Measures to improve the safety of railway vehicles in strong winds can be broadly classified as ground-side or vehicle-side. Ground-side measures, such as the installation of windbreak fences, have been used along many lines in areas susceptible to strong winds in Japan to mitigate aerodynamic forces. On the other hand, vehicle-side measures could include improving the cross-sectional shape of vehicle bodies to reduce aerodynamic forces. However, few examples of such measures have been found worldwide. This study formed part of a basic investigation into vehicle-side measures, measuring the reduction of aerodynamic force. Wind tunnel tests were carried out in a closed test section of the RTRI’s large-scale low-noise wind tunnel. Turbulent boundary layer flow was used to simulate natural wind. Aerodynamic forces acting on a 1/40th scale model of a rectangular vehicle were measured by changing the size of the cutout in its roof corner. These measurements clarified the effect of modifying the cross-sectional shape of the vehicle body on the reduction of aerodynamic forces.
Minoru SUZUKI (Wed,) studied this question.