combustion with a valve

A place for general potato gun questions and discussions.
spudzooka98
Private 3
Private 3
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2013 10:18 am

Mon Mar 25, 2013 9:01 am

hi i am not wanting to make this it is a question i need answerd its been stuck in my head for weeks but what would happen if on a combustion gun right after the reducer there was say a ball valve(or any valve) you close the valve put a potato down the barrel open the back and put fuel in close the back and hit the sparker what would happen would it turn into some pneumatic gun so all you do is open the valve and the potato shoots out :?:
RBurke83
Private 4
Private 4
Posts: 70
Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2013 11:30 am

Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:12 am

Or turn into a hand grenade... in your hand
User avatar
CS
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1837
Joined: Fri Feb 18, 2005 5:32 pm
Location: Southern Utah

Donating Members

Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:26 am

The simple answer is no, it will not work as you intend. The pressure from the combustion is short lived. Wait for someone else to explain the science.

I've had something similar happen with my combustion launcher. Overloading the barrel with a bunch of rocks (too heavy) or even dipping the first few feet of the barrel in the pool. Once fired I believe it creates a vacuum, from the sound of it, and the end cap requires a wrench to get back off.

RBurke83-
Not likely. I believe a contained explosion produces slightly more pressure, then a successful launch. Reason being the peak pressure is never reached because of the chamber volume increasing as the projectiles moves down the barrel and eventually exits.
spudzooka98
Private 3
Private 3
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2013 10:18 am

Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:42 am

I was never planning on doing it but that is interesting what would happen if you open the valve then(if you can get it open)
User avatar
CS
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 1837
Joined: Fri Feb 18, 2005 5:32 pm
Location: Southern Utah

Donating Members

Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:59 am

The question has been asked before, and I'm sure someone has given an educated answer. So, been searching for a while, and this is all I could find. Not the best, but whatever.

http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/contain ... t4876.html
spudzooka98
Private 3
Private 3
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2013 10:18 am

Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:31 am

ok that is what i was kinda what i was looking for
User avatar
Technician1002
Captain
Captain
Posts: 5189
Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:10 am

Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:25 pm

An automatic valve that pops open near peak pressure can improve performance if the addition of the valve does not hinder performance due to added flow restrictions.

See threads on Piston Hybrids for more info.
User avatar
jimmy101
Sergeant Major
Sergeant Major
United States of America
Posts: 3199
Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:48 am
Location: Greenwood, Indiana
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 17 times
Contact:

Mon Mar 25, 2013 3:44 pm

You might want to read http://www.inpharmix.com/jps/Chamber_Temperature.html

Short answer: Roughly one second after ignition the pressure in a closed combustion chamber is basically back at atmospheric pressure. To get any performance out'a the gun you'll need to get the valve open in much less than 1 second after igniting the fuel.

The only practical way to do that is with a bust disk.
Image
Post Reply