Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

For those of us that have no experience with OBOGS, can some of y'all chime in on what you don't like about it?

The blacklung you get if that system isn't operating exactly perfectly all the time on every jet.

Guest AFsock
Posted

...every T-6 stud that launches a sortie (and in a perfect world the IPs to) spend the entire mission on OBOGS. We had one EP (for cystals in the O2 system). I realize every system on each aircraft is unique, but if it can be trusted for so many lines a day across the country with up until now a nearly zero failure rate, OBOGS must not be so bad.

Posted

It isn't pure oxygen, it just concentrates oxygen from the ambient air.

An OBOGS can concentrate up to ~95% O2 (theoretical max is slightly closer to 96%) and often do.

Posted

MSOGS = OBOGS???

Every airframe seems to have their own way to say the same thing.

MSOGS on the B-1 is the Molecular Sieve Oxygen Generation System. It sucks bleed air through a zeolyte bed which soaks up much of the Nitrogen. The gas that comes out is around 80-90% O2.

OBOGS is just Onboard Oxygen Generation System. Don't know if the chemistry behind the system in other jets is different.

Posted

In the F-16, a single generator failure can result in 3 minutes of usable air prior to having to use the emergency oxygen bottle.

WTFO? Seriously?

FAIL.

Posted

Every airframe seems to have their own way to say the same thing.

MSOGS on the B-1 is the Molecular Sieve Oxygen Generation System. It sucks bleed air through a zeolyte bed which soaks up much of the Nitrogen. The gas that comes out is around 80-90% O2.

OBOGS is just Onboard Oxygen Generation System. Don't know if the chemistry behind the system in other jets is different.

Totally different slant for the science nerds..

Anybody try to use a similar system to up the peformance/mileage of an internal combustion engine?

Just thinking out loud

Posted (edited)

Intake in grams per second is much higher than you'd expect. The zeo filters would probably need to be replaced frequently and my guess is that they aren't cheap. Forced induction and intercooling is fairly simple but the whole gas mileage thing is what kills your combo.

Edited by Standby
Posted

Molecular sieve. Apparently not as badass as it sounds.

But the zeolite dust makes that coats my tonsils is delicious.

How do you think they make Lox?

Cool/compress air until it turns in to liquid. Warm it enough to evaporate off the nitrogen. So, it's not the same as OBOGS, which nobody really knows how it works. It's just fuckin' magic.

Posted

Totally different slant for the science nerds..

Anybody try to use a similar system to up the peformance/mileage of an internal combustion engine?

Just thinking out loud

Already thought of and relatively cheap to install - Nitrous Oxide. It's 33% oxygen as opposed to the normal 21% of the atmosphere. So when nitrous is injected, more fuel can be burnt than normal. Like a chemical turbo.

Posted

Membrane separators (molecular sieves) are used quite frequently to produce oxygen for scuba diving applications. The only issue is that you're capped at the ~95% mark so you can't really produce the 100% O2 needed for the 20' decompression stop. But, since bottles of O2 are cheap...not an issue. But having a ~$10k device around that lets you pump out any mix from 21% to 95% O2 is quite nice.

Posted

All I know is that it aint a good T-6 cross country unless that green light on the 100% switch isn't staring at you on the next day. :drinking:

Posted

All I know is that it aint a good T-6 cross country unless that green light on the 100% switch isn't staring at you on the next day. :drinking:

"On, Normal, Normal....######, i mean on On, Max, Normal, Good Blinker...shit i'm hungover"

  • Upvote 2
Posted

Yeah...then, the other guy decides it's a good day to pull 5Gs in the closed pull. :bash:

Posted

Already thought of and relatively cheap to install - Nitrous Oxide. It's 33% oxygen as opposed to the normal 21% of the atmosphere. So when nitrous is injected, more fuel can be burnt than normal. Like a chemical turbo.

I would rather save Nitrous for the dentist :rock: Knew a few guys back in my youth who loved to make cars go fast with the stuff. I'm the first to admit a lot of stuff is good in theory but is it practical in the real world is a whole new question.

Posted (edited)

So what happens when you swap out the Nitrous Oxide with Liquid oxygen?

Your engine gets really, really cold and then blows up like a bomb when you add LOX to the combustion process.

I talked to a maintainer who laughed about watching the day they were purging a big container of LOX to clean it or make repairs. The result was a large cloud of oxygen floating away from the tank and across the road. Along comes a deuce and a half hauling a heavy load with the engine working at high RPM. The truck got to a point abeam the tanks and the engine suddenly revved out of limits and blew up. The driver had no idea what the fuck happened.

Edited by SuperWSO
Posted (edited)

So what happens when you swap out the Nitrous Oxide with Liquid oxygen?

The seemingly slight increase from 21% to 33% oxygen content that nitrous gives is enough to produce a shit-ton of extra horsepower on a given motor, assuming the fuel system can keep up. If it can't, the engine will run seriously lean and burn holes in the pistons. Twice the flame, half the candle.

Top Fuel dragsters use nitromethane as a fuel which provides even more oxygen content. They produce over 6000 horsepower from a 500 cubic inch engine. They also need rebuilt after six seconds of use.

All that said, if the Air Force decides to shit-can a whole bunch of OBOGSes, I'd be pretty curious to see what would happen if somebody slapped one on their POV!

Edited by Majestik Møøse

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...