Type of Document	Master's Thesis
Author	Fahrner, Carl Jerome
URN	etd-06122010-020242
Title	An experimental investigation of fluid dynamic interference forces.
Degree	Master of Science
Department	Engineering Science and Mechanics
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Telionis, Demetri P. Committee Chair Frederick, Daniel Committee Member Kaiser, John E. Jr. Committee Member Stinchcomb, Wayne W. Committee Member
Keywords	highway vehicles
Date of Defense	1977-02-05
Availability	restricted
Abstract Experimental investigations have been conducted in the VPI & SU towing basin to assess the feasibility of testing fully submerged configurations, simulating aerodynamic phenomena, and in particular, measuring aerodynamic interference force between blunt bodies. S~ecial instrumented struts were constructed and calibrated for the measurement of drag and side forces. A series of tests were conducted with spherical models in order to verify the reliability of the method by comparison with earlier classical results. The effects of flat walls and surface wave formation were studied and it was discovered that their influence on aerodynamic forces is reduced to less than 10% if the body is removed from the wall or the surface by a distance larger than half its typical widtho Experiments were also conducted with crude models that approximate the shapes of a passenger car and a truck. In particular, the passing process under the presence of a strong wind was simulated by towing the models at an angle of 240 with respect to motion of the carriage. The results appear to be essentially in agreement with the data received with much larger models tested in air, by other investigators.
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