Sometimes, nondestructive evaluation (NDE) or structural health monitoring methods commonly used in engineering structures are used for the betterment of consumer goods. A classic example is the use of sensor systems to monitor the pressure and the quality of car tires. In this paper, we present a nondestructive method to characterize tennis balls. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) specifies which characteristics a tennis ball must have in order to be commercialized. One of these characteristics is bounciness and the standardized method to measure it is the rebound test, where a ball is released from 2.54 m onto a smooth rigid surface and, in order to be approved, the ball must bounce within a certain range. This test can be staged by manufacturers and testing authorities but the equipment necessary to perform it is not readily available to the average consumer. In the study presented in this paper, an empirical method based on the propagation of highly nonlinear solitary waves (HNSWs) is proposed to establish whether a given ball conforms the specifications set by the ITF in terms of bounciness and allowed deformation. The experiments conducted in this study aim to discover a correlation between some features of the waves and the values obtained with the rebound test and the compression test in which the deformation of the ball under a known load is measured. The presence of such correlations could represent a viable alternative to establish the conformity of tennis balls. Based on the empirical evidences collected in this study, a possible new standard is suggested.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
February 2019
Research-Article
A Nondestructive Evaluation Approach to Characterize Tennis Balls
Amir Nasrollahi,
Amir Nasrollahi
Laboratory for Nondestructive Evaluation and
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Search for other works by this author on:
Mehmet Sefa Orak,
Mehmet Sefa Orak
Department of Civil Engineering,
Istanbul Technical University (ITU),
Maslak, Istanbul 34469, Turkey
Istanbul Technical University (ITU),
Maslak, Istanbul 34469, Turkey
Search for other works by this author on:
Andrew James,
Andrew James
Laboratory for Nondestructive Evaluation and
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Search for other works by this author on:
Laura Weighardt,
Laura Weighardt
Laboratory for Nondestructive Evaluation and
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Search for other works by this author on:
Piervincenzo Rizzo
Piervincenzo Rizzo
Laboratory for Nondestructive Evaluation and
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
e-mail: pir3@pitt.edu
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
e-mail: pir3@pitt.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Amir Nasrollahi
Laboratory for Nondestructive Evaluation and
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Mehmet Sefa Orak
Department of Civil Engineering,
Istanbul Technical University (ITU),
Maslak, Istanbul 34469, Turkey
Istanbul Technical University (ITU),
Maslak, Istanbul 34469, Turkey
Andrew James
Laboratory for Nondestructive Evaluation and
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Laura Weighardt
Laboratory for Nondestructive Evaluation and
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Piervincenzo Rizzo
Laboratory for Nondestructive Evaluation and
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
e-mail: pir3@pitt.edu
Structural Health Monitoring Studies,
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering,
University of Pittsburgh,
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
e-mail: pir3@pitt.edu
1Corresponding author.
Manuscript received April 5, 2018; final manuscript received October 8, 2018; published online October 31, 2018. Assoc. Editor: K. Elliott Cramer.
ASME J Nondestructive Evaluation. Feb 2019, 2(1): 011004-011004-8 (8 pages)
Published Online: October 31, 2018
Article history
Received:
April 5, 2018
Revised:
October 8, 2018
Citation
Nasrollahi, A., Orak, M. S., James, A., Weighardt, L., and Rizzo, P. (October 31, 2018). "A Nondestructive Evaluation Approach to Characterize Tennis Balls." ASME. ASME J Nondestructive Evaluation. February 2019; 2(1): 011004–011004–8. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4041717
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Cited By
Combining Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity and Nonlinear Ultrasonic Techniques to Assess Concrete Strength
ASME J Nondestructive Evaluation (August 2025)
The effect of porosity on the elastic properties of dry long cortical bone and ultrasound propagation
ASME J Nondestructive Evaluation
Associate Editor's Recognition
ASME J Nondestructive Evaluation (May 2025)
Composite fault identification in multi-part coaxial structure equipment based on CNN-Transformer neural network
ASME J Nondestructive Evaluation
Related Articles
On the Long-Term Performance of Solitary Wave-Based Transducers for Nondestructive Evaluation Applications
ASME J Nondestructive Evaluation (November,2022)
A Benchmark Study of Modeling Lamb Wave Scattering by a Through Hole Using a Time-Domain Spectral Element Method
ASME J Nondestructive Evaluation (May,2018)
An Improved Damage Index for Nondestructive Evaluation of a Disbond in Honeycomb Sandwich Structure Using Guided Waves
ASME J Nondestructive Evaluation (August,2020)
Related Chapters
Section XI: Rules for Inservice Inspection and Tests of Nuclear Power Plant Components
Online Companion Guide to the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Codes
Overview of Section XI Stipulations
Online Companion Guide to the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Codes
Introduction
Computer Vision for Structural Dynamics and Health Monitoring