Model Rocket Workshop: A Project-Based Learning Experience for Engineering Students

A Project-Based Learning (PBL) experience for undergraduate students of aerospace engineering is described in this paper. The experience allows the students to build a model rocket using materials which can be easily obtained. They also compute all the relevant quantities to design and characterize...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of emerging technologies in learning 2008-11, Vol.3 (4), p.70
Main Authors: Rojas, Jose I., Prats, Xavier, Montlaur, Adeline, Garcia-Berro, Enrique
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Project-based learning
Students
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Description
Summary:A Project-Based Learning (PBL) experience for undergraduate students of aerospace engineering is described in this paper. The experience allows the students to build a model rocket using materials which can be easily obtained. They also compute all the relevant quantities to design and characterize the rocket and they test the robustness of their design. They furthermore launch the rocket with the corresponding payload and verify the flight parameters using an on-board altimeter. Finally, they also compare the flight parameters with the theoretically expected values. Using this simple scheme the students are later introduced in the simulation of complex flows, using standard techniques. We find that our students get rapidly involved in the project, allowing them to acquire several practical abilities, besides developing an accurate knowledge of the physics of rockets and of fluid dynamics.
ISSN:1863-0383
1863-0383
DOI:10.3991/ijet.v3i4.290