The aerodynamic effects of the location of baseball seams

An experimental study by PIV

Master thesis (2022)

Authors

J.M. Knepper Aerospace Engineering

Contributors

A. Sciacchitano Aerodynamics - Aerospace Engineering (mentor)
Faculty
Aerospace Engineering, Aerospace Engineering
Copyright: © 2022 Jorian Knepper
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Published Date

20-12-2022

Language

English

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Faculty

Aerospace Engineering

Abstract

The aerodynamic behaviour of a pitched baseball depends on the combination of the translational velocity, the rotational velocity in combination with the rotation axis and the seam positions. For small spin parameters the effect of seam positions dominates the Magnus effect. This study focusses on a visual understanding of the seam position by 2D planar PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) in the windtunnel. This has as main advantage a high repetition rate and statistical convergence of the flow fields. This is done for baseballs with small spin parameters for the two most common pitch configurations: the 2-seam and the 4-seam. The goal of this research is to understand the effect of the location of the seams of a slow or non-rotating baseball (spin factor < 0.2) on the wake.