Aerodynamic Behavior of Hump Slab Track in Desert Railways: A Case Study in Shuregaz, Iran

Abstract

The development of rail transport necessitates expanding environmentally friendly infrastructure. However, specific challenges arise in desert and sandy regions. One innovative solution to manage the effects of windblown sand on desert railways is the use of hump slab track superstructure. This paper develops a solid–fluid aerodynamic model based on ANSYS Fluent 2021 R2 software to simulate the hump slab track during a sandstorm. The model is validated through wind tunnel testing. A case study of a railway sandstorm in the Shuregaz region of Iran is presented, evaluating various sandstorm parameters and hump heights to determine their impact on sand concentration and particle velocity within the sand transit channels. The results indicate that increasing the sand particle diameter (from 150 to 250 µm) leads to higher sand concentration (up to 40%) and lower sand movement velocity (up to 28%). These results have been observed with a higher incremental approach concerning the sand flow rate. Conversely, increasing sandstorm velocity (from 10 to 30 m/s) decreases sand concentration and increases sand movement velocity up to 80% and 150%, respectively. Additionally, a 25 cm hump height significantly enhances sand passage by creating larger channels.