[Norsk]

Flow Analysis of Oares

As the margins are small in international sports, every improvement of equipment is of significance for success.  The question has therefore been raised, whether it is possible to find a more effective shape for the oare blades used in dobble scullers.  CFD norway has performed both a theoretical and a numerical analysis where a traditional design Big Blade is compared to a new suggested design Donald.

The physical model used in the CFD calculations are the incompressible Euler equations.  The computations results in force coefficients for both blades on several angles of attack.  These coefficients is used to find the forces on the oares for varying flow speed.  The results show that the force coefficients are larger for Donald than for Big Blade over the important initial movement from catch.
 
 


Streamlines over Big Blade for an angle of attack of 42,5º.


Pressure Coefficient cP on the suction (left) og pressure side (right) for Big Blade at an angle of attack of 42,5º.