Reducing slipstream velocities experienced in proximity to high-speed trains

Jordan Ashley Dunlop, Mark Christopher Thompson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Slipstream wake structures generated by the passing of high-speed rail vehicles represent a hazard to passengers and workers in close proximity. In this article, the possibility of reducing peak slipstream velocities through the implementation of angled fins or swirling flow injection is assessed on the basis of improved delayed detached eddy simulations (IDDES). The key to improving slipstream velocities involves redirecting and/or reducing the internal energy, a pair of meandering counter-rotating vortex cores that are associated with large wake slipstream deviations. It is demonstrated that the danger imposed by slipstream wake structures, as measured by the induced velocity measures recorded at a series of test points adjacent to the passing train, could be significantly reduced, with decreases from 10% up to 23%, recorded across a range of sampling locations. The means by which these reductions are generated and the corresponding changes in the flow are also explored through analysis of the modified wakes. As such, these devices show promise at improving the operational safety of high-speed rail vehicles.

Original languageEnglish
Article number72
Number of pages13
JournalFluids
Volume7
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 9 Feb 2022

Keywords

  • CFD
  • Flow control
  • High-speed trains
  • Slipstream
  • Wake vortices

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