Most of the stress on a trebuchet is on the throwing arm (shear stress) as the counterweight whips it forward during firing, and on the axle when the counterweight swings through its lowest point. These aren't as sharp peak forces as with tension powered weapons like the onager or ballista, which I think is why trebuchets could be built so much larger. It seems to me the main risk comes from insufficiently engineering the frame and axle to take the swinging counterweight, which can tear apart the trebuchet. I think? I'm only an extremely filthy casual in my trebuchet reading and watching, and there are some serious modern trebuchet nerds who have built really interesting ahistorical variations that are much more efficient than the ones actually used in medieval warfare.
Most of the stress on a trebuchet is on the throwing arm (shear stress) as the counterweight whips it forward during firing, and on the axle when the counterweight swings through its lowest point.
These aren't as sharp peak forces as with tension powered weapons like the onager or ballista, which I think is why trebuchets could be built so much larger. It seems to me the main risk comes from insufficiently engineering the frame and axle to take the swinging counterweight, which can tear apart the trebuchet.
I think? I'm only an extremely filthy casual in my trebuchet reading and watching, and there are some serious modern trebuchet nerds who have built really interesting ahistorical variations that are much more efficient than the ones actually used in medieval warfare.
The chicken scene ia one of my favorites in the gane
Nothing more Iconic than the siege of Talmberg😊🎉