Abstract
Based on numerical simulations, this study highlights the sedimentation and erosion problems around a sand barrier through the relationship between the shear stress of the surface around the sand barrier and the critical shear stress of sand grains. The numerical simulation results were verified using data measured by the wind tunnel test. The results showed that when the porosity was the same, the size and position of the vortex on the leeward side of the sand barrier were related to the inlet wind speed. As the wind speed increased, the vortex volume increased and the positions of the separation and reattachment points moved toward the leeward side. When the porosity of the sand barrier was 30%, the strength of the acceleration zone above the sand barrier was the highest, and the strength of the acceleration zone was negatively correlated with the porosity. Sand erosion and sedimentation distance were related to wind speed. With an increase in wind speed, the sand grain forward erosion or reverse erosion areas on the leeward side of the sand barrier gradually replaced the sedimentation area. With an increase in porosity, the sand sedimentation distance on the leeward side of the sand barrier gradually shortened, and the sand erosion area gradually disappeared. The sand sedimentation distance on the leeward side of the sand barrier with 30% porosity was the longest. The numerical simulation results were in good agreement with the wind tunnel test results. Based on the sand erosion and sedimentation results of the numerical simulation and wind tunnel test, when the porosity was 30%, the protection effect of the High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) board sand barrier was best.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bruno L, Fransos D (2015) Sand transverse dune aerodynamic: 3d coherent flow structures from a computational study. J Wind Eng Ind Aerod 147: 291–301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2015.07.014
Bruno L, Horvat M, Raffaele L (2018) Windblown sand along railway infrastructures: a review of challenges and mitigation measures. J Wind Eng Ind Aerod 177: 340–365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2018.04.021
Dong ZB, Luo WY, Qian GQ (2007) A wind tunnel simulation of the mean velocity fields behind upright porous fences. Agr Forest Meteorol 146(1–2): 82–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2007.05.009
Horvat M, Bruno L, Khris S (2021) CWE study of wind flow around railways: Effects of embankment and track system on sand sedimentation. J Wind Eng Ind Aerodyn 208: 104476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2020.104476
Jin CN, Dong ZD, Li JJ, et al. (2005) Blown sand deposits and its indications on wind activities around high windbreaks. J of Des Res 25(5): 652–657. (In Chinese)
Launder BE, Spalding DB (1974) The numerical computation of turbulent flows. Comput Method Appl M 3(2): 269–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/0045-7825(74)90029-2
Lee SJ, Kim HB (1999) Laboratory measurements of velocity and turbulence field behind porous fences. J Wind Eng Ind Aerod 80(3): 311–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-6105(98)00193-7
Li BL, Sherman DH (2015) Aerodynamics and morphodynamics of sand fences: A review. Aeolian Res 17: 33–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeolia.2014.11.005
Li KC, Zhou Q, Ding LS, et al. (2019) Prevention mechanism and effect evaluation of HDPE sand barrier in gobi area of southern Xinjiang. China Rail Sci 40(3): 10–14. (In Chinese)
Lima IA, Parteli EJR, Shao YP, et al. (2020) CFD simulation of the wind field over a terrain with sand fences: Critical spacing for the wind shear velocity. Aeolian Res 43: 100574. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeolia.2020.100574
Liu BL, Qu JJ, Zhang WM, et al. (2011) Numerical simulation of wind flow over transverse and pyramid dunes. J Wind Eng Ind Aerod 99: 879–888. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2011.06.007
Menter FR, Kuntz M, Langtry R (2003) Ten years of industrial experience with the SST turbulence model. In: Hanjalic K, Nagano Y, Tummers J (Eds.), Turbulence Heat and Mass Transfer 4: Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on Turbulence, Heat and Mass Transfer, Antalya, Turkey, 12–17 October, 2003. Begell House, p. 1208.
