A new research study exposes concussions from tennis balls can take place at high speeds, specifically with side head impacts, using sophisticated modeling methods confirmed by previous brain injury research.Playing football and soccer is commonly acknowledged for its possible to lead to concussions and other head injuries. However, a question develops regarding tennis: At what speed would a tennis ball require to travel to possibly trigger a terrible brain injury?Researchers from, a nationally ranked personal university in Dallas, discovered that tennis ball head injuries are possible, but unusual. Their detailed computational research study– utilizing the exact same method extensively used to predict what head injuries might occur in a vehicle accident– has been released in the ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics.Xin-Lin Gao, a mechanical engineering teacher at SMU, and Yongqiang Li, a former SMU PhD student who dealt with Gao, utilized computer modeling of the human form and a tennis ball to identify what would occur to a guys head if it was struck by a tennis ball at various speeds, locations and angles.They discovered: Mild distressing brain injuries, or concussions, are uncommon, but can happen when the velocity of the tennis ball is higher than 40 meters per second. To put that in point of view, thats faster than a cheetah can run.A ball striking the side of the head was more than likely to cause a head injury, compared to being struck in the forehead or the top of the head.Head injuries were also more typical when the ball struck someone at a 90-degree angle, versus a 30- or 60-degree angle.But spinning of the ball was not found to have any considerable effect on triggering a head injury.” Understanding and protecting against head injuries caused by tennis ball impacts is very important, given that tennis is an around the world sport with 10s of countless participants every year,” Gao said.Gao and Li, who is now an associate teacher at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, were specifically concentrated on identifying if a tennis ball might trigger a head injury that was extreme enough to be categorized as a traumatic brain injury– when a powerful bump, blow or shock to the head or body causes a disturbance to the regular function of the brain.Mapping the impact: A computational study reveals the results of being struck by a tennis ball at three different areas– frontal (left), lateral (middle) and crown (right). Credit: SMUConcussions are classified as “mild” terrible brain injuries because they arent lethal. But they can cause long lasting problems for weeks or months, such as headaches, lightheadedness, and problem with concentration.More research is required for females and kids, though lead scientist Gao stated the findings would likely be similar for both groups.How the research study was doneFor this research study, the scientists utilized 2 so-called limited component (FE) designs: among a tennis ball and among a guys head.This head design was offered by the Global Human Body Models Consortium, which makes realistic 3D designs of males, females, and kids that can be utilized for crash simulations. Researchers frequently utilize these (FE) designs of the head to examine potential brain injuries to head impacts.Gao and Li developed a computer-generated tennis ball based on try outs genuine ones.An easy way to comprehend limited element modeling is to look at it as separating a large mathematical problem into a series of smaller ones, or finite aspects. This makes the total issue simpler to investigate.Widely popular with engineers, finite aspect modeling can, for example, be utilized by automaking producers to evaluate the capacity for human injuries from a crash with one of their vehicles.The SMU study utilized FE designs to forecast how the brain would behave when subjected to external forces. The scientists did this by providing a computer system called LS-DYNA a number of mathematical algorithms that represented qualities of the man or the balls head. An algorithm made for screening rubber flexibility– known as the Ogden hyperelastic design– was utilized to represent the behavior of brain tissues.Based on these types of equations, LS-DYNA produced 3D simulations of what would happen in genuine life.The measurements taken from these simulations are what enabled the researchers to figure out if the force of a tennis ball– going at different speeds or hitting a various part of the head– was enough to cause a guys brain tissue to bang versus his skull, leading to a concussion or worse.To make sure their findings were precise, Gao and Li confirmed them with previous TBI research, like experiments on human cadavers and observations of individuals with known concussions.Gao and his research group have also released research studies on head injuries induced by golf ball strikes and ballistic impacts.Reference: “Head Injuries Induced by Tennis Ball Impacts: A Computational Study” by Yongqiang Li and Xin-Lin Gao, 3 November 2023, Journal of Applied Mechanics.DOI: 10.1115/ 1.4063814.
