Barrel Length and Gas System Length Effect on Pressure

Virtual.Chris

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Is this all correct...

Given the same ammunition, reducing system pressure comes from moving the gas port farther forward, toward the muzzle, as does reducing the length of the barrel after of the gas port. Conversely, shortening the distance to the port, or increasing barrel length beyond the gas port, increases pressure effects.

For example, a 20” barrel on with a carbine gas system will put more pressure and wear on the gas system and bolt than a 12” barrel. This is due to dwell time and so the system is under pressure longer.

And, a smaller gas port reduces gas pressure, a larger gas port increases pressure.

So, if you keep the gas system the same length (e.g. carbine), and move to a shorter barrel (18” to 12”) with a smaller gas port, gas pressure on the system will go down. Right? It may even go down to the point where it may not reliably cycle the action.
 
Pretty well on point, the AR15 needs a certain amount of dwell time after the gas port to cycle the action. If you increase the gas port size or move the gas port back (without proper sizing) you can extract at too high a pressure and can rip the rim off a case head or fail to extract.

Some of the old Dissipator carbines are an example of this, they used a rifle length gas system on a 16" barrel. Although they were quite finicky, they did manage to work. (the proper Dissipators have a low pro gas block under the handguard) The newer Colt Canada MRR uses a carbine length gas system on an 18.6" barrel.

It's balancing act, gas port size, gas port location and overall barrel length (as well as buffer weight) can all be used to fine tune a rifle that's not quite 'correct'. But there are things that increase the life of a rifle, the lower the pressure the system unlocks at the less wear and tear, so long as there's enough gas volume to cycle the action.

The biggest issue is most rifles are designed to fire a wide array of ammunition; if you hand load or make your own ammo you can get away with a lot in terms of making a wacky rifle.
 
Pretty well on point, the AR15 needs a certain amount of dwell time after the gas port to cycle the action. If you increase the gas port size or move the gas port back (without proper sizing) you can extract at too high a pressure and can rip the rim off a case head or fail to extract.

Some of the old Dissipator carbines are an example of this, they used a rifle length gas system on a 16" barrel. Although they were quite finicky, they did manage to work. (the proper Dissipators have a low pro gas block under the handguard) The newer Colt Canada MRR uses a carbine length gas system on an 18.6" barrel.

It's balancing act, gas port size, gas port location and overall barrel length (as well as buffer weight) can all be used to fine tune a rifle that's not quite 'correct'. But there are things that increase the life of a rifle, the lower the pressure the system unlocks at the less wear and tear, so long as there's enough gas volume to cycle the action.

The biggest issue is most rifles are designed to fire a wide array of ammunition; if you hand load or make your own ammo you can get away with a lot in terms of making a wacky rifle.

I wonder how the gas system and the cycling of the action in the AR-180 platform responds to changes in barrel length and gas port location/size? It's by far the more common platform in Canada now.


Thanks... that's in fact where I was reading up on this stuff prior to this post :D
 
I wonder how the gas system and the cycling of the action in the AR-180 platform responds to changes in barrel length and gas port location/size? It's by far the more common platform in Canada now.

The L85A2 is a bullpup rifle based on the AR-180 action, it's very similar (I used one for years).

It has a 52cm (20.4in) barrel. The carbine variant which I did not use has a 285 mm (11.2 in).

The shorter carbine gas system is entirely reliable. You can see some development examples of the carbine thanks to Ian McCollum's Forgotten Weapons video which is linked to here.

Personally I think the HK variant of the gas system is the best one out there. The gas parts are far easier to remove and clean than those of the WK180C or WS-MCR. No tools required, no need to hit out a gas cup or any fiddly bits etc.

PS: For the love of all I hope someone starts making L85A2s in Canada :D
 
Generally yes, however one thing needs to be pointed out. Assuming the ammunition is the same, the powder is the same, and as long as there is complete powder burn, the total system gas produced is the same. Chamber pressure is a function of gas volume and volume inside the system.

Remember that if the total gas is constant, then that gas has to go somewhere, and so you could have different quantities in gas in different parts of the system, that could cause issues in difficult to predict ways.

For example, two rifles, identical except one has a 16" Pistol gas length and the other has a rifle gas length. Lets say the pistol length gas system is at 4" and rifle length is at 10.

Both shots fired at same time. Bullet moves down to the 4". Bullet generally plugs the barrel, so the total system volume is only what is behind the bullet. As the bullet moves down, more volume is available inside the system to accommodate the increasing gas volume.

As soon as the bullet in the pistol length gas system barrel moves past the gas port, the gas system internal volume is now available and this will result in a total pressure loss, and a significant reduction in pressure at the chamber. However, given the relatively short route for gas and pressure to travel back four inches to hit the gas key on the BCG and start unlocking, the unlocking might start before there has been enough time for chamber pressure to bleed off.

