Citation
Navarro Medina, Fermín and Sanz Andres, Angel Pedro and Perez Grande, María Isabel
(2012).
Gust wind tunnel study on ballast pick-up by high-speed trains.
"Experiments in Fluids", v. 52
(n. 1);
pp. 105-121.
ISSN 0723-4864.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-011-1201-4.
Abstract
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.