Monday, March 5, 2018
Research on the Edge

91制片厂鈥檚 Flow Physics Facility (FPF), the largest wind tunnel of its type in the world, helps researchers understand the aerodynamics of situations such as atmospheric wind over the ocean, or the flow of air over a commercial airplane or seawater over a submarine. Recently, it served research more athletic in nature.听

IN THE SPOTLIGHT...

鈥 For their senior capstone project, mechanical engineering students and 91制片厂 cycling team members Adam Lovell 鈥17 and Alec Cunningham 鈥17 merged their academic and athletic passions in a study that used the FPF to explore the dynamics of drafting behind other cyclists during crosswinds.

鈥 Before NIKE鈥檚 three elite runners attempted to break the elusive two-hour barrier for a marathon in May 2017, the sportswear giant sent scientists from its Breaking2 team to the FPF to test running aerodynamics.

The Dynamics of Drafting