The aerodynamic effects of the location of baseball seams
An experimental study by PIV
J.M. Knepper (TU Delft - Aerospace Engineering)
A Sciacchitano – Mentor (TU Delft - Aerodynamics)
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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.