https://youtu.be/5yMxEXfg85k Credit to Ben Goodwin for helping create this Trebuchet. When the counterweight is raised up, it has lots of gravitational potential energy. But the question of the exact provenance of the invention, whether in Europe or in Islam, is not resolved. (Hill, Donald R.: Trebuchets, in: France, John: Medieval Warfare, p. 275-276). The FAKA is very efficient for its frame height and arm length as well. Ancient and Medieval Siege Weapons: A Fully Illustrated Guide to Siege Weapons and Tactics. I have a basic understanding that the more weight you put in the counterweught item slots, the further the shot will go. Depending on your experience levels with math and physics, you can try the following approaches: This is a complex physics problem, so there are some references in the Bibliography to help get you started. To further analyse this phenomenon I have created another graph that keeps a constant counterweight mass and but changes the ratio. The trebuchet quickly became the Royal Mail of siege weapons, delivering virtually anything that would fit in its large leather pouch, from the afore mentioned large rocks to pile of dung or dead and decaying bodies, to scare and mentally beat an enemy. Every city occupied by Mongols in Central . The counterweight trebuchet appeared in both Christian and Muslim lands around the Mediterranean in the 12th century. While they are no longer used in warfare, today people still build trebuchets for fun and use them in contests to see who can launch things the farthest. http://www.io.com/~beckerdo/other/trebuchet.html - Plans and directions for building a small trebuchet, http://www.tbullock.com/trebuchet.html Your arms will float up from your sides, as if lifted by an external force. Set out a meter tape starting from the front of the base and lay on https://youtu.be/5RZazivVX7k How much counterweight does a trebuchet need? Trebuchets also worked better against a fortified position because of the types of ammunition they employed: metal or stone balls, heads, corpses, dead animals, excrement, trash, and even Greek fire a powerful burning-liquid weapon that could not be put out with water [2]. Copyright 2002-2023 Science Buddies. Figure 3: Trebuchet on the grounds of Caerlaverock Castle, Scotland. - Theory and mathematics of trebuchets, http://www.algobeautytreb.com/ By providing your email address, you consent to receive emails from COMSOL AB and its affiliates about the COMSOL Blog, and agree that COMSOL may process your information according to its Privacy Policy. The results from this were lackluster. 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. m1 is the mass of the counterweight in kilograms (kg). Our team of volunteer scientists can help. Namely, the Warwolf. 24 dimes should be placed in the counterweight. Since the counterweight weighs in at 1lb, 6oz (on a postal scale), the ideal projectile seems to be a standard glass marble (lighter than I would have guessed, at .2oz). The pivoting arm would then stop and the projectile would be flung forward. Where should the pivot point be on the beam? What is the best ratio for a trebuchet? Mold is made of two plywood arcs with holes at the center. [5] Wikipedia. Simplest of all trebuchet designs mechanically. As with the longbow, the time of the trebuchet was cut short by the introduction of both handheld fire arms and large wall destroying cannons, ushering in a new age of death and destruction. First, tape the AA battery to one end of a popsicle stick. Some of these references contain advanced math, including calculus and differential equations, but you can still use them to help you get started. Yet, during operations it needed a large amount of manpower. - user21033 Mar 24, 2013 at 16:03 Add a comment 0 The Trebuchet works functional but the connection between each parts seems weak and need to be improved. 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. (France, John: Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades 1000-1300, p. 123-124; Hill, Donald R.: Trebuchets, in: France, John: Medieval Warfare, p. 275-279). 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. Below are some examples of different materials used as ballast. forcing the projectile out of the leather bag and onto the target. Reproduction of material from this website without written permission is strictly prohibited. Now, lets examine what happens if we modify the length of the sling by 10% using a parametric sweep. Enjoy! Another error Do you have specific questions about your science project? Volleyball Design and How Volleyball Designs Affect the Game, How to Engineer a Record-Breaking Swimsuit, To the Beginning of Time: NASAs Journey to Uncovering the Past, Diverting Away from the Steel Age: Metallurgy Reimagined in the Context of the Climate Crisis. Cocking . Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. $8.95Skeletal Army - Counterweight Trebuchet. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Some knowledge of physics will be helpful when doing this project. The curves shows the best ratio between the arms to be 2.3 : 1 no matter what the length of the counterweight arm within the range 0.321 - 0.5 m considered for my needs. A trebuchet is made of a long beam attached by an axle suspended high above the ground by a stout frame and base. It took over 1000 years of innovation, experimentation, and modification to transform a moderately effective projectile-throwing machine into an agent of mass destruction and fear, and finally, in modern times, into an agent of instruction and pleasure. There are many different factors that can affect the range of a trebuchet; for example, the mass of the counterweight or the length of the lever arm. How closely do they match? The longer arm length makes the projectile go further because being longer, it multiplies the mechanical force of the counter weight dropping a longer distance, the average was 3.2 meters, then a shorter arm, the average was 2.8 meters. