Initial Validation of Cross Wind Effects on a Static High-Sided Vehicle

Abstract

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has long been used by the automotive industry to optimise vehicle designs. Typically, simulations are performed with a vehicle moving into stationary air and the effect of the wind is ignored. This paper brings the wind effects to the fore and describes the set-up of a series of CFD simulations with a moving vehicle subject to a strong cross wind. The results from a series of CFD simulations of a static vehicle subject to a cross wind from a number of yaw angles are compared against both full scale and wind tunnel data. All simulations are transient and time-averaged values of drag, lift and overturning moments are presented. The positive and negative aspects of the modelling are discussed and a number of ideas for future work are presented.