Aerodynamic drag in competitive tandem para-cycling: Road race versus time-trial positions

Mannion, Paul; Toparlar, Yasin; Blocken, Bje Bert; Clifford, Eoghan; Andrianne, Thomas; Hajdukiewicz, Magdalena

doi:10.1016/j.jweia.2018.05.011

Cited by 26 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…This was primarily attributed to the turbulence modelling within RANS simulations. The SST k-x (Menter 1994) turbulence model was used for this research, as it has been found to provide reasonable aerodynamic force predictions in other cycling applications (Defraeye 2010;Mannion et al 2018aMannion et al , 2018b. Mannion et al (2018c) showed that the Spalart-Allmaras (Spalart and Allmaras 1992) turbulence model underestimated the drag of a handcyclist in yaw conditions by comparison to the SST k-x.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The 3 D RANS equations were solved, in line with previous CFD studies in cycling aerodynamics (Blocken 2014;Crouch et al 2017), using ANSYS Fluent 16 (ANSYS Fluent 2015 and the SST k-x (Menter 1994) turbulence model for closure, which has also been found to be suitable for solo cycling (Defraeye et al 2010) and tandem cycling (Mannion et al 2018a(Mannion et al , 2018b aerodynamics. Gradients were computed using the Least Squares Cell Based method (ANSYS Fluent 2015), and the Coupled algorithm was used for pressure-velocity coupling, with the use of the pseudo-transient implicit under-relaxation method; a pseudo time-step size of 0.01 s used, and drag values were averaged over 4000 pseudo-time steps.…”

Section: Cfd Simulations: Settings and Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The impact of arm-crank position on the drag of a paralympic hand-cyclist

Mannion

Toparlar

Clifford

et al. 2019

Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering

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The aerodynamic features associated with the rotation of a cyclist's legs have long been a research topic for sport scientists and engineers, with studies in recent years shedding new light on the flow structures and drag trends. While the arm-crank rotation cycle of a hand-cyclist bears some resemblance to the leg rotation of a traditional cyclist, the aerodynamics around the athlete are fundamentally different due to the proximity and position of the athlete's torso with respect to their arms, especially since both arm-cranks move in phase with each other. This research investigates the impact of arm-crank position on the drag acting on a hand-cyclist and is applied to a hill descent position where the athlete is not pedalling. Four primary arm-crank positions, namely 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock of a Paralympic hand-cyclist were investigated with CFD for five yaw angles, namely 0 , 5 , 10 , 15 , and 20 . The results demonstrated that the 3 and 12 o'clock positions (when observed from the left side of the hand-cyclist) yielded the highest drag area at 0 yaw, while the 9 o'clock position yielded the lowest drag area for all yaw angles. This is in contrast to the 6 o'clock position traditionally held by hand-cyclists during a descent to reduce aerodynamic drag. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cfd Simulations: Settings and Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of arm-crank position on the drag of a paralympic hand-cyclist

Mannion

Toparlar

Clifford

et al. 2019

Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering

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View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The previous CFD or wind-tunnel studies in cycling aerodynamics have focused on cyclists in different types of race or time trial positions, either isolated or followed by the other cyclists, motorcycles, or cars (e.g., [2-8, 12, 17-27]). Recent studies have also focused on paralympic tandem cycling [14,28], paralympic handcycling [29], and even on full cyclist pelotons [9]. However, to the best of our knowledge, no previous study specifically focused on the aerodynamics of sprint positions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

CFD analysis of an exceptional cyclist sprint position

et al. 2019

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A few riders have adopted a rather exceptional and more aerodynamic sprint position where the torso is held low and nearly horizontal and close to the handle bar to reduce the frontal area. The question arises how much aerodynamic benefit can be gained by such a position. This paper presents an aerodynamic analysis of both the regular and the low sprint position in comparison to three more common cycling positions. Computational fluid dynamics simulations are performed with the 3D RANS simulations and the transition SST k-ω model, validated with wind-tunnel measurements. The results are analyzed in terms of frontal area, drag coefficient, drag area, air speed and static pressure distribution, and static pressure coefficient and skin friction coefficient on the cyclist surfaces. It is shown that the drag area for the low sprint position is 24% lower than for the regular position, which renders the former 15% faster than the latter. This 24% improvement is not only the result of the 19% reduction in frontal area, but also caused by a reduction of 7% in drag coefficient due to the changed body position and the related changes in pressure distribution. Evidently, specific training is required to exert large power in the low sprint position.Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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“…The aerodynamics of both athletes, the pilot and the stoker, need to be optimised both individually and simultaneously for a collective drag reduction, while keeping the power output at an optimal level. Recent research has shown that the aerodynamics of each tandem athlete is highly dependent on the other athlete [20,21]. A supposed aerodynamic improvement to the pilot could have a negative effect on the stoker downstream, and thus a balance is required.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Competitive tandem para-cycling has received little attention in the literature by comparison to its able-bodied counterparts and tandem aerodynamics have only recently been investigated numerically and experimentally [20,21]. Mannion et al [20] demonstrated reliable numerical modelling of tandem aerodynamics requires careful grid generation and turbulence modelling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of pilot and stoker torso angles in tandem para-cycling aerodynamics

et al. 2019

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The torso angle of a cyclist is a key element to consider when attaining aerodynamic postures. For athletes competing in the tandem para-cycling category as the pilot or stoker, the torso angles are similar to those adopted by able-bodied athletes. However, their aerodynamic interaction is not yet fully understood. To date, there has been no study to identify aerodynamically advantageous torso angles for tandem athletes. In this study, numerical simulations with computational fluid dynamics and reduced-scale wind tunnel experiments were used to study the aerodynamics of tandem cyclists considering 23 different torso angle combinations. The sagittal torso angle combination of the pilot and stoker that yielded the lowest overall drag area of 0.308 m 2 (combined pilot, stoker and bicycle) was 25° for the pilot coupled with 20° for the stoker. The results suggest that higher torso angles for the pilot have a lower impact on the overall drag area than equivalent torso angles for the stoker. This study suggests that a slight relaxation of pilot torso angle (which may help increase power output) may not penalise aerodynamics, in low (< 25°) sagittal torso angle ranges.

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Aerodynamic drag in competitive tandem para-cycling: Road race versus time-trial positions

Cited by 26 publications

References 21 publications

The impact of arm-crank position on the drag of a paralympic hand-cyclist

The impact of arm-crank position on the drag of a paralympic hand-cyclist

CFD analysis of an exceptional cyclist sprint position

Impact of pilot and stoker torso angles in tandem para-cycling aerodynamics

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