JET ENGINES

This most recent design of the pyroflask engine is by far the best performing version, solving nearly all the thermal management issues and producing significantly more thrust than its own weight. With more compressor power and a better combustor design, it was able to continuously produce over 20 newtons of thrust.

see video: https://youtu.be/fp_H6xzvf8w?si=-PwMkw3iaJJDRBfq

The third version of the Pyroflask engine made even more improvements over the previous versions. With a re-used aluminum turbo impeller, I could run the compressor at over 80k rpm leading to moderate boost pressures of up to 6 psi. However, the high pressure came at the cost of a low flow rate requiring a nozzle insert to get nearly 10 newtons of thrust.

see video: https://youtu.be/b3q22EBB6Zk?si=MO9J6EcpO3xLyVjE

The second version of the Pyroflask concept was a considerable improvement on the first version with a more powerful compressor, automatic ignition, an intake choke for startup, and a small amount of film cooling. These improvements led to much better performance, doubling the output of the first version with just over 6 newtons of thrust.

see video: https://youtu.be/aJkV35lc5NE?si=iOt_8GGa9ucZgx_o

This engine was the first iteration of the water bottle based combustion chamber, and was a good proof of concept, showing the potential for stable combustion inside a re-purposed chamber. With relatively little compression and no cooling whatsoever, this engine performed rather badly producing less than 3 newtons of thrust.

see video: https://youtu.be/W5IO0WWDLhM?si=pQ9wiAeHyilwh3EO

This Turbojet was my first successful self-sustaining engine I made. However, it only barely ran with the starter off, and it overheated in about 3 minutes. It used stainless cookware and surplus turbine parts and was very cheap to build for what it was. 

See Video: https://youtu.be/qxwSFfT4Hdw

This work-in-progress engine is built out of a restored aircraft turbocharger and is able to sustain combustion using propane as fuel. This massive (110mm inducer) turbo was recovered from an aircraft scrapyard and fully restored and a large flame tube, oil system, and ducted fan starter were added. It ran for over 4 minutes producing plenty of power, but several modifications need to be made for longer runtimes and thrust performance.

See video: https://youtu.be/6jkeMjWDmYY