Analysis of drag changes for a cyclist when overtaken by a motorcycle

Abstract eng:
Cycling races contain a multitude of motorcycles. Motorcycles can overtake the cyclists and press motorcycles are allowed to keep riding alongside the cyclists. The importance of motorcycles in races is exacerbated by the many accidents in recent years caused by motorcyclist-cyclist crashes, sometimes yielding severe injuries and even fatalities. This study presents wind-tunnel measurements and CFD simulations to assess the drag changes for a cyclist when overtaken by a motorcycle. The wind-tunnel measurements were performed in the wind tunnel of the University of Liege. The CFD simulations are based on the steady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the k-epsilon model for closure. They are based on grid-convergence analysis and validation with wind-tunnel measurements. The results show that the motorcycle riding behind the cyclist can yield a drag reduction for this cyclist up to 8%, while riding next to the cyclist can increase the drag by 16%. Finally, riding in front of the cyclist allows drag to be reduced with more than 70%. The study concludes that motorcycles can have an important aerodynamic effect and can influence the outcome of cycling races, in particular time trials.

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