Pickleball sounds: impact induced vibration and radiated sound

The rapid growth in popularity of pickleball and the ever-increasing number of pickleball courts has resulted in growing concerns about the effect of pickleball sounds on nearby neighbors. The vibration of the ball and paddle that is generated at impact, and which is the source of the radiated sound, was measured for different paddles as a function of frequency using an impact hammer instrumented with a force gage. Average vibration velocities over the paddle surface were generated that scale the radiated sound. Animations of paddle vibration were also generated. A paddles vibration level depends on its internal mechanical damping which was also measured. A performance metric is proposed where the paddles' sound levels are compared at the same "power" in terms of the change in momentum (velocity) of the pickleball on impact. Outdoor directivity measurements of the sound for a paddle were "dipole-like" in character with lower levels, by 10 dB or more, in the plane of the paddle compared to levels perpendicular to its face. The orientation of the courts may be important if the sound levels during play are quieter in the general direction along the nets.