The wind tunnel determination of crosswind forces and moments on a high speed train

This paper describes work carried out as part of Work Package 1 of the TRANSAERO project, to measure the crosswind forces and moments on a high speed train, and to investigate the effects of wind fences in reducing these forces and moments. Two series of experiments were carried out. The first series used a moving model fired across a large environmental wind tunnel in which an atmospheric boundary layer had been simulated. Measurements were made with the train travelling above an open simulated embankment, and with a solid barrier and a porous fence mounted on the crest of the embankment. The second series of experiments were carried out with the model mounted statically on the embankment, with wind fences of different heights and porosities mounted upstream. The results from these experiments provide useful data for assessing the efficiency of different types of wind barrier, and also give a database for comparison with associated full scale and CFD measurements.