Jet Engine Bonus Photos

We created the jet engine for a thermodynamics class my first semester at CU. I was in charge of designing and building the combustion chamber and the nozzle. I also took on the ignition system, but only because I already had a spare sparker from a grill. That first image is me testing how far apart we could get the leads before it wouldn't spark, and also how to spark it without the piezo. A bonus in this first shot is in the background, that little blue waterproof case is the project box for the LED sign I created in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. That sign project is what led to me deciding to be an engineer and pursue a degree from CU Boulder.

The next two images are of the nozzle. It looks like I spot welded the reduction component and I probably used TIG welding to weld it to the cylinder. It also looks like I was doing this at Tinkermill in Longmont, which was closer to my house than the CU campus.

The photo of the torn-up lab coat is a safety warning. I was grinding a piece of the metal to clean it up, and I was leaning over the grinder in this lab coat. The wheel caught the coat and pulled into my gut. The wound was only to my skin, but I now don this coat whenever I want to make a safety lecture. I also added the name tag "Dr. Professor" to it.

If I ever find it, I will share photos of the inside of the combustion chamber. We couldn't find thick enough steel cylinders that had a large enough diameter until I found a local fabricator who wasn't willing to sell us the stock but was willing to cut us an order. It is cool to see, though, as there is a diffuser of sorts in the middle, made of similarly thick steel cylinder into which we drilled a pattern of holes. It looks like the wind blocker on a Zippo lighter and might be my favorite part of the build.