Aeolus's Trident- MAJOR UPDATE! 11/26/2010
Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 11:37 am
I have been slowly becoming more and more dissatisfied with my previous pneumatic model. The most significant issue that I had with the previous build was its sheer size (which lead to a host of other problems). Thus the Trident (technically renamed Aeolus's Trident to differentiate from the Trident Antenna Launcher).
Specs:
Valve: Barrel-sealing piston valve (now with internal check valve)
Piston check valve cracking pressure: 5.4psi
Barrel: 0.364” x 18” (now 0.364" x 36")
Chamber volume: 5.38 in3
C:B ratio: 3 (now 1.5)
Port diameter: ~0.364"
Max operating pressure: ~2,000psi
GGDT muzzle velocity prediction @ 1,000psi: 912fps
The main purpose of the Trident is a test facility (and entertainment ). I originally planned to experiment with different piston designs, but later concluded by simulations in GGDT that no design will have any appreciable benefit over the UHMWPE-based check valved piston it currently uses. The Trident is extremely portable, and has a very small chamber volume, actually 1.4 times the displacement of the second stage on my pump. Future plans for the Trident include evolution into a QDV hybrid. Due to lack of funds and design flaws in current QDV hybrids, development has been delayed somewhat.
The original piston design for the Trident was simply a solid steel piston with an o-ring firmly attached to the front as a sealing face. Unfortunately, the steel rod I used was significantly less than .5" in diameter, so I wrapped it in scotch tape to minimize the size of the equalizer hole. After two shots, the scotch tape had to be replaced. Not the best system. Check-valved piston made from UHMWPE with a very durable o-ring as the sealing face, and the back drilled out as the housing with a button-head bolt to form the housing for the check valve.
08/25/2010: Design is functional, now working on moving my piston stop forward, decreasing pilot volume and preventing the front of the piston from catching and shearing off on opening.
8/29/2010: Tested to 160 psi. Piston now seals at 40 psi, added a bumper to prevent damage to the piston, and reduced pilot volume.
8/30/2010: Completely leak-free up to 160 psi.
9/1/2010: First damage shots. Need something that's stable. Will be looking into ball bearings, slugs, and darts.
9/6/2010: Work on pump delayed Did some experimenting with GGDT... and it predicts no muzzle velocity increase with a UHMWPE piston having 1/8th the mass of the solid steel one I'm currently using. Gonna try anyway when I get my hands on materials.
10/17/2010: Parts ordered and shipping. Pump should be operational within the week. Expect much higher pressures and lower piston densities.
11/06/2010: Currently working on incorporating a check valve into the piston. Hopefully that'll be finished within a week and I'll have an almost maintenance-free design.
11/20/2010: Check-valved piston almost finished. The rear seal seal fits a bit tight into the valve housing so it's kinda like stuck right now. Plus I discovered today that my gauge somehow broke itself while not in use.
11/27/2010: Tensile strength of UHMWPE is terrible. By the time I'm done the piston will probably be mostly steel again.
11/28/2010: Piston very much improved. No problems up to 650psi, no replacement gauge yet so I dare not push farther.
11/29/2010: IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!
Damage at 1,000psi vs 1/16th steel plate. Amazed it didn't go through, but it was directly against the backstop(pre-check-valve).
MASSIVE UPDATE
Check-valved piston (old pictures of the failed design have been replaced):
The piston was extensively modified from the original design and build, due to the terrible tensile strength of UHMWPE and its tendency to be extruded through an o-ring.
Shorter piston travel (I went to re-take this picture then realized my scope is in the way ):
Quick-disconnect rotated, stock modified to actually be effective, 3' instead of 18" barrel, and 4x scope (The bend is a result of some crookedly machined threads, I'll hopefully be replacing the crookedly threaded part with the next McMaster order.) I rotate the stock 1/4 turn clockwise for operation, it's just set like that so it can be filled:
What I did to be able to film that. The trident is sitting in for the camera... which doesn't like the lighting. Couldn't get a clear photo, since it was focusing on the ladder.
