Acoustic model of micro-pressure wave emission from a high-speed train tunnel

The micro-pressure wave (MPW) radiated from a tunnel portal can, if audible, cause serious problems around tunnel portals in high-speed railways. This has created a need to develop an acoustic model that considers the topography around a radiation portal in order to predict MPWs more accurately and allow for higher speed railways in the future. An acoustic model of MPWs based on linear acoustic theory is developed in this study. First, the directivity of sound sources and the acoustical effect of topography are investigated using a train launcher facility around a portal on infinitely flat ground and with an infinite vertical baffle plate. The validity of linear acoustic theory is then discussed through a comparison of numerical results obtained using the finite difference method (FDM) and experimental results. Finally, an acoustic model is derived that considers sound sources up to the second order and Green's function to represent the directivity and effect of topography, respectively. The results predicted by this acoustic model are shown to be in good agreement with both numerical and experimental results.