Abstract
In the early stage of operation of KTX, passengers complained of the excessive cabin noise as the passes the tunnel. The noise is caused partly by wheel-rail contact and partly by airflow around the carbody. In this study, to reduce the cabin noise, the effect of the mud-flaps located between the cars is investigated. A series of tests was conducted to clarify the influences of the type and length of mud-flap, and train speed on the cabin noise. The optimum length of mud-flap was found. The shedding vortices around the mud-flap is thought to be the cause of the aerodynamic noise. Strouhal number and the resonant shedding frequency around the mud-flap correlated well with the cabin noise level.
