Authors: Park, Chan-Seong¹; Jeon, Seung-Won²; Lee, Kyu-Jung²; Kim, Jun-Suk³; Oh, Jae-Geun¹; Park, Jong-Chan⁴; Lee, Hong-Seok⁴; Choi, Young-Shik¹

Source: Journal of Forensic Sciences, Volume 57, Number 4, 1 July 2012 , pp. 1108-1113(6)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Abstract:

Abstract:  This case report describes a noncontact traffic accident involving a motor scooter and a tractor-trailer with a focus on the wind-drag effect. We used load cells to measure the drag force acting on a substantially similar motor scooter when a substantially similar tractor-trailer passes by it, taking into consideration various speeds of the tractor-trailer and distances between the two vehicles. A three-dimensional steady-state flow analysis was also performed by using the CFX program for computational fluid dynamics to examine the streamlines and the pressure distribution around the tractor-trailer at various speeds. From the experiment, for a separation distance of 1.0 m (3.28 ft) and a speed of 90 km/h (55.9 mph), the maximum resultant drag force is 124.5 N (28 lb); this constitutes a degree of force that could abruptly disrupt the stability in maneuvering by an operator who is unaware of the approaching tractor-trailer. In addition, a single equation that relates the tractor-trailer speed to the drag force that acts on the motor scooter was derived on the basis of the Reynolds number (Re) and the wind-drag coefficient (C_d): C_d = 1.298 × 10⁻⁷ Re.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-4029.2012.02082.x

Affiliations: 1: Central District Office of National Institute of Scientific Investigation, Daejeon 305-348, Korea. 2: Division of Mechanical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-701, Korea. 3: Division of Document and Image Analysis, National Institute of Scientific Investigation, Seoul 158-707, Korea. 4: Division of Traffic Engineering, National Institute of Scientific Investigation, Seoul 158-707, Korea.

Publication date: 2012-07-01

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• In this Subject: Chemistry ,  Physics (General) ,  Law
• By this author: Park, Chan-Seong ;  Jeon, Seung-Won ;  Lee, Kyu-Jung ;  Kim, Jun-Suk ;  Oh, Jae-Geun ;  Park, Jong-Chan ;  Lee, Hong-Seok ;  Choi, Young-Shik

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