[WIP] Multi purpose Generator

[DSSP]

Generates : ElectricCharge

Consumes/Requires : MonoProppelant

Byproduct : XenonGas

Functionality

• OverLoad
  doubles the generation rate but generates heat aswell which will cause overheating.

  
  

• Conserve
  conserve fuel consumption. (generates less but has longer lifespan)

  
  

• Vent byproduct
  vent the byproduct in space.

  
  

• Discharge
  release electriccharge in space

  
  

• Overheating
  if maxTemp is reached the generator stops and will start to cool down, when fully cooled down it will resume.
  
  
  Now puffs small smoke particles.

  
  

• Small Breaking chance
  A very small random chance of breaking the generator when overheat. Which can only be repaired by an EVA mission.

  
  

• 
  
• EVA Repair
  Repair only possible when EVA(Kerbal) interacts(holds position) for the full repair period. Needed repair time will be based on kerbal intelligence(stupidity = 0 = smartass). If EVA gets out of range(triggerbox) the repairs will halt untill EVA gets back in-range.

  
  

Gauges

• Fuel
  Displays fuel level in a neat gauge.

  
  

• Temperature
  Displays temperature level in a neat gauge

  
  

• 
  

Led Indicators

• Blue indicator
  Overload/Conserve Mode On-Off

  
  

• State Indicator
  Yellow(Generator off) , Green(Generator on) , Blinking Red (Overheat)

  
  

• Charge Indicator
  Colored Cycle(Generating) , Green(storage full) , Blinking Red (Overheat)

  
  

• LedDisplay
  displays the total vessel ElectricCharge in a cool display

  
  

• All Led's
  charge/state and mode indicators will turn red while in broken state.

  
  

Config Vars:

OverHeating is based on part maxTemp. adjustable in cfg.

• genRate --adjustable
  the rate at which resource is produced (overwrites ModuleGenerator.genRate values).

  
  

• genHeatRate --adjustable
  the rate at which heat is produced.

  
  

• genByproduct --adjustable
  the rate at which byproduct is produced.

  
  

• genConversionRate --adjustable
  the rate at which fuel is re-produced.

  
  

• fuelconsumeRate --adjustable
  the rate at which fuel is consumed (in standard mode).

  
  

• MainResource --adjustable(dont forget ModuleGenerator needs to be adjusted aswell)
  Generated ResourceName.

  
  

• ByProductResource --adjustable(dont forget ModuleGenerator needs to be adjusted aswell)
  ByProduct ResourceName.

  
  

• FuelResource --adjustable(dont forget ModuleGenerator needs to be adjusted aswell)
  Consuming Fuel ResourceName.

  
  

• anim* --not adjustable (unless you know what your doing)
  these point to gameobjects and animations in the model.

  
  

• 
  

Working on:

finishing repair formula.

cleaning up code for release + license.

Updated:

Fuel Consumption. (MonoProppelant)

Heatsink/sinkpipes now change color relative to the temperature instaid of only when overheated.

Now puffs small smoke particles when overheated.

Added fuel/temperature gauges.

Added breaking possibility.

Added repair function.

Edited December 20, 2013 by DSSP
Function Updates

[Firov]

I like the model. Out of curiosity, what does it use to produce the electric charge?

Based on the fact that it creates a byproduct, I assume this is modeled after real world fuel cells. So does this consume liquid fuel and oxidizer? Or monopropellant, like the shuttle hydrazine APUs?

Edit - Oh, one other thing, will it be possible to vent the xenon byproduct into space?

Edited November 28, 2013 by Firov

[Kenobi McCormick]

I'm definitely gonna be giving this a try on my rovers. A genset like this makes sense on them. Compact, makes quite a bit of juice, and ideally requires a liquid fuel of some sort.

[Tommygun]

Great idea, although the amount of Xenon produced seems much too high.

Maybe cut it down by 100 times less or even more? If you used this on an ion drive it would have unlimited Delta V.

[DSSP]

I like the model. Out of curiosity, what does it use to produce the electric charge?

Based on the fact that it creates a byproduct, I assume this is modeled after real world fuel cells. So does this consume liquid fuel and oxidizer? Or monopropellant, like the shuttle hydrazine APUs?

Edit - Oh, one other thing, will it be possible to vent the xenon byproduct into space?

at the moment this does not require any fuel, since this whas origionaly created as a cheat in combination with a buffed ion engine to test parts in orbit/surface without having to build a large staged rocket.

it grew out to be a realy nice looking radial generator and since then i've been adding animations and extra functions to it.

i admit wanting to add some sort of fuel requirement to it, but i whas realy struggeling on how it could be plausible in the real world.

so any suggestions are welcome.

the xenon could be vented yes.

but can i ask what the purpose would be ?.

since the generator stops generating when full.

does xenon have that many mass that it would make a differance ? (im not a scientist sorry )

maiby its a good idea to be able to use the byproduct as a fuel efficiency improver.

instead of venting it using it to boost generation.

Great idea, although the amount of Xenon produced seems much too high.

