Numerical Study on Reduction in Aerodynamic Drag and Noise of High-Speed Pantograph

Reducing the aerodynamic drag and noise levels of high-speed pantographs is important for promoting environmentally friendly,energy efficient and rapid advances in train technology.Using computational fluid dynamics theory and the K-FWH acoustic equation,a numerical simulation is conducted to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics of high-speed pantographs.A component optimization method is proposed as a possible solution to the problemof aerodynamic drag and noise in high-speed pantographs.The results of the study indicate that the panhead,base and insulator are the main contributors to aerodynamic drag and noise in high-speed pantographs.Therefore,a gradual optimization process is implemented to improve the most significant components that cause aerodynamic drag and noise.By optimizing the cross-sectional shape of the strips and insulators,the drag and noise caused by airflow separation and vortex shedding can be reduced.The aerodynamic drag of insulator with circular cross section and strips with rectangular cross section is the largest.Ellipsifying insulators and optimizing the chamfer angle and height of the windward surface of the strips can improve the aerodynamic performance of the pantograph.In addition,the streamlined fairing attached to the base can eliminate the complex flow and shield the radiated noise.In contrast to the original pantograph design,the improved pantograph shows a 21.1%reduction in aerodynamic drag and a 1.65 dBA reduction in aerodynamic noise.

Numerical Study on the Effect of Vortex Generators on the Aerodynamic Drag of a High-Speed Train

A relatively high aerodynamic drag is an important factor that hinders the further acceleration of high-speed trains.Using the shear stress transport(SST)k-ωturbulence model,the effect of various vortex generator types on the aerodynamic characteristics of an ICE2(Inter-city Electricity)train has been investigated.The results indi-cate that the vortex generators with wider triangle,trapezoid,and micro-ramp arranged on the surface of the tail car can significantly change the distribution of surface pressure and affect the vorticity intensity in the wake.This alteration effectively reduces the resistance of the tail car.Meanwhile,the micro-ramp vortex generator with its convergent structure at the rear exhibits enhancedflow-guiding capabilities,resulting in a 15.4%reduction in the drag of the tail car.

Formation mechanism of aerodynamic drag of high-speed train and some reduction measures

Aerodynamic drag is proportional to the square of speed. With the increase of the speed of train, aerodynamic drag plays an important role for high-speed train. Thus, the reduction of aerodynamic drag and energy consumption of high-speed train is one of the essential issues for the development of the desirable train system. Aerodynamic drag on the traveling train is divided into pressure drag and friction one. Pressure drag of train is the force caused by the pressure distribution on the train along the reverse running direction. Friction drag of train is the sum of shear stress, which is the reverse direction of train running direction. In order to reduce the aerodynamic drag, adopting streamline shape of train is the most effective measure. The velocity of the train is related to its length and shape. The outer wind shields can reduce train's air drag by about 15%. At the same time, the train with bottom cover can reduce the air drag by about 50%, compared with the train without bottom plate or skirt structure.

Numerical investigation of influence of pantograph parameters and train length on aerodynamic drag of high-speed train

This study investigates the influence of different pantograph parameters and train length on the aerodynamic drag of high-speed train by the delayed detached eddy simulation(DDES) method. The train geometry considered is the high-speed train with pantographs, and the different versions have 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 16 and 17 cars. The numerical results are verified by the wind tunnel test with 3.6% difference. The influences of the number of cars and the position, quantity and configuration of pantographs on flow field around high-speed train and wake vortices are analyzed. The aerodynamic drag of middle cars gradually decreases along the flow direction. The aerodynamic drag of pantographs decreases with its backward shift, and that of the first pantograph decreases significantly. As the number of pantographs increases, its effect on the aerodynamic drag decrease of rear cars is more significant. The engineering application equation for the aerodynamic drag of high-speed train with pantographs is proposed. For the 10-car and 17-car train, the differences of total aerodynamic drag between the equation and the simulation results are 1.2% and 0.4%, respectively. The equation generalized in this study could well guide the design phase of high-speed train.

