Internal Ballistics of a Combustion Driven Potato Cannon using High-Speed Video

Abstract

A potato cannon was designed to accommodate several different experimental propellants and have a transparent barrel so the movement of the projectile could be recorded on high-speed video (at 2000 frame per second). Both combustion chamber and barrel were made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Five experimental propellants were tested: propane (C3H9), acetylene (C2H2), ethanol (C2H6O), methanol (CH4O), and butane (C4H10). The amount of each experimental propellant was calculated to approximate a stoichiometric mixture and considering the Upper Flammability Limit (UFL) and the Lower Flammability Limit (LFL), which in turn were affected by the volume of the combustion chamber.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 30, 2013
Accession Number
AD1015616

Entities

People

  • E. D. Courtney
  • Michael W. Courtney

Organizations

  • United States Air Force Academy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acetylenes
  • Air
  • Air Force
  • Air Pressure
  • Alcohols
  • Alkynes
  • Ballistics
  • Chambers
  • Combustion
  • Combustion Chambers
  • Ignition
  • Internal Pressure
  • Muzzle Velocity
  • Propellants
  • United States Air Force Academy
  • Video
  • Video Cameras

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Combustion science or combustion engineering.
  • ballistics.