Reactorcraft & Pebble Beds

[Demosthenex]

I'm experimenting with a new pebblebed reactor, and ran into a few questions.

When does radiation take effect? I was wearing a rad suit preemptively but I don't appear to suffer ill effects moving around fuel pellets.

I'm also storing fresh and depleted pellets in the short term storage containers underwater. Is that necessary?

How long do depleted pellets stick around? (No, I don't want to try and toss them)

The written tutorial I found (thank you so much Lisimba for not making a video) uses hot CO2 to move heat from the core to the heat exchanger. I saw discussions on using molten sodium too, with reference to storing the sodium for later power generation. Can anyone weigh in on the relative merits between the two? Is it really worthwhile to store the heat exchange fluid instead of generating the power and storing it (ie: Aurora Battery)?

Thanks!

 

[Pyure]

I wonder how lame it is that I get excited by a new ReactorCraft thread. My knowledge of PBRs is extremely limited, since I always skip straight to a water fission reactor.

That said, ok, here we go:

When does radiation take effect? I was wearing a rad suit preemptively but I don't appear to suffer ill effects moving around fuel pellets.

Fuel pellets are safe I believe, except for plutonium.

I'm also storing fresh and depleted pellets in the short term storage containers underwater. Is that necessary?

Nope. Only Waste needs to be stored. I don't *think* PBRs create waste.

How long do depleted pellets stick around? (No, I don't want to try and toss them)

Forever afaik. They're not a waste product.

The written tutorial I found (thank you so much Lisimba for not making a video) uses hot CO2 to move heat from the core to the heat exchanger. I saw discussions on using molten sodium too, with reference to storing the sodium for later power generation.

Here we're talking about two different reactors, and I don't think they cross-over at all. You're making an HTGR, same as Lisimba's fantastic document; it requires CO2.

Molten Sodium on the other hand is involved when making a Breeder Reactor. Technically sodium is not even part of the "breeding" process, but simply lets you generate power as a byproduct. Functionally it works the same: a heat exchanger sends heat into nearby boilers to create steam.

Since I've never made a PBR I don't know if the PBR core will function with Sodium Heater blocks; probably not?

Can anyone weigh in on the relative merits between the two? Is it really worthwhile to store the heat exchange fluid instead of generating the power and storing it (ie: Aurora Battery)?

I've never even considered mass-storing the heat exchange fluid but there's really no reason why not. Its excellent potential energy.

Arguments for storing the fluid:
* Less infrastructure (although the tanks may take space depending how you store it)
* ElectriCraft batteries are expensive
* ElectriCraft energy system might be a bit intimidating to some
* Don't even need ElectriCraft installed

Arguments for using the fluid and storing in a battery:
* Your power would be less "on demand only", creating potential wasted energy (You wouldn't just spin up a turbine each time you wanted to run an extractor)
* You're limited by the output of X turbines, whereas an Aurora battery has amazing power output
* ElectriCraft is freaking cool, and is very elegant for large distribution systems.

 

[McJty]

BTW, Didn't try ReactorCraft yet but can't you dispose of the waste by one of the following methods:

• Throw it in the void (The End or a void dimension)
• Throw it in java
• Throw it in any of the item destroyer objects that many mods provide
• Put it in your AE system

Or were provisions made in the mod to make sure that these methods don't work?

 

[Pyure]

BTW, Didn't try ReactorCraft yet but can't you dispose of the waste by one of the following methods:

• Throw it in the void (The End or a void dimension)
• Throw it in java
• Throw it in any of the item destroyer objects that many mods provide
• Put it in your AE system

Or were provisions made in the mod to make sure that these methods don't work?

The first three definitely work. (Coffee is powerful, point #2)
Last one probably works.

Unless Reika got every modmaker involved and they agreed to tweak their blocks to handle waste specially, its unlikely to work as imagined. I've suggested new methods of handling the waste issue but Reika dislikes abstractions, which most of my ideas involve.

I definitely trash-can my waste. The manual was way way too short on this topic for me to screw around with the disposal bins (Or, more honestly, to keep trying to screw around with the disposal bins after the third explosion)

 

[McJty]

The first three definitely work. (Coffee is powerful, point #2)

Bah, I mean lava of course

 

[Pyure]

Bah, I mean lava of course

of course

 

[Demosthenex]

Did you have a tutorial for the water fission reactor you use?

 

[Pyure]

You can get started with:

The reactor design itself is completely useless, but it tells you the necessary steps to get one started.

