Sampling efficiency of vertical array aeolian sand traps

Previous investigations have indicated that the sampling efficiency of aeolian sand traps is low and varies greatly in the near-bed region. Outside this region, the efficiency tends to be consistently higher for all types of trap. An evaluation was carried out to compare the sampling efficiency of different types of aeolian sand trap based on the comparison of the “actual” and the measured sand mass flux profiles, with emphasis on the single-tube vertical array trap, conventional array trap, and step-like array trap. A simple formula is proposed to express the actual vertical profile of sand mass flux, which has been validated with the unique data obtained with an isokinetic trap by [Sedimentology 45 (1998) 789]. Using the experimental data collected by the present authors and those by other investigators, sampling efficiencies of three types of trap are examined in terms of the frequency distribution of all the samples. For the single-tube traps, the sampling efficiency varies from 65% to 95%, with a mode at 75%. For both the conventional array and step-like array traps, sampling efficiencies range from 15% to 85%, with the modal frequencies at 35% and 75%, respectively. This review seems to suggest that the peak frequency with higher sampling efficiency coincides with the maximum sand-grain Reynolds number.     

On the rate of aeolian sand transport

A simple explicit formula for the transport rate of windblown sand is derived based on physical reasoning. The curve relating the dimensionless transport rate to the dimensionless friction speed exhibits the empirically well-established peak. In fact, the theory developed in the paper can explain the peaked shape of this curve. Three empirically determined coefficients in the formula can be given a physical interpretation. The formula is shown to fit transport rates measured in wind-tunnel experiments well, except for very coarse sand. Formulae for the wind profile in the saltation layer and for the grain dislodgement rate in dependence on the friction speed are obtained as part of the theory.     

Wind tunnel experimental investigation of sand velocity in aeolian sand transport

Sand velocity in aeolian sand transport was measured using the laser Doppler technique of PDPA (Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer) in a wind tunnel. The sand velocity profile, probability distribution of particle velocity, particle velocity fluctuation and particle turbulence were analyzed in detail. The experimental results verified that the sand horizontal velocity profile can be expressed by a logarithmic function above 0.01 m, while a deviation occurs below 0.01 m. The mean vertical velocity of grains generally ranges from − 0.2 m/s to 0.2 m/s, and is downward at the lower height, upward at the higher height. The probability distributions of the horizontal velocity of ascending and descending particles have a typical peak and are right-skewed at a height of 4 mm in the lower part of saltation layer. The vertical profile of the horizontal RMS velocity fluctuation of particles shows a single peak. The horizontal RMS velocity fluctuation of sand particles is generally larger than the vertical RMS velocity fluctuation. The RMS velocity fluctuations of grains in both horizontal and vertical directions increase with wind velocity. The particle turbulence intensity decreases with height. The present investigation is helpful in understanding the sand movement mechanism in windblown sand transport and also provides a reference for the study of blowing sand velocity.     

海岸风沙流中不同粒径组沙粒的垂向分布模式

通过对河北昌黎黄金海岸沙丘风沙流的野外实地观测与室内风洞模拟实验数据的数值模拟,探讨了我国典型海岸沙丘风沙流中不同粒径组沙粒输沙量的垂向分布模式。结果表明,河北昌黎黄金海岸沙丘表面风沙流中不同粒径组沙粒输沙量的垂向分布特征并不一致,其中细沙和中沙符合典型的指数递减分布规律,但粗沙则为负幂函数分布。究其原因,主要与不同粒径组沙粒输沙量的分布高度及运动方式差异有关。在实际非均匀沙床面上,粗沙主要集中分布于沙丘表面4cm高度内湍流发育的近地表层,运动方式以蠕移为主,沙丘表面湍流的主导作用使其输沙量随高度的变化满足负幂律关系,但中沙和细沙则以跃移运动为主,跃移沙粒输沙量的垂向分布呈现指数递减特征。     

