{"id":48413,"date":"2023-04-26T16:00:43","date_gmt":"2023-04-26T14:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/?p=723064"},"modified":"2023-04-26T16:35:39","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T14:35:39","slug":"how-a-victorian-train-tunnel-was-transformed-into-a-world-leading-aerodynamic-facility","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/how-a-victorian-train-tunnel-was-transformed-into-a-world-leading-aerodynamic-facility\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Victorian train tunnel was transformed into a world-leading aerodynamic facility"},"content":{"rendered":"

Catesby Tunnel was once an integral section of train line, but now it’s a state-of-the-art testing facility <\/p>

By James Witts\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 26 April 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

\u201cLadies and gentlemen, welcome to one of the most cutting-edge aerodynamic facilities in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s Brian Scott, tunnel operations manager at Catesby Tunnel in Northamptonshire, once an integral section of the Great Central Main Line from Sheffield to London, now a state-of-the-art testing facility for cyclists, cycling manufacturers and automobiles that opened in December 2021.<\/p>\n

Scott says that as far as he\u2019s aware, the only facility similar to Catesby is Laurel Hill in Philadelphia, which is used for NASCAR testing.<\/p>\n

Scott says Laurel Hill is impressive but the facility is only a mile long, whereas Catesby measures 2.7km in length.<\/p>\n

You might expect Catesby to look like a state-of-the-art wind tunnel. However, its eight-metre high doors open to reveal no aerodynamic sensors, no 3D cameras, no measurement tools of any kind\u2026<\/p>\n

A blank canvas<\/h2>\n
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The facility is really a blank canvas for drivers and cyclists.<\/span><\/figcaption> Steve Sayers \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cThe first thing to say is that we provide standardisation for cyclists and drivers; they provide the diagnostics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is more a barometric chamber than a wind tunnel as, when the doors are closed, the temperature is 10.2\u00b0C and humidity 90 per cent. That\u2019s winter and summer,\u201d says Scott.<\/p>\n

In other words, it\u2019s a blank canvas for aerodynamicists and sports scientists to paint their bespoke drag-reducing masterpieces by bringing along their aerodynamic sensors, power meters<\/a> and any other diagnostic tools they possess.<\/p>\n

This facility\u2019s USP derives from turning the static, consistent conditions of a wind tunnel into more real-world conditions. To that end, the 2.7km-long stretch of tarmac was laid in one go atop a Victorian culvert to reduce the chances of any bumps and distortions.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an imperceptible rise in gradient of 1:176 and it\u2019s 8.2m wide, which is big enough to deliver one of the key cycling benefits.<\/p>\n

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Brian Scott is also a Catesby historian.<\/span><\/figcaption> Steve Sayers \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cIndividuals can find out their most aerodynamic position and best clothing, but we can also accommodate teams in here, which you can\u2019t do in a [wind] tunnel,\u201d says Scott.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when it comes to team pursuit, you can find out if it\u2019s better to have a small guy at the front or a big guy. What\u2019s the best shape of formation? In a peloton, which of your riders is pulling or hanging on?\u201d<\/p>\n

The positional questions you could answer are endless and it\u2019s why WorldTour teams<\/a> have already been sniffing around. \u201cEspecially one,\u201d beams Scott. He remains tight-lipped over which team, though we can speculate with a degree of confidence that it\u2019s Ineos Grenadiers.<\/p>\n

Aero wizard Dan Bigham joined the British team in the off-season as a performance engineer. Bigham broke the British hour record in Grenchen last year wearing a customised skinsuit from Vorteq, who are owned by TotalSim, the CFD (computational fluid dynamics) and aerodynamics company that was the force behind Catesby\u2019s transformation and is the majority stakeholder.<\/p>\n

Scott also won\u2019t say whether the interested party is Team BikeExchange, who also work with Vorteq.<\/p>\n

We move on. And ride on, to experience life in a feat of Victorian and modern-day engineering.<\/p>\n

Chilly start<\/h2>\n
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The 19th Century meets the 21st in this impressive upcycling project that now helps to develop cutting-edge aerodynamics and performance data.<\/span><\/figcaption> Steve Sayers \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The first thing you notice is the cold. 10.2\u00b0C felt rather chilly when, on the day of our visit, the sun wore its teardrop-shaped hat with ferocious intent.<\/p>\n

Climatic concern soon gives way to the swift feeling from riding on smooth terrain. It\u2019s akin to the joyful experience of cruising upon French roads rather than being buried in the UK\u2019s pockmarked efforts. Darkness is broken by strings of lights each side, about nine-feet high, that run the full length of the tunnel.<\/p>\n

Above, where the tunnel begins to arch, are pinned thousands of waterproof boards to prevent water from the tonnes of earth above dripping onto the tarmac.<\/p>\n

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Waterproof boards on the ceiling stop any drips landing on the super-smooth tarmac, but humidity is 90 per cent so there\u2019s a hint of road moisture.<\/span><\/figcaption> Steve Sayers \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The occasional roof shafts feature more hardcore waterproofing complete with guttering. Despite that, a hint of road moisture is unavoidable due to that natural 90 per cent humidity.<\/p>\n

Frequent recesses dig back into the walls. This was health-and-safety Victorian style and designed for workers to avoid being run over by steam trains.<\/p>\n

