Abstract
The profiles of particle concentration in saltation layer versus height are calculated, by the motion equations for a saltating grain in conjunction with different probability distribution functions of the vertical liftoff velocities of grains and an empirical expression of wind velocity. The numerical results demonstrated that the stratification phenomenon exists in the particle concentration profiles and showed increasing, saturating and decreasing features, respectively, when the probability distribution functions of liftoff velocities adopted in the calculation are similar to a normal distribution or a two-parameter gamma distribution. When the distribution function of liftoff velocities is taken as an exponential form, the profile of particle concentration decreases monotonically. A numerical simulation of mass flux of grains, performed by the model suggested in this paper, is in reasonable accordance with the measured data.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bagnold, R. A., The physics of blown sand and desert dunes, New York: William Morrow & Company, 1941.
Chepil, W. S., Dynamics of wind erosion: I. Nature of movement of soil by wind, Soil Science, 1945, 60: 305–320.
White, B. R., Two-phase measurements of saltating turbulent boundary layer flow, Int. J. Multiphase Flow, 1982, 8: 459–473.
Nalpanis, P., Hunt, J. C. R., Barrett, C. F., Saltating particles over flat beds, J. Fluid Mech., 1993, 251: 661–685.
Ma Shiwei, The studies on the structure of wind-blown-sand, J. Desert Research (in Chinese), 1988, 8(3): 8–21.
Werner, B. T., A steady-state model of wind-blown sand transport, J. Geology, 1990, 98: 1–17.
Anderson, R. S., Hallet, B., Sediment transport by wind: Toward a general model, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 1986, 97: 523–535.
Dong Fei, Liu Dayou, The reflections on the vertical profiles of grain density in wind-blown-sand, Mechanics and Practice (in Chinese), 1997, 19(6): 42–44.
Yin Yunshun, Study on sand drift in strong wind region in gravel desert, J. Desert Research (in Chinese), 1989, 9(4): 27–36.
Greeley, R., Leach, R. N., Williams, S. H. et al., Rate of wind abrasion on Mars, J. Geophysical Research, 1982, 87(B12): 10009–10024.
Zou Xueyong, Zhu Jiujiang, Dong Guanghong et al., The distribution function of the vertical component of liftoff velocities for grains in the wind-blown-sand, Chinese Science Bulletin (in Chinese), 1992, 23: 2175–2177.
Anderson, R. S., Haff, P. K., Simulation of eolian saltation, Science, 1988, 241: 820–823.
Ning Huang, Zheng Xiaojing, A theoretical prediction of the effects of electrostatic forces on saltating sand particles, in Proceedings in Experimental and Computational Mechanics in Engineering and Material Behavior, Urumqi, China, 1999, 91–95.
White, B. R., Schulz, J. C., Magnus effect in saltation, J. Fluid Mech., 1977, 81(3): 497–512.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
About this article
Cite this article
Zheng, X., He, L. & Wu, J. The feature of stratification in the blowing sand cloud. Chin.Sci.Bull. 48, 1493–1498 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1360/02wd0252
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1360/02wd0252