Flow field controlling the concave surface of the semi-buried checkerboards and its characterization by grain sizes of sediments
Received date: 2014-04-15
Request revised date: 2014-09-05
Online published: 2014-11-10
Copyright
To reveal the mechanism of flow field within the checkerboards for controlling the development of a concave surface, we simulated the airflow field in the wind tunnel, measured the sand flux and sediments in the field for the straw checkerboard of the size of 1 m ×1 m. Based on wind tunnel simulation, the airflow field near the ground surface in a checkerboard can be divided into four zones, namely, airflow deceleration zones before and behind the straw-barrier, airflow acceleration zone within the barrier, and airflow restoration zone at its center. At the 0-1 H height, wind speed fluctuates and increases with the increasing checkerboard numbers. While at the 1.5 H height, the wind speed first increases along the lateral distance from 0H to 1H, and then decreases gradually. It is indicated that the checkerboards function differently as sparsely structured sand barriers and roughness elements to affect the sand flow near ground surface and over the ground. The airflow near ground surface within the checkerboard play a key role in the formation of a concave surface. In the field observation, the vertical sand flux distribution varies with the increasing wind speed. Under low wind speeds, sands mainly creep in the action of wind, the sand flux rate decreases with increasing height. Under high wind speeds, sands are mainly saltating particles blown up from the checkerboard ground surface by eddies and they rebounded from the incoming sand flow by impacting the bed, straw-barriers, and other particles, and the sand flux rate is distributed with height in the shape of "elephant nose". The results show that the checkerboard plays a role in affecting the vertical sand flux distribution and favor the formation and keep a stable concave surface. Grain sizes of sediments in the checkerboards in different sites of a dune showed different distribution patterns, indicating that dune site is one of the factors affecting the sand flow within the checkerboards. When approaching the toe of a windward slope, the sand flow decelerates, most medium sands are blocked by straw-barrier with a small part creeping to the checkerboard center. As climbing up the middle slope, the sand flow accelerates and becomes unsaturated. The checkerboard center is eroded with coarser particles being left over, and finer ones saltate to its sides to favor a concave surface. Up to the dune top, the slope becomes gentle, the sand flow gets saturated. Thus a large amount of coarser particles deposit and bury the straw-barrier to disrupt the erosion and deposition balance mechanism of the checkerboard that determine the formation of a concave surface.
ZHOU Na , ZHANG Chunlai , TIAN Jinlu , KANG Liqiang . Flow field controlling the concave surface of the semi-buried checkerboards and its characterization by grain sizes of sediments[J]. GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, 2014 , 33(11) : 2145 -2156 . DOI: 10.11821/dlyj201411014
Fig. 1 Arrangement of wind tunnel simulation test for the straw checkerboards (A) and the positions of the measurement points (B)(H, height of the straw barriers; H=20 cm)图1 草方格沙障风洞模拟实验布置(A)和风速测点设置(B)(H为沙障高度; H=20 cm) |
Fig. 2 Simulated surface flow above the 1 m×1 m straw checkerboards图2 1 m×1 m草方格表面模拟流场 |
Tab. 1 Layout of roughness elements for simulation of the airflow over flat drifting land under different wind velocities表1 不同实验风速下平坦流沙地模型上风向粗糙元设置 |
| 实验风速 u60 cm | 行数 | 粗糙元数目(层) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 第一行(上风向) | 第二行 | 第三行 | 第四行 | 第五行(下风向) | ||
| 6 m·s-1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 9 m·s-1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 m·s-1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Fig. 3 Changes of relative wind speed (u´) over the surfaces of the checkerboards along wind direction (H=20 cm)图3 草方格沙障表面不同高度相对风速u´变化(H=20 cm) |
Fig. 4 Sand-flux vertical distribution in the checkerboard on the windward of the front dune under different wind velocities图 4 不同来流风速(U4 m)下前缘沙丘迎风坡草方格表面风沙流结构 |
Fig. 5 Grain sizes of sands in the checkerboards on different dune positions图5 沙丘表面不同部位草方格内部沉积物粒度分布特征 |
Fig. 6 Correlations of medium sand content, fine sand content, and very fine sand content with the mean grain size of sediments in the straw checkerboards图6 草方格沉积物粒度百分含量与平均粒径相关性分析 |
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
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