Numerical Investigation of the Hydrodynamics of Changing Fin Positions within a 4-Fin Surfboard Configuration

Division of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany

Department of Radiology, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany

Daum Tooling Inc., San Clemente, CA 92672, USA

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Computer Graphics Group, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(3), 816; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10030816

Received: 14 November 2019 / Revised: 14 January 2020 / Accepted: 20 January 2020 / Published: 23 January 2020

(This article belongs to the Section Mechanical Engineering)

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Abstract

Most sports like surfing are highly developed. It is necessary to tease the last percentages out of the competitors and equipment—in the case of surfing the surfboard-fin-system—to win competitions or championships. In this computational investigation, a parameter study of the positioning of the two rear fins within a 4-fin configuration with fixed front fins on a surfboard is executed to find appropriate fin positions for specific surf situations. Four different inflow velocities are investigated. The RANS and URANS models combined with the SST

k - ω

turbulence model, which is available within the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package STAR-CCM+, are used to simulate the flow field around the fins for angles of attack (AoA) between 0° and 45°. The simulation results show that shifting the rear fins toward the longitudinal axis of the surfboard lowers the maximum lift. Surfboards with 4-fin configurations are slower in nearly the whole range of AoA due to a higher drag force but produce a higher lift force compared to the 3-fin configuration. The lift and drag forces increase significantly with increasing inflow velocity. This study shows a significant influence of the rear fin positioning and the inflow velocity on lift and drag performance characteristics. View Full-Text

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics (CFD); surfboard; fins; hydrodynamics; Quad; STAR-CCM+^®

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MDPI and ACS Style

Falk, S.; Kniesburges, S.; Janka, R.; O’Keefe, T.; Grosso, R.; Döllinger, M. Numerical Investigation of the Hydrodynamics of Changing Fin Positions within a 4-Fin Surfboard Configuration. Appl. Sci. 2020, 10, 816. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10030816

AMA Style

Falk S, Kniesburges S, Janka R, O’Keefe T, Grosso R, Döllinger M. Numerical Investigation of the Hydrodynamics of Changing Fin Positions within a 4-Fin Surfboard Configuration. Applied Sciences. 2020; 10(3):816. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10030816

Chicago/Turabian Style

Falk, Sebastian, Stefan Kniesburges, Rolf Janka, Tom O’Keefe, Roberto Grosso, and Michael Döllinger. 2020. "Numerical Investigation of the Hydrodynamics of Changing Fin Positions within a 4-Fin Surfboard Configuration" Applied Sciences 10, no. 3: 816. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10030816

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Numerical Investigation of the Hydrodynamics of Changing Fin Positions within a 4-Fin Surfboard Configuration

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