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Analysis of moving model experiments in a towing tank for aerodynamic drag measurement of high-speed trains

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Abstract

The present study assesses the applicability of towing tank experiments using a moving model for the investigation of the aerodynamics of long land-borne heavy vehicles such as buses, trucks, and trains. Based on experiments with a 1:22 scaled model of a high-speed train, the influence of various conditions relevant for the transferability of the results obtained in water to air is analysed exemplarily. These conditions include surface waves, cavitation and submergence depth. The experiments were carried out in the shallow water towing tank of the Technische Universität Berlin. It is shown that outside a critical Froude number range of about 0.2 < Fr < 1.2 the impact of the surface waves can be neglected and no cavitation appears in the velocity range investigated. Furthermore, a correction method is proposed taking into account the bias through surface waves at small submergence and thus allowing for a wider Froude number range. The data obtained in the towing tank are found to be in excellent agreement to other investigation methods.

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Notes

  1. According to Barlow, the pressure gradient in a closed square jet with width B can be calculated depending on the distance ΔL using cp(ΔL)= − k ΔL/B. The factor k has been observed in the range of 0.016–0.04. For the plot shown in Fig. 14, B = √8 (same cross-section area as in the towing tank) and k = 0.016 were used. The choice of the lower limit k value considers the normally optimized shape of the test section regarding boundary layer growth. However, the appearance of blockage effects both in closed and open test sections might impose additional pressure gradients that were not considered here.

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Acknowledgements

The research presented was supported by the ZIM program and the BIT GmbH. The project was funded under Grant Number EP 141376 from the “Zentrales Innovationsprogramm Mittelstand (ZIM)” of the Federal Ministry of Economy and Energy, following a decision of the German Bundestag.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Berliner Institut für Technologietransfer (BIT GmbH), Berlin, Germany

    Jonathan Tschepe & Christian Navid Nayeri

  2. Chair of Fluid Dynamics, Hermann-Föttinger-Institut, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Christian Oliver Paschereit

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  1. Jonathan Tschepe
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  2. Christian Navid Nayeri
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  3. Christian Oliver Paschereit
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Correspondence to Jonathan Tschepe.

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Tschepe, J., Nayeri, C.N. & Paschereit, C.O. Analysis of moving model experiments in a towing tank for aerodynamic drag measurement of high-speed trains. Exp Fluids 60, 98 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-019-2748-8

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