73 research outputs found
The annual variation of atmospheric meridional heat transports
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Aeolian transport layer
We investigate the airborne transport of particles on a granular surface by
the saltation mechanism through numerical simulation of particle motion coupled
with turbulent flow. We determine the saturated flux and show that its
behavior is consistent with a classical empirical relation obtained from wind
tunnel measurements. Our results also allow to propose a new relation valid for
small fluxes, namely, , where and
are the shear and threshold velocities of the wind, respectively, and
the scaling exponent is . We obtain an expression for the
velocity profile of the wind distorted by the particle motion and present a
dynamical scaling relation. We also find a novel expression for the dependence
of the height of the saltation layer as function of the wind velocity.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Minimal model for aeolian sand dunes
We present a minimal model for the formation and migration of aeolian sand
dunes. It combines a perturbative description of the turbulent wind velocity
field above the dune with a continuum saltation model that allows for
saturation transients in the sand flux. The latter are shown to provide the
characteristic length scale. The model can explain the origin of important
features of dunes, such as the formation of a slip face, the broken scale
invariance, and the existence of a minimum dune size. It also predicts the
longitudinal shape and aspect ratio of dunes and heaps, their migration
velocity and shape relaxation dynamics. Although the minimal model employs
non-local expressions for the wind shear stress as well as for the sand flux,
it is simple enough to serve as a very efficient tool for analytical and
numerical investigations and to open up the way to simulations of large scale
desert topographies.Comment: 19 pages, 22 figure
A Continuum Saltation Model for Sand Dunes
We derive a phenomenological continuum saltation model for aeolian sand
transport that can serve as an efficient tool for geomorphological
applications. The coupled differential equations for the average density and
velocity of sand in the saltation layer reproduce both known equilibrium
relations for the sand flux and the time evolution of the sand flux as
predicted by microscopic saltation models. The three phenomenological
parameters of the model are a reference height for the grain-air interaction,
an effective restitution coefficient for the grain-bed interaction, and a
multiplication factor characterizing the chain reaction caused by the impacts
leading to a typical time or length scale of the saturation transients. We
determine the values of these parameters by comparing our model with wind
tunnel measurements. Our main interest are out of equilibrium situations where
saturation transients are important, for instance at phase boundaries
(ground/sand) or under unsteady wind conditions. We point out that saturation
transients are indispensable for a proper description of sand flux over
structured terrain, by applying the model to the windward side of an isolated
dune, thereby resolving recently reported discrepancies between field
measurements and theoretical predictions.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure
Corridors of barchan dunes: stability and size selection
Barchans are crescentic dunes propagating on a solid ground. They form dune
fields in the shape of elongated corridors in which the size and spacing
between dunes are rather well selected. We show that even very realistic models
for solitary dunes do not reproduce these corridors. Instead, two instabilities
take place. First, barchans receive a sand flux at their back proportional to
their width while the sand escapes only from their horns. Large dunes
proportionally capture more than they loose sand, while the situation is
reversed for small ones: therefore, solitary dunes cannot remain in a steady
state. Second, the propagation speed of dunes decreases with the size of the
dune: this leads -- through the collision process -- to a coarsening of barchan
fields. We show that these phenomena are not specific to the model, but result
from general and robust mechanisms. The length scales needed for these
instabilities to develop are derived and discussed. They turn out to be much
smaller than the dune field length. As a conclusion, there should exist further
- yet unknown - mechanisms regulating and selecting the size of dunes.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures. New version resubmitted to Phys. Rev. E.
Pictures of better quality available on reques
A comprehensive numerical model of steady state saltation (COMSALT)
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95613/1/jgrd15469.pd
Wind tunnel study of coal dust release from train wagons
The paper presents a wind tunnel study to assess the coal dust released due to aeolian erosion from wagons equipped with two different shelter cover systems. A 1:25 scale model was used, and it comprises one locomotive and four train wagons with a 3.55Â m maximum length. Several tests were conducted for different train configurations, and two initial load levels, with an undisturbed flow velocity of 13.4Â m/s.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V3M-4C7DFX4-2/1/7e5214aa39411c25551eb15955a969a
On the saltation of fresh snow in a wind tunnel: profile characterization and single particle statistics
We present experimental results on the snow drift in a turbulent boundary layer over a flat fresh snow-covered surface. Vertical profiles of mass flux and of the distribution of particle diameters were obtained by means of a pair of Snow Particle Counters parallel with measurements of the stream-wise velocity profile. The aim of the paper is to discuss current parameterizations of the vertical mass flux profile for fresh snow and to investigate the range of timescales involved in a developing saltation layer occurring in a turbulent boundary layer. The novelty of the work consists of using an intact fresh snow cover as an erodible surface able to provide realistic snow crystals as drifting particles. Results show that (1) the parameters scaling the vertical mass flux profiles of fresh snow can significantly differ from those given in the literature for ice or compacted snow particles; (2) though drifting snow covers an extremely wide range of temporal scales, the mean time interval between saltating particles ??t ? is the key timescale of the saltation process; (3) ??t ? allows for the optimal reconstruction of the mass flux as a continuous signal and for neglecting the effects related to the heterogeneous distribution of particle size on the mass flux. Implications on the modeling of snow drift and on the processing of field observations are discusse
Wind erosion of sand placed inside a rectangular box
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V3M-4TVR24V-1/2/975c023259670af31b7f4feb4d28ea1
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