Experimental simulation of alternating aerodynamic loads induced by high-speed trains passing in tunnels

Abstract

Tunnel passing at high speed produces aerodynamic load on railway trains, which may bring about fatigue failure on the car body, and damages passenger comfort due to interior penetration of the alternating wave. In this work, the air suction experiment approaches were developed. It performs excellently through internal and external loading utilizing valve controlling strategies. It is validated with an in-transit vehicle test when the train runs through 3 different tunnel lengths. The relative deviation between simulation and vehicle tests goes no more than 5.0%. Research outcome indicates that the proposed method provides an important experiment means for passenger comfort and car-body fatigue behavior research.