Recent Research and Development of Snow Friction on Snowsports and Snow Wax

The friction resistance between snow and ski affects athletes’ score. Reducing the friction resistance will help to increase movement speed and improve ranking of athletes. The study of tribology of ice & snow surfaces is also helpful to reveal the water lubrication mechanism of ice and snow, as well as provide relevant research basis for design high performance ski and snow wax materials. So in this review, we started from the tribology and aqueous lubrication mechanism of ice & snow, and the influence factors, including environmental parameters (temperature and humidity), snow surface parameters (hardness & density, ice crystal size, pollutants), ski parameters (ski material, surface structure and roughness) and the use of ski wax, etc, that affect ice & snow friction were discussed. Then, the ski wax, the essential material in ski sport, was introduced in detailed. The function and classification of snow wax, the hazard of fluorinated wax to human and environment, the usage and waxing process of snow wax were discussed. And some ice &snow friction test equipment, including the online measure device in outdoor ski field and snow & ice friction tester in laboratory were introduced. Finally, some suggestions and prospects were put forward for the basic & applied research on the ice & snow friction and the development and application of snow wax materials.