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I?ve been watching Dmun?s geodesic oven construction with great interest as he?s come up with two major advances in firebrick based oven building. The first is the precision cutting of the firebrick to geometrically correct shapes and the second is the prefabbing of subassemblies. These two concepts allow a great degree of freedom in oven design and potentially more precise construction and enhanced dome structural integrity.
My background is in sailmaking, and inspired by the liberating concepts above have started thinking about a radial dome, similar to the radial head of a spinnaker, or maybe more familiarly, the roof of a silo. The surface of the dome would be divided into radial segments the width (at the base) of a firebrick (or a couple of glued bricks) lying on its long side around the circumference of the base of the dome. These segments would be shaped in tapered ?slices? much as if you sliced the skin of an orange into even segments radiating from the ?north pole? to the ?equator?. They would be constructed of precision cut firebricks and assembled over a form. As the segments transitioned from the base to the top of the dome they would ?facet? according to the size of the module used (a single brick, a couple of glued bricks, etc.). Since the outer surface of the dome is of greater girth than the inner (by the thickness of a brick) the segments would have a bevel toward the interior of the dome on each edge, which would make them, as subassemblies, self- aligning.
The advantages of this construction are the same as Dmun?s geodesic construction, with a different geometry. Once cutting and assembly jigs are constructed the rest of the dome assembly should be less skill based than a traditional Pompeii oven. The dome would be more ?evenly? monolithic than the single brick assembled oven with evenly located joints, and should heat more uniformly. I think that constructing the vent chamber and the opening might be pretty easy with the radial geometry. I can envision a rowlock arch vault acting as both, smoothly joining the dome.
You may have noticed that this idea is currently visually challenged. I?ll get some cad drawings together in time, but invite comments and suggestions.
Thanks,
Rob
My background is in sailmaking, and inspired by the liberating concepts above have started thinking about a radial dome, similar to the radial head of a spinnaker, or maybe more familiarly, the roof of a silo. The surface of the dome would be divided into radial segments the width (at the base) of a firebrick (or a couple of glued bricks) lying on its long side around the circumference of the base of the dome. These segments would be shaped in tapered ?slices? much as if you sliced the skin of an orange into even segments radiating from the ?north pole? to the ?equator?. They would be constructed of precision cut firebricks and assembled over a form. As the segments transitioned from the base to the top of the dome they would ?facet? according to the size of the module used (a single brick, a couple of glued bricks, etc.). Since the outer surface of the dome is of greater girth than the inner (by the thickness of a brick) the segments would have a bevel toward the interior of the dome on each edge, which would make them, as subassemblies, self- aligning.
The advantages of this construction are the same as Dmun?s geodesic construction, with a different geometry. Once cutting and assembly jigs are constructed the rest of the dome assembly should be less skill based than a traditional Pompeii oven. The dome would be more ?evenly? monolithic than the single brick assembled oven with evenly located joints, and should heat more uniformly. I think that constructing the vent chamber and the opening might be pretty easy with the radial geometry. I can envision a rowlock arch vault acting as both, smoothly joining the dome.
You may have noticed that this idea is currently visually challenged. I?ll get some cad drawings together in time, but invite comments and suggestions.
Thanks,
Rob
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