DETERMINATION OF TURNING PARAMETERS IN CARVED SKIING AND APPLICATION TO A NUMERICAL SKI-BINDING MODEL

Abstract

Skiing has regained in popularity after the introduction of the caNing technique. The biomechanics of caNing have been investigated in numerous studies. However, a comprehensive study of the behaviour of the ski/binding system taking into account the interactions between athlete, skiing equipment, and snow is still missing. In a first phase of the current study, the forces acting between skier and ski equipment and the evolution of the edging angle during caNing were determined using video analysis and force measurements. Next, the passive snow resistance to a penetrating ski was determined using two specially designed tools. Finally, the determined quantities seNed as boundary conditions for a finite-element simulation of the ski/binding system in the caNing situation. Calculated ski shapes were compared against measured turn radii and good agreement was found. The implemented model is intended to help in the development of improved ski equipment. As such, it can for example be used to study the effect of different skier's actions on the equipment behaviour.