Saturday July 21:

Today I tested the new nozzle which again didn't want to screw on, I tried to file the bottom even more so it would be even thinner and not mess with the thread but still it wasn't thin enough and thus water still went out of the bottle. Then I had the idea of glueing it to the bottle but then I had to make so many nozzles and I think there must be another way. 

Tuesday July 17:

Today I tested the cap I made the other day using a soap lid and then putting a gardena threaded tap through it. I tested this by putting water in the bottle and seeing if it would leak. Unfortunately it leaked and so I tried to solve this problem by wrapping Teflon tape around the bottles thread which would make it water tight. Rapping it around the bottle took quite a while as you had to experiment with how much you would put on the thread, and you can only use it once. Unfortunately it can only hold for 3.2 bar and then the water is able to go through. This might be because I used a different thread then the bottle, so I decided to make yet another nozzle using a Coke bottles cap.

Here you have all the nozzles made: Note the red one is the new one.

Sunday July 15:

Today I tested the nozzle I made the other day. Unfortunately it doesn't want to screw up on the bottle. The problem is that the gardena threaded tap is to thick so the bottle cant screw down enough. So I will make a new one but this time I will sand the bottom more so the cap can actually screw on the bottle. Although this time I chose to use another cap from a soap bottle as those are bigger and already have a hole in them for the pump mechanism where the soap comes out of. This cap should be easier to screw on thus solving the initial problem of not being able to screw it on.

Here is the new cap compared to the old one, as you can see the white one is much bigger then the old green one.

Saturday July 14:

Today I tried to connect the pump to the gardena hose so I coudld start pressuring the PET bottles. I used a cork and a bike valve and a lot of glue to make it water tight, I also rapped some tape around the construction after it to make it even stronger.

I started by making a hole in the the cork on one side of the diameter of a gardena hose and then a really small hole in the other side where a bike valve would fit it. Then I would glue the bike valve in the small hole and the gardena hose in the other one as shown in the diagram below. 

Friday July 13:

Today I got my first PET bottle and thus I could start the actual project. Today I started making the nozzle. So I started by taking a gardena thread tap connector and tried to screw it on the bottle. Unfortunately The gardena thread tap connector had a different thread then that of the bottle thus they wouldn’t connect. Luckily I researched this before and saw a good solution to this. I had to drill a whole in a cap of a bottle and then take a gardena thread tap connector and saw of the thread. Then I would glue the gardena thread tap connector on the inside of the cap.

Here are some pictures showing the steps I did:

Step 1: Saw of the thread of the connector:

Step 2: drill a whole in the cap and then glue them together:

Thursday July 12:

Today me and my family went to the store for foods and materials. We bought everything that was from the list plus some other things that might be useful. This took most of my time and I cant really start until I have a Coke bottle in my possession. Thus I just looked at some other peoples videos on Youtube and saw how they did it. 

Wednesday July 11:

Today i started to work on my material list for my rocket. But before I had to decide on a few things, for example i decided to use the gardena quick connector release mechanisms as we already have a few materials from there. I also decided to use a Coke bottle for my PET bottles as we drink a lot of Coke and have a good shape concerning aerodynamics. The list is probably missing some materials. I also did not yet put the materials for the launching pad as i still have to look what kind of materials we already have and how i am going to make it.

Rocket Construction

1. Nozzle

6 Gardena Hoses

6 bottle caps (Should be included with the PET bottle) 

1 Half file 

1 Round file

10 pieces of P800 Sand paper

2. Body

10 x 2L bottles of Coke

2 PL Premium Glue

Alcohol Marker

3. Fins

Thin Plastic water resistant (40 cm  x  40 cm) 

3 mm drill

1 roll of plastic tape

4. Parachute

2 roll of nylon thread

3 plastic bags

5. Gardena release system 

3 Gardena quick connector 

3 Collars (See diagram)

2 x 40 cm iron rope 1.5 mm (See diagram)

Monday July 9:

Today I continued researching to have a broader understanding on waterrockets. I look ed at different designs of water rocket. I also started to think what kind of bottle I would use as I would have to start thinking of what materials have to be bought, but before I could start making a list I should decide on what kind of release mechanism I should have. I decided to look at the aircommanders’s website and looked at the different release mechanisms. There were mechanisms that provide controlled and uncontrolled lift of. I decided to choose a controlled one as then I could chose when to release the rocket from the launcher, meaning I could build as much pressure as I want.

The main two mechanisms that interest me that aircommanders provide is a release mechanism that uses cable tie and a release mechanism that uses gardena quick connectors. Both those mechanisms are doable to make and allow controlled lift of.

Here are the two release mechanisms:


http://www.aircommandrockets.com/construction_4.htm#Launcher
 
    
http://www.aircommandrockets.com/construction_4.htm#Launcher


 

Thursday July 5:

Unfortunately I have not been able to do much this month as we went to Croatia and now are settling in our new holiday home in the South of France. Although now I am able to start working again.

Today I started researching a bit more about water rockets, how they work, what materials are needed, and what kind of tests are needed before the rocket can launch. I also started to look at some instructions on how to build the rocket and started to bookmark some good sites that I can think can help me in the completion of the rocket. There was one website in particular that stood out from the rest. The website is called air commanders and provides a clear plan of the creation of a water rocket. It also clearly states how a water rocket works and takes safety measures in considerations. The websites even looks at the physics behind water rockets and provides the reader with equations and explanations.

I also have to start thinking on how I am going to show that the different sizes affect the rockets performance. Am I going to launch the rocket vertically to see what the different heights are or am I going to launch the rocket horizontally so I can compare the different distances.

Here are some useful websites I found:

Useful websites:

1. http://txsnapper.eezway.org/powerdeployment/ 

2. http://www.instructables.com/id/Water-bottle-rocket-launch-mechanism/ 

3. http://www.aircommandrockets.com/construction.htm 

5. http://www.aircommandrockets.com/rocket_launcher.htm