COMPARISON OF WAVE DRAG FOR BOTH THE MALE AND FEMALE FORM

Abstract

This study measured forces acting male and female mannequins while being towed in a flume in order to quantify the differences in the wave drag contribution to total drag. Substantial differences between the male and female form in terms of the wave drag contribution were found with the female having a substantially lower (by 46.73% at 1.94 ms-1) contribution near the surface while having a greater (by 20.87% at 1.94 ms-1) total drag when deeply submerged. These differences were found despite the smaller frontal area and total surface area of the female. Both the decreased wave drag and increased submerged drag were theorised to be due to the resulting flow field created by the greater curvature of the female torso as compared to the male with the rate of change in curvature of the female being almost double that of the male.