Aerodynamic properties comparison between natural feather, nylon, and synthetic shuttlecocks

• Published in: International Journal of Engineering Systems Modelling and Simulation
• Main Author: 2-s2.0-105000393076
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Inderscience Publishers 2025
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105000393076&doi=10.1504%2fIJESMS.2025.142974&partnerID=40&md5=49acc9191ab8505ef583c36a6ea65d83

This study compared the aerodynamic properties between the natural feather, nylon, and foam shuttlecocks under various pitch angles, α using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) during steady-state flight conditions. The velocity varied within 10–60 m/s and α =10°, 20°,30°. The drag coefficient for feather/foam was approximately constant at 0.56. Other aerodynamic properties including the lift and moment coefficients were also investigated. The lift coefficient obtained for nylon and feather/foam were 0.38 and 0.30 at α = 30° (30 m/s). All models had shown a negative sign for the moment coefficient, which indicates the aerodynamic centre is always behind the centre of gravity. Therefore, it will give stability to the shuttlecock during the flight. The nylon shuttlecock showed a higher drag coefficient compared to others due to its larger gap area and an increased wake behind the shuttlecock. Copyright © 2025 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.