Maybe cut it down by 100 times less or even more? If you used this on an ion drive it would have unlimited Delta V.

as stated in the first quote this whas origionaly created to have exactly that purpose.

the xenon product has the same genrate as electriccharge at the moment, you are correct though i will lower the byproduct genrate.

also planning to add a solar panel to the part surface to have better fuel usage efficiency when sun is in range.

Edited November 28, 2013 by DSSP

[Firov]

i admit wanting to add some sort of fuel requirement to it, but i whas realy struggeling on how it could be plausible in the real world.

so any suggestions are welcome.

If you want to make this realistic you have a few options . Listed below.

1. You could base this off of a fuel cell. http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandstofcel With a fuel cell design your generator would consume liquid fuel and oxidizer to produce electricity. Technically, it should require Hydrogen and Oxygen and produce water as a byproduct, but since we don't have H2 as a fuel in KSP, that's not really an option unless you want to create a new resource. As for the byproduct, I guess xenon is as good as anything we've got.

2. Or you could base this off of the hydrazine APU's found in the space shuttle. http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auxiliary_power_unit This would probably be easier, since it would only consume monopropellant to generate electrictricty, the byproducts, I believe, consist of ammonia, nitrogen, and hydrogen gas. These byproducts are vented into space as soon as they're generated, so you wouldn't even need to worry about byproduct generation.

As for the balancing, that's going to be a bit harder since "energy" in KSP is an abstraction and isn't tied to any real world measurement of energy storage. Maybe start at 10 units of electricity per unit of liquid fuel/oxidizer or monopropellant and go from there?

the xenon could be vented yes. but can i ask what the purpose would be ?.

You might want to vent the xenon if your craft doesn't require xenon (no ion engines). Otherwise as soon as the generator's xenon tank is full it will stop generating electricity, which is what you're really after in such a situation.

maiby its a good idea to be able to use the byproduct as a fuel efficiency improver. instead of venting it using it to boost generation.

Unfortunately, this wouldn't work with either a fuel cell or hydrazine APU. The byproduct is generally useless with these, at least as a means of generating additional electricity.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing what you do with this.

Edited November 28, 2013 by Firov

[DSSP]

You might want to vent the xenon if your craft doesn't require xenon (no ion engines). Otherwise as soon as the generator's xenon tank is full it will stop generating electricity, which is what you're really after in such a situation.

i handle the generator code manually which compares total electricity with total capacity to check if generation is needed so this wont be an issue.

anyway i think realistic isnt the best option after all, it will probly overcomplicate things keeping in mind it needs to be kinda fun gamewise.

plus majority of code is already done seen in video , which would mean a fresh project to have it realistic.

so what im planning is this:

Fuel: MonoPropellant (best option considering density,flowmode,storage), overload mode would consume faster fuel.

Converting byproduct: opposite of overloadmode, uses byproduct + small amount of electricity to generate a small amount of fuel(MonoPropellant)

this would lower the genRate slightly but can generate for a longer period.

[Tommygun]

I was thinking you could use the xenon byproduct as a fuel for a xenon RCS thruster.

The thruster would have an isp of say 900, but the thrusterPower= 0.33

You would probably need to go with it consuming Fuel and oxidizer though.

This does give it a purpose for using it on a non ion drive ship.

[DSSP]

added 2 gauges for fuel and temperature.

added smoke particles when overheated.

tweaked conserve/overload modes.

scratched the solar panels idea.

[Mecripp]

Hope All is coming along good cant way to try it

[DSSP]

i Added a Small random Breaking chance to the module while in overheat state.

Which can only be repaired by an EVA mission.

Repairing works with a triggerbox which means the kerbal in EVA needs to stay in front of the part during the complete repair period.

I also changed the resources from hardcoded to variable state so the generator can be adjusted in the config file.

These where the last functions i wanted to add to it i promise . please stop me from adding more .

cleaning up code for release.

[DoubleOSeven1]

This looks interesting. Do we have a set release date yet?

[Tommygun]

Can a Kerbal repair it if the Kerbal is on a ladder next to it?

I'm thinking about ground bases.

[DSSP]

This looks interesting. Do we have a set release date yet?

im sorry i've learned not make any promisses about release dates

will be soon tho.

Can a Kerbal repair it if the Kerbal is on a ladder next to it?

I'm thinking about ground bases.

at the moment it cannot, simply because it would not collide with the triggerbox infront of the part if the ladder would be next to it.

i could howevver make the triggerbox larger to be able to repair from differant angles.

[DoubleOSeven1]

im sorry i've learned not make any promisses about release dates

will be soon tho.

hey something is better than nothing. Looking forward to its release.

[Sigma52]

this looks pretty nice, ah can't wait for a release.

[Mecripp]

Any updates ?

[lextor]

This mod is dead .

[DeafLion]

? where download mod ?

[Mecripp]

? where download mod ?

Sadly it never got released but if you need a Generator pick a part and Resources input and output will make you a cfg if you need.