Mechanical study of standard six beat front crawl swimming by using swimming human simulation model

Abstract

There are many dynamical problems in the front crawl swimming which have not been fully investigated by analytical approach. Therefore, in this paper, standard six beat front crawl swimming is analyzed by the swimming human simulation model SWUM, which has been developed by the authors. First, the outline of the simulation model, the joint motion for one stroke cycle, and the specification of calculation are respectively described. Next, contribution of each fluid force component and of each body part to the thrust, effect of the flutter kick, estimation of the active drag, roll motion, and the propulsive efficiency are respectively discussed. The following results were theoretically obtained: The thrust is produced at the upper limb by the normal drag force component. The flutter kick plays a role in lifting the lower half of the body. The active drag coefficient in the simulation becomes 0.082. The buoyancy determines the primal wave of the roll motion fluctuation. The propulsive efficiency in the simulation becomes 0.2.