Designing for BALL IMPACTS.

Gary M. Michal[*] Better golf clubs and baseball bats require materials that combine very high flow stresses with low elastic moduli, so that surfaces that impact the ball can be made highly compliant (high deflection/load). A common denominator of the most popular sports is a ball. The ability to make the ball move with a high velocity is almost universally a key element for the players. Imparting a high ball velocity is advantageous for two major reasons: higher ball velocity translates into reduced reaction time for an opponent, and the distance a ball can travel also is ...