Post by n2maniac on Oct 19, 2016 6:14:54 GMT
As a EE, seeing 10MW made in one part of the ship and consumed by, of all things, a railgun at a different part of the ship is making me wonder if we are missing at least one of a few BIG limiting components:
1) Power electronics. A good DC-DC converter is in the 1-10MW/ton range, and rejects 5-20% of its power as heat not that far above 300K. This says to me this would become incredibly burdensome without shifting to a different power transfer paradigm.
2) Power wiring. This actually may be less of an issue for 2 reasons: high temperature wire sensitive to oxidation (eg. tungsten) can be used without much regard to self-heating, and sufficient insulation can provide high voltage transmission. Still, transferring 10MW at voltages typical of what is on Earth (480V is popular for safety and other reasons) results in a nontrivial current (20,000A).
Assuming what I said is true (I can dig up some more exact numbers and reputable sources if desired), thoughts on this aspect? I am torn between "this is the Achilles's heel of the high power warships" and "too much detail, too much making things lame".
1) Power electronics. A good DC-DC converter is in the 1-10MW/ton range, and rejects 5-20% of its power as heat not that far above 300K. This says to me this would become incredibly burdensome without shifting to a different power transfer paradigm.
2) Power wiring. This actually may be less of an issue for 2 reasons: high temperature wire sensitive to oxidation (eg. tungsten) can be used without much regard to self-heating, and sufficient insulation can provide high voltage transmission. Still, transferring 10MW at voltages typical of what is on Earth (480V is popular for safety and other reasons) results in a nontrivial current (20,000A).
Assuming what I said is true (I can dig up some more exact numbers and reputable sources if desired), thoughts on this aspect? I am torn between "this is the Achilles's heel of the high power warships" and "too much detail, too much making things lame".
