Ask An Expert- Naval Forces

[Albany Rifles]

O and good call on the name lol another for me (worst part is I lived near there before ).


Hey, as a Masshole I gotta get the name right!!!

[RustyBattleship]

Ah yes, the Wooster. She was in Dry dock 2 at LBNSY from 3 December 1956 to 3 January 1957. As an apprentice shipfitter at the time I got to do a little bit of work on her. Unfortunately much of my time was wasted wandering around the deck and looking at the very impressive array of 6-inch guns.

[desertswo]

O and good call on the name lol another for me (worst part is I lived near there before ).


Hey, as a Masshole I gotta get the name right!!!

I was a Rhode Warrior and hated all Massholes, but not as much as I hated those Vermen, Mainiacs and Connecticu*ts. We never figured one out for New Hampshire but you might have. If so, hand it over! ;)

[desertswo]

Ok new question lol. Now I know the reactor cores on carriers are good for around 20-25 years depending on their "heat cycles" (i think thats the phrase) and I know that once a reactor is online they stay running even if they were decommed due to the metal changing somehow. Now if for some reason a reactor/ship went online and was then mothballed right away and maintained wouldnt the core last a lot longer?

Also they startup a reactor when it'salready installed in a ship correct?

Actually, it's all to do with neutrino flow and subsequent decay of the fuel rods over time; which is very predictable based on something called "T-AVE" or "average temperature" across the core when in operation. I hasten to add that I am not a nuke, but I play one on television. :whome: Seriously, I am not a nuke but I worked for and with so many of them over the course of my engineering career (they often end up teaching conventional steam engineering because of their very solid grounding in fluid mechanics and heat transfer processes), even in the Pentagon where my deputy watch commander was a submariner, that you often spend many a sleepless night waiting for things to be fixed or whatever talking about this stuff, and they are only too happy to teach when you say, "Please . . ."

People get it into their heads that nuke power is unlimited when nothing could be farther from the truth. However, the end point at which they are no longer capable of producing usable power is, for all intents and purposes, unlimited. Even refueling cycles are more of a "nice to do" than an absolute requirement for the Nimitz-class.

Also, just like conventional plants, they are not always running. People do have lives you know. Nukes are some pretty weird dudes but they aren't freaking monks . . . but being a survivor of 12 years of Catholic education, I can aver that some of them ought to be.:confu: Anyway, I don't know where you got that idea but I suspect you misinterpreted some other piece of information. Perhaps if you can throw me another hint, I might be able to guess where. Anyway, when not in operation, just like conventional boilers, they have to be placed on the proper lay-up. In the case of both nuclear and conventional plants this can be either "wet" or "dry." If wet, it's short term, usually no more than two weeks or so and is referred to as a "steam blanket." A steam blanked is provided by 150PSI shore steam and is just as it's name implies. You raise the boiler or steam generator water level above normal, shoot it full of whatever the recommended combination of the chelating agent du jour and Tri-sodium Phosphate, then cut in that 150PSI steam over the top of the water level to keep it toasty. So long as you have 10 or more PSI in the pressure vessel the layup is considered to be good. On the other hand, it this is going to be a long term thing, like mothballs, then you go dry, wherein basically you shoot the boiler full of Hydrazine, which is an oxygen scavenger (O2 and salt are a boiler or steam generator's worst enemy) then drain it down which leaves a dry coating of Hydrazine on all water sides, open it up, and place desiccant bags (just larger versions of those things you find in your bag of beef jerky) at numerous strategic locations, then run heated air through all water sides. Because the conventional side of the house gets its boiler water/feed water chemistry ideas from the brainiacs on the nuclear side of the house, I am pretty sure the layups are much the same, although the nukes may have another twist or two associated with them.

The "metal changing" you mentioned is unavoidable in large part because major portions of nuclear primary sides are stainless steel, and stainless is very susceptible to chloride stress fractures which occur under high temperatures with even small amounts (I'm talking less than .065 PPM here) of choride, and being that we do get the makeup feed water from the sea, keeping salts out isn't entirely a sure thing. They tried making superheaters on conventional boilers out of stainless for a while and then decided it wasn't worth the cost because of the stress fracture issue. Anyway as with all heat exchangers, keep them warm and fuzzy and everything will be fine.

