Flow visualization of competitive swimming techniques: The tufts method

Using reverse engineering and computational fluid dynamics to investigate a lower arm amputee swimmer's performance

“…The propulsive and resistive contribution of the upper arm can be assessed numerically and compared qualitatively to the flow patterns obtained from experimental tests such as the ''tufts method'' (Hay and Thayer, 1989). As expected, it was observed that parts of the upper arm close to the shoulder resist the body's forward movement, whereas parts more distant from the shoulder propel the body forward.…”

Effect of body roll amplitude and arm rotation speed on propulsion of arm amputee swimmers

“…Schleihauf, 1979;Berger et al, 1999;Toussaint et al, 2002). Hay and Thayer (1989), using tufts around the hand and arm as well as pressure measurements also observed that arm rotation resulted in enhanced propulsion. Payton and Wilcox (2006) looked at the propelling effect of the upper arm of unilateral amputee swimmers.…”

Surface flow visualization around competitive swimmers by Tufts Method

“…The tufts method was used for the first time in swimming by Tagori (1984 and1985) to visualize the flow around the trunk and various members of swimmer bodies, then by Hay and Thayer (1989) followed by Toussaint et al (2002) with the aim of studying the structure of the flow around the hand and the forearm. The present experimental protocol used to visualize the flow around swimmers was similar to that already used by the latter authors, except that in the context of our study tufts were fixed directly to the swimsuit instead of being glued directly to the skin.…”