For better designs, you can check out the later pages of http://forum.feed-the-beast.com/threads/reactorcraft-clever-reactor-setups.42752/page-13
My 16-core reactor is powerful enough to drive a HP Turbine plus one or two smaller turbines.

Personally I find the standard fission reactor much less complicated than the pebble bed or the breeder.

Step 1) Make Uranium Hexafluoride
Step 2) Centrifuge it to get Uranium pellets
Step 3) Put them in Reactor Cores in such a way that they react off one another and heat adjacent boilers
Step 4) Use steam from adjacent boilers to drive a turbine

Only step 3+4 are part of your "reactor". There's no CO2 loop, no molten sodium, none of that stuff.

Edit: link to my 16 core reactor:
http://forum.feed-the-beast.com/threads/reactorcraft-clever-reactor-setups.42752/page-10#post-663285

 

[Demosthenex]

You can get started with:

*gag* A video? I know I'm biased, but doesn't anyone else ever get tired of videos?

Only step 3+4 are part of your "reactor". There's no CO2 loop, no molten sodium, none of that stuff.

That is interesting! I hadn't considered skipping the high temperature intermediate heat loop. Does your reactor run less efficiently due to the temperature?

I still may prefer to try and roll in the sodium or CO2, staging it rather makes sense to me because I can buffer it.

 

[Padfoote]

That is interesting! I hadn't considered skipping the high temperature intermediate heat loop. Does your reactor run less efficiently due to the temperature?

I still may prefer to try and roll in the sodium or CO2, staging it rather makes sense to me because I can buffer it.

IIRC a fission reactor is not impacted by temperature other than a minimum needed for steam production and a maximum which leads to a meltdown if passed.

 

[Pyure]

*gag* A video? I know I'm biased, but doesn't anyone else ever get tired of videos?

Yeah but we take what we can get. Right now we can get nothing but videos and one PBR document by Lisimba.

That is interesting! I hadn't considered skipping the high temperature intermediate heat loop. Does your reactor run less efficiently due to the temperature?

I still may prefer to try and roll in the sodium or CO2, staging it rather makes sense to me because I can buffer it.

The standard fission reactor generates a good deal more power than a pebble bed. I can't promise it runs more efficiently but it certainly doesn't need piles of fuel pellets like a PBR does.

Since water boils at 100C, all you need to do is get your boilers to somewhere above that point. They'll produce steam accordingly. The trick is in arranging your reactor cores so that they're bouncing neutrons off each other like crazy, but just enough so that the heat they generate is only safely balanced out by the surrounding (cooling) water boilers.

Keep in mind that we're talking about different reactor types entirely here. The standard fission reactor isn't a PBR with loops skipped: it uses different cores and fuel and mechanics for producing steam.

Buffering the hot gas might be fun, can't see any huge reason not to do it except that irl it would cool down over time


Edit: I *think* the sodium is specific to Breeder reactors, which are used to take "depleted" fuel and transform it into plutonium. I'm not sure about this. It could be that PBRs or Reactor Cores will heat up Sodium Heaters just fine.

 

[Pyure]

@Padfoote, silly question in your capacity as wiki-dude: Dunno if you've seen Lisimba's document (http://lisimba.org/minecraft/howto_beginner_reactor/howto.html)
Is there any kind of appropriate place in the wiki for large tutorial documents such as these?

 

[Padfoote]

@Padfoote, silly question in your capacity as wiki-dude: Dunno if you've seen Lisimba's document (http://lisimba.org/minecraft/howto_beginner_reactor/howto.html)
Is there any kind of appropriate place in the wiki for large tutorial documents such as these?

You mean this guide?

http://wiki.feed-the-beast.com/Beginner_Reactors_by_Lisimba

We've been given permission to have it on the wiki, and it's been there for a little bit.

 

[Pyure]

You mean this guide?

http://wiki.feed-the-beast.com/Beginner_Reactors_by_Lisimba

We've been given permission to have it on the wiki, and it's been there for a little bit.

lol I am humbled.

So in other words if I'm ever feeling verbose I can throw something together regarding other reactor types and look into having it published on the wiki, good to know.

 

[Padfoote]

lol I am humbled.

So in other words if I'm ever feeling verbose I can throw something together regarding other reactor types and look into having it published on the wiki, good to know.

I'd like to see just some general documentation on the items / blocks, but we'll take either.

 

[Demosthenex]

Updated diagram for a minimum size Pebble Bed HTGR reactor with 1.7.10 Reactorcraft v6e.

http://imgur.com/yUip3qa