However, In our rifle length barrel, because of the delay in burning of powder, by the time the bullet gets to the gas port at 10" down it may have significantly higher total system pressure than the other, however that gas system has more volume, which will allow for a larger pressure drop, AND the gas has further to travel back through the gas port, meaning more time for chamber pressure to bleed off prior to the BCG unlocking.

SO, moving the gas port further down the barrel will result in higher PEAK chamber pressures, and may or may not result in result in more gas going through the system.

You need to ask what you are trying to achieve. Open the gas port size increases the flow rate of gas, meaning more gas per second (or millesecond). Increasing the barrel length after the port increases the time available for gas to the port. Doubling flow rate and barrel time + 4x as much gas volume through the system, but likely result in an overall increase of gas pressure.

So the variables here are gas pressure, gas flow, and duration. chamber to port, port diameter, and port to barrel all have a different effect, and when you start tinkering with these things you might get some unexpected results.

Whats the problem you are trying to solve.
 
I’m not trying solve a problem... just understand the relationships. And be more educated and understand firearm design choices better.

I think this is well understood enough that there should be no surprises when things change. So I disagree that you may get unexpected results. The results should be very predictable based on how much study has been invested in this area :)

As the owner of a WK180-C which was designed as a NR firearm with a 18.5” barrel I find the choice of a carbine length gas system, a curious choice. I actually spoke to someone today at Kodiak Defence and what I came away with is that they opted for ultimate reliability with any ammo and were not really concerned with over gassing as the piston system is self regulating, in that it vents the gas, instantly reducing pressure once the piston moves through venting holes in the gas block. So once the piston has moved enough to cycle the action, any and all additional pressure is vented. So having a carbine length gas system with an oversized gas port provides plenty of gas to cycle the action without concerns of over gassing.
 
I’m not trying solve a problem... just understand the relationships. And be more educated and understand firearm design choices better.

I think this is well understood enough that there should be no surprises when things change. So I disagree that you may get unexpected results. The results should be very predictable based on how much study has been invested in this area :)

As the owner of a WK180-C which was designed as a NR firearm with a 18.5” barrel I find the choice of a carbine length gas system, a curious choice. I actually spoke to someone today at Kodiak Defence and what I came away with is that they opted for ultimate reliability with any ammo and were not really concerned with over gassing as the piston system is self regulating, in that it vents the gas, instantly reducing pressure once the piston moves through venting holes in the gas block. So once the piston has moved enough to cycle the action, any and all additional pressure is vented. So having a carbine length gas system with an oversized gas port provides plenty of gas to cycle the action without concerns of over gassing.

I wonder if the WK181C will have a carbine or full length gas system.
 
I’m not trying solve a problem... just understand the relationships. And be more educated and understand firearm design choices better.

I think this is well understood enough that there should be no surprises when things change. So I disagree that you may get unexpected results. The results should be very predictable based on how much study has been invested in this area :)

As the owner of a WK180-C which was designed as a NR firearm with a 18.5” barrel I find the choice of a carbine length gas system, a curious choice. I actually spoke to someone today at Kodiak Defence and what I came away with is that they opted for ultimate reliability with any ammo and were not really concerned with over gassing as the piston system is self regulating, in that it vents the gas, instantly reducing pressure once the piston moves through venting holes in the gas block. So once the piston has moved enough to cycle the action, any and all additional pressure is vented. So having a carbine length gas system with an oversized gas port provides plenty of gas to cycle the action without concerns of over gassing.

I don't agree with that WK180-C point you brought up. Sure, the system loses pressure and stops adding energy to the system once all the mechanically moving parts move something like 4mm. But how is that different than traditional AR15 gas system? As soon as the bolt carrier moves like 4mm the gas chamber loses its seal and vents, so it's the same as the piston WK180 in that respect.
 
How much velocity does a bullet lose, at the muzzle, in a carbine gas vs rifle gas given the same barrel length?

Say a stag 10 with both rifle length gas, how much does a 20" barrel lose over a 22" and 24"? (6.5cm)
 
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I’m not trying solve a problem... just understand the relationships. And be more educated and understand firearm design choices better.

I think this is well understood enough that there should be no surprises when things change. So I disagree that you may get unexpected results. The results should be very predictable based on how much study has been invested in this area :)
Ah, I see. Makes sense. Although, in my experience, when it comes to complex interactions between different materials, chemistry and physics, you should always be prepared for unexpected results.

