HOVERCRAFT PROPULSION SYSTEM
Moderators: AmyCowen, kgudger, bfinio, MadelineB, Moderators
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ericw740
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 11:02 am
- Occupation: student
- Project Question: Does the amount of outlet holes effect hovercraft stability?
- Project Due Date: 2/26
- Project Status: I am finished with my experiment and analyzing the data
HOVERCRAFT PROPULSION SYSTEM
I HAVE A FAN DO U KNOW IF IT WILL MAKE MY HOVERCRAFT MOVER IT IS 3FT BY 3FT
Eric.W
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peteryoung
- Former Expert
- Posts: 27
- Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2007 8:49 am
hovercraft propulsion?
Eric,
I see from the bio information provided by your name that you were doing research on hovercrafts. You've probably learned by now that
hovercrafts operate by pressurizing a chamber (usually called a plenum)
to a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure; and that excess air is allowed to escape at the edges of the hovercraft, with the leakage controlled by some sort of skirt arrangement. Thus the greater the vehicle
weight, the greater the pressure differential needed to raise the vehicle
off the ground.
It's difficult to answer your question without knowing other related factors
such as power of the fan, the geometry of the plenum chamber, and the weight of the overall hovercraft. Minimizing the hovercraft's weight will be important as this will determine how powerful the fan motor, or motors, have to be. Are you planning to build your hovercraft from references on the web? If so, there may be help available from those
sources.
It's also important to mention the absolute importance of safety when operating the fan. Anytime the fan is powered and rotating, be very careful that fingers, clothing, or anything else doesn't get entangled in the blades. Having a protective grille over the fan would also be a good idea, if not included in the fan unit you have. When powering up the fan, you shouldn't work alone, if at all possible, and there should be a quick way for you, or a helper, to kill the power to the fan unit in case of any
developing emergency.
Peter Young
I see from the bio information provided by your name that you were doing research on hovercrafts. You've probably learned by now that
hovercrafts operate by pressurizing a chamber (usually called a plenum)
to a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure; and that excess air is allowed to escape at the edges of the hovercraft, with the leakage controlled by some sort of skirt arrangement. Thus the greater the vehicle
weight, the greater the pressure differential needed to raise the vehicle
off the ground.
It's difficult to answer your question without knowing other related factors
such as power of the fan, the geometry of the plenum chamber, and the weight of the overall hovercraft. Minimizing the hovercraft's weight will be important as this will determine how powerful the fan motor, or motors, have to be. Are you planning to build your hovercraft from references on the web? If so, there may be help available from those
sources.
It's also important to mention the absolute importance of safety when operating the fan. Anytime the fan is powered and rotating, be very careful that fingers, clothing, or anything else doesn't get entangled in the blades. Having a protective grille over the fan would also be a good idea, if not included in the fan unit you have. When powering up the fan, you shouldn't work alone, if at all possible, and there should be a quick way for you, or a helper, to kill the power to the fan unit in case of any
developing emergency.
Peter Young
Peter Young
Senior Project Leader
The Aerospace Corporation
El Segundo CA
Senior Project Leader
The Aerospace Corporation
El Segundo CA