Aerodynamical measurements for the Tour de France were performed in a wind tunnel at TU Delft - with LaVision's Helium-filled soap bubble generator
Monday, 5. September 2016
The Giant-Alpecin professional cycling team tested various helmets and suits with a 3D mannequin of one of its drivers in the wind tunnel of TU Delft. The aim was to check the aerodynamics of a brand-new skinsuit with the help of the Particle Image Velocimetry technique (PIV). The seeding particles needed for the PIV measurements were generated with LaVision's Helium-filled soap bubble generator. This device produces up to 2 Mio bubbles per second and is therefore very nicely suited for the seeding of large measurement volumes, like e.g. in wind tunnels. These large Helium-filled soap bubbles also have the advantage to be much brighter than smaller standard oil-aerosol seeding particles.
You can watch a movie about these measurements here.