Citation

Adkins K. Collision 2007; 2(2): 120-122.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Collision Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the aerodynamic force acting on a vehicle during a plausible two-vehicle collision scenario. The calculations presented allow a quantitative comparison of the external and internal forces to a two-vehicle system during a collision. It was observed that the external aerodynamic force is a fraction of a percent of the internal forces generated by the two vehicles acting on each other. Using the expression developed to calculate air drag, a comparison of an ejected occupant's range was made both including and excluding air resistance from consideration. In the presented scenario, the exclusion of air resistance resulted in a 36% increase in the occupant's range. The equation and methodology presented in this paper can be used for better understanding of the role of air resistance in accident reconstruction applications.