A Study on the Effect of Mud-flap on the Cabin Noise in KTX

In the early stage of operation of KTX, passengers complained of the excessive cabin noise as the passes the tunnel. The noise is caused partly by wheel-rail contact and partly by airflow around the carbody. In this study, to reduce the cabin noise, the effect of the mud-flaps located between the cars is investigated. A series of tests was conducted to clarify the influences of the type and length of mud-flap, and train speed on the cabin noise. The optimum length of mud-flap was found. The shedding vortices around the mud-flap is thought to be the cause of the aerodynamic noise. Strouhal number and the resonant shedding frequency around the mud-flap correlated well with the cabin noise level.