Deck 38
Power Generation Systems
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Deck 38 |
Fusion System Structure and Operation Primary power for all critical station hardware is produced by the fusion generator located at the center column of the support structure. The generator section consists of 8 fusion reaction chambers working in concert to supply energized plasma for distribution throughout Space Station Ian Fleming. The fusion chambers are housed within the generator shell. This structure also contains the fuel conditioning blocks, fuel transfer conduits, focused nanometer laser detonators, peristaltic and electrohydraulic pump machinery, and radiator beds and coolant loops. The general operation flow is identical for all reactors. Deuterium fuel is warmed slightly within the storage tanks from a semisolid state of 10.3 kelvins to a slush condition of 13.4 kelvins. The slush is transferred through the Lower Core to a series of eight holding tanks and then into neoplesium cavities in the fuel-conditioning blocks. The cavities form the fuel into long rods by the use of compression rams. In one continuous process, the rods are further formed into pellets by traveling shaping mandrels and arranged in feed channels for ejection into the reaction chamber. Fuel Storage Main power generation for Space Station Ian Fleming relies directly on the storage of large quantities of super-cold deuterium, the isotope of hydrogen that also helps power most interstellar vessels in the galaxy. Eight deuterium tanks are located within the central support column of the Station. Power Distribution Network Fusion power produced by the large central generators is distributed through the station over a series of more than 700 stepped-energy EPS conduits feeding all 30 major and 60 minor subsystems. The first-stage conduits emerge from the eight fusion energy chambers and are controlled by a set of five one-way plasma flow constrictors. These devices act as baffles to prevent frequent reaction surges in the fusion generators from affecting downstream segments of the system, including the final-stage user grid. Plasma flow controllers and cross-feeds link all eight first-stage conduits in the event of power drains or unbalanced demand, particularly evident in weapons and shield usage. Eight second-stage EPS conduits carry energy outboard of the generator's structural attach point of the central support column. These conduits are spread out to minimize damage in the event of hostile action or catastrophic failure, which might have jeopardized the entire station had the conduits been clustered together. The main subassemblies of each conduit includes an energy polarization bed, emergency venting and cooling jackets, and flow accelerator coils to maintain directional plasma pressure toward the critical systems. The junctions to the third-stage conduits split to form twenty large and thirty smaller branches within the central support column. Twenty large EPS branches power the weapons systems, shield generators ablative armor, and cloaking device directly. The thirty smaller EPS branches distribute power throughout the rest of the Station.