Reducing the aerodynamic drag of high-speed trains by air blowing from the nose part: Effect of blowing speed

Abstract

To reduce the aerodynamic drag of high-speed trains, this work proposes an air blowing configuration on the head and tail cars of high-speed trains. The variation in the aerodynamic drag and slipstream velocity is analyzed under different blowing velocities, and the flow mechanism for train aerodynamic performance alteration is explained. The results show that under the blowing speeds of Ub = 0.05Ut, 0.10Ut, 0.15Ut, and 0.20Ut, where Ut is the train speed, the total drag coefficient (Cd) decreases by 5.81%, 10.78%, 13.70%, and 15.43% compared to the without-blowing case, respectively. However, with the increase in the blowing speed, the reduction trend of Cd tends to be smoother; namely, the decrement ratio compared to the previous blowing speed for the head car is 9.08%, 0.11%, 0.60%, and 1.14% for Ub = 0.05Ut, 0.10Ut, 0.15Ut, and 0.20Ut, respectively. The blowing measure generates an air gap between the coming flow and train surface, consequently causing a reduction in the viscous and pressure drag. In addition, the structure size and strength of the wake flow under different blowing cases show a decreasing trend from Ub = 0.00Ut to 0.10Ut and then an increasing trend from Ub = 0.10Ut to 0.20Ut. Thus, considering the blowing cost, efficiency, and flow structure evolution comprehensively, the case of Ub = 0.10Ut is recommended. Under this blowing speed, the reduction ratio of the aerodynamic drag is 9.18%, 12.77%, 10.90%, and 10.78% for the head, middle, tail car, and total train, respectively.