Aerodynamic design and testing dimpled spheres for drag reduction********

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KQS Inc. is an innovative contract Design & Engineering company, based in Canada, specializing in the field of high performance sport. The focus of the project is on the aerodynamic performance and development of dimpled spheres, or golf balls, and the tools used for timely aerodynamic design. The sporting equipment market is known to be highly competitive, demonstrating even small increases in aerodynamic performance can bolster the potential market share. Dimples on a sphere are known to reduce the drag over the range of flow velocities commonly reached in the sport of golf. Published research for simple linear and constant dimple patterns show that dimple size, shape, depth, and pattern play a key role in aerodynamic performance. However, the dimple patterns on commercial golf balls are much more complex then linear patterns of repeated constant geometry dimples. It is well know that high-fidelity simulations and wind tunnel testing can both accurately capture aerodynamic performance measures of golf balls, however, these limit timely design and optimization studies. In the proposed project, wind tunnel testing of will be performed on a parameterized golf ball geometry to identify promising designs having low drag, while the use of parallel low-fidelity simulations will be compared to determine if performance correlations exists, to enable future timely optimization. This project will enable KQS Inc. to enter the competitive market of Tournament Quality golf balls, which will also allow KQS to further expand operations, increase support of the Canadian economy on an international level, and employ more engineers in Canada. The proposed project will also be leveraged to initiate a long term collaborative research project to optimize golf ball geometry for reduced drag.********************