Wind tunnel modeling and measurements of the flux of wind-blown sand

This paper presents a way to empirically fit experimental data for the horizontal flux of various sizes of wind-blown dry sand using data from wind tunnel experiments. We measured vertical wind profiles to derive threshold shear velocity and estimated shear velocity and the flux of sand mass as a function of the height for nine different grain sizes. We propose a fitting model based on the experimental data and a least-squares method and derive an explicit form of sand flux as a function of height and shear velocity for these grain sizes. We also obtained an explicit form of the empirical equation for the measurement of sand transport per unit width and unit time by integrating the empirical equation as a function of height. Finally, we compared the effectiveness of Bagnold's equation, Kawamura's expression and Lettau and Lettau's equation, for predicting sand transport with the results of our empirical equation. The results show that the transport predicted by all of the equations were always lower than the measured results from the empirical equation for all grain sizes and shear velocities. However, the empirical equation matched Bagnold's equation, Kawamura's equation, and Lettau and Lettau's equation if the coefficients in these equations were adjusted instead of using their original coefficients. The empirical equation for sand transport in the present study contradicts previous conclusions generated by Bagnold's equation, which predict that for a given wind drag, the transport of a coarse sand is greater than that of a fine sand.     

库布齐沙漠南缘抛物线形沙丘表面风沙流结构变异

对库布齐沙漠南缘抛物线形沙丘表面气流和输沙率的野外观测和分析结果表明,沙丘表面约90%的风沙输移集中在距沙面0.10 m高度范围内,输沙率随高度递减的形式在沙丘各部位因风速、下垫面状况和坡面形态不同而发生变异。沙丘迎风坡坡脚因出露坚硬、含砾石地表,颗粒跃移高度大,风沙流上层相对输沙率大;迎风坡沙粒沿坡向上运动,颗粒跃移高度减小,风沙流中近地表相对输沙率大;沙丘背风坡沙粒沿坡向下运动,加之来自丘顶变型跃移物质的影响,风沙流上层相对输沙率较大;脊线受迎风坡各个断面地形差异的影响,各观测点间风沙流结构差异显著。风沙流结构在迎风坡和丘顶均遵循指数递减规律(Q=aexp(-z/b)),其中,指数函数拟合中系数a与输沙率具有良好的幂函数关系,随风速增加而增加,但二者关系较弱;b与二者无相关性。背风坡风沙流结构具有明显的分段现象,以0.10 m高度为界,下层符合指数函数,上层符合幂函数。     

Grain size and transport characteristics of non-uniform sand in aeolian saltation

Size frequency distributions of sediment particles in a wind tunnel containing a bed of non-uniform sand are investigated by re-interpreting existing experimental data using particle-size analysis. Each particle sample is classified into one of eight groups according to its size grading. The analysis reveals that the modal shape of the particle-size frequency distributions of the saltating sand at different elevations or longitudinal distances is similar to that of the mixed sand in the bed once the boundary layer is fully developed. The standard deviation of the grain-size frequency distribution increases with increasing elevation above the bed then stays constant, whereas its skewness decreases. The mean grain size decays exponentially with elevation. The aeolian sand mass flux is determined for each size grading at different vertical and horizontal measurement locations. The vertical profile of aeolian horizontal mass flux depends on the size grading. The distribution of the sand transport rate according to the mean grain size in each grading fits the normal distribution. A parameter w_i is defined to reflect the likelihood of saltation for sand particles of the i-th size grading, and the mean sand size corresponding to the maximum value of w_i is found to be 0.2 mm. In addition, wind velocity strongly influences the magnitudes of the particle-size distribution and the sand mass flux distribution in both vertical and longitudinal directions.     

基于激光垂直照射沙床面的风成沙波纹二维形态特征分析

风成沙波纹因其规则的波浪形几何图案吸引着研究者的兴趣,但是对其发育过程的认识还比较薄弱.原因之一就是缺少高精度和高分辨率的沙波纹形态动态测量方法.传统的风成沙波纹形态动态测量方法采用的倾斜光源照射方式忽略了沙波纹脊线高度和走向的变化,会导致沙波纹高度测量错误和形态变形.本研究建立的激光片光源垂直照射沙波纹表面的方式纠正...     

