Large eddy simulation of a tornado flow around a train

Abstract

A tornado is a destructive rotating column of air extending from a cloud to the ground. It may kill people and damage property. Also there are possibilities of derailment of trains. Some train-turnover accidents are suspected to have been caused by tornadoes in Japan. For instance, a train of the JR Uestu line was overturned by a gust in 2005. According to the accident analysis, a tornado or downburst probably generated the gust (Aircraft and railway accidents investigation commission: Railway accident analysis report RA2008 -4 (2008), (in Japanese), [1]). In 2006, a train of the JR Nippo line was overturned by a tornado (Aircraft and railway accidents investigation commission: Railway accident analysis report RA2008 -6 (2008), (in Japanese), [2]).