I have to find ways to lift a load of 400lbs about 30 feet into the air

by Jeremy

hi

this is for a school project

i have to find ways to lift a load of 400lbs about 30 feet into the air, without using traditional methods like rotors

i came up with using an air compressor to route compressed air into 4 small rocket nozzles to lift it off the ground

how powerful of an air compressor would i need if i wanted a constant thrust of 500lbs coming out of 4 small nozzles (125lbs out of each nozzle)?

if that is actually possible can the compressor be driven by something like a 50hp engine?

ie. a compressor attached directly onto the crank of the engine?





Bill waffles...

Hi Jeremy.

While typical use of compressed air for the home workshop or industrial us is "not rocket science", your question certainly is.

I wouldn't even begin to try to answer how to generate rocket thrust from a rocket nozzle using compressed air.

Sorry chum. It sounds like a heck of a project, but I have no expertise in this area to help you.

Cheers,

Bill




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I have to find ways to lift a load of 400lbs about 30 feet into the air

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Feb 03, 2009
 400lbs thrust
by: jeremy

well if i had a 1 inch diameter nozzle and a constant 100psi of air then that nozzle would generate 100lbs of thrust wouldnt it?

so using that i would need 400psi to power all 4 nozzles to get a thrust of 400lbs(i think)

so are there compressors that can consistently produce 400psi straight to the nozzles without it having to go to a holding tank?
and what kind of powerplant will be needed to power that sort of compressor for about 2 hours?





Hi Jeremy:

A 1 sq. inch nozzle with a 100 PSI pressure supply would produce 100 lbs. of pressure. Is pressure the same as thrust?

Now we're back into rocket science, and I don't do that. Sorry.

Yes, there are compressors that can produce 400 PSI of pressure, but at what flow?

The flow of compressed air through a 1 sq. inch orifice (never mind 4) would boggle the mind.

You likely couldn't afford either the size of compressor needed, or the electricity necessary to power the electric motors for compressors that size.

Bill

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