory = 0
title = Gas Core Reactor
manufacturer = SimpleNuclear
description = A fission reactor generating thermal energy. A quartz lightbulb holds gasseous uranium at 25000K, emitting ultraviolet light. Liquid Hydrogen is used as a heat exchange medium. It is bulky and requires impressive amounts of cooling, but allows for very powerful rockets. Best used on an interplanetary rocket.

// attachment rules: stack, srfAttach, allowStack, allowSrfAttach, allowCollision
attachRules = 1,1,1,1,0

mass = 3.4
dragModelType = default
maximum_drag = 0.2
minimum_drag = 0.3
angularDrag = 2
crashTolerance = 6
breakingForce = 300
breakingTorque = 300
maxTemp = 3600
RESOURCE
{
	name = MWt
	amount = 0
	maxAmount = 2000
}
MODULE
{
	name = ModuleResourceConverter
	ConverterName = Reactor
	StartActionName = Start Reactor
	StopActionName = Stop Reactor
	INPUT_RESOURCE
	{
		ResourceName = ElectricCharge
		Ratio = 0.1
	}
	OUTPUT_RESOURCE
	{
		ResourceName = MWt
		DumpExcess = true
		Ratio = 686		
	}
	OUTPUT_RESOURCE
	{
		ResourceName = ElectricCharge
		DumpExcess = true
		Ratio = 0.1		
	}
	AutoShutdown = false
	TemperatureModifier
		{
			key = 0 40000000
			key = 1000 4000000
			key = 2000 200000
			key = 3000 2000	
			key = 3600 400	
			key = 4000 0
		}				
	GeneratesHeat = true
	ThermalEfficiency 
	{
		key = 0 0.01 0 0
		key = 500 0.05 0 0
		key = 1000 0.5 0 0
		key = 2000 0.55 0 0
		key = 3000 1.0 0 0 
		key = 3500 1.2 0 0
		key = 3500 0.8 0 0
		key = 4000 0.1 0 0
		}		
	}		
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleCoreHeat
		CoreTempGoal = 3000					//Internal temp goal - we don't transfer till we hit this point
		CoreToPartRatio = 0.1				//Scale back cooling if the part is this % of core temp
		CoreTempGoalAdjustment = 0			//Dynamic goal adjustment
		CoreEnergyMultiplier = 1			//What percentage of our core energy do we transfer to the part
		HeatRadiantMultiplier = 1		//If the core is hotter, how much heat radiates?
		CoolingRadiantMultiplier = 0		//If the core is colder, how much radiates?
		HeatTransferMultiplier = 1			//If the part is hotter, how much heat transfers in?
		CoolantTransferMultiplier = 0.1	//If the part is colder, how much of our energy can we transfer?
		radiatorCoolingFactor = 1			//How much energy we pull from core with an active radiator?  >= 1
		radiatorHeatingFactor = 0.01		//How much energy we push to the active radiator
		MaxCalculationWarp = 1000			//Based on how dramatic the changes are, this is the max rate of change
		CoreShutdownTemp = 10000				//At what core temperature do we shut down all generators on this part?
		MaxCoolant = 5000					//Maximum amount of radiator capacity we can consume - 50 = 1 small
	}		
RESOURCE
	{
		name = ElectricCharge
		amount = 0
		maxAmount = 1
	}
MODULE
    {
        name = TweakScale
		type = stack
        defaultScale = 2.5
    }
}

 

[Nertea]

That seems more or less correct, but you have a weird OUTPUT_RESOURCE and INPUT_RESOURCE things with both consuming and generating electricCharge. Why is that?

[Psycho_zs]

@MatterBeam, Regarding what you wrote me about trying to make a rapid heating up, the problem lies with the fact that ThermalEfficiency also scales heat output, which may be bit counter-intuitive. So you can not get rapid heating from the beginning of the curve. I had troubles with this too. In my experiments I tried to compensate by ramping up the beginning of TemperatureModifier curve. It sorta worked, but gave rise to some freakish instabilities at the point where TemperatureModifier came from insane values to normal values and ThermalEfficiency came from almost zero to 'something'.

Naturally one would assume that low ThermalEfficiency should just reduce yield, but it reduces the heat output too. You could ask @RoverDude about reasons for that.

