Tesla's nerds are out of control -- In a good way

[lolachampcar]

I've gotten into the habit of RainX'n my windshield on new cars. The MS has been a blast to drive so I got around to doing it this morning with about 500 miles on the clock. While wiping the RainX on I noticed a bend in the front glass. It was not the normal curve of the windshield but a deliberate bend from the vertical to more horizontal about four inches or so from the top of the glass. This subtle change in direction of the glass was surely designed to keep flow attached as the already raked windscreen transitioned into the roof line.

For anyone that has done FEA or wind tunnel flow analysis you will understand just how neat it is that Tesla chose to add another dimension to the compound curve of the wind screen in an effort to keep flow attached. Those guys are some serious nerds and that is a good thing where I come from.

 

[eelton]

Maybe this has something to do with the reports of windshields cracking!


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[lolachampcar]

I would not think so. All windscreens are curved so building curved laminated glass is not a problem. From a mechanical standpoint, compound curves strengthen structures so the added detail probably made it stronger. There is the (very) off chance that having curves in two different directions would "trap" the inner layer and allow stress to build on thermal expansion but I'd give that about a 0.1% chance of being the case.

Normally rocks cause cracks and they happen all the time, especially in the NE.

 

[dashrb]

This explains that while my driver's side wiper is tall enough to reach the top of the glass, it doesn't make contact in the top inch or so! I hadn't looked closely at it yet.