The dynamic behavior of squash balls

The behavior of a squash ball constitutes an excellent case study of the dynamic behavior of rubbery materials. It is shown that the complex viscoelastic behavior of rubber can be investigated using simple drop bounce tests and compression tests. The drop tests show that the coefficient of restitution increases as the ball temperature increases. The compression tests show that as the speed of compression increases or as the ball temperature decreases, the compressive force and the energy loss both increase. These effects are due to the viscoelastic nature of the rubber and are an excellent example of the time-temperature equivalence of polymers. Compression tests were performed on balls with small holes at the base to separate the effects of the internal air pressure from the material deformation. It was found that the internal air pressure contributed about one-third to the compressive force, but contributed little to energy loss. This behavior shows that the rubber material dominates the rebound behavior and that the normal warming up process at the start of a squash game is important to raise the temperature of the rubber rather than to increase the internal air pressure.