Fluid Nuclear Reactor

Fluid Nuclear Reactor
Name	Fluid Nuclear Reactor
Source Mod	IndustrialCraft 2
Type	Multiblock structure
First Appearance	MC 1.7

The Fluid Reactor (also called 5x5 Reactor) is a new multiblock in IndustrialCraft². It can be used to generate more EU/t than standard Reactors.

Please note that the 5x5 reactor is ONLY more efficient if at least 2 rods are touching.

Setup

Layer 5:

Layer 4:

Layer 3:

Layer 2:

Layer 1:

Note: Functional blocks (Reactor Access Hatch, Reactor Redstone Port and Reactor Fluid Port) can be placed in place of the covering on any side (except for edges and corners). You can place as many as you like, but for the system to function properly, you’ll need at least 1 Reactor Access Hatch, 1 Reactor Redstone Port, and 2 Reactor Fluid Ports (1 for import and 1 for export).

GUI

If you've built the Fluid Nuclear Reactor correctly, right-clicking on the Reactor Access Hatch will open the GUI.

1 - input slot for Universal Fluid Cells with Coolant.
2 - input 10,000 mB liquid tank for Coolant.
3 - output slot for empty Universal Fluid Cell after they have unloaded the Coolant.
4 - a 9x6 grid for a scheme of Nuclear Reactor components. The components operate on a principle similar to that of a Nuclear Reactor.
5 - input slot for empty Universal Fluid Cell to be filled with Hot Coolant.
6 - output 10,000 mB liquid tank for Hot Coolant. If it is overfilled or the Coolant runs out, the core temperature will rise instead of generating Hot Coolant.
7 - output slot for Universal Fluid Cells with Hot Coolant.
8 - core temperature in %. If it reach 100%, then Fluid Nuclear Reactor will explode.
9 - amount of HU per second at which Hot Coolant is generated.

Usage

The Fluid Reactor uses all the same components (Fuel Rods, Heat Vents, etc.) as the Nuclear Reactor in its internal inventory. However, it also has two 10,000 mB liquid tanks, seen on either side of the GUI: a blue Coolant tank on the left and a red Hot Coolant tank on the right. Either liquid can be added or removed with Universal Fluid Cells through the inventory slots above and below each tank.

Fluid Ports can also be used to add or remove Coolant. Placing a Fluid Ejector Upgrade in the Fluid Port's interface will allow it to eject Hot Coolant from the reactor into an adjacent Fluid Distributor, Fluid Regulator, IC2 pipes (for MC 1.12) or fluid transfer systems from other mods.

Instead of an EU reading at the bottom, the fluid reactor indicates HU/s (heat units per second). As you place more heat vents and fuel rods inside of the reactor, that reading will rise - but not as simply as in the EU reactor's case.

Say you ignore coolant entirely and toss in a Fuel Rod (Uranium) and a Heat Vent next to each other inside the reactor. When you turn it on, the core temperature will rise, and your HU/s will remain at 0. The heat vent is working fine - but it's moving heat to the shell of the core reactor, instead of into the surrounding air like the EU reactor, and you didn't provide any coolant to deal with the problem. However, core temperature cannot be cooled (once heated) by simply applying coolant; you need Reactor Heat Vents (etc.) to transfer the core heat to the casing of the internal regular reactor, and coolant to absorb that transferred heat.

In short, to maintain a fluid reactor, you need:

Fuel Rods to generate heat,
Heat Vents to push that heat around and eventually into coolant, and
a sustainable source of Coolant to absorb and eject all heat produce.

Note: Unlike the EU reactor, the fluid reactor's power generation (HU/s) is not dependent on the Fuel Rods, but rather the amount of Heat Vents. Unmanaged Fuel Rod heat in the EU reactor would simply make the reactor overheat faster but not reduce its power output; in the Fluid Reactor, unmanaged Fuel Rod heat is stored in the reactor core.

Reactor planner

The current reactor planning tools are at:

Generating Energy

Instead of outputting EU, the 5x5x5 Reactor heats Coolant to Hot Coolant which is then piped into a Liquid Heat Exchanger that outputs normal Coolant and HU. There are different methods of converting HU to EU:

1.Stirling

Using a Stirling Generator is the most simple way and converts 2 HU into 1 EU, which is the most inefficient way, though it still better than the normal EU Reactor.

2.Steam and Steam Turbines.

The most effective but difficult method to build.

You need to get Superheated Steam (or regular Steam) in the Steam Generator from Distilled Water and then use it in two (or one if use regular steam) Kinetic Steam Generator with Steam Turbines, which must be connected to the Kinetic Generators for energy generation. The remaining steam must be collected with a Condenser and the resulting distilled water sent back to the Steam Generator.

3.Biogas

The HU can also be used to heat a Fermenter and burned ganerated biogas in the Semifluid Generator. This is more efficient than Stirling, however it's pretty expansive and requires a good infrastructure.

Safety

In order to function, the fluid reactor needs its 5x5x5 outer shell completely intact. At 85% core heat, that shell will start melting into lava source blocks - and when it does, your reactor will turn off, since it is no longer a complete fluid reactor. It is important to note that even though the reactor won't gain any extra heat, it won't lose any, either, unless you do something to remove it - and so your casing will continue to melt. And of course anyone within the 7x7x7 area will be damaged by radiation ticks, since the core heat is also > 70%.

In order to make a Fluid Reactor actually explode, you'd need to take your heat from < 85% to 100% in a single reactor tick, which would mean producing over 1500 HU/t at just the right (wrong) time.