稳态风沙流中瞬态输沙特征

风沙流中沙粒运动在来流风速不变时也会表现出非稳态特征。在风洞内利用粒子图像测速系统（PIV）测量了风沙运动的时间序列,并基于PIV测量技术提出风沙流中沙粒平均直径、数密度、平均水平速度和输沙通量等参数在某一时刻的计算方法,其中输沙通量的计算考虑沙粒大小垂向分布的影响。结果表明：来流风速不变时,沙粒平均直径、数密度、平均水平速度和输沙通量随时间具有明显的波动性;沙粒平均直径和平均水平速度的标准偏差一般随高度增加而增加,沙粒数密度和输沙通量标准偏差随高度增大而减小;这些参数的相对标准偏差均随高度增加而增大。     

Experimental investigation of the concentration profile of a blowing sand cloud

Detailed wind tunnel tests were carried out to establish the mean downwind velocity and transport rate of different-sized loose dry sand at different free-stream wind velocities and heights, as well as to investigate the vertical variation in the concentration of blowing sand in a cloud. Particle dynamic analyzer (PDA) technology was used to measure the vertical variation in mean downwind velocity of a sand cloud in a wind tunnel. The results reveal that within the near-surface layer, the decay of blown sand flux with height can be expressed using an exponential function. In general, the mean downwind velocity increases with height and free-stream wind velocity, but decreases with grain size. The vertical variation in mean downwind velocity can be expressed by a power function. The concentration profile of sand within the saltation layer, calculated according to its flux profile and mean downwind profile, can be expressed using the exponential function: c_z=ae^−bz, where c_z is the blown sand concentration at height z, and a and bare parameters changing regularly with wind velocity and sand size. The concentration profiles are converted to rays of straight lines by plotting logarithmic concentration values against height. The slope of the straight lines, representing the relative decay rate of concentration with height, decreases with an increase in free-stream wind velocity and grain size, implying that more blown sand is transported to greater heights as grain size and wind speed increase.     

农田近地表风沙流风程效应变化特征研究

风沙流的风程效应研究是定量获取风沙流沿程变化的核心和难点,风程效应是指输沙率随沙床表面或地块长度的增加而不断增大,而后趋于稳定的变化特征,饱和输沙率（f_max）和饱和路径长度（L_sat）是风程效应的重要参数。采用自动连续称重式集沙仪,以河北坝上地区康保县境内典型旱作农田为研究对象,观测了2017、2018年和2021年内4次典型风蚀事件,分析近地表5 cm高度风沙流的风程效应在5 min时间尺度下的变化特征。结果表明：（1） 近地表输沙通量随风程距离的增大而增大。（2） 4次风蚀事件中L_sat的变化范围在11~280 m之间,并存在明显差异,其变化与风速无关。（3） 近地表风沙流的f_max与风速（U）呈幂函数关系。（4） 风程效应的变化特征与地表可蚀性因子、地表微地貌变化有着紧密联系,未来应对不同的土壤类型和质地农田的风程效应进行深入研究。     

Evaluation of saltation flux impact responders (Safires) for measuring instantaneous aeolian sand transport intensity

The measurement of aeolian sand transport rates on small scales is of interest to the development and testing of detailed models of sand movement by wind. This paper reports on laboratory evaluations and preliminary field tests of a new design of a piëzo-electric impact responder, called a ‘Safire’, capable of measuring saltation impacts at a frequency of 20 Hz. The advantages of the Safire are: (1) that it provides high-frequency measurements, (2) that it presents a minimal obstruction to the wind flow (no scour observed in the field), and (3) that it is of a (relatively) low-cost.Laboratory calibrations were performed with a vertical gravity flume generating known sand grain fluxes using both mixed sand and specific size fractions. Initial tests investigated three fundamental characteristics: correspondence between digital and analogue signals generated by the instrument, directional response of the probe, and linearity of instrument response to mass flux.Instrument calibration included determination of the momentum threshold required for the sensor to register a grain impact. Based on this lower limit and the known distribution of grain size and speed at different fall heights, a prediction is made as to the sand grain flux the Safire ought to measure, which is then compared with the signal response. The result of this comparison is an assessment of the instrument's efficiency in counting saltating grains. These Safires were also deployed in the field as part of a larger investigation of spatio-temporal transport variability. This experiment provided the opportunity to compare the instrument's performance with traditional sand traps, and this paper develops methods and assumptions required to convert measurements from impact responders to traditional mass transport rates.The evaluations indicate that improvements to the instrument production process are required to ensure a standard momentum threshold among individual instruments. Furthermore, the sensor design needs to be reconsidered in order to eliminate the variation in response depending on azimuth direction, so that the sensor is uniformly omni-directional.     

