Class Project

[spudman07]

Hey all. Didn't exactly know where to put this, so if it needs moved, do it.

For one of my classes I had to come up with a way to model the flight of a projectile out of a vacuum cannon. We had to use MatLab, a computer programming software, to come up with the height of the front and back of the cannon and the distance from the origin to hit a target of given distance and height.

We then had to model the flight path in Working Model to show that our solution would work. Here is a link to the website we had to make as the final "write-up" of the project. http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~revolttl/Cl ... efault.htm

[rcman50166]

Was there a question in there that you forgot to ask?

[spudman07]

No. I was just adding this "cannon" to the site. Sorry if that wasn't obvious. I just wasn't sure where to put it. I didn't think it belonged in the pneumatic showcase forum because it shoots due to a lack of pressure. Unless you count the rapid moving air coming in to fill the tube from behind as the pressure source; then the whole room we were in would be the pressure chamber.

[MaxuS the 2nd]

Err..So this is still a theoretical cannon?

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Err..So this is still a theoretical cannon?

Nope, they actually made one - it's basically a 14.7psi pneumatic, not the best way to get a powerful launcher but that was not the object of the exercise in this case.

An interesting variation would be to determine the velocity gains that could be obtained if you fired a normal pneumatic with an evacuated ch*cough*barrel, I know NASA do this for their high velocity testing cannon that is described in this document (scroll to page 4)

[Fnord]

velocity gains that could be obtained if you fired a normal pneumatic with an evacuated chamber

Evacuated barrel?

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

*cough*

*mutter*

[Ragnarok]

An interesting variation would be to determine the velocity gains that could be obtained if you fired a normal pneumatic with an evacuated ch*cough*barrel.

Quite a bit I might imagine. Not only have you effectively got an extra bar of pressure pushing said projectile, you are also freed of the energy requirement to move that air from the barrel, which could be quite a large gain with light projectiles.

[MaxuS the 2nd]

I've never thought of that before, interesting..