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Lichtenberger Engineering Library

Category: Sports

Feb 16 2018

Explore Engineering & the Winter Olympics at Our New Exhibit!

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Carol Johnk

Guest Blogger: James M. Cox

Snow, Ice and Fiberglass

The 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea are here! The games started on February 9, 2018 and will run through February 25, 2018. There are 102 Gold Medal Events across 15 sports! The sports are classified as “winter sports” because they require snow or ice. Most of the sports use equipment that is made from fiberglass. The three substances snow, ice, and fiberglass make the Winter Olympics possible!

We have a new Winter Olympics Exhibit Case in the Lichtenberger Engineering Library. Stop in and check it out!

The first of the key ingredients for the Winter Olympics is the snow. Natural snow forms when moisture combines with low temperatures to form ice crystals. These crystals begin to stick together and become heavy enough to fall to the ground. However, for ski slopes all across the world and during the Olympics, nature sometimes does not produce enough snow. Japanese nuclear physicist Ukichiro Nakaya, produced the first artificial snowflakes on March 12, 1936 by growing ice crystals on rabbit hair.1 Modern engineering has developed the snow gun. There are two methods for how the snow gun operates. Option 1: high pressure water systems creating water droplets that freeze in the air, and a powerful fan. Option 2: water and air under high pressure forcing the ice crystals into the sky. This process produces snice (snow-ice) because it is harder in texture than natural snow and becomes icy easier.2 Since PyeongChang, is situated in the mountains, the locale is ideal for both natural or artificial snow!

Ice is the other surface on which many of the sports occur during the Winter Olympics. Ice has a low coefficient of friction between ice and steel, creating the ability for ice skaters and the sliding sports (bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton) to generate high speeds.3 The temperature at which the ice is frozen creates different qualities for each sport. Colder temperatures create harder and faster ice, for sports such as hockey and the sliding sports, but is more brittle and likely to break on impact. Softer ice is produced at a higher temperature for figure skating, and has more grip and is less likely to shatter.4  For Curling, water is sprayed on the ice surface to create tiny bumps of ice over which the stones slide. This is called pebbling.  Pebbling reduces the amount of surface friction between the stones and the ice, allowing the stones to glide more easily.5 The surface of an ice rink consists of 8 to 10 layers of ice! Ice and the science behind it leads to ideal surfaces on which the athletes compete.

The final, and perhaps unexpected, element in the Winter Olympics is fiberglass. Skis, snowboards, bobsleds, luge sleds, composite hockey sticks, and curling brushes all are constructed using fiberglass. Fiberglass, also known as glass fiber reinforced plastic, is a glass fabric that is soaked in a resin and then set in a mold to create the desired shape. Fiberglass is both strong and lightweight making it ideal for sports. The fibers to make the fabric are created by melting glass marbles and pulling the melted glass into filaments that are 1/10,000 of an inch to 5/10,000 of an inch in diameter.6  These glass strands are 2-3 times as strong as alloy steel! These strands are then twisted into yarn and woven into a fabric. This glass fabric is strong but it does not hold its shape, so it must be soaked in resin and then cured before it will be ready for an athlete to use. Fiberglass plays an important role in the Winter Olympics due to its use in many sports.

The event surfaces and equipment used make the Winter Olympics successful for athletes and enjoyable for spectators. Snow, ice, and fiberglass are the three key substances for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang!

Check this video out if you want to see more engineering and technology in action at the 2018 Winter Olympics!

 

 

Sit back, watch the Olympics and be sure to cheer for your country as the athletes go for the gold!

And ski, luge, skate or curl your way into the library to check out the new exhibit case!

 

 

Resources:

[1] Ivar Olovsson, Snow, Ice, and Other Wonders of Water: A tribute to the Hydrogen Bond (Hackensack: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd, 2016), 10.  Engineering Library QC926.32 .O46 2016

[2] Olovsson, Snow, Ice, and Other Wonders of Water, 16-17.  Engineering Library QC926.32 .O46 2016

[3] Mark Denny, Gliding for Gold: The Physics of Winter Sports (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011), 21.   Engineering Library QC73 .D46 2011

[4] Denny, Gliding for Gold, 23.

[5]  Learn to Curl : Curling Basics. Cedar Rapids Curling Club

[6] Forbes Aird, Fiberglass & Other Composite Materials: A Guide to High Performance Non-Metallic Materials for Race Cars, Street Rods, Body Shops, Boats, and Aircraft (New York: Penguin Group Inc., 2006), 9.  Engineering Library TA455 .P55 2006

 

Posted in Blog, Exhibits, Sports
Oct 20 2017

Are You Ready for Some Football?

Posted on October 20, 2017 by Carol Johnk

Are you ready for some football?

Fall is here! The leaves are changing colors, the days are cooler and that means one thing – Football!

When we’re watching a football game we often don’t think about the ergonomics and biomechanics that go into the athlete’s performance. And yet, so many things impact the athlete and their ability to perform at their peak.

(This information about ergonomics and biomechanics basically holds true for both the female and male athlete, although there are some differences in the ways the female body reacts. Since this is a blog about football, I will be using “he”).

