Author Topic: Brayton Readymotor.  (Read 8537 times)

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Brayton Readymotor.
« on: September 22, 2018, 08:32:01 PM »
Hello All.

It almost seems like a lifetime ago now when I first started upon the most ambitious scale engine project ever.

A long standing customer that became a good friend, Mike the bike, showed me a picture of the Brayton ready motor. A beautiful piece of Victorian mechanical engineering. A time when aesthetics and functionality were as one. Sadly, Mike passed on and only his photocopies from the book remained.

Upon a whim I thought, wouldn't it be nice to remember Mike with an inspirational and pioneering engine? The Brayton fitted the bill nicely.

George B. Brayton and his engine are almost forgotten but the Brayton Cycle is now used widely in the form of the Jet engine!
In the early 1870's prior to NA Otto and his four stroke the Atmospheric engine reigned supreme. Brayton's " constant pressure engine " design had similar efficiency but later liquid fuelled engines were developed for places where town gas was unavailable.

Picture a canister filled with a pressurised combustible mixture of air and Town gas, a recipe for disaster if ever there was! Well this was exactly how the fuel was stored prior to combustion. At bottom dead centre the admission valve opens allowing the mixture to pass by a burning pilot light within the cylinder head. The result is an expansion of the Nitrogen that presses against the underside of the double acting piston. On the other side of the piston the air and gas that was drawn in on the last downstroke is being moved through a non return valve into the tank that forms the engine's beam support column. At a given point the admission stops to allow further expansion due to the heat generated by the flames. As the engine reaches TDC the exhaust valve opens and the flywheel carries the piston down both exhausting the power cylinder and drawing in a fresh charge of mixture in. The cycle repeats.... Well until sometimes the flames could pass the many safety meshes and ignite the fuel in the column!! The engine was fitted with a large volume safety valve to allow for this condition without an explosion of the cast Iron receiver.

Well, that's the history. George Bailey Brayton continued to develop engines and in the 1890's was the first to directly inject liquid fuel oil into the cylinder just like Diesel did but used secondary ignition. He was the first to control engine speed by quantative means however.

To the point....

I happened to have a pair of " lazy S " spoked cast Iron wheels that had solid rubber tyres bonded to the rim. A quick measure at around 15 inches diameter seemed about right for a one third scale engine. Once a datum has been found you can then use it to measure a picture and start making a three dimensional pattern. After several months I had got most of the engines patterns made and quite a few were cast in Iron. I have the cylinder, piston and heads finish machined too. Disaster struck, my one and only Buckley foundry announced closure. I hadn't quite finished the main engine pattern, the project was shelved.

Having recently found a new and I'm happy to say, competent Iron foundry the Brayton Ready motor seems like an ideal candidate for resurrection?

What does the membership think? Does anyone know if a
" constant pressure engine " has ever been scaled and built?
Is it worth the effort? Over to you....

Online crueby

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #1 on: September 22, 2018, 08:37:45 PM »
Well, I don't yet follow the way the cycle works (diagram would help a lot, I think), but the engine itself is very interesting looking, with the fluted column and arcs its classic.  Would you make it to run the original cycle, even with the dangers?

Offline Art K

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2018, 01:10:50 AM »
Like he said, I don't follow how it works. I did follow a link to Wikipedia that explained the cycle and as an open cycle turbine and jet engines. I guess it's just over my pay grade. :ROFL:
Art
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Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2018, 07:25:59 AM »
I think I follow how it works the top side of the piston acts like a compressor piston and draws in the fuel air mix on the return stroke and then pumps it into a smaller chamber on the power stroke. The Combustion side of the piston sees that compressed fuel/air mix at the start of the power stroke where it is ignited making the engine fire and on the return stroke it exhausts the spent gas.

Is it worth the effort?

Well as a personal challenge then I'm sure it is. As a possible commercial project then I think the size will be a limiting factor as there are not many engine enthusiasts who can acomodate a 15" flywheel and even those that can may turn their noses up at an engine that is not going to be easy to move around.

