Comparative analysis of the aerodynamic performance of trains and dynamic responses of catenaries for windbreak walls with different heights under crosswind

Due to the deterioration of the crosswind-protection performance of the original earth embankment windbreak walls on the train with increased speed, researching the influence of the heightened windbreak walls on aerodynamic performances of trains as well as the protection of the catenary is necessary for optimizing the windproof performance. The improved delayed detached eddy simulation based on the shear stress transport (SST) κ-ω turbulence model was employed to simulate flow structures. Furthermore, the effect on the displacement of the catenary was investigated using the finite element method (FEM). The numerical case was validated against the field tests. The results show that the aerodynamic performances of the train were improved as the windbreak wall was heightened by 0.5 m. Whereas, further heightening the windbreak wall worsened the aerodynamic performance. When the windbreak wall was heightened by 0.5 and 1 m, the wind speed of the catenary was reduced by 31.17% and 53.87%, and the displacement of the catenary was reduced by 48.09% and 74.11%, respectively, compared with that of the original windbreak wall. These results reveal that the wind-protection performance on the train and catenary can be both improved by reasonably heightening windbreak walls.