Why is the front of a high-speed train not square or round? Instead, it is designed as a "bullet head"?

Did you know that the high-speed rail is nicknamed the " bullet train " because of its unique streamlined front end, which looks like a bullet?

Designing the head of the high-speed rail into a bullet shape is not just a pursuit of aesthetics. Behind this design, it fully demonstrates the many efforts made by the designer to solve practical problems, and also lays a solid foundation for the efficient operation and comfortable experience of the high-speed rail.

01

What is Streamline Design?

Streamlined design

Streamlined design is a design style characterized by smooth curves and smooth surfaces, which is widely used in industrial design, aerospace, transportation and other fields. From the appearance, streamlined design presents a continuous, smooth form without obvious angular changes.

The movement of fluid on the surface of streamlined objects is mainly laminar flow, with little or no turbulence, which ensures that the object is subject to less resistance. Streamline can be understood as the surrounding air moving around the object. Objects with streamlined shapes encounter the least resistance when moving in the fluid, so cars, trains, aircraft fuselages, submarines, etc. are often made into streamlined shapes.

02
Advantages of Streamlined Design

The pursuit of high speed

When a train is running at high speed, aerodynamic performance is a very important evaluation indicator. The faster the speed of the high-speed train, the greater the air resistance. In order to achieve high-speed operation, air resistance is a problem that must be overcome .

Compared with the square front, the streamlined design of the bullet-shaped front can make the air flow more smoothly over the body surface, reduce the wind resistance coefficient, and thus improve the running speed and energy efficiency of the train. Just like athletes wearing tights to reduce wind resistance during competition, the streamlined design provides a strong guarantee for its high-speed driving .

Security considerations

Safety is the top priority in high-speed rail design. The bullet-shaped front of the train can better disperse the impact force when a collision occurs, evenly distribute the collision energy to various parts of the front of the train , reduce damage to passengers and the train body, and provide solid protection for the passengers' lives.

In addition, high-speed trains will cause air flow turbulence and generate aerodynamic noise (noise caused by gas flow). The streamlined front and flat and smooth body design can improve the comfort and safety of high-speed rail rides.

The streamlined design has both aesthetic and practical value . It not only gives the high-speed rail a sense of modernity and technology, but also provides strong support for the efficient operation, safety and stability of the high-speed rail. When we travel by high-speed rail, we can deeply feel the speed and stability of China's high-speed rail. This is China speed.