Crosswind

A crosswind is any wind that has a perpendicular component to the line or direction of
travel. This affects the aerodynamics of many forms of transport. Moving non-parallel to
the wind's direction creates a crosswind component on the object and thus increasing the
apparent wind on the object.

When winds are not parallel to or directly with/against the line of travel, the wind is said
to have a crosswind component; that is, the force can be separated into two vector
components:
1. Headwind component (in the direction of motion)
2. Crosswind component (perpendicular to the former)
A vehicle behaves as though it is directly experiencing a lateral effect of the magnitude of
the crosswind component only. The crosswind component is computed by multiplying the
wind speed by the sine of the angle between the wind and the direction of travel while the
headwind component is computed in the same manner, using cosine instead of sine.
In Aviation
crosswind is the component of wind that is blowing across the runway, making landings
and take-offs more difficult than if the wind were blowing straight down the runway.
In Ground Vehicles
Crosswinds can cause difficulty with ground vehicles traveling on wet or slippery roads,
especially when gusting conditions affect vehicles that have a large side area such as
vans, and tractor-trailers.
The main risk associated with crosswind is vehicle overturning, which is particularly
critical when the train exits a tunnel (as a consequence of the sudden variation in the
aerodynamic forces) or when the train runs in a curve (in combination with high values of
lateral acceleration).
The crosswind effects become particularly critical at high operating speeds.
In a fundamental way, the crosswind cause occurrence of the significant component of
aerodynamic reaction on lateral axis direction and the yawing moment around the vertical
axis of the vehicle. The last one results from the fact that center of wind pressure of
coachwork is situated usually out of the vehicle center of mass.

Crosswind & Train Aerodynamic

When the train speed increases, the shape of the train directly affects its aerodynamic
performance. Compared to the traditional blunt train under strong crosswind, the
streamlined nose train is superior in terms of reducing the air drag and enhancing the flow
characteristics around the train and crosswind resistance.
The change in the nose length of the train has the greatest effect on the aerodynamic
coefficient of the tail car, followed by that on the head car, whereas the effect on the middle
car is the smallest. Meanwhile, for the head car, the lift force coefficient exhibits the largest
changes, followed by the drag, side force, and roll moment coefficient. For the tail car, the
drag coefficient exhibits the largest changes, followed by the lift, side force, and roll
moment coefficient.

Mercedes Benz
It was able to develop a feature in its cars recently to "reduce the risk of the impact of
crosswinds" and called it "Crosswind Assist" in short when the speed exceeds about 50
miles / hour. This feature allows the brakes to intervene to control and adjust the lane in
times of severe winds.