A Study on the Reduction of the Aerodynamic Drag and Noise Generated By the Roof Air Conditioner of High-Speed Trains

In order to investigate how the aerodynamic drag and noise produced by the roof air conditioner of a high-speed train can be reduced,the related unsteady flow in the near-field was computed using the method of large eddy simulation.In this way,the aerodynamic source for noise generation has initially been determined.Then,the far-field aerodynamic noise has been computed in the framework of the Lighthill’s acoustics analogy theory.The propulsion height and flow-guide angle of the roof air conditioner were set as the design variables.According to the computational results,a lower propulsion height or flow-guide angle is beneficial in terms of aerodynamic drag and noise mitigation.However,compared to the design scheme with propulsion height of 0mm,the aerodynamic drag coefficient of the configuration with propulsion height of 190mm and flow-guide angle of 30°is slightly larger,while the aerodynamic noise is obviously reduced.Thus,from the viewpoint of the aerodynamic drag and noise,the design scheme with propulsion height of 190 mm and flow-guide angle of 30°is the optimal configuration in the range of conditions examined in the present work.

Numerical simulation and analysis of aerodynamic drag on a subsonic train in evacuated tube transportation

The aerodynamic drag on a train running in an evacuated tube varies with tube air pressure, train speed and shape, as well as blockage ratio. This paper uses numerical simulations to study the effects of different factors on the aerodynamic drag of a train running at subsonic speed in an evacuated tube. Firstly, we present the assumption of a steady state, two dimensional, incompressible viscous flow with lubricity wall conditions. Subsequently, based on the Navier-Stokes equation and the k-c turbulent models, we calculate the aerodynamic drag imposed on the column train with a 3-meter diameter running under different pressure and blockage ratio conditions in an evacuated tube transporta- tion （ETT） system. The simulation is performed with FLUENT 6.3 software package. An analyses of the simulation re- sults suggest that the blockage ratio for ETT should be in the range of 0.25-0.7, and the tube internal diameter in the range of 2-4 m, with the feasible vacuum pressure in the range of 1-10 000 Pa for the future subsonic ETT trains.

The approach to calculate the aerodynamic drag of maglev train in the evacuated tube

In order to study the relationships between the aerodynamic drag of maglev and other factors in the evacuated tube, the formula of aerodynamic drag was deduced based on the basic equations of aerodynamics and then the calculated result was confirmed at a low speed on an experimental system developed by Superconductivity and New Energy R＆D Center of South Jiaotong University. With regard to this system a high temperature superconducting magnetic levitation vehicle was motivated by a linear induction motor （LIM） fixed on the permanent magnetic guideway. When the vehicle reached an expected speed, the LIM was stopped. Then the damped speed was recorded and used to calculate the experimental drag. The two results show the approximately same relationship between the aerodynamic drag on the maglev and the other factors such as the pressure in the tube, the velocity of the maglev and the blockage ratio. Thus, the pressure, the velocity, and the blockage ratio are viewed as the three important factors that contribute to the energy loss in the evacuated tube transportation.

Aerodynamic drag analysis of double-deck container vehicles with different structures

To study the aerodynamic performance of a new six-axis X2K double-deck container vehicle, numerical simulation was done based on three-dimensional, steady Navier-Stokes equations and k-e turbulence model. The results show that the pressure on the front surface of vehicle is positive, and others are negative. The maximum negative one appears as a ＂gate＂ shape on front surfaces. The pressure on vehicle increases with train speed, and pressure on vehicles with cross-loaded structure is smaller than that without it. The airflow around vehicles is symmetrical about train vertical axis, and the flow velocity decreases gradually along the axis to ground. Airflow around vehicles with cross-loaded structure is weaker than that without the structure. The aerodynamic drag increases linearly with the train speed, and it is minimum for the mid-vehicle. The linear coefficient for mid-vehicle without cross-loaded structure is 29.75, nearly one time larger than that with the structure valued as 15.425. So, from the view-point of aerodynamic drag, the cross-loaded structure is more reasonable for the six-axis X2K double-deck container vehicle.

