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Prevention and Control of Wind-Blown Sand/Snow Disasters on Railway and...
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Prevention and Control of Wind-Blown Sand/Snow Disasters on Railway and Highway

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Civil Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 11779

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ning Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dean, College of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Director, Key Laboratory of Mechanics on Disaster and Environment in Western China, The Ministry of Education of China, Department of Mechanics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Interests: environmental fluid mechanics; wind-blown sand (snow) two-phase flow; land-surface processes; fluid dynamics; environmental modelling
Prof. Dr. Jie Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
Interests: engineering mechanics; environmental fluid mechanics; disaster prevention; wind-blow sand/snow; dust emission & deposition; wind-tunnel experiment; CFD

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The disasters caused by wind-blown sand/snow in arid or cold regions seriously threaten the construction, maintenance and safe operation of railways and highways. A lot of excellent work has been carried out to provide support on the prevention and control of wind-blown sand/snow disasters. Some basic causes of disasters have been revealed and many techniques for disaster prevention have been developed. However, these works are still far from complete and need to be advanced in a long time. This Special Issue is devoted to all topics related to prevention and control of wind-blown sand/snow disasters on railways and highways, including (but not limited to) the following subjects:

  • Dynamic model of aeolian sand/snow movement under the environment of railway or highway
  • Long-term field observation on wind-blown sand/snow around railway and highway
  • Causes of wind-blown sand/snow disasters on railway and highway
  • New materials, methods and technologies for prevention of wind-blown sand/snow disasters
  • Failure mechanism and effectiveness evaluation of prevention measures
  • New water-saving irrigation technology for plant-based sand disasters prevention
  • Optimization of comprehensive protection system for sand/snow disaster
  • Environmental and ecological effects of prevention and control of wind-blown sand/snow disasters on railway and highway

Prof. Dr. Ning Huang
Prof. Dr. Jie Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • wind-blown sand/snow
  • sand/snow bury
  • wind erosion
  • sand deposition
  • snow accumulation
  • avalanche
  • desert railway/highway
  • sand/snow disaster prevention
  • sand/snow mitigation measure
  • prevention system
  • protection benefit
  • wind tunnel experiment
  • field observation
  • numerical simulation
  • sand fixing
  • sand/snow fence
  • mechanical sand barrier
  • straw checkerboard barriers
  • wind break wall
  • snow wall
  • irrigation
  • maintenance

