Aerodynamic impact of train-induced wind on a moving motor-van.

The newly-built single-level rail-cum-road bridge brings the issue of the aerodynamic impact of train-induced wind on road automobiles. This research introduced a validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model regarding this concern. Such an aerodynamic impact mechanism was explored; a relationship between the transverse distance between train and motor-van (hereinfafter referred to as van) and the aerodynamic effects on the van was explored to help the optimization of bridge decks, and the relationship between the automobile speed and aerodynamic variations of a van was fitted to help traffic control. The fitting results are accurate enough for further research. It is noted that the relative speed of the two automobiles is not the only factor that influences the aerodynamic variations of the van, even at a confirmed relative velocity, the aerodynamic variations of the van vary a lot as the velocity proportion changes, and the most unfavorable case shows an increase of over 40% on the aerodynamic variations compared to the standard case. The decay of the aerodynamic effects shows that not all the velocity terms would enhance the aerodynamic variations; the coupled velocity term constrains the variation amplitude of moments and decreases the total amplitude by 20%–40%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]