ef4f5cf0a1
* engineering guidebook improvements * whoops * Changes * this game is en-US, so it shall be gasses, not gases * make changes to AccessConfigurator.xml, SolarPanels.xml, TeslaEngine.xml --------- Co-authored-by: ScarKy0 <scarky0@onet.eu>
235 lines
16 KiB
XML
235 lines
16 KiB
XML
<Document>
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# Thermo-electric Engine (TEG)
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The TEG generates power by exchanging heat between hot and cold gasses.
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On the station, hot gas is usually created by burning plasma, and an array of [textlink="heat-exchanging" link="Radiators"] pipes in space radiates away heat to cool down circulated gasses.
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The TEG relies heavily on [textlink="atmospherics" link="Atmospherics"] [textlink="piping." link="Pipes"]
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The only truly special component about it is the generator core and circulators; the rest is all off-the-shelf atmospherics equipment.
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Note that while the exact layout may vary significantly depending on the station, the general components and setup are usually the same.
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## Generator
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The main generator itself is a machine made up of 3 major parts: the central generator and two "circulators", in this arrangement:
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<Box>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="TegCirculator" Rotation="180" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="TegCenter" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="TegCirculator" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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</Box>
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The circulators take in either a hot or cold gas, and pass it through the machine to exchange heat.
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The gas then gets output on the other end of the circulator. The generator produces the actual power and outputs it over an [color=orange]HV wire[/color].
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Note that the circulators are [color=#a4885c]directional[/color]: they will only let gas through one way.
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You can see this direction in-game by examining the circulator itself.
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A pressure difference is required across the input and output, so pumps are generally provided and must be turned on.
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There is no preference for which side must be hot or cold, there need only be a difference in temperature between them.
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The gasses in the two "loops" are never mixed, [color=#a4885c]only energy is exchanged between them[/color].
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The hot side will cool down, the cold side will heat up.
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## The Pipes
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There are 2 major [textlink="pipenets" link="PipeNetworks"] to worry about here: [color=red]The Hot Loop[/color] (where gas will be burnt for heat), and [color=cyan]The Cold Loop[/color] (where circulated, heated waste gas will either be removed into space or cooled back down).
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Make sure that [color=#a4885c][bold]both [textlink="pipenets" link="PipeNetworks"] do NOT mix[/bold][/color], as only heat should be transferred between the two through the TEG.
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# The Hot Loop
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As I'm sure a wise person once said: the best way to make something hot is to light it on fire.
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Well, depending on context, that may not be very wise, but luckily your engineering department has just what's needed to do it wisely after all.
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As stated above, there are many different layouts one can follow to heat up (or cool down) gasses; this part of the guide will cover some common methods one will often see for the hot loop, involving [color=red]the Burn Chamber[/color].
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Side note: Plasma fires burn relatively cool compared to, for example, Tritium fires.
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It may be viable to extract Tritium from an extraction setup and react it with Oxygen to get truly hellish temperatures for power.
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## The Burn Chamber
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The burn chamber is the preferred method for heating up gasses, and it is commonly used for other purposes too. (see: Tritium production)
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Most (if not all) stations have the burn chamber separated from the main atmospherics block by a 1-wide spaced grid, to prevent the flow of scalding hot gas to Atmos if there was a breach. The chambers consist of 3 important parts:
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- The [textlink="Air Injector" link="AirInjector"]/[textlink="Passive Vent" link="PassiveVent"]
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- The Space Vent
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- The [textlink="scrubber" link="AirScrubber"] Array
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Here is one layer of an example setup:
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<Box>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="WallReinforced" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="WallReinforced" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="BlastDoorOpen" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="WallReinforced" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="WallReinforced" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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</Box>
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<Box>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="ReinforcedPlasmaWindow" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasVentScrubber" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeTJunction" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasVentScrubber" Rotation="-90" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="ReinforcedPlasmaWindow" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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</Box>
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<Box>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="ReinforcedPlasmaWindow" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPassiveVent" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeTJunction" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasVentScrubber" Rotation="-90" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="ReinforcedPlasmaWindow" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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</Box>
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<Box>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="WallReinforced" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="ReinforcedPlasmaWindow" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="ReinforcedPlasmaWindow" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="ReinforcedPlasmaWindow" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="WallReinforced" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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</Box>
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The [textlink="air injector" link="AirInjector"] (or [textlink="passive vent" link="PassiveVent"]) injects air (or allows air to flow) into the burn chamber.