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 6374 KiB  
Article
Sand Sedimentation Mechanism in and around the Railway Culvert and Its Structural Optimization of Sediment Reduction
by Jiangang Xu, Ning Huang, Hongchao Dun, Guangtian Shi and Xiaoan Zhang
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(9), 5585; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13095585 - 30 Apr 2023
Viewed by 985
Abstract
A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of a railway culvert was established based on the two-phase flow theory to investigate wind-blown sand transport and sand sedimentation in and around a railway culvert. Then the flow field and the accumulation distribution of sand particles [...] Read more.
A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of a railway culvert was established based on the two-phase flow theory to investigate wind-blown sand transport and sand sedimentation in and around a railway culvert. Then the flow field and the accumulation distribution of sand particles were analyzed through numerical simulation. The results show that the flow field around the culvert can be divided into deceleration, acceleration, and vortex areas. The curve of the horizontal wind speed along the central axis of the culvert had a W shape, indicating a significant increase in the wind speed inside the culvert. A large amount of sand accumulated at the culvert inlet because of the wing walls. The sand volume fraction in the culvert decreased with an increase in the inflow velocity, and there was almost no sand sedimentation when the inflow velocity was greater than 20 m/s. Three reasons for the sand accumulation in the culvert included the deflection by the wing walls, subgrade blocking, and a low inflow velocity. Based on the simulation results, straight and protruding culverts were designed to minimize sand accumulation. The straight culvert exhibited better performance than the protruding culvert and is recommended for use in railways. This work can provide theoretical support for designing railway culverts that minimize or prevent wind-blown sand accumulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention and Control of Wind-Blown Sand/Snow Disasters on Railway and Highway)
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12 pages, 2913 KiB  
Article
Experimental Research on Sand Sediment Protection on Railway Tracks
by Xingcai Li, Xuefeng Zhang, Fei Zhang and Qianguo Liao
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(24), 12734; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122412734 - 12 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1155
Abstract
The wind-blown sand disaster on the railway has a very important negative influence on the economic development of traffic networks in desert areas. While there are some engineering protection measures for railway sand deposition, they are far from satisfactory in terms of economic [...] Read more.
The wind-blown sand disaster on the railway has a very important negative influence on the economic development of traffic networks in desert areas. While there are some engineering protection measures for railway sand deposition, they are far from satisfactory in terms of economic efficiency and protection performance. Therefore, it is still of great practical significance to explore novel measures for actively preventing sand deposition on railway tracks in desert areas. In this article, the laws of sand deposition on single and dual tracks were studied with the help of field experiments. On this basis, it can be seen that the deposition of sand on the rear track can be effectively reduced by placing various types of baffles on the track. Field experiments were designed to study the change law of sand deposition ratio in front of the tracks caused by placing baffles of different cross sections. The results show that placing a 45° inclined baffle on the track can reduce the volume of sand deposition by up to 42%. The findings in this paper can provide scientific guidance for the design of new desert railways or novel protective measures for railway sand deposition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention and Control of Wind-Blown Sand/Snow Disasters on Railway and Highway)
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22 pages, 1372 KiB  
Article
An Optimization Model for a Desert Railway Route Scheme Based on Interval Number and TOPSIS
by Yuxiang Gao, Xiaofeng Dong, Feng Han and Zeyu Li
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(21), 10728; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122110728 - 23 Oct 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1394
Abstract
The construction of desert railways inevitably destructs the environment and aggravates the wind–sand damage along the line. A reasonable railway route is an effective measure to avoid blown sand hazards, save construction costs, and reduce environmental damage. Currently, the selection methods for the [...] Read more.
The construction of desert railways inevitably destructs the environment and aggravates the wind–sand damage along the line. A reasonable railway route is an effective measure to avoid blown sand hazards, save construction costs, and reduce environmental damage. Currently, the selection methods for the railway route scheme are to analyze the qualitative indicators and quantitative indicators separately, and there are few decision-making models for the desert railway scheme. Therefore, this study aims to propose a comprehensive quantitative optimization model of the route scheme for the desert railway. Based on the design principles of hazard reduction, the evaluation index system of the desert railway route is first constructed, including railway design factors, wind-blown sand hazard factors, environmental impact factors, and operation condition factors. Subsequently, the subjective weights and objective weights are combined to obtain the comprehensive weights of the index by utilizing the principle of minimum discrimination information. Finally, the interval number is employed to quantify the linguistic fuzzy number of qualitative indicators, and the optimization model of the route scheme for the desert railway is constructed based on the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS). The model is verified using the Minfeng-Yuhu section in the Hotan–Ruoqiang railway as the case study. The achieved results reveal that this model enhances the accuracy and efficiency of the railway scheme decision-making and provides a theoretical basis for the optimal design and sand damage control of the desert railway. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention and Control of Wind-Blown Sand/Snow Disasters on Railway and Highway)
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15 pages, 5119 KiB  
Article
Study on Sand-Accumulation Changes of Highway and Formation Mechanism of Sand Damage in Drifting Dunes Areas
by Feng Han, Chengxiang Wang, Zhibo Liu, Liangying Li and Wenhua Yin
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(19), 10184; https://doi.org/10.3390/app121910184 - 10 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2209
Abstract
After the construction of desert highway, the physiognomy changes caused by surface wind erosion and accumulation not only seriously threaten the stability of road structure, but also have a tremendous impact on the safety of the highway operation and the maintenance work on [...] Read more.
