Simulated recoil on heavy cannons

[wdr0]

I'd agree on planning for failure for safety aspects. A couple other thoughts, the weight of your mount may also be a concern. On artillary the mount is large and/or braced in the ground. I suspect with the weight of your cannon the mount may move as much as the cannon. Also from what I've experienced with my cannons I think you'll need to divert a sizable airflow to producing a reasonable recoil effect and the timing may be difficult. I've had difficulties in the past getting air cylinders to move fast and more so consistently.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Here's how I would do it:



At the moment of firing, a separate valve launches a heavy piston down a tube. The air supply (and possible even the valve) should not be fixed to the recoiling portion to reduce weight and amplify the effect. An air brake prevents the piston from destroying the end of the tube, and after firing the valve vents the air behind the piston allowing the recuperator chamber to return the piston to its original position. You would need a bit of electronic wizardry to ease the timing but I think it would work well.

[Cthulhu]

[youtube][/youtube]

Zeuki used a pneumatic cylinder kind of system a long time ago, but his cannon was considerably lighter even though it was a mostly steel construction.

Look through his channel, he has a video videos explaining his process.

[GalFisk]

You could also use a spring to produce the recoil force, and use pneumatics to compress the spring.
Advantages:
The spring is most powerful when fully compressed (or stretched), so the acceleration will be quick
The penumatics need less flow, as the resetting of the spring can take much more time
The pneumatics can be synced to the pressurization of the cannon
If the pneumatics were to fail, they do so after, not during, the firing of the cannon