Aerodynamic Characteristics of Baseball and Tennis Ball using CFD Analysis

Abstract

The objective of the project is to determine the aerodynamic characteristics of baseballs and tennis balls using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods. Most realistic initial and boundary conditions are used to simulate each type of ball and to identify key design aspects that can be applied and modified to enhance the performance of the ball and hence improve the game. The basic conservation equations in fluid dynamics are applied to the domain of study to plot the results. For the inlet, different values of velocity based on the motion of the ball in the game were given. A moderate value of surface roughness was given to model the effects of change in the surface between the two balls and the delay in boundary layer separation subsequently affecting the distance travelled by the ball was seen. By observing the values of lift and drag coefficients we can validate computational results with experimental results obtained from reference journals, thus proving that computational simulation has a place in predicting the trajectory and behaviour of moving balls in real-time.The integration of spin in the simulation also yielded results that showcased the Magnus effect, this visualization is generally not observable on experimental methods since it involves complex processes to simulate spin, hence the trajectory of balls under different shots and pitches has been observed. We further developed an idea that could also be used to determine the trajectory of a dual-axis spinning ball. This would help in building the performance of athletes in the game.