Trebuchet Research Paper

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The firing procces
A trebuchet starts to fire when the counter weight is hoisted up. When the
counterweight is hoisted up as high as possible it has lots and lots of potential
energy, when the counterweight drops this potential energy will change into kinetic
energy and over the fall gravity and weight will force the counter weight to
accelerate and gain momentum.
Speed is key when firing a trebuchet so the best trebuchets have a lot of
momentum which means more acceleration which means more speed. On an
effective trebuchet the momentum will be strong enough to push the counter
weight past the 90 degree angle. Once the payload has reached a fast enough
speed, it undergoes centripetal acceleration.
Slightly after the payload has undergone centripetal …show more content…

Some factors that effect the firing distance
Arm length ratio - if the length of the firing arm from the fulcrum to the
counterweight is to long or to short compared to the length of the firing arm from
the fulcrum to the sling the trebuchet’s firing distance will be effected. If the ratio of
these to sections is less than 3:1 ( with the longer side been the sling side) the
payload will not release high enough and the firing distance will be effected. If the
ratio is above 3:1 (say 4:1) the moment of inertia will be too low and the force of
the counterweight will not be enough to get the counter weight to the necessary
velocity to optimise the firing distance.
Wheels or no wheels - having wheels does effect the firing distance. If there is
wheels on a trebuchet it allows the counter weight to swing further and faster,
creating more force, why? Because the force of going backwards pushes the
counterweight.
Counterweight mass - the heavier the counterweight the faster the trebuchet will
fire, which means more acceleration which will make the payload fire further. If the
counterweight is too light than the acceleration will not be high enough to

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