Design and Verification of Bobsleigh Track

Abstract

The design of new bobsleigh track is a challenging and difficult task since it requires several competences ranging from the physics of ice to civil engineering, from dynamics to tribology. Thus, presently, only very few companies are able to correctly design a bobsleigh track. Moreover, during the construction phase, unshared approximations, imposed by the orography and geology of the location, are adopted by the constructor. This leads to tracks that are usually characterized by unpredicted accelerations on the athletes (sometimes even above accepted standards). The following paper deals with the development of a simple though precise virtual tool for the prediction of both the speed (acceleration) profile and the trajectory of a bobsleigh able to easily account for the effects of small track profile changes. Therefore, this tool could be profitably used by both designers and constructors to avoid the necessity of “adjusting” the track once built.