which 11.5 barrel?

bobthefisher · May 16, 2015

Yeah, the claim that it makes a barrel stiffer is an even dumber claim.

Pinecone · May 16, 2015

1) It does increase heat dissipation. Simple thermodynamics, increased surface area increases heat transfer. That is why things have cooling fins.

2) It can save a good bit of weight. Depending on how thick the barrel is, and how deeply you can flute.

3) It does NOT increase or even maintain stiffness. The fluted barrel will be the same stiffness as a non-fluted barrel of the same WEIGHT.

smdub · May 16, 2015

Pinecone said:
3) It does NOT increase or even maintain stiffness. The fluted barrel will be the same stiffness as a non-fluted barrel of the same WEIGHT.

This is incorrect (for longitudinal flutes, not as much for decorative spiral ones.) A fluted barrel of the same weight will have a larger OD. Stiffness is related to the MOI which increases as the fourth power of radius. 'I' beams are stiffer than solid square bars of identical weight. Ditto w tubes vs round rods. It's fairly easy to calculate the difference.

bobthefisher · May 16, 2015

Pinecone said:
1) It does increase heat dissipation. Simple thermodynamics, increased surface area increases heat transfer. That is why things have cooling fins.

2) It can save a good bit of weight. Depending on how thick the barrel is, and how deeply you can flute.

3) It does NOT increase or even maintain stiffness. The fluted barrel will be the same stiffness as a non-fluted barrel of the same WEIGHT.

Again, the amount of surface area increase is insignificant, and if you truly understood thermodynamics you would understand that less mass equates to less thermal (heat) conduction. Air is a very poor conductor of heat. The only thing that came close to acting like a proper heat sink was the Thompson 1928 barrels. However, due to production costs and then later structural integrity (cracks around the fins), they where ultimately dropped from production. They again also did not provide significant heat dissipation to justify production cost. Fluted barrels only appear to dissipate heat quicker because they're actually getting hotter quicker. Two barrels of the same diameter, one fluted and the other not fluted; the fluted barrel will have a hotter outside surface temperature quicker during the same time frame then the non fluted barrel due to less mass. Also if the flutes are created by cutting and not folding, then it will not increase rigidity.

which 11.5 barrel?

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