Axiomatic Design of Bindings and Plates to Protect the ACL in Alpine Skiing and Reduce the Likelihood of Inadvertent Release

摘要

Grade III anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are the most common serious injury in alpine skiing. Nonetheless, most ski bindings are not designed to protect the ACL. Additionally, inadvertent release can be observed to occur frequently in some situations. This paper examines ski binding function using axiomatic design, with the intent of developing design strategies for ACL protection without increasing susceptibility to inadvertent release. A functional-physical, hierarchical decomposition of the upper-level ski binding design solution is developed. Both release and absorption systems are examined for their ability to satisfy the functional requirements. Concepts for injury prevention using energy- absorbing devices are introduced. This work shows that upper level design solutions can be developed for ski bindings that should protect the ACL, while faithfully transmitting control loads and avoiding inadvertent release. The concepts presented in this paper have not been field tested, and more research is needed to validate the concepts.