Learning Objectives: Baseball Helmet Elements of the helmet
Visor: Blocks out the sun’s rays, provides clearer vision Should be parallel to the ground, bottom of the pad inside the front of the helmet should be one inch above the athlete’s eyebrows Ventilation holes: To provide airflow to the user’s head and reduce heat buildup Ear holes: To provide unobstructed hearing to the user Padded plastic on earflap: Extends down on the batter’s jawline to cover their cheek bone
Our 3D models lack the ventilation and ear hole features. With more time using the 3D modeling software (Fusion 360), we would add these elements in.
Current Helmets: S100 PRO COMP series batting helmet Exterior: Aerospace-grade carbon fiber composite, capable of withstanding forces of up to 100mph Interior: Inner lining is comprised of expanded polystyrene, an impact reducing material, and there is an additional fabric lining for comfort.
Newton’s Law of Motion: In the first law, an object will not change its motion unless a force acts on it. In the second law, the force on an object is equal to its mass times its acceleration.
Safety Standards and Materials: Our helmet must be capable of withstanding forces between 3400 to 4000 newtons. This means that they should protect the user from the direct impact of fastballs ranging from 90 - 100 mph. Our helmet will meet this requirement through its use of the highest grade materials available on the market. The ball will come into contact with the aerospace-grade carbon fiber composite instead of the surface of the skull. The impact itself is reduced through the expanded polystyrene padding, dampening the blow of the hit and eliminating the risk of a Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI. A test system was designed featuring a humanoid head instrumented to determine the degree of hazard experienced by the model relative to a severe brain injury criterion in football impact simulation.
A batter’s helmet needs an ergonomic design that fits snug around the user’s head to provide proper protection and keep the user safe from TBI’s.
Look for batter’s helmets with labels that say “meets NOCSAE standard”
This means that the helmet model has been tested and meets NOCSAE performance and protection standards
Key Concepts:Mass: The mass affects the momentum of the ball as it gets released Acceleration: No acceleration, the ball decelerates when the pitch is thrown COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION: u=(0.047N) / (3400N) u=coefficient of friction f=friction force n=force u=0.00001382N CRUMPLE ZONES: No crumple zone DRAG: fd→ = -½(cd)(e)(Av^2)(v→)/(|v|) Cd→drag coefficient =0.40 e→density of air=1.23kg/m^3 A→cross-section of ball=0.00426m/s^2 v→/ |v| →in the direction of the velocity Drag: 1.7 Newtons This could potentially affect the non-linear motion of the ball in the air INERTIA: The ball has a great deal of inertia. G FORCE:The ball has 346G of force. FRICTION: How much friction the ball encounters while moving through the air=0.047N This affects the motion of the ball by slowing it down once the ball gets released from the hand FORCE: the acceleration of a 90mph fastball is a velocity = -38m/s and exits the bat 58m/s. From this we can calculate that the force of the ball before contacting the bat is 3400N. F=(0.14)(58)-(0.14)(-38)/(.004s) F=(mass in kg)(final velocity) - (mass in kg)(initial velocity)/(contact time with bat) KINETIC FRICTION (or dynamic friction): KF=(0.520)(3400N) KF=1768N KF=(coefficient of kinetic friction)(mass of ball in newtons) Sources:
We researched static values of baseballs, helmet materials, and key scientific concepts.
With having so much freedom with how we wanted to orient our project, it changed our group dynamic for good and in some ways bad. This project I felt like our group could have done a little batter at communicating with each other. When working together there was some times confusion on who was to do what. Secondly I felt like also could have worked on proper leadership skills and asserting myself. During this project I felt like I did what I was told well, and did all the tasks that my group members needed me to be, but I was lacking when I came to creative and new ideas. This shows how I can work on my critical learning skills. Although we has some faults, I felt like overall our group worked very well together. Our group spread out the work load very evenly through the group, and we assigned everyone positions that they felt most comfortable in. This made our work easy and productive. As a group we collaborated very well together. Lastly I felt like out group did a great job at staying on task. For all of the work days everyone showed up and was ready to work. Everyday we progressed on our project, whether it was building the project, researching, and practicing out presentation, every day we where on task. This shows our groups conciseness learning and self management skills.