Research on the impact of nose shape parameters on the pressure wave characteristics of high-speed trains in open air

Abstract The generation of a pressure wave will result in a forceful transient impact on the train body by two high-speed trains passing each other. In order to improve the pressure wave characteristics of trains crossing in open line, seven distinct head types were designed by modifying the longitudinal and lateral shape parameters of train's nose. In this research, a comparative Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) study of the three-dimensional slipstreams induced by two trains passing by each other at the same speed conducted using the unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) method. The results demonstrate that the peak-to-peak values of the pressure wave increases by 2.11% when the train nose is designed as flat. The amplitude of pressure wave decreases by 3.86% in the head wave and 9.53% in the tail wave as the lateral width of the nose increases. The peak-to-peak values of pressure wave decreases significantly, the maximum reduction of the head wave is 13.09%, and the maximum difference of the tail wave is 13.75% when the nose shape is designed as flat and wide. Accordingly, the flat and wide design of the train nose can effectively improve the pressure wave characteristics by two trains passing each other in open air.