Drive concepts | Physical laws in swimming

Drive concepts

Conventional drive concept: With the conventional drive concept, the body parts used for propulsion are moved in a straight line and in the opposite direction to the swimming direction (actio = reactio). Large masses of water are moved with increasing speed but little propulsion (paddle wheel steamer). Classical drive concept: drive by means of hydrodynamic lift (comparison to a ship’s propeller).

However, this drive concept is controversial because the propeller is always approached with water from the same side and the palms of the hands are not when swimming. In addition, this drive only works after a certain length of run, but the arm pull when swimming is only 0.6- 0.8 m. Vortex drive concept: (currently applied model) The rotating water masses in the wake of the feet and hands have become more and more important in recent years as a producer of abutments. A vortex is created when water masses move from the accumulation to the suction area.It is attempted to accommodate a large mass of water in a small space, comparable to rolling up a carpet. The vortex appears behind the feet as a roll form, and behind the hands as a braid form.