As to whether it has been modeled before I don't think it would have been done in a "scale" form but expect someone may have made a barstock version just to see if the cycle can be modeled. I see from Google that Nick Roland (RMC Engines) has a full size later 2-cylinder engine that runs with this cycle so he may have played about with it on one of his test rig models.

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2018, 12:17:19 PM »
Good morning.

Many thanks to the few that looked in.

The Brayton cycle is basically quite simple.  A mixture of compressed air and fuel ( in the correct ratio for combustion ) are allowed to enter the closed cylinder with the piston at bottom dead centre. A pilot light within ignites this flammable mixture. Two processes act as one, the compressed air wants to expand into the bigger space and at the same time is also being heated by combustion, rapid expansion occurs pushing the piston away, the power stroke.

The engine had a mechanism that controlled the amount of admission, a bit like a steam engine does, variable " cut off " this maintained the engines speed and power.

This particular engine combined both the expansion chamber and compressor in a single, double acting style cylinder, later designs used separate cylinders.

With regard to your question crueby, no. I felt that a potential " bomb " wasn't a great idea so I have made the admission valve assembly with the addition of a separate fuel injection port. In other words the mixture will be made on demand just prior to burning, the column will contain nothing but compressed air.

I've also attached a picture of the Brayton cycle pertaining to an " open cycle " system.

Cheers Graham.

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #5 on: July 18, 2020, 02:12:45 PM »
Hello All.

With a lot more spare time and a little family encouragement....

I'm a couple of steps closer to the foundry.

Cheers Graham.

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #6 on: July 18, 2020, 02:25:06 PM »
That's a good way to form a core box, where did you get that idea from :thinking:

I'm still waiting for some sizes for the bearing housings to go on top of that pattern, also any news on the kinky one? What was the outcome of that facebook message about printing the flywheel pattern?

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #7 on: July 18, 2020, 02:46:03 PM »
That's a good way to form a core box, where did you get that idea from :thinking:

I'm still waiting for some sizes for the bearing housings to go on top of that pattern, also any news on the kinky one? What was the outcome of that facebook message about printing the flywheel pattern?

Hmmm, I wonder!   ;)

Well Jason, I had zero feedback on whether the kink was acceptable but my own eye sees it somewhere between your 2 renderings. Dave Otto wrote to say it was too big for his company's printer to accommodate.

Here's my original attempt at the top bearing yoke.

I've also attached a picture of Brayton's 1890 patent motor which shows the admission port in detail. I often wondered how he managed to stop the greater pressure developed within the cylinder from being lost into the air receiver, it was both mechanically opened and closed. You can also see the internal flame igniter.

Cheers Graham.
« Last Edit: July 18, 2020, 03:27:13 PM by Alyn Foundry »

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #8 on: July 18, 2020, 04:14:25 PM »
I'll draw something up between the two spoke options.

There are still other options once design is sorted

 - CNC cutting or printing (on a smaller machine) individual spokes to be built into a wooden hub & rim, either all or two masters that can have six of each spoke home cast from them.

- CNC or print the wheel in several segments that can be joined to make a complete wheel which would need a printer with about 200 x 200 print area

- As above but with a thin rim so the segments could be assembles into a wooden outer rim this would only need a 150 x 150 work area.

- CNC cut six segments form a large blank that can be indexed around thus reducing the working area needed particularly the Y axis.

Final option is to make one to the Patent drawing with STRAIGHT spokes :ThumbsUp: :LittleDevil:

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #9 on: July 18, 2020, 05:44:38 PM »
I'll draw something up between the two spoke options.

There are still other options once design is sorted


Final option is to make one to the Patent drawing with STRAIGHT spokes :ThumbsUp: :LittleDevil:

 :lolb:

No Jason. I don't think so....

But perhaps you could CNC me a neat relief to glue onto my already made wooden yokes ?

