Aerodynamic testing offers competitive edge for wheelchair racers

The testing took place at the Human-Flow Interactions Wind Tunnel at Manchester University, in partnership with RGK Wheelchairs, and focused on assessing the aerodynamic drag encountered by wheelchair racing athletes when moving.

In a statement, doctoral researcher Will Dixon said: “Our testing, which forms part of my PhD, involves the athlete in three different positions throughout their stroke cycle - the catch, release and recovery to see the different phases of drag. We're also assessing at different speeds to see what happens to the drag as the athlete goes faster or slower.

“We’re very lucky to have been given access to this full-scale wind tunnel as it allows us to validate the simulations I’ve been putting together at Loughborough, by giving us the opportunity to work alongside a Paralympics GB athlete in as realistic conditions as possible.”

Dixon’s supervisor Dr Dan Butcher, senior lecturer of Applied Fluid Mechanics at Loughborough, said: “A lot of the PhD work is based on computer simulation so it’s important that we validate these findings in real world conditions so we can better understand how the drag is impacting a real athlete in motion.

“What we're doing at Loughborough is quite different in that we have a 1/3 sized model which allows us to take long time measurements which just isn’t practical or realistic with a real athlete. By using these scale model 3D prints, we open a number of measurement options that wouldn't be possible with a real person – whether that’s using laser-based techniques or having an athlete hold one of the set positions for 20 or 30 minutes at a time.”

Dixon added: “We’ve been using two racing wheelchairs, provided by my PhD sponsors, RGK. They’re using my data to help manufacture their next generation of racing chair whilst I will be using it to create a mathematical model which we can use to inform athletes how they can change their drag area to be quicker over a certain distance. The hope is that these numbers can then be converted into those all-important marginal gains on race day.”

Timothy Carew, a knowledge exchange research Fellow in Applied Aerodynamics at Manchester University, said a wider aim is to diversify the capability of the tunnel to ensure it is generating impact away from the Olympic cycle and for other sporting applications.

“Collaboration is essential to strengthening our research impact, so we are making the facility open access and available to commercial partners as well as other higher education institutions,” he said.