The 24th Winter Olympic Games will kick off in Beijing on February 4, 2022.
The Sports Department of Chinanews.com launched a series of columns "Hundred Questions about Winter Olympics", aimed at popularizing Winter Olympic knowledge, answering hot questions, sharing interesting stories about ice and snow, and helping everyone have a better watching experience during the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The 73rd Winter Olympics 100 Questions | What are the sports wind tunnels used for?
On October 25, 2020, the first comprehensive sports training wind tunnel in China was officially opened at CRRC Erqi National Ice and Snow Sports Training Base.
Sports wind tunnel, this sounds a little strange name, do you know what it is used for?
The wind tunnel is also called the wind tunnel laboratory. In short, it is an artificial method to generate and control the air flow, which is used to simulate the flow of air around the aircraft or the entity, and can measure the effect of the air flow on the entity and observe the physical phenomenon. Kind of pipeline-shaped experimental equipment.
The main application of the wind tunnel laboratory is in the aerospace field.
Image source: CCTV video screenshot.
In recent years, the use of wind tunnels for preparatory training has become a choice for many ice and snow sports, and is one of the important scientific and technological means to improve athletes' competitive performance.
In the field of sports, wind tunnels can be used to test the aerodynamic data of athletes.
According to the principle of relative movement, the wind speed in the wind tunnel is used to simulate the movement speed, which provides a good simulation environment for athletes to carry out special training.
Relying on the wind tunnel test, the flying posture of the ski jumper was changed from a parallel snowboard to a V-shaped action.
Compared with the parallel snowboard, the V-shaped posture can reduce the wind resistance by 28% and can provide more lift.
In addition, athletes need to rely on arm swings to control body balance during flight, and the mastery of this skill also needs to be continuously strengthened in wind tunnel equipment.
Image source: CCTV video screenshot.
According to Cui Chun, the head of the sports wind tunnel construction of the General Administration of Sports of the 11th Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology Group, the wind speed of sports is relatively low, and the design of the sports wind tunnel should be within the range of the sports wind speed.
It is reported that the wind tunnel test is mainly used in racing sports, such as racing, rowing, ski jumping and other projects.
In addition, in the wind tunnel laboratory, athletes’ clothing fabrics, helmets, snowmobiles and other equipment can be tested to find clothing fabrics and sports equipment suitable for the characteristics of different sports events and different material requirements to help athletes better reduce air resistance. Thereby creating better athletic performance.
Image source: CCTV video screenshot.
It is understood that my country has built a sports wind tunnel cluster including the comprehensive sports wind tunnel of the Erqi Factory Scientific Training Base and the Laiyuan ski jumping professional wind tunnel.
(Liu Xingchen)