© 2014, Bert Blocken, Eindhoven University of Technology.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any 
means without the prior written permission of the author.
 MODULE QUESTION

If an elite cyclist wants to establish a new world hour record on an

indoor velodrome, which location should (s)he choose?
A) Eindhoven, The Netherlands (35 m above mean sea level)
B) Högvalen, Sweden (835 m above MSL)
C) Mexico City (2,250 m above MSL)
D) La Paz, Bolivia (3,640 m above MSL)
(CC BY-SA 3.0; Nicola)

Eindhoven Högvalen Mexico City La Paz

(Cycloteam.com) (www.hogvalen.se) (CC0 1.0) (CC BY; Mark Goble)

LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR MODULE 2

At the end of this module, you will:

• Understand the fluid property density
• Understand how density changes as a function of temperature and pressure
• Understand how air density changes as a function of altitude
• Understand how cycling aerodynamics is influenced by temperature and altitude
Physical property is any measurable property that describes the state of a physical
system (mass, volume, density, position, velocity, …).

Etymology:

Velocity Latin velocitas: “speed”, velox: “fast”

Pressure Latin pressura:

Module 1 “a pressing, pressure”

Temperature Latin tempero: “I temper”

Density Latinmodule
This “thickness”,
(Module
densitas: 2) densus: “thick, dense”

Viscosity Latin viscum:

Module 3 “ something sticky, birdlime made from
mistletoe, mistletoe“, Late Latin viscosus: “sticky”
Physical property is any measurable property that describes the state of a physical
system (mass, volume, density, position, velocity, …).

Etymology:

Density: Latin densitas: “thickness”, densus: “thick, dense”

Density is mass per unit volume

m
ρ 
V
where  is the density, m the mass and V the volume.
Unit: kg/m³
Density of air influences the air resistance:

D = Drag force (N)

A = Frontal area (m²)
ρU 2
D  ACD CD = Drag coefficient (-)
2  = Air density (kg/m³)
U = Relative air speed (m/s)

Typical values:
ACD = 0.211 m² (time-trial position)
U = 15 m/s (= 54 km/h)
 = 1.1 kg/m³  D = 26.1 N
 = 1.2 kg/m³  D = 28.5 N
 = 1.3 kg/m³  D = 30.9 N
Density changes with temperature and pressure.
 Increasing the pressure decreases the volume and thus increases the density
 These changes are small for liquids, large for gases.

Compressing a liquid Compressing a gas

p    
Density changes with temperature and pressure.
 Increasing the pressure decreases the volume and thus increases the density
 These changes are small for liquids, large for gases.
 Air resistance of a cyclist changes with temperature and pressure
Density of water at 1 atm pressure, as a function of temperature
1005
1000
995
990

Density (kg/m³)
985
980
975
970
965
0.4 % change
960 for T = 30°C
955
-40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 100
Temperature (°C)
Density of air at 1 atm pressure, as a function of temperature

10 % change
for T = 30°C
Density of air as a function of temperature: implications for cycling

D = Drag force (N)

A = Frontal area (m²)
ρU 2
D  ACD CD = Drag coefficient (-)
2  = Air density (kg/m³)
U = Relative air speed (m/s)

Typical values:
ACD = 0.211 m² (time-trial position)
 = 1.225 kg/m³ (15 °C and 1 atm) D = 29.1 N
U = 15 m/s (= 54 km/h)

 Next: considering variations in temperature and pressure

Density of air as a function of temperature: implications for cycling
Drag force D at 1 atm and U = 54 km/h

35
34
33
32

Drag force (N)

31
30
29
28
27
26
25
-25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Temperature (°C)
Density of air as a function of temperature: implications for cycling
Theoretical time gain over 50 km at 1 atm

150
100

Time gain over 50 km (s)

50
0
-50
-100
-150
-200
60 s difference
-250
for T = 10°C
-300
-25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Temperature (°C)
Density of air also changes with pressure.

Compressing a liquid Compressing a gas

p    
Density of air changes with pressure and therefore also with altitude.
Temperature T (in K) at altitude h (m above sea level):

T  T0  L h T0 = Standard temperature = 288.15 K (= 15°C)

L = Temperature lapse rate = 0.0065 K/m
Pressure p (in Pa) at altitude h:
gM p0 = 1 atm = 101,325 Pa
 Lh  RL g = Gravitational acceleration = 9.81 m/s²
p  p 0 1   M = Molar mass of dry air = 0.029 kg/mol
 T0  R = Ideal gas constant = 8.314 J/(mol.K)

Density  (in kg/m³) at altitude h:

pM
ρ 
RT
Density of air as a function of altitude: implications for cycling

1.30

1.20

Density (kg/m³)
1.10

1.00

0.90

0.80

0.70
0
0
0
0
0
12 0
14 0
00
18 0
00
22 0
24 0
00
28 0
30 0
00
34 0
36 0
00
40 0
00
20
40
60
80
0
0

0
0

0
0

0
0

0
10

16

20

26

32

38
Altitude (m)
Density of air as a function of altitude: implications for cycling
Drag force D at U = 54 km/h

D
Density of air as a function of altitude: implications for cycling
Drag force D at U = 54 km/h
Cycling speed U including altitude
oxygen uptake effects
30 59

28 After acclimatization
D

Cycling speed (km/h)

26

Drag force (N)

58
24

22 U
57
20

18
Before acclimatization
16 56
0
0
0
0
10 0
12 0
14 0
00
18 0
20 0
00
24 0
26 0
00
30 0
00
34 0
36 0
38 0
00
00
20
40
60
80
0
0

0
0

0
0

0
0
0
16

22

28

32

40
Altitude (m)
 MODULE QUESTION

If an elite cyclist wants to establish a new world hour record on an

indoor velodrome, which location should (s)he choose?
A) Eindhoven, The Netherlands (35 m above MSL)
B) Högvalen, Sweden (835 m above MSL)
C) Mexico City (2,250 m above MSL)
D) La Paz, Bolivia (3,640 m above MSL)
(CC BY-SA 3.0; Nicola)

Eindhoven Högvalen Mexico City La Paz

(Cycloteam.com) (www.hogvalen.se) (CC0 1.0) (CC BY; Mark Goble)

A) Eindhoven, The Netherlands (35 m above MSL)
B) Högvalen, Sweden (835 m above MSL)
C) Mexico City (2,250 m above MSL)
D) La Paz, Bolivia (3,640 m above MSL)
Assumption: Boardman biomedical characteristics
30 59

28

Cycling speed (km/h)

Mexico City: 58.1 km 26

Drag force (N)

58
La Paz: 57.6 km 24

22
Högvalen: 57.3 km 57
20

Eindhoven: 56.4 km 18

16 56
0
0
0
0
10 0
12 0
14 0
16 0
18 0
20 0
22 0
24 0
26 0
00
30 0
32 0
34 0
36 0
38 0
40 0
00
20
40
60
80
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
28
Altitude (m)
In this module, we have learned about:

• The fluid property density

• How density changes as a function of temperature and pressure
• How air density changes as a function of altitude
• How cycling aerodynamics is influenced by temperature and altitude
In the next module, we will focus on:

• The fluid property viscosity

• How viscosity changes as a function of temperature
• How viscosity influences cycling aerodynamics

(CC BY; Koldora)