Arizona State University

CEE 212Dynamics

The Mechanics Project

CP 1Projectile
Computing Project 1
Projectile

Introduction
The computing project Projectile concerns the theory of particle dynamics. The concept
is to model projectile motion including the nonlinear drag resistance caused by motion in
a fluid with finite density (which causes drag that is proportional to the square of the velocity). The drag forces can have a significant impact on the motion of the particle and
that impact can affect the outcome in practical problems (e.g., in targeting and homerun
hitting).
The most widely accepted model of velocity related drag forces give a force with magnitude equal to
= 12 2 2

(1)

where is the density of the surrounding fluid, Cd is the coefficient of drag (which depends upon the shape of the objectsomething you can look up online or in a handbook),
Ap is the projected area of the object perpendicular to the direction of the velocity, and
= is the speed (the norm of the velocity v). For convenience in the following
discussion we lump the coefficients into the single parameter = /2. In your program you will want to input each of these as physical properties and then compute c for
use throughout the computation.
The forces that act on a particle are vectors. The drag force must, therefore, be a vector
(with magnitude and direction). The expression above gives the magnitude of the vector.
The direction of the force is in the direction of the velocity and acts to oppose motion in
the direction of the velocity. The simplest way to develop a unit vector in the direction of
the velocity is to divide the velocity by its magnitude. The direction m of the drag force is
then
= /

(2)

= 2 =

(3)

Putting these together the drag force can be expressed as

The force opposes the motion, it is proportional to the constant c, and it is proportional to
the square of the velocity. The presence of this force makes the particle motion problem nonlinear because the velocity is part of the state that we are trying to determine by
integrating the equations of motion.
We can solve the problem numerically by computing the velocity and position incrementally based upon the state at the previous time step and the equation of motion at the current time step. Using the generalized trapezoidal rule for numerical integration we have

2013 Keith D. Hjelmstad

Arizona State University

CEE 212Dynamics

The Mechanics Project

CP 1Projectile
+1 = + [ + (1 )+1 ]

+1 = + [ + (1 )+1 ]

(4)
(5)

where = +1 is the time increment and is a numerical integration parameter,

which we generally take to be =0.5 (more on that in the Course Notes entitled Numerical Methods). The subscripts on the state variables x, v, and a indicate the timee.g., xn
= x(tn) and xn+1 = x(tn+1), etc. Even though the position vector is a continuous function of
time we will be finding values at certain discrete values of time that are meant to approximate the actual function at that time.
We get acceleration from the equations of motion F=ma. In the present case that would
be
+1 +1 = +1

(6)

where m is the mass of the particle, g is the acceleration of gravity (i.e., 9.81 m/s2), and n
is a unit vector pointing in the direction of gravity (usually we will set our coordinate system such that n = e3).
The knowledge you need to solve this problem within the context of a MATLAB code is
contained in the Course Notes entitled Numerical Methods. The state is completely determined at (we got it from doing the same calculation at the last time step). So, we
can look at Eqns. (4), (5), and (6) as three (vector) equations in three (vector) unknowns. 1

The task is to solve those equations at each time step and then move on to the next time
step. As in all dynamics problems we must specify initial condition on position and velocity (i.e., xo and vo must be known as part of the problem specification). To get ready to
start the time marching algorithm you must also know the acceleration ao at time zero.
The acceleration cannot be specified, but rather must be computed from the equation of
motion, in this case Eqn. (6) so
=

(7)

Once the initial state is completely established then the time stepping algorithm can be
done. Note that Eqn. (6) is nonlinear (because of the velocity term, which is sort of a vector version of velocity squared). Therefore, we will need to use Newtons method at each
time step to solve our system of equations (again, see the course notes).
The time-stepping algorithm for projectile motion without drag has been implemented in
the MATLAB program projectile.m which we have provided for you and is available on
the Blackboard website. This program shows how to set up the time-stepping part of the
MATLAB code. Note that without the drag term the equation of motioni.e., Eqn. (6)
1

If you write out all of these three vector equations in components then it is nine scalar equations
in nine scalar unknowns. It will be convenient to keep the equations in vector notation because we
can implement these equations in MATLAB as vector equations.

