Wind tunnels have been used for at least seventy years for investigating the aerodynamic characteristics of road vehicles. This use has intensified markedly, however, since the oil crisis of 1973-4. Full-scale automotive wind tunnels have proliferated, and small-scale testing has also increased. Various wind-tunnel designs have been adopted, with open-jet, closed jet and slotted-wall test sections and open and closed-return circuits. Representation of the road surface by the test-section floor has become general, but various techniques have been employed to improve this representation by minimising the tunnel-floor boundary layer effects, and new variations are currently under development. Steady cross-wind conditions are usually simulated by setting the vehicle/model at one or more yaw angles relative to the tunnel airstream. Additionally, some novel techniques have recently been developed for simulating cross-wind gusts. A wide range of test activities is performed in automotive wind tunnels. Most commonly, aerodynamic forces and pressures are measured. Flow visualisation and velocity surveys are also frequently performed, for various purposes. Climatic testing of vehicles is a further major activity in automotive wind tunnels, with the twin aims of ensuring adequate cooling of various mechanical components and providing acceptable passenger comfort in all likely operating conditions. Passenger comfort is also the objective behind the growing use and development of aero-acoustic wind tunnels.
Developments in wind tunnel testing of road vehicles
Entwicklungen in der Windkanalprüfung von Straßenfahrzeugen
1997
13 Seiten, 6 Bilder, 28 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch
Developments in Wind Tunnel Testing of Road Vehicles
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1997
|Wind Tunnel Testing of High Performance Road Vehicles
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1996
|Wind Tunnel Testing of High Performance Road Vehicles
SAE Technical Papers | 1996
|AERODYNAMIC TESTING OF ROAD VEHICLES - OPEN THROAT WIND TUNNEL ADJUSTMENT
SAE Technical Papers | 1994
Hurricane Road (Wind tunnel testing)
Engineering Index Backfile | 1961