Advanced bobsleigh design. Part 1: Body protection, injury prevention and performance improvement

(Fortschrittliches Design von Bobs: Teil 1: Schutz des Körpers, Verletzungsprävention und Leistungsverbesserung )

Bobsleigh is one of the most popular Olympic winter sports where technology and engineering play a major role. The technological advances in the sport over the last two decades have been notable. However, the introduction of the female bobsleigh competition highlighted some noticeable shortcomings in the current sled design. The present work proposes ergonomic modifications to the existing bobsleigh design, with specific focus on women, aiming to address these issues by simultaneously reducing the injury rate and delivering improved performance. Two main aspects are discussed: bobsleigh interior design, i.e. the introduction of internal padding, footrests, etc., and modifications to the push handles. It is shown that such modifications would not cause any deterioration in the performance but could theoretically bring some performance benefits such as improved driving stability and better aerodynamics owing to the reduced size of the cavity. The possibility of rule alterations concerning the size and weight of sleds is briefly discussed.
© Copyright 2004 Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part L: Journal of Materials: Design and Applications. SAGE Publications. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Bibliographische Detailangaben
Schlagworte:
Notationen:technische Sportarten Naturwissenschaften und Technik
Veröffentlicht in:Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part L: Journal of Materials: Design and Applications
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 2004
Online-Zugang:http://doi.org/10.1177/146442070421800206
Jahrgang:218
Heft:2
Seiten:129-137
Dokumentenarten:Artikel
Level:hoch