Fluid Stream Simulator V2.0

Guides and discussions about building water blasters and other water warfare devices such as water balloon launchers.
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Chief
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Fluid Stream Simulator V2.0

Post by Chief » Sun Nov 17, 2024 10:22 am

Hello everyone!

I am starting this thread to accumulate feedback/ideas for a fluid simulator program I started development on earlier this year. This is a continuation of a brief discussion on the office Discord, but for anyone unfamiliar; The simulator is a JavaScript web application with the intent of calculating and visualizing fluid stream performance based on various parameters like water pressure, nozzle diameter, etc... I will link the GitHub page and source code below.

I will refer to the program in its current state as "V1". V1 may seem fairly accurate at first glance, however, as some have rightly pointed out, it is flawed and incomplete. Admittedly, I originally just made V1 to impress my coworkers, so I cut corners and faked results in areas where I did not fully understand the physics. The goal with V2 is to flesh out a fully (or at least mostly) accurate and functional program.

I have linked a Figjam board for planning out V2 (Figjam is a virtual white border app by the company Figma). I would love to hear any initial thoughts or suggestions. If anyone wants to contribute to the Figjam board, feel free to request edit access.



Some points for discussion:

- Inputs: What inputs would be useful? (see my current list in the "Inputs" section in Figjam)

- Calculations: Currently, I have a Bernoulli equation to get the initial velocity leaving the nozzle (x-axis), a drag equation to calculate water drop deceleration (x-axis), and a hacked-up version of Newton's gravity equations for calculating the water drop fall rate (y-axis). I am not confident this is the best approach. This is where I need the most help. Feedback is welcome!

- Outputs: What data would be useful? (see my current list in the "Outputs" section in Figjam)

- Features: Currently, the program's main area focus is the nozzle component of homemades, however, I wonder if other aspects of homemade construction could benefit from a simulator. This is more of a long-grass/wishlist for future versions.



Links:
V1 demo: https://kspangdg.github.io/water-stream-sim/
V1 source code: https://github.com/kspangdg/water-stream-sim
Figjam board: https://www.figma.com/board/WdIcVdrpUne ... NkGugLlR-1

Thanks in advance for any input!
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Chief
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2012 1:08 pm
Location: I live on the battle field!
WWN League Team: Catskill Mountain SEALs

Re: Fluid Stream Simulator V2.0

Post by Chief » Fri Nov 29, 2024 9:03 am

Quick update:

I pushed a few UI updates. Nothing has changed under the hood, but the v1 link I posted will look a little different visually now.
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SSCBen
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Re: Fluid Stream Simulator V2.0

Post by SSCBen » Fri Nov 29, 2024 2:22 pm

Sorry for the delay. I've been busier than I had hoped. As I said on Discord, I need to make a Python implementation that you can convert to JS. It'll probably take a day or two for me to get it right, maybe more. I'm on leave from work right now but have some more pressing priorities. I'll get back to you on Dec. 8 with an update.

The approach I'll use will have a lot of different knobs to turn. Particularly important are the breakup length and maximum droplet size to handle the effects of different nozzle shapes beyond the nozzle diameter. Simulating the effect of the nozzle shape itself on the breakup length and droplet sizes unfortunately is not feasible so these will have to be found from empirical data.

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