Most impressive picture is of the first can, other pictures available on request .
Finally penetrated the steel plate, at point-blank range with a deck nail
Videos compiled to one, will be updated with progress:
[youtube][/youtube]
Specs:
Valve: Barrel-sealing piston valve (now with internal check valve)
Piston check valve cracking pressure: 5.4psi
Barrel: 0.364” x 18” (now 0.364" x 36")
Chamber volume: 5.38 in3
C:B ratio: 3 (now 1.5)
Port diameter: ~0.364"
Max operating pressure: ~2,000psi
GGDT muzzle velocity prediction @ 1,000psi: 912fps
The main purpose of the Trident is a test facility (and entertainment ). I originally planned to experiment with different piston designs, but later concluded by simulations in GGDT that no design will have any appreciable benefit over the UHMWPE-based check valved piston it currently uses. The Trident is extremely portable, and has a very small chamber volume, actually 1.4 times the displacement of the second stage on my pump. Future plans for the Trident include evolution into a QDV hybrid. Due to lack of funds and design flaws in current QDV hybrids, development has been delayed somewhat.
The original piston design for the Trident was simply a solid steel piston with an o-ring firmly attached to the front as a sealing face. Unfortunately, the steel rod I used was significantly less than .5" in diameter, so I wrapped it in scotch tape to minimize the size of the equalizer hole. After two shots, the scotch tape had to be replaced. Not the best system. Check-valved piston made from UHMWPE with a very durable o-ring as the sealing face, and the back drilled out as the housing with a button-head bolt to form the housing for the check valve.
08/25/2010: Design is functional, now working on moving my piston stop forward, decreasing pilot volume and preventing the front of the piston from catching and shearing off on opening.
8/29/2010: Tested to 160 psi. Piston now seals at 40 psi, added a bumper to prevent damage to the piston, and reduced pilot volume.
8/30/2010: Completely leak-free up to 160 psi.
9/1/2010: First damage shots. Need something that's stable. Will be looking into ball bearings, slugs, and darts.
9/6/2010: Work on pump delayed Did some experimenting with GGDT... and it predicts no muzzle velocity increase with a UHMWPE piston having 1/8th the mass of the solid steel one I'm currently using. Gonna try anyway when I get my hands on materials.
10/17/2010: Parts ordered and shipping. Pump should be operational within the week. Expect much higher pressures and lower piston densities.
11/06/2010: Currently working on incorporating a check valve into the piston. Hopefully that'll be finished within a week and I'll have an almost maintenance-free design.
11/20/2010: Check-valved piston almost finished. The rear seal seal fits a bit tight into the valve housing so it's kinda like stuck right now. Plus I discovered today that my gauge somehow broke itself while not in use.
11/27/2010: Tensile strength of UHMWPE is terrible. By the time I'm done the piston will probably be mostly steel again.
11/28/2010: Piston very much improved. No problems up to 650psi, no replacement gauge yet so I dare not push farther.
11/29/2010: IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!
Damage at 1,000psi vs 1/16th steel plate. Amazed it didn't go through, but it was directly against the backstop(pre-check-valve).
MASSIVE UPDATE
Check-valved piston (old pictures of the failed design have been replaced):
The piston was extensively modified from the original design and build, due to the terrible tensile strength of UHMWPE and its tendency to be extruded through an o-ring.
Shorter piston travel (I went to re-take this picture then realized my scope is in the way ):
Quick-disconnect rotated, stock modified to actually be effective, 3' instead of 18" barrel, and 4x scope (The bend is a result of some crookedly machined threads, I'll hopefully be replacing the crookedly threaded part with the next McMaster order.) I rotate the stock 1/4 turn clockwise for operation, it's just set like that so it can be filled:
What I did to be able to film that. The trident is sitting in for the camera... which doesn't like the lighting. Couldn't get a clear photo, since it was focusing on the ladder.
Most impressive picture is of the first can, other pictures available on request .
Finally penetrated the steel plate, at point-blank range with a deck nail
Videos compiled to one, will be updated with progress:
[youtube][/youtube]