The research project will be conducted in collaboration with an industry partner who has extensive experience in manufacturing fluid dampers for application in structural systems that require high energy dissipation density. Since the industry collaboration increases the potential for near-term application of the research results, practical issues associated with the placement and installation of such dampers will also be explored. This collaborative project is targeted at improving the durability of wood baseball bats. Metal bats were approved for collegiate competition primarily for economic reasons associated with wood bat replacement. Traditional wood bats experience damage due to off-center hits.
Broken bats represent a hazard to players and an expense to teams.
Metal bats respond differently than wood, however, impart greater ball velocity, which skews the competitive advantage toward the batter, increases the risk to infield players, and forces the batters to relearn batting skills as they transition from amateur to professional play. The goal of the project is to develop a fiber-reinforced laminated wood bat that conforms to Major League Baseball regulations and exhibits superior strength and durability over solid wood bats. Prototype bat designs are being fabricated and tested at WSU, then compared with finite element predictions. Automated fiber and matrix processing systems are being developed for eventual deployment in Brett Bros. Bat Company's manufacturing operations in Spokane, Washington. To achieve the projects' objectives, several sets of directed experimental studies are being conducted in order to produce a proper database and observe significant behavior.