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Modular 2xN nuclear power plant

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Modular 2xN nuclear power plant

Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2021 12:35 pm
by walter.g
So a couple desires went into this. First, I wanted something modular that I could create remotely, easily using my robotic network first to set up a small plant (say, a single reactor with just enough turbines and exchangers), then growing individual reactors, and ultimately adding new reactors once individual ones were maxed out.

Second, I'm not satisfied with the little six-pack nuclear plants--I wanted a nuclear plant that could be expanded limitlessly. After all, a 2x6 plant is already 10% more efficient than two 2x3 plants, and this only increases with size.

This means going horizontal--very horizontal. Ultimately, the challenge became packing everything into a five-block-wide column, including all electrical, fluid and mechanical. Here's what I mean:
nuke-1x1.png
nuke-1x1.png (796.87 KiB) Viewed 8099 times


That's a 40 mw nuclear reactor with just enough exchangers and turbines to handle the max output. Fuel cells are managed by logistic robots. Note that this doesn't show the complete water connections; there is a blueprint to build all the fluid and electrical systems initially, before they are needed to that extent. Bumping a reactor up to 80 mw (say, once you drop a neighboring reactor) is done additively with another blueprint; nothing needs to be torn down. Here's a 2x2 plant (only partially visible):
nuke-2x2.png
nuke-2x2.png (892.55 KiB) Viewed 8099 times


One thing I couldn't solve: going to 21 exchangers requires a couple pipes and a single pipe-to-ground that have to be removed before jacking it up to the max 28 exchangers. It makes me feel dirty, but I just can't think of a purely additive solution. Here's the interference:
nuke-160mw-interference.png
nuke-160mw-interference.png (332.91 KiB) Viewed 8092 times


Here's a 2x6 plant, in all its glory:
nuke-2x6.png
nuke-2x6.png (4.26 MiB) Viewed 8099 times


The logistic network does limit the size to 2x9 when using logistic robots to feed the fuel. Larger than 2x9 is certainly possible, but requires constructing a belt network to feed the fuel.

Caveat: I don't care about nuclear fuel conservation. Honestly, I don't really see the point, at least late game. I got soooooo much uranium--I have nukes, nuclear power and all trains running on nuclear fuel, all from the first uranium ore field I started mining during mid game. I'm obsessive, no question, but in my own special way.

40 mw plant


80 mw


120 mw


160 mw


plant infrastructure (pipes and poles)

Re: Modular 2xN nuclear power plant

Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2021 2:21 pm
by NotRexButCaesar
walter.g wrote: Fri Jan 29, 2021 12:35 pm The logistic network does limit the size to 2x9 when using logistic robots to feed the fuel. Larger than 2x9 is certainly possible, but requires constructing a belt network to feed the fuel.
Here was my attempt at one including a robot network
1.jpg
1.jpg (82.58 KiB) Viewed 8076 times
It seems to generate as much power as it is supposed to (over an hour of testing and reactors only reached 750~850 degrees, even in very long rows), but there may (possibly) be some inefficiencies at full load and very long tiling.

I find this easy to construct from the map using automated delivery to very large lakes. If you would like the train I use to bring in materials, feel free to ask.

Re: Modular 2xN nuclear power plant

Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2021 4:42 pm
by mward
My version is designed to be built with the middle part over a lake which is filled in with landfill, leaving two narrow trenches in the middle for the water pumps. After placing the blueprint, fill in the trench and add the last two pieces of heatpipe.

This can be fully remote-built and is tileable.
Nuclear_Power.png
Nuclear_Power.png (170.8 KiB) Viewed 7842 times
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