Passive control of unsteady compression wave using vertical bleed ducts

When a high-speed railway train enters a tunnel, a compression wave is generated ahead of the train and propagates along the tunnel, compressing and accelerating the rest air in front of the wave. At the exit of the tunnel, an impulsive wave is emitted outward toward the surrounding, which causes a positive impulsive noise like a kind of sonic boom produced by a supersonic aircraft. With the advent of high-speed train, such an impulsive noise can be large enough to cause the noise problem, unless some attempts are made to alleviate its pressure levels. For the purpose of the impulsive noise reduction, the present study investigated the effect of a vertical bleed duct on the compression wave propagating into a model tunnel. Numerical results were obtained using a Piecewise Linear Method and testified by experiment of shock tube with an open end. The results showed that the vertical bleed duct reduces the maximum pressure gradient of compression wave front by about 30 percent, compared with the straight tunnel without the bleed duct. As the width of the vertical bleed duct becomes larger, reduction of the impulsive noise is expected to be greater. However the impulsive noise is independent of the height of the vertical bleed duct.