Finite element analysis of air flow around permeable sand fences

A numerical study of the turbulent air flow in a trench trap and the turbulent flow around a permeable sand fence is reported in this paper. The two-dimensional modified k–ε turbulence model proposed by Kato and Launder is used to predict the turbulent characteristics of the air flow. The discretization method for the governing equations is the three-step Taylor/Galerkin finite element method proposed by the authors. For the flow in a trench trap the numerical results are compared with experimental data obtained under realistic conditions using a large wind tunnel. For the air flow around a permeable sand fence a pressure loss model is used to represent the effect of the porosity of the fence on the flow field. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

沙丘背风侧不同铁路结构形式对风沙环境的适应性分析

当铁路穿越大风沙漠地区时,风沙灾害会对铁路工程及其正常运营产生严重威胁,而设计一种合理的铁路结构形式能够减小风沙沉积对铁路工程的危害. 在本文中,以敦煌至格尔木铁路沙山沟段落为研究对象,采用多相流的方法对越过沙丘的风沙运动过程进行数值模拟,分别讨论了风沙运动对位于沙丘背风坡的铁路路基工程和桥梁工程的影响. 主要的模拟结果显示:路基工程明显降低了风速并且将沙丘后的回流区分成了两部分,而桥梁工程的导流效应则压缩了沙丘背风坡的回流区;轨道间的道碴增大了铁路表面的粗糙度,在轨道间有少量沙粒沉积,而路基工程两侧则有大量积沙;铁路表面的积沙量与摩阻风速呈现出非线性关系,随着摩阻风速的增大,路基工程沙粒沉积的增加速度大于风蚀能力的增加速度,而桥梁工程则正好相反. 在防止风沙危害铁路方面,设置桥梁工程明显优于路基工程. 本研究为风沙运动对铁路工程的影响提供了理论支持,也为今后的铁路工程设计提供了新的思路与研究工具.      

Simultaneous PIV and PTV measurements of wind and sand particle velocities

Wind-blown sand is a typical example of two-phase particle-laden flows. Owing to lack of simultaneous measured data of the wind and wind-blown sand, interactions between them have not yet been fully understood. In this study, natural sand of 100–125 μm taken from Taklimakan Desert was tested at the freestream wind speed of 8.3 m/s in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel. The captured flow images containing both saltating sand and small wind tracer particles, were separated by using a digital phase mask technique. The 2-D PIV (particle imaging velocimetry) and PTV (particle tracking velocimetry) techniques were employed to extract simultaneously the wind velocity field and the velocity field of dispersed sand particles, respectively. Comparison of the mean streamwise wind velocity profile and the turbulence statistics with and without sand transportation reveal a significant influence of sand movement on the wind field, especially in the dense saltating sand layer (y/δ < 0.1). The ensemble-averaged streamwise velocity profile of sand particles was also evaluated to investigate the velocity lag between the sand and the wind. This study would be helpful in improving the understanding of interactions between the wind and the wind-blown sand.     

“Barchan” dunes in the labDunes de type « Barchanes » au laboratoire

We demonstrate the feasibility of studying dunes in a laboratory experiment. It is shown that an initial sand pile, under a wind flow carrying sand, flattens and gets a shape recalling barchan dunes. An evolution law is proposed for the profile and the summit of the dune. The dune dynamics is shown to be shape invariant. The invariant shape, the “dune function” is isolated. To cite this article: O. Dauchot et al., C. R. Mecanique 330 (2002) 185–191.     

Particle-image velocimetry measurements of flow over interacting barchan dunes

Barchan dunes are crescentic planform-shaped dunes that are present in many natural environments, and may occur either in isolation or in groups. This study uses high-resolution particle-image velocimetry (PIV) experiments using fixed-bed models to examine the effects of barchan dune interaction upon the flow field structure. The barchan dune models were created from an idealized contour map, the shape and dimensions of which were based upon previous empirical studies of dune morphology. The experimental setup comprised two, co-axially aligned, barchan dune models that were spaced at different distances apart. In this paper, two volumetric ratios (V _r, upstream dune: downstream dune) of 1.0 and 0.175 were examined. Models were placed in a boundary-layer wind tunnel and flow quantification was achieved via PIV measurements of the mean and turbulent flow field in the streamwise–wall-normal plane, along the centerline of the barchan(s), at an average flow Reynolds number of 59,000. The presence of an upstream barchan dune induces a “sheltering effect” on the flow. Flow on the stoss side of the downstream dune is controlled by the developing internal boundary layer from the upstream dune, as well as by the turbulent flow structures shed from the free shear layer of the upstream dune leeside. At both volumetric ratios, enhanced turbulence is present over the downstream barchan dune leeside, which is proposed to be caused by the interaction of shear layers from the upstream and downstream dunes. Both the size and magnitude of the shear layer formed in the leeside of the upstream dune control this interaction, together with the proximity of this shear layer to the stoss side of the downstream dune. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) analysis shows that the distribution of turbulent kinetic energy is shifted to higher modes (i.e., smaller spatial scales) over interacting barchan dunes, which also reflects the role of the leeside free shear layer in dominating the flow field by generation, or redistribution, of TKE to smaller scales.     

