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  • Author Author: ninjatrent
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Testing my Electric Ducted Fan Jet Motor

ninjatrent

               First Test of EDF Jet Motor Prototype

 

This is a scaled-down working model of an Electric Ducted Fan Jet Motor with Thrust Vectoring control surfaces. I constructed it out of 5mm Foam Board typically found in the arts & crafts section of local store, poster board, white Duck brand Duct Tape, hot glue, and a modified cooling fan recovered from an Original Xbox gaming console. The purpose of making this model was first and foremost to see if it would actually work. I am working on a project that uses EDF Units and Brushless Inner-running motors as a method of propulsion. Before I invested in a factory made EDF Unit and motor, I thought it would be best to construct this prototype for testing. This fan is not powerful enough to provide the thrust needed for my project. It is merely a means to test the Thrust Vectoring control surfaces.

This prototype was designed with a compass, square, and metric ruler, remnants of my days in mechanical drawing class.

 

                What is Thrust Vectoring?

 

Thrust vectoring, also thrust vector control or TVC, is the ability of an aircraft, rocket, or other vehicle to manipulate the direction of the thrust from its engine(s) or motor(s) in order to control the attitude or angular velocity of the vehicle.

 

For aircraft, the method was originally envisaged to provide upward vertical thrust as a means to give aircraft vertical (VTOL) or short (STOL) takeoff and landing ability. Subsequently, it was realized that using vectored thrust in combat situations enabled aircraft to perform various maneuvers not available to conventional-engined planes. To perform turns, aircraft that use no thrust vectoring must rely on aerodynamic control surfaces only, such as ailerons or elevator; craft with vectoring must still use control surfaces, but to a lesser extent. - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 

                   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrust_vectoring

 

 

 

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The design of an EDF unit has to be exact. If the circumference of the duct is not perfectly circular, this can cause a decrease in thrust and possibly fan blade and/or EDF unit failure. The purpose of these video tests were to see if the fan blades would make contact with the duct and to see any vibrations. I used an E-cigarette for the smoke test, so I should have said vapor test.

  • in reply to fvan

    Hi Frederick,

     

    Thank you for your interest in this post. As you can see, I am not very experienced in the writing of blogs.image  As you have mentioned, I should have provided more information about this post. I have updated it to include more information.

     

    This is a small part of a bigger project. I want to build a UAV drone that uses EDF jets with Thrust Vectoring Control as the method of propulsion instead of traditional propellers. It will be controlled by RC at first but eventually I hope to control with GPS. I plan to purchase two factory manufactured 80mm to 120mm EDF units with motors for use in the final design. This model is too small to provide the thrust needed in my project. The purpose of this model is to assist in designing the Thrust Vectoring control surfaces.

  • in reply to balearicdynamics

    Hi Enrico,

     

    Thank you for your interest in this post. I made the mistake of uploading the photos before including information regarding the nature of the blog post. I have updated the post with some more info.

     

    The purpose of the videos were to make record of any issues with vibration, structural instability, or defects in design that might cause the unit to fail. My appologies for the lack of audio and quality of video. The that I used is a webcam meant for use with Xbox 360 game console. It is only 2MP resolution with no microphone.

  • in reply to jw0752

    Hi John,

    Thank you fro your interest. Creating a near perfect cylinder out of poster board was an interesting challenge. I have updated the post to include more information. This is part of the project that I had mentioned in our previous conversation.

  • Hey Trent,

     

    looks great, but a bit more context would make it even better image Is this part of a bigger project or just a standalone experiment?

  • in reply to jw0752

    I agree, John

     

    sounds interesting but it is better having more details, usage and ... Also a small explanation on what the videos will show image

     

    Enrico