Project Project Peacock: Pavonis Mons base development

MaverickSawyer

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EDIT: Project has now been renamed. See last post for more details...

iLcYv80.jpg


PROJECT PEACOCK: PAVONIS MONS BASE DEVELOPMENT


A while back, I started to work on an upgrade to the stock Olympus base. I had made some decent progress on it before taking a break from it to work on other real life issues.

Sadly, all the work was stored on a flash drive I have now lost.

So, I have just gotten restarted on the project, and I'm wiping the slate clean. New layout, new plans, new meshes, the whole shebang.

First on my list: the power plant. Any Mars base will need LOTS of electricity to thrive. Life support is the biggest power demand that I can think of, followed by heating the habitation areas. Since both of these loads will remain fairly constant, I can only see two methods of providing these levels of power around the clock: Nuclear, or areothermal. Areothermal would probably be the best choice for an early base, but a more mature base may be too big to be powered by areothermal power. This means I need to go nuclear.

Nuclear reactors are too heavy to be shipped to Mars, even in parts. So, you would have to make it from native materials. To meet this requirement, I have selected a [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_fluoride_thorium_reactor]liquid fluoride thorium reactor[/ame] as the primary power source for my upgraded base. I'm in the process of hashing out a rough model of it in Sketchup, and once I have more piping completed, I'll post some pics. Right now, it's just the reactor "core" and the primary loop entrance and exit from the core.

If anyone here has more info about the LFTR (or any other molten fuelled ractor) concept, feel free to nitpick my design as details emerge.


:cheers:

EDIT

As promised, pic with some more detailed features.

hupjBZd.png


This is a simple version of the entire "hot" loop of the reactor. The big tank-like object on it's side is the reactor core, the vertical tank on the floor is the first heat exchanger, and the squat cylinder on legs is the hot loop pump.

To be added to this section:
-Safety drain
-fuel processing loop

The next section to be modeled will probably be the intermediary loop, another molten salt loop that will take the heat to the generator hall. How that will work out is still very much up in the air right now, as I want to see how this first section turns out.
 
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MaverickSawyer

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Huh. I'll take another swing at posting it...

EDIT: Check it again...
I swear, that's the last time I use Dropbox for photos...
 

orb

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I swear, that's the last time I use Dropbox for photos...
Just use the Dropbox's public directory to put pictures there and then direct public links inside it for the [IMG] tags and not some strange "sharing" options available elsewhere in other directories of the Dropbox.
 

4throck

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Now I can see the photo. Interesting... if you keep the modeling detail low and use simple textures, it will blend well with the existing default objects.

If you can, please take into account the real terrain for the Olimpus base area that I made avaliable here: [ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=6007"]http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=6007[/ame]

You can also check the place in Google Earth at +12.74 -135.43. Since you are using Sketchup you can export your model as KML and change the planet to Mars. That might give you a nice preview :thumbup:
 

MaverickSawyer

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Yeah, the mesh is going to wind up a little "blocky" due to the way I export stuff from Sketchup. I just try to make the designs revolve around that quirk, instead of beating my head against it and trying to figure out a way around it.
 

MaverickSawyer

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OK, folks, back in the game. The secondary hot loop, the fuel processing loop, has been roughed in. Since I don't fully understand what's involved, these placeholder elements are VERY likely to change.

I'm also beginning to plan out how to dispose of the heat from the reactor after it goes through the turbine (secondary) loop. My plan is to use CO2 as the working fluid for the turbine, since it's highly available on Mars! :p However, I can't quite figure out what I should use to cool off the turbine output: a direct radiator (flows from turbine into a radiator, then back to the heat exchanger) or a tertiary loop (flows from turbine to radiator heat exchanger, and back to reactor heat exchanger; radiator working fluid goes from heat exchanger to radiator, then back to heat exchanger).

If anyone has some insight into this, I would greatly appreciate the feedback.

EDIT: Adding a picture of the reactor complex as it stands now...

lJb6cY3.jpg
 
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MaverickSawyer

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Ok, just got an idea from some folks over at Physics Forums...
I might be able to use the ground as a heat sink for the reactor cooling system. Not sure how I would step down the temperatures to the point where I would feel safe pumping it into the ground, and if there's any permafrost in the area, that concept is sunk.

However, the presence of permafrost would also necessitate the installation of either an active cooling system for the building footprints, the surrounding soil, and the landing pads, or I would need to raise the buildings up on stilts. :hmm: More research needed...
 

MaverickSawyer

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OK, just had a brainstorm tonight...

Why build at Olympus Mons? What's the real benefit of a base there? I can see a base camp used to explore the mountain itself, but I see no need to actually set up a massive facility there. I feel a better spot would be on the eastern slope of Pavonis Mons, right at the foot of the mountain, and right on the equator. Why there?

  • Easy access to potential areothermal power for an early base
  • Ideal site for building a maglev launch track up the side of Pavonis Mons, to the edge of the atmosphere, from which you can provide a major dV boost on your way to orbit
  • Closer to Valles Marineris than a base at Olympus Mons

Therefor, going forward from here, the base is now going to be situated on the equator, on the eastern slope of Pavonis Mons. The Maglauncher track will be a much later addition, and will probably come after there is 3d terrain in Orbiter.
As such, the Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor design project is now on hold, as I am going to turn this into a series of progressive updates, reflecting the expansion of the base.
Also, the base will also be renamed. I'm not sure quite what I'll rename it yet, but it's quietly grinding away at the back of my mind right now.
 
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