The gliding phase in swimming: the effect of water depth

• Author(s): Marinho, D.A. ; Barbosa, Tiago M. ; Mantripragada, N. ; Vilas-Boas, J.P. ; Rouard, A. ; Mantha, V. ; Rouboa, A. ; Silva, A.J.
• Date: 2010
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10198/3571
• Origin: Biblioteca Digital do IPB
• Subject(s): CFD; Hydrodynamics; Simulation; Human model
• Document Type: Conference Object
• Language: English

Description

The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of depth on drag during the underwater gliding. CFD simulations were applied to the flow around a 3D model of a male adult swimmer in a prone gliding position with the arms extended at the front. The domain to perform the simulations was created with 3.0 m depth, 3.0 m width and 11.0 m length. The drag coefficient and the hydrodynamic drag force were computed, using a steady flow velocity of 2.50 m/s for depths of 0.20, 0.50, 1.0, 1.50, 2.01 2.50 and 2.80 m. As the depth increased, the drag coefficient and drag force decreased. The water depth seems to have a positive effect on reducing hydrodynamic drag during the gliding after starts and turns, although a compromise between decreasing drag (by increasing water depth) and gliding travel distance should be a main concern of swimmers.