The Fluid Dynamics of Competitive Swimming

• Timothy Wei ^[1] ; Russell Mark ^[2] ; Sean Hutchison ^[3]
  1. [1] University of Nebraska
  2. [2] USA Swimming, Colorado
  3. [3] IKKOS, Seattle

  Mostrar afiliaciones +
• Localización: Annual review of fluid mechanics, ISSN 0066-4189, Nº. 46, 2014, págs. 547-565
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Nowhere in sport is performance so dependent on the interaction of the athlete with the surrounding medium than in competitive swimming. As a result, understanding (at least implicitly) and controlling (explicitly) the fluid dynamics of swimming are essential to earning a spot on the medal stand. This is an extremely complex, highly multidisciplinary problem with a broad spectrum of research approaches. This review attempts to provide a historical framework for the fluid dynamics–related aspects of human swimming research, principally conducted roughly over the past five decades, with an emphasis on the past 25 years. The literature is organized below to show a continuous integration of computational and experimental technologies into the sport. Illustrations from the authors' collaborations over a 10-year period, coupling the knowledge and experience of an elite-level coach, a lead biomechanician at USA Swimming, and an experimental fluid dynamicist, are intended to bring relevance and immediacy to the review.