Improving rowing performance by adjusting oar blade size and angle

Bachelor thesis (2022)

Authors

Minh Tâm Kevin Tran Mechanical Engineering
M.D. Yang Mechanical Engineering
W.C.A.M. van Nieuwburg Mechanical Engineering
B.J.J. van Spreuwel Mechanical Engineering

Contributors

M.J. Tummers Fluid Mechanics - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering (supervisor 1)
J. Westerweel Fluid Mechanics - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering (supervisor 1)
G. Mulder Support Process and Energy (supervisor 1)
Faculty
Mechanical Engineering
Copyright: © 2022 Minh Tâm Kevin Tran, Ming Da Yang, William van Nieuwburg, Bram van Spreuwel
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Published Date

16-06-2022

Language

English

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Faculty

Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

A 1:5 scaled rowing boat had been designed by a previous research group to determine the performance of rowing blades with different sizes and blade angles. In this research modifications were done to allow more control of the rowing motion. The aim of this study is to assess whether an angled oar blade can reach faster speeds with the same input power. This is done by collecting data with force and position sensors. With the collected data, the input power and speed of the rowing boat can be compared between several modified oar blades. The results of the tests in the towing tank show that it is very likely that the rowing boat can go faster with the same input power by adjusting the oar blade angle.