How can we help cyclists and rowers go faster? Part of the answer lies in the flow of air and water around the athletes and their equipment. Optimising this aspect is currently done mostly by trial and error.
Researchers will follow a more scientific approach by investigating the aerodynamics of cycling and the hydrodynamics of rowing. To this end, they will push the main flow-studying technique from small lab scales to large realistic scales. This will give athletes a leading edge and uncover fundamental insights of relevance to for example wind energy and maritime technologies.
The Open Technology Programme, funded by 5,4 million Euros, provides funding for excellent research, with a view to potential application of the results. The programme gives companies and other organizations a low-threshold way to join scientific research that should lead to applicable knowledge.
Together with the group of Prof. Jerry Westerweel and Prof. Andrea Sciacchitano (https://www.tudelft.nl/staff/a.sciacchitano/) at the TU Delft faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, to advance the Particle Image Velocimetry technique for the study of the aerodynamics around moving and morphing bodies, FlowMotion will add its expertise in fluid dynamics and its CFD capacities.
