DRAG VALUES
For the design challenge portion of this project, we decided to model our rocket as accurately as possible with a program called OpenRocket. All formulas and theory from this program and discussed in detail elsewhere. We chose to use this software because it allowed us the opportunity to dive deeper into the complex world of aerodynamics. We could have simply stated that the forward facing portion of our rocket had a drag coefficient of 0.50, a value that is typical for a given cone geometry, and the resulting calculations would have been pretty close. While that would have been an easier method of approaching this problem, it does a disservice to the composite body.
This chart gives an interesting breakdown of how each component contributes to the whole drag coefficient of the rocket. It should be noted here that the part of the rocket that we have referred to as the base, is instead called the transition in the above table. What the program refers to as the base beyond the understanding of this project.
We can see here that the total drag coefficient for the rocket is 0.44. The surface texture accounts for 18% of that total, while geometry accounts for 80%.
If we were to try and more accurately describe how our realistic model would look fly, we believe that the values in the table above are slightly idealized, and underestimate the actual rocket.