Drag reducing nose fairings for existing freight train locomotives

Abstract At cruising speed, one of the most significant contributing factors to train fuel consumption is aerodynamic drag, and leading locomotive experiences much more drag than any other car in train. This work reports on reduction that can be realized by use add-on nose fairings are deployed locomotives a set. Two types fairing shapes were considered all walls flat. It anticipated would result from deployment easily stowed panels an origami inspired manner. One has appearance wedge also shaped, but with flow directing side wall features. For each general shape, important dimensions parametrically varied systematic manner identify yield maximum reduction. first 45 different scenarios considered; for second 15 considered. A steady commercial computational fluid dynamic solver was employed solve field scenarios. The best performing wedge-shaped reduced nominally 14% shape 17%.