Trebuchet Competition challenges engineering students to apply classroom knowledge
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Students taking a dynamics course in the Raymond B. Jones' School of Engineering at Lipscomb University will show off their knowledge tomorrow by competing to build the most efficient trebuchet. The competition will take place on the Quad at Lipscomb in front of Burton Bible Building, 3901 Granny White Pike, Nashville, Tenn.
Students will gather on the Quad at 8 a.m. and divide into four groups. Each group will have identical sets of supplies including 25 2x4s, eight cinder blocks, six feet of chain and other necessities. Each team will work on its trebuchet until 4 p.m. At 4 p.m., each team must be ready to test the efficiency of their design as they launch a cantaloupe at a target 34 ft. away. Each team will have three attempts to launch cantaloupes along a specified trajectory to hit the target. After this accuracy competition has concluded, the teams will compete again to determine which trebuchet has the greatest projectile range using a sling/trebuchet combination.
"This project gives students the opportunity to apply principles they learn in the classroom to real-life situations," said Fort Gwinn, associate professor and chair in the Department of Engineering Mechanics at Lipscomb. "They also get to learn the realities of engineering. When working in class, students can learn to work equations, but they don't have any outside factors to consider. In this contest, they must learn to work around factors such as knots in the wood - things you can't account for in the classroom."
The trebuchet is a medieval siege engine similar to the catapult. It differs from the catapult in that its only source of power is the transfer of potential and kinetic energies through the use of a counterweight.
For more information about the trebuchet competition, contact Gwinn at 615.279.6144 or by emailing fort.gwinn [at] lipscomb.edu.
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