Impact of the windbreak transition on flow structures of the high-speed railway and mitigation using oblique structure and circular curve structure transition

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the variations in the flow fields induced by transition regions in the windbreak structures between the flat ground and the cutting along a railway and to propose mitigation measures to improve the windproof ability of the windbreak. Design/methodology/approach: The improved delayed detached eddy simulation method was used to simulate the impact of the windbreak transition on flow structures of the high-speed railway under different wind angles, and also the accuracy of the numerical results was validated with those of the wind tunnel test. Findings: The results showed that the original windbreak transition region resulted in a dimensionless peak wind velocity of 0.62 and 0.82 for railway line-1 at wind angles of 90° and 75°, respectively, and the corresponding values were 0.81 and 0.97 for railway line-2. The flow structure analysis revealed the reason for the mismatched height in the transition region, and the right-angle structures of the windbreaks resulted in ineffective protection and sudden changes in the wind speed and direction. Two mitigation measures – oblique structure (OS) and circular curve structure (CCS) transition walls – were developed to reduce the peak wind speed. The OS provided superior protection. The peak value of dimensionless wind velocity was all less than 0.2 for OS and CCS. Originality/value: The flow field deterioration mechanism induced by the inappropriate form of a windbreak transition at different wind angles was examined, and effective mitigation and improvement measures were proposed and compared with the original transition.