Analysis of crosswind aerodynamics for competitive handcycling

[en] Competitive hand-cycling represents a unique case for cycling aerodynamics as the athletes are in a relatively aerodynamic position in comparison to traditional able-bodied cyclists. There are some aerodynamic similarities between both cycling disciplines, including wheel designs and helmets. The lack of research in hand-cycling aerodynamics presents the potential for significant improvements. This research analysed the aerodynamics of competitive hand-cycling under crosswind conditions using wind-tunnel experiments and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. A range of yaw angles from 0° to 20° in 5° increments were investigated for two separate hand-cycling setups; a road race and a time-trial setup. A maximum drag increase of 14.1% was found from 0° to 15° yaw, for a hand-cyclist equipped for a road race. The three disk wheels used for the TT setup had a large impact on the lateral forces experienced by the TT hand-cyclist. At just 5° yaw and at 15 m/s, the drag and lateral forces for the TT setup matched closely, while this event did not occur until 15° yaw at the same velocity for the road setup. For 20° yaw, the ratio of the lateral force to drag force was 1.6 and 5.6 for the road and TT setups respectively.

Disciplines :

Mechanical engineering
Aerospace & aeronautics engineering

Author, co-author :

Mannion, Paul

Toparlar, Yasin

Blocken, Bert

Eghan, Clifford

Andrianne, Thomas ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'aérospatiale et mécanique > Interactions Fluide-Structure - Aérodynamique expérimentale

Hajdukiewicz, Magdalena

Language :

English

Title :

Analysis of crosswind aerodynamics for competitive handcycling

Publication date :

September 2018

Journal title :

Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics

ISSN :

0167-6105

eISSN :

1872-8197

Publisher :

Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Volume :

180

Pages :

182-190

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Available on ORBi :

since 03 December 2018

Statistics

Number of views

48 (2 by ULiège)

Number of downloads

2 (2 by ULiège)

