PhD Studentship – Development of Passive Flow Control Methods for Bicycle Frames at The University of Manchester

Modern bike frames use a diamond shape frame with cross-sectional shape akin to a truncated aerofoil for reduced weight and increased stiffness. Due to padding motions of the cyclist, however, the bike frame experiences a complex unsteady flow with a rapid changing magnitude and direction in velocity which causes a substantial increase in drag due to stall. Whilst the basic shape of bike frames has long been established, there is still scope for exploring alternatives and innovations in the designs within the constraints of competition rules.

This project aims to (i). characterise the aerodynamic forces acting on a 2D model of a typical bike frame under a range of wind speeds and yaw angles in a wind tunnel. (ii) investigate experimentally the effects of selected passive flow control methods on its drag and robustness to stall in cross-wind situations; (iii) produce a feasible design to enable the above mechanism to be implemented on a bike frame. Complementary computational studies will be carried out to aid the design and understanding of the underlying flow physics. The results will be disseminated to British Cycling and feed directly to their current Olympic Programme, potentially impacting on the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris and beyond.

The minimum academic entry requirement for a PhD in the Faculty of Science and Engineering is an upper second-class honours degree (or international equivalent) in a discipline directly relevant to the PhD OR any upper-second class honours degree (or international equivalent) and a Master’s degree merit (or international equivalent) in a discipline directly relevant to the PhD.

The project is fully funded for UK applicants by the UK Institute of Sport and University of Manchester. This will cover tuition fees and a tax free stiped set at the UKRI (£18,622 for 2023/24). This project is also eligible for the Osborne Reynolds top-up Scholarship which provides an additional £1,500 per year top-up to other funding sources for outstanding candidates. Successful applicants will be automatically considered for this top-up.