Vibroacoustic Problems in High Speed Trains

Passengers comfort in terms of acoustic noise levels is a key train design parameter, especially relevant in high speed trains, where the aerodynamic noise is dominant. The aim of the work, described in this paper, is to make progress in the understanding of the flow field around high speed trains in an open field, which is a subject of interest for many researchers with direct industrial applications, but also the critical configuration of the train inside a tunnel is studied in order to evaluate the external loads arising from noise sources of the train. The airborne noise coming from the wheels (wheelrail interaction), which is the dominant source at a certain range of frequencies, is also investigated from the numerical and experimental points of view. The numerical prediction of the noise in the interior of the train is a very complex problem, involving many different parameters: complex geometries and materials, different noise sources, complex interactions among those sources, broad range of frequencies where the phenomenon is important, etc. During recent years a research plan is being developed at IDR/UPM (Instituto de Microgravedad Ignacio Da Riva, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid) involving both numerical simulations, wind tunnel and full-scale tests to address this problem. Comparison of numerical simulations with experimental data is a key factor in this process.

Numerical Simulation of the Aerodynamic Behavior of High Velocity Trains under Synthetic Crosswinds of Different Shear and Turbulence Characteristics

A numerical simulation of the aerodynamic behavior of high-speed trains under synthetic crosswinds at a 90º yaw angle is presented. The train geometry is the aerodynamic train model (ATM). Flow description based on numerical simulations is obtained using large eddy simulation (LES) and the commercial code ANSYSFluent V14.5. A crosswind whose averaged velocity and turbulence characteristics change with distance to the ground is imposed. Turbulent fluctuations that vary temporally and spatially are simulated with TurbSim code. The crosswind boundary condition is calculated for the distance the train runs during a simulation period. The inlet streamwise velocity boundary condition is generated using Taylor?s frozen turbulence hypothesis. The model gives a time history of the force and moments acting on the train; this includes averaged values, standard deviations and extreme values. Of particular interest are the spectra of the forces and moments, and the admittance spectra. For comparison, results obtained with LES and a uniform wind velocity fluctuating in time, and results obtained with Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes equations (RANS), and the averaged wind conditions, are also presented.

Temporal self-imaging effect for periodically modulated trains of pulses

In this paper, the mathematical description of the temporal selfimaging effect is studied, focusing on the situation in which the train of pulses to be dispersed has been previously periodically modulated in phase and amplitude. It is demonstrated that, for each input pulse and for some specific values of the chromatic dispersion, a subtrain of optical pulses is generated whose envelope is determined by the Discrete Fourier Transform of the modulating coefficients. The mathematical results are confirmed by simulations of various examples and some limits on the realization of the theory are commented.

Comparative study of the effect of several trains on the ballast rotation

The ballast pick-up (or ballast train-induced-wind erosion (BTE)) phenomenon is a limiting factor for the maximum allowed operational train speed. The determination of the conditions for the initiation of the motion of the ballast stones due to the wind gust created by high-speed trains is critical to predict the start of ballast pick-up because, once the motion is initiated, a saltation-like chain reaction can take place. The aim of this paper is to present a model to evaluate the effect of a random aerodynamic impulse on stone motion initiation, and an experimental study performed to check the capability of the proposed model to classify trains by their effect on the ballast due to the flow generated by the trains. A measurement study has been performed at kp 69 + 500 on the Madrid – Barcelona High Speed Line. The obtained results show the feasibility of the proposed method, and contribute to a technique for BTE characterization, which can be relevant for the development of train interoperability standards

Gust wind tunnel study on ballast pick-up by high-speed trains

This paper describes the experimental setup, procedure, and results obtained, concerning the dynamics of a body lying on a floor, attached to a hinge, and exposed to an unsteady flow, which is a model of the initiation of rotational motion of ballast stones due to the wind generated by the passing of a high-speed train. The idea is to obtain experimental data to support the theoretical model developed in Sanz-Andres and Navarro-Medina (J Wind Eng Ind Aerodyn 98, 772–783, (2010), aimed at analyzing the initial phase of the ballast train-induced-wind erosion (BATIWE) phenomenon. The experimental setup is based on an open circuit, closed test section, low-speed wind tunnel, with a new sinusoidal gust generator mechanism concept, designed and built at the IDR/UPM. The tunnel’s main characteristic is the ability to generate a flow with a uniform velocity profile and sinusoidal time fluctuation of the speed. Experimental results and theoretical model predictions are in good agreement.

The structure and precision of retinal spike trains

Assessing the reliability of neuronal spike trains is fundamental to an understanding of the neural code. We measured the reproducibility of retinal responses to repeated visual stimuli. In both tiger salamander and rabbit, the retinal ganglion cells responded to random flicker with discrete, brief periods of firing. For any given cell, these firing events covered only a small fraction of the total stimulus time, often less than 5%. Firing events were very reproducible from trial to trial: the timing jitter of individual spikes was as low as 1 msec, and the standard deviation in spike count was often less than 0.5 spikes. Comparing the precision of spike timing to that of the spike count showed that the timing of a firing event conveyed several times more visual information than its spike count. This sparseness and precision were general characteristics of ganglion cell responses, maintained over the broad ensemble of stimulus waveforms produced by random flicker, and over a range of contrasts. Thus, the responses of retinal ganglion cells are not properly described by a firing probability that varies continuously with the stimulus. Instead, these neurons elicit discrete firing events that may be the fundamental coding symbols in retinal spike trains.

Los sistemas de recuperación de la información (SRI) de las bases de datos documentales y la calidad de los resultados obtenidos

Los Sistemas de Recuperación de la Información (SRI) de las bases de datos documentales (BDd) y la calidad de los resultados obtenidos es un tema del programa de la asignatura 'Documentación e Información Científica en Salud' que se imparte en el Máster en Investigación en Ciencias de la Enfermería de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud (Universidad de Alicante).

Guidelines for enhancement of visual conspicuity of the trailing end of trains. Final report.

Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Research, Development and Demonstrations, Washington, D.C.

Collision of two CN freight trains, Anding, Mississippi, July 10, 2005.

"PB2007-916301, Notation 7870A."

Trains de plaisir aux bords du Rhin : tinéraire descriptif et historique /

Mode of access: Internet.

The SRI hierarchical development methodology (HDM) and its application to the development of secure software /

Item 247.