All prior discussions have focused primarily on flows that are dominated by skin friction

drag. Flows that are dominated by the pressure, or form, component of drag are sometimes
referred to as bluff bodies. The flow around a cyclist’s torso, upper arms, and legs can be
described as bluff body type of flows. In these types of flows, the skin friction drag is
negligible since there are large regions of the flow on the leeward side (side of the body that is
downstream of the maximum point of thickness) that are separated. These separated regions
on bluff bodies are also referred to as wakes.

Figure 5. Separated flow about a cylinder – leeward side is to the right, windward to the left.

The leeward side of the body has a lower pressure than the windward side of the body. This
pressure differential results in a force that is directed against the direction of travel, thus, the
term “pressure drag”.

6.1 Velocity Profile in the Boundary Layer

The fundamental process that causes a wake to form is an adverse pressure gradient. The
boundary layer on a flat plate will never leave the surface and form a wake. A flat plate has no
pressure gradient to cause this to happen. However, a bluff body, such as a cyclist’s torso, has
definite, and severe, pressure gradients.

On the windward side of a bluff body (upstream of the point of maximum thickness) a favorable
pressure gradient is in place. As a particle in the flow passes along the windward surface, the
pressure is dropping, causing the particle to accelerate. This favorable gradient keeps the
boundary layer energized and the flow is “sucked” on to the body. Once the point of maximum
thickness is reached the flow continues onto the leeward side of the body. It is on the leeward
side of the object that an adverse pressure gradient is present and separation of the flow
becomes possible

6.1.1 Separation and Wakes

Separation occurs when an adverse pressure gradient slows the flow in the boundary layer such
that the stream-wise component of velocity (velocity parallel to the surface) goes to zero, as
shown in Figure 6. The perpendicular component of velocity “lifts” or “separates” the flow off
the surface and a wake is created. Downstream of this separation point is a region of flow
reversal, in which there is a re-circulation of the fluid in a direction opposite of the free-stream
and the low pressure on the surface of the body does not recover. With a bluff body, flow
separation is difficult to avoid and minimization of this phenomenon through streamlining
and/or boundary layer control is highly advantageous.

Figure 6. Velocity profile in the boundary layer and separation.

6.2 Reynolds Number

Since the Reynolds number is the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces, a flow in which the
viscous forces dominate (low to moderate Reynolds number) will lead to lower overall
drag. Low Reynolds numbers flows, however, are not very practical and for the most part are
not widely seen in commercial applications. For the majority of flows (with a few important
exceptions), bluff body and streamlined included, as the Reynolds number increases the overall
drag increases (see Equation 1).
6.3 Laminar Flow

With laminar flow and streamlined bodies, the Reynolds numbers are low and the viscous
forces are dominant. When the geometry of the object changes to a bluff body, in which large
adverse pressure gradients are present, a laminar flow is undesirable. The low energy
contained in the laminar boundary layer is not able to resist these large pressure gradients
effectively, and as a result, separation with a laminar boundary layer occurs much sooner than
with a turbulent boundary layer. Laminar boundary layers should be avoided when the
geometry of the object is considered to be a bluff body due to the large wakes and
correspondingly high-pressure drag values that result.

6.4 Turbulent Flow

Turbulent flow is desired on bluff-bodied objects. Even though there is a corresponding

increase in the skin friction component of drag with a turbulent boundary layer, the pressure
drag can be significantly decreased. The turbulent boundary layer and its violent mixing with
the high momentum free-stream fluid is better able to resist adverse pressure gradients. As a
result, separation is delayed and the size of the wake on the leeward side of the body is reduced.

With a reduced wake, the high-pressure zone on the leeward side is smaller and the overall
drag force is decreased. Several important geometries in fluid dynamics clearly show the
effects of a turbulent boundary layer and its effect on the reduction of overall drag. The sphere
and the 2-d cylinder are two classic examples of how a turbulent boundary layer leads to a
smaller wake and less overall drag.

A natural transition to turbulence occurs once a Reynolds number of ~500,000 has been
achieved. On streamlined surfaces or surfaces where laminar flow is desired, the boundary
layer is allowed to develop naturally. With bluff bodies, however, it is sometimes desirable to
induce a turbulent flow to hasten the benefits of reduced pressure drag. This portion of the
field of fluid dynamics is sometimes referred to as boundary layer control.

7 Boundary Layer Control – Inducing Turbulence

Often times it is desirable to prematurely induce turbulence in the boundary layer. This
procedure, called tripping the boundary layer, involves placing artificial flow turbulence
creators on the surface of the body. This technique is used in the small-scale wind tunnel
setting to ensure full-scale flow behavior on lower Reynolds number models. There are several
methods of controlling the boundary layer that are used, which include vortex generators, trip
strips, and surface roughness.

