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..how does the spray go over the windscreen?
The wheel is under the wing so, in theory, any splash should be contained but sometimes, on a big puddle, the water ends up covering the windscreen.
What's the science behind it?
Through the hole in the floor of a Landy normally.
Guessing, but..
Water gets displaced in front of the wheels as well as behind. If the puddle is big enough some will be caught by the lip of the car and thrown upwards.
bikebouy - if you hit it right on a defender you get that bonnet puddle forming...
some goes forward and up, which you then drive into.
same as on a bike, a lot of the mud that hits you in the face is being flung off the wheel and up in front of you for you to ride into which is why a crud catcher isnt very effective at speed.
"same as on a bike, a lot of the mud that hits you in the face is being flung off the wheel and up in front of you"
But on a bike you don't have a wing, chassis, bonnet etc..
What’s the science behind it?
Splashology.
When a moving tyre hits standing water quite a lot of water is sent forwards and that's what will come up and hit the windscreen.
The water goes up in the air you drive into the splash, don’t over think it.
Tyre hits water, water thrown forwards and sideways. Some of the water that went forwards will have gone high up and will be on it's way back down when you catch up to it.
Like the water in front of the headlight in that ^ photo.
If you are going to drive through a puddle, make sure it's water not the discharge from a burst sewage pipe further up the hill. Driving 50-odd miles home with the windows open in January in a car that still smells of shit is not pleasant. Also, try not to do it a couple of days before MoT time because it turns out there's a possibility that the MoT testers won't touch your still smelling of shit car on the grounds that it is a "biohazard" (yes, really) and it might need another underbody and steam clean.
It will be the pedestrians pissing themselves.
Despite landrover having a reputation for bodging design, it's good to know that the air intake located behind the nearside front-wheel in the side of the wing puts it in the trough of the bow wave so you don't drown it even when the water level is actually higher than intake level when at rest . Just don't stop .
Also remember the water doesn't have to go that high- it only has to go high enough to wash up over the lights and bonnet.
When you drive through a big puddle ...,..
in a T5 the bottom under panel falls off (well mine did and I had to bodge it back on with tie wraps)
If you hit a large puddle fast enough in a mini the car surfs across the top of the puddle with an electric light show going on under the bonnet. If the puddle is too long the mini will come to a halt and slowly settle in the water and you feel the wheels touch down. At this point silence descends and you begin to hear small gurgling noises as water starts making its way into the passenger cabin. You wind the window down, look out at the freezing January waters and advise you mate to get out via the window, not by opening the door.
When you drive through a big puddle... ... it saves you washing the car for another year. Assuming it is rain water not effluent anyway