Hydrodynamics of Swimsuits

Aero/hydrodynamics plays a critical role in swimming. Studies estimate that over 90% of the swimmer's power output is spent overcoming aero/hydrodynamic resistance. Recently, swimsuits have been aggressively marketed, principally as a means for reducing the skin friction component of the total drag, thereby conferring a competitive advantage over other swimmers. Some manufacturers have claimed significant reduction of drag, but it is difficult to find independent research in the open literature that supports these claims and counter claims. In fact, it is not at all clear that swimsuits in reality reduce skin friction or other forms of drag. At present, there is no standard methodology for the evaluation of swimsuits performance. The primary purpose of this work is to conduct a comparative study of two competitive commercially manufactured swimsuits.