Static and dynamic snap-through behaviour of an elastic spherical shell

The deformation and snap-through behaviour of a thin-walled elastic spherical shell statically compressed on a flat surface or impacted against a flat surface are studied theoretically and numerically in order to estimate the influence of the dynamic effects on the response. A table tennis ball is considered as an example of a thin-walled elastic shell. It is shown that the increase of the impact velocity leads to a variation of the deformed shape thus resulting in larger deformation energy. The increase of the contact force is caused by both the increased contribution of the inertia forces and contribution of the increased deformation energy. The contact force resulted from deformation/inertia of the ball and the shape of the deformed region are calculated by the proposed theoretical models and compared with the results from both the finite element analysis and some previously obtained experimental data. Good agreement is demonstrated.