ADVANCED COMPOSITES LABORATORIES WILL DEVELOP AN IMPROVED MOUNTAINEERING SKI FOR MILITARY USE.

ADVANCED COMPOSITES LABORATORIES WILL DEVELOP AN IMPROVED MOUNTAINEERING SKI FOR MILITARY USE. WE WILL INCORPORATE THE BEST OF DOWNHILL SKI TECHNOLOGY WITH THE BEST OF TELE MARK AND MOUNTAINEERING SKI TECHNOLOGY TO PRODUCE A SKI FOR THE US MARINE CORPS WHICH WILL MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE MARINE CORPS TOICS N86-13. WE WILL USE ADVANCED COMPOSITE MATERIALS TO ALLOW US TO PROVIDE A HIGH PERFORMANCE SKI WITHTHE LIGHTEST POSSIBLE WEIGHT AND UNSURPASSABLE DURABILITY ACL WILL USE MODERN TECHNIQUES OF DYNAMIC MODAL ANALYSIS TO ASSIST US IN ACHIEVING THE DESIRED SKI DYNAMICS. WE WILL INVESTIGATE THE USE OF A VARIETY OF DYNAMIC TUNING SYSTEMS, INCLUDING ON-SKI TUNING POINTS, CENTER POINTS, CENTER RIBBEDSKI'S AND VIBRATION ABSORBING DAMPING SYSTEMS. ACL WILL ALSO DETERMINE WHICH BASE MATERIAL AND BASE PATTERN WILL MEET THE USMC REQUIREMENTS FOR A WAXLESS SKI. POSITIVE BASE PATTERNS, FIBRILLAR BASE PATTERNS AND NEGATIVE BASE PATTERN S WILL BEEVALUATED FOR NOISE, GRIP, GLIDE AND DURABILITY. IFCOMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE MATERIALS ARE NOT SUITABLE, WE WILL DEVELOP A SUITABLE BASE USING OUR ADVANCED POLYMER TECHNOLOGY. A SKI COMPATABLE WITH THE USMC VAPOR BARRIER BOOT WITH A LENGTH BETWEEN 140 AND180 CM WILL BE DESIGNED AND A PROPTOTYPE WILL BE FABRICATED AND TESTED.