Use of bionic inspired surfaces for aerodynamic drag reduction on motor vehicle body panels

Inspired by the successful applications of biological non-smoothness,we introduced bionic non-smooth surfaces as appendices into vehicle body design,aiming to further reduce aerodynamic drag.The size range of the non-smooth units with pits and grooves was determined according to our analysis with the mechanisms underlying non-smooth unit mediated aerodynamic drag reduction.The bionic non-smooth units reported here were designed to adapt the structure of a given vehicle body from the point of boundary layer control that reduces the burst and the loss of turbulent kinetic energy.The engine cover lid and vehicle body cap were individually treated with the non-smooth units,and the treated vehicles were subjected to aerodynamic drag coefficient simulation tests using the computational fluid dynamics(CFD) analysis method.The simulation results showed that,in comparison with smooth surfaces,properly designed non-smooth surfaces can have greater effects on drag reduction.The mechanism underlying drag reduction mediated by non-smooth surfaces was revealed by further analyses,in which the effects of non-smooth and smooth surfaces were directly compared.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FLOW CHARACTERISTICSAND AERODYNAMIC DRAG OF VAN-BODY TRUCK

The surface airflow characteristics of a van-body truck are investigated bymeans of force measurement, pressure measurement and flow visualization. The influenceof the surface airflow is examined by adjusting the gap and height difference between driver cab and van. And the relationship between the flow characteristic and aerodynamicdrag are analyzed to provide a reference for designing aerodynamic shape of van-bodytruck and drag-reducing attachments.

Multi-SPline Technique for the Extraction of Drag Coeffidents from Radar Data

In the preparation of firing tables, the determination of projectile drag coefficientsthrough firing test radar data reduction is very important. Many methods have been developed for this work but none of them appear to be satisfactory in one Way or another. Inthis paper a multi-spline model of drag coefficient (cd) curve is developed that can guaranteefirst derivative continuity of the cd curve and has good flexibility of fitting accurately to acd curve from subsonic up to supersonic range. Practical firing data reduction tests showboth fast convergence and accurate fitting results. Typical velocity fitting RMS errors are0.05-0.08 m/s.

Effect of simplifying bogie regions on aerodynamic performance of high-speed train

An investigation of the effect of simplifying bogie regions on the aerodynamic performance of a high-speed train was carried out by studying four train models,to explore possible ways to optimise the train underbody structure,improve the underbody aerodynamic performance,and reduce the aerodynamic drag.The shear stress transport(SST)k-ωturbulence model was used to study the airflow features of the high-speed train with different bogie regions at Re=2.25×10^(6).The calculated aerodynamic drag and surface pressure were compared with the experimental benchmark of wind tunnel tests.The results show that the SST k-ωmodel presents high accuracy in predicting the flow fields around the train,and the numerical results closely agree with the experimental data.Compared with the train with simplified bogies,the aerodynamic drag of the train with a smooth surface and the train with enclosed bogie cavities/inter-carriage gaps decreases by 38.2%and 30.3%,respectively,while it increases by 10.8%for the train with cavities but no bogies.Thus,enclosing bogie cavities shows a good capability of aerodynamic drag reduction for a new generation of highspeed trains.

Aerodynamic simulation of evacuated tube maglev trains with different streamlined designs

Based on the Navier-Stokes （N-S） equations of incompressible viscous fluids and the standard k-ε turbu- lence model with assumptions of steady state and two dimensional conditions, a simulation of the aerodynamic drag on a maglev train in an evacuated tube was made with ANSYS/FLOTRAN software under different vacuum pressures, blockage ratios, and shapes of train head and tail. The pressure flow fields of the evacuated tube maglev train under different vacuum pressures were analyzed, and then compared under the same blockage ratio condition. The results show that the environmental pressure of 1 000 Pa in the tube is the best to achieve the effect of aerodynamic drag reduction, and there are no obvious differences in the aerodynamic drag reduction among different streamline head shapes. Overall, the blunt-shape tail and the blockage ratio of 0.25 are more efficient for drag reduction of the train at the tube pressure of 1 000 Pa.

