Effects of various inefficiencies in rowing on shell speed

First order predictions were made in determining the effects of various sources of inefficiency in rowing on shell speed. These predictions were then tested using a MATLAB model of the rowing stroke. The model simulates an eight man oared rowing shell and determines average shell speed, stroke rating, power per stroke, and time over a 2000 meter race. Several parameters of the rowing model are manipulated to determine the effects of each source of inefficiency on shell speed. Of the sources tested, three can be attributed to the shell manufacturer, and the others can be attributed to the rowers themselves. The sources of inefficiency tested are wetted surface area, coefficient of friction, dynamic and static weight, stroke length, slide acceleration, and stroke rating. The effects on shell velocity were normalized to determine which sources resulted in the greatest inefficiencies. The ranking of sources from greatest to smallest effect on shell speed are stroke rating, coefficient of friction, wetted surface area, stroke length, static weight, dynamic weight, and slide acceleration.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Young, Stephen F., Jr

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Michael S. Triantafyllou.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/54545

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/54545