Localization of aerodynamic noise sources of Shinkansen trains

Shinkansen noise consists of various noise sources, such as the rolling noise, concrete bridge structure noise, aerodynamic noise and so on. Among these, the aerodynamic noise is the most important at speeds over 270 km/h in some cases because of its strong dependence on train speed. Thus it is necessary to clarify the characteristics of the aerodynamic noise generated by high speed trains for noise reduction. In this paper, wind tunnel tests using a 1/5 scale Shinkansen train model were performed. An acoustic mirror, which consists of an omni-directional microphone and a reflector, was chosen as a measuring device. First, the principle and characteristics of the acoustic mirror are discussed and a method of estimating quantitatively the aerodynamic noise generated by each part of the model is proposed on the basis of wind tunnel test data. Next, the distribution of aerodynamic noise sources generated by the 1/5 scale Shinkansen train model is shown, based on which the contribution of individual noise sources of Shinkansen trains to the wayside noise level is estimated. Finally, the noise source distribution of real Shinkansen trains was measured with the acoustic mirror in a field test. The results of the field test show a good agreement with those of the wind tunnel tests.