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Updated: Jun 10, 2025

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Published on: March 12, 2019
Estimation of aerodynamic entrainment in developing wind-blown sand flow
Wei He1, Jie Zhang2, Xiaojiang Xu1
1Wenzhou Key Laboratory of Intelligent Lifeline Protection and Emergency Technology for Resilient City, College of Architecture and Energy Engineering, Wenzhou University of Technology, Wenzhou, China.
Impulse events significantly drive aerodynamic entrainment in wind-blown sand. Understanding these shear stress fluctuations is key to modeling sediment transport and dune formation.
Area of Science:
- Earth and Planetary Sciences
- Geophysics
- Environmental Sciences
Background:
- Aerodynamic entrainment is crucial for wind-blown sand dynamics, influencing sediment transport and dune formation.
- Previous research primarily focused on average shear stress, neglecting the impact of impulse events.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of impulse events in aerodynamic entrainment.
- To analyze the spatiotemporal characteristics of shear stress fluctuations during sand flow development.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 12 hot-film shear sensors to measure aerodynamic shear stress distribution.
- Identified and analyzed impulse events exceeding the entrainment threshold.
- Classified particle movement (rocking, rolling, saltation) based on impulse intensity.
Main Results:
- Sediment mass flux stabilized after 2 m, with shear stress at 78% of the entrainment threshold.
- Rocking events stabilized beyond 4.5 m, indicating fully developed wind-blown sand flow.
- Impulse characteristics stabilized further downstream (4.5 m) than sediment transport (2 m).
Conclusions:
- Impulse events play a significant role in aerodynamic entrainment.
- Turbulent airflow evolves more slowly than sediment transport, affecting stabilization distances.
- Findings improve understanding of sediment transport dynamics and dune movement modeling.
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