What is the easier way for equipment operation?

[ar81]

I am trying to design the operation of waste treatment system for Space Orbinomics.
Some equipment will have different modes in which only one reaction takes place at a time.
You turn them off and on.

Some work based on demand (like greenhouse that produces food depending on number of crew members) and some just deplete reactants, like bioreactor that process solid waste.

But some equipment like electrolysis machine seems to be activated manually and you input the amount that is required. You might not like an automatic machine that would deplete a key resources like water, oxygen or hydrogen. Is that Ok?

I think I have completed the stoichiometry for the system.
Now I am designing the way equipment will work, and therefore I need to see what features do they need.

Any suggestions on features that such equipment should have from a user point of view? You essentially would have a display of inventory that changes every day only, as I have planned now. Basically equipment will process and inventory is shown. Anything else that a control panel to monitor substances should have?

The system will not simulate energy management or heat exchange, only transformation of matter due to chemical reactions.

On a side note, since there was never a non beta version of Space Orbinomics, it will preserve the name. It is not Space Orbinomics II anymore, just Space Orbinomics. Indeed the next beta will be beta number 3.

 

[jeroen79]

To each process there would be three components:
Input -> Reaction -> Output

Input consists of the ingredients needed by the process.
Reaction is the actual chemical reaction.
Output is the product of the reaction.

You can control the rate of the reaction with a simple throttle.
For in- and output you can control the source/destination.
For more complex control you can add multiple in- and outputs and put a throttle on each element.

The equipment would consist of storagetanks, reactors, pipes and valves.

You can also add some automation.
For example a valve that will open when a variable goes above or below some value.
(when there is too much CO2 in the air because the greenhouse is too small the CO2 scrubbers are activated)

 

[ar81]

Is there any rule to design valves and regulators?

Right now I had planned equipment to work on status, mode and submode.

Status is ON/OF
Mode is the selected reaction (one equipment may have different reactions)
Submode is the consumption mode that is different for each device. For example, consume all reactants, consume until reactant X reaches Y level, consume until byproduct reachez Z level, etc.

It means a simple operation. No automation to switch modes or submodes. Such switching will be manual, made by user.

 

[jeroen79]

A valve would be placed in a pipe.
It can be closed (v=0, allowing no flow), opened (v=1, allowing amount/s flow) or partially opened (0<v<1, allowing v*amount/s flow)

You can setup a mode/submode by setting up the piping and wiring in the right manner.

Ie, to make a reaction run until a reactant is below some level you add automatic valves in the reactant pipes and set them to close when reactant x is below y.

You could also separate the automation from the valves by making separate logic blocks.


-----Posted Added-----


A question regarding complexity.
Can substances be mixed or will reactants/products always be 'pure'?

Example,
Will wastewater be considered a single substance called 'wastewater' (which can be reacted into 'waste' and 'water') or a mixture of the substances 'waste' and 'water'?

 

[ar81]

A valve would be placed in a pipe.
It can be closed (v=0, allowing no flow), opened (v=1, allowing amount/s flow) or partially opened (0<v<1, allowing v*amount/s flow)

You can setup a mode/submode by setting up the piping and wiring in the right manner.

Ie, to make a reaction run until a reactant is below some level you add automatic valves in the reactant pipes and set them to close when reactant x is below y.

You could also separate the automation from the valves by making separate logic blocks.


-----Posted Added-----


A question regarding complexity.
Can substances be mixed or will reactants/products always be 'pure'?

Example,
Will wastewater be considered a single substance called 'wastewater' (which can be reacted into 'waste' and 'water') or a mixture of the substances 'waste' and 'water'?

Each device will have 1 single reaction working at a time.
Impure mixes would imply a mixture of reactions.
Reactacts and products almost always are pure since this is a simplified model. However you have food, grey water etc which are not "pure".
However, even with that simplicity the player will have a tough time preserving the balance, for one change in a device will modify the flow for entire system.

Time steps are 1 day. So it will not have a "flow" but a conversion of a lot of substance into products on a daily basis. Still, if you have a 4 year trip one day is a small time step. Sometimes you could make 7 days or 30 days to pass, but that's risky if you do not have a balanced flow.