INTRO

This purpose of this article is to outline the function and operation of internal combustion engines within the mod. The article covers both gasoline and diesel engines. The difference between the two is this; gasoline engines use a spark to ignite their fuel while diesel engines use compression. Gasoline engines are overall less efficient and have greater maintenance requirements while diesel engines are more expensive and bulky. Comparability speaking internal combustion engines are one of the least efficient ways to generate power but also one of the most portable. Engines with megawatts of capacity are small enough to be loaded on flat bed trucks, granting this form of power generation a mobility that other plants would lack.

DETAILS

I.ICE's under two megawatts consist of just one block but

A.gasoline engine 1.comes in different ratings which effect fuel consumption based off the formula: [max rating] / [max kilowatt value of a barrel of (fuel)] = hours and/or minutes spent burning fuel at max rating -example: a 6-25 kw engine would burn a barrel of gasoline for 15.3 hours and produce a constant 25 kw -6 to 25 kw -26 to 100 kw -101 to 500 kw -501 to 1000 kw -2 mw 2.runs on different types of fuel which produce varying amounts of power -gasoline; 9.1 kw gallon/382.5 kw barrel -ethanol; 6.175 kw gallon/260 kw barrel -propane; 186 kw tank 3.operates at 25% max efficiency 4.if an engine needs a fraction of a barrel then the lowest whole number will be used instead -example: a 2 mw engine would need 5.22 barrels of gasoline to produce 2 mw for one hour. since the .22 would be a fraction of a tank then that engine would instead only accept up to 5 barrels and output 1912.5 kw for one hour 5.automatically starts burning barrels of fuel placed in input grid but will only burn whole barrels 6.requires appropriately sized generator and varying amounts of steel or aluminum depending on rating

B.diesel engine 1.comes in different ratings which effect fuel consumption based off the formula: [max rating] / [max kilowatt value of a barrel of (fuel)] = hours and/or minutes spent burning fuel at max rating -6 to 25 kw -26 to 100 kw -101 to 500 kw -501 to 1000 kw -2 mw 2.runs on different types of fuel which produce varying amounts of power -diesel; 12 kw gallon/507 kw barrel -biodiesel; 11.2 kw gallon/472.2 kw barrel 3.operates at 30% max efficiency 4.if an engine needs a fraction of a barrel then the lowest whole number will be used instead -example: a 2 mw engine would need 5.22 barrels of gasoline to produce 2 mw for one hour. since the .22 would be a fraction of a tank then that engine would instead only accept up to 5 barrels and output 1912.5 kw for one hour 5.automatically starts burning barrels of fuel placed in input grid but will only burn whole barrels 6.requires appropriately sized generator and varying amounts of steel depending on rating

II.ICE's over two megawatts consist of multiple blocks

A.control block 1.when placed checks a 2x2x6 area for engine blocks 2.determines plants max output based off number of engine blocks discovered 3.behaves the same as single block engines otherwise, but with a 2% efficiency bonus per engine block up to a max of 30% for gasoline and 40% for diesel

B.engine block 1.each engine block adds 2 mw of capacity 2.requires steel or aluminum component, steel mechanism and generator block

III.gui's A.single engine and multiblock diesel and gas generators have the same GUI 1.3x3 input and output grids for filled and empty barrels/tanks 2.completion bar indicating how long the generator will burn the fuel for 3.meter that indicates power output

IDEAS

-add a maintenance mechanic as ICE's are maintenance hogs (air filters, oil changes, brush replacements, spark plugs) perhaps just require "maintenance kits" of varying sizes be used when running the engines -make smaller tanks in case users dont want to always burn up a whole barrel? -have engines run at varying efficiencies according to diesel cycle math and/or size of engine -have barrels with damage values so engines can use fractional amounts of fuel -turbochargers that increase efficiency at the expense of needing electronics and more parts in general

SOURCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_gallon_equivalent

mensreaMC / Deus-Ex-Machina

Internal Combustion Engines #39

INTRO

DETAILS

IDEAS

SOURCES