1. Final Report Draft 3.0.pdf
- Author
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Needs, Devin
- Abstract
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #454545} Lacrosse is a game full of tradition, dating back to ancient Native American peoples. The game is played with sticks, or crosses, and a ball to be thrown in a goal. Little research has been done to optimize the performance of these sticks. In the 1990’s metal sticks were introduced and in the last five years different cross sections have been introduced. We analyzed the forces and stresses exerted on lacrosse shafts to optimize the cross section for performance specific to offensive sticks. Our optimization utilized constraints specific to the NCAA regulations and that simulate offensive performance. We maximized the deflection of the stick in order to increase shot velocity, a key factor for offensive performance. This optimization also minimizes weight, a crucial constraint for lacrosse players. We utilized existing MATLAB optimizers to solve these considerations. We studied the three specific cross sections of a rectangle, ellipse, and irregular octagon. Then the shaft length was discretized to allow non-constant cross sections. We also compared our results using ANSYS simulations to validate the results from each shaft optimization.
- Published
- 2020
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