After the construction of desert highway, the physiognomy changes caused by surface wind erosion and accumulation not only seriously threaten the stability of road structure, but also have a tremendous impact on the safety of the highway operation and the maintenance work on the highway. The purpose of this paper is to explore the change of sand sedimentation and the law of sand transport along the highway in the moving dune areas, and to clarify the change of sand flow and the formation mechanism of sand damage in the moving dune areas. Taking the test section of Wuhai-Maqin Expressway in the hinterland of Tengger Desert as the research object, the on-site observation of sand accumulation and the recording of wind information by small weather stations were adopted, supplemented by CFD numerical simulation method, in order to provide reference for the construction of sand control system in moving dune areas. The study results show that: (1) Dunes not only obstruct wind-drift sand but are also the sediment source condition for forming road sand. The windward dunes near the road are affected by wind and the deposition of sand will quickly bury the road in the strong wind season. (2) Compared with highways with flat terrain, the existence of dunes affects the flow field structure and the distribution of sand sedimentation on the highway, in which, under the influence of the gathering effect, the flow velocity reaches the maximum at the top of the dune and a large low-speed recirculation zone is formed on the lee side of the dune, easily causing sand accumulation. (3) Sediment accumulates at the windward side of the embankment or dune where sandy air current is easy to saturate. However, with the increase of wind speed, in addition to the grit carried by the sandy air current itself, new sand rolled up on the windward side of the dunes also form deposits on the road surface and the amount of sand-accumulation on highway surface and leeward side tends to increase. As a result, for the highway in drifting sand dunes areas, sediment prevention and control measures should be taken actively. It is necessary to remove sediment from the road in time and reduce the moving speed of sand dunes and the deposition range of wind-sand flow, ultimately for the purpose of reducing the damage wind-sand activity causes to the highway in desert. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention and Control of Wind-Blown Sand/Snow Disasters on Railway and Highway)
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11 pages, 2506 KiB  
Article
Study on Strength and Microstructure of Red Clay Reinforced by F1 Ionic Soil Stabilizer
by Xingwei Wang, Jian-dong Li, Xu Wang, Yanjie Zhang, Daijun Jiang and Guanhua Zhao
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(19), 9831; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12199831 - 29 Sep 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1823
Abstract
High-liquid limit red clay has poor engineering characteristics, namely poor water stability, low strength, and large expansion and contraction deformation. The clay may be reinforced with an F1 ionic soil stabilizer. The engineering characteristics of this reinforced clay were studied, specifically concerning its [...] Read more.
High-liquid limit red clay has poor engineering characteristics, namely poor water stability, low strength, and large expansion and contraction deformation. The clay may be reinforced with an F1 ionic soil stabilizer. The engineering characteristics of this reinforced clay were studied, specifically concerning its basic physical parameters, shear strength parameters, and micropore structure. The F1 ionic soil stabilizer significantly improved the water sensitivity, compaction characteristics, and shear strength of red clay. We determined that the optimal F1 ionic soil stabilizer mix was 0.5 L/m3, resulting in a reinforced clay with plastic limit increased by 45.74%, optimal moisture content increased by 12.12%, maximum dry density increased by 5.8%, liquid limit reduced by 8.4%, plasticity index reduced by 43.8%, infiltration coefficient reduced by 41.8%, cohesion increased 1.64-fold, and internal friction angle increased 1.30-fold. Freeze-thaw cycles reduced the shear strength parameters of the reinforced red clay, although even after 15 cycles, it still had 18.4% higher cohesion and 57.1% higher internal friction angle than undisturbed red clay. The F1 ionic soil stabilizer significantly reduced the pore size and area of red clay, the complex connected pore structure is adjusted to a more regular structure. The reinforced clay had 56.64% lower pore area ratio, 32.27% lower average Feret diameter, and 2.43% lower fractal dimension. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention and Control of Wind-Blown Sand/Snow Disasters on Railway and Highway)
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15 pages, 6558 KiB  
Article
Numerical Simulation Research on Plane Alignment Parameters of Desert Highway
by Liangying Li, Zhizhong Tao, Wenhua Yin and Zhibo Liu
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(19), 9579; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12199579 - 23 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1108
Abstract
Using the plane alignment design of the Wuhai–Maqin highway as the background of this study, based on the Fluent–Euler two-fluid model, the response law of the wind–sand flow to the embankment under different angles, different curve radii, and different surface windward factors were [...] Read more.
Using the plane alignment design of the Wuhai–Maqin highway as the background of this study, based on the Fluent–Euler two-fluid model, the response law of the wind–sand flow to the embankment under different angles, different curve radii, and different surface windward factors were studied. Additionally, the accuracy of the numerical simulation was verified by the distribution of sand accumulation on the embankment site. The results show that when the wind–sand flow passes through the embankment, and when the angle between the wind direction and the straight embankment gradually decreases from 90° (vertical) to 0° (parallel), the speed-division range is correspondingly shortened. Under the influence of plane alignment, the diversion effect leads to a certain difference in the flow-field structure at different positions of the line. The convex windward embankment has the effect of dredging the wind–sand flow outward. The concave windward embankment has the effect of gathering the wind–sand flow inward. The dredging and gathering effects of the flat curve on the wind–sand flow decreases with the increase in the radius. In the plane linear design, line direction should be parallel to the dominant wind direction as much as possible. If a flat curve needs to be set, the convex windward curve should be given priority, and a large radius curve should be selected as much as possible. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention and Control of Wind-Blown Sand/Snow Disasters on Railway and Highway)
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15 pages, 7155 KiB  
Article
Characteristics and Hazards of an Aeolian Sand Environment along Railways in the Southeastern Fringe of the Taklimakan Desert and Sand Control Measures
by Benteng Ma, Li Gao, Jianjun Cheng, Bosong Ding, Lusheng Ding, Lei Qu and Yuanfeng An
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(18), 9186; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12189186 - 13 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1605
Abstract
Based on wind velocity and wind direction data monitored by Qiemo and Ruoqiang Meteorological Stations, a systematic elaboration on the wind-sand hazards threatening railways in the study area is given. The results indicate that the study area had an annual sand-moving wind frequency [...] Read more.
Based on wind velocity and wind direction data monitored by Qiemo and Ruoqiang Meteorological Stations, a systematic elaboration on the wind-sand hazards threatening railways in the study area is given. The results indicate that the study area had an annual sand-moving wind frequency of 7.63–20.09%. The prevailing directions of sand-moving wind were NE and ENE. The annual drift potential (DP) of the study area fell within the range of 66.18–124.21 VU, so the study area had a low-wind-energy environment. The yearly direction variability index fell within 0.594–0.610, which was a medium ratio. The yearly resultant drift directions (RDDs) were 222.34° (SW) and 241.79° (WSW), respectively. The seasonal DPs and sand-moving wind frequencies in various directions manifested consistent variation characteristics. The direction variability index presented obvious seasonal variation characteristics. The surface particles in the study area were primarily extremely fine sand, fine sand, and medium sand, which formed wind-sand flows under the sand-moving wind, resulting in railway erosion and two forms of hazards (sand burial and wind erosion) along railways. Following the “blocking-fixing” principle, sand control measures combining mechanical and biological elements are taken along railways to ensure safe service. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Prevention and Control of Wind-Blown Sand/Snow Disasters on Railway and Highway)
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