Improvement of vehicle stability in crosswinds via photovoltaic panels

Abstract

This study addresses the aerodynamic instability of vehicles on embankments under crosswind conditions by employing photovoltaic (PV) panels as flow control devices. Traditional wind barriers passively block airflow, which is prone to structural fatigue and serves only a single function. In contrast, the proposed PV panel system not only generates renewable energy but also regulates and redirects airflow, mitigating adverse aerodynamic loads on vehicles. A systematic investigation was conducted to analyze the effects of PV’s tilt angle, height, installation distance, and lane position on vehicle aerodynamic loads through wind tunnel experiments and computational fluid dynamics methods. Parametric analysis reveals the critical relationship between flow control mechanism of PV panels and vehicle aerodynamic performance. The results show that PV panels inhibit airflow acceleration on the embankment slope by regulating and diffusing incoming wind, thereby reducing the pressure on the vehicle surface and enhancing the vehicle’s aerodynamic stability.