Dynamic Properties of Materials for Alpine Skis

The aim of the present research has been to quantify the influence of different materials on the global dynamic response of a ski. The properties of the individual constituent materials were characterized as a function of temperature and frequency using dynamic mechanical analysis. At the same time, the dynamic behavior of skis with different designs was investigated in a cold room at between -15 and 25 °C using specially developed apparatus. The results indicated the overall behavior to be influenced significantly by the polymeric topsheet, which showed a strong damping peak at about 0 °C. Elasticity-based FEA accounted well for the experimental results for the two first flexural vibrational modes of the skis. For higher modes, however, the viscoelastic nature of the polymeric components led to significant discrepancies between the predicted and observed behaviors.