Badminton has its roots over a millennium ago, but the modern version of the racket game originated in the late 19th century in England. Today, it is the second most popular sport in the world behind football, with around 220 million people enjoying playing it. For the past three decades, badminton has been a competitive Olympic sport, and with “bird” speeds exceeding 300 mph during “smashing” shots, it certainly makes for an exciting spectator sport.
Shuttlecocks, also called birdies or birds, are traditionally made from duck feathers, but nylon shuttlecocks have become more widely used because of their superior durability. Their flight behavior, however, is very different from that of traditional feathered birds.
In Fluid Physics, by AIP Publishing, a trio of Indian scientists explored the aerodynamic performance of nylon shuttlecocks at different flight speeds. Using computational analyzes based on two-way fluid-structure interactions, the team coupled equations governing airflow with equations determining the deformation of a steering wheel’s skirt in flight.
“We studied the flow by looking at the aerodynamic forces on the steering wheel as well as its deformations at each flight speed,” explained author Sanjay Mittal. “The pressure exerted on the skirt causes an inward deformation and this deformation increases with speed.”
The team identified four distinct deformation regimes. At speeds below 40 meters per second (89 mph), the skirt retains its circularity despite transverse deformation; at higher speeds it deforms and deforms into a square before vibrating radially. Finally, it undergoes low-frequency wave-like circumferential deformation.
“The cross-sectional area of the steering wheel decreases with speed, which decreases air flow through the steering wheel,” Mittal said. “The vortex structures that form inside the flywheel weaken as it deforms. Due to these effects, the deformed steering wheel provides much less air resistance than its rigid counterpart.”
The study’s computational results confirm the experimental measurements, explaining the phenomenology of why a duck feather shuttlecock doesn’t deform as much as a nylon shuttlecock — and why each person’s flight at high speed is very different. From the perspective of a player receiving a smash hit, the nylon shuttlecock, which moves faster, is more difficult to return.
Ultimately, the research could represent a new arc in the history of this beloved sport.
“Our study opens the possibility of improved designs that would make the nylon shuttlecock structurally stiffer so that it more closely mimics the aerodynamic performance of feather shuttlecocks,” Mittal said. “This could literally be a game changer.”
2024-01-09 22:31:18
#Rally #badminton #birdie