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #10 on: July 18, 2020, 06:41:38 PM »
Send me a sketch and sizes

I think I may just be able to do the flywheel in two halves leaving the rim for turning

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #11 on: July 19, 2020, 11:09:49 AM »
Thanks Jason.      :ThumbsUp:

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #12 on: July 19, 2020, 01:18:29 PM »
Now All I need to do is convince you to make it smaller then I could knock one up like this steel jobbie I did this morning ;)

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #13 on: July 19, 2020, 02:00:46 PM »
Now All I need to do is convince you to make it smaller then I could knock one up like this steel jobbie I did this morning ;)


Very nice Jason.

I think the pain of the ill fated Hornsby Akroyd still lies heavily with me Jason. Almost 9 months of intense patternmaking and engineering came to nothing but a very poor running engine. At a quarter scale I think the natural/elemental components didn't like it.

From the data I've gleaned my model is still small at 1/3 rd scale but I think we might stand a reasonable chance of a runner. Despite much searching I've not come across a working model myself but perhaps the readership can find something?

As far as I'm aware this particular engine was a one-off built for an exhibition, the more common horizontal format see's a few survivors.

Cheers Graham.


Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #14 on: July 19, 2020, 02:17:48 PM »
Here's a survivor....

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu5RN9Rs5vM" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu5RN9Rs5vM</a>

Having understood the working principle I'm of the opinion that the " cutoff " is a little late and some still burning/expanding mixture is " popping " as the exhaust is opening. Hence the bark to the exhaust note.

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #15 on: July 19, 2020, 04:16:14 PM »
Another foray into the dim recesses of my workshop to find....

Jo should be suitably impressed by the " special coating " on this casting, done over 16 years ago.

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #16 on: July 24, 2020, 07:27:55 PM »
Well with little response to Grahams enquiry about 3D printing for pattern making it was back to wood but with a modern twist, now what's next ;)

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8n4mKccHaM" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8n4mKccHaM</a>

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #17 on: July 24, 2020, 08:18:48 PM »
Oh my goodness Jason....

That was mesmerising, I kept wanting to blow the shavings away !!   :)

What's next?   The Yoke, the yoke, the yoke....

Cheers Graham.

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #18 on: July 24, 2020, 08:22:22 PM »
Or the spoke, the spoke + ten others :LittleDevil:

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #19 on: July 24, 2020, 08:31:25 PM »
A little teaser for you, if the previous one was mesmerising this will make you cross eyed :o

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvispph_mIA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvispph_mIA</a>

My flywheel turned up quite nicely with no hard spots or voids and looks quite good with a lick of paint ;)

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #20 on: July 25, 2020, 12:01:12 PM »
Thanks Jason.

Let's put the flywheel on the ” back burner " for now but the finished picture looks stunning. I'm thinking you've set the tone for the colour though, that glossy Black really " pops "

I'm getting on nicely with the main base pattern just one more set of core prints to go and some Patternmaker's dowels to fit and its done.

Typically " factory fortnight " has started in the Midlands but I've been given a number to call next Tuesday so I can find out if they do " lost foam " work.

I watched the video, don't forget the core prints lol.... ;)

Cheers Graham.

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #21 on: July 25, 2020, 01:01:42 PM »
Not forgotten, I thought it would be easier to do a "T" shaped piece for the print and bottom of the "U" shape and add the bit in the simulation to that otherwise its a lot of sawdust and a lot of slender tool sticking out of the collet.


Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #22 on: July 25, 2020, 01:20:38 PM »
That looks beautiful Jason.

You've chosen some nice wood to work with, really tight grained, what is it made from? I particularly liked to use seasond Ash, Beech or the old favourite Pitch Pine.

I have to say that the pattern would have taken me several hours to make you can see the virtues of CNC!!

Cheers Graham.

