University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 12-2006 Rebound Ace Tennis Court Surface: The Effect of Temperature on the Coefficient ofriction F Denise Helen Bauer University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Bauer, Denise Helen, "Rebound Ace Tennis Court Surface: The Effect of Temperature on the Coefficient of Friction. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2006. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/1501 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Denise Helen Bauer entitled "Rebound Ace Tennis Court Surface: The Effect of Temperature on the Coefficient ofriction. F " I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Industrial Engineering. John Hungerford, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Dongjoon Kong, Tyler Kress, Songning Zhang Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Denise Helen Bauer entitled “Rebound Ace Tennis Court Surface: The Effect of Temperature on the Coefficient of Friction.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Industrial Engineering. John Hungerford Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Dongjoon Kong Tyler Kress Songning Zhang Acceptance for the Council: Linda Painter Interim Dean of Graduate Studies (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) Rebound Ace Tennis Court Surface: The Effect of Temperature on the Coefficient of Friction A Thesis Presented for the Master of Science Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Denise Helen Bauer December 2006 Acknowledgments I am extremely grateful to my thesis committee, John Hungerford, Dongjoon Kong, Tyler Kress, and Songning Zhang, for their time and commitment. I would like to thank Dr. Tyler Kress for his guidance and support throughout both the thesis process and masters program, especially in the initial stages of formulating my research focus. I would also like to thank Dr. John Hungerford for his guidance, support, patience, and professionalism he brought to the thesis process and my experience as a masters student at the University of Tennessee. In spite of personal health issues, he still found the time to fulfill his role as my thesis advisor. For that, I am eternally grateful. I would like to give special acknowledgment to Franz Fasold of Rebound Ace™, Rapid Transit Sports, and the University of Tennessee women’s tennis coaching staff for providing the material necessary for the research. I also want to thank the Industrial Engineering Department and the Engage Program for the use of experimental equipment and support throughout my masters program. I want to pay special tribute to my life partner, Tim, who showed never-ending patience and encouragement. He has always stood by me, and this thesis would not be possible without his support and tireless efforts. Finally, I would especially like to thank my mom and dad for instilling the importance of faith, family, and education. Their continuous encouragement and belief in me has guided me throughout my life, and I would not be where I am today without them. Thank you. ii Abstract The study was conducted to determine if temperature affects the safety of Rebound Ace™ surface. The objective of this study is to determine how the COF changes as the Rebound Ace™ tennis court surface temperature increases. The lack of literature on this subject leads to the question of the surface’s safety at higher temperatures. A sample of Rebound Ace™ tennis court surface was tested at eight temperatures related to the climate of Melbourne in January with four different shoes to determine how the COF changes with an increase in temperature. Temperature and shoe brand were both found to be significant factors in the COF. However, the COF did not show a steady increase as the surface temperature of the Rebound Ace™ tennis court increased; the COF instead varied over the range of temperatures. The COF actually decreased over the higher temperatures (115 to 155 degrees F) and was lowest at the highest temperature of 155 degrees F. The Nike Air Zoom Thrive had the lowest COF across all temperatures. The results of this study indicate that the Rebound Ace™ tennis court surface may not be a safety issue at higher temperatures. This finding indicates that the surface properties may change with the temperature. One such change could be that the surface liquefies at higher temperatures. The results of the temperature’s effect on the COF in this study could lead one to believe that the surface is actually safer at higher temperatures. However, there were limitations in the study with respect to sample size, normal load amount, measurement of rotational friction, and measurements in the field that prevent this conclusion from be generalized for real life playing situations. Further iii research is needed to examine the true frictional behavior of the shoe-surface interface and introduce real playing forces. iv Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................1 Study Limitations and Delimitations .......................................................................3 Limitations ...................................................................................................3 Delimitations................................................................................................4 Objectives and Hypotheses......................................................................................5 Chapter 2. Background.......................................................................................................6 Rebound Ace™ Surface...........................................................................................6 Coefficient of Friction..............................................................................................8 Literature Review...................................................................................................10 Friction in Sports........................................................................................11 Friction in Tennis.......................................................................................16 Chapter 3. Methods...........................................................................................................19 Equipment, Instrumentation, and Procedure..........................................................19 Shoes..........................................................................................................19 Test Surface...............................................................................................19 Heating Apparatus.....................................................................................25 Static Coefficient of Friction Measurement...............................................28 Experimental Design..............................................................................................28 Chapter 4. Results .............................................................................................................33 Three-way Repeated Measures ANOVA Model ...................................................33 Temperature Comparisons.....................................................................................42 Shoe Comparisons .................................................................................................47 Chapter 5. Discussion........................................................................................................52 Effect of Temperature on the COF ........................................................................53 Effect of Shoe on the COF.....................................................................................55 Temperature Comparisons.....................................................................................56 Shoe Comparisons .................................................................................................58 Chapter 6. Conclusions and Recommendations .............................................................59 Recommendations for Future Research.................................................................60 List of References.............................................................................................................62 Appendix...........................................................................................................................69 Vita ....................................................................................................................................77