Numerical simulation of the aerodynamic characteristics of double unit train

Zijian Guo, Tanghong Liu, Hassan Hemida, Zhengwei Chen, Hongkang Liu*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)
145 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Double unit trains running at high speeds may create additional aerodynamic challenges due to two streamlined structures with close proximity, exploring the aerodynamic performance of double unit trains is now critical. In this study, detached eddy simulation (DES) approach was employed to study the aerodynamic performance and the nearby flow patterns of a double unit train, whose results were compared and analyzed with that of a single-unit train with a same length. The results showed that the coupling method could change the aerodynamic drag on each car and tended to increase the overall drag of the double unit train. The lift force of the front car near the coupler was significantly increased. Similar slipstream distributions were found around the front half single and double-unit train except in a region close to the coupler. Due to the coupling structure, the slipstream of the rear half of double unit train was much stronger compared to single unit train. The vortex region behind the double-unit train was much wider than that of the single-unit train and was accompanied by greater vortex-shedding.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)910-922
Number of pages13
JournalEngineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jul 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China: [grant number 11902367]; Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China: [grant number 2016YFB1200504].

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

  • Aerodynamic force
  • detached eddy simulation (DES)
  • double-unit train
  • drag component
  • numerical simulation
  • open air

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Science(all)
  • Modelling and Simulation

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