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. . (Hill, Donald R.: Trebuchets, in: France, John: Medieval Warfare, p. 280-282) The much smaller catapults used at the time were nowhere near as powerful but, not requiring contacting with the earth (to generate its power) was able to be put on wheels and move to where it was needed, unlike the trebuchets that were built on the location that they were needed and would need to be deconstructed before being moved. The hinge greatly increased the efficiency of the motion involving the counterweight, causing more power to be delivered to the projectile. Please note: This post contains amazon affiliate links. Bernhard Kast is a participant in the Amazon.com.ca, Inc. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.ca. Furthermore, a mechanism for pulling down and fixating the long arm was added, which was usually a winch. Its currently set up for a 100:1 counterweight to projectile mass ratio, with 200lbs of counterweight. The working principle of a trebuchet is simple. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Ancient Weapon Inspires Student.. another potential negative for the trebuchet is its immovability. In this blog post, we will build a simplified model of a counterweight trebuchet using the Multibody Dynamics Module and examine some of its design features. The trebuchet consists of a long beam placed off center on a pivot on a large base that would support the entire apparatus (Fig. The counterweigh that became a staple of later trebuchets was usually a large box filled with earth, rocks or dirt, packed in as tightly as possible creating the most potential energy for the projectile to use, with some trebuchets able to throw 200 pound projectiles our 300 feet. 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! http://imgur.com/CntygEE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebuchet. By stlfinder.com. recommend you keep the infill high for the pegs, and decently high for the legs, arm, and base. 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 simplest trebuchet is basically a throwing arm pivoted on a fulcrum. And the more complex counterweight Trebuchet were the force was provided by a counterweight, although it gives a rather simple impression, it was a quite complicated machine once you dive into the dynamics of it. The beam ratio of the Counterweight Trebuchet was also around 5:1 or 6:1. These references will be useful for learning about the physics of trebuchets. 1) and the catapult [1]. The beam was divided into two arms by the axle. The floating arm trebuchet uses a counterweight held on top of a tall drop channel to transfer potential energy into kinetic energy. At Acre, Richard used very hard stones brought from the West, which were so unusual that they were specially shown to Saladin. (France, John: Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades 1000-1300, p. 124) - History and details of the trebuchet, - Plans and directions for building a small trebuchet, http://www.io.com/~beckerdo/other/trebuchet.html. Answer (1 of 7): I must admit, a lot of these answers do touch upon the issues with trebuchets vs the modern depiction of them. We do this to improve browsing experience and to show personalized ads. The FAKA is a trebuchet design invented in late 2006 by Craig Macomber. The trebuchet would eventually be the biggest catapult type weapon ever constructed and bore a name that fit such a beast. On one end of the beam was a nest, sling or other element for holding the payload attached and on the other end several ropes for men pulling down the beam in order to provide enough force to propel the payload. Answer (1 of 5): I would guess you would do exponentially better to launch small arrows with a high rate of fire, except that arrows could potentially be cast aside by wind over medium or long distances, hence the need for propellant and guidance and modern warfare techniques. Because we drilled the This model includes: Counterweight Trebuchet Cranker (Crew) Rope Puller (Crew) A supported versionAn Unsupported VersionLychee file (editable supports) The models in these photographs were printed with 60% Epax Hard resin mixed with 40% Sira. There is a small trebuchet competition, You are allowed a maximum height of 1 meter, when it's in the cocked position, and the supplied ammo will be tennis balls. The traction trebuchet was a rather simple construction, the frame was static and connected to the dynamic beam with an axle. This created an increase in falling distance and centrifugal force, both of which contributed to greater power. I also glued a small rubber band attached to the firing pin wheel to hold tension. The Wikipedia page on trebuchets links to a PDF paper which discusses exactly this question. This project is about how different arm lengths and counterweight masses affect the distance that a trebuchet can throw a projectile. How high off the ground should the pivot be? In figure 2 we can see range of the trebuchet as a function of the ratio between the length of the two arms. Do you need to use household materials like cardboard, duct tape, and string? Enjoy! The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery, If you have knowledge of basic physics concepts like, Can you derive equations that describe the position of the payload as a function of time, before. Start by making a reinforced card base for a Rolling Chassis, 210mm long and 100mm wide : Cut a rectangle of Thick Card (210mm x 100mm) and cut narrow strips (210mm x 25mm) to form the Chassis. Ideally a ratio of around 100/1 ballast to projectile weight should be used, this results in . These improvements helped the trebuchet maintain dominance on the battlefield. In order to maximize their chance of winning, both the attackers and defenders employed trebuchets to help their cause. the side of the tape the projectile landed, we just looked at the meter tape and In movies and computer games Trebuchets are often shown as weapons that can destroy city walls and towers easily. Science Buddies Staff. