Story Published:
Jan 14, 2011 at 12:33 AM EDT
Story Updated:
Jan 14, 2011 at 12:33 AM EDT
When Olympic and competitive athletes race down icy tracks riding on small luge sleds at speeds close to 95 miles per hour, every second counts.
Clarkson University Mechanical engineering professor Doug Bohl is among those working on designing an improved sled for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia.
"Very small changes in the drag, very small changes in how the sled behaves can make big changes in the times of the athletes as they go down," said Bohl.
The Clarkson engineer came up with the idea when his son tried out for the USA Luge Development Team last year.
With the help of computer models and Clarkson's research wind tunnel, the luge sled will undergo experiments and tests to see if its wooden and fiberglass shell and aerodynamic shape can be modified enough to increase its speed.
Olympic Medalist Gordy Sheer, now with USA Luge, says while sled designs haven't changed much in nearly two decades, Clarkson's research project could play a key role as lugers "go for the gold".
"Anything that we can do to shave off the hundredths of a second that often make a difference becomes critical," said Sheer.
Once Clarkson engineers have perfected their research, a new luge sled will be built and taken to California where additional wind tunnel testing will be done in hopes the design with bring a faster sled and with it Olympic medals.
