Alternative Skateboard Material Group J

1. 1
December 4, 2017
Alternative Skateboard
Material
Team J:
Zachary Abuid
Victoria De Bacco
Lars Frederiksen
Valentina Serrano
Krys Terreri

2. 2
Physics and Mechanics
● A skateboard is made of three components: the deck, the wheels and the truck which is a metal part that
attaches the wheels to the deck. The deck of a skateboard is most commonly made of wood (usually
maple).
○ Possible alternatives to wood include composites, plexiglass, fiberglass, aluminum and nylon.
● We would like to determine if there is a material that has better material properties than wood, such as
yield strength and density, and we would like to take into account the price to manufacture such a
material.
○ Thus, one merit index we would like to maximize is yield strength and one merit index we would
like to minimize is density.

3. 3
Merit Index Derivation and
Ashby Methods
Function - Skateboard material alternative that
will provide skaters with more
balance and speed.
Constraints - Must not fail by Yielding
- Length of skateboard L
- Diameter of Skateboard D (or 2R)
- Therefore, Aspect Ratio Q = 2R/L
Objectives - Minimize mass m
- Minimize Material Cost C
Free Variables - Choice of Material
- Wall thickness t

4. 4
Material Properties
Material Density 𝜌 Yield Strength 𝜎y Cost/kg Cm
Wood (Maple) 0.675 Mg/m^3 109 MPa ~$13 per kg
Plexiglass 1.18 Mg/m^3 80 MPa ~$35 per kg
Fiberglass 2.05 Mg/m^3 206.8 MPa ~$5.5 per kg
Aluminum alloys 2.7 Mg/m^3 276 MPa ~$2.2 per kg
Nylon 1.14 Mg/m^3 90 MPa ~$3.8 per kg
CFRP 1.6 Mg/m^3 110 Mpa ~$65 per kg
Lead 11.3 Mg/m^3 18 Mpa ~$1 per kg

5. 5
Fuzzy Logic and FEA
• Fuzzy Logic
• FEA

6. 6
References
Acknowledgements
Dr. Tanil Ozkan
1. Quilty-Harper, Conrad. “The World’s Fattest Countries: How Do You
Compare?” The Telegraph. December 2, 2017. Web. December 3, 2017.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/9345086/The-worlds-
fattest-countries-how-do-you-compare.html
1. Store your Board. “Skateboard Deck Materials.” Storeyourboard.com. Web.
December 3, 2017.
https://www.storeyourboard.com/skateboard-deck-materials.html
1. “Skateboard.” How Products Are Made. Advameg, Inc. 2017. Web. December
3, 2017
www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Skateboard.html.
1. “Material Seletion Charts.” Material Selection Charts,
http://www-materials.eng.cam.ac.uk/mpsite/interactive_charts/
1. “Chemical Composition and Properties of Aluminum Alloys.” United
Aluminum, www.unitedaluminum.com/chemical-composition-and-properties-
of-aluminum-alloys/.
2. “PHYSICAL PROPERTIES: PLEXIGLAS® G SHEET.” Plexiglass
Properties - Typical Physical Properties of cast Plexiglas G acrylic sheet,
www.eplastics.com/Plastic/plastics_library/TYPICAL-PHYSICAL-
PROPERTIES-PLEXIGLASS-SHEET
3. “Patent US6648363 - Composite sports board such as a skateboard deck.”
Google Patents, Google, www.google.com/patents/US6648363