Abstract
Starting with the last century, a lot of enthusiastic researchers have invested significant time and energy in proposing various drives capable to generate linear propulsion force. Regrettably, only a few of these devices passed the patent phase and have been practically materialized. The aim of this paper was to simulate the dynamic behavior of an inertial propulsion drive (IPD) developed by the authors, to demonstrate its functionality. The core of the IPD consists of two symmetric drivers that each performs rotation of eight steel balls on an eccentric path. We propose three solutions for the element which maintain the off-center trajectory of the balls. For the simulation, we used the multibody system approach and determine the evolution of the displacement, velocity, and power consumption. Further, we analyze the collisions between the elements of the system and the influence of this phenomenon on the dynamic behavior of the IPD. We found that collisions generate impact forces which affect the ball acceleration values achieved by simulation. We have concluded that the developed system is capable to generate linear movement. In addition, in terms of velocity and power consumption, the best constructive version of the retaining disk is that which has a cylindrical inner bore placed eccentric relative to the rotation center of the balls.
Highlights
Inertial propulsion drives belong to a promising field of research and have gained the attention of scientists and engineers in recent decades
Displacement is produced by a propulsion force developed as a reaction to the variable centrifugal forces which are acting on a number of masses rotating on an eccentric trajectory
The aim of this paper is to present an inertial propulsion drive (IPD) developed by the authors which is using two groups of rotating masses
Summary
Inertial propulsion drives belong to a promising field of research and have gained the attention of scientists and engineers in recent decades. These mechanisms are multi-body systems with eccentric masses in motion, usually presenting symmetry on one or two axes to compensate undesired forces in the direction orthogonal to the displacement. Displacement is produced by a propulsion force developed as a reaction to the variable centrifugal forces which are acting on a number of masses rotating on an eccentric trajectory It is a huge controversy about the effectiveness of inertial force-based propulsion drives because they challenge Newton’s laws of motion [1]. Allan Jr. wonders rhetorically: “Why does classical mechanics forbid inertial propulsion devices when they do exist?” in his book [3], he presents a series of working inertial propulsion devices [4,5,6]
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