Developing cutting-edge athletics tracks using FEM (Finite Element Method) simulation to combine traditional prototype-based design with virtual modeling, Mondo, a leader in the production of sports surfaces, has launched a new era of athletics tracks.
A prefabricated athletics track has a very complex structure: its upper layer ensures optimal contact between shoes and the surface, along with water drainage, while the lower layer, with a lower density so that it can be compressed, and with air cells with a specified geometric shape, accumulates and returns energy to the athlete. Choosing the right material for the upper layer and designing the shape of the lower air cells is essential to strike the best compromise: accumulating sufficient energy to prevent athlete injuries and reduce efforts on the joints, and supporting the athletic movement so that energy is returned to the athlete in the ideal way and time for optimal execution of their performance.
Analyzing compounds, thickness, shape, and geometry of the air cells with traditional methods is impossible; and validating the prototype results is equally hard, as there is currently no parameter that can describe the track/athlete interaction, and even carrying out real-life tests with athletes means working with variable and subjective conditions. For this reason, resorting to FEM techniques was essential to simulate the prototypes and the athlete/track interaction, and consequently to reconstruct all the elements that occur during an athletic movement in a repeatable way.
With this approach, the models (which simplify reality) should behave just like the material they are simulating according to the technical aspects being analyzed; the models developed were initially validated by simulating characteristics such as force reduction and vertical deformation, which are essential to ensure the safety of athletics tracks. Refinement of the model made it possible to study how the material behaves under more complex stresses and the interaction between athlete and surface.
This study led to the selection of an elliptic air cell and to the development of a new track model: MONDOTRACK™ with ELLIPSE IMPULSE Technology.
The new substrate design, with elliptic geometric shapes, allows the track to react smoothly and dynamically to every step, jump, or throw, thus significantly improving the absorption and return of the energy generated by the athlete on the athletics track.
Mondo S.p.A., a leading producer of sports surfaces, has been working alongside the Milan Polytechnic Polymer Engineering Lab (PolyEngLab) for over eight years to develop cutting-edge athletics tracks. This partnership focuses on the use of the FEM (Finite Element Method) simulation, to combine traditional prototype-based design with virtual modeling: an innovative method that allows solving issues that couldn’t be overcome otherwise.
Through the research conducted with the Milan Polytechnic PolyEngLab, MONDOTRACK™ with ELLIPSE IMPULSE technology athletics track is designed to be softer yet more efficient in returning energy with a higher net value impulse value than in previous models.
This partnership generated several scientific articles and a patent for the shape of the track air cells.
In the future, Mondo and the Milan Polytechnic will continue exploring new formulas and geometries to further improve sports surfaces and increase athletic performance.