Rocket Simulation Project

Overview

This project simulates the launch and trajectory of rockets using physics principles, numerical integration (Runge-Kutta 4th order), and customizable thrust profiles. The simulation also includes functionality for analyzing numerical error and convergence.

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Prerequisites

• Python 3.11.1 or higher

Install dependencies using:

pip install -r requirements.txt

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How to Run the Project

1. Clone the Repository Download or clone the repository to your local machine:

   git clone <repository_url>

2. Run the User Interface Execute 'main.py' to run the user interface opened in a new window. Input your desired rocket and simulator specs, or choose from one of the presets.

   python main.py

3. Customize Rocket and Simulation Parameters You can modify parameters using the input fields in the UI to define new rockets or adjust simulation settings. Some preset examples are provided for:

   • A small model rocket
   • A slightly larger model rocket
   • Saturn V
   • V2 rocket
   • Hellfire Missile
   • Patriot Missile

4. Analyze Convergence To analyze convergence and truncation errors, click the button to run an error analysis on the current configuration:

5. Visualize Results You should be able to see plots of the altitude and velocity of the rocket over time. Clicking the error analysis button will open a new window with plots of the errors:

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File Descriptions

src/Rocket.py

Defines the Rocket class. Key features:

• Mass, thrust, burn time, and drag parameters.
• thrust_at_time: Computes thrust based on the current time and custom thrust profile.
• fuel_status: Tracks remaining fuel and adjusts rocket mass.

src/RocketSimulation.py

Defines the RocketSimulation class. Key features:

• Models rocket motion using the RK4 numerical integration method.
• Calculates drag and air density dynamically.
• Provides visualization and error analysis functions.

src/analysis.py

Contains functions for error and convergence analysis:

• analyze_convergence: Computes truncation errors for different time step sizes.
• plot_convergence: Plots the errors as log-log graphs.

main.py

Contains code to run the user interface for the simulation

• Uses PyQT5 to create the windows and other features of the UI
• Imports all code necessary for the simulation from the files above

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Example Output

Altitude and Velocity Plots

Running the hellfire missile simulation produces graphs of altitude and velocity over time.

Convergence Analysis

Error plots for varying time step sizes demonstrate ( h^4 ) scaling in the RK4 method.