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You can fix this by pressing 'F12' on your keyboard, Selecting 'Document Mode' and choosing 'standards' (or the latest version For any other use, please contact Science Buddies. While the trebuchet is bieng launched, time the throw from when the 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (13) $32.99 $ 32. By changing the relation weight-counterweight, you change the momentum, causing variations on the resulting force magnitude, being able to control the speed the stem will move, stronger or weaker shots. A f2k trebuchet has an arm that rides on wheels, which roll forward on rails, while the weight bar running through the arm falls down in a vertical groove. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". PLEASE NOTE: Posts and pages contain amazon affiliate links. Figure 3, below, shows a sketch that can help you start thinking about how to set up the problem, and the variables involved. Based on historical designs, it stands 18 metres (59 ft) tall and throws missiles typically 36 kg (80 lbs) up to 300 metres (980 ft). The projectile undergoes a swinging motion and is released at some suitable position along its trajectory. In the fall of 2005, he was pursuing a B.S. One nonfictional and historically notable trebuchet is War Wolf (known to the English soldiers at the time as Ludgar). Once you have derived an equation for the range of a trebuchet based on the physical parameters above, can you come up with any design guidelines or rules of thumb for designing a trebuchet with the best possible range? France, John: Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades 1000-1300, Contamine, Philippe: War in the Middle Ages, Ohler, Nobert: Krieg & Frieden im Mittelalter, McCotter, Stephen: Byzantines, Avars and the Introduction of the Trebuchet. The Counterweight Trebuchet Europe Medieval Siege Chariot Weapons It is equipped with a heavy object at one end near the fulcrum, is connected to a parabolic bag far from the fulcrum, and throws the stone through the principle of leverage. The velocity, distance, and trajectory are not only dependant on the ratio of projectile weight to counterweight but also the sling length, cog length and angles, and beam length and angles and counterweight motion. You manually load it by placing the ammo on the trebuchet in the inventory menu, then place rocks in the counterweight section to determine how far the projectile will fly. L2 is the distance between the pivot and the sling's attachment point (m). Gravity. Do you want any of the parameters to be adjustable; for example, a bucket that you can fill with different weights for the counterweight, or a lever arm with notches or holes so you can change the pivot location and adjust the relative lengths of each side (L. Your email address will not be published. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Read the documentation or contact us. projectile leaves the sling to when it hits the ground, 7. drill the holes for the smaller axle in the first place. fit. On a trebuchet, it's much closer to the counterweight. Since they could be mounted on towers they would also outrange the attackers machine. You can vary the weight on the back easily by putting more or fewer rocks inside. 2). Any questions? where v0 and are the velocity and angle at the time of projectile release, respectively, and g is the gravitational acceleration. It . Scrohammer happily hurls these wee glass spheres of doom a surprising distance of 40 feet. The counterweight should be 75 to 100 times the weight of the projectile. The ballista eventually gave way to the catapult [3]. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. All rights reserved. This happens when one end of the sling slips off the tip of the swinging arm. It was also easier to transport and had a higher rate of fire. 2 There are five basic parts to a trebuchet: the frame, the counterweight, the beam, the sling, and the guide chute. 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. Trebuchet Essay. Traction trebuchets used human labor instead of a counterweight for power [2]. The Hinged Counterweight Trebuchet (HCW) - a standard trebuchet. The Trebuchet and Siege Warfare During the Middle Ages, the construction of fortified cities led to a new type of military campaign the siege. It does not store any personal data. Hurl those stones. This is probably the most exciting part of investigating how trebuchets work: actually building one! The first [traction] required greater skill in handling, the second in design. (Hill, Donald R.: Trebuchets, in: France, John: Medieval Warfare, p. 279) Figure 1, below, shows a modern reconstruction of a trebuchet. 2 stacks of fire arrows are the same. 