Drafting Effect in Cycling: On-Site Aerodynamic Investigation by the ‘Ring of Fire'

An on-site Ring of Fire (RoF) experiment is performed at the Tom Dumoulin bike park in Sittard-Geleen, the Netherlands. The current work investigates the aerodynamic drag of a cyclist following a lead cyclist at different lateral and longitudinal separations; additionally, the athletes’ skills to maintain their position and distance with respect...

A Novel Approach for Skin Suit Aerodynamic Optimization Using Local Momentum Deficit

A new approach is introduced to evaluate the potential drag reduction by skin suit design in speed sport. The approach relies upon local flow information measured in the wake of a cyclist mannequin. Lagrangian Particle Tracking is employed to measure the distribution of time-average streamwise velocity in a cross-plane of 30 × 100 cm2 behind the...

The Ring of Fire for in-Field Sport Aerodynamic Investigation

A novel measurement system, the Ring of Fire, is deployed which enables the aerodynamic drag estimation of transiting cyclists. The system relies upon the use of large-scale stereoscopic PIV and the conservation of momentum within a control volume in a frame of reference moving with the athlete. The rider cycles at a velocity of approximately 8...

Drag Analysis from PIV Data in Speed Sports

Aerodynamic drag is computed from velocity measurements obtained with particle image velocimetry (PIV). This allows determining the drag force in combination with the visualization of the flow structures responsible for drag generation. Two experiments are conducted to illustrate the working principle of the approach, which is meant for...