Experimental study on compression wave propagating in a sudden reduction duct

Abstract

Compression waves propagating in a high-speed railway tunnel develops large pressure fluctuations on the train body or tunnel structures. The pressure fluctuations would cause an ear discomfort for the passengers and increase the aerodynamic resistance of trains. As a fundamental research to resolve the pressure wave phenomenon in the tunnel, experiments were carried out by using a shock tube with an open end. A blockage to model trains inside the tunnel was installed on the lower wall of shock tube, thus forming a sudden cross-sectional area reduction. The compression waves were obtained by the fast opening gate valve instead of a conventional diaphragm of shock tube and measured by the flush mounted pressure transducers with a high sensitivity. The experimental results were compared with the previous theoretical analyses. The results show that the ratio of the reflected to the incident compression wave at the sudden cross-sectional area reduction increases but the ratio of the passing to the incident compression wave decreases, as the incident compression wave becomes stronger. This experimental results are in good agreements with the previous theoretical ones. The maximum pressure gradient of the compression wave abruptly increases but the width of the wave front does not vary, as it passes over the sudden cross-sectional area reduction.