Friday, February 4, 2011
History Of The Cannon
Pre - 1800s
1800s - 1900s
1900s - Modern
Manufacture: March 1936 Rheinmetall (German automotive and defense company) made a proposal for a howitzer to assemble on site, but prep led to the decision to make it a self-propelled weapon in January 1937. Driving tests took place in 1938 and 1939 using the first new vehicle tank prototype and a scale model to research the extremely high ground pressure and steering of such a huge vehicle. Firing tests took place in June 1939. The full-scale driving trials took place at Unterlüss in May 1940. 7 Karl-Gerät howitzers were made.The 1st 6 were nicknamed Adam, Eva, Thor, Odin, Loki, and Ziu; the last one did have a name (Versuchs-Gerät).In February 1941, discussions were about if they should increase the range of it, and in May 1942, 54 cm barrels were ordered for the six vehicles. Only 3 of the 54 cm barrels were actually completed. Later on they were modified with a capability of carrying 4 shells that replaced the turret and outfitted with a crane as ammunition tractor ammunition transporters/loaders. 2 or 3 of these ammunition tractors were assigned to each weapon.
Design: Since Rheinmetall was also an automotive company this cannon was a 124 ton vehicle. The 124 ton vehicle was propelled by a Daimler-Benz MB 503. A 12-cylinder liquid-cooled gasoline engine, but this was mainly used for aiming (the mount had only 4 degrees of traverse on each side) as the engines provided a speed of only 6.2 miles per hour. The Karl-Gerät proved to have no problems moving over normal soil, but under no circumstances was it allowed to make turns on soft soil lest it throw a track. The chassis had to be backed into position to fire, which expedited movement to a new position, but the firing position had to be precisely leveled and the approach route prepared ahead of time to fill in soft spots and any ditches, etc. It could only be loaded at 0 elevation, so it had to be re-aimed between every shot.
Ammunition: The original heavy 60 cm concrete-piercing shells made a crater up to 49 ft wide and 16 ft deep. More range was desired and the light concrete-piercing shell 040 was introduced in 1942. The original 60 cm heavy shell had no designation other than the name. The unit number was added for the newer shells.
Materials / Tools
Materials:
- two tennis ball can (and their tops)
- 18 inch piece of tape
Tools:
- scissors
- marker
- protractor
- compass
Design / Plan
Design Plan: Our design is to have one tennis ball can as the base and the other used as the combustion chamber. We plan to cut the hole of the top canister so it will be more stable for the can going on top. The combustion chamber will be attached by tape and be fixed at a 45 degree angle. The ignition hole will be on the bottom right side. We think that the ethanol will set more in the top of he can so if we but the hole lower that gas won't escape. We will just have to put the splint higher into the canister when we are ready to fire that cannon.
Launch Angle: We decided to have our launch angle be a fixed angle at 45 degrees because we believed that with this angle we would be able to get the ball to go far and high without it being too much of either. It also gives the ball some time in the air to travel farther because it won't be traveling too close to the ground.
Procedures
Procedures:
1. Draw and cut a circle into the side of one of the tennis ball canisters so the hole is big enough to fit the other canister on it.
2. Lay the second tennis ball canister on the hole you cut out in the first canister.
3. Use the protractor to measure a forty-five degree angle with the canisters.
4. Cut the tape and place it down the middle (so you have more tape).
5. Secure the top canister onto the bottom one with the tape.
5. Secure the top canister onto the bottom one with the tape.
6. Tape one of the lids (from one of the cans) to the bottom of the can (top can) on a flat surface and connected to the can.
7. Use the sharp metal end of the compass to put the ignition hole on the bottom right side of the combustion chamber.
Math Component
A cannonball is shot upward from the upper deck of a fort with an initial velocity of 192 feet per second. The deck is 32 feet above the ground.
Use this formula to solve the problem: h = -16t2+v0t+h0
Quadratic Model: -16t2+192t+32
I solved this problem using mostly my graphing calculator. I typed in the function into "y =". Then I found the maximum point in the line using "2ND TRACE". This value is the answer for how high the cannonball went. I found how long the cannon ball was in the air by looking at the table and seeing when the line gets to 32 a second time because the first was when the cannonball was fired so the second is when it lands. The x value is the same as the t or time.
Math Component/ Formula and Expected Results: We used the range formula of R= (Vo2sin 2q)/g. R is the range of the nerf ball, the V is the initial velocity (estimated), q is the launch angle, and g is gravity which is always 32.2 meters per seconds squared. We estimated our initial velocity to be 10 meters per second and multiplied it by sin 2(45) and divided that by 32.3. The answer came out to be about 3.1 meters but after we converted to feet it was 10.2 feet.
Use this formula to solve the problem: h = -16t2+v0t+h0
Quadratic Model: -16t2+192t+32
1. How high does the cannonball go? ___608 feet___ (Remember you are looking for a specific part of the vertex.)
2. How long is the cannonball in the air? __12 seconds_ (Remember you can use the quadratic formula.)
I solved this problem using mostly my graphing calculator. I typed in the function into "y =". Then I found the maximum point in the line using "2ND TRACE". This value is the answer for how high the cannonball went. I found how long the cannon ball was in the air by looking at the table and seeing when the line gets to 32 a second time because the first was when the cannonball was fired so the second is when it lands. The x value is the same as the t or time.
Math Component/ Formula and Expected Results: We used the range formula of R= (Vo2sin 2q)/g. R is the range of the nerf ball, the V is the initial velocity (estimated), q is the launch angle, and g is gravity which is always 32.2 meters per seconds squared. We estimated our initial velocity to be 10 meters per second and multiplied it by sin 2(45) and divided that by 32.3. The answer came out to be about 3.1 meters but after we converted to feet it was 10.2 feet.
Chemistry Component
Gas Law Used: Gay-Lussac's law says that the pressure of a gas is directly proportional to the kelvin temperature if the volume is held constant. In other words when the temperature goes up the pressure goes up and vise-versa. With our cannons the volume will be held constant because that canister's volume does not change. At time of ignition the hot splint will ignite the ethanol gas and the temperature in the canister will rise very quickly so the pressure has to do the same. This causes the nerf ball to be shot into the air.
How Does The Reaction Happen? The balanced chemical formula for this reaction is C2H5OH + 3O2 ® 2CO2 + 3H2O The CO2 in the reaction build pressure in the canister and causes the nerf ball to be shot from the cannon. Difficulties in Construction: Our group really didn't have any difficulties in the actual construction process since we had though out and sketched the design several times. We worked well together and I dont' think I would change anything about the way that we constructed our cannon.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)