Quote:
Originally Posted by maximusslade
Steamin,
Many thanks for your engineering input. I have thought about A4W's but not having served aboard a carrier I am not certain as to how much space the use or how the engineering would be properly laid out. My experience is with a single reactor and two seperate, equal pressure turbines turning a single shaft. And yes, locked train.
I have asked myself as to using a reactor on a BB or BC. Even as efficient as GT engines are, I am still not fond of an oil based plant. I am certain that reactor plant controls i.e. CDMs can be engineered to withstand the shock of big guns firing or being hit by missles. I am certain that is something that should have been designed into the A4W.
Water plant?? One that works obviously. I can recall having a distilling unit that NEVER made water in all my time onboard, the evaporator worked like a champ though. I have never had any exposure to a RO plant, but I assume they are popular. So again, either evaporator or RO, whichever one works.
I must respectfully say "NO" to the idea of putting LCACs in the aft end of the BB. I feel it would only complicate the design of the ship and manpower requirements, and most importantly, where would I store marines and their tanks?? LOL
As to your boilers. I will most readily admit that I know almost nothing as to the modern operation of boilers. What you say makes very good sense as far as my thermodynamics goes, but again, as I said above, I am more familiar with nuclear plants, also I think that nuclear power would be more cost effective and the ship wouldnt have to depend on OPEC or Venezuela. But I wont discount a conventional plant completely, just for now I'll stick with the nuke plant.
I think deisels would be better too, especially using FM engines. They've been in use for what, 70 years?? When I toured USS Clamagore, I found that the engine onboard my Seawolf class submarine were almost identical to the FM1938 8 1/2ND I found on the Clamagore.
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Quick reply, you had me rolling on the OPEC and Venezuela Comment
Gas Turbines operate more efficiently in cooler weather. They do burn a hell of a lot more as well. The plant (if we used boilers) would be set up to steam in the dark in case of a complete loss of electrical power. During normal steaming, there would be less watch standers in the space, you can even make it to where the bridge can take throttle control. They had that on the CIMARRON AO's. Along with an automated steam plant as well. The modern plant would be able to operate in auto (and stick if needed). Steam plant is far more redundant than a GT plant.
One more thing, let you and I see where aerofoam metals winds up in the next few years. They are supposedly developing some pretty nifty metals.
As far as your evaps go, the one that never worked? Why in the hell wasn't it fixed? Damn Underwater Flangeheads!
Let me guess, was it always flooded out?, salinity cells all out all the time? What the hell. Feed water control vlv bad? Leaky feedheater tubes (make new ones and roll and bead em)? Air Ejector's gone to crap? Orifice for aux exh inlet gone? Maybe no one replaced the rupture disk. Sucked when those would blow out. Usually the new guys, or "the ones that thought they knew what they were doing" that did it. Seal on the Distillate pump gone, shaft warped (you will go through many a mechanical seals that way....check shaft when replacing, saves headaches), you know what also is another overlooked issue, any fitting under a vacuum (same thing goes for loosing vacuum in main and aux condensers......but there are other steps to take prior to checking the fittings under vacuum, inlet, overboard hot to touch??!!
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Well, guess it wasn't a quick reply, but I must now run. Take care