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #23 on: July 25, 2020, 08:14:49 PM »
There's no pallet wood in my workshop :ShakeHead: caps were beech and the yoke is maple. Now if i'd have had a couple of lumps of cast iron I could have cut out the middle man and made them straight off in iron which may even have been quicker as having to cut the draft angle in small increments takes quite a while

Enjoy

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBFrADdGgxA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBFrADdGgxA</a>

Just need gluing together and the internal corner where pattern meets print squaring off. What size holes do your dowels need as I can add them.
« Last Edit: July 25, 2020, 08:17:54 PM by Jasonb »

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #24 on: July 25, 2020, 08:39:27 PM »
Lovely, that deserves a big.... :ThumbsUp:

So you've glued one face to the " core print " leaving the other face for location dowels? nice idea. A simple rectangle of wood or metal will create the corebox to finish.

You've made patternmaking look easy....

Cheers Graham.

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #25 on: July 25, 2020, 08:43:32 PM »
Not glued yet, I was going to clamp the two prints together and drill right through for the dowel holes before gluing which will save filling the outside of the holes if you let me know diameter.

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #26 on: July 26, 2020, 11:10:24 AM »
Good morning Jason.

A couple of short polished Brass pins at 6mm diameter will be more than adequate Jason.

For more repetitive work  " cabinet makers dowels " were used, the pins were Steel, bullet pointed and fitted into a Brass socket. It enabled the two parts to disconnect readily.

Cheers Graham.

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #27 on: July 26, 2020, 01:36:37 PM »
You will have to make do with 1/4" as I've drilled them now and the glue is drying. I thought your old pins are likely to be imperial.

I have used the pin and sockets on other patterns I have done for myself in the past but don't have many left if any.

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #28 on: August 01, 2020, 10:20:18 AM »
Well with the flywheel design dcided upon Mr C has not had much luck finding reasonably priced 3D printing options or finding someone with a CNC router to machine a one use pattern so I had mentioned the possibility of me CNC cutting a pattern. Playing about with my available X & Y movement would have meant doing everything within the inside of the rim in three setups but the other option was to make separate spoke halves and build them into a rim.

So first step was to cut away everything but one spoke which was easy enough in Alibre, I left a segment of hub and the fillet where the spoke joins the rim so it can be cope cut to fit a shallow V in the rim.



It was then just a case of doing the CAM and pressing Go to end up with this which I'm very happy with straight off the machine.



 I glued the blank to a block of MDF with a sheet of paper between the surfaces which is easily parted with a sharp tap to a chisel and then a quick rub on abrasive to remove the remaining paper, actual machined surface needed hardly any sanding and most of that was just to remove a few whisps on the edges.



Video of the process, starting with the roughing out cuts with a 10mm 2-flute aluminium specific cutter followed by a long shank 6mm 4-flute ball ended cutter both at 5000rpm and feeds of 400 and 500mm/min respectively. It's a lot quieter than the video suggests as somewhere in teh editing/uploading I get some high frequency noise.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSzUr8B03S0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSzUr8B03S0</a>


simplyloco

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #29 on: August 01, 2020, 10:22:25 AM »
Very nice Jason, but I have to say on seeing it my first thought was of a beautiful mermaid! :NotWorthy:
John

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #30 on: August 01, 2020, 01:16:29 PM »
Very nice Jason, but I have to say on seeing it my first thought was of a beautiful mermaid! :NotWorthy:
John

I think you have been in lockdown for two long, next thing you will be telling us you have seen a unicorn ;) But it certainly make it easy to produce curvy shapes that would be difficult and time consuming on manual machines. The limit now is really what can be drawn, I would have liked a bit more "flair" where the spoke joins the hub but my cad had other ideas though a bit of body filler on the pattern should make up for any shortcomings.

At least I can cut at whatever speed I fancy here :LittleDevil:

Offline kvom

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #31 on: August 01, 2020, 05:12:09 PM »
Don't you have to machine a mirror image piece for the reverse side?

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #32 on: August 01, 2020, 05:26:09 PM »
Yes, 6 of each type needed due to curve of spokes as mentioned in post #8

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #33 on: August 01, 2020, 07:14:04 PM »
Jason.

I was really impressed watching the video and by the finish,  beautiful to look at but I'm a little daunted by the rim.

