Trial Production of a Skiing Simulator for Computer Aided Ski Design System

Abstract

The turning motion of an alpine snow ski is produced by centripetal force and the moment around the center of mass. Both the force and moment are produced by resistance forces from the surface of the snow. The resistant force of the snow surface is supposed to be mainly composed of two forces. The first one is cutting resistance force, which is used to express the force to cut ice or a snow surface during turning, and the second one is impact resistance force, which is used for the force due to the relative change in momentum of the flow of fractured snow. Using compact snow, we measure three-dimensional compact snow cutting forces, apply multiple regression analysis to determine empirical equations of these forces, and then use the resultant equations to simulate the turning motion of skis. The equations of motion of the system including these forces are solved numerically, and we can find the position and the direction of a ski-skier system from the results obtained. The developed skiing simulator uses these results in real time. During subjective evaluation tests using the simulator, the subjects operated the edging angle of ski. Using the simulator, the subjects could subjectively evaluate the fitness of an effective side-cut of ski for turn in the same way as in an actual turn of snow surface.