HS2 is Britain’s new high speed rail line being built from London to the North-West. HS2 is helping to change the face of British industry and is a great opportunity to drive new digital ideas and skills.
Digital design and analysis tools enable organisations to design and build better first time, optimising efficiency. HS2 are working with CFMS to harness its modelling capabilities to help improve design and performance within its on-going development.
The first project focuses on a small section of the track and the associated noise level and noise propagation. CFMS has developed a Proof-of-Concept tool to enable outputs to show where the noise is below or exceeds specified limits.
The ability of the tool to accurately predict what permutations (of train types, frequency of travel through the section of track and at what speeds) meet the noise requirements.
Using a combination of different digital engineering capabilities, the CFMS team built a software model and simulated different scenarios of different train volumes passing along the track. This project demonstrated how digital engineering methods can generate accurate models quickly to improve infrastructure. It eliminates uncertainties and overcomes preconceptions within project teams that could constrain the development of optimisation.
Within the development of the HS2 rail link, they aimed to reduce any impact on local flood defences. The second project required CFMS to support the optimisation of earthworks for flood prevention in Staffordshire.
CFMS used its range of digital engineering techniques such as Advanced Simulation, Model Based Engineering and Artificial Intelligence to help improve the design, development and operation of the HS2. Using 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) provided more information and technical data – ultimately portraying a more detailed understanding of the environmental impact and demonstrating cost savings in the multi-million pound planned construction of the earthworks.