Investigation of the transient aerodynamic phenomena associated with passing manoeuvres

Passing manoeuvres and crosswind can have significant effects on the stability of road vehicles. The transient aerodynamics, which interacts with suspension, steering geometry and driver reaction is not well understood. When two vehicles overtake or cross, they mutually influence the flow field around each other, and under certain conditions, can generate severe gust loads that act as additional forces on both vehicles. The transient forces acting on them are a function of the longitudinal and transverse spacings and of the relative velocity between the two vehicles. Wind tunnel experiments have been conducted in one of the automotive wind tunnels of the Institut Aérotechnique of Saint-Cyr l'École to simulate the transient overtaking process between two models of a simple generic automobile shape. The tests were designed to study the effects of various parameters such as the longitudinal and transverse spacing, the relative velocity and the crosswind on the aerodynamic forces and moments generated on the overtaken and overtaking vehicles. Test results characterize the transient aerodynamic side force as well as the yawing moment coefficients in terms of these parameters. Measurements of the drag force coefficient as well as the static pressure distribution around the overtaken vehicle complete the understanding. The main results indicate the aerodynamic coefficients of the overtaken vehicle to be velocity independent within the limit of the test parameters, while unsteady aerodynamic effects appear in the case of an overtaking vehicle. The mutual interference effects between the vehicles vary as a linear function of the transverse spacing and the crosswind does not really generate any new unsteady behaviour.