MIT8 223IAP17 ProjectPart2

2 Part 2: Follow Through
There are a few different options for part 2, depending on what you want to do. Pick one of the following:
1. Experimental
Build a small trebuchet and demonstrate that it works. For this part, you can work in a small group
(up to 4 students), and the demonstration can take the form of a video showing your group and a
functional trebuchet.
BE SAFE. Keep the scale of your demonstration small (∼ 1m max), and do NOT fire any-
thing dangerous. Think squash ball or racquetball ball, and at most tennis ball (because
golf balls are too hard).
One of these might be a place to start:

http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Trebuchet-(1-Meter-Scale)
http://www.instructables.com/id/Trebuchet-Project/
http://www.stormthecastle.com/trebuchet/how-to-make-a-trebuchet-out-of-popsicle-sticks.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm-AZSkzdxo
Measure the distance the projectile travels, and compute the “distance efficiency” (i.e., d = dmeasured /dmax ).
Compile this information into a brief report which includes the parameters of your trebuchet (lengths,
masses, approximate starting and launch angles, etc.). Your score for this part will be 200 × d
or 100, whichever is smaller, such that you will need to achieve d = 0.5 to get full credit.
2. Numerical
Designing a trebuchet that works well is not easy. Your job is to optimize the trebuchet length
parameters with the goal of maximizing the energy transfer to the projectile.
®
Use Mathematic, MATLAB , or your favorite program to compute the velocity of the projectile at the
point of release. For the sake of this calculation, assume that the release happens when v2x = v2y , that
is, when it is moving up at 45◦ .
You should assume that the beam is uniform so that its mass is
√
√ 1 kg
mb = λ m1 (l1 + l2 ) , λ =
10 meter
Note that the thickness of the beam scales with the square-root of the mass of the counter-weight.
(The value of λ given above is roughly what you need with wood to keep it from bending too much.)
From this, and treating the beam as a thin rod (i.e., of negligible cross-section), you can compute Ib
for any choice of l1 and l2 .
To set the scale, assume a 30kg counter-weight and a 1kg projectile.
Your objective is to find a collection of parameters (l1 , l2 , ls ), so that the energy transfer to the projectile
is maximized. You can quantify this by computing the expected “energy efficiency” E = Eprojectile /U0 .
You should be able to find parameters which give E > 0.5 and a projectile velocity v2 > 20m/s.
Include with your optimized parameters plots of the motion of the trebuchet, similar to figures 4, 5
and 6, and the code you used to do the work.
Note: if you want to modify the starting angles φb0 and φs0 , that is fine too, but you can also just
take the values given in the table to reduce the number of parameters you need to think about in the
optimization. In any case, assume that both masses are released from rest at t = 0.
1
3. Analytical
Medieval engineers did not have computers. Can you find an optimal design with pencil and paper?
Let me say up front that this is by far the hardest option for part 2. I eventually found an answer by
careful choice of coordinates and separation of the motion into multiple phases in which I could make
reasonable approximations for various trig functions. I also cross-checked my approximations against
numerical solutions, so weed out the bad ones.
Should you choose to accept this mission, your objective is to find values of the sling and beam lengths
(ls , l2 ) which maximize the kinetic energy of the projectile for a given m1 , m2 , and l1 . Assume that the
starting angles are φb0 = 3π/4 and φs0 = π/2 and that the system starts at rest. As in the numerical
section, you should assume that the beam is uniform with mass
√
mb = λ m1 (l1 + l2 )
and use this to compute Ib for any choice of l1 and l2 given m1 and λ.
4. Optimal
The best trebuchets have a hinged counter-weight and wheels. The wheels aren’t just there so that
you can move it, they are there because otherwise the hinged counter weight puts huge stresses on the
frame (and wastes energy bouncing around its maximum achievable radius).
Here are the additional/modified parameters you will need (see figure 3):
mf mass of frame
l1 distance from pivot to counter-weight attachment point
lw distance from the beam to counter-weight
φw0 starting counter-weight angle (∼ 0)
xf 0 initial horizontal position of the frame (= 0)
Assume that the wheels work perfectly so that the frame and pivot are free to move horizontally
without friction.
(a) Along the lines of problem 1 in part 1, compute the maximum energy efficiency of this design
E = Eprojectile /U0
where Eprojectile is the final projectile kinetic energy and U0 in the initial stored potential energy
relative to the minimum potential state (hint: consider conservation of momentum as well as
energy). Continue to assume that the projectile launches at 45 degrees, and that you can neglect
friction, etc as in part 1.
(b) Compute the Lagrangian of wheeled trebuchet and the resulting equations of motion (similar to
problems 2 - 4 in part 1).
2
Figure 3: Wheeled trebuchet parameter description. Note: the projectile is still m2 .
3
Figure 4: Motion of an example trebuchet. The angles used in the Lagrangian are shown, along with the
Cartesian coordinates of the counter-weight and the projectile.
4
Figure 5: The velocity of the projectile is shown, along with the kinetic energy of the counter-weight and
projectile relative to the stored potential energy.
5
Figure 6: A parametric depiction of the trajectories shown in figure 4.
6
MIT OpenCourseWare
https://ocw.mit.edu
8.223 Classical Mechanics II

January IAP 2017
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2 Part 2: Follow Through

One of these might be a place to start:

8.223 Classical Mechanics II

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