Aerodynamic thermal environment around transonic tube train in choked/unchoked flow

The aerodynamic thermal environment in an evacuated tube transport (ETT) system is an important factor in ensuring the operational safety of tube trains, where choking can further worsen air flow and aerodynamic heating. A compressible flow solver based on total variation diminishing (TVD) schemes was used to calculate the transonic aerodynamic behaviour of a capsule train in a confined space under low pressure conditions, and the flow fields and aerodynamic heating effect on the train were obtained. The results showed that the flow state around the train could be classified into choked and unchoked flow according to the blockage ratio (BR) and train speed based on the Kantrowitz limit. The wall viscosity caused a difference in the boundary-layer flow and potential flow in the annular space between the train and the tube with an increase in the BR. The choked flow was driven forward by the train, passing through its throat at the speed of sound. Owing to the complicated compressible flow in the tube, the thermal environment around the train gave rise to extreme temperature changes on its surface. In transonic choked flow, the temperature rise of the train head reached a maximum of 525 K, whereas local cooling could occur in the afterbody, causing the surface temperature to fall below the ambient temperature under certain conditions. The findings can be used to guide the design of ETT systems.