Would Heating an Aluminum Baseball Bat Make it hit Better

[TrippL]

Question came up this past weekend during a college baseball game. Would like to get some expert opinions on the subject.

A bat's deflection at impact acts like "trampoline" for the ball so heating up the bat could possibly make it deflect more, possibly giving it more spring. On the other hand , heat it up too much and it could dampen the impact. I would think heating it up could possibly improve the hitting distance of the bat.

What do you think?

 

[gruntguru]

"Speaking of thermal imaging, we had the occasion to image a wrecking ball during a demo, and impressively, we could see an increase thermal signature when the ball hit the concrete walls of the building being demo'd. Pretty cool to see thermal physics in action."
International cricket broadcasts now include "hot spot" cameras - infra red video cameras that show clearly where the ball has struck the bat or batter.

http://www.itsonlycricket.com/entry/437/

Engineering is the art of creating things you need, from things you can get.

 

[ESPcomposites]

TrippL,

"Looking for possibilities not limitations."

But there could be problem with this thinking. Are you sure you are being objective, and not selectively considering what you want? Are you the one who was complaining about the bat? haha.

I made the assumption that elastic modulus is the dominant property when it comes to the trampoline effect. That would seem reasonable. I would encourage you to investigate the change in modulus with varying alloys. It is relatively insensitive to alloy, heat treatment, etc. (unlike material strength).

If you determine the elastic modulus changes by only about 0.5%, then it is all relative from there. All of those other variables are relatively meaningless since even if it is not a direct relationship, the effect should be nothing more than minor. If a homerun is about 400ft, then a 0.5% difference is 2 ft. Accounting for some variability in the relationship behavior(i.e. the variables you stated), then maybe 3-4ft.

Now, if there was any other information as to the fundamental physical property that I have overlooked (i.e. that it is not based on elastic modulus), that might be another thing. But so far, there has been no mention of what that might be.

The point is, unless you have a significant change in the fundamental physical property that dictates distance, I don't see how you can have a real world difference.

Brian

http://www.espcomposites.com

 

[unclesyd]

Could the Placebo effect effect be the answer since the batter thinks he has an advantage?

 

[Ron]

unclesyd...good point. Confidence often goes further than skill in sports.

 

[rc0213]

It all depends on the temperature you heating up the bat. The average temperature range to anneal is 500F to 750F. So, to quench it after anneal would make the material harder. You want the bat to be as hard as possible because the ball is going to be carrying your energy and when the bat hits the ball, you want the bat to transfer your energy into the ball. This is why metal bats are not used in professionals because of how hard the bats are. Wood absorbs the energy some, so it makes hitting a home run harder. I hope this helps.

 

[CastMetal]

rc0213,
That assumption is only true if the ball is infinitely stiff. Energy is lost when there is ball compression.

I'm surprised that the exact relation between the stiffness of the bat and ball has not been explored. To me that ratio seems to determine the maximum "trampoline effect" physically possible.
In other words minimizing the dampening effect of material deformation seems to be the name of the game.

 

[TrippL]

Castmetal,

Check out this ppt presentation by Dr. Russell, the expert in this field.

http://www.sgma.com/img/home/russell-tuned-bat.ppt

 

[msquared48]

What about shot-peening the bat to strain-harden the surface?

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
Motto: KISS
Motivation: Don't ask

 

[flash3780]

I think it's funny that someone has invented the "trampoline effect". I think Newton called it "Impulse" when he came up with it. If you increase the amount of time that the ball and the bat are in contact by making it a bit squishy, you increase the momentum transferred from the bat to the ball.

Of course, there's a limit. It wouldn't do you much good to go out there swinging a noodle.

When it comes to heating up the bat? I wouldn't want to be holding it if you made it hot enough to make a significant difference in the stiffness. You'd probably have better luck rolling the aluminum bat to a slightly smaller diameter just above the handle.

 

[shoelace]

Definitely not if you heat it past the melting point.

 

[TrippL]

Flash3780,

Obviously you have not read any of the previous posts or links to explanatory material. The "trampoline effect" is a little more complicated than an impulse. It is not the same thing. This is a real world situation with an inelastic collision. Kinetic energy is lost in internal friction from the compression of the ball and bat. The internal friction of the ball compression is minimized by the bats deflection and more of this energy is returned to the ball than that of a rigid bat.

