The Aero Club

WATER ROCKET

Flight of Water Rocket

INTRODUCTION

A water rocket is a type of model rocket using water as its reaction mass.

PRINCIPLE

It is based on the NEWTONS THIRD LAW OF MOTION.

WORKINGPrior to launch, the body of the rocket is filled with water to some desired amount, typically about 40% of the volume.

Air is pumped into the bottle rocket to pressurize the bottle and thrust is generated when the water is expelled from the rocket through the nozzle at the bottom.

Ideal Rocket Equation

Water rocket stabilityAs the rocket accelerates away from the launch pad, the velocity increases and the aerodynamic forces on the rocket increase.The wind introduces an additional velocity component perpendicular to the flight pathThe addition of this component produces an effective flow directionSince the effective flow is inclined to the rocket axis, an aerodynamic lift force is generated by the rocket body and fins.

During the flight of a model rocket small gusts of wind, or thrust instabilities can cause the rocket to "wobble", or change its altitude in flight. Whenever the rocket is inclined to the flight path, a lift force is generated by the rocket body and fins

The aerodynamic drag remains fairly constant for small inclinations.Lift and drag both act through the center of pressure cp of the rocket

A restoring force exists for the model rocket because the center of pressure is below the center of gravity.If the center of pressure is above the center of gravity, the lift and drag forces maintain their directions but the direction of the torque generated by the forces is reversed. This is called a de-stabilizing force

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