Analysis of Oar Blade Hydrodynamics for Rowing Propulsive Mechanism: Experiment and Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation

Rowing performance depends on several factors such as handle and oar blade force. Handle force has been reported to contribute significantly to rowing performance; however, limited studies were available on oar blade force for rowing performance, especially in dynamic conditions. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate hydrodynamics of the oar blade in propulsive mechanism of the rowing boat. The experimental data was collected using a specially designed on-water rowing simulator and then assigned to a computational fluid dynamic analysis to simulate force generated on the blade for validation purposes. The computational result was in agreement with the experiment with 8.3 percent error. It was found that for 1.4 m/s maximum boat speed and 1.0 rad/s oar angular speed, the highest hydrodynamic force generated was 231 N. The leading edge vortex that occurred around the blade tip increased force generated by the oar blade. As a conclusion, the oar blade was a significant factor in generating force that led to acceleration of the boat. The leading edge vortex formed then contributed to enhance propulsion of the rowing boat.