Let's hold on for the moment whilst I wait for some quotes to come back.

Cheers Graham.

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #34 on: August 01, 2020, 07:20:51 PM »
I could do the rim

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #35 on: May 14, 2022, 12:45:02 PM »
Progress….

With some amazing work and help from Jason Ballamy, many thanks.

The greatest challenge was the weight of the base casting @ nearly 30 Kgs then the height of 18”….

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #36 on: May 14, 2022, 01:26:41 PM »
Happy to have helped.

You will soon have a bit of a dilemma what with castings for three different engines all vying for your attention, At least you won't have to fight off any elephants to get to them

Any more thoughts on the crosshead?

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #37 on: May 14, 2022, 02:17:09 PM »
Indeed Jason.   ;)

We managed to marry the machined beam yoke to the main bed yesterday evening and just in time…. The Knight can now have its 6” capacity machine vice back. We have an engine to complete before June….

Showing some of the cleaning up process, and remarkably good finish considering the machine was pushed to its limits.

For those that might be interested to know in greater detail what’s been going on lately, please feel free to join in at….

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ALYNFOUNDRYMODELS/

 :cheers: Graham.

Offline Roger B

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #38 on: May 14, 2022, 05:09:37 PM »
That looks quite a beast  :)  :)  :) Excellent team work  :ThumbsUp:  :ThumbsUp:  :wine1:
Best regards

Roger

Online Jo

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #39 on: May 14, 2022, 05:41:36 PM »
For those that might be interested to know in greater detail what’s been going on lately, please feel free to join in at….

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ALYNFOUNDRYMODELS/


Sadly that is a private group on farcebook which is only visible to members. Many forum members here are not members of Farcebook.

Personally I will not join as I understand the implications of the types cookies employed by Farcebook and I make sure to clear down all cookies every time I go anywhere near it  :paranoia:

Jo
Enjoyment is more important than achievement.

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #40 on: May 14, 2022, 06:43:40 PM »
Though it does seem to be the way the online hobby is going with some forums seeing less activity while the more focused FB groups and similar get plenty of traffic from likeminded users.

There is no doubt a lot of rubbish on there but the closed groups can keep a lot of that out and are easy enough to join for those that want to see what they may be missing out on. I'm only a member of a few but they do cover what I'm interested in or are run by people whose workshop activity I enjoy following such as the likes of Wayne Grennings.

From postings yesterday and today we may have found another subject to model :cartwheel:

Offline Admiral_dk

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #41 on: May 14, 2022, 09:22:25 PM »
Looks fantastic - but it's huge  :o

Per

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #42 on: May 18, 2023, 12:00:29 PM »
I’m now on a bit of a mission….

We are going to have the UK’s first dedicated small power engine rally to be held at the Anson engine museum this coming July. I thought that the Brayton Ready-Motor might be a nice exhibit. Having already chosen a size of 3/4” diameter for the crankshaft can anyone recommend a supplier of true to size round bar please? Silver Steel is way too expensive at this time.

Photo of Brass bearing shells and crankshaft webs.

 :cheers:  Graham.

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #43 on: May 18, 2023, 12:19:59 PM »
Precision ground mild steel is about 1/3rd cheaper for 3/4" or half the cost if you go to 20mm

 https://www.m-machine-metals.co.uk/downloads/Metals%20catalogue.pdf

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #44 on: May 18, 2023, 01:30:37 PM »
Precision ground mild steel is about 1/3rd cheaper for 3/4" or half the cost if you go to 20mm

 https://www.m-machine-metals.co.uk/downloads/Metals%20catalogue.pdf

Thanks Jason.

Having spent a fortune on an extra long 3/4” machine reamer for the mains I shall have to stick with the Imperial diameter. Just spoken with a lovely lady at the firm and managed to source some 3/8” Steel tube for the air and fuel lines, absolute bonus….

 :cheers:  Graham.

