Clarkson hopes to engineer better sled for U.S.

POTSDAM — When the American luge team goes to Russia for the Winter Olympics in 2014, it will be sliding on sleds designed by Clarkson University professors.

The team has been working with a sled for only a few weeks, but over the course of the next few years, it plans to make a few changes to the current design to make the thin slabs of plastic more aerodynamic.

"It is a piece of plastic, but it's the shape that matters," said Douglas Bohl, professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering. "It's how the air responds; it's an interaction. The air is flowing and the air is going to interact with the ice, the sled and the person. You want to shape it right."

Bohl and Brian Helenbrook, also a professor in the mechanical and aeronautical engineering department, signed an agreement with the U.S. luge team in September to work on improving its sled design.

In luge, an athlete lies on his back, steering the sled with his legs. The sled must weigh 46 to 55 pounds, be no wider than about 20 inches and rise no higher than about 5 inches at its thickest point, Bohl said.

Despite its specific measurement requirements and small size, there are manipulations and alterations that can be made to the various curves of the sled. He would not give specifics, saying the sport is too competitive to give away ideas.

None of Clarkson's researchers is being paid for the work they will do during the next few years. Other types of compensation have not been discussed with the American team, Bohl said.

"They don't have a lot of resources," he said. "Luge is not a well-known sport in the U.S. The Germans are different; they have a lot of money so they can hire engineers and they have trucks of equipment. What the U.S. gets is a couple of professors and an undergrad student who are willing to work for free."

At Clarkson, the research team will put a sled, given to it by the national team, in its wind tunnel and begin calculating ways to improve its shape. The professors hope to bring a design to California this summer, where a bigger wind tunnel can fit a person on the sled inside it. That will allow them to see how the sled works with the athlete.

Bohl is not a practiced slider; he started the sport only this winter. His son, Bailey, has been doing it for years at the track on Lake Placid. There, watching his son practice, Bohl met Duncan Kennedy and Mark Grimmette, both of whom are retired sliders who competed in the Olympics, and started talking about sled designs.

"I've met these guys and I know them. I'd like to see them do well. They're fun to be around," Bohl said. "This is just fun and we get to do something cool for the country. It's a nice chance for the universities to give back."