Then, when you reach the end, there are a couple of surprises: a tunnel extension that looks like something out of The Great Escape<\/em> and a circular metal object of huge diameter that\u2019s level with the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cAhh, you reached the end,\u201d Scott smiles on our return. \u201cSo you met the bats? When we took over the tunnel, Natural England identified that the project would interfere with roosting bats. That\u2019s why we created bat space within the first 200m of the tunnel, which feature numerous bat boxes. As for that circular plate of metal, that\u2019s a revolving floor,\u201d Scott continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s for when automobile companies hire out the facility. It avoids multiple-point turns.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fuelled by the auto industry<\/h2>\n
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Top car manufacturers can test everything from emissions to noise.<\/span><\/figcaption> Steve Sayers \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The revolving floor is an elegant, if costly, solution to entice the tunnel\u2019s main client base. But the team know it\u2019s worth it because, within the tunnel, the world\u2019s biggest car manufacturers can test prototypes\u2019 aerodynamic potential, cooling performance, noise, emissions and much more, saving huge transportation costs to aerodynamic-testing facilities abroad.<\/p>\n

Northamptonshire is Britain\u2019s automotive heartland, with Jaguar-Land Rover and Aston Martin just down the road in Gayden, so Catesby is perfectly located.<\/p>\n

TotalSim\u2019s Rob Lewis, the driving force behind the project, explains just how important the automotive industry was to Catesby becoming a reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tunnel conversion, access and building cost around \u00a312.5m. That seems a lot but, when you compare it to an automotive wind tunnel, it\u2019s almost a 10th of the cost. On top of that, the running costs are tiny because you\u2019re not using megawatts of electricity, and not wearing out all sorts of belts, motors and bearings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe original two investors were us [TotalSim Ltd] and George Howard-Chappell [former team principal of Aston Martin Racing and now director of global automotive supplier Multimatic],\u201d Lewis continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe then received \u00a34.2m from the local Growth Fund. This was a vital Government grant because we had what\u2019s called a Market Failure. It\u2019s a unique facility and there was no book of customers, but the Growth Fund unlocked that situation and helped us secure foreign investment from the likes of Subaru.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, full automobile testing is hampered by fire regulations that the Catesby team are ironing out. And iron out they will because this project has been a labour of love for Lewis over the past 13 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started TotalSim, it was solely about Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) work on cars. But UK customers would ask, how do we validate this? There was the MIRA wind tunnel, but that was a 1960s piece of kit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s then I had the idea of converting a railway tunnel. I found this place in about 20 minutes, but it took a long time to get off the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we looked at alternatives including disused World War 2 airfields but they\u2019re too short. Cold War airfields were long enough, but they\u2019re generally not flat. You\u2019ve also got the problem of how do you create a tunnel?<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you use a polytunnel, you\u2019re going to end up with temperature change, which will affect the results. So you\u2019d have to build a tube over the top of it and cover it in concrete and earth to standardise the temperature. It would be a moon mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thankfully, after the Department of Transport sold Catesby to Daventry Council, the council could see the benefits to the local and wider community and granted a long-term lease of over 100 years.<\/p>\n

Secret squirrel<\/h2>\n
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The tunnel\u2019s 8.2m wide, so you can work out the dynamics of a whole team, rather than just individual riders.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The tunnel is the latest evolutionary step on Lewis\u2019 palmares, one that includes being a core member of British Cycling\u2019s Secret Squirrel Club, which was founded in 2004 to drive innovation.<\/p>\n

Chris Boardman was the highest-profile squirrel. It\u2019s a time Lewis remembers with fondness.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was enjoyable, though many of our innovations were pretty basic stuff,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most obvious, but effective, were the skinsuits used at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. We placed a strip on the arms that tripped the flow of the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also played around with different materials, overshoes and position, and cut around 12 per cent in drag. That made a real difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nothing was off-limits, including a rider\u2019s dignity. \u201cWe created sequin suits and ones with fur impregnated in places, all designed to improve aerodynamics. We even talked about selective shaving or plaiting the hairs on legs. We had plenty of wacky ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catesby isn\u2019t one of them. As well as Vorteq, TotalSim\u2019s group of companies include Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub. The marginal-gain seeking cyclist could use the full gamut of services to crank up their streamlining and speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis\u2019ll be improved further because Silverstone will soon have a pedalling-efficiency rig. It\u2019ll be a robot that pedals the bike on a big roller and measures the transmission efficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Measuring drag, power and weight are common ways to assess performance. But transmission efficiency, when the frame flexes and the chain is out of alignment and the rear wheel is squishing, is often a blind spot. The pedalling-efficiency rig should give a better idea about whether one bike is better than another.<\/p>\n

A lot of these ideas are refined and developed at the Innovation Centre that sits in front of the tunnel. It\u2019s impressive stuff and you suspect the automotive industry\u2019s investment and use means it\u2019ll be more sustainable than the ill-fated Boardman Performance Centre that Lewis was involved in.<\/p>\n

Halfords closed the facility in 2020, although the wind tunnel has been moved to Manchester for use by British Cycling.<\/p>\n

Catesby is what you make of it<\/h2>\n
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Sessions cost \u00a31,000 for three hours.<\/span><\/figcaption> Steve Sayers \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Lewis concedes Catesby isn\u2019t perfect \u2013 you can\u2019t simulate crosswinds, for example \u2013 but it\u2019s what you make of it. And that goes for recreational riders as well as the pros and manufacturers, with sessions costing \u00a31,000.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d need to bring a coach and the relevant diagnostic tools but, for the high-performance-seeking cyclist, that\u2019s no big ask.<\/p>\n

It appears Catesby could soon become a cycling as well as an automotive hub.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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