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Experimental studies of the aerodynamics of spinning and stationary footballs

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journal contribution
posted on 2009-05-08, 13:21 authored by Martin Passmore, Simon TuplinSimon Tuplin, Adrian SpencerAdrian Spencer, Roy Jones
The accurate discrimination of the aerodynamic parameters affecting the flight of sports balls is essential in the product development process. Aerodynamic studies reported to date have been limited, primarily because of the inherent difficulty of making accurate measurements on a moving or spinning ball. Manufacturers therefore generally rely on field trials to determine ball performance, but the approach is time-consuming and subject to considerable variability. The current paper describes the development of a method for mounting stationary and spinning footballs in a wind tunnel to enable accurate force data to be obtained. The technique is applied to a number of footballs with differing constructions and the results reported. Significant differences in performance are noted for both stationary and spinning balls and the importance of the ball orientation to the flow is highlighted. To put the aerodynamic data into context the results are applied in a flight model to predict the potential differences in the behaviour of each ball in the air. The aerodynamic differences are shown to have a considerable effect on the flight path and the effect of orientation is shown to be particularly significant when a ball is rotating slowly. Though the techniques reported here are applied to a football they are equally applicable to other ball types.

History

School

  • Aeronautical, Automotive, Chemical and Materials Engineering

Department

  • Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering

Citation

PASSMORE, M.A. ...et al., 2008. Experimental studies of the aerodynamics of spinning and stationary footballs. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, 222(2), pp. 195-205.

Publisher

© IMechE / Professional Engineering Publishing

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

Publication date

2008

Notes

This article has been published in the journal, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science [© PEP]. The definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1243/09544062JMES655

ISSN

0954-4062

Language

  • en