This Homebuilt Wood-Powered Turbojet is Real and Incredibly Dangerous
owl writes:
https://www.thedrive.com/news/this-homebuilt-wood-powered-turbojet-is-real-and-incredibly-dangerous
Everyone knows jet engines run on jet fuel; dino juice; refined hydrocarbons. Apparently, they can also run on the most primitive fuel of all-wood-as an Australian DIYer showed by getting a turbocharger-based jet engine to not just run on wood, but try to run away on him.
YouTuber Bobby McBoost devised such a contraption by plumbing a turbocharger into a burn barrel, effectively building a basic turbojet. That sounds like it shouldn't work, but it's actually very simple. The turbo feeds compressed air (oxygen) into the combustion chamber where the logs are burning, accelerating the burn, which pushes exhaust gas back out through the turbine to generate thrust. Starting it only requires firing up the logs beforehand, then using a leaf blower to spin the turbo. As soon as it generates boost, the engine sustains itself, and actually needs a throttle plate to prevent runaway.
Learning that the wood-fired jet engine could generate thrust appears to have pushed McBoost to find a use for his creation: powering a jet boat. In a video uploaded earlier this month, he announced he'd install the wood jet on a small boat, just to watch it propel itself across a small pond.
[Ed's Note: There is a series of videos associated with this build - the actual field test is here, and there are other videos following. I haven't had time to watch them.--JR]
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