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Arid Land Geography ›› 2023, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (12): 1973-1983.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2023.197

• Earth Surface Process • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Applicability study of the boundary layer displacement thickness to the evaluation of sand barrier windbreak benefits: A case of polylactic acid sand barrier

ZHANG Shuai1(),YUAN Weijie1(),LIU Hui2,WANG Haixia1,GUAN Haohui1,WANG Luzhen3   

  1. 1. Experimental Center of Forestry in North China, Chinese Academy of Forestry/National Permanent Scientific Research Base for Warm Temperate Zone Forestry of Jiulong Mountain in Beijing, Beijing 102300, China
    2. Water & Land Eco-Environment Technology Institute of Beijing Co. Ltd, Beijing 100080, China
    3. Qinghai Provincial Investigation, Design &Research Institute of Water Conservancy & Hydropower Co., Ltd, Xining 810000, Qinghai, China
  • Received:2023-04-28 Revised:2023-07-11 Online:2023-12-25 Published:2024-01-05

Abstract:

Surface roughness, a conventional index widely applied in wind erosion protection, plays a crucial role in evaluating the effectiveness of engineering measures such as forest and sand barriers. Despite its prevalent use, practical applications reveal its limited accuracy. Consequently, we introduce a novel index termed “boundary layer displacement thickness”. Through wind tunnel simulations, we assessed the wind speed frequency distribution of various sandbag barriers. We computed the mean wind speed, wind prevention efficiency, and also scrutinized the wind speed flow field to validate the precision of both roughness and boundary layer displacement thickness measurements. The findings indicate that an increase in the length of the polylactic acid sandbag barrier corresponds to an upward trend in average wind speed. Specifically, the average wind speed within the 1.5-m and 2.0-m barriers is 1.13 and 1.24 times that of the 1.0-m barrier, respectively. Concurrently, wind prevention efficiency experiences a decline, with values exceeding 0.6 for the 1.0-m barrier, 0.5 for the 1.5-m barrier, and 0.4 for the 2.0-m barrier. Analysis of the wind velocity field data reveal that the high-speed zone expands as the barrier grid size increases, signifying a weakened protective effect with large sand barriers. Notably, the boundary layer displacement thickness demonstrates a consistent decreasing trend with increasing barrier size, aligning with the aforementioned pattern. However, surface roughness exhibits an anomalous pattern, initially decreasing and then increasing. In summary, the boundary layer displacement thickness proved to be more accurate and emerged as a promising supplementary reference indicator for evaluating the efficacy of wind erosion protection measures.

Key words: boundary layer displacement thickness, wind erosion evaluation, wind tunnel simulation, polylactic acid sand barrier