Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Research Summary Day 1

Danny Whitford Rocket Simulator Data Sheet
·         N/A is used if the variable cannot change in our rocket launches.

Flight 1:

Body:
Payload Height- 0
Nozzle Radius (cm)- N/A
Fairing?- Yes
Fairing Radius (cm)- 1.27

Nose Cone:
Shape- Elliptic
Material-Solid Balsa

Propulsion:
Water (Liters)- 20.729
Pressure (KPa)- 192.613

Fin Design:
Fin Height- ?
Fin Shape- Trapezoidial
Number of Fins- 3
Fin Dimensions- 12.7*12.7 (length and width)

Launch Stats:
Max Altitude (m)- 8
Max Velocity (m/s)- 13





Flight 2:

Body:
Payload Height- 3.81
Nozzle Radius (cm)- N/A
Fairing?- Yes
Fairing Radius (cm)- 1.27

Nose Cone:
Shape- Elliptic
Material- Solid Balsa

Propulsion:
Water (Liters)- 20.729
Pressure (KPa)- 192.613

Fin Design:
Fin Height- ?
Fin Shape- Trapezoidial
Number of Fins- 3
Fin Dimensions-12.7*12.7 (length and width)

Launch Stats:
Max Altitude (m)- 8
Max Velocity (m/s)- 12




Flight 3:

Body:
Payload Height-0
Nozzle Radius (cm)-N/A
Fairing? Yes
Fairing Radius (cm)-

Nose Cone:
Shape- Elliptic
Material- Hollow Plastic

Propulsion:
Water (Liters)- 20.729
Pressure (KPa)- 192.613

Fin Design:
Fin Height-?
Fin Shape- Trapezoidial
Number of Fins- 3
Fin Dimensions-12.635*12.635

Launch Stats:
Max Altitude (m)-12
Max Velocity (m/s)-17



Flight 4:

Body:
Payload Height-0
Nozzle Radius (cm)-N/A
Fairing? Yes
Fairing Radius (cm)- 1.27

Nose Cone:
Shape- Elliptic
Material- Hollow Cardboard

Propulsion:
Water (Liters)- 20.729
Pressure (KPa)- 192.613

Fin Design:
Fin Height-?
Fin Shape-Trapezoidial
Number of Fins- 3
Fin Dimensions-12.635*12.635

Launch Stats:
Max Altitude (m)-13
Max Velocity (m/s)-19

In the simulations above, I only changed one variable at a time. Using my information, I can conclude that...
a.) Having a longer payload height slightly increases the velocity of the rocket and *slightly* increases distance.
b.) It is much better to have a cardboard cone than a plastic cone because the cardboard cone out-did the plastic cone greatly in velocity AND distance.

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