Is a full counter weight of 100 stone stacks the max power/range of the Treb? Where should the pivot point be on the beam? This toy is a trebuchet, ancient artifact to launch heavy weights against fortifications, with adaptations for simplicity and easy to assemble. Ideally a ratio of around 100/1 ballast to projectile weight should be used, this results in . How closely do they match? Is there anything heavier than a 100 stack of stone (13.00 "weight") that can be used as a counter? The power delivered to a wall from a device like this could be incredibly devastating. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. However, as I said earlier, a 1:4 ratio arm isn't going to throw anything very far on its own. Now, the number of ropes in the illustration is not correct, they were usually around 40 to 125 ropes and pulled by 40 to 250. Press the backs of your hands against the inside of a door frame for 30 secondsas if youre trying to widen the frameand then let your arms down; youll feel something odd. Figure 1, below, shows a modern reconstruction of a trebuchet. Proudly created with Wix.com, Weapons That Changed The World: The Counterweight Trebuchet, It is rumoured that Edward was so keen on trying out his new toy that he ordered the recently surrendered Scots back into the castle, quoted to have said ", You do not deserve any grace, but must surrender to my will" and. Do you have a large outdoor area to test a big one? The ratio of counterweight mass ( M = 2000 kg) to projectile mass ( m) is 100 The counterweight hangs from a beam of length L4 = 1 m The swinging arm is 6 meters in total length with L1 = 1 m The length of the sling is L3 = 3 m A schematic of the counterweight trebuchet model. War Wolf was the largest trebuchet ever made and was rumored to send boulders of about 150 kilograms across a distance of over 200 meters. many timing errors. Edit Rate (0) Tags Discuss History Files . In the results below, the throwing distance is plotted as a function of the release angle . (France, John: Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades 1000-1300, p. 120). Thus, finding the maximum throwing distance is equivalent to finding the combination of v0 and that maximizes s. Intuitively, you might think that the angle of release should be = 45. Do you have specific questions about your science project? The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. http://imgur.com/CntygEE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebuchet. The main beam measures 54 "workfeet," or 15.55 m, with a throwing arm of 46 "workfeet," or 13.248 m. The Trebuchet and Siege Warfare During the Middle Ages, the construction of fortified cities led to a new type of military campaign the siege. Will allow to have fun in areas such as home and office, for children and adults. In this formidable weapon, the long end of an arm on a pivot was hauled or winched down and then released, allowing a heavy counterweight at the short opposite end of the arm to drop and swing the long end upward CW stands for counterweight, and the release . Model Trebuchet can be made using Stripwood Technology techniques with card and 8mm x 8mm square timber. It is assumed that the usage of heavy missile throwers was far greater in siege warfare in the Middle East than in Western Europe. 99. . This created an increase in falling distance and centrifugal force, both of which contributed to greater power. The trebuchet made improvements upon both of these weapons, able to launch stones that weighed hundreds of kilograms farther and more accurately than either the ballista or the catapult.
Although, the counterweight-trebuchet was quite a feat in engineering, its influence on warfare was limited and the balance between offense and defense was not altered significantly. I made a "trigger" for the catapult out of two big shackles and a rod . I hope you enjoyed this and would love to hear what you think, please leave me a comment and follow me on Instagram @chrisriley_ for more medieval history! document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The medieval battlefield was dominated by large artillery weapons, and among these the trebuchet was king. In order to maximize the distance the projectile flies, the trebuchet needs to have a relatively long throwing arm compared to the counterweights arm, and a relatively large weight relative to the object being thrown. . What are the advantages of a floating arm trebuchet? Pick something with a high ratio of strength to weight. The horizontal distance the payload would travel is called the trebuchet's range. What tools and safety equipment do you have access to? Actual hand-to-hand combat was quite rare and usually only occurred during midnight counterattacks by the besieged or when the walls of the city were finally breached. We do this to improve browsing experience and to show personalized ads. 3). They stood as tall as 60 feet (18m) and could fling 80 pound (36kg) objects up to 980 . Some of these references contain advanced math, including calculus and differential equations, but you can still use them to help you get started. If you are trebbing and run out of wood or iron, you can keep repairing the trebuchet up to 2500/5000 health with only one of the mats! Now, since we covered that part, lets get started. Larger trebuchets would have large 'hamster' style wheels on the side of them, allowing men to run inside them to winch down the large arm where the projectile would be added, a pin would then be removed throwing the large arm upwards. The plot below shows that the maximum throwing distance that can be obtained is greatly affected by the length of the sling. The Chinese needed so much power for the trebuchet that they had up to 250 solders pulling on ropes to operate the machine [6]. Your internet explorer is in compatibility mode and may not be displaying the website correctly. