Bouncing jet hydraulic system

[Cesaire]

Hello everyone,

I am working on a side project where I would like to create the effect that a water jet is bouncing from place to place. Maybe someone will be able to direct me to the hydraulic systems I would need to accomplish this or to roughly send me in the right direction.



I have a high up reservoir of water where three pipes are connected, each of these pipes leads to a nozzle. The jet coming out of each nozzle is aimed at the next nozzle and thus create the effect that water is bouncing from one spot to the other. This is very simple to achieve if we consider that the pressure in the reservoir is relatively constant and that water always aims the same spot.

However, this gets complicated because I would like water to first flow from the first nozzle with sufficient pressure so the jet reaches the next nozzle immediately, then water starts flowing from that next nozzle in the same way…and so on to the next nozzle.

Also, the whole system works intermittently: after a cycle of sequentially starting the flow from each nozzle, the flow will sequentially stop starting from the first nozzle. After a time delay, the system will start again.

Here is a video that explains the idea (although I cannot use electricity because there won’t be any on-site):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73DhC8CTcms

Best wishes to all,

Clement

 

[3DDave]

Realize that the only pressure input you have is from gravity and the drop in the height of the fluid. So the top jet will be rather low in pressure and the bottom one will be quite high.

In the Disney jumping water they use a special nozzle that causes the flow to be very laminar so it looks like a smooth rod of water. The laminar nozzle is the key element. See

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5L6W0YoAd4

for one of many videos on making such a nozzle.

 

[Cesaire]

Thanks 3DDAve, I will definitely need some laminar flow.

The height difference between the tank and the nozzles is far greater than the height difference between each nozzle, so the pressure difference between each nozzle will be small.

Do you know of a mechanism that would allow the water to flow in each nozzle one after the other?

 

[3DDave]

Electronically controlled valves, such as are used for lawn sprinklers are typically used.

 

[Cesaire]

I cannot use electricity! This has to be a mechanism powered by water

 

[3DDave]

Use water to drive a generator. Or use solar cells to charge a battery. Or take apart the lawn valves and replace the solenoids with a water driven mechanical trigger; not sure how you will do a fluidics sequence system.

 

[hydtools]

Have each jet hit a target that trips the next jet valve.

Ted