What you learn today
- Loop just below room temperature
- Pump on demand
- Wall cooler efficiency
“The colder the cooling loop, the better” – sounds logical and is wrong in the game. The wall cooler (StructureWallCooler) pulls heat from the room into the pipe network. According to the Stationpedia it works less efficiently the bigger the temperature difference between the gas in the pipe and the room.
Just below room temperature
A loop at −120 °C is the worst operating point for a wall cooler. A loop a few degrees below room temperature cools faster and cheaper. So the goal is a band relative to the room, not a fixed temperature:
| Loop | Pump |
|---|---|
| warmer than room − 3 K | on: heat has to go |
| between room − 6 K and room − 3 K | stays as it is |
| colder than room − 6 K | off: cold enough |
sub limit room NEAR
sgt tmp loop limit
or pump pump tmp # loop too warm: pumpThe limits are recomputed from the room temperature every tick.
Pump on demand
The pump pushes the loop's gas through a radiator outside or a heat exchanger and brings it back cooled. It needs power – and as long as the wall coolers are off, no heat enters the loop. So it only runs when the coolers are working and the loop is too warm:
and pump pump coolWhat happens on failure
- Room sensor gone: no cooling, no pump, warning light.
- Loop analyzer gone: as long as the coolers run, rather pump – otherwise the loop heats up unnoticed.
The wall cooler needs gas in the pipe network. An empty loop cannot take up heat, no matter how the pump runs. The gas's heat capacity and volume decide how fast the loop reacts.
Two bands, two hystereses: the room switches the coolers (22–25 °C), the loop switches the pump (room − 6 K to room − 3 K). Both use the same pattern with and and or.
Exercise
Task
The wall coolers “Labor” and the room sensor “Labor” are already done. Add the cooling pump “Kuehlpumpe” and the warning.
- Pump on when the loop (analyzer “Kuehlkreis”) is warmer than room − 3 K, off only below room − 6 K
- Pump only while the coolers run
- Analyzer missing: pump while the coolers run
- Flashing light “Kuehlwarnung” on when a reading is missing
Hints
Hint 1
Lower limit: sub limit room FAR, then sgt/and. Upper: sub limit room NEAR, then sgt/or.
Hint 2
Missing loop value: snan missing loop and or pump pump missing.
Hint 3
Finally and pump pump cool, for the light also “or” in the missing room value.
Quiz
4 questions. You pass from 60 % – the server does the grading.
Complete the day
- Passed the simulator exercise
- Passed the quiz with at least 60 %
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