As railway transportation advances toward higher speeds, traditional passive measures may struggle to meet the stringent aerodynamic criteria in tunnels, necessitating the exploration of novel active flow control techniques. This study employs three-dimensional, compressible, unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations to investigate the aerodynamic effects of the suction and blowing slit area (S) positioned on the front and rear noses of the train. The results indicate that suction and blowing activation is particularly effective in alleviating pressure on the narrower side of the tunnel. Specifically, with a 4 m2 slit, the original 4.8% pressure difference between symmetrical points on the train body is fully eliminated. The influence of suction and blowing on the positive pressures is confined to the front and rear noses where the slits are located. Notably, only suction at the front nose mitigates pressure gradients, while blowing at the rear is unrelated. The peak-to-peak pressure (ΔP) on both the train surface and tunnel wall exhibits a linear decline, with reductions of 17.4% and 16.6%, respectively, as S increases from 0 to 4 m2. Similarly, the slipstreams on both sides of the tunnel decrease linearly with increasing slit area: with u/Umax = −0.008S + 0.24 for the near side, and u/Umin = 0.014S − 0.265 for the far side. Additionally, expanding the slit area further boosts the stability and safety of the train during tunnel exit by reducing lateral forces and rolling moments, while also decreasing overall drag, thereby partially compensating for the energy input. Although the maximum lift on the head car increases with slit area, the lift on the tail car initially rises and then decreases, helping to mitigate instability upon tunnel exit. Overall, the hybrid suction and blowing technique offers promising potential for enhancing the tunnel aerodynamics in the future.
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December 2024
Research Article|
December 18 2024
Mitigation of train-tunnel aerodynamics through active airflow control at front and rear noses: Impact of slit area
Special Collection:
Flow and Civil Structures
Wenhui Li
;
Wenhui Li
a)
(Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Validation, Writing – original draft)
1
School of Rail Transportation, Soochow University
, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215131, People's Republic of China
2
Intelligent Urban Rail Engineering Research Center of Jiangsu Province
, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215131, People's Republic of China
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Yifan Gu;
Yifan Gu
(Data curation, Methodology, Software, Writing – review & editing)
1
School of Rail Transportation, Soochow University
, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215131, People's Republic of China
2
Intelligent Urban Rail Engineering Research Center of Jiangsu Province
, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215131, People's Republic of China
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Hongzhou Su;
Hongzhou Su
(Data curation, Formal analysis, Software, Writing – review & editing)
3
Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University
, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China
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Weifeng Zhao;
Weifeng Zhao
(Methodology, Visualization, Writing – review & editing)
1
School of Rail Transportation, Soochow University
, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215131, People's Republic of China
2
Intelligent Urban Rail Engineering Research Center of Jiangsu Province
, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215131, People's Republic of China
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Yelin Deng;
Yelin Deng
(Data curation, Visualization, Writing – review & editing)
1
School of Rail Transportation, Soochow University
, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215131, People's Republic of China
2
Intelligent Urban Rail Engineering Research Center of Jiangsu Province
, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215131, People's Republic of China
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Xueliang Fan
Xueliang Fan
a)
(Methodology, Supervision, Writing – review & editing)
1
School of Rail Transportation, Soochow University
, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215131, People's Republic of China
2
Intelligent Urban Rail Engineering Research Center of Jiangsu Province
, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215131, People's Republic of China
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Physics of Fluids 36, 126140 (2024)
Article history
Received:
October 22 2024
Accepted:
November 27 2024
Citation
Wenhui Li, Yifan Gu, Hongzhou Su, Weifeng Zhao, Yelin Deng, Xueliang Fan; Mitigation of train-tunnel aerodynamics through active airflow control at front and rear noses: Impact of slit area. Physics of Fluids 1 December 2024; 36 (12): 126140. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0244766
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