Shape Optimization of High-Speed Rail by Biomimetic

Abstract

The Southern Corridor High-Speed Rail (HSR) has the potential to connect Kuala Lumpur and Singapore with only 90 minutes of travel time. The HSR needs to travel at minimum drag in order to promote ride comfort and environmental sustainability. Eight combinations of train head bio-models are generated from a morphological chart of three key concepts formed by biomimetic method, referring to the peregrine falcon, belted kingfisher, sailfish and dolpine. The three key concepts are the type of train nose, cross-section shape, and train nose shape. The bio-models are drawn by computer-aided drawing software and the air flow around the bio-models are simulated in order to obtain the drag coefficients in counterflow condition. The drag coefficient of each bio-models are compared and validated with published drag coefficient of Harmony CRH380A, which is 0.1971. The bio-models with lowest drag coefficient is the bio-model with sharp-streamlined nose and round-based crosssection, which is 0.1559. The drag coefficient of Harmony CRH380A is reduced by 20.9% if the windscreen is removed and the paraboloid nose is replaced with sharp nose. These bio-models can be a guideline for future studies in developing a more sustainable train shape in the railway industry.