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #45 on: May 18, 2023, 01:44:32 PM »
Then MSC is worth a look for a 1m length of 3/4" SS £34 plus VAT & Postage

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #46 on: May 18, 2023, 02:47:49 PM »
Then MSC is worth a look for a 1m length of 3/4" SS £34 plus VAT & Postage

I opted for precision ground mild Steel in the end  Jason.  :ThumbsUp:

George Brayton envisioned an engine much like that of the steam variety where the pressure increases rapidly but more gently. I think it will serve well for this application however time will tell, I have no doubt….

I’ve managed to source a large 3 jaw chuck for Mathew’s Le Blond so we should have that beautiful flywheel done in a couple of weeks time. That will certainly be a landmark in the engine's construction.

 :cheers:  Graham.

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #47 on: May 23, 2023, 03:47:43 PM »
Thanks Jason, what a wonderful service provided by M-Machine.  :ThumbsUp:

https://www.m-machine-metals.co.uk/downloads/Metals%20catalogue.pdf

My materials arrived this afternoon in very great shape, beautifully packaged…. For any “ oldschool “ readers they also supply 3/8” Steel tube with a 16 SWG wall thickness ideal for 1/8” BSP pipe work.

I’ve got no excuses now but to get on with the job. The bearing halves were flatted on 80 grit Emery cloth and heated for tinning. The finished shells.

 :cheers:  Graham.

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #48 on: May 27, 2023, 07:22:47 PM »
With the “ BRM “ off on holiday in Preston for some serious machining I turned my attention to the conrod and beam assembly. Sadly an error on my part with the base casting core, the area where the crankshaft runs was a little too tight to allow full rotation. See attached photo. The flywheel is also being done on number two sons Le Blond. I managed to score a dedicated L1 mount Pratt Burned 9” 3 jaw chuck on eBay last week. We’re definitely moving with this project….

 :cheers:  Graham.

Offline RReid

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #49 on: May 27, 2023, 08:44:51 PM »
As a life long racing fan, the reference to "BRM" gave me a start, until I realized it referred to Brayton Readymotor not British Racing Motors. :Lol:

I miss the LeBlond I had at one time. It even had the taper attachment.  :(
Regards,
Ron

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #50 on: May 28, 2023, 12:20:45 PM »
Hi Ron.

My apologies for giving you a shock but I do find posting a bit of a chore these days.

We seem to have become a Le Blond family. My own RP ( rapid production ) was built Circa 1942 and shipped over to the UK on the “ Lend lease “ wartime scheme. I’ve owned it for nearly 40 years, quite the love affair…. :)

Mathew’s Le Blond turned up just after he’d moved up the country and bought it for virtually scrap price. At over 2 Tons in weight she’s a very robust machine. The only serious problem was there was just one chuck fitted, a 12” 4 jaw. As previously stated an early birthday present was found last week in the form of a Pratt 3 jaw chuck. Hopefully now both  Jason and I may yet get to see the the rather ethereal CHUK 4 ?

 :cheers:  Graham.

Online Jasonb

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #51 on: May 28, 2023, 01:05:54 PM »
Hate to think how long it would have taken you to get to this stage if you did not have the "rapid Production" lathe :LittleDevil:

Will C4 have a single crankshaft with one or two flywheels? And will you have to use different bearing supports to avoid a long overhang or use the existing castings and cobble something together to support the cam followers?

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #52 on: May 28, 2023, 02:16:06 PM »
Hate to think how long it would have taken you to get to this stage if you did not have the "rapid Production" lathe :LittleDevil:

Will C4 have a single crankshaft with one or two flywheels? And will you have to use different bearing supports to avoid a long overhang or use the existing castings and cobble something together to support the cam followers?

Hi Jason.

It’s a long story…. The engine was virtually completed many years ago. But I’m sure we can all relate to our more youthful days when things like patience were in very short supply. Needless to say the stumbling block was the exhaust valves and their failure to seat properly. We now have a simple solution with the 3 coil spring method.

The flywheel runs between the two vertical cylinders and cams fitted to each side for the valves.

