The influence of aerodynamic forces on the vehicle bodywork of railway traction

The increase of the driving speed in railway system requires a comprehensive analysis on the vehicle aerodynamics, on the manner in which the performance is affected or related to the additional loads on various components. The aerodynamic forces have a greater impact in the case of medium and high values of the relative velocity of the air flow near the vehicle. This paper aims to analyze the loads caused by the aerodynamic forces on the bodywork of the electric locomotive, of 5100 kW LE 060 EA type. In this respect, the bodywork and the chassis of locomotive were modelled in a 3D format; then a series of air flow simulations were performed for different values of the vehicle velocity ranging between 0 km/h and 200 km/h