The main topics in vehicle aerodynamics that can be studied through wind tunnel testing of vehicle models include vehicle overturning risk due to crosswind, aimed at improving safety, and drag reduction, aimed at reducing energy consumption and pollutant emissions.
Wind tunnel tests are essential to evaluate the aerodynamic loads acting on vehicles, as they allow to measure the vehicle-flow interaction under well-established conditions in terms of wind speed and incident yaw angle.
In the low turbulence section at GVPM, railway convoys consisting of 2-3 vehicles can be tested at scales ranging from 1:15 to 1:23, while road vehicle models can be tested at scales up to 1:4 . In the boundary layer test section, tests on rail/road vehicles can be performed by considering the infrastructure effects (viaducts, embankments, barriers, etc.).
At GVPM, crosswind homologation tests can be conducted for leading and trailing railway vehicles, in accordance with the requirements of TSI – Technical Specifications for Interoperability and EN 14067-6 standard.
Pressure measurements enable the reconstruction of the pressure field over the vehicle surface and support the validation of numerical studies based on CFD analysis.