More to come, I’m sure.

 :cheers:  Graham.

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #53 on: June 11, 2023, 12:09:43 PM »
Since my last post there’s been a frenzy of work going on with the BR-M. We’re hoping to debut its completion at the Anson engine museum next month. It will coincide with the UK’s first ever, dedicated small power engine rally.

Number two son Mathew machined the 15+” diameter flywheel on his Le Blond and it came out perfectly. I have been busy making the crankshaft and conrod.

It’s beginning to look like an engine now.

 :cheers:  Graham.

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #54 on: June 21, 2023, 11:01:57 AM »
Since my last post things have moved on at quite a pace.

The Brass foundry that I have been using for over 40 years did a really quick turnaround for the crosshead, safety valve and eccentric strap castings. They’re now all machined and fitted up loosely.

Last night saw the engine being rotated by hand and everything was doing what it oughta at the cylinder side.

 :cheers:  Graham.

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #55 on: July 11, 2023, 11:44:15 AM »
We suffered a major catastrophe a few days ago, during initial air and fuel mixture testing the engine broke. We’re not really sure what happened but were showered with bits of broken bearings and fasteners as the Brayton came to an abrupt stop. The photo shows the worst of the damage done to the beam trunnion mounting yoke.

With the dedicated small power engine rally set for the 15/16th of July at the Anson engine museum it was way too late to get a replacement casting sorted. The breaks showed us that there needed to be some serious changes to the core box to increase the strength across the casting.

Several local people were contacted about a welded/Brazed repair, no one was willing because of the nature.  :o  After a little head scratching I opted for a mechanical solution. The break was amazingly clean so using a piece of 3/4” Silver  Steel I clamped the parts together after applying a liberal quantity of Loctite 638 high strength retainer. This was left overnight to cure fully. I then drilled and tapped holes to first keep the outside edges of the casting pulled tight. I then used 4 HT Allen set screws, 2 each side to put the inside edges in full tension. The repair is almost invisible and probably much stronger than the casting was originally.

After reassembly the engine was turned over by hand only to discover that the crankshaft was binding heavily. To our horror it had twisted by around 20 degrees from its original position. There was nothing we could do to remedy the situation other than make a replacement. This time we used 3/4” diameter Silver Steel. The flywheel weighs around 45 Lbs, the mild Steel just couldn’t handle the inertia.

I’m pleased to report that testing has resumed, the engine WILL be attending the Anson this coming Saturday and a little history will be made.  :naughty:  I’ve been informed that it will be the first  Brayton cycle engine to run on gas in over a century….

 :cheers:  Graham.

Offline Admiral_dk

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #56 on: July 11, 2023, 02:45:17 PM »
Shock and Horror - must have been some of the first feelings - probably followed by a number off Four-Letter Words ...!!!
I know that I would have been horified, if I had been present  :o

Good to see that you are progressing none the less and I hope that you will have a good Show (without bad incidents)  :LittleAngel:

Best wishes

Per                :cheers:

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #57 on: July 11, 2023, 03:08:16 PM »
Wow - lots of force to do that!  Hope it all sorts out and runs okay!

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #58 on: July 11, 2023, 06:09:44 PM »
That was quite a failure  ::) Even Diesel's first trial merely blew the indicator apart.

I'm glad you have managed to repair the damage and can display the engine  :)
Best regards

Roger

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #59 on: July 16, 2023, 01:55:00 PM »
Many thanks for your comments. Needless to say that the repair was successful and testing recommenced....

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NMiwEyade0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NMiwEyade0</a>

We have now discovered that this engine won't run autonomously without some serious modification to the compressor side. More to come after a serious rest period.

 :cheers:  Graham.

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #60 on: August 18, 2023, 04:21:01 PM »
For the few that might be interested a little history was made in NE Wales a couple of days ago. The first Brayton cycle engine to run on gaseous fuel for well over a century.

