Thermosiphon

thermosiphon

A thermosiphon is a method of passive heat exchange between the heat source and the heat sink. In the case here the engine is the heat source and the water tank is the heat sink. The fundamental issue when running the Whippet engine in this configuration was it was getting hot and the water was … Read more

Particle Damping

sand bags

Having used particle damping in the column of the milling machine and on the workpiece of the cnc it was time to look at it in detail. Particle damping works based on impact and friction, depending on the size of the particles this can be one or millions. Studies show that most of the energy … Read more

Forming Balsawood

hot wet balsawood formed onto metal

In this particular case forming balsawood for an insulation wrap on a steam boiler. In simple terms the process was to soak it in hot water, wrap it into shape and then heat it up. Here though are the steps and some images to show you the finer points. 1. Soaking the Balsawood in Hot … Read more

Known Parameters for the Boiler Test Object

Barrel shape Boiler Heat Loss Test Object

Before starting the simple modelling I think it is worth looking at the known parameters for the boiler test object. From these there will be some simple assumptions and estimations. Assumptions Lumped point mass. Single temperature measurement represents the temperature of the object. Heat capacity does not change with temperature. Local air temperature represents ambient … Read more

Boiler Heat Loss Test Object

boiler heat loss test object

My original boiler heat loss test object was a round disc of mild steel and copper. However, this doesn’t relate that well to the actual boiler. This is so that I can test different types of boiler insulation and multi-layer insulation. My original idea for measuring the thermal insulation for the boiler was to make a … Read more

Aerodynamic Drag

Aerodynamic drag is the resistance of a vehicle body to motion through the air. A smooth surface has less drag than a rough one. It may be broken down into three main components: skin friction: this is drag due to the surface texture and area. profile drag: this is drag from the three-dimensional shape of … Read more