Analysis of pressure loads on installations in high-speed tunnels- with model scale experiments and numerical simulations

Abstract

Trains passing through railway tunnels cause pressure and suction waves which affect the vehicle, tunnel equipment, and passenger comfort. In the Alps, several very long single-track, twin-tube tunnels either have been opened recently or are under construction. Pressurized cross passage tubes spaced every 333 to 500 meters interconnect the main tunnel tubes and are sealed with air-tight doors which must sustain high pressure loads. The impact of various configurations of the shallow cavity between the main tube and the cross passage and the pressure loads generated on installations in different configurations of high-speed tunnels are analysed by using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis and experimental validations at the Tunnel Simulation Facility Göttingen (TSG) in model scale experiments (1:25). The effects on internal tunnel installations (e.g., emergency exit doors) were investigated in connection with their structural dynamics using FEA. The life span was evaluated and compared with the cumulative damage method after Palmgren-Miner.