How Do Aerodynamics Influence Rocket Movement?

[Patrick5234]

Hi! I'm trying to analyse how aerodynamics affect a rockets movement, I am having a bit of trouble though. Any tips on how i would start out or look? The method is supposed to include differential equations which i am familiar with but have a bit of trouble tieing it all together. Where do i look for stuff like this?

Sidenote: I've already analysed a rockets trajectory without the aerodynamics.

Any tips on where to start and what to look at?

 

[Nugatory]

Any tips on where to start and what to look at?

You've already analyzed the trajectory without aerodynamics, meaning that the only forces acting on the rocket are gravity and the thrust from its engine; presumably you had to write down and solve a differential equation for this case. Aerodynamics adds additional velocity-dependent forces acting on the rocket; choose (Googling for "air resistance formula" will help here) a plausible model for how these forces are related to velocity and incorporate these force terms into your differential equation.

Be warned that the differential equations you come up with will probably not have easy closed-form solutions; they may have to be solved numerically.

Also be aware that as soon as you've moved past this "where to start?" post, followup questions will likely belong in the homework forums.

 

[boneh3ad]

This is an incredibly vague question covering an incredibly broad range of possible topics. Test short answer is that aerodynamics affect every aspect of a rocket's flight while it is still in the atmosphere and trying to understand it all requires multiple college-wide courses.

If you want to explore specific aspects that might be more easily tackled, you'll need to ask more specific questions.