Simulation of snow drift and the effects of snow particles on wind

Abstract

Coupled equations between wind and saltating particles are presented for a stable wind blowing over an infinite plane bed and the equations are solved for a simplified particle-bed impact process. The calculated results show that the saltating snow particles strongly affect the velocity distribution of the wind, causing a deviation from a logarithmically distributed wind velocity profile. The average height and length of saltating snow particle trajectories exponentially increase as the friction velocity increases; the ejected snow number flux and the streamwise snow transport rate also increase as the friction velocity increases.