Author(s): Hideo Oshikawa; Toshimitsu Komatsu
Linked Author(s): Hideo Oshikawa
Keywords: Flood; Vehicular traffic; Water depth; Flow velocity; Risk assessment
Abstract: During floods, it is quite easy for automobiles to be swept away by water flow. In this study, the risk of this happening to a vehicle during a flood situation was examined by laboratory experiment. The hydrodynamic forces on two types of model cars (a compact car and a sport utility vehicle) were measured with each car set in the lateral center of the bottom of a straight channel. Drag force and lift force coefficients, CD and CL, respectively, were evaluated from the results of the experiment under various water depths and flow velocities. In addition, the hydrodynamic forces and lift force on each prototype car were predicted from the values of CD and CL, and the risk to vehicles in a flood was estimated as a function of flow velocity and water depth. As a result of this study, it is made clear that driving a car during a flood situation is dangerous.
Year: 2014