MEA351 – PROPULSION

LAB INFORMATION

PROJECT: WATER ROCKET PROPULSION

1) Students should form groups of 3-4 people per group

2) Each group will have to design a water rocket (basic or 2 stage rockets)
3) Each group will team up with other two groups to form a team for rocket
launcher i.e. (1-3 groups = 1 rocket launcher)
4) To pass the practical – water rocket must be able to launch onto the air with
parachutes deployed and have a workable rocket launcher
5) Competition – which water rocket can be launched the farthest and sustain
longest mid-air
6) A detailed report on the design and calculation must be made
7) 5% of the this total assessment will depend on peer review
8) Students can refer to the water rocket booklet attached with this lab info
9) Additional reading 
READING FOR WATER ROCKET
https://spaceflightsystems.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/shortr.html
http://www.aircommandrockets.com/index.htm
ADDITIONAL READING AND UNDERSTANDING OF PROPULSION
https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/shortp.html
10) Schedule of the water rocket project will be announced later. However, failure
to meet the due date for the schedule will be penalized.

ROCKET LAUNCHING

Testing launching rockets can be done starting 1st February till Competition Day
- Teams need to test launch their rockets during lab hours and Fridays only. All
other days must be by appointment.

Launching for evaluation: on Competiton Day

- Teams need to do a 5-10 minute presentation for evaluation before launching
rockets
- Presentation include  justification for design (why do you end up with the
design for your rocket)

All marks will be finalized by 31 Mac 2016  Do come personally if you want to know
your finalized marks

WATER ROCKET COMPETITION:

- Students must provide their own water rocket to launch

- Students must supply their own water to fill in their rockets. They must decide
the amount of water needed for their rockets
- Rockets must be accompanied by their customized launchers
 - Should rocket launcher is not made/finished on the date of the competition,
the team will risk losing marks for the whole project
- Rockets must not symbolize any religious, or political party of any kind – doing
so will result in elimination from competition and will be penalized for the
project
- Rocket that goes the farthest and sustained longest mid-air will win the
competition
- Parachute must be deployed mid-air. Any action taken to assist parachute
launch e.g. launching rocket at a certain angle so that it will knock into
buildings which helps parachute deployment; will be penalized

MARKING RUBRIC FOR MEA351 WATER ROCKET PROJECT

Below is the marking rubric for your water rocket project. This is a detailed
description of what you can expect and what you should do to achieve full marks for
each section.

No Description Marks
1 Rocket is launched successfully by the end of the semester 5
2 Initial/Preliminary design of the water rocket 5
3 Aesthetic point of view of the water rocket 5
[Do take note that aesthetics comes with a price i.e. added weight to
rocket. A balance between practicality and aesthetics must always be
considered]
4 Peer review survey 5
[In this survey, your team mates will evaluate you in terms of participant
and cooperation. The reason I take in marks for peer review survey is to
make sure that everyone do actually do their jobs and not take credits
for jobs that they did not do]
5 Calculations of related aerodynamics (including simulations) 10
[Calculations that you need to include: (i) maximum altitude, (ii) center
of gravity, (iii) center of pressure (iv) a screenshot of the data that you
calculated from the simulation] (v) pressure needed to launch the
rocket
6 Report writing (per group) 25
[Do please refer below for more information on your final report of your
water rocket project.]
7 Presentation of your water rocket before our final launch into airspace 5
[Presentation should
TOTAL MARK 60

MEA 351 WATER ROCKET PROJECT REPORT FORMAT

Below is a detailed description of how your report for your project should be. Reports
that do not comply with the format will have marks deducted from them.
Do take note: ALTHOUGH THIS PROJECT MAY HAVE SIMILARITIES IN TERMS OF
REFERENCES [DUE TO SHARED LITERATURE REFERENCES FOR ALL GROUPS],
PLAGIARISM IS VERY MUCH TAKEN SERIOUSLY. ANY WORD-BY-WORD SIMILARITIES
BETWEEN GROUP REPORTS WILL HAVE MARKS DEDUCTED FROM THEM.

1) REPORT MUST BE IN ENGLISH. Usage of mixed languages (BM + BI) will be

penalized
2) Report must have a cover note that consists of your group name, assigned
group number, team members, and their student ID no.
3) All reports will in 1.5 spacing format, Arial font size 11.
4) All reports should have all the following details:
a. Introduction of the project – what have you been doing for this
semester, how did you come up with the design, and all related
equations and references that lead you to your final design. Please
include a list of references at the end of the introduction section.
b. Calculations of related aerodynamics including simulations – task
number 2 from the list of tasks should be included in your report.
c. An initial design of your water rocket – this refers to your very first
sketch of your water rocket.
d. Data collected throughout the project (during test launch 1 and test
launch 2) – this data includes:
i. Pressure value for launching
ii. Volume of water used
iii. Time lapse for rocket
e. A picture of your final water rocket.
f. A detailed ENGINEERING DRAWING of your water rocket – this include
general assembly drawing and parts drawing (do refer below for
examples) – you can either hand drawn your water rockets or use the
drafting functions in 3D CAD softwares (Solidworks/PTC
Creo/CATIA/Unigraphics NX)
5) Grammar will be taken into consideration. Grammar mistakes of less than 15
will not have marks deducted from the report.
6) There is no limit to how many pages of report you should have. However, do
make sure that you have all the required details in the report.
7) Your report should either be taped bind or ring bind.
8) Your report should due on the last day of the study week for the semesters. As
always, any late submission would result in mark deductions.
Example 1 of general assembly drawing

Example 2 of general assembly drawing

Example 3 of a detailed part drawing

Failure to comply with these requirements may result in deduction of marks. Hence
cooperation and participation between all team members is very important for you to
achieve full marks for this project.

Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions. Keeping it to yourself may
not help you later with your project. Please take this mini project seriously. However
don’t get too stressed and have fun designing and building your water rocket.

ALL THE BEST AND HAVE FUN WITH WATER

ROCKETS!!! 