Strategies to reduce the risk of side wind induced accident on heavy truck

Abstract

Vehicles, in particular high-sided lorries and trucks, can be at risk of wind-induced accidents such as overturning and/or side slip, especially on exposed sites such as embankments, viaducts and bridges. A first solution, lies in designing fences and a lateral shield to be placed both at the edges of the bridge and close to the tower, thereby shielding the vehicle from cross-wind. Nevertheless, it is also possible to optimize the aerodynamic response of the vehicle. In this work, several strategies were used and compared to optimized the aerodynamic response of the Heavy Good Vehicle (HGV) in crosswind: changing of the shape of the trailer, vortex Generators (VGs) installed on the leading edge of the trailer and passive devices installed along the sides/top of the trailer. Front-rear trailer devices, previously designed and patented by the author, positioned on the sides of the trailer reduced the overturning moment by about 8%. Steady state and time variant CFD simulations were used. The numerical models were validated with wind tunnel test.