The assessment of weathering stages in granites using an EC/pH meter

The sidewall effects of a wind tunnel on aeolian sand transport were investigated experimentally. A wind tunnel was used to conduct the experiments with a given channel height of 120 cm and varying widths (B) of 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 cm. Both vertical profiles of wind velocity and sand mass flux were measured at different locations across the test section. The results show that the wind velocity with saltation first increases and then decreases to a minimum, from the sidewall to the central line of the wind tunnel. The discrepancy among wind velocities at different locations of the transverse section decreases with decreasing tunnel width. The wind friction velocity across the wind tunnel floor, with the exception of the region closest to the sidewalls, does not deviate strongly in wide wind tunnels from that along the central line, whereas it does vary in narrow tunnels. The sand mass fluxes, with the exception of some near-bed regions, are larger along the central line of the wind tunnel than they are at the quarter width location from the sidewall. Unlikely previously reported results, the dimensionless sand transport rate, Qg / (ρu³) (where Q is the total sand transport rate, g is the gravitational acceleration constant, ρ is the air density, and u is the wind friction velocity), first decreases and then increases with the dimensionless friction velocity, u / u_t (where u_t is the threshold friction velocity). The above differences may be attributed to the sidewall effects of the wind tunnel. A dimensionless parameter, F_B = u / (gB)^1/2, is defined to reflect the sidewall effects on aeolian sand transport. The flows with F_B of 0.33 or less may be free from the sidewall effects of the wind tunnel and can ensure accurate saltation tunnel simulation.     

Momentum profile of aeolian saltation cloud

The momentum profile of an aeolian saltation cloud is poorly understood. In this paper, height profiles for saltation momentum are reconstructed for three particle-size populations at four wind velocities based on profiles for mean particle velocity and relative particle concentration of saltation cloud obtained using particle image velocimetry in a wind tunnel. The results suggest that the saltation momentum profiles are characterized by peak curves with a maximum at some height above the surface. The height of this maximum increases with increasing wind velocity, but decreases with increasing particle size. It is linearly correlated with average saltation height and is comparable with the results of numerical simulations in a previous study. Our results confirm that Bagnold’s kink is an important feature of wind velocity profiles modified by the presence of saltating particles and that the height of the kink is closely related to the average trajectories of the saltating particles.     

关于风沙流中风速廓线的进一步实验研究

总结与分析了以前学者对风沙流中风速廓线的研究成果,指出了其中的不足之处。并通过实验测出两种较典型自然沙(沙丘沙与河滩冲积沙)所形成稳定状态下风沙流中的风速廓线,提出了新的风速廓线模型。实验结果表明风沙流中的风速廓线用幂函数u=az^b拟和最佳,拟合系数均大于0.95。经验证,实验结果可靠。     

Wind tunnel and field calibration of five aeolian sand traps

The efficiency of five aeolian sand samplers was tested via wind tunnel experiments and field measurements. The samplers were: the Big Spring Number Eight (BSNE) sampler, the Modified Wilson and Cooke (MWAC) sampler, the Suspended Sediment Trap (SUSTRA), the Pollet catcher (POLCA), and the saltiphone. In the wind tunnel, the samplers were calibrated against an isokinetic sampler (a modified Sartorius SM 16711 sampler with adjustable flow rate), and this for three sand types (median diameter: 132, 194 and 287 μm) and five wind speeds (ranging from 6.6 to 14.4 m s⁻¹). In the field, seven calibration tests of two weeks each were conducted. The absolute efficiencies of the BSNE, MWAC and POLCA are more or less comparable and vary between 70% and 120%, depending on sediment size and wind speed. For the SUSTRA, the efficiency is somewhat lower for fine sands and for wind speeds above 11 m s⁻¹. Finally, the saltiphone can accurately detect the periods of saltation transport, but in its current version, the instrument is not accurate when measuring the absolute saltation flux. The most recommendable sampler in the test is the MWAC, not only because of its high efficiency, but also because its efficiency is independent of wind speed.     

A wind tunnel investigation on the transverse motion of aeolian sand

A wind tunnel experiment was performed to investigate aeolian grain motions in the transverse direction, which is perpendicular to the incoming flow and parallels the sand bed. The trajectories in the horizontal plane were recorded by high-speed camera. Statistical analysis of 630 trajectories shows that both the motion orientation and the time-averaged speed follow Gaussian distributions. An exclusive method was used to analyze the driving mechanism. It was concluded that the three-dimensional turbulent air flow, rather than the spin of grain or grain–bed collisions, controls the transverse motion.     

