Verification of a snowboarding simulation using the distinct element method

Abstract

Many prototype boards are produced and evaluated in design process of snowboard. The process requires much development cost and time because of trial and error. Snowboarding simulation methods have been developed to solve this problem. Although snow has both discrete and continuum properties, the conventional simulation methods are treated snow as only a continuum. Few snowboard simulation methods reproduce discrete behavior of snow. In this study, we propose a snowboarding simulation with the distinct element method (DEM), which can reproduce the dynamic discrete behavior of snow. For verification of developed the simulation, some test snowboards with different shape and experimental slope with small plastic pipes are made. The simulation results are compared with the test results to verify the effectiveness of the simulation method. As a result, the trajectory and board posture in the simulation show a similar tendency in the test when the board shape is changed.