Unsteady Aerodynamic Performance of a Maglev Train: The Effect of the Ground Condition

Abstract The effect of the ground condition on unsteady aerodynamic performance of maglev train was numerically investigated with an IDDES (Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation) method. The accuracy of the numerical method has been validated by wind tunnel experiments. The flow structure, slipstream and aerodynamic force around the train under stationary and moving ground conditions were compared. Compared with the stationary ground condition, the vortex structure under the condition of moving ground generated by the wake region is narrower and higher because of the track. Near the nose point of the head and tail vehicles, the peak value of slipstream under the condition of moving ground is slightly higher than that under stationary ground. In the wake area, the effect of the main vortex structure on both sides of the tail vehicle and the track makes the vortex structure in the wake area stronger than that under moving ground, the slipstream peak is larger and the locus thereof is further forward. Under the two ground conditions, the vortex structure is periodically shed from both sides of the train into the wake area, and the shedding frequency of the main vortex under the moving ground condition is lower than that under the stationary ground condition. Moving ground can increase the resistance of the maglev train, reduce the lift of the maglev train, and decrease the standard deviation of the maglev train’s aerodynamic force.