Numerical Analysis of the Tunnel-Train-Air Interaction Problem in a Tunnel with a Double-Hat Oblique Hood

The tunnel-train-air interaction problem is investigated by using a numerical method able to provide relevant information about pressure fluctuations,aerodynamic drag characteristics and the“piston wind”effect.The method relies on a RNG k-εtwo-equation turbulence model.It is shown that although reducing the oblique slope can alleviate the pressure gradient resulting from initial compression waves at the tunnel entrance,the pressure fluctuations in the tunnel are barely affected;however,a large reduction of micro-pressure wave amplitudes is found outside the tunnel.In comparison to the case where no tunnel hood is present,the amplitudes of micro-pressure waves at 40 m from the tunnel reach an acceptable range.The aerodynamic drag of the head and tail fluctuates greatly while that of the intermediate region undergoes only limited variations when the high-speed train passes through the double-hat oblique tunnel.It is shown that the effects of the oblique slope of the portal on the aerodynamic drag can almost be ignored while the train speed plays an important role.

Regularity and sensitivity analysis of main parameters of plate effects on the aerodynamic braking drag of a high-speed train

With increase of train speed,braking plate technology has a good application prospect in the high-speed stage of the train.Based on the 1/8 scaled symmetrical train model composed of two half cars,the Reynolds Av era ge Navier-Stokes(RANS)equations and Shear Stress Transfer(SST)k-ωturbulence model are adopted to simulate the aerodynamic performance of the train with plate.The aer odynamic dra g de pendence of single par ameter of the plate(shape,area,angle,position and n umber)is anal ysed,and identification resear c h of the main aerodynamic parameters of the plate is carried out.The numerical settings used in this paper are verified by wind tunnel test data.Results show that the braking plate with an aspect ratio of one has better performance on aerodynamic drag.The area,opening angle and number of plates are basically positively correlated with the total aerodynamic drag of the target car and plate.Arr anging plates at the downstream of the vehicle is a good method of raising total aerodynamic drag.Within the range of plate parameter design in this paper,by using orthogonal design of experiment and the method of range analysis and analysis of variance,the influence degrees of plate parameters on aer odynamic dra g ar e determined,and the order is n umber,ar ea and opening angle of plate.The research results provide theoretical support for the design and safe operation of high-speed trains with aerodynamic braking plates.

Three-dimensional aerodynamic optimization design of high-speed train nose based on GA-GRNN

With the speed upgrade of the high-speed train,the aerodynamic drag becomes one of the key factors to restrain the train speed and energy saving.In order to reduce the aerodynamic drag of train head,a new parametric approach called local shape function(LSF) was adopted based on the free form surface deformation(FFD) method and a new efficient optimization method based on the response surface method(RSM) of GA-GRNN.The optimization results show that the parametric method can control the large deformation with a few design parameters,and can ensure the deformation zones smoothness and smooth transition of different deformation regions.With the same sample points for training,GA-GRNN performs better than GRNN to get the global optimal solution.As an example,the aerodynamic drag for a simplified shape with head + one carriage + tail train is reduced by 8.7%.The proposed optimization method is efficient for the engineering design of high-speed train.

Study on the effect of dimple position on drag reduction of high-speed maglev train

Transient numerical simulations were carried out by placing dimples at the top,sides and bottoms of the tail car streamline area of a high-speed maglev train.The results of an improved delayed detached eddy simulation turbulence model using three-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes and shear-stress transport K-Omega double equations were compared to the results of a wind tunnel test to verify the numerical simulation accuracy,within 5%of the ground truth,which is an acceptable precision range.The results show that dimples arranged on the streamline area atop the train tail car affected the locations at which the airflow at the top and bottom of the train met and weakened the strength of the wake.The aerodynamic drag and lift coefficient decreased by 3.40%and 4.27%,respectively.When the dimples were arranged on the streamline area at the sides or bottoms of the train tail car,they had little effect on the top of the tail car,so they did not destroy the balance of the airflow at the top and bottom.They also had little influence on the development of wake topology.Therefore,the aerodynamic drag and lift of the train changed little.

