Environmental Engineering Division

Profile

Our division is composed of Vehicle Aerodynamics Laboratory, Heat and Air Flow Analysis Laboratory and Noise Analysis Laboratory, and is responsible for research and development, consulting, and contract work concerning wayside environments and aerodynamic phenomena.

Introduction

Environment is a serious problem for human in the 21th century so that realization of environmentally friendly railway is strongly required from society. Japanese environmental researches and countermeasures such as 300 km/h operation of Shinkansen and 500 km/h operation of levitation system railway are attracted around the world. Our aim is to lead environmental countermeasures of railways in the world keeping close cooperation with other railway companies, utilizing our testing facilities such as RTRI’s Large-Scale Low-Noise Wind Tunnel and research methods that have been developed up to now.

Sanetoshi Saito - Director, Environmental Engineering Division

Laboratories and their field

Vehicle Aerodynamics

Vehicle Aerodynamics Laboratory is in charge of aerodynamic characteristic of the vehicle under the crosswind, air resistance of the vehicle, unsteady aerodynamic force on the vehicle running in a tunnel, and pressure and velocity change due to the train passage in open section.

Heat & Air Flow Analysis

Heat & Air Flow Analysis Laboratory is in charge of the pressure wave that is emitted from the tunnel portal such as micro-pressure wave, and the air flow, heat and ventilation in the tunnel.

Noise Analysis

Noise Analysis Laboratory develops the studies on sound source analysis and measures of the railway noise, e.g. wheel/rail noise, bridge noise and aerodynamic noise.