| EFFECT OF CROSSWINDS ON THE AERODYNAMICS OF TWO
PASSENGER CARS CROSSING EACH OTHER |
Ahmad Hammad, Tao Xing
, Ahmed Abdel-Rahim, Vibhav Durgesh, John C. Crepeau |
| University of Idaho |
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| ABSTRACT |
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The impact of aerodynamics on vehicle safety during crossing of passenger cars is investigated, in the absence
and presence of 30o crosswind. Three-dimensional, unsteady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were used to
simulate these maneuvers. The vortical structures surrounding one car in the case without crosswind were analyzed,
establishing the connection between force and moment fluctuations pre-interaction and the shedding frequency of these
vortices. The forces and moments acting on a passenger car during a crossing maneuver may change by up to 43 %, with the
maximum change associated with the windward car in the presence of crosswind. However, the duration of this increase in
forces is at most 0.01 s, which will not affect the stability of vehicles under normal conditions. The presence of crosswind
increased the rate of fluctuation of forces and moments. Wind tunnel experimental results are in good agreement with the
simulations, and the data available in literature. The analysis results do not show the necessity of enacting new safety policies
on highways, but future parametric studies are needed to fully investigate the impact of different crosswind speeds and
directions, the impact of discrepancy in vehicles sizes, and different vehicle lateral separating distances during crossing and
overtaking. |
| Key Words:
Car-car crossing, Vehicle aerodynamics, Computational fluid dynamics, Vortical structures |
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Corresponding Author.
Tao Xing , Email. 
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