Fire Away!

Construction log

To begin we started with our base which we knew would have to cover a good amount of surface if we wanted to keep it planted from falling over. So we got a plank of wood that was about the same height as our legs so that all the weight up top would would be balanced out at the bottom.

Next we found an arm and an axle our axle was made of wood and the legs were as well so we knew friction would eventually be a problem.

After constructing most of our frame we had to find a way to store potential energy this was done using rubber bands we mounted them to the front of our boards so that the we could pull the arm further backwards this allowed us to be able to have the arm have more distance to exert its force over allowing more PE to be converted to KE. Finally to add more distance to the arm we installed a swing at the end of the arm this allowed the clay ball to swing from the arm as well as the swing allowing more PE to be converted.

Maximizing horizontal velocity

Finally we had achieved the basic trebuchet like the rest of our classmates but we wanted more we wanted a longer horizontal distance so we did several base tests before breaking out the WD-40 this would allow less resistance between the axle and the arm which would mean less of our PE would be converted to Thermal energy having this would maximize the amount of energy released on the arm thus giving more horizontal distance

Calculations

Mass of projectile=0.019kg

Distance Horizontal=16 meters

Time in air=1.26 seconds half rising half falling

Distance vertical= 7.8 meters

Velocity horizontal =6.2 m/s

Vertical velocity =12.397 m/s

Velocity total= 13.9 m/s or 31 mph

Release angle 1.98 degrees

spring Konstant=404.7 n/m

PE spring=74 joules or same amount of energy as 19 fully loaded rubber bands

Kinetic energy= 1.8 Joules

Reflection

Two things I did well on during this project was provide the idea of lubricating our axle to help reduce friction this ended improving our horizontal distance by 1.5 meters or 4.5 feet. The second was try and keep our group organized through our base testing and final testing so we could have a more accurate averages and show how our trebuchet improved.

Two things I would try and improve on my next project trying to get more involved with the design of the build more and try to design the next project. The second thing i'll improve is trying to lead more of the project and try to contribute how we should build the next project.