Noguchi Y, Suzuki M, Baker C, et al. (2019) Numerical and experimental study on the aerodynamic force coefficients of railway vehicles on an embankment in crosswind. J Wind Eng Ind Aerod 184: 90–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2018.11.019
Perera MDAES (1981) Shelter behind two-dimensional solid and porous fences. J Wind Eng Ind Aerod 8(1–2): 93–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-6105(81)90010-6
Qu JJ, Yu WB, Qin XB, (2014) Wind-protecting efficiency of HDPE functional sand-fixing barriers. J Des Res 34(5): 1185–1193. (In Chinese)
Raffaele L, Bruno L, Pellerey F, et al. (2016) Windblown sand saltation: a statistical approach to fluid threshold shear velocity. Aeolian Res 23: 79–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeolia.2016.10.002
Smyth TAG (2016) A review of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) airflow modelling over aeolian landforms. Aeolian Res 22: 153–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeolia.2016.07.003
Tan LH, Zhang WM, Bian K (2016) Numerical simulation of three-dimensional wind flow patterns over a star dune. J Wind Eng Ind Aerod 159: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2016.10.005
Tominaga Y, Okaze T, Mochida A (2018) Wind tunnel experiment and CFD analysis of sand erosion/deposition due to wind around an obstacle. J Wind Eng Ind Aerod 182: 262–271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2018.09.008
Tsukahara T, Sakamoto Y, Aoshima, D, et al. (2012) Visualization and laser measurements on the flow field and sand movement on sand dunes with porous fences. Exp Fluids 52(4): 877–890. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-011-1157-4
Wang T, Qu JJ, Ling YQ, et al. (2017) Wind tunnel test on the effect of metal net fences on sand flux in a Gobi Desert, China. J Arid Land 9(6): 888–899. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-017-0068-5
Wang T, Qu JJ, Ling YQ, et al. (2018) Shelter effect efficacy of sand fences: A comparison of systems in a wind tunnel. Aeolian Res 30: 32–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeolia.2017.11.004
Wang XM, Chen GT, Han ZW, et al. (1999) The benefit of the prevention system along the desert highway in Tarim Basin. J Des Res 19(2): 120–127. (In Chinese)
White BR (1996) Laboratory simulation of aeolian sand transport and physical modeling of flow around dunes. Ann Arid Zone 35: 187–213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00585-996-0986-6
Wu XX, Zou XY, Zhang CL, et al. (2013) The effect of wind barriers on airflow in a wind tunnel. J Arid Environ 97: 73–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2013.05.003
Yang Y, Gu M, Chen SQ, et al. (2009) New inflow boundary conditions for modelling the neutral equilibrium atmospheric boundary layer in computational wind engineering. J Wind Eng Ind Aerod 97(2): 88–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2008.12.001
Zakeri JA, Esmaeili M, Mosayebi S, et al. (2012) Effects of vibration in desert area caused by moving trains. J Mod Transp 20: 16–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325772
Zhang K, Wang QC, Yang ZJ, et al. (2019) Research on numerical simulation on wind protection benefits of HDPE panels with high vertical sand barrier in the newly-built Golmud-korla railway. J China Railw Soc 41(3): 169–175. (In Chinese)
Zhang K, Zhao PW, Zhang XX, et al. (2020) Study on difference of windsand flow of HDPE board high vertical sand fence by wind velocity profile. J China Railw Soc 42(9): 143–149. (In Chinese)
Zhang K, Zhao PW, Zhao JC, et al. (2021) Protective effect of multi-row HDPE board sand fences: A wind tunnel study. Int Soil Water Conse 9: 103–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2020.08.006
Zhang K, Zhao LM, Zhang HL, et al. (2022) Numerical simulation on flow field, wind erosion and sand sedimentation patterns over railway subgrades. J Mt Sci 19: 2968–2986. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-022-7396-4
Zhang J, Wang J, Tan X, et al. (2019) Detached eddy simulation of flow characteristics around railway embankments and the layout of anemometers. J Wind Eng Ind Aerod 193: 103968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2019.103968
Acknowledgments
This research was financially supported by the fellowship of the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2021M703466), the Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province, China (20JR10RA231), the Basic Research Innovation Group Project of Gansu Province, China (21JR7RA347), an Special Funds for Guiding Local Scientific and Technological Development by the Central Government (22ZY1QA005).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, K., Zhang, Hl., Deng, Yh. et al. Effects of sand sedimentation and wind erosion around sand barrier: Numerical simulation and wind tunnel test studies. J. Mt. Sci. 20, 962–978 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-022-7757-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-022-7757-z