Yes, just a little over 30 seconds but a run nonetheless. I’m greatly indebted to Jason Ballamy for his incredible pattern making skills, In fact I think without the hefty 45Lb flywheel it wouldn’t ever have run! My two youngest sons, Mathew and Alan were also instrumental in the final push.

There’s a lot more “ tinkering “ needed because she’s running out of air quicker than she can make it. The balance is really quite tricky. I now know why George moved onto the horizontal under beam engine with separate air compressor.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j1etrkjX5M" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j1etrkjX5M</a>

 :cheers:  Graham.

Offline Admiral_dk

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #61 on: August 18, 2023, 06:43:18 PM »
Congratulations on a major accomplisment - hopefully it's only tweeks from now on  :cheers:

Per

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #62 on: August 25, 2023, 07:41:41 PM »
Thanks Per.

A lot of time and even more patience….

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oKZSLgpDJI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oKZSLgpDJI</a>

This time we got nearly seven minutes before her ignition failed. Sadly she’s going to need additional cooling which, in my opinion will detract from the aesthetics somewhat.

 :cheers:  Graham.

Offline Admiral_dk

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #63 on: August 26, 2023, 09:14:00 AM »
Sorry to hear about the cooling problem - that is a bummer, and got me realizing that this would have happened to a lot of the early builders of IC Engines ...!
Here the experience with Steam wouldn't have helped them (much) ....

In the video, it does sound very eager to work - so I'm guessing that it do produce a fine amount of power for the time of original construction back then ....

Per     :cheers:

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #64 on: August 26, 2023, 11:39:18 AM »
Hi Per.

Well, the gas we are using has over twice the calorific value of the old Town gas available at the time and It burns quite a lot slower too. Heating of the cylinder is inevitable. It’s such a shame to have to install a cooling system like a tank for instance.

At the time the Brayton Ready-Motor was the most powerful IC engine ever built. Its power to weight ratio made it suitable for many applications including a motor car, trolley bus, railcar and even a couple of submarines!! I have recently found an article written in 1875 that fully explains George’s amazing accomplishments. Here’s the link.

https://todayinsci.com/B/Brayton_George/BraytonGeorgeEngine2.htm

Our video shows that the engine is barely holding her own, just making enough air for the next cycle. I’m hoping that as the moving parts bed in that all important safety valve will be needed to curb her enthusiasm.

 :cheers:  Graham.

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #65 on: August 26, 2023, 01:44:27 PM »
Graham would an option be to mount the engine on a base with some reasonable depth 4-6" and have a tank and small pump hidden within? That way you would only need some discrete pipework up from the base, into the cylinder(jacket) and back down again

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #66 on: August 26, 2023, 06:46:19 PM »
Hi Jason.

Thanks for your suggestion, definitely a feasible solution. I’m beginning to think that as I don’t do the rally circuits anymore it’s probably best to get the Brayton into a “ museum quality exhibit “ standard and pass it on to the Anson engine museum. Currently it’s unique, numero uno, etc etc. As far as I’m aware there are no other Brayton cycle engines here in the UK. At the museum it might just get run on very odd occasions to demonstrate the working principle.

I have to say that it’s been a very interesting experience and I’m grateful to you for the help you gave me over the last couple of years. The project is dedicated to my old friend Mike ( the bike ) Rodgers from Nantwich, Cheshire who passed away very suddenly twenty odd years ago. I hope he likes it as much as I do….

 :cheers:  Graham.

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #67 on: August 26, 2023, 06:49:19 PM »
Should not need much more to get it to the quality of some of the other Anson exhibits  :lolb:

Offline Alyn Foundry

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Re: Brayton Readymotor.
« Reply #68 on: August 26, 2023, 07:42:03 PM »
Should not need much more to get it to the quality of some of the other Anson exhibits  :lolb:

Cheeky Monkey…. :Lol:

For me the greatest part of building a new model is the “ getting it going “ stage. After that I get bored and move on to the next challenge. I don’t have the patience for the niceties like you do Jason.   :ThumbsUp:

 :cheers:  Graham.

 

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