More statistics

Scopus citations^®

Scopus citations^®
without self-citations

OpenCitations

OpenAlex citations

Bibliography

ANSYS Fluent, ANSYS Fluent Theory Guide. Release 16.1 Documentation. 2015, ANSYS Inc.
ATI Industrial Automation, F/T Sensor Delta. 2018 Retrieved April 04, 2018, from www.ati-ia.com/app_content/Documents/9230-05-1330.auto.pdf.
Barlow, J.B., Rae, W.H., Pope, A., Low-speed Wind Tunnel Testing, third ed., 1999, John Wiley & Sons.
Barry, N., Burton, D., Crouch, T., Sheridan, J., Luescher, R., Effect of crosswinds and wheel selection on the aerodynamic behavior of a cyclist. 9th Conference of the International Sports Engineering Association, Procedia Eng, 34, 2012, 20–25 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2012.04.005.
Blocken, B., 50 years of computational wind engineering: past, present and future. J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerod. 129 (2014), 69–102 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2014.03.008.
Blocken, B., Computational Fluid Dynamics for urban physics: importance, scales, possibilities, limitations and ten tips and tricks towards accurate and reliable simulations. Build. Environ. 91 (2015), 219–245 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.02.015.
Blocken, B., Toparlar, Y., A following car influences cyclist drag: CFD simulations and wind tunnel measurements. J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerod. 145:0 (2015), 178–186 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2015.06.015.
Blocken, B., Toparlar, Y., Andrianne, T., Aerodynamic benefit for a cyclist by a following motorcycle. J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerod. 155 (2016), 1–10 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2016.04.008.
Crouch, T.N., Burton, D., LaBry, Z.A., Blair, K.B., Riding against the wind: a review of competition cycling aerodynamics. Sports Eng. 20:2 (2017), 81–110 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12283-017-0234-1.
Defraeye, T., Blocken, B., Koninckx, E., Hespel, P., Carmeliet, J., Aerodynamic study of different cyclist positions: CFD analysis and full-scale wind-tunnel tests. J. Biomech. 43:7 (2010), 1262–1268 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2010.01.025.
Defraeye, T., Blocken, B., Koninckx, E., Hespel, P., Carmeliet, J., Computational fluid dynamics analysis of cyclist aerodynamics: performance of different turbulence-modelling and boundary-layer modelling approaches. J. Biomech. 43:12 (2010), 2281–2287 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2010.04.038.
Fintelman, D.M., Sterling, M., Hemida, H., Li, F.-X., The effect of crosswinds on cyclists: an experimental study. The 2014 Conference of the International Sports Engineering Association, Procedia Eng, 72, 2014, 720–725 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2014.06.122.
Fintelman, D.M., Hemida, H., Sterling, M., Li, F.-X., CFD simulations of the flow around a cyclist subjected to crosswinds. J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerod. 144 (2015), 31–41 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2015.05.009.
Fintelman, D.M., Sterling, M., Hemida, H., Li, F.-X., The effect of time trial cycling position on physiological and aerodynamic variables. J. Sports Sci. 414 (2015), 1–8 April 2015 https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2015.1009936.
Franke, J., Hellsten, A., Schlünzen, H., Carissimo, B., The best practise guideline for the CFD simulation of flows in the Urban Environment: an outcome of COST 732. The Fifth International Symposium on Computational Wind Engineering, 2010, 1–10 CWE2010.
García-López, J., Rodríguez-Marroyo, J.A., Juneau, C.-E., Peleteiro, J., Martínez, A.C., Villa, J.G., Reference values and improvement of aerodynamic drag in professional cyclists. J. Sports Sci. 26:3 (2008), 277–286 https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410701501697.
Godo, M., Corson, D., Legensky, S., A Comparative Aerodynamic Study of Commercial Bicycle Wheels Using CFD. 2010, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 2010-1431.
Griffith, M.D., Crouch, T., Thompson, M.C., Burton, D., Sheridan, J., Computational fluid dynamics study of the effect of leg Position on cyclist aerodynamic drag. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. J. Fluid Eng., 136, 2014 https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4027428.
Haake, S.J., The impact of technology on sporting performance in Olympic sports. J. Sports Sci. 27:13 (2009), 1421–1431 https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410903062019.
Mannion, P., Toparlar, Y., Blocken, B., Hajdukiewicz, M., Andrianne, T., Clifford, E., Improving CFD prediction of drag on Paralympic tandem athletes: influence of grid resolution and turbulence model. Sports Eng. 21:2 (2018), 123–135 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12283-017-0258-6.
Menter, F.R., Two-equation eddy-viscosity turbulence models for engineering applications. AIAA J. 32:8 (1994), 1598–1605 https://doi.org/10.2514/3.12149.
Roache, P.J., Quantification of uncertainty in computational fluid dynamics. Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 29 (1997), 123–160 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.fluid.29.1.123.
Spalart, P., Allmaras, S., A one-equation turbulence model for aerodynamic flows. 30th Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1992 https://doi.org/10.2514/6.1992-439.
Tew, G.S., Sayers, a. T., Aerodynamics of yawed racing cycle wheels. J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerod. 82:1 (1999), 209–222 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-6105(99)00034-3.
Thorn, A., Blockage Corrections in a High Speed Wind Tunnel. ARC R&M 2033. 1943.
Tominaga, Y., Mochida, A., Yoshie, R., Kataoka, H., Nozu, T., Yoshikawa, M., Shirasawa, T., AIJ guidelines for practical applications of CFD to pedestrian wind environment around buildings. J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerod. 96:10–11 (2008), 1749–1761 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2008.02.058.
UCI, Cycling Regulations, Part 16 Para-Cycling. Internationale Union Cycliste. 2017 Retrieved from http://www.uci.ch/mm/Document/News/Rulesandregulation/16/26/73/16han-E_English.PDF.