Jet engines are undeniably awesome, but their inherent complexity prevents many from experimenting with the technology at home. Perhaps the most accessible design is the pulsejet; in valveless form, it can be built relatively easily without needing a lot of precision spinning parts. [Integza] decided to try building his own, facing many hurdles along the way. (Video, embedded below.)
Despite eschewing turbines and compressors, and consisting of just an intake, exhaust and a combustion chamber, the pulsejet still presents many challenges to the home gamer. Primary concerns are sustaining combustion without the jet flaming out, and building the jet out of suitable materials that won’t simply melt into a gooey puddle on the floor.
[Integza]’s design process began with many 3D-printed attempts. While the geometry was on point, none of these designs could run for more than a few seconds without melting and falling apart. Determined to avoid the typical welded-steel approach, [Integza] instead resolved to go left-of-field with carbon fibre mat combined with high-temperature sealant. With the help of a 3D-printed mold, he was able to produce a working engine that could stand up to the high temperatures and produce that glorious pulsejet sound.
It’s come a long way from [Integza]’s earlier experiments, and we look forward to seeing where it goes next – whether that be on a plane or perhaps even a go-kart. Video after the break.
I think that this type of engine wants to go at high speed.
And with some cooling fins it probably will perform better.
Maybe adding a blower and making a “wind tunnel” can make it run closer to it’s real intended environment.
Colin Furze mad eone and he starts his with a leaf blower but after that it’s all self-powered by physics.
Plus with the unvalved version the inlet faces the same way as the exhaust (same with the one he made in the video) so it might not help and will probably hurt it
Déjà vu
Small pulse jets are hard to make stable larger ones are more forgiving to tune.
Does engine test with “safety goggles” off, then puts them on to talk to the camera…
I’ll be curious to see if he can meet his goal of creating one that uses a tesla valve and see if Tesla’s hypothesis about using it on a pulse jet would work.
My first association with the pulsejet was definitely the German V-1 flying bomb:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-1_flying_bomb
and their Argus As 014 pulsejet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argus_As_014
so someone could probably build a small model of the V1 as the construction was relatively simple because of the one time use.
Maybe not a model, but there was the 5k$ cruise missile project some years ago.
From the video “that beautiful and melodic sound, that is so characteristic of pulse-jet engines”…
Oh – you mean the terrifying noise that scared the cr*p out of Londoners for 3 years?
Nevertheless, @Inetzga is quite a funny guy, and an entertaining video.
Actually the noise of the buzz bomb didn’t scare the crap out of Londoners, if you heard the sound you knew it was flying over you, but once the engine cut out the bomb dove onto it’s target, so when the engine sound cut out THAT was the time to crap yourself!
This could make terrorist drones much easier, not useful for attacking specific targets but for harassment attacks, like the Night Witches in WWII.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Witches
You might check into some High Unity Coatings (HUCs) like ITC-100 and ITC-213 (see: https://www.ceramaterials.com/itc-coatings/) I have seen an early demo where they made a ceramic kiln from plywood and sprayed with ITC-100, and it lasted an entire firing (getting up to maybe 2000F over several hours). The question is if you can find a HUC that will stick to plastic. Since ITC-213 will stick to graphite, I would try that first. If that did not work I would then try to metal plate onto the plastic, and then use ITC-213 to stick to that. As a note, when I first got some ITC to experiment with I got a couple of examples (one where they sprayed ITC-100 on Kaowool ceramic fiber blanket, and another where they brushed ITC-213 on a 1″x4″x0.064″ steel stock. I was able to hold the bear metal end and let an oxy-acetylene torch running on the end — without getting burnt! Freaky cool stuff ;-)
Just one question: What about waterglass as a resin for the carbon fiber instead of high temperature silicone rubber? It is cheaper and probably even more heat resistant. In this case its stiffness would be a better property then the flexibility of the rubber.
Nice project I am amazed because you 3d printed a jetengine (in plastic!).
he didn’t, he used the 3d parts for a mold.
I like this construction quite a bit. The RTV used for the matrix provides high temp resistance, room-temperature curing, AND easy mold release. That’s a lot of advantages for home building compared to typical epoxies.
Why would you use a material that you know would melt in the trials? It is not like the temperature is some huge unknown. Neat project, but that struck me as odd.
Getting the shape right on small pulsejets is hard. Disposable prototypes are a good idea.
It wasn’t funny when he wasted tomatoes, it was sad and idiotic. About the engine, adding water jacket would provide cooling and extend it’s lifetime – even the plastic version. When watching that, I came to an idea of making pistons for thermal engines (Stirling, steam, internal combustion) of refractory clay if someone doesn’t have equipment for casting/machining metal. What do you think about it?
Ok First of all, why are you complaining about the tomatoes of all things. I find that kind of pathetic.
You might want to explore some advanced carbon composite materials like those offered by CFC Carbon (see: https://www.cfccarbon.com/carbon-composite/intro-carbon-composite.html). I’ve seen a demo where they used carbon fiber composites to create lightweight, high-strength components for aerospace applications, and they held up exceptionally well under extreme stress conditions. The challenge here is whether you can find a composite material that will bond seamlessly with other substrates. If you’re working with high-heat applications, the carbon composite could handle the temperatures, but if adhesion is an issue, you might try applying a primer or adhesive designed for composite bonding.