Numerical Investigation of Aerodynamic Drag on Vacuum Tube High Speed Train

Abstract

This work involves numerical simulations based on finite volume method to study the effects of different factors on the aerodynamic drag on a vacuum tube train running at subsonic and transonic speeds in a partially vacuum tunnel. Investigation includes the study of the effects of the shapes of head, tail, vacuum pressure and also blockage ratio of the tunnel on aerodynamic drag on a high speed train. The simulation is performed by using fluent software. Two dimensional, axisymmetric, compressible Navier-Stokes equations were solved by using k-ε turbulent modeling. Five different blockage ratios at five different speeds of the train have been considered. The simulated results show that, the blockage ratio and different working vacuum pressure significantly affects the aerodynamic drag of the train in a tunnel. Investigations with respect to different shapes of the head as well as that of the tail indicate the optimum shape for minimum drag.