Rensselaer researcher is using fluid mechanics to
help athletes sharpen strokes
Professor Timothy Wei, head of
Rensselaer’s Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and
Nuclear Engineering and acting dean of the School of
Engineering
Watch the video
of Professor's Wei's research.
|
Troy, N.Y. — Milliseconds can mean the difference between
triumph and defeat in the world of Olympic sports, leading more
trainers and athletes to look toward technology as a tool to
get an edge on the competition.
A fluids mechanics professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute in Troy, N.Y., is using experimental flow measurement
techniques to help American swimmers sharpen their strokes,
shave seconds from their lap times, and race toward a gold
medal in Beijing this summer.
Professor Timothy Wei, head of Rensselaer’s Department of
Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering and acting dean
of the university’s School of Engineering, helped develop
top-secret, state-of-the-art equipment and mathematical
techniques that USA Swimming coaches have been using to help
train Olympians.
“This is the real thing,” Wei said. “We have the physical
system, we’re taking flow measurements of actual swimmers, and
we’re getting more information than anyone has ever had before
about swimming and how the swimmer interacts with the water.
And so far, these techniques have contributed to some very
significant improvements in the lap times of Olympic
swimmers.”
In years past, swimming coaches have used computer modeling
and simulation to hone the techniques of athletes. But Wei
developed state-of-the-art water flow diagnostic technologies,
modifying and combining force measurement tools developed for
aerospace research with a video-based flow measurement
technique known as Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV),
in order to create a robust training tool that reports the
performance of a swimmer in real-time.
“This project moved the swimming world beyond the
observational into scientific fact,” said USA Swimming Coach
Sean Hutchison. “The knowledge gained gave me
the foundation for which every technical stroke
change in preparation for the Beijing Olympics was based.”
You can see one of the videos, of 2008 Olympian Megan
Jendrick, here:
http://www.rpi.edu/news/video/wei/videos.html
The secret, Wei said, is in understanding how the water
moves. The new system incorporates highly sophisticated
mathematics with stop-motion video technology to identify key
vortices, pinpoint the movement of the water, and compute how
much energy the swimmer exerts.
“You have to know the flow,” Wei said. “To see how a
swimmer’s motion affects the flow, you need to know how much
force the swimmer is producing, and how that force impacts the
water.”
“Swimming research has strived to understand water flow
around a swimmer for decades because how a swimmer’s body moves
the surrounding water is everything,” said USA Swimming’s
Biomechanics Manager Russell Mark. “The ability to
measure flow and forces in a natural and unimpeded environment
hasn’t been available until recently, and Dr. Wei’s technology
and methods presented USA Swimming with a unique opportunity
that United States swimmers and coaches could learn a lot
from.”
Wei has been working with USA Swimming for several years,
but the idea and design of the new flow measurement tool really
took shape in 2007. Most of the preliminary tests were
conducted in October 2007, and the coaches and swimmers have
spent the past several months incorporating what they have
learned into their training regimes. For any swimmer, it takes
time to make adjustments to their strokes and practice new
techniques, Wei said.
One highlight of working on the project was when Mark
arranged for Wei to attend the 2007 and 2008 U.S. Summer
Nationals and be on deck with the swimmers.
“How often does a researcher get to do something like this?”
said Wei, whose young son and daughter also swim competitively.
“It’s been a journey into a world that someone like me would
have never before gotten the privilege to see first-hand.”
Wei began his research career as an aeronautical and
mechanical engineer, including hydrodynamics research for the
U.S. Navy. But lately he has expanded into bio-related
research, such as working with a vascular surgeon to study
effects of flow over endothelial cells, and partnering with a
neurosurgeon to understand the mechanisms behind hydrocephalus,
or excess fluid in the brain.
As a young researcher, Wei dreamed of measuring flow around
swimming whales, but the idea never progressed to fruition.
Recently, however, in the midst of his work with USA Swimming,
Wei worked with marine biologists Frank Fish and Terrie
Williams to measure the flow around swimming bottlenose
dolphins at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Wei said he’s confident that the United States will have a
strong showing in swimming at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and
that he’s already thinking of ways to improve his technology to
be even more effective when training swimmers to compete in the
2012 London Olympics.
“It’s been a wonderful, unique experience,” he said. “It’s
everyone’s dream to make a difference, and I’m excited to keep
helping the team for as long as they need me.”
Wei is also currently working with the U.S. Olympic skeleton
team and looking at new flow measurement techniques to help
shave precious milliseconds off downhill times.
Update: Capital News 9 article and
interview with Tim Wei:
http://capitalnews9.com/Default.aspx?ArID=121863
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