JET-Cryptrix 2k14 

                   Rules and Guidelines for Water Rocket Competition

 

Overview - Safety First

We seek to impress upon participants the motto “design with safety in mind”. The competition will be held at a lay ground at St Joseph’s College of Engineering and the competition rules and safety requirements are intended to limit the kind of water rocketry practiced in the competition in such a way as to make the safety considerations comparable to those in the game of baseball.

 

 

General Design Criteria

Participants may design their own water rockets. The designers should give thought to their designs and use common sense, and be aware that competition staff will inspect and assess rockets for compliance with the safety requirements on the day of the competition. Designers are strongly encouraged to consult one or more of the many resources available on the web that discuss rocket design.

 

Rocket Materials, Mass And Density

The mass of the empty rocket (with fuel tank empty) must not exceed 0.5 kilograms. The rocket shall be made of low-density materials such as paper, plastic, duct tape, and glue. Metal, ceramics, and other high-density materials may not be used. No exceptions will be ENTERTAINED. The rocket should not be too compact, that is, the overall density of the rocket (ratio of total mass to total volume) should be low in order that the rocket should “float down” slightly on descent. While designing a rocket to achieve accuracy in landing, designers should strive for safety by building the rocket “larger and lighter” rather than “smaller and heavier”.

 

Rocket Nose Shape

While a sharper nose improves aerodynamics and accuracy, for safety the nose must be somewhat rounded and made of a soft, flexible material. The nose must definitely not form a sharp, hard point

 

Fuel Tank

The water-fuel tank must be a plastic soda-bottle, not a water bottle, with a maximum size of 2 litres. A soda bottle makes an ideal fuel tank for a water rocket; the bottle is strong, lightweight, and designed to be pressurized (a water bottle is not designed to be pressurized). The soda-bottle must be in pristine condition, with no cracks, dents, crinkles, scratches, in short, must have no defects that could compromise the bottle’s strength and lead to bottle burst during pressurization and launch. Although not absolutely required, participants should consider wrapping the bottle in duct tape or similar, or encasing the bottle.

 

 Fuel

The rocket fuel must be water, driven by pressurized air to produce thrust. Water and air are non-toxic and non-combustible, and readily available. Air pressure must not exceed 3.0 bar, roughly 1/2 of the burst pressure of soda-bottles. Some soda-bottles are tougher than others, being made of heavier gauge plastic. Participants should choose a soda-bottle for its apparent toughness, and prior to the event, test the bottle at pressures, not to exceed to 3.0 bar, as required to achieve a 30 meter range of flight.