The aeroacoustic noise caused by a pantograph is one of the dominant wayside noises of a high speed train. In particular, the panhead significantly influences the aeroacoustic characteristics of pantograph. To clarify how the shape of the panhead affects its aerodynamic and aeroacoustic characteristics, the flow field and aerodynamic noise source distribution around three types of panheads were analyzed by numerical simulation with the Howe’s vortex sound theory. The wind tunnel tests were also performed to verify these numerical results by using two-dimensional panhead models. These results show that the size of separation region and the existence of reattachment strongly influence the aeroacoustic characteristics of the panhead.

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