P.S. Cold-starting ISRU from 4K is a pain.

[Buster Charlie]

 

Can I just say it seems silly for a solid core reactor to have around a third less heat tolerance than light weight aerodynamic parts? Or is this a core heat vs skin temp issue? Because when I see 1600k catastrophic failure temp for a vessel specifically designed to contain high heat, but KSP has fuselages and other parts that are rated for 2000k, 2400k, 2600k, etc I say what? I mean the NERV is rated for 2,500, and I seem to recall reading it was rated at 4000k in the past.

 

Ps would it be possible to have a slideor check mark in the right click menu to add extra shielding,  increasing weight but also increasing heat tolerance.

Edited February 9, 2016 by Buster Charlie
Messed up quote, butchered formatting.

[MatterBeam]

9 hours ago, Nertea said:

That seems more or less correct, but you have a weird OUTPUT_RESOURCE and INPUT_RESOURCE things with both consuming and generating electricCharge. Why is that?

Output resource is a custom unit. The input unit had to be arbitrarily low, commonly available and self-replenishing, so I chose electric current.

7 hours ago, Psycho_zs said:

@MatterBeam, Regarding what you wrote me about trying to make a rapid heating up, the problem lies with the fact that ThermalEfficiency also scales heat output, which may be bit counter-intuitive. So you can not get rapid heating from the beginning of the curve. I had troubles with this too. In my experiments I tried to compensate by ramping up the beginning of TemperatureModifier curve. It sorta worked, but gave rise to some freakish instabilities at the point where TemperatureModifier came from insane values to normal values and ThermalEfficiency came from almost zero to 'something'.

Naturally one would assume that low ThermalEfficiency should just reduce yield, but it reduces the heat output too. You could ask @RoverDude about reasons for that.

P.S. Cold-starting ISRU from 4K is a pain.

So what you're saying is that I should increase cold efficiency to unrealistic values for gameplay purposes?

How does heat output scale with efficiency? Directlty proportional? Squared? 

 

By the way, thank you both for helping.

Edited February 9, 2016 by MatterBeam

[Psycho_zs]

26 minutes ago, MatterBeam said:

So what you're saying is that I should increase cold efficiency to unrealistic values for gameplay purposes?

How does heat output scale with efficiency? Directlty proportional? Squared? 

No.

Heat output seem to scale linearly. Well, everything seems to scale with ThermalEfficiency, so it's more like speed, rather than efficiency.

I tired to counteract that by matching TemperatureModifier so that core would produce around 100% of nominal heat throughout the whole curve. But that resulted in calculation errors around curve points which could easily cook the core.

Although I do not remember details of my experiments clearly, it could involve some sharp turns in curves, so you might re-check TemperatureModifier compensation idea.

Edited February 9, 2016 by Psycho_zs

[MatterBeam]

2 hours ago, Psycho_zs said:

No.

Heat output seem to scale linearly. Well, everything seems to scale with ThermalEfficiency, so it's more like speed, rather than efficiency.

I tired to counteract that by matching TemperatureModifier so that core would produce around 100% of nominal heat throughout the whole curve. But that resulted in calculation errors around curve points which could easily cook the core.

Although I do not remember details of my experiments clearly, it could involve some sharp turns in curves, so you might re-check TemperatureModifier compensation idea.

I will do some tests with higher low-end efficiency and lower temperaturemodifier values.

Do any specific settings in ModuleCoreHeat help with this?

Edited February 9, 2016 by MatterBeam

[Psycho_zs]

If you want rapid heating, then TemperatureModifier should be higher at low end.

Let's say you have ThermalEfficiency curve with points '0 0' and '800 10'. At 4K it would be 0.5% of 10%, so 0.05% or 0.0005 coefficient. Corresponding TemperatureModifier at 4K should be nominal multiplied by 2000 for core to produce the same amount of heat while completely cooled down. In theory.

 

[MatterBeam]

3 hours ago, Buster Charlie said:

 

Can I just say it seems silly for a solid core reactor to have around a third less heat tolerance than light weight aerodynamic parts? Or is this a core heat vs skin temp issue? Because when I see 1600k catastrophic failure temp for a vessel specifically designed to contain high heat, but KSP has fuselages and other parts that are rated for 2000k, 2400k, 2600k, etc I say what? I mean the NERV is rated for 2,500, and I seem to recall reading it was rated at 4000k in the past.

