KABAR2, Of course this is true, Allen and we certainly agree with you that very little finishing would be necessary if you used this method to produce a mortar or gun with such a chamber. We think in terms of machining, but we realize that there are more efficient ways to make a cannon tube.
Although it will be a huge yawn for many members, we think, for a few of you out there in cyberland, it may be interested to see what goes into the planning to create the ordnance for these chamber comparison experiments. First we decide on what type of artillery will suit the purpose of hassle-free experimentation. We decide on a mortar. Easier to make and easier to see what you are doing in process. Next we decided that we wanted a moderate size mortar which will not exceed 150 Lbs. tube weight. The bore size will be 4.00”, because we are familiar with that size and find it to throw an easily seen ball, but not so large a ball to require tremendous tube weight to negate recoil. Next we have to decide on the distance we want the test projectiles to travel. To cut down on walking, we decided on 50 to 100 yards rather than 200 or 300 yards. How much powder do you need to propel a solid shot weighing 9 lbs. to that distance?
Drawing on extensive experience with shooting my 1797 ½ scale 8” U.S. Land Service Siege Mortar made by South Bend Replicas in 1972, we decided on Fg powder weighing about 2 oz. , 875 grains avoirdupois. Actually we want each chamber to hold as close to 4 cu. In. of Fg BP as we can get. Accuracy in machining the various shaped chambers becomes very important.
Next we have to determine the density of black powder of the Brand (Goex) and the granulation size (Fg) that we will be using in the tests. So we made a measure that would throw four cubic inches of Goex Fg black powder. It’s dimensions are 1.128” Dia. X 4.000” long. Weighing this quantity we came up with 940 grains, so each cu. In. has a density of 235 grs. of Fg BP. So, you can see our standard charge for all these chamber efficiency experiments is a little bit over 2.0 oz, about 7% or 65 grs. To help those of you out that want to build your own powder measuring scoops, here are a few more results:
Fg Goex 235 grs per cu. In.
FFg Goex 232 grs per cu. In.
FFFg Goex 238 grs per cu. In.
FFFFg Goex 236 grs per cu. In.
We machined a brass rod to the 1.128” I.D. dimension X 4.000” long. We have some copper ones too made from water pipe. Avoid steel pipe for obvious reasons.
Sketches of the chambers will come next; we are busy designing Brooke sights now, so our drafting facilities are being used. Time to check and re-check calculations. If the Concave Chamber is the most difficult to design and produce, then it’s the first one to figure out mathematically. Our calculations are found below and we realize that there are several ways to do most designs and more ways to do the associated math. This is our way, it may not be the best for your project.
Every effort was made to make our ellipsoidal chamber as close to the Concave Chamber drawing shape in Muller’s book as we could. The very 1
st thing to figure out is the volume of the entire ellipsoid shape even though a small portion of it is missing on the right hand side where the chamber meets the ball seat radius.
Concave Chamber from Muller’s book brought forward for shape comparison:
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Sketch Here for Full Ellipsoidal Shape; This is the Shape of our Concave or Ellipsoidal Chamber before Removal of the Elliptical Cone:
sketch from the website:
http://calculator.tutorvista.com/math/49/volume-of-ellipsoid-calculator.html
Axis Explanation and Better Axis Designation: Yes, in our case B=C. From Had 2 Know website:
http://www.had2know.com/academics/egg-surface-area-volume-calculator.html
Sketch Here for Elliptical Cone: from this website,
http://www.exploration.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/volume.html
V1 Math Calc. for Volume of Full Ellipsoid
V2 Math Calc. for Volume of Elliptical Cone
V3 Math Calc. for Volume of Modified Ellipsoid (Truncated Ellipsoidal Chamber)
V1 Formula and Calculations for Full Ellipsoid:
V1= (2 pi/3) Asq (B+C) A = .870" B = 1.300" C = 1.300"
V1= (2x3.1416/3)(.870)sq (1.300 + 1.300)
V1= (6.2832/3)(.7569)(2.600)
V1= 2.0944 x .7569 x 2.600
V1= 1.58525 x 2.600
V1= 4.122 cu. In.
V2 Formula and Calculations for Elliptical Cone:
V2= ( pi x dsq x h)/6 d = 1.044” h = .200”
V2= (3.1416 x 1.090 x .200)/6
V2= .685/6
V2= .114 cu. In.
V3 Calc. for Volume of Modified Ellipsoid
V3 = V1 – V2
V3= 4.122 - .144
V3= 4.008 cu. in.
All of the other chamber shapes will be the same volume within 1/100 of a cubic inch. This one is within 8/1,000 of a cu. in. As we get closer to the time when these are made, we will provide some numbers for machining this chamber shape. We will also have some machining process info such as Operational Steps like drilling, straight cylinder boring and radial expansion boring to create the Spheroidal or Ellipsoidal Chambers. Sure, there is a lot of figuring before we can start to machine steel, but we are excited. All this is new and different and these mortar inserts will be fun to make and use! Can't wait! Any questions? Ask away.
Mike and Tracy