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Aerodynamic Drag Reduction of Open-Top Gondola and Hopper Cars in Unit Train Operation and Impact on Train Fuel Consumption and Economics

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The Aerodynamics of Heavy Vehicles III (ECI 2010)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Applied and Computational Mechanics ((LNACM,volume 79))

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Abstract

A three-part study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of retrofit aerodynamic drag reducing devices on the fuel consumption and economics of open-top, bulk commodity, gondola and hopper rail cars in unit train service. Specific applications included trains transporting coal from mines to power plants. During the first part of the study wind tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamics were combined with an extensive literature search to rank the drag reducing effectiveness of a variety of devices including covers, internal baffles, end treatments, gap fillers, car side geometry, and underbody modifications. During the second portion of the study, three approaches were utilized to determine fuel savings associated with each aerodynamic retrofit device. These included two classical methods and a newly-developed train energy model. Results were validated using fuel consumption data provided by a U.S. Class I railroad. During the third portion of the study, an economic analysis of the candidate devices was completed which included the following parameters: weights of the retrofit devices, manufacturing and installation costs, drag reduction effectiveness, and projected return on investment. The study predicted round trip fuel savings, due to the addition of aerodynamic modifications to open-top rail cars in unit-train service, ranging from 2.7 to 19.9 % and return on investment durations as short as 2 years, depending upon the type of device, route, and car utilization. It was shown that economic viability of car modifications depends only partly on aerodynamic performance. Some of the modifications exhibiting high levels of drag reduction were eliminated from additional consideration due to high associated costs and negative impact on payload capacity.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by Aero Transportation Products, Inc., which also approved release of the results. Preparation of this paper was funded by Airflow Sciences Corporation.

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    James C. Paul

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    Andreas Dillmann

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    Alexander Orellano

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Paul, J.C. (2016). Aerodynamic Drag Reduction of Open-Top Gondola and Hopper Cars in Unit Train Operation and Impact on Train Fuel Consumption and Economics. In: Dillmann, A., Orellano, A. (eds) The Aerodynamics of Heavy Vehicles III. ECI 2010. Lecture Notes in Applied and Computational Mechanics, vol 79. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20122-1_3

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