Ribbed Swimsuit
Invented by Langley Research Center in the early 1980s, riblets
are small, barely visible grooves that can be placed on the surface
of an airplane to reduce skin friction-hence reduce aerodynamic
drag-by modifying the turbulent airflow next to the skin. Although
the grooves are no deeper than a scratch, they have a surprisingly
beneficial influence on the airflow near the surface.
The Strush SR competition swimsuit employs NASA-developed
riblets to reduce water resistance.
Riblets have found a wide range of non-aerospace applications,
for example, they can be used to reduce friction or drag inside
pipes and ducts, contributing to increased efficiency of pumps,
heat exchangers and air conditioners. They have been used to
good effect on eight-oared shells in regatta competitions and
in America's Cup races (the Stars and Stripes racing yacht that
brought the Cup back to the U.S. in 1987 had a hull whose underside
was coated with riblets).
A new application of riblets has appeared in the Strush SR®
competition swimsuit, marketed by Arena North America, Englewood,
Colorado. Arena, which is the official supplier of apparel to
the Triathlon Federation U.S.A., the national organizing committee
of triathlons, combined the Langley riblet technology with company-developed
innovations to produce a swimsuit that, says Arena, "has
been flume tested to be 10 to 15 percent faster than any other
world class swimsuit."
The Strush SR design employs a silicon ribbing in the areas
of the swimsuit (chest and buttocks) subject to the most turbulence
in the water, reducing hydrodynamic resistance. In addition to
the ribbing, Arena uses micro fibers and special treatments to
reduce the amount of water absorbed by the suit.
The Strush SR swimsuits are "stroke specific," meaning
that they are constructed differently to maximize the effectiveness
of the silicon ribbing for each of four different stroke disciplines:
freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke. The stroke
specific swimsuits made their debut in competition in 1995, at
the Pan American Games in Mar Del Plata, Argentina. The results
were impressive: swimmers wearing Strush SR suits won 13 gold
medals, three silver and one bronze.
®Strush SR is a registered trademark of
Arena North America.
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