Modelling the response of a standing person to the slipstream generated by a passenger train

Abstract

This article develops two relatively simple models that are combined in order to model the response of a standing person to a passing train. The first model combines potential flow theory, boundary layer theory, and autoregressive modelling in order to simulate the slipstream of a passenger train. The second moment simulates the response of a person to the wind velocities generated in the slipstream model. For the first 0.375 s the person is assumed to respond as a solid object, whereas after this time a spring—mass—damper system is used to represent the response of a person. A Monte Carlo analysis is used in order to establish the probability of a person becoming destabilized as a result of increasing train speed. Finally, a parametric analysis is undertaken and illustrates that the output of the models that represent the response of a person is sensitive to the parameter values chosen.