Sled Hockey Design Challenge
Students are tasked with designing a special type of hockey stick for a sled hockey team—a sport designed for individuals with physical disabilities to play ice hockey. Using the engineering design process, students act as material engineers to create durable hockey sticks using a variety of materials. The stick designs will contain different interior structures that can hold up during flexure (or bending) tests. Following flexure testing, the students can use their results to iterate upon their design and create a second stick.
A materials engineering challenge: build a prototype stick for a sled hockey player!Copyright Wikimedia Commons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sledge_hockey#/media/File:Sledge_hockey_player.jpg
A materials engineer researches, designs, and builds new materials used to in a variety of consumer and industrial products. Along with analyzing the structure of a particular material, these engineers develop different designs based on the properties of a material. Materials engineers are employed in a wide range of industries: they may develop prosthetics for medical companies while closely following safety guidelines; design composite structures for use in aerospace; invent clothing that is lighter, warmer, and more breathable for athletes; or create sustainable materials that are eventually used in architecture. This activity challenges students to take on the role of a materials engineer in order to design, test, and redesign a sled hockey stick based on the materials and structures that can withstand the most weight.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Apply geometric methods to solve design problems.
- Test tension and flexure on designed materials.
- Identify forces and their role in testing.
- Implement the engineering design process throughout this activity.