Effects of embankment scenario on aerodynamic coefficients of a railway vehicle through wind tunnel tests

Embankment is a typical layout for rail infrastructures and train aerodynamic coefficients in this scenario for the analysis of cross wind effects are often wished. Nevertheless wind tunnel tests on scale models with the embankment scenario presents open points in the reproduction of the boundary conditions, that is the simulation of a “pseudo-infinite” full scale embankment. To investigate the topic we have performed wind tunnel tests on an ETR500 1:45 scale model using a finite length embankment, with and without an upwind nose and a “pseudo-infinite” embankment, reproduced by the extension wall-to-wall of the scenario. The paper presents the tests results in terms of aerodynamic force coefficients and surface pressures. Guidelines for wind tunnel tests on embankment are than discussed.