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A new calculating method has been derived to determine, to some extent, the transient cross-wind force and wind yaw moment acting on a vehicle. On the basis of a plate model, the steady-state aerodynamic characteristic and, to some extent, the three fluid dynamic influences of the partial flow, the vehicle side area and the pressure distribution are taken into account. The method developed is simple in comparison to the usual calculation methods of fluid dynamics and is therefore suited for vehicle dynamic calculations, as well as for determining the wind forces and yaw moments of test drives. There is good agreement between the calculation results and the measurements [e.g.3,4] of other authors.

A new technique for the measurement of wind forces and moments acting on vehicles has been developed on the basis of comprehensive measurements in the wind tunnel. The results achieved with tests on the cross-wind machine were highly positive. The technique is based on pressure measurements and therefore has certain advantages over the measurement technique using an anemometer. This measurement technique opens up new possibilities for analyzing and optimizing a vehicle's crosswind behavior and the driver-vehicle-crosswind closed-loop system. It can also be used for compensation of crosswind disturbances by active steering.