The effect of bogie fairings on the slipstream and wake flow of a high-speed train. An IDDES study

Abstract

In this study, an improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) method based on shear-stress transport k-ω turbulence model has been used to investigate the slipstream and wake flow around a high-speed train with different bogie fairings at Re = 1.85 × 106. The accuracy of the numerical method has been validated by wind tunnel experiments and full-scale field tests. Further, the train slipstream, underbody flow and wake structures are compared for three cases. The results show that the bogies covered by full size bogie fairings significantly decrease the train slipstream velocity and weaken the pressure fluctuation around the high-speed train, especially near the bogie regions. Compared to the maximum slipstream velocity at trackside position in Case 2 (half size fairings), it increases by 15.2% in Case 1 (no fairing) and decreases by 16.1% in Case 3 (full size fairings), respectively. The larger size fairings are found to reduce the scale of longitudinal vortices and decrease the streamwise vorticity level in the wake region, thereby lowering the slipstream velocity distribution in the wake. Finally, the larger bogie fairings are recommended to improve the train aerodynamic performance as well as to improve the safety of trackside workers and passengers standing on the platform.