PROBLEM #1 -- Use of conditional and logical statements

DUE DATE: Thursday, February 19th.

SUBMISSION: Electronic and Printout

Textbook sections -- The conditional statement stuff isn't in the book

You are to do a crash barrier test prediction. The testing device is a rocket powered ram (just think of a cart on wheels with a rocket engine mounted on the back). The ram has a mass of 800 kg, and the rocket develops a thrust of 5,000 N. The rocket is initially 500 meters from the barrier when it is ignited. It burns for 10 seconds and then coasts at constant velocity until impact. The resisting force of the barrier impact is estimated to be 30,000 N. This force is constant during the deceleration of the rocket (model as a foam wall). Using Newton's laws, determine the time / position and time / velocity relationships for the rocket. Assume the barrier is perfectly plastic (ram is absorbed by the wall).

Time history is zero to 17 seconds with increment of 0.5 seconds. Make a plot of position vs. time and a plot of velocity vs. time. Use the following equations to determine position, velocity, and acceleration:

There are to be two sheets in the file: Ram Data and Calculations. The Ram Data sheet will contain the six parameters listed above (bold type) in table form, the two plots, and the following statistics:

1. The average velocity of the ram

1. The average absolute velocity

1. The maximum velocity of the ram

1. The maximum depth of penetration (barrier impact)

The Calculations sheet will contain the position, velocity, and acceleration calculations for each time increment. These calculations are to reference the data on the Ram Data sheet. This sheet is also expected to have appropriate headers and labeling. Note: the acceleration calculation should determine if a force is acting on the ram at the given moment, and if so, it's magnitude and direction. A series of if functions would work well here.

PROBLEM #2 - 5.8 from your text book

DUE DATE: Thursday February 19th SUBMISSION: Printout only

Textbook Sections: Chapter 5, except example 5.4

Fit each type of equation on a separate graph; however, you may put all the graphs on the same page. Display the fit equations and r-squared values on each graph. Put all the equations in bold face and make sure they are readable (you can move them around on the graph). Somewhere on the spreadsheet, indicate which equation gives the best fit.