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Freight Train Aerodynamics
Overview
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is conducting extensive research into the aerodynamics of freight trains, aiming to improve operational efficiency and safety. Findings from large European Union research projects—including Shift2Rail FR8RAIL IV and Europe’s Rail FP5 TRANS4M-R—along with specific industrial investigations, will be presented. Insights are drawn from on-rail experiments using the DLR FR8-LAB (a sensor-equipped swap-body container), advanced wind-tunnel experiments, and novel moving-model tests that realistically simulate vehicle-infrastructure interactions. The presentation will cover:
- Effects of container loading on efficiency, slipstream, and tunnel pressure
- Aerodynamic optimization of wagon geometries
- Crosswind stability challenges
- Future perspectives from an aerodynamic standpoint
This presentation is brought to you by the RTSA Queensland Chapter.
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the current aerodynamic limitations of freight trains and opportunities for improvement.
- Recognise how real-world operating conditions impact aerodynamic performance.
- Learn how novel laboratory and simulation methods can inform practical efficiency and safety improvements.
Speaker
Dr James R. Bell is a ground-vehicle aerodynamicist from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Göttingen, Germany at the Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology. He achieved his doctorate on the topic of the slipstream and unsteady wake structure of high-speed trains at Monash University, Australia in 2016.
His area of expertise is experimental aerodynamics, particularly wind-tunnel, moving-model and full-scale experimental campaigns, investigating high-speed and freight trains, heavy-vehicle and automotive aerodynamic problems, with the motivation of improving operational efficiency and safety.
Price
Member: Free
Technical Society Member: Free
Student Member: Free
Non-Member: $30.00