 

Ps would it be possible to have a slideor check mark in the right click menu to add extra shielding,  increasing weight but also increasing heat tolerance.

The reactor is only as strong as its weakest part. It's not silly.

A 2600K tolerance part usually means a mono-bloc of high heat tolerance material. The NERV was actively cooled by the flow of liquid hydrogen, and most designs aimed for the 2700-3000K range, because above that, the weakest components start melting.

For my reactors, there are three temperatures: core, interior and skin. Skin is irrelevant. Taking the example of the Solid Fission reactor, the core can handle 2000K temperatures. However, the coolant will boil off at about 1100K, hence a temperature limit of 1100K. The Gasseous core technically contains 25000K uranium vapor, but the working fluid is at 3000K. However, the actively cooled quartz that contains the uranium has a failure temperature of 1400K.

Also, this is supposed to be a very simplified reactor mod. Every step of extra complexity, that doesn't add interactive gameplay in my opinion moves away from the objective of the mod.

2 hours ago, Psycho_zs said:

No.

Heat output seem to scale linearly. Well, everything seems to scale with ThermalEfficiency, so it's more like speed, rather than efficiency.

I tired to counteract that by matching TemperatureModifier so that core would produce around 100% of nominal heat throughout the whole curve. But that resulted in calculation errors around curve points which could easily cook the core.

Although I do not remember details of my experiments clearly, it could involve some sharp turns in curves, so you might re-check TemperatureModifier compensation idea.

I reloaded and tweaked the .cfg files a dozen times to reach the following results.

Solid Fission Reactor:

TemperatureModifier
		{
			key = 0 8000000
			key = 400 800000
			key = 800 400000
			key = 1000 40000	
			key = 1400 800	
			key = 2000 200
		}
	GeneratesHeat = true
	ThermalEfficiency 
	{
		key = 0 0.3 0 0
		key = 400 0.6 0 0
		key = 800 0.8 0 0
		key = 1000 1.0 0 0 
		key = 1200 1.2 0 0
		key = 1400 0.8 0 0
		key = 2000 0.6 0 0
		}		
	}		
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleCoreHeat
		CoreTempGoal = 3000					
		CoreToPartRatio = 0.1				
		CoreTempGoalAdjustment = 0			
		CoreEnergyMultiplier = 0.1			
		HeatRadiantMultiplier = 0.1		
		CoolingRadiantMultiplier = 0		
		HeatTransferMultiplier = 1			
		CoolantTransferMultiplier = 0	
		radiatorCoolingFactor = 1			
		radiatorHeatingFactor = 0.01		
		MaxCalculationWarp = 1000			
		CoreShutdownTemp = 10000				
		MaxCoolant = 5000					
	}

Equilibrium temps: (atmospheric) 1054K core /916K internal /860K surface (vaccuum) 1054K core/ 933K internal /883K surface
Radiators have no effect on Core temp.

Gaseous core:

TemperatureModifier
		{
			key = 0 8000000
			key = 1000 800000
			key = 2000 400000
			key = 3000 40000	
			key = 3600 800	
			key = 4000 200
		}
	GeneratesHeat = true
	ThermalEfficiency 
	{
		key = 0 0.3 0 0
		key = 500 0.6 0 0
		key = 2000 0.8 0 0
		key = 3000 1.0 0 0 
		key = 3500 1.2 0 0
		key = 3600 0.8 0 0
		key = 4000 0.6 0 0
		}		
	}		
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleCoreHeat
		CoreTempGoal = 3000					
		CoreToPartRatio = 0.1				
		CoreTempGoalAdjustment = 0			
		CoreEnergyMultiplier = 0.1			
		HeatRadiantMultiplier = 0.1		
		CoolingRadiantMultiplier = 0		
		HeatTransferMultiplier = 1			
		CoolantTransferMultiplier = 0	
		radiatorCoolingFactor = 1			
		radiatorHeatingFactor = 0.01		
		MaxCalculationWarp = 1000			
		CoreShutdownTemp = 10000				
		MaxCoolant = 5000					
	}		

 Equilibrium temps: (atmospheric) 3627K core /1447K internal /1241K surface (vaccuum) 3627K core/ 1482K internal /1278K surface
Adding radiators reduces core temp to about 3020K.

