Numerical analysis of three-dimensional flow past a high-speed electric train with turbulent boundary layer separation

An approach to the numerical study of three-dimensional flow past a high-speed electric train is considered, including the case of turbulent boundary layer separation. The method of viscous-inviscid interaction is used to compute the aerodynamic characteristics. The results of calculating the 3D flow past two configurations of a high-speed electric train, taking into account the close proximity of the ground surface, are presented for a train speedV =300 km/h and the per meter Reynolds number Re=5.6·10⁶ m^–1. One of these configurations is shown to have the advantage of separationless flow past a front locomotive and less intense diffuser separations on the afterbody of a rear locomotive. A local separation zone on the sides of the front locomotive's nose was detected in one of the cases considered.Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 89–97, September–October, 1993.