Acoustic and dynamic characterization of wooden baseball bats

Abstract

We will present the results of several experiments used to characterize the properties and performance of multiple baseball bats composed of four different species of wood including soft maple, hard maple, birch, and ash. Resonant ultrasound spectroscopy was used in an effort to obtain the complete orthotropic tensor of the different wood species. In addition, ultrasonic pulse-echo measurements and dynamic impulse time-of-flight measurements were performed to obtain longitudinal sound speeds, which in combination with bat geometry, mass, and density enabled the determination of the longitudinal Young’s moduli. Bat performance was then experimentally determined via a newly developed non-destructive impact method. The physical acoustic parameters that most significantly correlated with optimum bat performance will also be presented.