Analysis and matching of key aerodynamic parameters of the aerodynamic plate braking coach car

Abstract

Coach car is a commonly used mode of transportation, due to its large passenger capacity, in case of accidents, it will cause enormous human casualties and economic losses. To improve the braking performance of coach car, an aerodynamic plate is installed on the top of coach car to assist braking. Based on RANS (Reynolds average Navier-Stokes) equations and SST (Shear-Stress Transport) k-ω turbulence model, the aerodynamic performance of coach car with different aerodynamic parameters is analyzed by computational fluid dynamics method. The numerical algorithm and setting are verified by wind tunnel tests. In this paper, the influence of four parameters, including car speed, plate configuration of maximum opening angle, installation position, and plate height, on the aerodynamic drag and lift coefficient of coach car is discussed by using control variable method and orthogonal test method. The conclusions of the two methods are consistent, that is, the optimal combination of plate configuration is that installation position, maximum opening angle, and height are 10 m, 80°, and 1 m, respectively. According to the results of range and variance analysis, the order of influence of aerodynamic parameters on the aerodynamic drag and lift coefficient is installation position, maximum opening angle, height, and car speed.

Keywords:

• Coach car
• plate braking
• aerodynamic performance
• range and variance analysis
• configuration
• optimal combination

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Open Project of Key Laboratory of Conveyance Equipment (East China Jiaotong University), Ministry of Education (KLCE2022-03) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52172359).