EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL DETERMINATION OF CONCENTRATION PROFILES AND INFLUENCE OF PARTICLE CHARACTERISTICS IN BLOWING SNOW

Snow drift transport may cause avalanches on the roads during the periods of snowfall and strong wind. To better understand the factors influencing transport we have developed a theoretical model. This model is based on the boundary layer theory, where the particle mass conservation is considered. Assuming that the saturation is reached, the concentration profile can be represented by a negative exponential law, By means of this analysis, the influence of particle characteristics is explored through the roles of threshold friction velocity and fall velocity. Using fluid mechanics laws, an analysis of the concentration profile resulting from the effect of the wind on a particle bed was also developed. For several velocities of flow and for different kinds of particles an experimental determination of the concentration profile was achieved. We used a laser visualisation and image processing technique to carry out these experiments. The obtained results fit with the values predicted by the theoretical model.