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- Title
TREBUCHET TRAJECTORY.
- Authors
Salchak, Sam W.
- Abstract
Trebuchets were used in medieval warfare and were considered a great weapon of the time. Range was a key in effectively hitting a target, forming the basis of this project: exploring the ideal trajectory to fire a projectile the farthest distance. Research in motion equations suggested that this would be 45 degrees. To test range versus angle of launch, two small scale models that fired beans were constructed and tested before a full scale model which fired golf balls was built. The materials for the early prototypes were two bags of popsicle sticks, one bottle of wood glue, paper, string, and one bean. The full scale model used 264cm of 2x4" wood, 107cm of 2x6" wood, 56cm of treated 2x6" wood, 152cm of 1" dowel, a plywood base, 70cm of black pipe, two pipe flanges, 43 cm of PVC, a Tupperware bowl, fasteners(nails, screws, pegs, glue), and five golf balls. For the full scale experiments three release angles were chosen: 60, 45, and 30 degrees. Other than the angle of release, the golf balls were fired under identical conditions. At a 60 degree launch the range was 303.4 cm. This was 22.7 percent more than at 45 degrees (247.2cm) and 176.8 percent more than the 30 degree launch (109.6 cm). This disproved my hypothesis. Further investigation indicated that for this trebuchet design, the 60 degree launch angle allowed a counterweight to fall further, creating more initial velocity for the projectile, and generating the greatest range for the conditions tested.
- Subjects
CATAPULT; ENGINES of war (Ancient weapons); HISTORY of medieval military art &; science; TRAJECTORIES (Mechanics); PROJECTILES
- Publication
Ohio Journal of Science, 2008, Vol 108, Issue 1, pA-30
- ISSN
0030-0950
- Publication type
Article