风沙运动的沙粒带电机理及其影响的研究进展

土壤风蚀以及沙尘暴是人类面临的重大自然环境灾害之一,它直接关系着人类的生存环境和生活质量.许多国家和政府以及科学家们对此一直十分关注并开展了大量研究.由于大气和地表条件的多样性以及地表沙粒的运动与风场作用的相互耦合,导致风沙运动问题研究的复杂性.除此之外,伴随着对风沙运动机理的研究和对沙尘暴的观测,人们发现在风沙跃移运动和沙尘暴中的沙粒带有电荷并形成风沙电场.沙粒的运动不仅导致沙粒带电和风沙电场形成,而且也直接受到沙粒带电和风沙电场的影响.为了弄清风沙电的起因以及揭示其影响规律,研究人员对此进行了野外观测、实验室测量和理论推测等.本文将就这一问题重点介绍有关风沙运动中沙粒带电的机理、风沙电场分布规律、沙粒带电对风沙运动的微宏观物理量以及沙尘暴中沙粒带电对电磁波散射的影响等方面的实验和理论研究的基本概况和进展以及作者等人在此方面的研究工作.主要包含内容有:沙粒带电及其电场的基本实验测量,粒带电对风沙运动的影响,沙尘暴对电磁波衰减的影响研究以及有关风沙起电的机理研究等.同时,对这一研究领域中目前关注与存在的主要问题给予评述.图6参81      

An experimental study on tsunami inundation over complex coastal topography

In recent studies, the effects of complex costal topography on tsunami run-up has sparked heated discussion. This study mainly aims at investigating the effects of complex costal topography on the tsunami inundation distance and the effectiveness of sand dunes in dissipating tsunami wave energy. The experiments were carried out in a wave flume to investigate the potential reduction effects of wave run-up by non erodible sand dune like features. The results show that increasing dunes spacing could not significantly affect inundation distance. However, if the height of sand dunes is of the same order of magnitude as the incoming tsunami wave and the gaps between the dunes are large enough, successful tsunami mitigation could also be possible.     

Experimental and CFD investigation of flow behavior and sand erosion pattern in a horizontal pipe bend under annular flow

The internal erosion of pipelines in oil and gas storage and transportation engineering is highly risky. High gas velocity of annular flow entrained sand will cause damage to the pipelines, and may further result in thinning of the wall. If this damage lasts for a long time, it may cause pipeline leakage and cause huge economic losses and environmental problems. In this research, an experimental device for studying multiphase flow erosion is designed, including an erosion loop and an experimental elbow that can test the erosion rate. The annular flow state and pipe wall erosion morphology can also be tested by the device. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is combined with the experiment to further study the annular flow erosion mechanism in the pipeline. The relationship between gas-liquid-solid distribution and erosion profile was studied. The results show that the most eroded region occurs between 22.5° and 45° in the axial angle direction and between 90° and 135° in the circumferential angle direction of the elbow. The pits and deep scratches form on the surface of the sample after the sand collision.     

Hole diameter effect on flow characteristics of wake behind porous fences having the same porosity

The hole diameter effect on the flow characteristics of wake behind porous fences has been investigated experimentally in a circulating water channel having a test section of 300^w×200^h×1200^l (mm). Three porous fences having different hole diameters of d=1.4,2.1,2.8 mm were tested in this study, but they have the same =38.5% geometric porosity. One thousand instantaneous velocity fields for each fence were measured consecutively by the hybrid PTV system employing a high-speed CCD camera. Free stream velocity was fixed at 10 cm/sec and the corresponding Reynolds number based on the fence height was Re=2,985. Consequently, the fence with the smallest hole diameter d=1.4 mm (d_1.4) decreases the streamwise velocity component and increases the vertical velocity component. Among the three hole diameters tested in this study, the d_1.4 fence has the largest turbulence intensity in the shear layer developed from the fence top. Regardless of the hole diameter, however, all three fences having the same porosity reduce the reduction of turbulent intensity in the lower region below the fence height (y/H<1).     

风沙运动力学机理研究的历史、进展与趋势

回顾了风沙运动力学机理研究历史,阐述了中国在风沙运动力学机理研究方 面所取得的最新进展，提出了目前存在的问题和今后发展的趋势.     

