Towards Aerodynamically Optimized Freight Wagons: An Experimental Study on Container Designs

Abstract

The aerodynamic drag of a freight train can account for up to 80% of the total resistance at a speed of 115 km/h. This resistance thus contributes significantly to the energy consumption in rail freight transport. In view of the goal of transporting goods by rail at a speed of more than 160 km/h in the future, it is important to improve the aerodynamics of the freight car and of the entire train. There is great potential for aerodynamic optimization in the case of freight cars, which have hardly undergone any modernization or fundamental redevelopment in the last 100 years. As part of the FR8RAIL project within the framework of the EU joint undertaking Shift2Rail, an innovative freight wagon was developed and different strategies for aerodynamic optimization have been evaluated in wind tunnel experiments which mainly included different exterior design configurations of containers. The experimental results show that various extension designs on the rear surface of freight containers may lead to a certain drag reduction.