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Flow field interactions between two tandem cyclists

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Abstract

Aerodynamic drag is the primary resistive force acting on cyclists at racing speeds. Many events involve cyclists travelling in very close proximity. Previous studies have shown that interactions result in significant drag reductions for inline cyclists. However, the interaction between cyclist leg position (pedalling) and the vortical flow structures that contribute significantly to the drag on an isolated cyclist has not previously been quantified or described for tandem cyclists of varying separation. To this end, scale model cyclists were constructed for testing in a water channel for inline tandem configurations. Particle image velocimetry was used to capture time-averaged velocity fields around two tandem cyclists. Perhaps surprisingly, the wake of a trailing cyclist maintains strong similarity to the characteristic wake of a single cyclist despite a significant disturbance to the upstream flow. Together with streamwise velocity measurements through the wake and upstream of the trailing cyclist, this work supports previous findings, which showed that the trailing cyclist drag reduction is primarily due to upstream sheltering effects reducing the stagnation pressure on forward-facing surfaces.

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Acknowledgement

This work was conducted with the support of the Australian Institute of Sport under Australian Research Council Linkage Project 2011003347 and the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Nathan Barry, David Burton, John Sheridan & Mark Thompson

  2. Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Belconnen, ACT, 2617, Australia

    Nicholas A. T. Brown

Authors
  1. Nathan Barry
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  2. David Burton
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  3. John Sheridan
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  4. Mark Thompson
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  5. Nicholas A. T. Brown
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nathan Barry.

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Barry, N., Burton, D., Sheridan, J. et al. Flow field interactions between two tandem cyclists. Exp Fluids 57, 181 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-016-2273-y

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