Aerodynamic dislodgement of multiple-size sand grains over time

An experimental study was undertaken in a large-scale wind tunnel to investigate sand particle dislodgement by wind over time in the absence of grain-bed collisions. Aerodynamic dislodgement was measured for six groups of sand particles under two known wind velocity profiles. The results show that the dislodgement rate for both fine and coarse particles decreases rapidly during the transition of the particle surface from a non-wind-worked condition to a wind-worked condition, and that the dislodgement rate continues to decay under a wind-worked condition even though the mean grain size of surface particles remains nearly the same. A previously developed theoretical method for calculating the number of particles left on the bed by wind was developed further. The derived method was used to calculate the time-decay of the dislodgement rate and the length of time required for the dislodgement rate to reach an equilibrium. The length of time for dislodgement rate to reach an equilibrium in this study is of the order of 10–15 min. This not only provides further observation of the second, long stage of aeolian sediment transport system development reported previously but also indicates a potentially large variation in the time-decay of transport rate under different conditions. The results indicate that the time-decay of the particle dislodgement rate is related to sorting processes. Because of the artificial method of preparation of the grain surface and the wind velocity profiles, the results of this study should be applied with caution to natural conditions.