The effect of bullet aerodynamics modeled after Falco peregrinus and Istiophorus on drag force

• Main Author: Shroyer, Andrew Graham
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Furman University Scholar Exchange 2015
• Subjects: Falco peregrinus; peregrine falcon
• Online Access: https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2015/all/208

Bullets have been used in warfare and in sports for many years, and one of the limits is the distance the bullets can travel. Different aerodynamic characteristics from some of the fastest animals are implemented into bullet designs for this study, to look for an increase in speed or distance. A control .223 bullet design template was used to create two modified bullets, the first modified bullet had the front half of Istiophorus (sailfish), and the back half of Falco Peregrinus (peregrine falcon), and the second modified bullet had the front half of Falco Peregrinus and the back half of Istiophorus. The designs were printed using a 3D printer, and a Paxton-Patterson wind tunnel was used to find the amount of drag force exerted on the bullet. It was hypothesized that at least one of the modified bullets would be more aerodynamic than the control bullet. A one-way ANOVA test (F(2,87)= 25486.53, p <0.001) rejected the null hypothesis that there was no significant difference. Tukey tests were performed and it was found that there were significant differences between all 3 of the bullet shapes. This means that modified bullet 2 is the most aerodynamic of the bullets, and both of the bullets are more aerodynamic than the traditional bullet.