Sports and Building Aerodynamics

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/sports-building-aerodynamics

Introduction

# Course Review: Sports and Building Aerodynamics on Coursera ## Introduction In an age where innovation drives every field, the intersection of sports and architecture reveals incredible potential for advanced design and performance optimization. The "Sports and Building Aerodynamics" course on Coursera embraces this potential, diving deep into the principles of fluid dynamics as they apply to sports and building design. Let's explore the course structure, content, and key takeaways, making a compelling case for why this course deserves your attention. ## Overview of the Course ### Course Objectives The course primarily aims to explore the untapped domains of sports and architectural design regarding aerodynamics. With a focus on bluff body aerodynamics, wind tunnel testing, and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), participants will grapple with fundamental concepts and cutting-edge applications pivotal to various fields, including urban physics and wind engineering. ### Target Audience Whether you're a student, a professional engineer, an architect, or simply an enthusiast interested in the mechanics behind performance enhancements in sports and buildings, this course is tailored for those with a strong curiosity to learn more about these exciting intersections. ## Course Content Breakdown 1. **Introduction and Basic Aspects of Fluid Flow** - Students will start by grasping essential fluid properties and flow types, ensuring a solid understanding of the subject's foundation. Key concepts explored include viscosity, boundary layers, and the atmospheric boundary layer, all of which are crucial for understanding sports and building aerodynamics. 2. **Wind-Tunnel Testing** - This module delves into the importance and functionality of wind-tunnel testing. Students will learn about the different types of tunnels, measurement techniques, and the best practices for conducting reliable tests, enhancing their ability to analyze real-world applications. 3. **Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)** - Here, learners will be introduced to the basics of CFD, focusing on its application in sports and architecture. The course navigates through modeling and simulating turbulent flow, providing insights into verification and validation measures essential for accurate CFD results. 4. **Building Aerodynamics** - With practical lectures on wind flow around buildings and their groups, human comfort, natural ventilation, and energy considerations, this segment tackles issues pertinent to modern building design. The exploration of wind-driven rain on facades and wind energy integration gives students a comprehensive view of building aerodynamics. 5. **Sports Aerodynamics: The 100 m Sprint** - This unique section focuses on the aerodynamics impacting sprinting performance. It examines various physical models and the overarching aerodynamic impact of stadium design, paired with insights from an athletics coach, bringing an applied perspective to theoretical concepts. 6. **Cycling Aerodynamics** - Focusing on a widely cherished sport, this series discusses the aerodynamics relevant to cyclists, covering both individual and group dynamics. The inclusion of wind-tunnel testing and practical interviews with cycling coaches enriches the learning experience. 7. **Assessment & Peer Review** - With a final quiz to assess knowledge retention and a peer-graded assignment that encourages critical thinking and collaboration, students will have ample opportunity to engage with the course content and refine their analytical skills. ## Recommendations This course stands out for several reasons: - **Comprehensive Curriculum**: The extensive syllabus covers both theory and practical applications, ensuring that learners come away with a holistic understanding of aerodynamics. - **Expertise Across Disciplines**: The integration of knowledge from urban physics, engineering, and sports illustrates the course's interdisciplinary nature, appealing to a broad range of interests. - **Engaging Learning Methods**: The combination of videos, peer interactions, and real-world applications, such as interviews with coaches, keeps the material engaging and relatable. ## Conclusion If you're fascinated by how fluid dynamics can revolutionize sports performance and architectural design, "Sports and Building Aerodynamics" is a perfect fit. This course not only equips you with essential theoretical knowledge but also empowers you with practical insights that can be applied in the real world. With its thoughtfully crafted curriculum and varied teaching methods, it undeniably positions itself as a standout offering on Coursera. Embark on this exciting journey into the world of aerodynamics and push the boundaries of what can be achieved in sports and building design!

Syllabus

Introduction movies & Basic aspects of fluid flow

This series of lectures outlines some basic aspects of fluid flow. It starts with the fluid properties velocity, pressure, temperature, density and viscosity. It continues with flow properties such as viscous versus inviscid flow, compressible versus incompressible flow, confined versus open flow, steady versus unsteady flow, stationary versus non-stationary flow and laminar versus turbulent flow. It also addresses some basic components of fluid statics, kinematics and dynamics. The last lectures are focused on the important concept of the boundary layer. Laminar versus turbulent boundary layers, boundary layer separation and obstacle form drag versus friction drag are explained. Finally, the module ends with a lecture on a special type of boundary layer: the atmospheric boundary layer, in which sports and building aerodynamics take place.

This series of lectures provides some fundamental aspects of wind-tunnel testing. First, the reasons why wind-tunnel testing is still important are outlined. Next, different types of wind tunnels and applications of wind-tunnel testing are discussed. As a special type of wind tunnel, the atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel is described. Further lectures focus on the different wind-tunnel components, on measurements and flow visualization, on similarity and flow quality and on important best practice guidelines for high-quality wind-tunnel testing.

This series of lectures provides the basics of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with focus on application to Sports & Building Aerodynamics. First, the possibilities and limitations of CFD are outlined. Next, the main approaches for solving and modeling turbulent flow are explained, after which some basic aspects of discretization and near-wall modeling are described. After that, we focus on the important topics of errors, uncertainties, verification and validation in CFD. The series is concluded with two lectures that provide an overview of the past achievements and future challenges in Computational Wind Engineering.

The lecture series on Building Aerodynamics consists of 10 lectures. The first two lectures provide basic information about the wind flow around isolated buildings and generic building groups. Three lectures focus on the important problem of pedestrian-level wind discomfort and wind danger around buildings. One lecture addresses natural ventilation of buildings, focused on the ventilation study for a large football stadium in the Netherlands. Two lectures address wind-driven rain on building facades, and the final two lectures are devoted to wind energy in the built environment, where some important misconceptions are highlighted and explained.

This short lecture series addresses the aerodynamics of the 100 m sprint, including aerodynamic effects generated by the stadium. The first lecture explains the importance of aerodynamics in the 100 m sprint competition. Next, an existing mathematical-physical model of short-distance running is outlined. Based on this model, further lectures investigate wind effects and altitude effects on 100 m sprint performances and on potential world records. Finally, the potential influence of the geometry of the sports stadium on records established in it is explained, and the lecture series is concluded by an interview with a professional athletics coach.

The lecture series on cycling aerodynamics consists of 8 lectures. In the first lecture, the importance of aerodynamics in cycling is outlined. In the next two lectures, wind-tunnel testing of real and dummy cyclists is presented. The next lectures focus on CFD studies of the aerodynamics of a single cyclist, aerodynamics of two drafting cyclists and aerodynamics of drafting cyclist groups. After that, the aerodynamic interaction between a cyclist and a following car is studied. Finally, the series is concluded by an interview with two professional cycling coaches.

The final quiz contains questions covering all 6 weeks. The minimum score to pass the course is 80%. 3 attempts can be taken. Partial feedback (correct / incorrect) will be given after every attempt. Points for multiple-choice questions with multiple correct answers are only obtained when all correct answers are labeled as such by the student.

The peer-graded assignment includes the critical review of a scientific article based on the knowledge gained throughout the MOOC. The review consists of three parts: (1) performing a detailed study of the article; (2) providing a detailed answer to a set of specific questions; (3) grading at least 5 assignments of colleague students / peers.