Friday, November 6, 2015

Rocket project

Tom McCambridge
Rocket project


Material list: 
  • 3 Two Liter Bottles - $1.69 each
  • 1 College Pamphlet - Free
  • 3 Plastic Bags - 5 cents each
  • 36 Feet of String - $3.95
  • 1 Roll Duct Tape - $6.03
  • Total Cost: $30.05
Procedures:

  • First, we purchased 3 two liter soda bottles
  • We left one intact for the fuel cell, cut the straight cylinder section of another to extend the center portion, and the top third of the third bottle as the top of the rocket 
  • Then we made three parachutes using garbage bags and string
  • We attached the cylindrical section to the fuel cell to house the parachutes
  • Next we made the egg capsule using the section of the third bottle by filling it with cotton for the egg to be placed in. We attached the parachutes to the inside so that the egg would fall softly to the ground
  • We did not tape the egg cell capsule to that it could detach in the air 
  • Next we used a college pamphlet made of stock paper to make the fins. We did this by folding them into a fin shape and duct taping them on. 
  • Finally, we created the nose cone by taking the top section from the last bottle and adding a "curtain" using duct tape in order to block the air from getting into the chamber holding the parachutes. 
  • Vuala! Our rocket is ready to launch!


Performance
  • Our rocket performed almost perfectly. 
  • The rocket launched perfectly and reached over 80 feet. on the way down, two of our three parachutes deployed. The egg had no cracks whatsoever because it hit the ground very softly and the cotton succeeded in protecting the egg. 
  • Several factors could have effected the height of the rocket. The height we calculated was significantly higher than the actual height observed in the launch. One factor that effected the height would be the air resistance. In the calculation, you assume no air resistance, so this would cause a difference in the actual versus theoretical results. Another factor that effects the hight would be if the rocket was not released at exactly 90º. This would cause the x displacement to grow but would reduce the height. Finally, the wind may affect the trajectory of the rocket and effect the height. 

Conclusion
  • Due to the success of our rocket, there is not much that I would change if I were to do this again. The day was very calm, so I do not think there would have been a better time or day to launch. Our rocket was sized very well and exceeded the height expectation. The only thing that could have been improved is that one of the parachutes did not deploy. I think the way to remedy this would be by packing the parachutes in their housing better so that they would catch the air more easily. 

Calculations





Free Body Diagrams:


  • At the point of launch:



  • Highest point of launch

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