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Either should be supplemented with a pump before it, to keep pressures high.
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There is a notable difference between the [textlink="passive vent" link="PassiveVent"] and the [textlink="air injector" link="AirInjector"]; the [textlink="air injector" link="AirInjector"] can only keep injecting air up to [color=#a4885c]9MPa[/color], which can be reached very easily with a good burn.
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Ideally, switch out the [textlink="air injector" link="AirInjector"] for a [textlink="passive vent" link="PassiveVent"] connected to a volume pump.
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The space vent (designated as a blast door to space on one side of the burn chamber) allows waste gasses to be expelled and destroyed.
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Open this occasionally to keep the pressure under control, or to space excess input gas.
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You even might find the pneumatic valve useful for occasionally spacing the gas.
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The [textlink="scrubber" link="AirScrubber"] array filters out all the burnt gasses and sends them through the TEG.
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Note that using default settings on the [textlink="scrubbers" link="AirScrubber"] is a bad idea, as valuable plasma will be filtered out too.
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Instead, use a network configurator to connect all the [textlink="scrubbers" link="AirScrubber"] to a nearby air alarm, and set the air alarm's [textlink="scrubber" link="AirScrubber"] settings to scrub everything except Oxygen and Plasma, and to siphon air as well.
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This ensures that as much heat as available can be collected and sent to the TEG.
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Note that this is just one of many ways you can setup the hot loop; [color=#a4885c]feel free to mix and match setups as needed![/color]
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[textlink="Volume pumps" link="Pumps"] in replacement of [textlink="pressure pumps" link="Pumps"], [textlink="radiator" link="Radiators"] loops for heat collection, or even a Pyroclastic anomaly to provide said heat!
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The stars are the limit!
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# The Cold Loop
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As with the Hot Loop, the Cold Loop must also be setup to operate the TEG.
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However, the Cold Loop is usually a lot more low-tech than the Hot Loop; in reality, the Cold Loop only has to be "relatively" cooler—hey, room temperature is technically cooler than the surface of the sun, right?
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There are 3 main methods you will see used for the Cold Loop: [color=#a4885c]The Water Cooler[/color] (see: Liltenhead's video on the TEG), [color=cyan]the Coolant Array[/color] and [color=#a4885c]the Freezer Loop[/color].
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## The Water Cooler
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An equally naive method as the Pipe Burn, this simply involves taking some useless gas (in this case, Water Vapor) and flowing it through the TEG and into space. It's dirt-cheap and simple, at the cost of efficiency and permanent loss of gas.
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Setting this up is so simple, even Hamlet could manage it. Take an output of a gas (here, Water Vapor), send it through the Cold side of the TEG, and then vent it into space.
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<Box>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPressurePump" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeStraight" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="TegCirculator" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeStraight" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="WallReinforced" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPassiveVent" Rotation="270" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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</Box>
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## Coolant Array
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This is the default method for the Cold Loop you will see on a variety of stations.
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Being of moderate complexity and having no losses of any resource, this [color=#a4885c]should[/color] be the main method of cooling down the TEG.
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However, most stations at the moment somehow have their radiators hooked up wrong (or suggest incorrect piping), reducing efficiency greatly.
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To use heat-exchangers properly, they must be setup in [color=#a4885c]parallel[/color], not in series (like what you see on most stations).
