Experimental Study of Aerodynamic Interference Effects for a Suspended Monorail Vehicle–Bridge System Using a Wireless Acquisition System

The suspended monorail (SM) vehicle–bridge system has been considered a promising modern transit mode due to its clear advantages: low pollution, high safety, convenient construction, and low cost. The wind-induced response can significantly affect the running safety and comfort of this type of vehicle due to its special suspended position from a fixed track. This study is the first to systematically investigate its aerodynamic characteristics and interference effects under various spacing ratios using wind tunnel tests and numerical simulations. A high level of agreement between the wind tunnel test and CFD (computational fluid dynamics) results was obtained, and the aerodynamic interference mechanism can be well explained using the CFD technique from a flow field perspective. A wireless wind pressure acquisition system is proposed to achieve synchronization acquisition for multi wind pressure test taps. The paper confirms that (1) the proposed wireless wind pressure acquisition system performed well; (2) the aerodynamic coefficients of the upstream vehicle and bridge were nearly unchanged for vehicle–bridge combinations with varying spacing ratios; (3) the aerodynamic interference effects were amplified when two vehicles meet, but the effects decrease as the spacing ratio increases; (4) the aerodynamic force coefficients, mean, and root mean square (RMS) wind pressure coefficients for the downstream vehicle and bridge are readily affected by the upstream vehicle; (5) the vortex shedding frequencies of vehicles and bridges can be readily obtained from the lift force spectra, and they decrease as the spacing ratio increases; and (6) a spacing ratio of 3.5 is suggested in the field applications to ensure the running safety and stability of the SM vehicle–bridge system under exposure to crosswinds.

Cable Suspension and Balance System with Low Support Interference and Vibration for Effective Wind Tunnel Tests

A cable-driven model support concept is suggested and implemented in this paper. In this case, it is a cable suspension and balance system (CSBS), which has the advantages of low support interference and reduced vibration responses for effective wind tunnel tests. This system is designed for both model motion control and aerodynamic load measurements. In the CSBS, the required position or the attitude of the test model is realized by eight motors, which adjust the length, velocity, and acceleration of the corresponding cables. Aerodynamic load measurements are accomplished by a cable balance consisting of eight load cells connected to the assigned cables. The motion responses and load measurement outputs were in good agreement with the reference data. The effectiveness of the CSBS against aerodynamic interference and vibration is experimentally demonstrated through comparative tests with a rear sting and a crescent sting support (CSS). The advantages of the CSBS are examined through several wind tunnel tests of a NACA0015 airfoil model. The cable support of the CSBS clearly showed less aerodynamic interference than the rear sting with a CSS, judging from the drag coefficient profile. Additionally, the CSBS showed excellent vibration suppression characteristics at all angles of attack.

Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Straight Wing with a Spiroid Wingtip Device

Spiroid wingtip devices (WD) offer a promising way of improving the lift drag ratio of UAVs, but may on the other hand lead to negative aerodynamic interference of the wing with the WD and deterioration of the aerodynamic characteristics as compared to a wing without the WD. Determining the influence of the geometric parameters of a spiroid WD on aerodynamic wing characteristics, however, remains an understudied field. In our study, we investigated the influence of the following geometrical parameters on wing aerodynamic characteristics with WD: area, radius, camber angle, constriction, and pitch of the spiroid. We found that the positive effect of the WD is present at a relative radius > 0.05, as well as with an increase in the lift coefficient C L as a result of an increase in the proportion of inductive resistance. For example, with the Reynolds number Re = 2.1×105 for a rectangular wing with an aspect ratio θ = 5.12 equipped with a spiroid WD with =0.15 the quality gain is almost 10% at C L = 0.5, and at C L = 0.7 is almost 20% and at C L = 0.7 – almost 20% compared to a wing without WD. Moreover, we found that a change in the camber angle WD θ provides an increase in the derivative of the lift coefficient with respect to the angle of attack in the range from θ = 0° to θ = 130°. By changing the camber angle, it is possible to increase the lift drag ratio of the layout up to 7.5% at θ = 90° compared to θ = 0° at the Reynolds number Re = 2.1×105. From the point of view of ensuring maximum lift drag ratio and minimum inductive drag, the angle θ = 90° is the most beneficial.