An Investigation on the Effects of Embankment Design on Railway Vehicle Aerodynamic Coefficients

The running safety for high speed trains involves the evaluation of the overturning risk associated to crosswind aerodynamic forces. This study uses a numerical CFD tool to predict the shielding effect of wind-break fences on an ETR500 high speed train. The analysis of the aerodynamic performances of the train is conducted by varying some design parameters of the wind-breaks as the height of the barrier, the fence porosity and the inclination of the barrier slots. The shielding effect has been evaluated by analyzing the aerodynamic forces acting on the train. As a result it has been found that the shielding effect of a wind break fence can be maintained by reducing the porosity of the slots, while inclination has less influence on the aerodynamic forces on the train.