Calculation of the contact area between snow grains and ski base

Abstract

Gliding friction depends on the contact area between ski and snow. Therefore, we computed the contact area of a single grain with the ski base by solving the static contact problem. The calculations were done at randomly selected positions on two ski bases, various snow grain radii, and various loadings. The relative single grain contact area with the ski base was 0.03–6.0% of the snow grain’s cross section. Contact area and pressure increased with decreasing snow grain radius and increasing load. The contact pressure exceeds the strength of ice, presumably causing fracture of parts of snow grains. Resulting debris may partly remain in the interface between ski and snow and thus reduce friction.

Topics & Concepts