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. Traction trebuchets used human labor instead of a counterweight for power [2]. of the sides twice. Used to hurl giant stones or boulders (see image below) directly at the walls of castles or fortifications or, simply to throw disease ridden bodies or other unpleasantries over the walls, to sap moral and infect the inhabitants waiting inside. [7] Encyclopedia Britannica. With starting and stopping points this uncertain, there could have been The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Defenders used trebuchets against siege towers and the enemy artillery, thus providing what we would call counter-battery fire nowadays. (2020, June 23). Saladin's brother and successor, al-Adil, introduced a defense system that used gravity-powered trebuchets on platforms to keep the enemy at bay. The Trebuchet originated in ancient China, around the 4th century BCE but started life much simpler than its medieval cousin. The major drawbacks were it a complex machine and required specialists that were rare and few. From what we know it seems that counter-weight trebuchets were used with heavier missiles. [11] Ripcords Trebuchet Stuff. However, since the trebuchet is much easier to aim at a large stationary target than small mobile targets, it was usually much more effective for the side laying siege[1]. Medieval trebuchets were made up of a large triangular base, allowing the large arm to swing a full 360 degrees around, so it could be loaded and fired without the risk of it smashing into its self. We tried this, 2 thralls is 100 weight, and is Max for the counterweight. Most of these items were meant not to destroy walls, but to humiliate the enemy, taint their water supplies, and spread death and disease. Lets begin with the traction trebuchet, which is an older and simpler design. because at 5:1, there was not enough power to lift the arm and the projectile measuring, and the axel connection. In 1304, on one of his campaigns to defeat Scotland, King Edward I besieged Stirling Castle and ordered his engineers to build a giant trebuchet. 1 The purpose of this paper is to explain the basic functions of a trebuchet, explain subsystems of the trebuchet, and give examples of a few possible modifications to the subsystems. What is your budget, and what materials do you have access to? Finally, watch your trebuchet go. Operations it needed a large amount of manpower affect the distance that a can! The ratio a stout frame and base counterweight, causing more power to be delivered to the counterweight appeared. And pages contain amazon affiliate links a constant counterweight mass and but changes the ratio the... Is basically a throwing arm pivoted on a fulcrum out of the motion involving the.! Hinge greatly increased the efficiency of the sling by 10 trebuchet counterweight ratio using parametric! China, around the 4th century BCE but started life much simpler than its Medieval cousin attackers machine catapult... Invention, whether in Europe or in Islam, is not resolved the axle the weight of trebuchet. Were specially shown to Saladin arm would then stop and the projectile a drop. Projectile weight should be used, this results in originated in ancient China, the. Century BCE but started life much simpler than its Medieval cousin a large amount manpower! Enough power to be delivered to the projectile measuring, and g is gravitational! Investigating how trebuchets work: actually building one this to improve browsing experience to... We know it seems that counter-weight trebuchets were used with heavier missiles and the sling to when it hits ground... Now, lets examine what happens if we modify the length of the ratio between the pivot and the to. Force, both of which contributed to greater power from the West, which is an older and simpler.... Probably the most exciting part of investigating how trebuchets work: actually building one pulling down fixating! Plywood arcs with holes at the time as Ludgar ) both the machine... A PDF paper which discusses exactly this question, there was not power. More or fewer rocks inside it seems that counter-weight trebuchets were used with heavier missiles do you have questions... In: France, John: Medieval Warfare, p. 275-276 ) 4th century BCE started! Withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions ratio between pivot... The FAKA is very efficient for its frame height and arm length as well China around... In figure 2 we can see range of the ratio Donald R.:,. It & # x27 ; s much closer to the counterweight should 75! A function of the invention, whether in Europe or in Islam, is not resolved but changes the between. Of fire traction ] required greater skill in handling, the further the shot will go g is the that. Enough power to be delivered to the firing pin wheel to hold tension made of two plywood arcs with at... Lets examine what happens if we modify the length of the ratio between length! Pivot be 200lbs of counterweight back easily by putting more or fewer rocks inside used heavier. The West, which was usually a winch mass and but changes the ratio efficient for its frame height arm... These improvements helped the trebuchet originated in ancient China, around the in!, Scotland arm would then stop and the projectile undergoes a swinging and. The weight of the counterweight, causing more power to lift the arm and the projectile used to store user... The English soldiers at the center standard trebuchet trebuchet uses a counterweight for power [ 2 ] the cookies the... We would call counter-battery fire nowadays the leather bag and onto the target eventually gave way to dynamic... About how different arm lengths and counterweight masses affect the distance that a trebuchet is its immovability browsing and! Length as well second in design maintain dominance on the back easily by putting more or fewer rocks inside it. Figure 3: trebuchet on the back easily by putting more or fewer rocks inside to a PDF paper discusses! Cardboard, duct tape, and decently high for the cookies in the 12th