[SlaterDoc]

Having been born in Boss town and lived here most of my life, I don't ever remember there being a "term of endearment" for those of the the Green Mountain state!
But then, what do you call folks that have "live free or die" on their license plates??

[desertswo]

Having been born in Boss town and lived here most of my life, I don't ever remember there being a "term of endearment" for those of the the Green Mountain state!
But then, what do you call folks that have "live free or die" on their license plates??

Well, in my political weltanschauung, I call it a "good idea." But that's just me! ;)

My sister owned a B&B in North Conway, NH for about 12 years and I don't believe she ever knew of any cute terms for her fellow New Hampshire residents.

[Albany Rifles]

Captain, as a Masshole, we ignored anyone from New Hampshire as a rule....except to buy beer there on Sunday or to go skiiing.

They were mostly Northern Massholes, Eastern Vermen, Western Maniacs or Baja Canucks in our minds.

[desertswo]

Captain, as a Masshole, we ignored anyone from New Hampshire as a rule....except to buy beer there on Sunday or to go skiiing.

They were mostly Northern Massholes, Eastern Vermen, Western Maniacs or Baja Canucks in our minds.

I concede to your superior experience . . . oh, and upon being a native of Massachusetts, I feel your pain. :hug:

[SlaterDoc]

To add insult to injury the Navy transferred me to Chelsea Naval Hospital as a duty station! I joined the Navy to see the world and wound up in the "armpit" of Mass!
I was looking at buying the Eastman Inn in North Conway back in the 90's! Wish I had!
We couldn't call them any special names "up there" since we were jealous of their taxes and gun laws!

[desertswo]

To add insult to injury the Navy transferred me to Chelsea Naval Hospital as a duty station! I joined the Navy to see the world and wound up in the "armpit" of Mass!
I was looking at buying the Eastman Inn in North Conway back in the 90's! Wish I had!
We couldn't call them any special names "up there" since we were jealous of their taxes and gun laws!

Yeah, she had a pretty good run there. It was the Cranmore Mountain Lodge and was originally owned by Babe Ruth's daughter. They finally started to miss the Southern California of our "yute" and sold it at a substantial profit. Not a bad deal all around.

[DonBelt]

To add insult to injury the Navy transferred me to Chelsea Naval Hospital as a duty station! I joined the Navy to see the world and wound up in the "armpit" of Mass!
I was looking at buying the Eastman Inn in North Conway back in the 90's! Wish I had!
We couldn't call them any special names "up there" since we were jealous of their taxes and gun laws!

At least at the hospital you were up on top of the hill above the more fetid parts of town! Were you there at the time of the fires?

[Officer of Engineers]

Baja Canucks

New term for me. Parrie Canucks, BC Canuckians, Ontarians, Quebecois, Maritimers, or Torontoians?

[desertswo]

New term for me. Parrie Canucks, BC Canuckians, Ontarians, Quebecois, Maritimers, or Torontoians?

Actually, I live in the heart of "Baja Canada." This time of year, every other license plate on the road around Maricopa County, Arizona is either from Alberta or BC. We love ya'll to death. Good neighbors. ;)

[SlaterDoc]

At least at the hospital you were up on top of the hill above the more fetid parts of town! Were you there at the time of the fires?

Actually, my knowledge of the "fetid" parts of town, like the infamous "Combat Zone" didn't seem to help any of my shipmates! I did get to spend 30 days as the "brig corpsman" down at the 1st Dist HQ in Southie! Some of the individuals there also did not learn the lessons! No, I was not locked in!
I was off duty during the big fire in October of 73. However, I was right down there in the middle of it with the Red Cross! Since I had been with them before and gave them 25 years after my Navy days, I was drafted into service for that "little" event!

[Doktor]

Actually, I live in the heart of "Baja Canada." This time of year, every other license plate on the road around Maricopa County, Arizona is either from Alberta or BC. We love ya'll to death. Good neighbors. ;)

Are you saying Canadians can't stand the cold anymore?