Combustion chamber pre weld gap problems.

[jacobpaule]

Hello, for the past two days I have been shaping a 6 inch OD, 1/4" steel pipe into a combustion chamber for my engine, however the process has left massive gaps in the panels and am wondering if anyone has a technique to fill in these gaps via welding or some other technique.

[finiteparts]

While filling in that big of a gap is surely not ideal, if you are using a MIG welder, you can use a block of copper or aluminum as a backer and build the weld up on it. The weld will not stick to the backer and you can "fill in" a large gap. Now, the problem will be when you fire it up...the weld will likely have a different composition and thus a different thermal expansion coefficient...cracking might be an issue then.

Good luck!

Chris

[racket]

Hi Jacobpaule

It would probably be easier/safer to remake the tapered section so that there isn't gaps to fill, cut some cardboard templates first to get the required size/shape .

Any weld material used in filling the current gaps will have to be very secure , even a small/minute bit of "crap" dropping off whilst in use will make a mess of your turbine wheel

Cheers
John

[jacobpaule]

Just as an update I decided to go with a different approach, I used a scrap section of the CC pipe and cut out "footballs" in the metal fitted to the gap, that way it had a snug fit as well as maintaining the curve and any extra could be ground off after welding.