We report on the dynamical buckling of a spherical shell (a table-tennis ball) impinging in normal incidence on a rigid surface (a glass plate). Experimentally, we observe and decipher the geometrical characteristics of the shell profile in the contact region along with global metrics such as the contact duration and the coefficient of restitution of the linear velocity. We determine, in particular, the onset of the ball buckling instability. We find that, just like in quasi-statics, the shell buckles when the crushing exceeds about twice the thickness of the shell. In addition, for launching conditions resulting in the ball elastic buckling, a drop of the restitution coefficient is observed. A companion numerical Finite Elements study is set to monitor the different sources of energy and reveals that the added energy loss is mainly due to the friction between the shell surface and the solid substrate.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.