Can you correctly predict whether the glass marble will break upon impact with each of the target materials shown?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqftpAhwks

As the owner of a WK180-C which was designed as a NR firearm with a 18.5” barrel I find the choice of a carbine length gas system, a curious choice. I actually spoke to someone today at Kodiak Defence and what I came away with is that they opted for ultimate reliability with any ammo and were not really concerned with over gassing as the piston system is self regulating, in that it vents the gas, instantly reducing pressure once the piston moves through venting holes in the gas block. So once the piston has moved enough to cycle the action, any and all additional pressure is vented. So having a carbine length gas system with an oversized gas port provides plenty of gas to cycle the action without concerns of over gassing.[/QUOTE]

Overgassing isn't a problem of too much gas. Overgassing is when something goes wrong in the sequence of firing because there is too much gas. Excessive peak pressure hitting the piston too fast can crack the piston. A stronger piston can mitigate. It can cause the action to attempt to extract the case before the case has released from the chamber wall, lengthening the gas system can mitigate. it can cause a stiff extractor to tear the rim off the case, changing extractor geometer and spring tension can mitigate. And so on. Its a complex system, and when you start using blunt adjustments like gas volume and system length, it can be very difficult to predict where the first issue will appear. Its also hard to predict, given all of the variables, how much gas is too much gas. Eventually you just have to build it and test it and see what happens.

Does a piston system move slower than a Direct Impingement? I've never looked into that. If so, than yes that would be more tolerant to excessive gas without seeing any of those other issues.

How much velocity does a bullet loose, at the muzzle, in a carbine gas vs rifle gas given the same barrel length?

Say a stag 10 with both rifle length gas, how much does a 20" barrel lose over a 22" and 24"? (6.5cm)

Those are two different questions.

Same barrel length, and only change is moving the gas port, the muzzle velocity probably won't be much different. unless you are using super precise ammo I would predict that you'd barely be able to measure the difference. There is probably more variation between barrels of identical manufacture just due to normal tolerances than there is between barrels of the same length and different gas ports.

You might see a difference at the extreme end between pistol length and rifle length, but you probably won't even find many 20" long barrels with a pistol length system to test.

To test this well what you would want to do is get 3 custom barrels and drill gas ports at each location on each barrel, block all the ports but rifle and shoot them all to take the average, then plug rifle open mid, repeat, etc, for each. Average the velocities across the barrels. This way you will have velocity date for each port with the same barrel, so variations in chamber etc are consistent. It would be interesting to see. I doubt there would be much spread, but if there is, pistol will be the most extreme.

As for your second question, barrel length is barrel length, different rules of thumb predict between 25-100 fps per inch. But thats non linear. Adding an inch to a 4 inch barrel is not the same as adding an inch to a 30" barrel.
 
If chamber pressure drops once the bullet passes the gas port then I can't see much going to continue in acceleration. If only I had a chronograph.

This is the part that makes me wonder what the hell is CC thinking 18.6" barrel, carbine gas.
 
If chamber pressure drops once the bullet passes the gas port then I can't see much going to continue in acceleration. If only I had a chronograph.

This is the part that makes me wonder what the hell is CC thinking 18.6" barrel, carbine gas.

Every time you see a AR15 in 223 with a barrel longer than 15" and a carbine gas system, it's because person that selected the parts specifications is picking higher reliability and adverse condition tolerance and crap ammo tolerance over things like minimal recoil, minimal stress on gun parts, and minimal stress on case head. Once you know that a 16" AR15 barrel with a rifle length gas system in 223 is completely functional, then anything with more dwell time is just adding 'worst case reliability' on top of an already reliable system.
 
Every time you see a AR15 in 223 with a barrel longer than 15" and a carbine gas system, it's because person that selected the parts specifications is picking higher reliability and adverse condition tolerance and crap ammo tolerance over things like minimal recoil, minimal stress on gun parts, and minimal stress on case head. Once you know that a 16" AR15 barrel with a rifle length gas system in 223 is completely functional, then anything with more dwell time is just adding 'worst case reliability' on top of an already reliable system.

That's essentially what the guy at Kodiak explained to me when I asked about using a carbine length gas system on a longer barrel... max tolerance and reliability with any ammo.
 
If chamber pressure drops once the bullet passes the gas port then I can't see much going to continue in acceleration. If only I had a chronograph.

This is the part that makes me wonder what the hell is CC thinking 18.6" barrel, carbine gas.

It doesn't drop completely or immediately. Pressurized gas will take the path of least resistance. The gas port is like 5% the size of the barrel. That is a significant constriction. While the bullet is in the barrel past the port, most of the gas goes down the barrel, only some goes into the port. That likely happens before the powder burn is even complete so its likely that you still have increasing pressure after the bullet passes the port, just slightly less than there would have been if there was no port at all.
 
That likely happens before the powder burn is even complete so its likely that you still have increasing pressure after the bullet passes the port, just slightly less than there would have been if there was no port at all.

In most any practical rifle, powder burn is complete and pressure has peaked by the time the bullet is fully engaged in the rifling, after just a few millimeters of travel. From that point pressure drops steadily. By the time the bullet passes the gas port system pressure is on the order of half of peak. This graph is a Quickload simulation, but is generally considered accurate. It sticks in my mind that actual port pressure of a 20" M16A1 with M193 ammo is 18-20,000 psi.


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