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Using a parametric sweep, you could easily examine the effect of changing other physical lengths in the model (while keeping the counterweight at fixed height for consistency). He notes: What is in fact surprising, when one comes to consider the dynamics of the counterweight trebuchet, is that it ever became a useful engine of war at all. (Hill, Donald R.: Trebuchets, in: France, John: Medieval Warfare, p. 280) http://imgur.com/CntygEE A nice working trebuchet to throw around small stones, sweets or whatever Use some coins to fill up the counter weight. Cocking . pushing it forward, or pushing it backwards. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Thus, sometimes stones were transported a long way: Gravity. Set out a meter tape starting from the front of the base and lay on
The fulcrum of the lever (usually an axle) is supported by a high frame, and the counterweight is suspended from the short arm of the lever. listed if standards is not an option). This allows the longer projectile arm to move 4 times as far for each . The counter-weight is usually much heavier than the projectile, typically by a ratio of 10 to 1 or more. One fascinating rumoured example of bodies being used comes from the siege of Kaffa, where in 1347, the plague ridden Mongols outside of the city started to fling over their dead and dying soldiers into the city in a hope that the smell alone, rumoured to be particular foul, would destroy the moral of the defenders calling for their surrender. . Looking at their advantages and disadvantages, traction trebuchets were probably used for throwing light missiles, whereas the counter-weight trebuchets used for heavy stones. The complete trebuchet mechanical system is truly a dynamic one. The main advantages of the traction trebuchet were that it was faster and cheaper to build and needed no specialists, unlike the counterweight trebuchet. - History behind the trebuchet, http://www.ripcord.ws/theory.html
In use for almost 1000 years, the medieval version of the Chinese trebuchet transformed the battlefield thus changing the world forever. Will you need help from an adult to use tools like a power drill or saw? Uninterrupted action by massed forces of large machines would surely have smashed masonry in time, but the conditions in which large numbers of such machines could be gathered and operated were relatively rare, and before the end of the twelfth century there is little evidence of artillery smashing the main masses of castles and walled cities. (France, John: Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades 1000-1300, p. 120), Another aspect in attacking walls was, that the quality of the stones was very important, because if the stone shatters on the wall, the damage is quite limited. Hill states about the Counterweight Trebuchet: 24 dimes should be placed in the counterweight. This consent may be withdrawn. The trebuchet relies on the principle that stored potential energy of the counterweight can be converted into kinetic energy of the payload, launching it into the air. [11] Ripcords Trebuchet Stuff. (Hill, Donald R.: Trebuchets, in: France, John: Medieval Warfare, p. 284) Thus, counterweight trebuchets with hard stones were probably used against fortifications, whereas traction trebuchets were used to attack softer targets like buildings. Figure 2 raises several questions about designing a trebuchet. A build it yourself trebuchet! One of the worst cases of such early chemical warfare came in the 14th century when Mongols fired corpses that contained the Black Death into the city of Kaffa. With starting and stopping points this uncertain, there could have been
Before you start building a trebuchet, ask yourself the following questions to help you pick a design: What factors can increase the range of a real trebuchet, based on the one you build and test? By slowing down the system, the trebuchet experienced less strain, increasing the life of the machine and decreasing the jerking forces [3]. measuring, and the axel connection. How much counterweight does a trebuchet need? http://imgur.com/CntygEE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebuchet, I rebuilt this Trebuchet design in Rhino, made it easier to 3d print. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The construction and operation of the counterweight-trebuchet was the province of specialist engineers, who were not always available, and it was ponderous to transport. (France, John: Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades 1000-1300, p. 123) Never "dry fire" the trebuchet - always load a projectile to balance the firing mechanism. (France, John: Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades 1000-1300, p. 121) The counterweight was filled with stone, sand, lead or other heavy material. . Now, lets examine what happens if we modify the length of the sling by 10% using a parametric sweep. The ballista eventually gave way to the catapult [3]. The animation below shows the motion of the trebuchet as it is fired. Several museums around the world have also built their own, with Middelaldercenteret in Nykbing Falster in Denmark as one of the first modern examples of counterweight trebuchet (Hansen, 1989). By the way if the concept of the traction trebuchet is too odd for you, you might check out the following real life video of one and for those who want to rebuild one in the sandbox game besiege, there is also at least one video. However, counterweight trebuchet was almost never used in ancient China, and traction trebuchet has been the mainstream for thousands of years. To fix
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