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A gas pump at max pressure should be placed after, and a volumetric pump before the heat-exchangers.
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The flow-rate of the volumetric pump should be set using the following formula:
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<Box>
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[color=cyan]( 200 / number of heat-exchangers )[/color] L/s.
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</Box>
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Simply speaking, the Coolant Array consists of 3 major parts: An input connector port, a few pumps and the heat-exchanger array out in space.
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It can be setup like so:
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<Box>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeBend" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeTJunction" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeTJunction" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeTJunction" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeTJunction" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeBend" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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</Box>
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<Box>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="HeatExchanger" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="HeatExchanger" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="HeatExchanger" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="HeatExchanger" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="HeatExchanger" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeStraight" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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</Box>
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<Box>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeTJunction" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeTJunction" Rotation="180" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeTJunction" Rotation="180" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeTJunction" Rotation="180" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeBend" Rotation="270" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeStraight" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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</Box>
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<Box>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="WallReinforced" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="ReinforcedWindow" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="ReinforcedWindow" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="ReinforcedWindow" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="ReinforcedWindow" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="WallReinforced" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="0"/>
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</Box>
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<Box>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeBend" Rotation="180" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPressurePump" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="TegCirculator" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeTJunction" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasVolumePump" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeBend" Rotation="270" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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</Box>
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<Box>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="TegCenter" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPort" Rotation="180" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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</Box>
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- Connector Port: Use this to input a gas with high heat capacity; most of the time, Plasma or Frezon is used to do so, as they both have very high specific heat capacities (although almost any gas will do). (Yes, Plasma =/= Hot. You can cool it down, and it acts as a excellent heat exchange medium.)
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- Input/Output Pumps: Used to make sure gas keeps flowing through both the Circulator and the radiator array. As the gas cools down and heats up (and as it flows through the Exchanger), pressure must be applied for it to keep flowing.
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- Radiator: Basically, just a bunch of radiators in space. Not much to say, besides the fact that it cools down the gas inside it. Make sure the radiators are [color=#a4885c]placed on lattice, not plating[/color]! Otherwise, the heat-exchange efficiency will be greatly reduced, as the radiators aren't directly exposed to space below them.
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## The Freezer Loop
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Most of the time, you will see this method being used in efficient TEG setups.
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It's basically just the Coolant array, but replacing the radiators with a freezer.
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Even though the freezer does use power, it is only a small fraction of what the TEG can generate, and it's better than the default Coolant array at the moment, so go fish.
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Follow the steps for the Coolant array, but use a freezer in place of the Heat-Exchangers. As so:
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<Box>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPort" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeBend" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasThermoMachineFreezerEnabled" Caption="" Rotation="0" Margin="0"/>
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</Box>
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<Box>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeBend" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasVolumePump" Rotation="270" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeTJunction" Rotation="180" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeTJunction" Rotation="180" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeBend" Rotation="0" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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</Box>
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<Box>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeBend" Rotation="180" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeStraight" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="TegCirculator" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeStraight" Rotation="90" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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<GuideEntityEmbed Entity="GasPipeBend" Rotation="270" Caption="" Margin="-1"/>
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</Box>
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Once again, use Plasma or Frezon in the loop for max efficiency (although almost any gas will do).
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## In the Pursuit of Greater Efficiency
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Remember, Atmospherics is a science, and as such, it is always evolving.
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The setups above are just the tip of the iceberg; there are many ways to setup the TEG and many ways to improve upon the setups above.
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[color=#a4885c]Experiment![/color]
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Always seek to improve upon the designs you see and always seek to improve upon the designs you make.
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The TEG is a powerful tool and with great power comes great responsibility.
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Make sure to use it wisely and make sure to use it well.
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Space Station 14 atmospherics is a complex system and the TEG is just one part of it.
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[bold]It's like a giant puzzle, so go out and solve it![/bold]
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</Document>
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