Characteristics of the disastrous wind-sand environment along railways in the Gobi area of Xinjiang, China

Cheng, Jianjun; Jiang, Fuqiang; Chen, Xue; Xin, Guowei; Li, Kaichong; Yin-hai, Yang

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.12.018

Cited by 62 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Their studies clearly support our interpretation that sublimation is the reason of decreasing SCA in winter of the UHRB since no surface runoff before end of March was observed [50][51][52]. Previous studies also indicated that large amount of snow could be removed by sublimation given a high wind speed [53,54]. Wind speed in the Tibetan Plateau could be up to 16.9 m per second at the altitude above 4100 m [55].…”

Section: Sublimation Factorsupporting

confidence: 81%

Snow Cover Variations and Controlling Factors at Upper Heihe River Basin, Northwestern China

Xie

Huang

et al. 2015

Remote Sensing

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Snow is an important water resource and greatly influences water availability in the downstream areas. In this study, snow cover variations of the Upper Heihe River Basin (UHRB) during hydrological years (HY) 2003-2013 (September through August) is examined using the flexible multiday-combined MODIS snow cover products. Spatial distribution and pattern of snow cover from year to year for the basin is found to be relatively stable, with maximum snow cover area (SCA) and snow cover days occurring in HY2004, HY2008 and HY2012. A method, based on correlation coefficients between SCA and climate factors (mainly air temperature and precipitation), is presented to identify the threshold altitude that determines contributions of climate factors to SCA. A threshold altitude of 3650 ± 150 m is found for the UHRB, where below this altitude, both air temperature (Tair) and precipitation are negative factors on SCA, except in the winter season when both are positive factors. Above the threshold altitude, precipitation acts as a positive factor except in summer, while Tair is a negative factor except in autumn. Overall, Tair is the primary controlling factor on SCA below the threshold altitude, while precipitation is the primary controlling factor on SCA above the threshold altitude.

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Section: Sublimation Factorsupporting

confidence: 81%

Snow Cover Variations and Controlling Factors at Upper Heihe River Basin, Northwestern China

Xie

Huang

et al. 2015

Remote Sensing

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“…In particular, the windinduced accumulation of sand poses key challenges for railways crossing deserts and arid regions (e.g. Zhang et al, 1995Zhang et al, , 2010Zakeri and Forghani, 2012;Cheng and Xue, 2014;Cheng et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solid barriers for windblown sand mitigation: Aerodynamic behavior and conceptual design guidelines

Bruno

Fransos²,

Giudice

2018

Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics

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Protection from windblown-sand is one of the key engineering issues for construction and maintenance of human infrastructures in arid environments. In the last century, several barriers with different shapes have been proposed in order to overcome this problem, but literature lacks of a systematic performance quantitative analysis, and the key geometric parameters that promote sedimentation have not been yet recognized. A deep understanding of the aerodynamics effects of sand barrier on the flow is an unavoidable step to achieve these objectives. The present computational study aims to comparatively analyze different kinds of windblown sand mitigation solid barriers, clarify their working principles, extract from the aerodynamics analysis key geometrical features of the barriers and relate them to the sand trapping performances. Approximated metrics for performance assessment are introduced using aerodynamic parameters. The performances of an innovative solid barrier and the ones of commonly used solid barriers are compared in terms of these metrics. The effects of incoming wind velocity profiles on sand trapping performances are evaluated as well. An empirical dimensionless performance estimator is proposed and used to provide general design guidelines.

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“…A number of these effects have occurred in the recent past along with the built railway's lines crossing arid regions, e.g. the Qinghai-Tibet Railway [2], the North-South Mineral Line [8] and the Lanzhou−Xinjiang line [9]. Sand deposition on the infrastructure can lead to the contamination of ballast, which leads in turn to the increasing of train-induced vibrations and consequently damage of sleepers, rail pads and rails [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…reduced train speed and delays. Furthermore, windblown sand can lead to disastrous events causing even danger for users, such as train derailment and window breaking [9]. With the increasing railway tracks in desert areas, effective design solutions to cope with windblown sand issues are mandatory.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shield for Sand: An Innovative Barrier for Windblown Sand Mitigation

Bruno

Coste²,

Fransos³

et al. 2018

ENG

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Background: Windblown sand mitigation for civil structures in arid environment is crucial. Indeed, the number of railways crossing deserts and arid lands is increasing. A number of sand mitigation measures already exist. Among them, sand barriers are particularly intended for line-like infrastructures. We reviewed patented sand barriers on the basis of their shape and porosity. Objective: A new solid barrier for windblown sand mitigation called Shield for Sand is presented. Shield for Sand has been designed with the aim of maximizing the sand trapping efficiency through an upper windward deflector and simplifying its maintenance by complaining to sand removal machines. The development of Shield for Sand follows the path traced by the Technology Readiness Level scale. Methods: The preliminary design of Shield for Sand has been supported by computational simulations of the wind flow around the barrier. Then, Shield for Sand has been tested in a wind tunnel with drifting sand in order to assess its efficiency. Both computational and experimental approaches allow an increase of the Technology Readiness Level. Results: The reversed flow induced by Shield for Sand increases its sand accumulation potential with respect to similar existing sand mitigation measures, such as the straight vertical wall. The efficiency of Shield for Sand resulting from the wind tunnel test is very high and almost constant with increasing sand accumulation level. Conclusion: The Shield for Sand working principles and performances are confirmed excellent. Final fullscale in-situ experiments are necessary to test the barrier under real environmental operational conditions.

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Characteristics of the disastrous wind-sand environment along railways in the Gobi area of Xinjiang, China

Cited by 62 publications

References 13 publications

Snow Cover Variations and Controlling Factors at Upper Heihe River Basin, Northwestern China

Snow Cover Variations and Controlling Factors at Upper Heihe River Basin, Northwestern China

Solid barriers for windblown sand mitigation: Aerodynamic behavior and conceptual design guidelines

Shield for Sand: An Innovative Barrier for Windblown Sand Mitigation

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