2013 Keith D. Hjelmstad

Arizona State University

CEE 212Dynamics

The Mechanics Project

CP 1Projectile

without dragare not nonlinear so we do not have a Newton while loop in this code.
You will need to put that in as part of this project. If you think about it, what you really
need to do to get from my code to your code is to deal with what is different between my
equation of motion and your equation of motion (yours has the drag term, mine does not).
Note that the numerical integration equationsEqns. (5) and (6) aboveare the same in
both cases because they only implement the fact that acceleration is the time rate of
change of velocity which is the time rate of change of position.
The MATLAB program projectile.m is the program framework that we will use for all of
the Computing Projects in this course. Therefore, understanding how this one is set up
will help you to get oriented for all future CPs. The descriptions of some of the features
are noted in the course notes Numerical Methods. For future computing projects you will
have this basic code for a launching point (the time stepping algorithm will be basically
the same in each case, the equations of motion will change). Study the code carefully.
What you need to do
For this computing project you can get going in two steps: (1) get the program to compute correctly using an explicit approximation (see the course notes) and (2) do the code
for the real thingi.e., the implicit implementation.
As mentioned in Numerical Methods, the explicit approximation uses the simplifying
trick of using the old velocity in the equation of motion instead of the correct new value +1. That allows us to compute the acceleration at the new state (approximately) as
+1 = /

This equation can be implemented in projectile.m by simply adding the drag term. Because it is the old velocity (which is known from the last time step) you dont need Newtons method to solve the equation of motion. You should be able to get this working by
changing a few lines of projectile.m! 2
Once you get the explicit version of the code working move on to the implicit version.
This part is the main challenge and purpose of this project. In essence, you need to implement Newtons method (in a while loop) to satisfy the equations of motionEqn.
(6)at each time step. The course notes Numerical Methods shows you how to get the
equations for the Newton iteration.

This approachsolving a simpler problem before you get into the complexities of the real problem at handis a good programming practice. It allows you to sort things out one step at a time
and at each step you can get a working code that might help to verify the next version. When you
get the explicit version working you will want to save that for posterity (i.e., start the next code in
a new file so you can go back to that one as needed).

2013 Keith D. Hjelmstad

Arizona State University

CEE 212Dynamics

The Mechanics Project

CP 1Projectile

Once you get your code working, use it to study the phenomenon of terminal velocity.
You can, in fact, use terminal velocity as one of the ways to verify the code because it is
possible to derive an analytical expression from the equations of motion for terminal velocity (assuming that the direction does not change, which would be true for a particle
traveling in exactly the same direction as gravity, velocity parallel to n). Examine what
happens when the projectile velocity is not in a constant vertical directioni.e., the general projectile-motion problem, wherein there is both a horizontal and vertical component
to the motion. How does horizontal motion affect the vertical terminal speed? Will a ball
that hits water in a swimming pool at an angle hit the bottom at the same time as a ball
that hits going straight down if the vertical component of the velocity is the same?
You are, of course, free (and encouraged) to explore anything you want within the context of particle motion with drag forces. Note that your report will be evaluated on the
basis of the interest and insights of your study. This part of the assignment invites you to
discover and to explore. You could change your code to account for ambient wind (i.e.,
the fluid moving on its own independent of the particle) and then you could explore why
it is harder to hit a homerun in baseball hitting into the wind compared to with the wind.
You can, and should study how the numerical analysis parameters affect your solution.
What happens if you change the time step? What happens if you change the parameter ?
Write a report documenting your work and the results (in accord with the specification
given in the document Guidelines for Doing Computing Projects). Post it to the Critviz
website prior to the deadline. Consult the document Evaluation of Computing Projects to
see how your project will be evaluated to make sure that you can get full marks. All projects will be subject to the peer review process.

2013 Keith D. Hjelmstad