Determining the Relationship Between the Velocity and Drag Coefficient of a Model Rocket

Authors

  • Jason Qin Princess Anne High School
  • Christopher Smead Mentor, Princess Anne High School

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v10i3.1684

Keywords:

Rocket, Model Rocket, Drag, Drag coefficient, velocity, speed, air drag

Abstract

There has been a significant uptick in interest among the wider public toward space and its associated technologies. Despite this, there is still a significant lack of public resources discussing the more nuanced areas of rocketry. One such area is the behavior of air around a rocket as its speed increases. The changing speed causes the air around the rocket to flow differently, resulting in different drag characteristics. This paper studies this relationship. In keeping with the focus on accessibility, this paper will use a model rocket instead of the full-size version. This paper finds that there is a negative correlation between speed and air drag on a rocket.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References or Bibliography

AccuWeather. (2021). AccuWeather: Weather alerts & live forecast info (Version 7.7.2-2-google) [Android]. AccuWeather. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.accuweather.android&hl=en&gl=us

Enzure Digital Weather App. (2021). Flowx: Weather Map Forecast (3.320) [Android]. Enzure Digital Weather App. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.enzuredigital.weatherbomb

Google. (n.d.). Google Earth. Google Earth. Retrieved April 11, 2021, from https://earth.google.com/web/search/36.851667,+-76.746667/@36.85147978,-76.74778284,25.57432486a,126.08993005d,35y,22.81832961h,9.25002583t,0r/data=CigiJgokCW790Mzn1kJAEbQepiXE_UFAGUJIbkTanVLAITUTlw0RwFPA

Milligan, T. V. (2012). Determining the drag coefficient of a model rocket using acclerometer based payloads. R&D Event NARAM-54, 17. https://www.apogeerockets.com/downloads/Cd_determination_using_Coast_Data.pdf

NASA. (n.d.). Flight of a Model Rocket. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved April 11, 2021, from https://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/rocket/rktflight.html

Niskanen, S. (2013). OpenRocket technical documentation.

Niskanen, S., Pedrick, D., Ruland, K., Kuker, B., Graham, R., Blood, J., & du Reau, B. (2021). Openrocket/openrocket [Java]. openrocket. https://github.com/openrocket/openrocket (Original work published 2012)

Truong, Q. (2021). Uncertainty Calculator. Uncertainty Calculator. https://uncertaintycalculator.com/

Published

10-11-2021

How to Cite

Qin, J., & Smead, C. (2021). Determining the Relationship Between the Velocity and Drag Coefficient of a Model Rocket. Journal of Student Research, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v10i3.1684

Issue

Section

IB Extended Essays