Abstract: Inspired by shark’s skin in nature, a non-smooth surface could be an ideal model for changing the flow characteristics of fluids on the object surface. To analyze the effect of a non-smooth surface with concaves on the maglev train aerodynamic performances and to investigate how the concave size affects the aerodynamic forces and flow structure of a maglev train, four 1/10th scaled maglev train models are simulated using an Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (IDDES) method. The numerical strategy used in this study is verified by comparison with the wind tunnel test results, and the comparison shows that the difference was in a reasonable range. The results demonstrate that the concaves could effectively reduce the tail car pressure drag, thus reducing the total drag, and that the smaller the concave size was, the better the drag reduction effect would be. The change in the lift with the concave size was more significant than that of the drag, and the tail car lift of R1 (0.0012H), R2 (0.0024H), and R3 (0.0036H) train models was 30.1%, 43.0%, and 44.5% less than that of the prototype, respectively. In addition, different flow topologies of the wake are analyzed. The width and height of the vortex core of the counter-rotating vortices tended to decrease with the concave size. Thus, from the point of view of ensuring the operating safety of a maglev train, a non-smooth surface with small-size concaves is recommended.

Key words:  , Maglev train, Aerodynamic characteristics, Concave, Numerical simulation