Probability of rebound and eject of sand particles in wind-blown sand movement

When incident particles impact into a sand bed in wind-blown sand movement, rebound of the incident particles and eject of the sand particles by the incident particles affect directly the development of wind sand flux. In order to obtain rebound and eject lift-off probability of the sand particles, we apply the particle-bed stochastic collision model presented in our pervious works to derive analytic solutions of velocities of the incident and impacted particles in the post-collision bed. In order to describe randomness inherent in the real particle-bed collision, we take the incident angle, the impact position and the direction of resultant action of sand particles in sand bed on the impacted sand particle as random variables, and calculate the rebound and eject velocities, angles and coefficients (ratio of rebound and eject velocity to incident velocity). Numerical results are found in accordance with current experimental results. The rebound and eject lift-off probabilities versus the incident and creeping velocities are predicted. The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10532040, 10601022). The English text was polished by Yunming Chen.     

Effect of a casing fence on the tip-leakage flow of an axial flow fan

The effect of a casing fence on the tip-leakage flow of an axial flow fan is investigated using large eddy simulation. A fence is attached on the shroud near the trailing edge of an axial flow fan used in an outdoor unit of air conditioner. The Reynolds number is 547,000 based on the blade tip radius and tip velocity. At the design condition, the fan efficiency is increased by the casing fence. The roles of the fence are to block backward leakage flows near the shroud and to weaken the movement of the tip-leakage vortex (TLV) in the azimuthal direction. Also, the fence reduces the double-leakage tip-clearance flow generated at the aft part of the blade tip due to the TLV-blade interaction, reducing the strength of the tip-separation vortex. Consequently, the tip leakage and total pressure losses are reduced, and the efficiency is increased. The pressure fluctuations on the aft part of the blade tip of the pressure surface caused by the TLV-blade interaction are also significantly reduced by the fence, indicating reduction of the noise source. According to the interaction between the fence and backward leakage flow induced by the TLV, the fence significantly and slightly increases the aerodynamic performances at the design and peak efficiency conditions, respectively, but reduces them at an overflow condition.     

Solid‐particle erosion in the tube end of the tube sheet of a shell‐and‐tube heat exchanger

Erosion is one of the major problems in many industrial processes, and in particular, in heat exchangers. The effects of flow velocity and sand particle size on the rate of erosion in a typical shell‐and‐tube heat exchanger were investigated numerically using the Lagrangian particle‐tracking method. Erosion and penetration rates were obtained for sand particles of diameters ranging from 10 to 500 µm and for inlet flow velocities ranging from 0.197 to 2.95 m/s. A flow visualization experiment was conducted with the objective of verifying the accuracy of the continuous phase calculation procedure. Comparison with available experimental data of penetration rates was also conducted. These comparisons resulted in a good agreement. The results show that the location and number of eroded tubes depend mainly on the particle size and velocity magnitude at the header inlet. The rate of erosion depends exponentially on the velocity. The particle size shows negligible effect on the erosion rate at high velocity values and the large‐size particles show less erosion rates compared to the small‐size particles at low values of inlet flow velocities. The results indicated that the erosion and penetration rates are insignificant at the lower end of the velocity range. However, these rates were found to increase continuously with the increase of the inlet flow velocity for all particle sizes. The particle size creating the highest erosion rate was found to depend on the flow velocity range. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE STRUCTURE OF TURBULENT SHEAR FLOW AROUND A TWO-DIMENSIONAL POROUS FENCE HAVING A BOTTOM GAP

The flow field behind porous fences of geometric porosity ε=38·5% with various bottom gaps (G) has been investigated using a hybrid PTV velocity field measurement technique. Four gap ratiosG /H=0·0, 0·1, 0·2 and 0·3 were tested in this study. One thousand instantaneous velocity vector fields in the x–y plane were consecutively measured for each gap ratio. The free-stream velocity was fixed at 10cm/s and the corresponding Reynolds number based on the fence height (H) was Re=2985. The results show that the gap ratio G/H=0·1 gives the best shelter effect among the four gap ratios tested in this study, having a small shelter parameter ψ in a large area behind the fence. As the gap ratio increases, the region of mean velocity reduction decreases and the lower shear layer developed from the bottom gap expands upward. From the spatial distributions of turbulence statistics including turbulence intensities, Reynolds shear stress and turbulent kinetic energy, the wake characteristics can be divided into two categories depending on the gap ratio. When the gap ratio is aboveG /H=0·2, the turbulence statistics have large values in the lower shear layer. For the gap ratio G/H≤0·1, however, the lower shear layer displays small turbulence-statistics values and approach those of the no-gap case (G/H=0) with increasing distance downstream. In the upper shear layer separated from the fence top, the turbulence statistics are nearly independent of the gap ratio.     

