Project: Paper Air Rocket Nose Cones

thingiverse

I have designed this project as an extension to the paper air rockets that were in MAKE Magazine Volume 15. I have designed a variety of nose cones and an activity to test what type of aerodynamics provide the best flight for these small inexpensive rockets. I have a related tail project: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1729214https://youtu.be/VPjsU4TNLrg Print Settings Printer: Generic Prusa i3 Rafts: No Supports: Yes Resolution: 0.2mm Infill: 40% Notes: Printing with a soft rubbery TPE could be a good idea for safety (Although more expensive, and not supported by all printers). Use caution when launching, results can get surprising when launching. How I Designed This I started out by measuring the PVC pipe and sketching up an interface for the paper body of the rocket. I created some concentric circles representing the diameter of the PVC and a lip for the paper to tape onto. Then I extruded these circles to form a cap that will be the base of the nose cones. Next I moved on to adding a hole that would allow less material to be used in printing the nose cones that would be above. Then, I switched to a front view and then drew a 1/2 profile of the nose that would be rotated around the central axis of the nose. The only nose that deviated from the above was the flat square which required a loft as a new body, then used the shell tool to reduce printable material. Finally, I joined that nose with the base to form a single body. Image of a possible nose cross section before revolution in Fusion 360 Standards NGSS CCSS Overview and Background In 2008 Make Magazine published published Volume 15 with instructions to build an air based paper rocket launcher. I built one, let tons of kids make and launch rockets at several events. One big observation is that paper nose cones are not very resilient. One tough landing and its all scrunched up, kids came up with all sorts of ideas for nose cones. The concept of building a more durable nose has evolved into a project to design, print, and test for the best design for small scale rocket science aerodynamics (since we are going to be in air the whole time). Skills Learned (standards) MP.4 - Model with mathematics. (HS-ETS1-1), (HS-ETS1-2), (HS-ETS1-3), (HS-ETS1-4) RST.11-12.9 - Synthesize information from a range of sources (e.g., texts, experiments, simulations) into a coherent understanding of a process, phenomenon, or concept, resolving conflicting information when possible. References http://makezine.com/projects/make-15/compressed-air-rocket/ http://www.airrocketworks.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nose_cone_design http://www.hobbizine.com/rocketaltitude.html https://play.google.com/store/search?q=clinometer&c=apps&hl=en search clinometer on itunes appstore Lesson Plan and Activity Objectives Learn about air resistance. Learn air pressure in storage can convert to kinetic energy. Learn to use scientific method to test a design. Step 1 - Background Knowledge Discuss air pressure. Discuss potential and kinetic energy. Discuss the mechanisms that convert stored air pressure into thrust for the rockets. Discuss air resistance and friction. Discuss aerodynamics. Print and use one or more nose cones for as a visualization aid. Have students develop hypothesis about which design is going to be the most efficient and why they think that is. Or why their design is going to be most efficient. ( NOTE: you may want to impose some size parameters and/or weight parameters to make everything even, but you never know what students might develop if left with minimal rules) Step 2 - Design and/or build Option 1: Have students design a nose cone and print it. Option 2: Print one or all the nose cones I have in the thing files. Step 3 - Practical testing Option 1: Assemble the parts as shown: Photos Below Paper body -> tape -> nose coneSAFETY NOTE: always be aware of what is down range Setup rocket launcher Perform a repeatable scientific collection of data: Launch rockets at same pressure, same angle, same direction, into same wind conditions. Measure the distance to landing. (option to layout a landing grid ahead) Record all data in a table of distances. Repeat above for so each nose launches the same number of times. Option 2: Do above several times with different air pressures: 20 psi, 30 psi, 40psi, etc... (observe limits of your equipment)OR Do above with different launch angles.OR Come up with your own variation to test. Step 3 - Calculations Have students evaluate their data for any trends and come up with the average distance their nose was able to achieve. Graph class wide data and determine which nose, if any was the best and why? Step 4 - Review Discuss why we got the results we got. Discuss how students think they could do the experiment differently. Rubric What is potential energy? What is kinetic energy? How does air pressure provide thrust to the rocket? What is helping our design be more aerodynamic? What is creating resistance for our designs? How does friction apply to rocketry? Tips and Tricks Cone design does in fact matter - at least it did for me. I was able to land within 10 feet for the same design on multiple launches (wind was gusty). You can launch for height at ~90° launch angle or go for distance at ~45° launch angle Some designs are prone to tumbling without having tail fins. rocket tube being paper, can usually be straightened out good enough without having to remake the rocket. Materials Needed The following materials and items can be helpful with this project. rocket launch kit (either assembled from Make instructions, or now at least one company makes an almost ready to go kit) paper 18" length of 1/2" PVC pipe (or diameter that matches your launcher) tape scissors long tape measure, roll wheel, or GPS and an app for measuring could get close enough in the right hands. open space to launch (foot ball field, greenway, use good judgement!) calipers, rule, or tape to measure smaller things (if you are doing design-builds) clinometer safety gear! Assets I have included the nose_base.f3d fusion 360 design files in the thing files. Modifications for other pipe sizes or nose designs could be made. nose_base.f3d http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1729214 Project: Paper Air Rocket Nose Cones Use PVC to line up nose and guide the rolling of the paper for the body Tape it all up and smooth it out Launch setup from Make Magazine article Try out lots of different ones (some of the tail sections from another project shown). The rocket on the right got bent up on a hard landing, but was ready for launch seconds later