Vibration analysis of various wooden ski cores using laser vibrometry

Engineering of Sport 15 - Proceedings from the 15th International Conference on the Engineering of Sport (ISEA 2024)

On the one hand, a good all-mountain ski is characterized by good damping to minimize vibrations when skiing. On the other hand, it is important that the ski adapts well to the ground in different snow conditions, which in turn is directly related to the bending and torsional stiffness. These properties can be measured on the ski with varying degrees of accuracy, for example with accelerometers, laser vibrometry, or with 3-point bending and torsion tests. An essential component of the ski, which has a major influence on the bending and torsional stiffness, is the ski core, which usually consists of a combination of two kinds of wood, one more dense and one less dense one. Commonly used woods are paulowina (kiri), aspen, ash, poplar, pine, maple and beech. The aim of this study is to conduct vibration analysis of wood cores with different types of wood using laser vibrometry and to compare how the bending and torsion modes of native woods (Upper Franconia, Germany) differ from a reference core (Slovenia).