HyPer SMM wind tunnel tests: PTV pictures

In this study, windblown sand transport on flat ground is reproduced by means of Wind-Sand Tunnel Tests (WSTT) carried out in the wind tunnel L-1B of von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics. The aim of WSTT is twofold. On one hand, they are intended to characterize the incoming sand flux in open field conditions. On the other hand, they allow to properly tune cheaper Wind-Sand Computational Simulations. The wind tunnel setup implements a uniform 5-meter-long sand fetch as sand source. The sand flux saltation layer are characterized through Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV) technique. Sand transport is assessed along the sand fetch by setting the wind speed equal to 1.3, 1.5, 2 times the threshold one. For the complete wind tunnel setup and data analysis please refer to: Raffaele L., Coste, N., and Glabeke G. "Life-Cycle Performance and Cost Analysis of Sand Mitigation Measures: Toward a Hybrid Experimental-Computational Approach." Journal of Structural Engineering 148.7 (2022): 04022082.

The study has been developed in the framework of the MSCA-IF-2019 research project Hybrid Performance Assessment of Sand Mitigation Measures (HyPer SMM, https://hypersmm.vki.ac.be/). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant Agreement No. 885985