Study on the transient flow induced by the windbreak transition regions in a railway subject to crosswinds

Zheng-Wei Chen,Syeda Anam Hashmi,Tanghong Liu,Wenhui Li,Zhuang Sun,Dongrun Liu,Hassan Hemida,Hong-Kang Liu 한국풍공학회 2022 Wind and Structures, An International Journal (WAS Vol.35 No.5

Due to the complex terrain around high-speed railways, the windbreaks were established along different landforms, resulting in irregular windbreak transition regions between different subgrade infrastructures (flat ground, cutting, embankment, etc). In this paper, the effect of a windbreak transition on the wind flow around railways subjected to crosswinds was studied. Wind tunnel testing was conducted to study the wind speed change around a windbreak transition on flat ground with a uniform wind speed inflow, and the collected data were used to validate a numerical simulation based on a detached eddy simulation method. The validated numerical method was then used to investigate the effect of the windbreak transition from the flat ground to cutting (the “cutting” is a railway subgrade type formed by digging down from the original ground) for three different wind incidence angles of 90º, 75º, and 105º. The deterioration mechanism of the flow fields and the reasons behind the occurrence of the peak wind velocities were explained in detail. The results showed that for the windbreak transition on flat ground, the impact was small. For the transition from the flat ground to the cutting, the influence was relatively large. The significant increase in the wind speeds was due to the right-angle structure of the windbreak transition, which resulted in sudden changes of the wind velocity as well as the direction. In addition, the height mismatch in the transition region worsened the protective effect of a typical windbreak.

Yaw effects on train aerodynamics on a double-track viaduct: A wind tunnel study

Wenhui Li,Tanghong Liu,Pedro Martinez-Vazquez,Zhengwei Chen,Xiaoshuai Huo,Zijian Guo,Yutao Xia 한국풍공학회 2021 Wind and Structures, An International Journal (WAS Vol.33 No.3

The aerodynamic performance of a scaled high-speed train model mounted on a double-track viaduct was studied through a wind tunnel test. The pressure distribution of different loops and the centerline on the streamlined nose region, as well as the aerodynamic load coefficients of the leading car were explored under yaw effects ranging from β=-30° to β=30°. Results showed that Reynolds effects became independent when the wind speed surpassed 40 m/s, the corresponding Re of which equals 6.51 × 105 . The pressures recorded along the centerline of train nose for the upstream scenario, was more sensitive to the yaw effects as the largest pressure difference gradually broadened against yaw angles. In addition, the pressure coefficients along the centerline and symmetrical taps of the loops, approximately fit a quadratic relationship with respect to yaw angles. The presence of the tracks and viaduct decks somehow mitigated the intensity of the airflow at downstream side. The experimental test also revealed that, the upstream configuration provided higher mean side force, yawing, and rolling moments up to β=20° whereas over that angle the force and moments exhibited the opposite performance.

Aerodynamic analysis on the step types of a railway tunnel with non-uniform cross-section

Wenhui Li,Tanghong Liu,Xiaoshuai Huo,Zijian Guo,Yutao Xia 한국풍공학회 2022 Wind and Structures, An International Journal (WAS Vol.35 No.4

The pressure-mitigating effects of a high-speed train passing through a tunnel with a partially reduced cross-section are investigated via the numerical approach. A compressible, three-dimensional RNG k-ε turbulence model and a hybrid mesh strategy are adopted to reproduce that event, which is validated by the moving model test. Three step-like tunnel forms and two additional transitions at the tunnel junction are proposed and their aerodynamic performance is compared and scrutinized with a constant cross-sectional tunnel as the benchmark. The results show that the tunnel step is unrelated to the pressure mitigation effects since the case of a double-step tunnel has no advantage in comparison to a single-step tunnel, but the excavated volume is an essential matter. The pressure peaks are reduced at different levels along with the increase of the excavated earth volume and the peaks are either fitted with power or logarithmic function relationships. In addition, the Arc and Oblique-transitions have very limited gaps, and their pressure curves are identical to each other, whereas the Rec-transition leads to relatively lower pressure peaks in CP max, CP min, and ΔCP, with 5.2%, 4.0%, and 4.1% relieved compared with Oblique-transition. This study could provide guidance for the design of the novel railway tunnel.

Comparison study of the effect of bridge-tunnel transition on train aerodynamic performance with or without crosswind

Lei Zhou,Tanghong Liu,Zhengwei Chen,Wenhui Li,Zijian Guo,Xuhui He,You-Wu Wang 한국풍공학회 2021 Wind and Structures, An International Journal (WAS Vol.32 No.6

This paper studied the case of high-speed train running from flat ground to bridges and into/out of tunnels, with or without crosswind based on the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method. First, the flow structure was analyzed to explain the influence mechanisms of different infrastructures on the aerodynamic characteristics of the train. Then, the evolution of aerodynamic forces of the train during the entire process was analyzed and compared. Additionally, the pressure variation on the train body and the tunnel wall was examined in detail. The results showed that the pressure coefficient and the flow structure on both sides of the high-speed train were symmetrical for no crosswind case. By contrast, under crosswind, there was a tremendous and immediate change in the pressure mapping and flow structure when the train passing through the bridge-tunnel section. The influence of the ground-bridge transition on the aerodynamic forces was much smaller than that of the bridge-tunnel section. Moreover, the variation of aerodynamic load during the process of entering and exiting the bridge-tunnel sections was both significant. In addition, in the case without crosswind, the change in the pressure change in the tunnel conformed to the law of pressure wave propagation, while under crosswind, the variation in pressure was comprehensively affected by both the train and crosswind in the tunnel.

