Research of Aerodynamic Characteristics of Railway Train for Utilization of Related Airflow Energy

Abstract

The paper reports about the research of distribution of a field of speeds of air streams along the moving rolling train. The research of distribution and size of streams was accomplished with a method of simulation of its movement in air by blowing of the railway train over a stream of air. To conduct a research, we built the models of full size railway equipment and set up the environment parameters to obtain plausible results. The simulation results reflect a numerical modeling data of the values of air flow velocities along the side wall of the train. We have estimated the utilizing possibility of air streams by the installation of wind turbines along the railway tracks. With this goal we calculated the generated electric energy received by wind turbines from natural movement of air masses and from a passing train. The calculations proved the possibility of practical application of the results, obtained by modeling, and calculated the amount of electrical energy that is supposed to be used for power supply of railway facilities, or to implement backup power sources in emergency situations for the uninterrupted operation of signaling equipment, thereby increasing the safety of the rolling train. Further work is planned to study the air flow of pass aging the high-speed train, increasing the efficiency of the attendant energy utilization by installing air concentrators, as well as the study of the movement of the train in the tunnel.