Thank you for all your help!

Edited February 9, 2016 by MatterBeam

[Buster Charlie]

2 minutes ago, MatterBeam said:

The reactor is only as strong as its weakest part. It's not silly.

A 2600K tolerance part usually means a mono-bloc of high heat tolerance material. The NERV was actively cooled by the flow of liquid hydrogen, and most designs aimed for the 2700-3000K range, because above that, the weakest components start melting.

For my reactors, there are three temperatures: core, interior and skin. Skin is irrelevant. Taking the example of the Solid Fission reactor, the core can handle 2000K temperatures. However, the coolant will boil off at about 1100K, hence a temperature limit of 1100K. The Gasseous core technically contains 25000K uranium vapor, but the working fluid is at 3000K. However, the actively cooled quartz that contains the uranium has a failure temperature of 1400K.

Also, this is supposed to be a very simplified reactor mod. Every step of extra complexity, that doesn't add interactive gameplay in my opinion moves away from the objective of the mod.

I reloaded and tweaked the .cfg files a dozen times to reach the following results.

Solid Fission Reactor:

TemperatureModifier
		{
			key = 0 8000000
			key = 400 800000
			key = 800 400000
			key = 1000 40000	
			key = 1400 800	
			key = 2000 200
		}
	GeneratesHeat = true
	ThermalEfficiency 
	{
		key = 0 0.3 0 0
		key = 400 0.6 0 0
		key = 800 0.8 0 0
		key = 1000 1.0 0 0 
		key = 1200 1.2 0 0
		key = 1400 0.8 0 0
		key = 2000 0.6 0 0
		}		
	}		
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleCoreHeat
		CoreTempGoal = 3000					
		CoreToPartRatio = 0.1				
		CoreTempGoalAdjustment = 0			
		CoreEnergyMultiplier = 0.1			
		HeatRadiantMultiplier = 0.1		
		CoolingRadiantMultiplier = 0		
		HeatTransferMultiplier = 1			
		CoolantTransferMultiplier = 0	
		radiatorCoolingFactor = 1			
		radiatorHeatingFactor = 0.01		
		MaxCalculationWarp = 1000			
		CoreShutdownTemp = 10000				
		MaxCoolant = 5000					
	}

Equilibrium temps: (atmospheric) 1054K core /916K internal /860K surface (vaccuum) 1054K core/ 933K internal /883K surface
Radiators have no effect on Core temp.

Gaseous core:

TemperatureModifier
		{
			key = 0 8000000
			key = 1000 800000
			key = 2000 400000
			key = 3000 40000	
			key = 3600 800	
			key = 4000 200
		}
	GeneratesHeat = true
	ThermalEfficiency 
	{
		key = 0 0.3 0 0
		key = 500 0.6 0 0
		key = 2000 0.8 0 0
		key = 3000 1.0 0 0 
		key = 3500 1.2 0 0
		key = 3600 0.8 0 0
		key = 4000 0.6 0 0
		}		
	}		
	MODULE
	{
		name = ModuleCoreHeat
		CoreTempGoal = 3000					
		CoreToPartRatio = 0.1				
		CoreTempGoalAdjustment = 0			
		CoreEnergyMultiplier = 0.1			
		HeatRadiantMultiplier = 0.1		
		CoolingRadiantMultiplier = 0		
		HeatTransferMultiplier = 1			
		CoolantTransferMultiplier = 0	
		radiatorCoolingFactor = 1			
		radiatorHeatingFactor = 0.01		
		MaxCalculationWarp = 1000			
		CoreShutdownTemp = 10000				
		MaxCoolant = 5000					
	}		

 Equilibrium temps: (atmospheric) 3627K core /1447K internal /1241K surface (vaccuum) 3627K core/ 1482K internal /1278K surface
Adding radiators reduces core temp to about 3020K.

Thank you for all your help!

Thanks for the explanation, can't wait to see this mod developed firther, it sounds like you've put a lot of thought and care into it.