Aerodynamic optimization using passive control devices near the bogie cabin of high-speed trains

Bogies are responsible for a significant amount of aerodynamic resistance and noise,both of which negatively affect high-speed train performance and passenger comfort.In the present study,the passive control method is applied in designing the bogie cabins of a high-speed train to improve its aerodynamic characteristics.Two passive control measures are introduced,namely,adding a spoiler and creating diversion grooves near the bogie cabins.Furthermore,the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic characteristics of a high-speed train operating at 350 km/h under different control strategies are numerically investigated using the improved-delayed-detached-eddy simulation(IDDES)and the acoustic finite element method(FEM).The impacts of passive control devices on drag reduction,slipstream,and aerodynamic noise are presented and discussed.Numerical results reveal that the passive control devices have a major effect on the slipstream around the train.The amplitude of the fluctuating pressure is higher in the first half of the train than in the second half.The first bogie has the maximum amplitude of the acoustic pressure for both the train with and without passive devices.In the far field,the spoiler installation and placement of the diversion grooves in the front of the bogie cabin can significantly reduce aerodynamic drag and noise.Hence,as shown in this study,using passive control methods to improve the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic properties of high-speed trains can be a viable option.

Multi-objective optimization design method of the high-speed train head

With the continuous improvement of the train speed, the dynamic environment of trains turns out to be aerodynamic domination. Solving the aerodynamic problems has become one of the key factors of the high-speed train head design. Given that the aerodynamic drag is a significant factor that restrains train speed and energy conservation, reducing the aerodynamic drag is thus an important consideration of the high-speed train head design. However, the reduction of the aerodynamic drag may increase other aerodynamic forces (moments), possibly deteriorating the operational safety of the train. The multi-objective optimization design method of the high-speed train head was proposed in this paper, and the aerodynamic drag and load reduction factor were set to be optimization objectives. The automatic multi-objective optimization design of the high-speed train head can be achieved by integrating a series of procedures into the multi-objective optimization algorithm, such as the establishment of 3D parametric model, the aerodynamic mesh generation, the calculation of the flow field around the train, and the vehicle system dynamics. The correlation between the optimization objectives and optimization variables was analyzed to obtain the most important optimization variables, and a further analysis of the nonlinear relationship between the key optimization variables and the optimization objectives was obtained. After optimization, the aerodynamic drag of optimized train was reduced by up to 4.15%, and the load reduction factor was reduced by up to 1.72%.

Control of water contamination on side window of road vehicles by A-pillar section parameter optimization

The water contamination on the side windows of moving vehicles is a crucial issue in improving the driving safety and the comfort.In this paper,an effective optimization method is proposed to reduce the water contamination on the side windows of automobiles.The accuracy and the efficiency of the numerical simulation are improved by using the lattice Boltzmann method,and the Lagrangian particle tracking method.Optimized parameters are constructed on the basis of the occurrence of the water deposition on a vehicle’s side window.The water contamination area of the side window and the aerodynamic drag are considered simultaneously in the design process;these two factors are used to form the multi-objective optimization function in the genetic algorithm(GA)method.The approximate model,the boundary-seeded domain method,and the GA method are combined in this study to enhance the optimization efficiency.After optimization,the optimal parameters for the A-pillar section are determined by setting the boundary to an area of W=7.77 mm,L=1.27 mm and H=11.22 mm.The side window’s soiling area in the optimized model is reduced by 66.93%,and the aerodynamic drag is increased by 0.41%only,as compared with the original model.It is shown that the optimization method can effectively solve the water contamination problem of side windows.