A Data-Driven Model for Aerodynamic Loads on Road Vehicles Exposed to Gusty Bora-Like Winds

Strong cross-wind gusts can cause the vehicle to overturn or slide off the road. This problem is particularly experienced on bridges, as vehicles are extremely sensitive to complex wind-bridge–vehicle interactions. While quasi-steady atmospheric winds create serious difficulties for vehicles, this fact is exacerbated by gusts of wind, as is the case with bora, where gusts of wind can reach velocities five times the average wind velocity. In the present study, experiments concerning aerodynamic loads experienced by vehicles exposed to gusty, bora-like winds are carried out. It is noted that the wind gusting and vortex shedding determine unsteady wind loads on vehicles. The experimental results are used as a basis for developing a simple data-driven modeling approach capable of predicting the time history of aerodynamic loads on vehicles exposed to cross-wind gusts. The modeling results indicate that a model using more than two-state variables is needed to capture the unsteady aerodynamic loads.