Computational Solution to the Problems of Projectile Motion under Significant Linear Drag Effect

Abstract

This paper investigates the computational solution to the problem of projectile motion under a significant linear drag effect. The drag force acting on the particle within the medium of propagation is proportional to the cross-section area of the projectile, the velocity of the particle, and the medium’s density. From zero air resistance force (vacuum) the problems are well known with solutions, but with air resistance (drag force) the problems have no exact analytical solutions which lead to most of the significant scientific research works using numerical methods. Therefore, this study aims to present the analysis of the computational modelling of drag force exerted by the surrounding medium on the linear motion. However, the horizontal and vertical components of differential equations of motion were derived and characterized from the solutions governed by Newton’s 2nd law of motion. The baseball features were presented as the projectile (object) in this work. In addition, the numerical computational results were received from FreeMat. The results were discussed and compared with those from the vacuum. Moreover, the displacements, velocities, range, and trajectories of the projectile were all discussed and a conclusion was made.