The physical build of a person obviously has an impact on the sports played, but there are also many more factors involved, including environmental stresses which may influence a players performance. The temperature/weather conditions (ever watch a football game being played in the snow?), air quality (including smog/pollution and allergens), and how loud a football stadium can get (there is a reason for the fight song and loud cheering from the home team) definitely can influence an athletes performance!

Proper ergonomics help keep the player safe and, hopefully, free from severe injury.  Equipment – including clothing – plays a role in that safety. According to Thomas Reilly, author of Ergonomics in Sport and Physical Activity, there are three main ways in which equipment design can help prevent injuries. First, quality control during the production processes ensures the risks are minimized. Secondly, the equipment must meet the needs and characteristics of the user – including age, sex, and skill level. Lastly, effective and comfortable equipment cushions individuals against harmful impact. Think of the many types of athletic shoes – for running, soccer, tennis, etc. – all designed to help prevent injuries for specific sports.

Besides different shoes for different sports there are specific shoes for external conditions. For example, football cleats are different depending on whether the game is played on turf or sod. Different studies have shown differing injury rates when comparing grass vs turf injuries. So, according to Justin Shaginaw, MPT, ATC, and author of a 2013 Sports Doc article, wearing cleats – or turf shoes – may help to decrease traction and therefore decrease lower extremity injuries. He also notes that the decreased traction may cause players to slip…

Concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) are getting more attention and more studies are being done to find ways to prevent CTE and find ways to diagnose it early. At the moment it can only be diagnosed after death. Research is being done to find ways to diagnose CTE while the person is still alive – a recent study which compares a protein associated with Alzheimer’s to protein in a brain with CTE is available at PLOS|One.  For more information about football concussions and for some of the advances in football helmet designs see the “More Resources” section below.

So, what about the biomechanics of sports? Simply put, sports biomechanics is “the study and analysis of human movement patterns in sport.” (Introduction to Sports Biomechanics: Analysing Human Movement Patterns). The author, Roger Bartlett, focuses on movement analysis with the aim of helping athletes perform better with fewer injuries. He does this by exploring all aspects of movement – causes (forces & torques), geometry (movement patterns), and anatomy (bones, muscles, joints). He also devotes a chapter to qualitative movement and the use of recording movement and the data processing. This book is full of photos, illustrations, tables, and each chapter has its own glossary of important terms, study tasks, and further readings!

Even if you – like most of us – aren’t cut out to be a star football player, you can still learn about the biomechanics and the ergonomics of sports!

Enjoy the game this weekend
&
GO HAWKS!

 

Resources:

Goff, John Eric. 2010. Gold Medal Physics: The Science of Sports. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press.  Online access.

Reilly, Thomas. 2010. Ergonomics in sport and physical activity : enhancing performance and improving safety. Champaign, IL : Human Kinetics. Engineering Library RC1235 .R45 2010

Bartlett, Roger. 2007. Introduction to sports biomechanics : analysing human movement patterns. London ; New York : Routledge. Engineering Library QP303 .B376 2007

Mez, Jesse; Daneshvar, Daniel H.; Kiernan, Patrick T. Clinical Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Players of American Football. July 25, 2017. JAMA Network. American Medical Association.

Whiting, William Charles. 2008. Biomechanics of musculoskeletal injury. Champaign, IL : Human Kinetics. Engineering Library FOLIO RD680 .W47 2008

Goldman, Tom. July 25, 2017. Study: CTE Found In Nearly All Donated NFL Player Brains. Heard on All Things Considered. Iowa Public Radio. npr.

Cherry, Jonathan D., et al. Sept. 26, 2017. CCL11 is increased in the CNS in chronic traumatic encephalopathy but not in Alzheimer’s disease. PLOS|ONE

Shaginaw, Justin, MPT, ATC. Oct. 2, 2013. Grass vs turf: Does it affect injury rate. The Inquirer Daily News. Philadelphia Media Network (Digital), LLC.

Synthetic Turf Injury Studies.  Center for Sports Surface Research. Penn State College of Agriculture Studies. Department of Plant Science. Date Accessed: October 17, 2017.

More Resources:

How Well Do Football Helmets Protect Players from Concussions? American Academy of Neurology. Date Accessed: Sept. 27, 2017

BJSM FREE: Consensus statement on concussion in sport – the 5th international conference on concussion in sport held in Berlin, October 2016. April 29, 2o17.  footballmed.net

Mez, Jesse, Daneshvar, Daniel H., Kiernan, Patrick T., et al. July 25, 2017.  Clinicopathological Evaluation of chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Players of American Football. JAMA Network.

Also from JAMAevidence (available through the library LibGuides), search “all sites.

Brigham Young University. Sept. 21, 2017. Football helmet smartfoam signals potential concussions in real time, study suggests. ScienceDaily : Your source for the latest research news.

Stella, Rick. April 4, 2017. Flexible Football Helmet Absorbs Hits Like a Car Bumper, Could Put an End to Concussions. Designtechnica Corporation. Digital Trends.

Posted in Blog, Sports

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