AERODYNAMIC EFFECTS OF PASSING VEHICLES

This paper describes an investigation that was undertaken to evaluate the lateral forces and moments produced on a vehicle with large, flat lateral faces when it is passing or being passed by a large vehicle in an adjacent traffic lane. The forces and moments were determined from tests that were conducted in the University of Tennessee subsonic wind tunnel. They were, then, input to a computerized vehicle model to find the resulting dynamic response of the vehicle. These forces and moments were sufficiently strong to produce a significant lateral deviation from the desired path of the vehicle. Resulting from this investigation, several recommendations were made to improve highway safety. /Author/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Presented at Combined Commercial Vehicle Engineering and Operations and Powerplant Meetings, Chicago, 18-22 June 1973.
• Corporate Authors:

  Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

  400 Commonwealth Drive
  Warrendale, PA  United States  15096
• Authors:
  • Johnson, W S
  • Speckhart, F H
  • Bridwell, R E
• Publication Date: 1973-6

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 8 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aerodynamics; Dynamic loads; Engineering moments; Highway safety; Mathematical models; Motor vehicles; Passing; Wind tunnels
• Uncontrolled Terms: Dynamic response; Lateral loads; Models
• Old TRIS Terms: Moments
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00098853
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Safety Council Safety Research Info Serv
• Report/Paper Numbers: SAE #730687 Proceeding
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 18 1975 12:00AM