Yaw-driven sail effect generates negative body-axis drag in a streamlined ground vehicle exhibiting positive base pressure
Abstract
Negative body-axis drag, i.e., net forward thrust from the free stream, has been reported only once for a ground vehicle body (Salari and Ortega, PNAS 2021). Complementing this, we demonstrate for the first time, through wind tunnel experiments and numerical simulations on a streamlined vehicle, two distinct mechanisms: at 0° yaw, unusually strong pressure recovery yields positive base pressure, while at finite yaw (∼25°), a sail effect drives Cd
Fields of Study & Subjects
Aerodynamics and Fluid Dynamics Research
Fluid Dynamics and Vibration Analysis
Fluid Dynamics and Turbulent Flows
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Physics of Fluids
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 2
- Publication date
- 1 February 2026
- Language
- EN