Elliott, Rothwell, Weiner 1

VIDEO LINK - https://youtu.be/lP-rszCMoRQ

Sager Elliott, Gavin Rothwell, Kyle Weiner
Dr. Brian Koehler, TA Olivia Fillmer
Introduction to Engineering Design and Problem Solving
17 October 2016
Precision Launcher Research
Aerodynamics is the study of the flow of air around and within a moving object (Flandro,
McMahon, Roach 1). There are four forces that compose an objects aerodynamic properties.
The four forces are: weight, lift, drag, and thrust (Dunbar). Weight is the force of gravity pulling
down on an object (Dunbar). Lift counteracts weight, and is the force needed to move an object
up (Dunbar). The third force, drag, is the force that slows an object down and makes an objects
movement difficult (Dunbar). Drag is caused by air and wind resistance in the atmosphere. The
fourth force is thrust, which counteracts drag. Thrust is the force that pushes an object forward
(Dunbar). Creating an aerodynamic object consists of creating an object that efficiently uses lift
and thrust while reducing weight and drag. Another way to measure an objects aerodynamic
effectiveness is based on the objects drag coefficient. The formula for a shapes drag coefficient
is Cd = D / (.5* * V^2 * A), where Cd is drag coefficient, D is drag, rho is density, V is velocity,
and A is reference area (Benson). Reducing an objects drag coefficient means the object is more
aerodynamic. An airfoil (teardrop) shape is the most aerodynamic, followed by a spherical shape,
a bullet shape, a prism shape, and a flat plate shape (Benson). The overall goal is to choose a
shape that is most aerodynamic for the object that will be moving through the air.
Our projectile is a spherical ball about .8 inches in diameter that weighs only a few
ounces. It is made of sturdy foam. We chose a spherical shape because of the ease in firing a ball.

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Although it is the second most aerodynamic shape (Benson) it is much easier to fire than an
airfoil (teardrop) shape. Spheres can be thrown, lobbed, shot or launched easily and very
accurately unlike teardrop shaped objects, which would need a specialized firing mechanism to
control the objects more complicated shape. Teardrop shapes are at their most aerodynamic
when on their side, which would be a much harder position to launch in. Spheres have a
consistent shape all the way around. We chose the weight because of the balls ability to fly in a
consistent arc. The ball we selected will not curve because of its weight, unlike a lightweight
ping-pong ball for example. The weight will also allow the ball to travel thirty feet because the
drag created by the surface area of the ball will not be enough to stop the weight of the ball
combined with the thrust our launcher exerts (Dunbar). Lastly, the size of the ball, .8 inches in
diameter, was decided upon because a ball of that size is dense enough to fly in a consistent and
long arc. It is hard to find a small ball with a sufficient amount of weight because the ball would
have to be very dense. With this size, we found a ball with the density and weight we need.
Zero energy state, or ground state, is when there is no energy within the system
(Henderson). This means that there is no kinetic energy or potential energy acting upon the
system. An outside force must act upon the system for energy to be introduced, potential or
kinetic. In terms of our design, this means that we can have no moving parts before we set our
five-pound weight into motion. We also can not have any potential energy present, such as a
cocked bowstring. The introduced energy must be from the five-pound weight we set into
motion at the beginning of firing the launcher.
Our launcher is fired using a three-inch diameter PVC piston forced downwards using a
falling five-pound weight. Our launcher complies with zero energy state because we have no
moving parts, no pressurized air, and no pre-hanging weights before we drop our five-pound

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weight and allow it to free-fall. Thus, there are no kinetic or potential energy forces acting upon
the launcher system, and it is in zero energy state. The only introduced force will be the
potential energy from us holding the five-pound weight, as is specified in the directions and rules
that the five-pound weight must be the only force to act upon the launcher from zero energy
state.
Our launcher has three total energy transfers. The first is from a five-pound weight being
attached to a rope and being released from slightly above the piston. This energy transfer
consists of the potential energy of gravity being transferred to kinetic energy while falling and
thus pulling the string attached to the piston. Potential energy is any type of stored energy, and
kinetic energy is the energy of movement (Deb). The string of the weight is connected to the
piston and pulls it down. The piston compressing the air is the second energy transfer of the
system. The kinetic energy of the falling piston is transferred to elastic potential energy of
compressed air. Elastic potential energy is energy stored mechanically in a compressed gas or
liquid, a coiled spring, or a stretched elastic band (Kinetic). The third transfer of energy is the
compressed air firing the ball out of the barrel. This transfer takes the kinetic energy of the air
and transfers the energy to the ball, causing it to shoot out of the barrel.
Our launcher system does contain some energy loss in the transfers. The first is the loss
of some energy to friction between the piston plunger and piston. This is due to the fact that the
wooden plunger head and o-ring rub against the inside of the piston. We can minimize this by
lubricating the inside of the piston. Another energy loss is through air escaping the system. We
created airtight seals to the best of our ability but air is still lost throughout the system. The final
energy loss is the friction of the ball against the barrel. There is one source of energy loss in this
interaction, the friction of the ball sliding against the inside of the barrel.

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A limiting factor in our launcher is effectiveness of the weight falling and moving the
piston. Specifically, the weight imparting enough force on the piston to quickly force air through
the barrel. This transfer has the potential to be a potential energy loss if the full force of the
weight does not transfer to moving the piston, or the rope the weight is attached to is not the
correct length to allow the full force of the weight to act on the piston. This would also reduce
the kinetic energy of the shot by a small amount because the air moving through the system
would move slower, putting less force behind the ball.
Another possible limiting factor is air loss throughout the piston system. There are lots of
seams throughout the system where parts are fit together tightly, and some are sealed with PVC
cement and some are not. Air can escape through these cracks, especially because a high volume
of air is moving quickly throughout the system. This leads to the ball shooting shorter and with
less force. The goal is to limit air loss, to make the ball shoot forcefully.
We chose our basic design in order to meet and exceed the amount of energy transfers
requirement while maintaining accuracy and consistency. We considered a trebuchet design at
first, but we got stuck at only having one energy transfer instead of the required two. Thus, we
switched our design to a pneumatic system, which had at minimum two transfers in the rope
attached to the dropped weight, pressurized air, and the air firing the ball. The way our design
got to three energy transfers was through a dropped weight and pneumatic system. Thus, we
settled on a pneumatic system to use the energy of the weight falling to fire the piston, while at
the time using pressurized air to fire the projectile. Not only that, we were able to get the
maximum amount of force and accuracy using the pneumatic system to fire the ball.

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Works Cited
Benson, Tom. "Shape Effects on Drag." NASA. NASA, 12 July 2014. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Deb, Anrica. "Forms of Energy: Motion, Heat, Light, Sound." BURN An Energy Journal. BURN,
29 Nov. 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Dunbar, Brian. "What Is Aerodynamics?" NASA. NASA, 4 June 2011. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Flandro, Gary A. McMahon, Howard M. Roach, Robert L.. (2012). Basic Aerodynamics Incompressible Flow. Cambridge University Press.
Henderson, Tom. "Mechanical Energy." Mechanical Energy. The Physics Classroom, n.d. Web.
17 Oct. 2016.
Houghton, E. L., Carpenter, P. W., and Collicott, Steven H.. Aerodynamics for Engineering
Students (6). Saint Louis, GB: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2012. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 17
October 2016.
"Kinetic and Potential Energy." Diffen.com. Diffen LLC, n.d. Web. 16 Oct 2016.