UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Ice Friction in the Sport of Bobsleigh by Louis Poirier A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY CALGARY, ALBERTA August, 2011 °c Louis Poirier 2011 UMI Number: NR81854 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent on the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI NR81854 Copyright 2012 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES The undersigned certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled \Ice friction in the sport of bobsleigh" submitted by Louis Poirier in partial ful¯llment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY. Supervisor, Dr. Robert I. Thompson Dr. Sean Maw Department of Physics and Department of Math, Physics, and Astronomy Engineering Mount Royal University Co-Supervisor, Dr. Darren J. Stefanyshyn Dr. Walter Herzog Faculty of Kinesiology Internal-External Examiner Faculty of Kinesiology Dr. Edward P. Lozowski Department of Earth and Dr. Robert M. Frederking Atmospheric Sciences External Examiner University of Alberta National Research Council Canada Date Abstract The primary objective of this work is to examine the e®ect of the bobsleigh runner pro¯le on ice / runner friction. The work is centered on a computational model (F.A.S.T. 3.2b) which calculates the coe±cient of friction between a steel blade and ice. The ¯rst step was to analyze runners used in the sport of bobsleigh. This analysis was performed using a handheld rocker gauge, a device used in speed skating. The size of the device was optimized for hockey, short and long track speed skating, and bobsleigh. A number of runners were measured using the gauge and it was found that the portion of the runner contacting the ice generally has a rocker value of (20 ¡ 50) m. Next, the hardness of athletic ice surfaces was analyzed. The ice hardness was deter- mined by dropping steel balls varying in mass from (8 ¡ 540) g onto the ice surface, from a height of (0:3 ¡ 1:2) m, and measuring the diameter of the indentation craters. The ice hardness was found to be P¹(T ) = ((¡0:6 § 0:4)T + 14:7 § 2:1) MPa and the elastic recovery of the ice surface was found to be negligible. The F.A.S.T. model was adapted from a speed skate model to calculate the coe±cient of friction between a bobsleigh runner and a flat ice surface. The model predicts that maximum velocities are obtained for temperatures between ¡10 and ¡20±C, in agreement with observations on the Calgary bobsleigh track. The model for flat ice suggests that the flattest runners produce the lowest coe±cient of friction and that the rocker a®ects friction more than the cross-sectional radius. The coe±cient of friction between runners and ice and the drag performance of 2- men bobsleighs were determined from radar speed measurements taken at the Calgary Olympic Oval and at Canada Olympic Park: at the Ice House and on the bobsleigh track during a World Cup competition. The mean coe±cient of friction was found to be ¡3 2 ¹ = (5:3 § 2:0) £ 10 and the mean drag performance was CdA = (0:18 § 0:02) m . ii Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank NSERC for the scholarship that allowed this project to get started and for their continued ¯nancial support. I acknowledge support from Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton. They provided a radar gun, runner access, and support for my trip to the World Championships in KÄonigssee. Their interest in my work, and the potential that Canadian athletes can bene¯t from it, make it worth while. I would like to acknowledge support from the Canadian Sport Centre Calgary for the use of their radar gun and all their support during my years as an athlete. I would like to thank the Calgary Olympic Oval for facilities access, and access to employees, their expertise, and data from the ice surfaces. I would like to thank WinSport Canada for facilities access at Canada Olympic Park and access to the technical drawings of those facilities. I would like to thank Alberta Bobsleigh for access to their temperature probe. I would like to thank Foothills Bobsleigh Club for access to their equipment. I would like to thank all the people from the F¶ed¶erationInternationale de Bobsleigh et Tobogganing (F.I.B.T.) for supporting our work and allowing us access to the track and jury during the 2010 ¡ 11 Calgary World Cup competition. I would like to thank Corma Enterprises for putting so much into our runner development project. I would like to thank the University of Calgary for all of its ¯nancial and infrastructure support. I would like to thank the Human Performance Lab at the University of Calgary for access to their radar gun and I would like to thank Matt Nykolichuk for allowing me to use his speed skates for photographs. I would like to thank the Department of Physics and Astronomy. First, I would like to thank Peter Gimby and the late Hugo Graumann for their help, their ideas, and access to the undergraduate laboratory equipment. Next, I would like to thank, the ladies from the main o±ce who made every day more enjoyable. Finally, for being a top notch department, assuring support for students, and allowing us to do our work; I thank iii everyone. It shows in our productivity and we are the envy of graduate students around campus. For helping with my ice friction experiments at the bobsleigh track during the World Cup, I would like to thank my volunteers: Matt Bumstead, Ian Cockerline, Nick De- Ruyter, Julie Grant, Samuel George, Amy Johnston, Mike Kwiatkowski, Stephen Lane, Alexis Morris, Allison Rubenok, Lohrasp Seify, Joshua Slater, Terence Stuart, and Wolf- gang Tittel. This really was a team e®ort. The experiment would not have been possible without all of your great work. I know that the hot chocolate wasn't enough payment or even enough to keep away the cold. Thankfully, you all have a great passion for science and sport. I would like to thank Chris Spring and his team for the use of his truck to move bobsleighs to and from the Olympic Oval and for help with runner preparation. I would like to thank Adam Anderson for the polishing equipment. And thanks to all of those whom helped me polish runners; Adam Farley, Chris Gudzowski, Cli® Iwassa, Rosalyn Nykolichuk, Heather Patterson, Patrick Riley, Efrem Violatto, and Alex Torbert and his team. I'm sure I've missed both people and services provided by the local bobsleigh community. They have blown me away with all of their help and support. I would like to sincerely thank my committee for all their help and for indulging my project. I realize that none of you really had any interest in bobsleigh research before I came along. I thank you for having faith in my abilities and supporting my work. I would ¯rst like to thank Ed. Your enthusiasm and constant desire to get out and make measurements inspires me. You are very a passionate scientist and I hope I can be as passionate about my work when I retire. That would be a truly blessed life. Sean, I would like to thank you for being so meticulous. You never satisfy yourself with showing me something but you take the time to teach me. Your students are very lucky. Darren, I would like to thank you for keeping me on track. I sometimes let my ideas run all over the iv place, especially in the beginning. Thank you for helping me ¯nd what was important and stay focused on that. Rob, it's been eight years since I ¯rst came to Calgary to bobsleigh. I enjoyed that career but I have enjoyed this one even more. We have been through a lot since then in both our careers and our lives. I feel truly blessed to have worked with you through so much and I hope that we can continue to work together for many years to come. I would like to thank my family back home in the Maritimes. I miss you all a great deal. Hopefully, with real jobs, Amy and I will be able to visit more often. Finally, for the hours spent reading and helping to edit my work, and for the countless hours helping me while freezing at the Oval, the Ice House, and the bobsleigh track, I am eternally grateful to my wife, Amy Johnston. For all your help and all your support I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I really could not have done this without you. Je t'aime ma belle. v Table of Contents Abstract . ii Acknowledgements . iii Table of Contents . vi List of Tables . viii List of Figures . ix 1 INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 The Sport of Bobsleigh . 1 1.1.1 The Sled . 1 1.1.2 Basic Physics in Bobsleigh . 2 1.1.3 Canadian History in Bobsleigh .