Thread by @RyanHansenSpace

There have been many questions and concerns about the water-cooled steel plate that is planned to be installed under the OLM. I’ll go over some details about it in this thread and maybe ease some of the concerns. There will be some speculation in this towards the end. (1/n)

The term “water-cooled plate” is a bit misleading for people who don’t understand how the system will function. Many may relate this system to a closed-loop water loop used on some high-end gaming computers or the liquid intercooler system used in high-performance vehicles. (2/n)

While water will run through the plates, the main cooling effect comes from holes that will “leak” water onto the surface of the steel. This is required as it cools the metal surface and absorbs energy from the plume at the same time. There are other advantages as well. (3/n)

Releasing the water from the plates means you don’t have to worry about it boiling inside the plates and producing steam. The top plate is thick enough that it does not transfer heat fast enough for the water running through the plate to turn into a gas. (4/n)

@StarbaseSim has done a few simulations to show the heat transfer over time when estimating the heat load of #SuperHeavy. You can find those results linked below. (5/n)

From @StarbaseSim’s results we can determine that water will be needed on the surface of the steel to form a barrier between the plume and steel to keep it from reaching melting temperatures. This is where the transpiration effect of the water comes into play. (6/n)

Elon has previously spoken about a “showerhead” design that would provide water under the OLM. As some have pointed out, the water would need to be at a higher pressure than the pressure created by the #SuperHeavy Raptor engines under the OLM. (7/n)

Also talked about is the possibility that the high-pressure water could create a high-pressure fountain from all the holes that could affect the #SuperHeavy booster and Raptor engines. This is possible but may not be a concern in some situations with careful control. (8/n)

Nonetheless, I decided to come up with a possible solution for this that helps protect the #SuperHeavy booster and also promotes better cooling of the steel plates. This is getting into speculation territory so this is merely ideas and not something that has been seen yet. (9/n)

Each hole could have a diverter that directs the water horizontally instead of vertically. High-pressure water traveling horizontally will help create the water barrier between the plate and plume talked about earlier. These caps are also cooled by the water around them. (10/n)

Another benefit of the diverters is they can seal the plates when not in use to prevent FOD. Gravity can pull the caps shut when no pressure is pushing from the inside. When water is fed into the system the pressure can push the caps up allowing for water to escape. (11/n)

I went as far as modeling up a mock plate and feed tube to run some water simulations of my own to show the difference that the diverters can provide from a conceptual point of view. This is a screenshot from an animation available in the latest @CSI_Starbase episode. (12/n)

As of right now much of this plate design pictured is still speculation. We have bits of information to create assumptions from but much of the hardware has yet to be assembled or arrive on site. I will continue to follow this and update details as they become available. (13/n)

For more details and animations showing the water simulations I’ve talked about here be sure to check out the link below! This episode by @CSI_Starbase digs into many details of the OLM and the first launch of #Starship. (14/n)