Testing of the drag reduction mechanism of skinsuit materials for design

在许多以速度为基础的运动中，比如自行车，空气动力阻力对运动员在长耐力比赛或短高速比赛中达到的速度起着限制作用。KQS公司是一家专业从事高性能运动器材的合同设计和工程公司，总部位于安大略省多伦多。这项由约克大学、多伦多大学和KQS公司的研究人员合作的研究项目的目标是建立一套设计标准，通过减少阻力来提高优秀公路自行车运动员的空气动力学性能。技术改进将进一步支持加拿大在创新运动装备方面的记录，这对加拿大经济具有重要意义。该项目将采用实验方法来测量阻力和相应的流动拓扑结构，该模型具有基于纺织品的表面粗糙度和流动起下钻（使用螺纹接缝），以确定可能的相互作用，以增强减阻。直接力测量与流场测量相结合将使用粒子图像测速法来建立有关发生的潜在物理机制的知识。除了现有的简单或规则的粗糙度和起下钻几何知识外，还将对粗糙度拓扑结构和接缝几何形状进行参数化研究，以更好地理解减阻机制。这一知识将反过来用于优化运动员的服装，在流动分离可能会延迟的地区，以提高空气动力学性能。

In many speed-based sports, such as cycling, aerodynamic drag plays a limiting role in the achievable speed of the athlete over long endurance races or short high-speed events. KQS Inc. is a contract design and engineering company specializing in high-performance sport equipment and is based in Toronto, Ontario. The goal of this collaborative research project between researchers at York University, the University of Toronto and KQS Inc. is to establish design criteria for skinsuits to leverage possible aerodynamic performance enhancements of elite road-cycling athletes by the reduction of drag force. The technological improvements will further support the Canadian track record in innovative sports equipment, which is significant to the Canadian economy. This project will take an experimental approach to the measurement of drag forces and corresponding flow topologies over a model geometry with textile-based surface roughness and flow trips (using threaded seams) to determine possible interaction for enhanced drag reduction. Direct force measurements in conjunction with measurements of the flow field will using particle image velocimetry will be used to build knowledge on the underlying physical mechanisms occurring. A parametric investigation of roughness topology and seam geometry will be performed to support analysis aimed at better understanding the drag reduction mechanism beyond existing knowledge of simple or regular roughness and trip geometries. This knowledge will in turn be leveraged for optimization of athlete skinsuits in regions where flow separation may be delayed for improving aerodynamic performance.