Abstract
Table Tennis rackets (ping-pong paddles) exhibit a large number of structural vibration modes which follow patterns first observed by Ernst Chladni and Mary Waller for elliptical plates. Vibrational mode shapes and frequencies obtained through experimental modal analysis will be shown. Acoustic analysis reveals that one structural mode of the paddle, in particular, dominates the sound produced by the ball-paddle impact. The rubber padding provides some damping, and a significant mass loading to the paddle vibrations. The hollow cellulose nitrate balls exhibit a number of vibrational mode shapes typical of a hollow spherical shell, starting at frequencies around 5900 Hz; these will be demonstrated from experimental and computational results. However, the contact time between ball and paddle is such that the lowest acoustic modes of the ball do not contribute to the radiated sound. Instead, the ball appears to radiate sound at a much higher frequency sound (10-12 kHz) most likely due to snap-through buckling common to spherical shells undergoing deformation while impacting a rigid surface at high speeds.
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