Edit: I guess I could post a link to the original thread on the M6 Archive.
'Nuther Edit: Newest Dev Thread at http://orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?p=529139
Since the official Orbiter forums seem to be dead, I figured it was time to start a development thread here for the ICOVD1 Interplanetary Ramjet. (Umm... ok... would there be any objections to me officially dubbing it the WindMill Class Interplanetary Ramjet, or just WindMill for short?)
[Edit: Decided not to capitalize second half of "Windmill" when I changed the thread title.]
Hmm... If I'm going to have a development thread here for a project on which I'm working... I wonder if I should ask for one of those cute little orange bars under my name...
(Most images I post here will be thumbnails, to save bandwidth for ImageShack and for readers with slow connections.)
Panel Colors
I have shifted the primary colors (RGB) in the graphs and readouts... well... away from primary colors, based on the results of viewing the panels through the color deficient vision filters in GIMP.
Hmmm... my latest screen-shots are all JPEG's, and JPEG compression distorts the colors. Here's a couple PNG's I took earlier.
Scoop Cross-Section
Right now (actually, I think I've changed this a bit since the last time I committed to the repository, and I certainly have since the above screen shots were taken), I've got the effective range of the magnetic field (when the vessel is 1AU from the sun) set at 96,100 km, or 1/4 the distance from the Earth to the moon. In collection mode, the scoop field forms an elliptical cone around the incoming solar wind vector, that is bound to within 45 degrees of the Z axis of the vessel, so if the vessel is pointed directly into the solar wind, the intake of the scoop has a diameter of about 136,000 km, and an area of about 1.451e+16 m², or 14.5 billion square kilometers.
(Anybody want to figure out how much energy it'd take to generate such a field? ...or maybe it's better if nobody does .)
When the vessel is further away from the sun, the field doesn't have to overcome as much interference from the sun's magnetic field, so it is effective for a longer range, so while the density of the particle stream is lower, the scoop can still collect the same amount of particles (hydrogen atoms) at any given speed relative to the particle stream.
Stabilization
I figure that the drag force from collection would be focused on the active scoop, which means any little deviation from being pointed straight into the wind would start the vessel spinning, so I figured the vessel would have to project a stabilizing field behind it. In one mode, the field will merely counteract any torque caused by collection drag. In the other mode, it will actually (very) gently steer the active scoop into the solar wind (or, perhaps eventually, to a certain offset from the solar wind vector).
This should supplement the collection navmode Imagineer is developing. If it doesn't, or if it actually interferes, I can rework it or tear it out.
I was actually able to go from Titania to the point shown on Orbit MFD (at 10,000x time compression, most of the time) without using RCS thrusters (after the initial line-up). Of course, I am a bit off course for Neptune, but... heck... there'll be plenty of time for course corrections during the braking phase.
Maximum Speed
One of the main objectives of my last run was to get some screen shots illustrating the maximum ram speed of the vessel. Between the adjustments in the field range and stopping to fill up the tanks (for an extra burst of speed once max ram was achieved), I wasn't able to get up to the maximum speed of a mere 1,010 km/s (that last bit of speed is hard to gain) relative to the particle stream (so, about 500 km/s inbound... and 1500 outbound... but you're going have to stop some time...)
I should've realized it earlier, without having to discover it through experimentation, but no matter how big or small the scoop is, or how powerful the engine is, the maximum ram speed is limited to the exhaust velocity.
Well, I've been yammering on, and it's getting late. I'll talk about the auto-throttles, sail mode and newbie C++ code (and whatever else I'm forgetting at the moment) some other time.
'Nuther Edit: Newest Dev Thread at http://orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?p=529139
Since the official Orbiter forums seem to be dead, I figured it was time to start a development thread here for the ICOVD1 Interplanetary Ramjet. (Umm... ok... would there be any objections to me officially dubbing it the WindMill Class Interplanetary Ramjet, or just WindMill for short?)
[Edit: Decided not to capitalize second half of "Windmill" when I changed the thread title.]
Hmm... If I'm going to have a development thread here for a project on which I'm working... I wonder if I should ask for one of those cute little orange bars under my name...
(Most images I post here will be thumbnails, to save bandwidth for ImageShack and for readers with slow connections.)
Panel Colors
I have shifted the primary colors (RGB) in the graphs and readouts... well... away from primary colors, based on the results of viewing the panels through the color deficient vision filters in GIMP.
Hmmm... my latest screen-shots are all JPEG's, and JPEG compression distorts the colors. Here's a couple PNG's I took earlier.
Scoop Cross-Section
Right now (actually, I think I've changed this a bit since the last time I committed to the repository, and I certainly have since the above screen shots were taken), I've got the effective range of the magnetic field (when the vessel is 1AU from the sun) set at 96,100 km, or 1/4 the distance from the Earth to the moon. In collection mode, the scoop field forms an elliptical cone around the incoming solar wind vector, that is bound to within 45 degrees of the Z axis of the vessel, so if the vessel is pointed directly into the solar wind, the intake of the scoop has a diameter of about 136,000 km, and an area of about 1.451e+16 m², or 14.5 billion square kilometers.
(Anybody want to figure out how much energy it'd take to generate such a field? ...or maybe it's better if nobody does .)
When the vessel is further away from the sun, the field doesn't have to overcome as much interference from the sun's magnetic field, so it is effective for a longer range, so while the density of the particle stream is lower, the scoop can still collect the same amount of particles (hydrogen atoms) at any given speed relative to the particle stream.
Stabilization
I figure that the drag force from collection would be focused on the active scoop, which means any little deviation from being pointed straight into the wind would start the vessel spinning, so I figured the vessel would have to project a stabilizing field behind it. In one mode, the field will merely counteract any torque caused by collection drag. In the other mode, it will actually (very) gently steer the active scoop into the solar wind (or, perhaps eventually, to a certain offset from the solar wind vector).
This should supplement the collection navmode Imagineer is developing. If it doesn't, or if it actually interferes, I can rework it or tear it out.
I was actually able to go from Titania to the point shown on Orbit MFD (at 10,000x time compression, most of the time) without using RCS thrusters (after the initial line-up). Of course, I am a bit off course for Neptune, but... heck... there'll be plenty of time for course corrections during the braking phase.
Maximum Speed
One of the main objectives of my last run was to get some screen shots illustrating the maximum ram speed of the vessel. Between the adjustments in the field range and stopping to fill up the tanks (for an extra burst of speed once max ram was achieved), I wasn't able to get up to the maximum speed of a mere 1,010 km/s (that last bit of speed is hard to gain) relative to the particle stream (so, about 500 km/s inbound... and 1500 outbound... but you're going have to stop some time...)
I should've realized it earlier, without having to discover it through experimentation, but no matter how big or small the scoop is, or how powerful the engine is, the maximum ram speed is limited to the exhaust velocity.
Well, I've been yammering on, and it's getting late. I'll talk about the auto-throttles, sail mode and newbie C++ code (and whatever else I'm forgetting at the moment) some other time.
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