Abstract:
This paper describes a method of deducing aerodynamic force components produced by individual sails. This is achieved by measuring the pressure distribution at a number of discrete locations over the sail and extrapolating these measurements into a distribution across the entire sail surface. The sail shape is measured using the camera-based VSPARS system and the force distribution over the sail surface is then determined. Wind tunnel tests have been conducted to validate the accuracy of the model. Full scale testing has been undertaken to investigate how aerodynamic effects of trimming sails affect yacht performance.
