High-strength aluminum alloys with tailor-made damping behavior for competitive sports sleds (T06#)

• Subject Area: Mechanics ; Lightweight Construction, Textile Technology ; Mechanical Properties of Metallic Materials and their Microstructural Origins
• Term: from 2016 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 14208545

There is a lack of applications of ultrafine-grained (UFG) aluminum alloys, partly because they can only be produced at relatively high costs and in small volume. Competitive sports provide an interesting opportunity for the application of novel materials without a need for mass-production. The goal of this transfer project is to develop and provide novel, high-strength aluminum alloys for the (first-ever) use as structural elements in sports sleds for professional athletes. This requires a detailed analysis of the damping behavior of the UFG materials. Vibrations of the sled-athlete system need to be minimized for optimum performance (in terms of steering capabilities and acceleration) under race conditions. A systematic design of the structural elements needs to take into account damping behavior of the novel materials, mass reduction and damage and failure aspects. This research project, performed in collaboration with the Thuringia Sled Sports Club (the association in charge of training some of Germany¿s Winter Olympic Games athletes), combines novel engineering design and evaluation approaches for sports equipment, and materials science research with a focus on microstructures and damping behavior.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres (Transfer Project)
• Subproject of: SFB 692: High-strength Aluminium-Based Light Weight Materials for Reliable Components
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität Chemnitz
• Business and Industry: Thüringer Schlitten- und Bobsportverband e.V. (TSBV)
• Project Heads: Professor Dr.-Ing. Stephan Odenwald; Professor Dr.-Ing. Martin Franz-Xaver Wagner