Analysis of the action of aerodynamic forces in case a passenger train

Abstract

The growing need for mobility, cumulative with the technological development of the last decades, represents the elements that led to achieving and increasing travel speeds for the rail transport system. Currently, for classical trains formed from locomotives and wagons, the maximum travel speeds admitted into circulation are between 200 km/h and 250 km/h. Regarding the trains consisting of the multiple high-speed electric frames, they have values of the maximum permissible speeds in the range 300 km/h and 450 km/h. For obtaining such sizes of the travel speeds, it would not have been possible without having previously studied the aerodynamic phenomena much more closely which occur during the movement of vehicles. The present paper is in the same order with the studies they are pursuing analyzing the influence of aerodynamic forces acting on a train. In this regard, we considered the case of a classic passenger train made up of a motor vehicle (locomotive) and many towed vehicles (wagons). To be able to observe, how aerodynamic forces acting and what are their values, will be used a simulation program on the flow of air. The importance of determining the values and distribution of aerodynamic forces stems from the fact that they directly affect the energy consumed while traveling and in some cases even the vehicle safety.