[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

Re: torque conv./ inner tubes

>Message-ID: <199701080625.XAA29365-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>
>Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 23:25:10 -0700
>From: Tesla List <tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>

>Subscriber: SSNSanders-at-aol-dot-com Tue Jan  7 22:30:48 1997
>Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 18:33:48 -0500
>From: SSNSanders-at-aol-dot-com
>To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
>Subject: Re: torque conv./ inner tubes
>
>In a message dated 97-01-07 03:33:06 EST, you write:
>
><< 
> 	I used this idea last year in constructing the small toroid that I
> have.  I used a 15"(?, not sure) wheelbarrow tire and stuffed it with
> newspaper for rigidity.  I then covered it in Al tape, then smoothed.  It
> works fairly well, but I have since moved on to a Duct toroid, as this one
> wasn't large enough for my six inch coil.  I plan to wind a 4" sometime
> soon, and then the wheelbarrow tire will again see service.
> 
> Stan Harle
> Alamogordo, NM
>  >>
>I want to rub down a tire of this size with graphite and somehow keep it
>under a solution of CuSO4 and plate it with copper to a thick coating. I just
>dont know how to keep it covered with solution with air in it and it has to
>have the air to maintain shape. Any ideas?  Stephen


   Sure.  I do think you've got a really great idea there.  Actually,
   if you can get it down pat, I can even see the following technique
   becoming a standard approach by this group.

   First of all, of course, the tube has to be leak-tight. (You
   probably will need to cut a hole in the tube and neatly install and
   glue in a second tire-valve in the center 180 degrees opposite the
   existing valve for purposes of admitting air later - see below.)  
   The answer as to how to keep the tube submerged in the plating
   solution is to use air AND  water to fill the inner tube.  (If
   necessary you could use Salt water which is heavier than pure
   water, as it the CuSO4 solution.)  Pump the tube up a little bit
   with air and then compress that air by filling the inner tube to
   the desired size with water under pressure.  You will have to
   experiment on how much air and how much water you need.  When
   pressurized with air and water the tube will be very heavy and sit
   flat-ish when OUT of the plating solution, but when submerged in
   the solution I think you should be able to make the tube revert to
   neutral buoyancy.  Depending on your ratio of air to liquid, there
   will be some slight distortion in the shape, but I think you can
   experiment with the air-water ratio to get around this, and I
   expect you should be able to get the shape fairly accurate.

   The water-filled tube would be very heavy in air, so when the
   plating is complete, you would want to drain the tube of water
   gradually, as you simultaneously withdraw it from the plating
   solution, while maintaining the same pressure so as not to lose the
   size and collapse or crinkle your copper plating.  Use a drain tube
   so as not to contaminate your plating solution, and control valves
   so as to be able to maintain the tube pressure.  In order to
   accomplish this draining easily while maintaining pressure, you
   will need that additional tire-valve (mentioned above) to admit air
   under pressure to keep the tube just the right size.

   What you're left with, then, would be a copper-plated inner tube
   pressurized with air, and with two tire-valves on the inside
   radius.

   Let us know how you make out with this.  Thanks.

 
 Fred W. Bach ,    Operations Group        | Internet: music-at-triumf.ca
 TRIUMF (TRI-University Meson Facility)    | Voice:  604-222-1047 loc 6327/7333
 4004 WESBROOK MALL, UBC CAMPUS            | FAX:    604-222-1074
 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., CANADA   V6T 2A3
 "Accuracy is important. Details can mean the difference between life & death."
 These are my opinions, which should ONLY make you read, think, and question.
 They do NOT necessarily reflect the views of my employer or fellow workers.