Check out Dr. Russell's (Phd in Applied Physics) work in this area:

http://paws.kettering.edu/~drussell/bats.html

 

[Jmoore1]

I would think this has more to do with the density of air than anything else. I am betting that there are more homeruns hit in colorado than elsewhere due to air thinning .... As far as hitting the ball and the trampoline effect, the main driver of ball speed after impact is coefficient of restitution, which probably wont change much over 40 degrees.

for reference there is a 8 % change in air density over 40 degrees

(~32 feet on a 400 foot hit is quite a large change)

 

[Guest102023]

I prefer cork in my aluminum bats. No heating required.

 

[bentwings1]

I played baseball untill I was 62 and hit with everything from a broom stick to hi tech composite and titanium bats. I gave into the high tech stuff and bought a very expensive top of the line ultimate bat. Guess what...my batting average went down a bunch!!! I switched back to a trusty 10 year old black beauty that had untold number of hits and the average came backup.

I spent hours..maybe days in the batting cage trying to get something special out of that bat. Other guys tried it and they hit ok but not for the price of the thing. When I retired from all sports (doc said I was worn out) I donated it to an arch rival team. Nothing like giving your junk to the other guy. haha

As for heating bats..yeah it was tried, there are a number of heat pads available but by the time your grab your 'hot bat' and get to the plate it's cooled to nearly ambient. By the time you get to a 3-2 count The hottest part of the bat is where your hands are so what good does that do?? We tried it a number of times in batting practice but if there was a difference we sure didn't notice it. Even against a pitching machine there wasn't any measurable distance noted. How hot can the bat be before you are uncomfortable with it?? 40 deg over ambient I think would be pretty hot.



99 Dodge CTD dually.

 

[IRstuff]

Well, 65ºC will produce burns without 4 seconds of contact from painted metal surfaces, so that would pretty much be the limit from a safety perspective.

TTFN

FAQ731-376
Chinese prisoner wins Nobel Peace Prize

 

[ESPcomposites]

bentwings1, thanks for the anecdotal evidence. Everything I have said, with valid references, has indicated there would not be any noticeable effect. It would seem that you are backing that up. There has been no reasonable evidence in this thread to suggest otherwise.

Anecdotal evidence, supported by engineering data, suggests no realistic effect.

Brian

http://www.espcomposites.com

 

[cloa]

The differences between hot days and cold days is little to do with the bat. Its mostly about pitcher and fielder and a bit less batters. Sunny days increase the ability of batters to score high runs- partially a factor in the greatly improved results of Japanese batters for the last season. High temperatures impair the ability of pitchers to pitch and fielders to field.

 

[bentwings1]

Here is a link to one of the great studies of baseball. I've still got the book somewhere in my old baseball stuff. He investigated the bat situation pretty well. It's a good read for engineers.

The author was commissioned to do the book by MLB.

http://www.amazon.com/Physics-Baseb...dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

99 Dodge CTD dually.

 

[trainguy]

Why can't we just get back to the way baseball is supposed to be played?

Sunday afternoons, sunny days, hot-dogs, Cracker Jacks, seventh inning stretch, and large doses of androstenedione...

tg

PS: I did NOT use steroids to write this post.

 

[mecheHOG]

Alright, I don't want to hear any baby comments, but I am only a year of out of school and I did play baseball so let me throw my opinion out there.

Around 2003-2004ish Easton introduced a two-piece bat called the stealth. It was an instant hit (no pun intended). The handle was a seperate piece from the actual barrel. In theory, as you swung the bat, the two pieces together would create a slapping effect on the ball. I would compare this to the way a golf club wraps with swung with a lot of force. Consequently, the lfie of the bat was short. Soon after, they produced two types of the stealth, a more flexible version (for hitting longer distances) and a stiffer version (for longer life). Then, they produced a composite version of the same bat. I never cared for it but some swore by it.

I agree with ESPcomposites, I believe the heated Al would not make and difference and baseball players are known to be superstitous. However, I always felt that the two piece and composites bats never performed as well in 50 degree weahter as opposed to 80-90. We always played our first game around the 25 of Feb, very cold. Not many homeruns were hit until spring break. But one may argue that the beginning season is when players are getting back in the swing of things and will not hit as well.

Anyways, there is my two cents.