Modeling the aeolian sand transport for the desert of Kuwait: Constraints by field observations

The Kuwaiti desert is swept by strong winds, particularly by northwesterly wind, during the summer months (April through September), causing mass-scale sand transport that poses a serious environmental hazard. Understanding that accurate transport rate data are very difficult to obtain either by field measurements or by using any existing sand transport formulae, this paper presents a mathematical model to predict the sand-transport rate for Kuwaiti desert by following a well-known theoretical approach of Lettau and Lettau (1978) and by taking into account the effect of seasonal wind variability. The validity of the model is next examined using the field data from the study of Al-Awadhi and Al-Sudairawi (2002). The examination showed that the model underestimates the rate of sand transport by an average ratio of 0.15. The application of the model, at some seven locations that are evenly distributed across the Kuwaiti desert, indicated that about 40% of the amount of sand transport in Kuwait prevails from the NW during the peak summer months (June and July). The resulting map of sand transport rate indicated that the zone of higher sand transport rate is located within the areas covered by most extensive mobile sand sheets and sand dunes.     

Wind tunnel investigation of the influence of surface moisture content on the entrainment and erosion of beach sand by wind using sands from tropical humid coastal southern China

Wind erosion has major impacts on dune growth, desertification, and architecture on sea coasts. The deflation threshold shear velocity is a crucial parameter in predicting erosion, and surface moisture greatly affects this threshold and thus sand stability. Wind tunnel studies have shown that reduced moisture contents decrease entrainment thresholds and increase wind erosion, but field and wind tunnel test data is lacking for tropical humid coastal areas. In this study, we investigated the influence of surface moisture contents (at 1 mm depth) on sand entrainment and erosion using tropical humid coastal sands from southern China. Shear velocities were deduced from velocity profiles above the sand. The threshold shear velocity increased linearly with increasing ln100M (M, gravimetric moisture content). The increase was steepest below a moisture content of 0.0124 (i.e., at M_1.5, the moisture content in the sand at a matric potential of − 1.5 MPa). We compared several popular models that predict threshold shear velocity of moisture sediment, and found substantial differences between their predicted results. At a surface moisture content of 0.0124, the predicted increase in the wet threshold shear velocity compared with the dry threshold shear velocity ranged from 34% to 195%. The empirical model of Chepil and Selah simulated the data well for M < 0.0062 (i.e., 0.5M_1.5), whereas Belly's empirical model simulated the data best for M > 0.0062. Wind erosion modulus increased with increasing effective wind velocity following a power function with a positive exponent at all moisture contents, but decreased with increasing surface moisture content following a power function with a negative exponent. When wind speed and moisture content varied simultaneously, wind erosion modulus was proportional to the 0.73 power of effective wind velocity, but inversely proportional to the 1.48 power of M. The increase in resistance to erosion at low moisture contents probably results from cohesive forces in the water films surrounding the sand particles. At a moisture content near M_1.5, wind erosion ceases nearly for all wind velocities that we tested.     

The application and comparison of several flux profile relations in CoLM

This paper discusses the important role that flux profile relations play in momentum flux, sensible heat flux, and latent heat flux simulations in CoLM （Common Land Model） and compares the application of three flux profile relation schemes in CoLM by means of the Loess Plateau Land-Atmosphere Interaction Pilot Experiment （LOPEX） of 2005. It reveals that the results simulated by the model barely changed in the original flux profile schemes of the models a~er eliminating the very stable condition and the very unstable condition, and there were only tiny changes in numerical values. This indicates that the corrected terms added to fm（ξm）,fh（ξh） were very tiny and can be ignored under very stable and very unstable circumstances. According to a comparison of the three flux profile relations, the simulation results were basically coherent by using any CoLM： the correlation coefficient of the simulation value and the observed value was 0.89, and this bears on the coherence with the numerical procedures for the flux pro- file relations under unstable circumstances. The simulation results were improved considerably by utilizing the Lobocki flux pro- file schemes, which numerical procedures under unstable circumstances differed significantly fi＇om other three flux profile schemes; in this case the correlation coefficient of the value of simulation and the observed value became 0.95. In the next itera- tion of this study, it will be of great importance for the development of the land surface process model to continue experimenting with the application of some novel flux profile schemes in the land surface process models in typical regions.