Fascination Technology Materials Technology for Bob Runners and Sled Rails

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In our "Fascination Technology" section, we present impressive research and development projects to design engineers every week. Today: how scientists are optimizing the German Olympic racing sleds.

Behind Max Langenhan and Julia Taubitz's gold medals at the Olympic Games is not only months of training, athletic ability and a little bit of luck, but also science. A team of researchers from Mittweida University of Applied Sciences is supporting the Oberhof Olympic Training Center and the German luge team with expertise in materials science as well as data acquisition and analysis.

The aim is to minimize friction losses, perfect aerodynamics and ensure stability at top speed. In addition, extensive data from test rides is analyzed in order to precisely evaluate the performance of athletes and equipment under real conditions.

Material selection and processing play an important role in optimizing sliding friction; structuring using a laser beam is also employed. 

Materials Engineering for Bobsled Runners And Sled Rails

Frank Müller, now Professor Emeritus of Materials Engineering, has been working for many years on optimizing material properties, initially for bobsleigh runners and later for rails for racing sleds. Material selection and processing play an important role in optimizing sliding friction, and laser structuring is also used. This all takes place within the framework of the regulations, within which the scientists develop and implement proposals and test them on the luge track in Oberhof, Germany.

Another colleague from Mittweida, Professor Christian Schulz, provides Müller with important data from the tests: his technology records the measured values with which the temperature behavior of the running track can be documented in real time during the training run. This data makes it possible to draw conclusions about the material and optimize it.

When luge in an ice channel, even the smallest shifts in weight and steering movements on the sled can have a major impact on the trajectory and thus the run time.

Analyzing the Interaction Between Athlete And Racing Sled

Schulz and his team are also very interested in other data: When tobogganing in the ice channel, the smallest shifts in weight and steering movements on the sled can have a major impact on the trajectory and therefore the travel time. Sensors and a camera are therefore attached to the racing sleds during the training runs. They enable the coaches to analyze and subsequently optimize every tiny movement and its effect during the run with the athletes.

The core is to record how athletes and racing sleds interact—the forces at work cannot be seen, they have to be measured. The Mittweida measurement technology is housed in a robust "blue box" that can withstand the major vibrations. The scientists combine the recorded values with the images from a high-speed camera; 120 images per second are taken at up to 130 km/h, and the recorded force data is assigned to each image. This makes it possible to see exactly which forces are acting at which point on the track and how they influence the trajectory.

Gold Medals Also Thanks to Science from Mittweida, Germany

Schulz, an expert in measurement technology, and his colleague Tobias Czauderna, Professor of VR/AR Technologies and Human-Technology Interaction, are working together with colleagues from other disciplines in Mittweida, including 3D printing and media informatics.

The long-standing collaboration between sport and science has been part of a more extensive cooperation agreement between Mittweida University of Applied Sciences and the Thuringian Sled and Bobsleigh Association (TSBV) since the beginning of 2024. At the World Championships in Whistler Mountain in January 2025, the athletes won a total of seven gold medals, in which science from Mittweida was also involved.

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