Aerodynamic effect of bicycle wheel cladding: A CFD study

Aerodynamic drag in a bicycle can originate through the rotation of wheels, and the addition of cladding on the wheels has a pronounced impact on the same. In the present work, the effect of cladding on the wheels of a bicycle is studied in terms of the percentage cladding in order to predict the aerodynamic drag using a validated CFD model. SolidWorks Flow Simulation is used to conduct an external analysis of flow air around the bicycle and rider. The k-ε turbulence model is used to study aerodynamic drag among cladding percentages varying between nil to maximum, i.e., 100%. The aerodynamic drag force is observed to decrease with increase in cladding percentage. Analyses were carried out at velocities 6 m/s, 8 m/s and 10 m/s and there was an observed maximum decrease in drag coefficient in the range of 5.2-5.3% as compared to the bicycle without cladding.