Vekoma Rides Manufacturing B.V. is a market leader in the global  amusement industry in the design and manufacture of family coasters, thrill  coasters, and family attractions. Boasting a wide product range, Vekoma is  responsible for such all-time favourites as the Boomerang, the Invertigo, the  Suspended Looping Coaster, and the Junior Coaster. Vekoma's latest  developments, the LSM coaster, the Flying Dutchman, the Giant Inverted  Boomerang, the Suspended Family Coaster, and the Tilt Coaster, are driving  the roller coaster industry of the future by setting new standards for quality  and innovation.   A roller coaster is essentially a gravity-powered train.  When the train is pulled up the first hill, gravitational  potential energy is transferred to the train. Once the train begins to descend, the gravitational  potential energy gets transferred to kinetic energy, the energy of motion. During the ride, there  is a continuous conversion of energy back and forth between the two forms, but gradually  energy is lost to friction and air resistance, and the latter can affect the speed and length of  the ride. As modern roller coasters become faster and the rides longer, the structures increase  in size. Because wind conditions are often more severe  at greater heights, wind loading is particularly  noticeable on taller roller coasters. To account for high  speeds and wind loading, aerodynamics must be an  essential part in the design of a modern roller coaster.  Vekoma has sought the assistance of FlowMotion for  the optimization of their High Speed Suspended Looping Coaster Train. Using  Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) the airflow around the carriages including  occupants was simulated for several wind speeds and directions.  The CFD simulations indicated that the size and shape of the wake behind the  leading carriage is critical for the overall aerodynamic drag of the train. While  extensive streamlining of the first carriage may reduce its wake, it can also  lead to more exposure of the second carriage to the undisturbed wind,  resulting in a higher overall drag.   Also, in high speed twisting parts of the track, the drag is increased  considerably when the individual two-seat carriages fan out and more frontal  area of the train is exposed to the wind. Based on the CFD results, a redesign  of the seat shape was done that balanced the operating requirements and  resulted in a significant performance improvement.   Offices: The Netherlands Leeghwaterstraat 21 2628 CA Delft Tel.: +31 15 278 2907 Germany Weenermoorer Str. 193 26826 Weener Tel.: +49 4953 922 969 Consultancy for Heat Transfer and Fluid Dynamics CFD makes fluid dynamics visible. ANSYS Looping in computers Drag minmization for a roller coaster We solve every Flow problem. Huisman-Itrec/Vekoma www.vekoma.nl wake behind the roller-coaster static pressure