User:Boohyabuddha/ENES100/Project3

Project 4
Jet Turbine from Turbocharger

Problem Statement
Creating a self-sustaining jet engine using an old turbocharger. This turbocharger has a wastegate that will need to be closed in order for the engine to function, and the combustion chamber and oil/fuel systems will need to be created to create a viable engine that is able to run itself after ignition. The intake will spin and compress air, which will be pushed into a combustion chamber where it will be mixed with a fuel (propane for now) and ignited by a sparkplug. This ignited fuel and air mixture will exhaust at the other end of the turbo, causing the turbine to spin; once a high-enough ROM has been reached, this turbine will sustain itself as long as fuel is being provided.

Project Plan
- Seal wastegate - Build combustion chamber and air manifold - Install fuel and oil pumps

Week 1
The turbocharger is a Garrett possibly off of an old Ford F-150, based on its size and research onto the model. The initial issue that I ran into was that the turbocharger has a wastegate that functions as a blowout valve in case there is too much pressure being built up. While this function is valuable inside of a car engine, it's detrimental to creating a sustainable jet engine. The jet engine will require a sealed environment between intake and exhaust in order to maintain the cyclonic air flow and pressure needed to keep the turbines spinning.

Initially, I attempted to remove the face that houses these valves in order to get a better idea of ways to disable them or remove them; however, the torque on the bolts is too high, and there's no guarantee I would be able to achieve this torque if I had to replace the face. My next step is to weld the wastegate shut. I'm not sure whether this will affect the cyclonic airflow, but it is the only option I have now other than trying to get another turbo without a wastegate.

The next issue is a valve that is on the exhaust. This valve appears to regulate airflow when it was or wasn't in use in the car engine. This needs to be removed since it will hinder the air pressure and flow of exhaust. The two options for handling it are to 1) Weld it open and risk an interruption in airflow that could put detrimental back pressure onto the exhaust turbine, or 2) remove it completely. The latter seems to be the most viable option as of now, and will require cutting and removing the valve entirely.

Fuel: The fuel I plan to use at this early stage is propane. This is for two main reasons: 1) It is cheap and easy to handle, 2) it's easy to regulate the flow of the fuel into the chamber, and stop it if necessary with the installation of emergency shut off valves.

Sparkplug: This will be a custom-made electrical system with a car battery and ignition coil. There are known schematics to build one available widely on the internet, and my focus right now is the turbo itself.

Oil pump: This will be a used/repurposed pump that is capable of handling petroleum products. This will be installed into the turbo to allow for the turbine to spin freely without risk of seizing. It will be regular automotive oil.

Frame: A solid frame will also need to be built to house the turbine since the thrust can and would move the entire structure, causing a safety risk if it were to topple or move and negatively affect fuel flow.

The most important aspect of this project will be safety. The parts I need will have to be simultaneously quality, cheap, and safe. This will take enormous research and resources, specifically for the safety valves and oil pump. If the turbine fails and flames aren't controlled, the fuel and oil lines could catch fire and cause injury or worse.

Week 2

Turbo model: During the presentations, I met with a man that has experience with Ford turbos, and was able to narrow my as yet futile search for the model number. He suggested searching for turbos that were put onto Ford f-250 Powerstrokes during 99.5-2003. Doing this search I was able to find the model number! It's a Garrett GTP38. Specs/Pics Using this information, I discovered that the turbine uses journal bearings, not ball bearings. Based on this information and the information given to me by the man at the presentation, the oil pump will not only provide cooling, but also supplements these bearings to allow smooth rotation. This being said, he also suggested that, unless it's ball bearings, it's probably not meant to achieve very high RPM, hence the wastegate/actuator put on the turbo. Taking this and the slight turbine play, this means that, in the long run, it's probably not safe to run this turbine at high speeds or thrust. In the meantime, propane is most likely safe since its combustion temperature the pressure created is probably on the lowest end of scale when compared to other fuel choices such as kerosene, diesel, and rocket fuel. However, this will have to be taken into account when I am evaluating the safety of this system and testing.

Oil Pump: I attempted to go to Crazy Rays in Laurel to purchase a used oil pump. The oil pump needs to be about to push about 2-3 gal per minute. I attempted to find a vehicle with an oil pump, but due to my lack of knowledge and experience with automotive parts, I was unable to find and remove an oil pump on my own. This isn 't to say that there wasn't one available, but that if there was one, I wouldn't have known how to get it out safely and while maintaining its functional and structural integrity. In the end, I will have to buy it piecemeal via Craigslist or eBay most likely.

Ignition coil: The ignition coil will also have to either be procured from an older vehicle, or I will have to make one using a car battery and spark plug. I have found a few schematics on how to build one, but I'm undecided so far on how to procede. S of now, the focus for me is on developing the turbo and engine itself since the ignition is a separate system that can be built after the fact and installed later with no affect on design so long as I account for the sparkplug in the combustion chamber.

Air intake: The air intake will be comprise of three parts: The PVC piping that will run from the turbo to the combustion chamber manifold, the manifold, and a connector for the PVC to the turbo. The PVC is being used for its price more than anything, and because there's little to no risk of temperature increases flooding back into the PVC while in operation. The manifold connecting the PVC to the combustion chamber will have to be metal, however, since this will feed directly into the combustion chamber and will be affected by the ignition of the fuel. The manifold's dimensions and design will be based on the PVC piping sizes used, which should be about 2.5-3in inside diameter, based on the connecter and the turbo's air flow diameter. One thing that was pointed out by the man at the presentations that I hadn't considered as well is that this turbo was connected to its piping in the F250 via clamps, not bolts. While this is not too big of a deal for the air intake, this will affect how I attach an afterburner nozzle and the combustion chamber to the exhaust portion of the turbine. I will not be able to bolt the chamber on, which means I will have to weld it or securely clamp it in place. Most likely, for operational and safety reasons, the former is the option I will mostly go with. The connector will be a metal flange that will need to be welded on as well.

Valves?: The valves, I decided, will need to be welded open. The one that is internally within the turbo is too cumbersone and intricate to attempt to remove without affecting airflow, so the best option (unless it affects functionality) will be to weld it open. With regard to the valve on the exhaust portion, I will attack it first by welding it open, then, if it is not operational in that state, I will cut it off. I am doing this for one big reason: if I cut it off and it's unable to function (holes affect cyclonic effect), there is no easy way to address the issue; conversely, if I weld it open, and it negatively affects its operation, I can cut it off and hope that it isn't worse.

Combustion chamber: I have purchased two pieces of conduit for the chamber: one at 5in diameter for the flametube, and another that is 6in in diameter for the chamber casing. After further research into the flametube design, I was able to figure out a loose approximation for how to drill the holes: 20% inducer diameter for the first holes, 50% for the second set, and 30% for the last set. The serve the following functions, in order: mix air with fuel, support airflow, and direct airflow. There is no universally approved method for drilling these holes, however, I will probably end up going with the following design since it is the simplest: Pics