Patterson-Gotez+Trebuchet



Welcome to Luke Nathan Patterson and Andreas Maximilian Goetz's Trebuchet



 __** The trebuchet was a medieval weapon of siege used to destroy buildings, walls, and castles. It uses the priciples of levers to fire a projectile a massive distance. Utilizing a counterweight that is dropped which activates the lever and in turn fires the projectile from a sling, the trebuchet was the most effective weapon of its time. While a catapult could fire a 50lb rock 500', a trebuchet could huck a 300lb rock over 900'. While our trebuchet will not fire quite that far, it should be more than sufficient for its size.
 * __Introduction to Trebuchets

**__What are the physics behiend trebuchets? __** 

 -**Potential Energy** - This is energy that has the ability to do work. In the case of the trebuchet, the counterweight is suspened above the base and upon release drops to the ground. The arm is swung around on the pivot point which throws the projectile at the enemy. - **Kinetic Friction** - This is the force that opposes motion, in this case it comes in the form of air resistance. Kinetic friction acts on the ball after it has been thrown and affects the horizontal velocity which in turn affects the distance it travels. -**Projectile motion** - A projectile is any object which continues its motion by its own inertia and is influenced only by the downward force of gravity. Once launched it follows a parabollic path until it hits the ground. The optimal angle to launch the projectile at is 45 degrees to acheive maximum displacement.  

__** Materials **__  -(1) red holiday decoration -(3) 1"x2"x8' pieces of wood -(38) 1 1/4 wood screws -(3) 1/2" screw eyes -(1) screw hook -(1) 8"x 1/4" threaded rod -(1) 3"x 1/4" threaded rod -(6) 1/4" hex nuts -(2) 12" lengths of string -(1) 2"x 4" piece of denim -Buildings tools such as hand saws, screwdrivers etc.. <span style="color: #1e1a1a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">
 * __<span style="color: #fb1313; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Procedure of the construction __** <span style="color: #fb1313; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">


 * 1) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Cut the wood to the required lengths as per the plans found on the given assignment sheet.
 * 2) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">The base was assembled first followed by the trough that guided the projectile upon launch.
 * 3) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Once those were parts were assembled the upper and side supports were made and attatched.
 * 4) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Next the throwing arm was shaped and drilled to fit on the threaded rods.
 * 5) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">The threaded rods were installed along with the throwing arm with washers between the nuts and wood to prevent friction.
 * 6) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Now the screw hook was straightened and threaded into the long end of the throwing arm. This is what the sling attatches to.
 * 7) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">For a counterweight a tin can filled with random nuts and bolts was suspended from the short end of the arm.
 * 8) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">A sling was made out of an old pair of jeans and attatched to the long end using the string

<span style="color: #e20808; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**__<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Procedure During Testing __**

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">The preliminary testing was done in a hall with a tape measure layed out to provide accurate measurement. After the first few trials it became obvious that our sling was too small for the size of the ammunition as it was always released prematurely and fired almost straight up. This resulted in a P value of around 1. The first modification was to make a larger sling, 4" by 6". This held the ball better but the results were inconsistent and differed based on how the sling and ball were positioned before release. Although the new sling slightly added to the length of the trebuchet, it became much more efficient averaging a P value of 2. We noticed that the angle of release was what was leading to most of the inconsistancy so we began to experiment with the angle of the screw hook that the sling was attatched to. The farther it was pointed forward the later the ornament was released and the opposite was true when it was angled farther back. Although this modification did help the positioning of the sling was still to innacurate to yield any good results. To solve this we decided to forgoe the use of a sling altogether and instead tied a pice of string to the ornament and hooked the other end to the screw hook. Although the distance did not improve drastically from the modification, the trebuchet became much more consistant. Next we began to play around with the weight, first removing all excess wood including the side supports and some unnessicary supports from the base. We also changed the counterweight from the tin can to a metal plate that weighed slightly less and also shortened the overall arm length. With these modifications we began to have an average P value of just under 3.

__ ** Performance of Trebuchet during test trials ** __


 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Trial || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Mass (kg) || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Arm Length (m) || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Dist, (m) || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">P=d/ml ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">1 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2.9 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">.92 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2.9 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">1.09 ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2.9 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">.92 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">3.2 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">1.20 ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">3 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2.9 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">.95 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">5.4 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">1.96 ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">4 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2.9 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">.95 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">5.6 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2.03 ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">5 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2.5 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">.81 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">3.3 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">1.63 ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">6 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2.5 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">.81 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">3.9 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">1.93 ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">7 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2.5 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">.84 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">5.8 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2.76 ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">8 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2.5 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">.84 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">5.5 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2.62 ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">9 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2.5 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">.84 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">6.2 || <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 180%;">2.95 <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> ||

<span style="color: #d9080f; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">**__Conclusion__**

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">After finishing the competition and witnessing everyone elses trebuchet we can rest assured that ours is sufficiently average. We noticed that the smaller trebuchets tended to be more efficient when their results were plugged into the equation. This was due to the nature of the projectile that we were firing. The ornament was so light that it was greatly affected by air resistance and deccelerated quickly no matter how hard it was thrown. It made no sense to have a large and heavy trebuchet because the ball would not fly far enough to make it worthwhile. In hindsight we would have made a much smaller trebuchet to maximize our score.





<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Edited by LukePatterson and MaxGoetz