Numerical analysis of dipole sound source around high speed trains

As the maximum speed of high speed trains increases, the effect of aeroacoustic noise on the sound level on the ground becomes increasingly important. In this paper, the distribution of dipole sound sources at the bogie section of high speed trains is predicted numerically. The three-dimensional unsteady flow around a train is solved by the large eddy simulation technique. The time history of vortices shows that unstable shear layer separation at the leading edge of the bogie section sheds vortices periodically. These vortices travel downstream while growing to finally impinge upon the trailing edge of the section. The wavelength of sound produced by these vortices is large compared to the representative length of the bogie section, so that the source region can be regarded as acoustically compact. Thus a compact Green's function adapted to the shape can be used to determine the sound. By coupling the instantaneous flow properties with the compact Green's function, the distribution of dipole sources is obtained. The results reveal a strong dipole source at the trailing edge of the bogie section where the shape changes greatly and the variation of flow with time is also great. On the other hand, the bottom of the bogie section where the shape does not change, or the leading edge and boundary layer where the variation of flow with time is small, cannot generate a strong dipole source.