From the release: "... HAMPTON, Va. - When a swimsuit manufacturer wanted to create a better fabric for competitive swimmers, it sought out some unlikely experts -- aerospace engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton.
"... That fact led Warnaco Inc. of New York, the U.S. licensee of the Speedo swimwear brand, to seek use of a NASA wind tunnel at Langley to test swimsuit fabrics that may be used by athletes in international competitions.
"We evaluated the surface roughness effects of nearly 60 fabrics or patterns in our small low-speed tunnel, which is perfect for this purpose," Wilkinson said. "We were assessing which fabrics and weaves had the lowest drag. ..."
The materials tested come in the form of tubes. Wilkinson stretches the tubes over a smooth, flat aluminum plate and then secures the edges with smooth metal rails and tape to form a precise rectangular model shape. Wilkinson runs the material through a number of wind speeds and, with the help of sensors, measures drag on the surface. Under a reimbursable agreement, NASA turns the wind tunnel data over to Speedo for their use. ..."
"... It turns out to simulate a swimmer in the water at about two meters per second, we need to run the wind tunnel at about 28 meters per second, which is well within its capability," Wilkinson added. "The tests generally have shown the smoother the fabric, the lower the drag."
It's not there yet but "... video of Speedo fabric testing will be available on the NASA Television Video File. For downlink and scheduling information and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
Nasa New release [Link]
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