11th conference of the International Sports Engineering Association, ISEA 2016
Firoz Alam, Harun Chowdhury*, Bavin Loganathan and Israt Mustary
School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3083, Australia
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 3 99256103; fax: +61 3 99256108.
E-mail address: harun.chowdhury@rmit.edu.au
Abstract
Most modern footballs possess varied surface characteristics which can affect the flight trajectory of the football. Although the aerodynamic
behavior of other sports balls have been studied well, little information is available about the aerodynamic behavior of newly introduced
footballs with varied seam configurations and number of panels. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to understand the surface
characteristics mainly the seam depth and seam height and their effects on aerodynamic of a range of new generation balls. Four new
generation footballs: Kapanya, Cafusa, Tango and Brazuca were selected for this study. Seam length and depth of seam for each ball were
measured using 3D scanning technology and also manual measurement. Additionally, the aerodynamic drag forces were measured using wind
tunnel over a range of wind speeds for two positions of each ball. It was found that the seam length and depth of seam have influence on the
aerodynamic drag of these modern footballs. Results also indicate that the sideway variation of aerodynamic drag is minimal for the Brazuca
ball. As a result, this ball may have better stability in flight. The lowest aerodynamic drag was found for the Cafusa ball at high speeds which
indicates that this ball is suitable for long distance pass. However, it has highest sideway drag variation that may cause instability in flight.
