Sports Equipment Mechanics Laboratory
Supervisor
Katsumasa TANAKA: Associate Professor
Our laboratory studies sports equipment from the perspective of dynamics and impact engineering to aid in the designing of equipment with increased performance. We develop finite element models for collisions of a golf ball and baseball with a club and bat respectively and for representing a swing to investigate impact and dynamic behavior. Especially because simulation models can allow for good estimation of the mechanical behavior and for detailed understanding of the mechanism, we address the construction of material modeling for a rubber with viscoelasticity and a carbon fiber reinforced plastic, with higher precisely. We also conduct an experiment to produce a typical swing and impact for golf and baseball to obtain the behavior of equipment and to validate the accuracy of constructed simulation models. One of our goal is that our modeling technique is used as a predictable tool to regulate performance of equipment on scientific grounds and to efficiently develop high performance equipment using a wealth of information on dynamic behavior.
Topics of research |
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keyword | Sports engineering / Impact engineering / Biomechanics / Finite element analysis |