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The Effect of Roughness Elements on the Magnus Characteristics of Rotating Spherical Projectiles (open access)

The Effect of Roughness Elements on the Magnus Characteristics of Rotating Spherical Projectiles

Thirty trials of each of three roughness conditions were examined. The first condition consisted of a baseball pitched so that two of the roughness elements opposed the flow. The second condition consisted of a pitched baseball with four of the roughness elements opposing the flow. The third consisted of a pitched uniformly rough sphere. The conclusions were that roughness elements increase horizontal flight deviations when a baseball rotates about a vertical axis; roughness elements on the surface of a baseball may cause a decrease in the encountered drag forces; linear velocity has a dominating effect on the trajectory of a spinning baseball; previously developed mathematical models do not adequately predict flight deviations.
Date: December 1982
Creator: Smith, Michael A. (Michael Albert)
System: The UNT Digital Library