engineering department: main energy core
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 9:31 am
This image shows the interior of part of the main engineering department on board the IUSP ships. More precisely, these are the main energy sources in their technically latest form for cruisers and larger ship types. As with the command bridge, this room is essentially the same on corvettes, frigates and destroyers, only in smaller dimensions.These rooms, in which the energy sources of a spaceship as well as the associated peripherals (computers, control consoles, etc., peripherals mostly invisible because built into the walls and the false ceilings between the decks) are located, are called energy cores. This is therefore the main energy core of a USOC and IMC spaceship.
In the foreground of the picture are three control consoles used for routine daily control of the energy sources. These three consoles are separated from the energy generators in the energy core by a solid wall of TransArm. TransArm is a metal-polymer composite that is transparent like glass but is a high-quality metal alloy to military standards. In this way, the control consoles are protected in case of malfunction of the energy generators and ensure operability even in an emergency situation. Access to the energy core is through the two solid doors made of pure Naquadah.
As has always been the tradition on Union ships, the main energy core on the latest generation ships in the 4th century AJR also consists of several energy sources. The primary energy source is a ZPM-hub with three Union Arms ZPM-RE-1. Although reverse-engineered ZPMs are the strongest known energy source after the Alteran originals, the energy output of the ZPM-RE, i.e. the energy output per second, is nowhere near as great as that of the Alteran ZPMs. Therefore, three ZPM-RE-1s are needed to provide the required amount of energy for a ship the size of a cruiser, or larger. Around the ZPM hub, there are three control consoles that are used for direct maintenance and control work on the power generators and allow control from inside the power core.
Behind the ZPM-hub are three fusion reactors of Asgard origin, based on technology obtained by the Tau'ri from the Asgard in the 1st century AJR. On ships with a ZPM-RE-1 hub, these fusion reactors act as secondary main energy, supporting the primary main energy and compensating for the failure of the ZPM hub if it fails for any reason. On ships built before the development of the ZPM-RE-1, there are other fusion reactors in the this energy core instead of the ZPM-hub. Before the development of the ZPM-RE-1, power plant blocks were formed from up to 12 Asgard fusion reactors (depending on the size of the ship) and were the main energy.
To the left and right of the ZPM-hub and the control consoles, three Mk IXX Naquadah reactors can be seen respectively. They serve as a tertiary energy source here, while on ships without a ZPM-hub they serve as secondary energy.
The four remaining objects in the energy core are high-performance energy storage units based on crystals. They serve as an emergency energy reserve and to compensate for fluctuations in the energy grid, which can always occur despite all the sophisticated technologies.
I would also like to point out that the energy sources in the main energy core are only responsible for a minimal basic supply for the entire ship as well as for the energy supply of the hyperdrive system. This applies to the normal case as well as in case of failure of the primary main energy. Only when a ZPM hub is installed does the main energy core generate the energy for the entire ship alone.
In addition to the main energy core, every ship of the IUSP armed forces has at least 2 secondary energy cores (fleet carriers even have 50 secondary energy cores).
In addition, all critical systems such as life support, computers, shields and weapons have their own emergency power sources in the form of a smaller Naquadah reactor model, between Mk IX and Mk XIII units depending on the system, and two smaller high-power energy storage models.
In the foreground of the picture are three control consoles used for routine daily control of the energy sources. These three consoles are separated from the energy generators in the energy core by a solid wall of TransArm. TransArm is a metal-polymer composite that is transparent like glass but is a high-quality metal alloy to military standards. In this way, the control consoles are protected in case of malfunction of the energy generators and ensure operability even in an emergency situation. Access to the energy core is through the two solid doors made of pure Naquadah.
As has always been the tradition on Union ships, the main energy core on the latest generation ships in the 4th century AJR also consists of several energy sources. The primary energy source is a ZPM-hub with three Union Arms ZPM-RE-1. Although reverse-engineered ZPMs are the strongest known energy source after the Alteran originals, the energy output of the ZPM-RE, i.e. the energy output per second, is nowhere near as great as that of the Alteran ZPMs. Therefore, three ZPM-RE-1s are needed to provide the required amount of energy for a ship the size of a cruiser, or larger. Around the ZPM hub, there are three control consoles that are used for direct maintenance and control work on the power generators and allow control from inside the power core.
Behind the ZPM-hub are three fusion reactors of Asgard origin, based on technology obtained by the Tau'ri from the Asgard in the 1st century AJR. On ships with a ZPM-RE-1 hub, these fusion reactors act as secondary main energy, supporting the primary main energy and compensating for the failure of the ZPM hub if it fails for any reason. On ships built before the development of the ZPM-RE-1, there are other fusion reactors in the this energy core instead of the ZPM-hub. Before the development of the ZPM-RE-1, power plant blocks were formed from up to 12 Asgard fusion reactors (depending on the size of the ship) and were the main energy.
To the left and right of the ZPM-hub and the control consoles, three Mk IXX Naquadah reactors can be seen respectively. They serve as a tertiary energy source here, while on ships without a ZPM-hub they serve as secondary energy.
The four remaining objects in the energy core are high-performance energy storage units based on crystals. They serve as an emergency energy reserve and to compensate for fluctuations in the energy grid, which can always occur despite all the sophisticated technologies.
I would also like to point out that the energy sources in the main energy core are only responsible for a minimal basic supply for the entire ship as well as for the energy supply of the hyperdrive system. This applies to the normal case as well as in case of failure of the primary main energy. Only when a ZPM hub is installed does the main energy core generate the energy for the entire ship alone.
In addition to the main energy core, every ship of the IUSP armed forces has at least 2 secondary energy cores (fleet carriers even have 50 secondary energy cores).
In addition, all critical systems such as life support, computers, shields and weapons have their own emergency power sources in the form of a smaller Naquadah reactor model, between Mk IX and Mk XIII units depending on the system, and two smaller high-power energy storage models.