Ski Loading and Flexure on a Groomed Snow Surface

Abstract

The American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) defines the bending stiffness of a ski by its deflection under a given load placed on the ski at its midpoint when the ski is supported at its tip and tail contact points. For a casual comparison of ski flexure values, the values obtained in this manner may be adequate. To determine a ski’s loading distribution and flexure in a real snow bed, we need to consider the distribution of the ski’s bending stiffness, which may be described by the relationships associated with the mechanics of a nonuniform beam in flexure [1]. A similar set of relations applies for analyzing the torsional stiffness of a ski; however, in this discussion we consider coupled bending and torsional deflections only qualitatively. We address the specific problem of predicting the edge loading on a ski when it bends to contact the packed and groomed surface of an alpine ski slope.