Abstract
Aerodynamic drag plays an important role in high-speed trains, and how to reduce the aerodynamic drag is one of the most important research subjects related to modern railway systems. This paper investigates a design method for large-scale streamlined head cars of high-speed trains by adopting NURBS theory according to the outer surface characteristics of trains. This method first created the main control lines of the driver cab by inputting control point coordinates; then, auxiliary control lines were added to the main ones. Finally, the reticular region formed by the main control lines and auxiliary ones were filled. The head car was assembled with the driver cab and sightseeing car in a virtual environment. The numerical simulation of train flow field was completed through definition of geometric models, boundary conditions, and space discretization. The calculation results show that the aerodynamic drag of the high-speed train with large-scale streamlined head car decreases by approximately 49.3% within the 50-300 km/h speed range compared with that of the quasi-streamlined high-speed train. This study reveals that the high-speed train with large-scale streamlined head car could achieve the purpose of reducing running aerodynamic drag and saving energy, and aims to provide technical support for the subsequent process design and production control of high-speed train head cars.
Highlights
The high speed railway has become an inexorable trend of the rail transit because it is faster, safer and more comfortable, and can reduce environmental pollution (Paz et al, 2015; Lee et al, 2016)
Their research indicated that the total aerodynamic drag of the optimum shape for the entire train was reduced by 23.0% compared with the total aerodynamic drag of train which only optimized the shape of head car
The results showed that the aerodynamic drag can be reduced on condition that the train was equipped with the smoother streamlined head car and sharper nose
Summary
The high speed railway has become an inexorable trend of the rail transit because it is faster, safer and more comfortable, and can reduce environmental pollution (Paz et al, 2015; Lee et al, 2016). Minho et al (2013) optimized the 3D nose shape of head car and the tail car by Zhenfeng Wu, Enyu Yang, Wangcai Ding Design of large-scale streamlined head cars of high-speed trains and aerodynamic drag calculation adopting CFD method and vehicle modelling function. This paper completed the 3D digital design of the large-scale streamlined head car by using the NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline) method, and calculated the aerodynamic drag of the large-scale streamlined train and the quasistreamlined one with the CFD method respectively. 3. Design process of head cars To reduce the aerodynamic drag and strength of micro-pressure wave effectively when a train is running at high speed, the head car of the train should be designed with a streamlined shape (Moon et al, 2014). The outer shape of the sightseeing car is stretched and the side windows are created by segmentation operation
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
