quiksilver

Thinking about carbon arrows last night, and had a thought about friction coefficients - friction not only affects the way two solid materials rub against one another, but also affects the way that air flows over a particular surface, and even the way that a surface interacts with a liquid.

So, I felt like looking up some friction coefficients, and something hit me.

Graphite = .1
Hard Carbon ranges from .12 - .14
Aluminum ranges from .3 - 1.35
Teflon = .04

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/fr...nts-d_778.html

Now, there's a new substance called "Near Frictionless Carbon" that touts a friction coefficient of .001. Read this really brief article - and imagine an arrow coated in this substance (or even just a coat of teflon). http://www.eurekalert.org/features/d...-ncc062602.php

As I stated earlier, when applied to an arrow, friction will affect an arrow not only while dragging over the prongs of a rest, or through the whiskers in the biscuit, but airflow over the rough surfaces will decrease flight speed, and even the viscous liquids inside a deer's chest cavity will drag over the shaft, slowing it down. This is a hidden KE/Momentum killer.

To put it in its simplest terms: If you had two paper airplanes (identical in size, shape and weight), with one made out of teflon sheets, and the other made out of sandpaper, and you threw them both with the same amount of force, the teflon one would retain more flight speed downrange.
My theory is this: An arrow with a teflon glaze coating would retain more speed downrange, pull from the foam targets MUCH easier, and penetrate better too. Just an all-around better, more user-friendly arrow.

Please tell me why I'm wrong.[/align]

il coyote

Would the increase in speedbe worth the higher cost of the arrows?

Ilike the idea of easier target removal, but I can't imagine the speed gain due to lower air resistance to be that great.

MichaelHunsucker

....couldnt tell you! haha, sounds likea good idea to me, and its logical too!

Red Lion

Reads like your onto a way to make some $.

quiksilver

Nah, just wasting some time at work.

atlasman

Your major barriers would be if the coating would add enough weight to offset the gain in speed ,how much it would cost, and how easy or complex it would be to add to the manufacturing process. Many targets have addressed the arrow pulling issue already (but many still have not).

Something else popped into my head while typing..........an arrow that hits a target vibrates violently to a stop........any thin coatings on an arrow would most likely crack under this stress.

Plus teflon is not a good idea to ingest so you would have to be SURE none is coming off in flakes or slivers as it passes through the meat.


I like your line of thinking though and if the above topics turn out to be negligable then you are on the right track.

rybohunter

Pretty neat, but we'd need to calculate the real world effect of the smoother surface. I would tend to think that even the best improvement would only be in thefractions of a percent.

If I get bored one day maybe I'll run some calcs. I'm usually calculating flow of air in a pipe for work, this would be calculating a pipe flying thru the air.

PS engineering toolbox is a real saver in my job.

LittleChief

It probably wouldn't matter. A lot of people would buy them anyway, even if the gain were minimal. You could probablymake an arrow with a "dimpled" finish and market it based on the benefits of a dimpled surface to the flight of a golf ball andsome people would buy it.
Still, an ultra-tough, ultra-low friction finish would have some great benefits other than just speed.

Wheatley

A teflon coating would not last long when arrows are being shot into targets. One bad thing about teflon is that because it has a very low FC it does not stick to anything without some surface preperations. After shooting your arrows into a target a couple times the teflon would peel off.

BWfVA

It would also make it quiter on the rest no matter what type the only problem is durability of the teflon. They had a hard a enough time with geting it to stick on cookware. So how many shots do you think it will stay on the arrow. One thing thought is that you can infuse the whole arrow with it thought.

Hey buy the way I want some money if you decide to use my idea.