Dynamic response of railway vehicles under unsteady aerodynamic forces caused by local landforms

Zhengwei Chen,Tanghong Liu,Ming Li,Miao Yu,Zhaijun Lu,Dongrun Liu 한국풍공학회 2019 Wind and Structures, An International Journal (WAS Vol.29 No.3

When a railway vehicle runs in crosswinds, the unsteady aerodynamic forces acting on the train induced by the vehicle speed, crosswind velocity and local landforms are a common problem. To investigate the dynamic performance of a railway vehicle due to the influence of unsteady aerodynamic forces caused by local landforms, a vehicle aerodynamic model and vehicle dynamic model were established. Then, a wind-loaded vehicle system model was presented and validated. Based on the wind-loaded vehicle system model, the dynamic response performance of the vehicle, including safety indexes and vibration characteristics, was examined in detail. Finally, the effects of the crosswind velocity and vehicle speed on the dynamic response performance of the vehicle system were analyzed and compared.

Experimental study on the influence of Reynolds number and roll angle on train aerodynamics

Zhixiang Huang,Wenhui Li,Tanghong Liu,Li Chen 한국풍공학회 2022 Wind and Structures, An International Journal (WAS Vol.35 No.2

When the rolling stocks run on the curve, the external rail has to be lifted to a certain level to balance the centrifugal force acting on the train body. Under such a situation, passengers may feel uncomfortable, and the slanted vehicle has the potential overturning risks at high speed. This paper conducted a wind tunnel test in an annular wind tunnel with φ=3.2 m based on a 1/20th scaled high-speed train (HST) model. The sensitivity of Reynolds effects ranging from Re = 0.37×106 to Re = 1.45×106 was tested based on the incoming wind from U=30 m/s to U=113 m/s. The wind speed covers the range from incompressible to compressible. The impact of roll angle ranging from γ=0° to γ=4° on train aerodynamics was tested. In addition, the boundary layer development was also analyzed under different wind speeds. The results indicate that drag and lift aerodynamic coefficients gradually stabilized and converged over U=70 m/s, which could be regeared as the self-similarity region. Similarly, the thickness of the boundary layer on the floor gradually decreased with the wind speed increase, and little changed over U=80 m/s. The rolling moment of the head and tail cars increased with the roll angle from γ=0° to γ=4°. However, the potential overturning risks of the head car are higher than the tail car with the increase of the roll angle. This study is significant in providing a reference for the overturning assessment of HST.

Effect on measurements of anemometers due to a passing high-speed train

Zhang, Jie,Gao, Guangjun,Huang, Sha,Liu, Tanghong Techno-Press 2015 Wind and Structures, An International Journal (WAS Vol.20 No.4

The three-dimensional unsteady incompressible Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations and k-${\varepsilon}$ double equations turbulent model were used to investigate the effect on the measurements of anemometers due to a passing high-speed train. Sliding mesh technology in Fluent was utilized to treat the moving boundary problem. The high-speed train considered in this paper was with bogies and inter-carriage gaps. Combined with the results of the wind tunnel test in a published paper, the accuracy of the present numerical method was validated to be used for further study. In addition, the difference of slipstream between three-car and eight-car grouping models was analyzed, and a series of numerical simulations were carried out to study the influences of the anemometer heights, the train speeds, the crosswind speeds and the directions of the induced slipstream on the measurements of the anemometers. The results show that the influence factors of the train-induced slipstream are the passing head car and tail car. Using the three-car grouping model to analyze the train-induced flow is reasonable. The maxima of horizontal slipstream velocity tend to reduce as the height of the anemometer increases. With the train speed increasing, the relationship between $V_{train}$ and $V_{induced\;slipstream}$ can be expressed with linear increment. In the absence of natural wind conditions, from the head car arriving to the tail car leaving, the induced wind direction changes about $330^{\circ}$, while under the crosswind condition the wind direction fluctuates around $-90^{\circ}$. With the crosswind speed increasing, the peaks of $V_X,{\mid}V_{XY}-V_{wind}{\mid}$ of the head car and that of $V_X$ of the tail car tend to enlarge. Thus, when anemometers are installed along high-speed railways, it is important to study the effect on the measurements of anemometers due to the train-induced slipstream.

Effect on measurements of anemometers due to a passing high-speed train

Jie Zhang,Guangjun Gao,Sha Huang,Tanghong Liu 한국풍공학회 2015 Wind and Structures, An International Journal (WAS Vol.20 No.4

The three-dimensional unsteady incompressible Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equationsand k-ε double equations turbulent model were used to investigate the effect on the measurements ofanemometers due to a passing high-speed train. Sliding mesh technology in Fluent was utilized to treat themoving boundary problem. The high-speed train considered in this paper was with bogies and inter-carriagegaps. Combined with the results of the wind tunnel test in a published paper, the accuracy of the presentnumerical method was validated to be used for further study. In addition, the difference of slipstreambetween three-car and eight-car grouping models was analyzed, and a series of numerical simulations werecarried out to study the influences of the anemometer heights, the train speeds, the crosswind speeds and thedirections of the induced slipstream on the measurements of the anemometers. The results show that theinfluence factors of the train-induced slipstream are the passing head car and tail car. Using the three-cargrouping model to analyze the train-induced flow is reasonable. The maxima of horizontal slipstreamvelocity tend to reduce as the height of the anemometer increases. With the train speed increasing, therelationship between Vtrain and Vinduced slipstream can be expressed with linear increment. In the absence ofnatural wind conditions, from the head car arriving to the tail car leaving, the induced wind directionchanges about 330°, while under the crosswind condition the wind direction fluctuates around -90°. With thecrosswind speed increasing, the peaks of VX, |VXY -Vwind| of the head car and that of VX of the tail car tend toenlarge. Thus, when anemometers are installed along high-speed railways, it is important to study the effecton the measurements of anemometers due to the train-induced slipstream.