7.1 Vortex Generators

Vortex generators work by creating a streamwise vortex, which mixes the high momentum
free-stream flow into the low momentum boundary layer. A large-scale streamwise vortex can
be seen on the wing tips of aircraft as seen in Figure 7). The high-pressure undersurface air
wraps around the tip of the wing to meet the low-pressure top surface air. When this curling
action is added to the streamwise velocity of the aircraft (forward velocity), a 3-d helix of
spinning air is created. This swirling air is called a streamwise vortex. Vortex generators
operate on a much smaller scale, but the streamwise vortexes they create, inject high
momentum free-stream air into the boundary layer through their twirling action (see Figure
8). These features are placed on aircraft wings to improve lift, by delaying separation, at the
high angles of attack seen during take-off and landing. The vortex generators on wings are
usually placed in a row just forward of the maximum thickness and take the shape of a small
sheet metal tab placed at an angle relative to the oncoming flow.

The drawback to this method is that it is dependent on orientation. The layout of the vortex
generators must be carefully designed and flow misalignments will decrease performance.

7.2 Trip Strips

A less elegant and much lower tech method for inducing boundary layer turbulence is a trip
strip. A trip strip is a surface feature that extends past the boundary layer into the free stream
and is usually place perpendicular to the flow. As the free stream flow passes over the strip
(usually a wire, wall, or series of 3-d columns of material) a localized separated flow is created
that mixes the high momentum free-stream fluid into the boundary layer. Descente had a
skinsuit available in the early to mid 90’s that incorporated some of these types of features in
the shoulder region. This product was never really accepted by the marketplace.
Trip strips are usually used in the wind tunnel where orientation and placement are carefully
controlled. However, there are underwater applications where this method was used with
success in the real world.

Recent experiments with a series of longitudinal trip strips on an underwater cable proved
successful in reducing the size of the wake (as measured by accelerated submersion
velocities). US Patents have been issued that describe this method (see patent number
3884173) as it pertains to underwater cables.
Depending on the design, this method can also be dependent on orientation of the trip strip. If
incorrectly designed, the boundary layer may not be tripped or the overall drag may actually
be increased.

7.3 Surface Roughness

The final boundary layer method to be discussed is the one that is the least dependent on
orientation and it is also the one that is implemented by Nike engineers in their new “Swift-
Spin” skinsuit. It is also the theory behind the large dimples in the current Lazer helmets and
the Troxel radius Ti helmets of the past. A rough surface finish will cause the transition to
turbulence to occur at lower Reynolds numbers. This method should be completely
independent of orientation assuming the surface roughness is completely random.

Careful attention must be taken when determining the size of the surface roughness features,
however. Too large of a roughness and the drag might actually increase, but too small and no
gains will be made. Nike claims that over 50 types of fabric were investigated during the
development of their suits. It is apparent that they were trying to dial in the surface roughness
for each particular body feature (torso, upper arms, legs, etc..).

7.4 2-d Cylinder Flow Redux

Remember the plot that started this whole thing? The one that showed a large drop off in drag
just past the critical Reynolds number for a 2-d cylinder? The one that Nike is banking its
R&D dollars on? Now that there has been some detailed discussion about some fundamental
aerodynamics we can re-investigate this flow and tie it all together. The flow region with
Reynolds numbers below the critical value is termed sub-critical.

7.4.1 Sub-Critical Flow

Since the boundary layer in a sub-critical flow is still laminar it cannot resist the adverse
pressure gradients introduced past the point of maximum thickness. As a result, the laminar
boundary layer becomes separated from the surface of the cylinder just aft of the point of
maximum thickness (approximately 90° clockwise and counter-clockwise from the stagnation
point) and a large wake and a large low-pressure zone on the leeward side of the body
results. This point on a cyclist is analagous to where the “love handles” are located on the
lower torso, and just below the armpits. Even though the boundary layer is laminar and skin
friction is low, the drag on the cylinder is high due to the large wakes and the subsequent
dominant pressure drag.

7.4.2 Super-Critical Flow

The boundary layer in the super-critical 2-d flow around a cylinder is turbulent. The highly
energized turbulent boundary layer is better able to resist the adverse pressure gradient on the
leeward side of the cylinder. Separation is delayed past the point of maximum thickness, up to
approximately 120° clockwise and counter-clockwise from the stagnation point. The resulting
smaller wake decreases the size of the low-pressure zone on the leeward side of the cylinder
and the overall drag is decreased. Even though the boundary layer has transitioned into
turbulence and the skin friction has increased, the drag is lower due to the significantly reduced
pressure drag. Nike engineers have apparently induced a turbulent boundary on the appropriate
body parts of the USPS riders through clever utilization of finely tuned and selected surface
roughness lycra. They have therefore claimed to reduce the size of their wakes and, therefore,
their total drag.

8 Summary

Nike implemented boundary layer control features on selective panels of their new “Swift-Spin
Body Suit” that induce a super-critical flow around a cyclist’s body. Overall drag has been
claimed to be decreased by simply putting on their new product.

With the release of the Nike product, Nike is saying that for the bluff body flows around a
cyclist, where large wakes are present, it is advantageous to induce turbulent boundary layers
(thus increasing skin friction drag) in order to take advantage of the super-critical flow
reduction in pressure drag. It is for this fundamental aerodynamic reason that golf balls have
dimples, and Lance and his US Postal mates are being offered rougher than normal surface
textured skinsuits (“Swift-Spin Body Suits). Cycling history says that Nike engineers have
gotten it all wrong, but Lance and his team may just prove them right when they roll onto the
streets of Paris - but first, Nike has to convince Lance to slip one of these bad boys on!!!