Foguetemodelismo: análise do movimento de um minifoguete utilizando um sensor de altitude

Abstract

Mini rockets are tools that are part of everyday school life in several schools in Brazil. Popularized by the Brazilian Rocket Show, a national rocket launch competition, mini-rockets are already educational tools, especially in the teaching of natural sciences. With that in mind, this work aims to study the vertical motion of a two-stage mini-rocket powered by solid fuel propulsion. For this, we collected altitude data as a function of time, as well as using rocket motion equations to find parameters that help to understand this movement. The description of the movement was performed by a sensing system composed of Arduino Nano, a BMP280 pressure and temperature sensor (altimeter), an SD card reader module and a power supply. This study also aims to compare the curve of the vertical movement from the launches of the mini-rocket, with the theoretical curve built from the equations of motion of systems driven and subject to the gravitational field and air resistance. The data collection methods come from the sensing systems, which were launched together with the mini-rocket, collecting height and flight time data. The data were described, analyzed and confronted with the mathematical modeling developed from equations of motion. Excel (office package) was used for the elaboration of the graphs. This comparison was necessary to find certain physical parameters, such as the escape velocity of gases and mass flow, as well as important points of motion, such as apogee. From the description of the vertical motion curve and parameters, we can better understand the functioning of these systems.