Experimental analysis of sand particles＇ lift-off and incident velocities in wind-blown sand flux

The probability distributions of sand particles' lift-off and incident velocities in a wind-blown sand flux play very important roles in the simulation of the wind-blown sand movement. In this paper, the vertical and the horizontal speeds of sand particles located at 1.0 mm above a sand-bed in a wind-blown sand flux are observed with the aid of Phase Doppler Anemometry (PDA) in a wind tunnel. Based on the experimental data, the probability distributions of not only the vertical lift-off speed but also the lift-off velocity as well as its horizontal component and the incident velocity as well as its vertical and horizontal components can be obtained by the equal distance histogram method. It is found, according to the results of the χ ²-test for these probability distributions, that the probability density functions (pdf's) of the sand particles' lift-off and incident velocities as well as their vertical components are described by the Gamma density function with different peak values and shapes and the downwind incident and lift-off horizontal speeds, respectively, can be described by the lognormal and the Gamma density functions. These pdf's depend on not only the sand particle diameter but also the wind speed.     

Shear wave velocity in sand considering the effects of frequency based on particle contact theory

Since the shear waves involved in in-situ and laboratory measurement methods vary significantly in terms of the frequency range, it is necessary to consider the effects of frequency on the shear wave velocity. In this study, sand particles are assumed to be spherical solid particles with an equal radius and identical material properties, and sand skeletons are regarded as granular aggregations generated through the random packing of sand particles. It is also assumed that the sand particles only undergo elastic deformation during shear wave propagation. Based on a spherical particle model, a formula is obtained for calculating the shear wave velocity in sand, with the shear wave frequency as an extra influencing parameter. The quantitative calculations demonstrate that the shear wave velocity decreases with an increase of sand porosity, and accelerates with increases of vertical effective stress and elastic modulus of the sand particles. It is also indicated that both the particle density and Poisson’s ratio of the sand particles have negligible effects on the shear wave propagation. The frequency dispersion characteristics of shear wave propagating in sand are also discussed. Moreover, the critical frequency is defined and its analytical expression is derived. The calculation results obtained using the proposed equations agree well with the in-situ measurement results and bender element test data.     

WC-Co-Cr涂层的孔率和层状结构对冲蚀行为的影响

用3种高速火焰热喷涂设备将6种商业粉末喷涂在0Cr13Ni5Mo不锈钢基材上,制成结构不同的WC-Co-Cr涂层。用自行研制的料浆罐冲蚀试验机对9种涂层和基材的冲蚀行为进行研究,重点分析气孔率和层状结构对涂层耐冲蚀性能的影响。结果表明：气孔率和层状结构均降低了涂层的耐冲蚀性能,低速低料浆浓度时,气孔率对涂层耐冲蚀能力的影响较层状结构严重,气孔率高的涂层耐冲蚀性能甚至不如基材;高速和高料浆浓度时,层状结构明显的涂层耐冲蚀性能更差。本文探讨了利用单摆冲击划痕法测定涂层比能耗来定量表征层状结构的有效性,讨论了利用涂层气孔率和比能耗的测量结果推测其耐冲蚀性能的可能性。     

The velocity of sand particles relative to water and the variation of fluctuation velocity due to the concentration of suspended sand particles

In this paper, we discuss three fundamental problems of the theory of suspended sand particles based on the theory of fluid dynamics. They are: (1) the relative velocity of sand particles to the surrounding fluid in the turbulent flow, (2) the variation of the velocity fluctuation of the fluid when the suspended sand particles exist, (3) the profile of the vertical distribution of the concentration of the suspended sand particles in two-dimensional uniform steady channel flow and the modification of usual diffusion theory. The results of our theoretical analysis are somewhat different from the corresponding expressions in the textbooks of hydraulics and river mechanics.     

Experimental analysis of sand particles'' lift-off and incident velocities in wind-blown sand flux

The probability distributions of sand particles' lift-off and incident velocities in a wind-blown sand flux play very important roles in the simulation of the wind-blown sand movement. In this paper, the vertical and the horizontal speeds of sand particles located at 1.0 mm above a sand-bed in a wind-blown sand flux are observed with the aid of Phase Doppler Anemometry (PDA) in a wind tunnel. Based on the experimental data, the probability distributions of not only the vertical lift-off speed but also the lift-off velocity as well as its horizontal component and the incident velocity as well as its vertical and horizontal components can be obtained by the equal distance histogram method. It is found, according to the results of the χ²-test for these probability distributions, that the probability density functions (pdf's) of the sand particles' lift-off and incident velocities as well as their vertical components are described by the Gamma density function with different peak values and shapes and the downwind incident and lift-off horizontal speeds, respectively, can be described by the lognormal and the Gamma density functions. These pdf's depend on not only the sand particle diameter but also the wind speed. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10532040) and the Hundred Talents Project, the Knowledge Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-304). The English text was polished by Keren Wang.