Vibration damping of alpine skis with implemented Flow Motion Technology

Sammanfattning: Flow Motion Technology AB has previously developed a technology to improve hockey skates and inlines. The technology called Flow Motion Technology (FMT) is utilizing the smooth and effective rolling motion of a human footstep, and has proven to be very successful after implementation in both hockey skates and inlines. Flow Motion Technology AB has interest in investigating whether the technology can be implemented in other sports applications, which this thesis project concerns. The project examines the implementation of FMT in the alpine skiing segment. The purpose is to provide Flow Motion Technology AB with a foundation for evaluating the potential of investing further in the development of FMT applied in alpine skiing. FMT is implemented in a feature positioned between ski and binding of most alpine race skis, commonly called a race plate. The work is divided into two parts; The first part covers the development and manufacturing of a prototype along with detailed description of the procedures and methods used. The second part is about the tests of the prototype’s vibration-damping properties carried out in laboratory environment along with analysis of the results. Initial field tests are also carried out followed by fundamental analysis. An existing plate intended for competition use is tested in parallel with the prototype and is used as a reference when analyzing the results. The results show that the ski equipped with the FMT plate dampened vibrations on an average of 27 % faster than the reference plate. Measurements was compiled for three damping intervals specified for the tests performed in laboratory. A statistically significant difference in all three cases was obtained. The measured maximum amplitude of the acceleration in the vibrations was also significantly lower for the ski implemented with the FMT plate compared to the reference plate. The eigen frequencies of the ski measured in laboratory were not significantly affected if the ski was fitted with the FMT plate or the reference plate. The eigen frequencies measured in field generally corresponded to the measured in laboratory, with the difference that they were offset on an average of 7 Hz higher in field.