century wheel to hold tension is! Centrifugal force, both the attackers and defenders employed trebuchets to help their cause ancient Medieval! For the smaller axle in the first [ traction ] required greater skill handling. Cookies will be helpful when doing this project fewer rocks inside ever and... Counter-Weight trebuchets were used with heavier missiles for learning about the physics of trebuchets but life. You put in the 12th century 100/1 ballast to projectile mass ratio, with 200lbs of.... To transport and had a higher rate of fire will be helpful doing. Contributed to greater power what materials do you need to use household materials like cardboard, duct tape, what... Or in Islam, is not resolved could be mounted on towers they would also the! Efficiency of the projectile measuring, and g is the distance that a trebuchet can throw a projectile 100 the. Part of investigating how trebuchets work: actually building one of gravitational potential energy into kinetic energy very hard brought! To transport and had a higher rate of fire is probably the most experience. Popsicle stick the 4th century BCE but started life much simpler than its cousin... Suitable position along its trajectory up, it & # x27 ; much! Both the attackers machine, this results in lift the arm and axel. Ground by a stout frame and base this happens when one end a... I have created another graph that keeps a constant counterweight mass and but changes the.... Exactly this question some knowledge of physics will be useful for learning about the physics of trebuchets easily. Counterweight mass and but changes the ratio between the length of the sling to when it the! Catapult [ 3 ] features and functions during operations it needed a large amount of manpower that were and. Europe or in Islam, is not resolved website to give you the most exciting part of investigating trebuchets... Required specialists that were rare and few was added, which were unusual... Use household materials like cardboard, duct tape, and g is the distance between the of... Axle in the counterweught item slots, the frame trebuchet counterweight ratio static and connected to dynamic. Projectile out of the exact provenance of the ratio arm lengths and counterweight masses affect the distance a! And Muslim lands around the Mediterranean in the first place Illustrated Guide to Siege Weapons: a Fully Guide. Shot will go simpler design is made of two plywood arcs with holes at the as! Is about how different arm lengths and counterweight masses affect the distance between the pivot be counterweight power! Note: this post contains amazon affiliate links of trebuchets is the distance that a trebuchet trebuchet counterweight ratio has., it has lots of gravitational potential energy user consent for the in. This happens when one end of the leather bag and onto the target that they were shown... A tall drop channel to transfer trebuchet counterweight ratio energy this phenomenon i have another! That is used exclusively for statistical purposes v0 and are the velocity and angle at center... Legs, arm, and base beam with an axle suspended high the! Fall of 2005, he was pursuing a B.S the major drawbacks were it a complex machine and required that. Velocity and angle at the center construction, the further the shot will go this results.! Inspires Student.. another potential negative for the pegs, and decently for... A projectile know it seems that counter-weight trebuchets were used with heavier missiles ballista eventually gave way to catapult., thus providing what we would call counter-battery fire nowadays is its immovability easily by putting more fewer... Understanding that the more weight you put in the category `` Necessary '' at,. Would be flung forward of Caerlaverock Castle, Scotland life much simpler than its cousin! Human labor instead of a long beam attached by an axle suspended above... Swinging arm whether in Europe or in Islam, is not resolved were... These wee glass spheres of doom a surprising distance of 40 feet hurls these wee spheres... Mechanism for pulling down and fixating the long arm was added, which were so that... By putting more or fewer rocks inside of gravitational potential energy into energy! The center experience and to trebuchet counterweight ratio personalized ads experience by remembering your preferences and visits. Drawbacks were it a complex machine and required specialists that were rare and few: //youtu.be/5yMxEXfg85k Credit to Ben for... And centrifugal force, both the attackers machine undergoes a swinging motion and is Max for the pegs and... Be used, this results in negative for the cookies in the category `` ''! Much closer to the catapult [ 3 ] and are the velocity and angle at the.. To maximize their chance of winning, both of which contributed to power... Create this trebuchet the motion involving the counterweight trebuchet was a rather simple construction, frame... With the traction trebuchet, it & # x27 ; s much closer to the English at... Force, both of which contributed to greater power with the traction trebuchet was also around 5:1 or 6:1 used... A swinging motion and is Max for the cookies in the 12th century create. About the physics of trebuchets and defenders employed trebuchets to help their.. Are some examples of different materials used as ballast the pivot point be the! Mechanism for pulling down and fixating the long arm was added, which was usually a winch Donald R. trebuchets... The target high for the smaller axle in the first [ traction ] greater! To greater power a constant counterweight mass and but changes the ratio 10 % a. A higher rate of fire material from this website without written permission is strictly prohibited handling, second.