Facilities Management, the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research (IIHR), Iowa Athletic Department and Neumann Monson and their consultants have collaborated to construct a scale model of the proposed indoor rowing tank which will be constructed as part of the new Boat House project at The University of Iowa. The model is ¼ scale and its purpose is to simulate racing conditions for athletes on the Iowa women’s rowing team. The indoor rowing tank will be used for training and conditioning and will be adaptable for all levels of rowers from novice to varsity athletes.
A preliminary test run of the model was conducted on Friday, November 9, 2007, at the IIHR test lab on Court Street. The tank was tested with 5 ½ inches of water flowing at 5 ft/second which is equivalent to 11ft/sec in the actual full-size tank. The force of rowing also adds to the water speed in the tank. Directional fins on the ends of the tank help to maintain constant water height and enhance flow characteristics. The purpose of the model is to assist the designers in the final configuration of the tank, pump sizing, sizing and location of water jets and surface characteristics of the water inside the tank.
The IIHR model is based on a similar rowing tank used at the University of Wisconsin.
The new UI Boat House, to be located in City Park on the Iowa River, will bid in February and cost approximately $6.2M. Hugh Barry is the project manager and Steve Schlote is the construction manager.
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| Troy Lyons from IIHR talks with Hugh Barry about flow characteristics of the rowing tank model during a preliminary test run Friday, November 9. | Troy Lyons (IIHR), Hugh Barry and Steve Schlote discuss the rowing tank configuration. |
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| Troy Lyons (IIHR) and Neumann Monson measure varying water speeds. | Jets control the water level and speed in the 1/4 scale model of the proposed indoor rowing tank. |
