History, philosophy, and value of mechanical models in sports science and engineering

This article is giving an introduction to JSET’s special section on mechanical models. It explains why mechanical models represent essential tools in sports engineering, defines their potential application fields and proposes a possible categorization. Further two short examples of mechanical models with corresponding literature and an overview of the manuscripts included in this special section are given.

Use of Video for Teaching Sports Mechanics

There is a shortage of young people studying physics and engineering and these professions could benefit from greater diversity. Sports engineering is often used as a tool to change the public perceptions of engineering and sporting examples can be used in physics and engineering classes to engage people. Video analysis is widely used by sports engineers, and this publication showcases how the video analysis of sporting scenarios can be used to teach mechanics. Examples illustrate how the movement of an athlete and equipment can be analysed and linked to basic physics, for sports ranging from sumo to soccer. The examples presented can be used for teaching and outreach, with a view to enthuse students about physics and engineering.

How to Assess Repeatability and Reproducibility of a Mechanical Test? An Example for Sports Engineers

Several sources of variation can affect the performance of a mechanical test. Hence, the measurement system performance should be assessed. The gage repeatability and reproducibility study is a method used to assess and quantify the variation of a mechanical test. Since it seems that this method has not yet found its way into the field of sports engineering, this paper promotes its application by demonstrating a practical example based on a current problem in sports shoe development. In detail, a novel mechanical simulation to determine the forefoot bending stiffness of athletic footwear during plantar flexion movement was developed and its quality assessed. The ANOVA Gage R&R study was performed based on 64 randomized trials of eight footwear samples assessed by two appraisers. The mechanical test was evaluated as acceptable for the desired application and the resolution was quantified to be 0.04 Nm/°.

The 13th Conference of the International Sports Engineering Association (ISEA 2020)

Every second year, the International Sports Engineering Association (ISEA) conducts a conference somewhere around the world. [...]

The Steel Bicycle Project: Bringing Together Tube Manufacturers, Frame Builders, and Engineers through Sports Engineering

Steel, being the most commonly used bicycle frame material, has a major role to play in future developments within the bicycle industry, and there is scope to enhance the role of engineering in the development of steel bicycles. This paper introduces The Steel Bicycle Project (TSBP), an open-ended project which aims to raise awareness of engineering principles that relate to steel bicycle frames and aims to support frame builders in designing and fabricating better and safer products. In this paper, we give details of the main project themes (Design and simulation, Materials and fabrication, Testing and measurements, Knowledge and education) and outcomes. We also present some initial activities from the early stages of the project and will discuss general models to bring together key partners under the umbrella of the sports engineering community.