DSM material innovation improves bobsleigh stability

The bobsleighs to be used by the Dutch Olympic Team at the Olympic Games in Turin contain special DSM vibration dampers that make the bobsleigh more stable. This reduces the risk of steering errors and means that better times can be achieved. The vibration dampers reduce the number of vibrations in the bobsleigh runners to 40% compared with the dampers traditionally used for bobsleighs.

As a major Partner in Sport of the Netherlands Olympic Committee/Netherlands Sport Confederation NOC*NSF, DSM has been closely involved in the preparations by the Dutch bobsleigh team in the run-up to the Olympic Games. The innovations that could be made available to the two-man and four-man bobsleighs have been decided in close collaboration over the last few months. In doing so DSM has worked together closely with the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO).

Vibration dampers

An important factor in achieving the fastest time in bobsleighing is the stability of the bobsleigh on the track. This depends on the input of the bobsleighers and on the dynamic properties of the bobsleigh. The sleigh rests on runners that are cushioned by vibration dampers, which improve the handling. These dampers were traditionally made from rubber, and the damping effect was therefore heavily dependent on the outside temperature: the lower the temperature, the colder and harder the rubber and the less effective the damping.

In collaboration with TNO, DSM has now developed vibration dampers that provide a constant level of damping at different temperatures. This leads to a 40% reduction in vibrations, so that the sleigh sits more firmly on the track. In addition the bobsleighers no longer have to keep adapting the material to the outside temperature.

Ilse Broeders, one of the pilots of the Dutch bobsleigh teams, is highly satisfied with this new innovation for the bobsleigh: “We have tested the vibration dampers extensively. It's nice to know that our impression that the DSM dampers were reducing the amount of vibration in the sleigh has now been confirmed by scientific measurements. These 'smart blocks’ on the runners of the sleigh are a good step on the road to success in Turin. "

Arnitel®

The innovative vibration dampers are made from the high performance material Arnitel®, a thermoplastic elastomer of DSM Engineering Plastics. A major advantage of Arnitel® is that its properties remain constant over a wide range of temperatures - in this case from -30 to +10 degrees Celsius.

TNO testing

On behalf of DSM, the Arnitel® vibration dampers were extensively tested at the end of December 2005 by TNO and the Dutch bobsleigh teams at the bobsleigh run in Altenberg (Germany). With the aid of acceleration recorders and a data recorder, two kinds of Arnitel® products were compared in various variants with the standard rubber material.

The tests revealed that the Arnitel® B damper with four teeth was the most effective for the twoman bobsleigh. In the case of the four-man bobsleigh, where the vibration dampers have to bear a greater weight, the Arnitel® B damper without teeth achieved the best results.