Thesis
Numerical modeling of baseball using finite element and experimental methods
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2018
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/103779
Abstract
Numerical simulations in baseball have been challenging due to the non-homogeneous construction of the baseball, difficulty in testing tightly wound yarn and rate dependent energy dissipation. In open literature, baseballs have been only modeled homogeneously without the pill in the center and have been used to understand the dependence of baseball performance on material parameters and bat properties but baseball characterization is often lacking. In this project, non-homogeneous numerical model of a traditional baseball was developed with a pill inside the yarn to better describe the experimental force-time response of a baseball impacting a rigid plate. Numerical models were calibrated to experimental measurements of coefficient of restitution (COR), peak force, and dynamic stiffness at two play speeds where baseballs undergo high speed deformation. Error in peak force between numerical simulation and experiment was within 6% but the characteristic peaks in the experimental force-time curve were not obtained possibly due to the isotropic nature of the numerical yarn whereas an error within 10% and 5% was observed for COR and dynamic stiffness at both speeds. After calibration, the baseball numerical model was impacted on a 33" wood bat numerical model to understand the dependence of bat performance on orthotropic wood properties. The bat-ball coefficient of restitution (BBCOR) was seen to increase with an increase in longitudinal stiffness and decrease in transverse stiffness of the bat. The dependence of bat performance on transverse stiffness was attributed to the trampoline effect. Experimental results from baseballwood bat impacts showed the white ash bats outperformed maple bats by 1.04% in terms of BBCOR due to the significantly higher transverse stiffness of maple.
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Details
- Title
- Numerical modeling of baseball using finite element and experimental methods
- Creators
- Rajat Srivastava
- Contributors
- Lloyd V. Smith (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Mechanical and Materials Engineering, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Identifiers
- 99900525134201842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis