Snowmobile racing, also known as "luge", is a kind of ice track sliding sport that can be ridden and steered in the direction of the Winter Olympic Games. The speed is fast, the game is difficult, and it is very watchable. In September 2021, the first domestic snowmobile developed and manufactured by China Aerospace Science and Technology Group and China FAW was launched, ending the long history of snowmobile equipment monopoly by foreign brands.
Explore the Chinese-made snowmobile together
This is the snowmobile, with no wheels, no steering wheel, and its power comes from the initial speed and gravity of the start. Don't underestimate it, the top speed of the snowmobile in the race can exceed 160 kilometers per hour.
Snowmobiles were officially listed as Winter Olympics in 1924, but China started late, and in 2016 China established its own snowmobile national team, and snowmobile equipment was all dependent on imports. In March 2021, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and China FAW undertook the task of developing domestic snowmobiles.
Li Yao, chassis designer of China FAW R&D Institute: About the performance requirements of this car, the engineering goals, the final effect achieved, how to verify its strength, its reliability (at that time) these are all zero.
The structural engineers and performance engineers of FAW R&D Institute conducted as many as 11 special interviews with more than 20 coaches and athletes of the Chinese snow racing team, and finally decomposed 46 functional requirements and 26 performance requirements. During the production process, every detail needs to be repeatedly considered.
Li Yao, chassis designer of China FAW R&D Institute: For example, the ice knife has a pitch angle, at the beginning we referred to the standard of the International Snowmobile Federation, we set a (swing) angle of plus or minus 3 degrees, in fact, the athletes felt that this angle was too small during use, because the International Snowmobile Federation standard set a lower limit, after the athlete's suggestion, we set this angle as (plus or minus) 6 degrees, so that the athletes feel that they can meet their use needs.
The R&D personnel introduced the design concept of automobile dynamics into the design of the snowmobile, and calculated the parameters such as the best steering inclination angle and the steering stiffness of the intermediate shaft, providing good handling and sensitivity for athletes to compete.
Sun Jiande: Try to sit in the position of the snowmobile helmsman, the intuitive feeling is that the space in the entire cabin is very narrow, people are tightly wrapped in it, only the limbs of the hands can move freely, it can be imagined that the athletes travel at a speed of more than 100 kilometers during the race, and the stability of the body and the safety of the body are crucial to ensuring the personal safety of the athletes.
The body is made of high-tech materials from the aerospace sector
In snowmobile racing, when the players glide around the corner, the pressure they bear is 5 to 6 times that of their own gravity, close to the limit of the human body, and the requirements for the safety and reliability of the snowmobile are raised to the highest level. In particular, the body is made of high-tech materials in the aerospace field.
Li Yao, chassis designer of China FAW R&D Institute: This snowmobile shell is made of carbon fiber composite materials, which were first applied to the aerospace field, its main feature is that the strength is particularly high, while the weight is particularly light, this carbon fiber strength can achieve the strength of automotive body steel, but its weight is only one-tenth of the same volume of steel.
The R&D team has mastered more than 20 key technologies
In September 2021, the first domestic 2-person snowmobile and 4-person snowmobile were publicly unveiled and officially delivered to the Winter Games Center of the State General Administration of Sport.
After testing, the wind resistance coefficient of domestic snowmobiles is 5% lower than that of imported similar snowmobiles, and the speed is increased by 3%. At present, the R&D team has mastered more than 20 key technologies in the field of snowmobile manufacturing such as vehicles, body, steering, and braking. I believe that in the near future, we will be able to see the domestic snowmobile galloping figure on the field.